Issue 1, Volume 116-- August 26, 2020

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SINGLE COPY PAID FOR BY STUDENT PUBLICATION FEE

WEDNESDAY

AUGUST 26, 2020 Volume 116 — Issue 1

ucanews.live TODAY’S FORECAST CONWAY

Campus Life:

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THE NEWSDESK FROM THE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Peru party violates coronavirus restrictions Thirteen people were killed in Lima, Peru Saturday night after a disco turned into a stampede.

Police raided the party and attempted to enforce the country’s coronavirus lockdown procedures. Around 120 people were in attendance, and 15 of the 23 people officers arrested tested positive for the virus.

N AT I O N A L Viral video sparks protests in Wisconsin The attempted murder of Jacob Blake by a police officer sparked protests in Kenosha, Wis., Sunday night after a video of the shooting went viral. The video shows Blake, 29, walking to his car with two officers following him, guns pointed. He opens the car door, back turned to the officer, when you can see the officer grab him by the tee-shirt and shoot Blake seven times. Eyewitnesses said Blake was attempting to break up a dispute between two women when the officers arrived. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump confirmed that Blake’s three sons were in the vehicle at the time.

He is being treated for his injuries but is in critical condition.

S TAT E Newport native charged for disappearance of Sydney Sutherland Quake Lewellyn, 28, of Newport, has been charged with capital murder, rape, and kidnapping of Sydney Sutherland, 25. Sutherland went jogging last Wednesday and never returned. Lewellyn is being held without bond.

A Facebook group uncovers predators

In collaboration with Greenland and West Fork police, the Facebook group Truckers Against Predators caught two adult male predators. Both Doyle Hoyt, 50, of Forth Smith and Elmer Figueroa, 34, met up with a trucker posing to be a 13-year-old girl.

WHAT’S AHEAD IN OUR NEXT ISSUE Love in the time of corona.

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By Rob Davis Staff Writer

Due to complications that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic, UCA spring and summer graduates were honored on Friday, August 7 for the graduate ceremony and on Saturday, August 8, for the undergraduate ceremony.

Both ceremonies took place at Estes Football Stadium.

According to the UCA website, “Commencement is a time-honored tradition that celebrates the academic accomplishments of students at the University of Central Arkansas. During commencement ceremonies, we recognize the learning, commitment, and effort of our students in earning their degrees. This is a special event for the students and for all of those involved in supporting and encouraging them through this journey.”

UCA President Houston photo courtsey of UCA Davis, 2020-21 Executive Vice President of the Student Spring and summer 2020 graduates were honored at Estes Football Stadium on August 8 and 9.

Government Association celebrate, please know that is the degree that you have to expect going into it. We all Jamaal Lockings, 2020-21 you are in our hearts and in earned from the University of lined up in the Farris Center, Faculty Senate President our thoughts,” UCA Provost Central Arkansas.” and for the most part, everyone Jen Talbot and UCA Alumni Patricia Poulter said during Catherine Ziller, who was socially distanced, which Association representative her speech to UCA graduates. received her Bachelor of Arts was reassuring to me,” Ziller Gunnar Bartlett, all gave “No matter what you do next, in English with an emphasis in said. “We walked to the messages to the faculty and whether you have a role on teaching and learning minor, Estes Stadium and everyone graduates who took part of the a world stage or a quiet life thought the ceremony went kept space in between them. ceremony. in your community, there’s well considering all potential Everyone had masks on, which “Even though we can’t something that no one can obstacles. isn’t your typical graduation physically be together to take away from you and that “I didn’t really know what attire, but these times are

FUNDS

by Ronak Patel Editor

In a press release on Aug. 14, UCA announced it had its second highest fundraising year in university history.

In an online meeting for the President’s Society in July, Davis said the donations will be helpful to the university. Davis credits donors for helping UCA fundraise for the past four years.

“Because of our donors’ commitment and dedication, we have surpassed our fundraising goals for four consecutive years.

We are thankful our donors believe in the transformational power of education and in the difference that our students make in Arkansas and beyond,” Davis told UCA News.

The donors are made up by 815 different members, which is 39.8% more members than the previous year. Each of the 815 members were responsible for donating atleast $1,000.

This year’s donors accounted for over $9.5 million, with four of the donors providing donations valued at seven figures.

Along with record setting donations, UCA also had a record setting year for scholarships. UCA awarded 816 private scholarships; last year UCA awarded 771. This year scholarship awards totaled $1,533,960, which was a record setting amount.

Another source of donations for UCA has been from the UCA Day of Giving. The school had its sixth annual Day of Giving this year. In 2020, Day of Giving had a record breaking year.

The school raised $1,126,580 which was a 49% increase from last year’s amount of $757,939.

This wasn’t just the highest record total in UCA history, but it was the first seven figure Day of Giving event for a

college in Arkansas. This year’s Day of Giving had a theme called “Take Your Pick” which allowed students, faculty and parents to send money to a specific department or cause on campus.

The Purple Circle Club, the annual fund for student athletes, saw a record year with having 435 members. The fund was able to raise $509,167 for student athletes.

UCA was able to raise $7 million in private funding to build the new Integrated Health Sciences Building and the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts.

The Integrated Health Science building is not ready for instruction and is still being built.

The building is expected to open fall 2021 and will allow UCA to offer more programs for the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. The new building will allow for 50 more nursing students a year to attend UCA. The year before UCA received $20 million to match the gift from the Windgate Foundation, making it the largest gift in the school’s history.

Interim Vice President for University Advancement and President of the UCA Foundation Mary Lackie believes UCA has seen an increase in donations because of the success UCA has had in recent years. Lackie believes the donors are more likely to donate if they believe their money is being put to good use.

“Our sustained fundraising success reflects the confidence our donors have in the leadership of this institution and the quality of our amazing faculty, staff and students,” Lackie told UCA News.

UCA News contributed to this report.

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crazy. My college was one of the first ones to walk, so we got up and walked to the stage. I made sure that I was well behind the person in front of me. I used the hand sanitizer machine by the stage before walking. After, they had us take pictures off-stage, and overall, I thought it went really well.

I’m really thankful that UCA decided to let us have as close to a normal graduation as possible. Most of the speakers were pre-recorded, but it didn’t feel as weird as I expected it to.”

UCA followed guidelines set by the CDC and Arkansas Department of Health Guidelines, like enforcing appropriate social distancing throughout the course of the event and required all attendees to have a face covering on at all times, with UCA graduates being gifted a UCA Bear mask once they arrived at the Farris Center.

All guests who attended the ceremony were also required to follow all social distancing practices while being seated in the home and visitor sides of the stadium, with the stadium being sanitized and cleaned before and after each ceremony.

Despite unforeseeable conditons, UCA adapted to adaquately honor graduates.

PROCEDURES

UCA reaches second highest fundraising year in schools history

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Spring and Summer Graduates Celebrate in Joint Ceremony

Index: 4Police Beat 4People of UCA

New Release: Beyoncé releases movie “Black is King.”

A’Javius Brown: Defensive Lineman prepares for senior year.

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Scattered showers and thunderstorms

Entertainment:

Sports:

Conway Daze: UCA incorporates new CDC guidlines at this years Conway Daze.

photo courtesy by uca.edu

UCA released a ‘Student Guide to Returning to Campus’ for incoming and retuning students for fall 2020.

UCA releases guidelines for students to navigate new campus protocol

By Ronak Patel Editor

UCA released a 24 page student guide to inform students about how this unprecedented semester will work.

While most of UCA’s courses will be in person, UCA does plan to use hybrid classes where possible to stop crowding on campus. Every department will give students the option to take classes online.

In addition to providing bammies for students who need them, UCA will provide additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to the UCA departments that need it. The school will provide KN95 masks for students who are working clinicals or working in K-12 public schools. Students who are taking science classes that require a lab will be provided PPE. The guideline request

Social:

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Inside:

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E-mail: ucaechoeditor@gmail.com @ucaecho

that students who are unable to wear masks provide medical proof and contact the UCA Disability Center.

One of the major changes in the fall calender will be the elimination of fall break. The days taken away from fall break will be added to Thanksgiving break making it a whole week long. After Thanksgiving the

The Echo

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© 2020 The Echo, Printed by The Courier, Russellville, Arkansas.

NBA teams should not use traditional big men in their starting line up.

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26/August, 2020

Police Beat

The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Kaitlin Benight

Careless mom faces DUI

Karla Renea Henson, 29, was charged with public intoxication, a Class C misdemeanor and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, which is a Class D felony on Aug. 13.

Henson drove her two children from Vilonia to the Department of Human Services in Conway while under the influence of medications. An officer noted she was very lethargic and had droopy eyes.

She had just gotten her children back from DHS months prior. Two years ago, she left them in a vehicle while she was under the influence and state services took her children.

According to the DHS investigator, Henson left the children in the car for over an hour on Aug. 11 while she attended a dentist appointment.

She is currently being held with a $15,000 bond and is scheduled to appear at Faulkner County Circuit Court on Aug. 31.

Husband stalks, beats wife

Damani Rashad Briggs, 24, was charged with firstdegree stalking, a Class C felony; aggravated assault on a family or household member, a Class D felony; aggravated assault, a Class D felony; and filing a false police report, a Class A misdemeanor, following a domestic disturbance police call on Aug. 12.

Briggs is accused of stalking and aggravated assault against his pregnant wife, tracking her location while she was out of the house and threatening her with a gun.

She is reported to have left the house that day because Briggs was mad at her, but as she went to go to a friends’ house he followed her. While she was with her friend, Briggs blocked their vehicle from leaving the parking lot at the Fairways, exited his vehicle and knocked on the passenger door, telling his wife to unlock the door as he was holding a gun. Briggs is being held on a $15,000 bond and is set to appear in court Aug. 31.

Budget Inn drug bust

Adrian Ryan, 50, of Conway, was charged with three count D felonies and one count A misdemeanor on Aug. 25 for a plastic bag with possible methamphetamine and a straw, a digital scale, two smoking pipes and two xanax bars. The police were called to Budget Inn on Aug. 15 after Ryan drew attention to his room on a noise complaint. The Budget Inn employees discovered Ryan and his girlfriend were discovered staying in a room that neither of them had paid for. When confronted, Ryan acted nervous and initally lied about who’s name was under the room. Ryan said he asked a man named Jose Garza to rent the room for them since he was the only one who had ID.

NEW COLLEGE

New college of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences announced

by Ian Lyle Opinion Editor

UCA’s College of Fine Arts and Communication combined with the College of Liberal Arts to form the new College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences on July 1, 2020.

The university has high hopes for success in the joining of colleges, and plans to see progressive changes from the move.

Provost Patricia Poulter said that “by bringing the two former colleges together, we have created one that allows students many opportunities for interdisciplinary study, provides opportunities for collaboration between academic departments and faculty, and brings together fields of study that inform and support one another in many ways. Having these departments and programs in two different colleges created artificial structures and barriers that prevented flexibility across and

between departments. A great percentage of students had a major in one college and their minor in the other. In addition, much of the UCA Core is taught through departments in CAHSS. It represents the heart of learning at a university.”

The dean of the college, Tom Williams, saw the idea of combining the programs to be a successful one as he had previously seen it done during his time at Morehead State University.

“At Morehead State University, I was part of a College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Their programs are similar to the ones here,” Williams said.

“There was music, theatre, dance, art, philosophy, foreign language, English, history and communication. What I saw there was a greater collaboration among students and faculty at the team teaching level.”

Williams hopes that creating a single college will allow students to explore

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intersectionality in the arts.

“The removal of these artificial barriers just leads to a lot of interesting possibilities,” Williams said.

“I don’t plan on bringing in certain programs. I’m thinking about the possibilities collaboration between the arts can bring.”

Williams believes that encouraging intersectionality with the creation of this new college will help students be more prepared for the evolving job market.

“Part of what defines the faculty here is there are extraordinary artists, scholars, and researchers here,” Williams said. “For students they’re trying to figure out if they want to be one of these or just a professional in the broader sense. At first glance, it seems like all these things are separate but there is overlap. I think that the professionals, academics, artists of the future are going to be interdisciplinary.”

UCA Board of Trustees holds meeting to address the plans for new semester

by Ronak Patel

to the Dean of Students for not following orders to wear a mask.

For those who are unable to wear a mask due to health concerns will be exempt from wearing a mask, but they will need to carry a card to prove it. Anyone in need of these cards needs to contact the UCA Disabilitiy Resource Center at drc@uca.edu or (501) 4503613.

Williams said that to help provide masks for students, UCA has used funds from the CARES Act to order 50,000 bammies, UCA currently has 25,000 on hand. Students who live in university housing received a bammie during move in. The remaining 25,000 bammies are set to arrive on campus in September and they can be acquired at the Office of Student Life.

Over the summer, UCA worked with the Education Management Information System to research the economic impact UCA has on the state. EMSI has over 18 years of experience

Editor

Prior to the beginning of the fall 2020 semester, UCA Board of Trustees held a meeting to discuss UCA’s plans to safely reopen, the school’s economic impact and a property acquisition.

This semester, the school will work to stop large events from taking place. Vice President for Student Services and Institutional Diversity Ronnie Williams said that large events will be discouraged and will be replaced with small gatherings and the use of virtual tools.

Before classes started, UCA took measure to limit large gatherings and crowds by expanding Welcome Week and move-in day.

Another measure the school is taking to help stop the spread of COVID-19 is making sure masks are worn on campus.

Williams said that there will be referrals for those who refuse to wear a mask and will be sent

Protocol:

working with higher education and has conducted over 2,000 studies.

Chief of Staff Amy Whitehead presented the information found by EMSI and reported that UCA added 1.01 billion dollars in total income to the state and is responsible for creating 19,506 jobs.

EMSI found that UCA has a 5.2 benefit-cost ratio for students, which means every student will get back 5.2 dollars back for every dollar they put into UCA. UCA will acquire a house on 353 Watkins Street from Phillip Lewis and Cara Jo Duren. Lewis and Duren agreed on $160,000 with UCA. The house is approximately 1,410 square feet and the total area of the house is approximately 11,400 square foot. The board did not discuss the properties purpose.

SGA President Jamal Locking said that SGA made an update to their constitution and that SGA will have a September election to finish filling the Senate.

university distributes handbook

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university will completely go online. However, residence halls, dining facilities, library and the HPER will stay open until the end of the semester.

The UCA Student Health Clinic will partner with Arkansas Department of Health and Conway Regional Health to conduct testing and contract tracing when necessary.

The university will not use Carmichael for housing this semester and instead it will be used to quarantine students if they test positive or feel they have the virus. If a student needs to be moved, UCA will use golf carts or the shuttle to move the student to an area they can self isolate. UCA

has a staff whose role will be to provide medical care and food to students who are in self isolation.

The guideline request students stay home if they aren’t feeling well.

Symptoms that will require a student to avoid coming to campus will include a fever of 100.4°F or greater in the past two days, difficulty breathing, sore throat, loss of taste and smell or been in contact with a person infected with COVID-19 in the past two weeks.

In the event the university has to close all operations, UCA will provide students living on campus prorated housing and meal plan, similar to how they did

in the spring.

If classes are fully moved online, like they were in the spring, students will not receive a discount on in person classes.

However, UCA will reduce the online fee by $25 per hour for 2020-21. Students who are fully online will pay the regular cost of online classes.

UCA will continue to provide coronavirus updates to students via their cub emails and on https://uca.edu/coronavirus/.

To provide feedback to UCA or ask questions related to coronavirus, students can send an email to coronavirus@uca. edu.

A L U M N I R E L AT I O N S

photo courtesy by uca.edu

Left: executive director of the University of Central Arkansas Alumni Reltations, Alison Taylor.

Right: assistant director of the University of Central Arkansas Alumni Relations. Morgan Drayton.

Taylor and Drayton fill UCA Alumni Relations positions

by Megan Holder Social Media Editor

The University of Central Arkansas Alumni Relations filled two positions July 1. Alison Taylor filled the executive director position and Morgan Drayton filled the assistant director position.

Taylor graduated from Arkansas Tech with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2008. She proceeded to obtain her Masters in College Student Personnel in 2010 and a Masters in Emergency Management Homeland Security in 2012.

Drayton graduated from UCA with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She majored in Psychology and minored in Marketing.

Taylor and Drayton both said they wanted to become directors to keep the alumni engaged years after graduating from college.

Drayton plans to become more involved with the students and the different organizations on campus. She intends to continue building strong relations and staying connected.

Taylor’s main goals while being a director consist of being a service to the alumni and utilizing technology to strengthen UCA’s community.

“When I was in school I was a full-time mom and a full-time student,” Drayton said.

Drayton said that when she was in college UCA did not have many online classes. She is glad that they are finally adding more.

She wants students to remain optimistic. “Never give up. Keep trying. Where you start isn’t where you’ll finish,” Drayton said. “It’s about the journey and not the destination.”

Taylor said that there are “a lot more internships and handson learning opportunities” in colleges. In college, Taylor said she did not have the opportunity to do as much hands-on activities as she wished she could have.

Taylor said the study abroad program has grown since attending college.

Her word of advice to any student is to “get involved.” It is a huge part of shaping the college experience.

“Don’t let one experience determine your whole experience,” Taylor said.

Taylor said that UCA is a diverse school that allows students to learn from others outside of their horizon. Being a part of the Alumni Association is a way to connect with others. Attending events allow opportunities to socialize and network with friends, students

and other alumni.

The association will update their event calendar as the year progresses. Homecoming will be held October 30, 2020 through October 31, 2020.

The UCA Alumni Association and Association of Future Alumni present rings to graduates and students in good standing who have completed at least 60 credit hours. The official UCA Ring is a historical piece of the school’s heritage.

It symbolizes the memories that the alumni will continue to create.

The top of the ring represents the letters of “UCA” encircled by the full university name. One side of the ring features your graduation year; Main Hall, the oldest building on campus; and our founding year, 1907.

The other side features your degree and the UCA Bear. Both sides of the ring display four gingko leaves, which represent the four names of the university since its founding.

Rings can be ordered anytime by phone 1-866-BALFOUR or online www.balfour.com. attend the Presidential Town Hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, in Student Center 208.

Campus Life

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August 26, 2020

Around Campus: Suffrage Centennial Kickoff 3:00p.m, Aug. 26, at the Baum Art Gallery, join the College of Arts Humanties and Social Sciecne in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment. Free tickets at uca/go/suffrage100

Service Excellence Seminar X-period, Aug. 27, in Student Center Room 213, The Office of University Training will teach students the key princlples to customer service.

SGA Election Interest Meeting 3:00p.m, Aug 28, the Student Government Associsiation will host an election interst meeting via Zoom,

Study Abroad Interest Office 12:00p.m, Sept 3, join the Office of Study Abroad online to learn about travel opprutunities.

Bear Den First General Meeting X-period, Sep. 3, in Student Center room 213/214 the Bear Den will be recruiting students to offer fresh insight on future club events.

Korean Club Movie Night 7:00p.m, Sep. 3, join the Korean Club through Netflix to watch the television series “Kingdom.” Login info will be shared on instagram: @UCAKOREANCLUB

PRISM First General Meeting X-period, Sep. 3, PRISM will conduct its first weekly meeting via zoom. LGBBTQ+ students and allies alike are encouraged to join.

photo courtesy of the UCA President’s Office

UCA class of 2024 attending the socially distanced Freshman Convocation. Freshman Convocation started at 9:30 p.m on Aug. 17th at Estes Football Stadium.

Class of 2024 commences fall semester

by Ed Toddy

Campus Life Editor UCA’s Freshmen Convocation was held at Estes Stadium Monday, Aug. 17 , marking the beginning of the 20202021 academic school year.

The Freshmen Class of 2024 stuck to tradition and commenced their semester together, albeit with much less energy than previous years.

The event was organized by the Student Orientation Staff (SOS) and followed social distancing guidelines which is given since the virus continues to spread throughout the U.S. Freshmen students attending the convocation

followed UCA’s COVID-19 Guidlines, sitting six feet apart; however, students who resided in the same dorm were not required to separate when seated.

After a brief introduction from SOS Codirectors Karon Marbley and Lani Meares, President Houston Davis welcomed freshmen students to UCA from a stage assembled at the 50-yard line. “We’ll have some differences relative to prior years,” Davis said.

Davis was referring to the massive changes to instruction as well as residency on campus since COVID-19 upended the spring semester in March. He urged freshman

students to embrace their personal responsibility to wear masks and practice social distancing.

“It’s not as if you’ve been in a vacuum for the last four months.” he said, “You know how to be around others. You know about face coverings. You know how to occupy a space. You all know the drill…”

Freshman and returning students alike will be required to wear masks in enclosed spaces, as well as outdoor spaces where a six foot distance cannot be maintained.

Provost Patricia Poulter, who spoke after President Davis, encouraged students

to comply with the university’s new policies and commended participating students whom she saw earlier that morning. “It’s important that we all do what we know is right…” Poulter said.

“This is a time that our eyes are open to inequity,” she said, “…but it is your time to lead us into a better world.”

“As of this moment, you are part of the legacy and history of the University of Central Arkansas,” Poulter said.

“You will always and forever be the class that helped lead us through.”

Following the Provost was SGA President Jamaal

CONWAY DAZE

by Olivia Snelson Staff Writer

11:00a.m, Sept. 5, in the Irby courtyard, the Feminist Union invites students to a picnic to celebrate the beginning of the semester.

Apply on Bears4Hire.

Department of Family and Consumer Science The Department of Family Consumer Science is hiring students for a partime position to work in its office. Potential hires must be eligable for a federal work study grant.

Apply on Bears4Hire

Courses at UCA will take place online or a mix of both online and in-person to ease the transition to schoolwide online instruction should it become necessary.

The future of this semester is still unclear, but one thing is not, summer break is over, the fall semester has arrived.

According to the Provost’s office, approximately 1750 students enrolled this semester.

One thing is certain, freshman beginning their first year of higher education will face an experimental semester like no other.

RSOs implement UCA’s new Returning Students guidelines at Conway Daze are unceartain how long it will all last

Feminist Union Welcome Picnic

The History Deparment is hiring graduate students for a part time position assising the department’s faculty members.

students.

STUDENT LIFE

Meeting ID: 378 825 2211 Passcode: PRISM

Campus Jobs: History Department

Locking, who reminisced on tradition and impassioned students to step outside their comfort zones.

“Broaden your worldview, build lasting relationships, and always work towards the fulfillment of your mission, whatever that may be,” Locking said. “These are precious moments, take advantage of every one.”

The event concluded with an underwhelming chant of the UCA fight song, because it is difficult to sing while wearing a face covering.

This year UCA has made major adjustments to its usual operations to guarantee the health of

UCA students roam the ampitheatre in search of RSOs

by Ronak Patel Editor

Every year the area surrounding the UCA Ampitheater is filled with students in search of the organizations to spend their next four years with, and this year was no different.

UCA decided to host Conway Daze in-person this year, but because of UCA’s new social distancing policies the event looked different from previous years.

In order to follow social distancing guidelines and avoid large crowds, Conway Daze was distributed across three days, beginning on Aug. 17.

The first day was designated for campus resources and department organizations, the second for Conway businesses and organizations and the third day was assigned to student organizations.

The Echo covered the final day of Conway Daze on Aug. 19,

where 74 student organizations had registered to pitch their club to returning students.

While at Conway Daze, student organizations had to follow guidelines sent out by the Department of New Student Programs. These guidelines required booths to stay spread out with a 10-15 feet of space between one another.

To ensure social distancing within each booth, student organizations were instructed to limit the number of organization representatives at each table to only two. Despite only being allowed to have two people per table, senior and UCA News6 Producer Tristen Hall felt having two people at the booth didn’t make it more difficult to recruit.

However, Hall explained that the rule requiring organizations to stay behind the table did present challenges to recruiting, “I would have preferred to have stood in

Photos taken by Ronak Patel on Aug. 19.

front or on the side of our table to interact more or hand out our items to people coming up. We brought frisbees to the Conway Daze and expected them to all be gone by the end but I guess not a lot of people saw that we had items,” Hall said.

Another difficulty Hall faced at her booth was making sure attendees socially distanced while at the News6 table, “The main issue we had was making sure that not too many came up to talk to us at once,” she said. “There was a group of freshmen who came up to talk to us and a member of Student Orientation Staff (SOS) had to remind them to socially distance while at our table.”

Despite Conway Daze being different from years past, News6

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The decision to have inperson classes and let students move back to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic was not one that UCA took lightly.

It was several months before President Houston Davis sent out an email to every student issuing a statement on returning to campus.

“After many lengthy, detailed discussions with campus leadership and health officials, it is our plan to be in regular operation for fall semester and begin classes as scheduled on August 20,” Houston wrote in the email.

Throughout the rest of the summer, students received several more updates regarding campus operations such as changes to housing, dining and class instruction.

All students were given the option to live on or off campus, and incoming freshmen, who are usually required to live on campus, were given the option to attend class from home.

Students who decide to live on campus will be required to to follow social distancing guidelines. For example, students have been instructed to wear masks in certain areas of their residence hall and are unable to have outside visitors.

For the safety of students living on campus, hand sanitizer dispensers have been placed near areas high in student traffic and dormitories will be cleaned daily.

Lacy Allen, one of the freshman at UCA who decided to live on campus this year, said she decided to stay on campus because she “wanted the true freshman experience even if it

meant that it would be a little different.”

Allen said that although she feels safe on campus she still has concerns. “Part of me is still concerned that something will happen and the COVID cases will rise.”

Zane Ashcraft, who is a senior this year, shares Allen’s concern. “I’m just worried that we’re all going to have to move off campus in a few weeks,” Ashcraft said.

Despite this, Ashcraft still chose to live on campus this year.

“I’m a senior so this is my last year. Even though the coronavirus has made things difficult, I still wanted to live on campus because of the college experience. When you go to college, you don’t just go for the classes. You go because it’s a living experience and I wanted that one last time,” he said.

When asked if he had any advice for freshmen dealing with COVID their first year of college he said, “My advice is to wear a mask and be careful. The more cases we get the more likely that we have to move out.”

Ashcraft’s advice to wear a mask and be careful is a sentiment shared by President Davis who sent out an email to the student body this week informing them of a guide entitled “Student Guide to Returning to Campus”.

The guide lists different changes that students could expect this year and tried to illustrate how UCA is attempting to control COVID-19. Students can access this guide by visiting the UCA COVID-19 response page on the UCA website.

4/ August 26 , 2020

CAMPUS LIFE

As Long as Virus Continues to Spread, RSOs are Uncertain of their Presence

UCA doing enough to “ Isprotect students from COVID-19? ” Story and photos by Ed Toddy & Ronak Patel

Circle K President, Amy Tran (Left), and Vice President Ethan Bradford (Right) recruiting students at Conway Daze.

by Ed Toddy

Campus Life Editor

During a normal semester, student organizations would be hosting all sorts of event, but in the midst of a pandemic this semester is far from the usual.

Under UCAs new COVID-19 guidelines, student organizations are adapting their operations, events and traditions to ensure the health and safety of students.

This semester most student organizations will begin meeting virtually rather than in-person, and any club meeting on campus will be required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. In order to counter a decrease in student engagement, these organizations are taking to social media and other digital platforms to interact with students.

Student Organizations can host events on campus if they enforce and follow the university’s guidelines for meeting in person.

Bears at the Ballot, a club which promotes civic participation and voting engagement, will continue to host regular voter registration on campus.

“We are going to have our tables outside and are going to observe distancing guidelines just like we did at Conway Daze,” Club President Margaret Hacker said Hacker said her club would also be using social media more than in previous years.

“We are making a concerted effort to become much more active on social media than we have in the past, and we’re utilizing all of our platforms” she said.

“We understand that these times can cause a lot of anxiety around voting, so we are really trying to push an information campaign giving students options for how to vote.”

Hacker said that the barriers to voting have been intensified due to the pandemic. “Some students

may not want to vote in person even if they can do so because of fears about coronavirus exposure,” she said.

“If campus shuts down and students are sent back home, but they are registered vote in Faulkner County, what will they do? Absentee ballots are going to be really important this year if students wind up unexpectedly moving,” Hacker said.

Bears at the Ballot will host its monthly meetings over zoom this semester.

“There is a lot of ambiguity about where and how students will vote because we don’t really know where we will be in November,” Hacker said Amy Tran, President of Circle K, a student led, community service organization, said that adapting her club to the new guidelines would prove difficult because much of the club’s activities are done in person, but that this semester would not be signify the clubs

photo courtesy of UCA Cricle K

end.

“Some of the anxieties that our club had for this coming semester was the amount of students,” Tran said. “With COVID-19 people are cautious about going outdoors, so that is why we adapted and started to explore more virtual service opportunities.

Circle K is transitioning its meetings online and created an Instagram account to reach new students without physical meetings.

Tran said that because college students are often on social media starting the account was an essential for recruiting students this semester.

“I think its important to get their attention through media,” Tran said, “It just quite since its all new for everyone.”

Although student organizations are uncertain about their future on campus they are not ready to give up.

Daze:

Junior Hannah Spann “I believe so, I think that they have put a lot in place, and they are sticking to them.”

interest meeting on Monday,” Hall said.

One of the people tasked with making sure everyone followed social distancing guidelines was Director of New Student Programs

Lindsey Shurley. Shurley would make rounds to ensure each booth only had two people to a table and were distanced six feet apart.

For students who were unable to attend Conway

Daze, they can access all the available student organizations through https:// uca.campuslabs.com.

“This sounds kinds cliche, but probably my mother, becauwse she’s always been there for me and been a role model for me and been upfront with me. I like that she can keep me in check.”

Senior Rio Sanchez

Junior Shamal Sullivan

“They are trying to. They are really trying their hardest.”

“I think they are trying their best, but there are more things they could do. In case someone is not wearing a mask, there should be a penalty for that.”

Freshman Madison Johnson

Sophomore Jordon Johnson

“Yes, they are on our case 24/7.”

“I still feel like it’s so new that they’re not sure, but they are doing what they is right.”

RSOs pitch their clubs to students 4 Continued from page 3

feels they were still successful in recruiting new members, “Overall it went well. We had a good number of freshmen interested in working with News 6.

Hopefully they turn up to our

Freshman Andre Walker

People of UCA: Tiffany Aquilar

by Ed Toddy Campus Life Editor

Tiffany Aguilar was uncertain about returning to campus this semester but said she was willing to give it a shot. “I was willing to try and hope that campus would work together in this pandemic,” Aguilar said.

Instead of returning to Farris Hall this semester, Aguilar rented an apartment in Conway where she is quarantining with her two roommates. “I haven’t had the chance to go back on campus yet, but I do hope people are social distancing and wearing masks to protect and love their neighbor,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar hopes that her fellow students will stay safe and follow UCA’s COVID-19 guidelines, “I am staying safe from COVID by choosing to wear my mask and social distancing,” she

said, “The issue with people not wanting to wear a mask is that they don’t see it as a cure.

Americans love black and white—grey areas make them uncomfortable.”

Aguilar is a member of the Schedler Honors College, and she is due to graduate with a degree in creative writing and interdisciplinary studies this year.

This semester Aguilar is enrolled in Japanese IV, and she has applied for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program with hopes of being accepted after graduation.

As a senior, Aguilar says she is underwhelmed by this semester.

“This year has been so weird, and I feel like the idea of senior excitement has been thrown out the window,” Aguilar said. “but I do know UCA is a campus with so

many people who are willing to listen and learn—to love through our differences.”

Although Aguilar is not living on campus, she hopes that UCA will do its part in keeping students safe.

One of her main concerns this semester is how the University will protect students of color against injustice. “It is crucial for us to make sure BLM is a movement and not a trend,” she said.

“I have never felt that UCA was a polarizing place to be,” Aguilar said. “because of that, I really look forward to see how UCA promotes racial diversity and deconstructs systematic racism within campus.”

Aguilar urges fellow students to be patient during these difficult times, “There should be no expectation for you to be the best you after everything is

over. Its okay to be worse off.

It’s not fair to put so much pressure on one time period to be the best human ever,” she said.

In her opinion, returning students should be ready to listen, “I feel like all of us can receive a lot of wisdom right now,” Aguilar said. She feels that students should be ready to listen to opinions that oppose their own and try learning to understand the perspective behind them.

“If I had to offer my two cents,” Aguilar said. “… there is harmony in numbers, and I believe it will happen at UCA if we all try together.”

“Going forward as people who help one another rather than trying to fix a broken system is how we can overcome this,” Aguilar said.

“We are all in this together.”

Photo provided by Tiffant Aguilar

UCA Senior Tiffany Aguilar is a somewhat of a star around Campus.

She is know for her endless well of kindness. Always ready to provide a helping hand to whoever needs it, or offer her own time to listen to a freind, she is a great example of human decency.

Sports

5

August 26, 2020

UCA 2020 football season schedule will include Arkansas state

Upcoming Games Football

8 p.m., August 29 vs Austin Peay State University 7 p.m. September 3 at University of Alabama-Birmingham

BY

ANDREW MCMAHAN Staff Writer

TBA., September 19 at Arkansas State University

Editor’s Take

photo courtsey of The Atlanta Journal Consitution

The Southeastern Confernce announced that they will allow fans in the stands during their conference only season. The only requirement for entry to the game is wear a mask inside.

SEC needs to think about the students

BY TRAVIS GUPTON Sports Editor The SEC recently came out and said that they will allow schools to decide if they will have fans during their conference only season.

The only requirement that the SEC said had to happen was that the fans had to have masks on if they could not social distance.

I have been to a fair share of athletic events and I understand wanting to have fans in the stands during a big conference game.

That being said I do not agree with the idea of letting fans in the stands at all at this time.

A person may come into the stadium with a mask on but they won’t stay on for an entire game probably not even a minute into the first quarter.

The schools in the SEC need to think about the safety of their students when they are deciding on just what to do.

Schools either need to limit the number of fans so they can social distance properly or they just need to not have students at all.

I feel like the SEC is worried about the money they would lose if they do not have fans.

We have to remember though that these are not professionals. This is not the NFL. In the weeks to come, you will see which schools really do care about their student’s safety and who are more worried about the money.

I do not believe that we will see a full college football season.

There are already so many schools saying that they have athletes that are getting the COVID-19 virus.

If you look at Major League Baseball for example there have been several games postponed because of the virus.

In my humble opinion, yes I know we all love sports and yes I know that we need entertainment but I think that all sports for the fall and even the spring should be canceled until further notice until it is safe for us as fans and safe for the players to enjoy the sports fully without worrying about a sickness that has killed thousands.

photo courtesy of UCA

First Security Field at Estes Stadium in Conway will have a different feel now that all fall sports have been cancelled.

FCS makes decison on season

BY TRAVIS GUPTON Sports Editor

The FCS made a final decision on what the fall season would look like on August 7 when it was decided that all fall sports would be moved to the spring.

The Southland Conference that is one of the conferences in the FCS decided to let teams play non-conference games in the fall if they so chose to do so.

UCA was one of the teams that decided to play these nonconference games and as of Aug. 20 UCA has signed six games for the fall.

The decision from the FCS to move conference football to the spring comes in wake of the still growing impact that COVID-19 is having on the country.

Before the decision was made by the FCS UCA head coach Nathan Brown and his team made no changes in the way they were preparing to play. “ We will adjust to whatever the NCAA, Southland Conference, and university decides is best for the 2020 season,” Brown said.

“We have great leadership in place, along with a great medical team here at UCA. I know they

will make the best decision to try and move forward with the student athletes’ health at the front of their minds. I know our young men are ready to play but we can conform to any schedule and will be ready for whatever is thrown our way.”

With the decision from the FCS to move fall sports to the spring, UCA is now in the process to sign teams to play in the fall.

It is not for certain who UCA is talking to to play in the fall but even before the decision to cancel the season came UCA was prepared to play either way. “ If our conference cancels but there is enough interest in playing football in other leagues and we can get games, we will still play,” Athletic Director Brad Teague said. “ ASU is confirmed for Sept 19. Everything is pending the virus.”

The pandemic that we are in right now is so unique and different that it is possible that the games that are signed may not happen. The safety of the players and coaches has been on the mind of the school since the pandemic started.

The unknown of the pandemic could even make the spring sports schedule a question mark. There

Assistant News Editor

UCA’s Athletic Department will allow student-athletes to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement on the field.

The Bears will have to come up with creative ways to show their support for the movement this season.

“Unfortunately we are not on the field when the national anthem is played in football, we have to be more creative to show unity as a program and a group,” Coach Nathan Brown said.

The Athletic Department created a Social Justice Committee in June to open dialogue between

student-athletes, administrators and community leaders. That committee held a Black Lives Matter social for all student- athletes on August 18.

The NCAA announced in July that student athletes in all sports would be allowed to wear messages supporting social justice causes.

They also said that patches worn on the front would have to be the same for all athletes, although individuals can shoes to wear one or not.

Only the basketball and football teams have decided to show their support at the moment.

“All teams can put social justice phrases on their uniforms,” Athletic Director Brad Teague said. “Football will use a BLM patch and women’s basketball will have Black Lives

photo courtesy of UCA

UCA football prepares for one of it’s most unique seasons it has ever had. UCA will play three FBS teams and at the moment will only host two home games.

Bears stand up for equality, fight for social justice during BLM movement KAITLIN BENIGHT

Unique Season

is just so much uncertainty that it has become a day to day process.

According to the NCAA any team that plays a fall season would have to go through waivers to be able to play in the spring.

Teague was unavailable to comment on those waivers at this time.

This season will be unique due to the fact that we will see teams that we have either never played or have not played in a long time. So even though there is no conference title to be had this fall we will still see a season that could be one for the history books.

There is no word at this time on if fans will be allowed at the games.

The week zero game against Austin Peay State University will still be played on August 29 to start off this very unique season.

UCA will travel for most of the season that they will play this fall. There are only two home games that have been announced at this point.

Black Lives Matter

BY

The University of Central Arkansas football program recently had very little to look forward to this fall. The Southland Conference, which UCA participates in, cancelled the fall season in hopes that a spring season would be more suitable for their respective teams to compete in more safely.

Things have begun to look up as of the last few weeks for the UCA football team, as Athletic Director Dr. Brad Teague has made it his mission to create a schedule that was originally disassembled in a matter of weeks, and even days.

UCA, who now has nine football games scheduled for the fall season, only has one game that was previously on the original schedule. When the Southland cancelled the fall season, UCA head football coach Nathan Brown made it clear to Dr. Teague that he and his players still wanted to pursue a fall season, even independently. In response to that, Teague had little options at the time, but decided to begin his quest for opponents in UCA’s own state. Teague reached out to Arkansas State Athletic Director Terry Mohajir in hopes that there would possibly be a way to play a game between the two schools located just about two hours from each other’s campuses. The two athletic director’s unprecedentedly came to an agreement and scheduled a football game in a matter of days that would take place in less than two months.

Even though we are in unforseen times, the abnormal scheduling feat was impressive,

but has now become the normal since Teague and UCA football has managed to schedule eight more games since then in the same speedy fashion. The Bears and Red Wolves will meet in Jonesboro on September 19th. The two in-state foes are somewhat familiar with each other, as UCA upset Arkansas State with a score of 28-24 in Jonesboro back in 2016. UCA and Arkansas State are also scheduled to play in Jonesboro in 2021, as well as 2024. This matchup should rile up both fan bases, as history has proven that even though Arkansas State is FBS, and UCA is FCS, that anybody could come out of the in-state showdown victorious.

Since 1916, the two schools have met 25 times, and UCA holds the series lead with a record 13-10-2 against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Arkansas State holds the edge over UCA in games played at home in Jonesboro with a 7-5 record. UCA has surprisingly dealt Arkansas State their largest margin of defeat. In 1937, UCA trounced the Red Wolves with a demoralizing score of 95-0.

Teague is truly an endorser of what some may call a rivalry.

Teague said, “We were already scheduled to play ASU next year and 2024. So it is certainly becoming an in-state rivalry. We are excited to play in-state for many reasons but mostly for the fans of Arkansas.” In response to COVID-19 Arkansas State has said that there home fan capacity expects to be at 25 to 50 percent, estimated to be between 7,500 to 15,000. Living in the unsure times of COVID-19, things could change, but at this time Arkansas State will be looking forward to their home opener against the Bears.

Matter written on the back of their jerseys.”

Football players received a black shirt with a fistthat says “we are one,” and the patches will be the same.

“I know on the football team we have a lot of African American players. We all talked about it and it means a lot to us to play for a university that supports everything we go through,” senior running back, Kierre Crossley said.

The athletic department released a statement of diversity acknowledging the need for social responsibility and creating an environment of safety.

Gearing up for an unusual season

BY ANDREW MCMAHAN Staff Writer

COVID-19 wrecked the plans of plenty of NCAA sports last spring, and has been on the cusp of doing so this fall as well. However, countless schools, including UCA, have taken their own steps to be sure that their student athletes will have a chance to play this fall.

UCA, under the leadership of Athletic Director Brad Teague, has found a way to play not just football this fall, but also soccer and volleyball. The FCS has opted to cancel fall sports and championships. The Southland Conference, which UCA participates in, has opted to aim for a Spring schedule, though still leaving certain loopholes. For football, the NCAA threshold to cancel the FCS fall season and playoffs was met when fifty percent of eligible schools opted out of

a fall season. With that being said, there was still an option for a school to independently pursue and schedule their own season with other schools doing the same.

This has made the job of Athletic Directors a task that the word challenging does not do justice.

Schedules that had been in the making for years have been scrapped nearly completely in most cases. In a straightforward manner, Teague said,“This season has been difficult.” Teague has led the charge in an amazing effort to develop a last minute schedule for UCA football coach Nathan Brown and his players.

Brown told UCA Sports, “Our players and our coaching staff appreciate his professional approach and willingness to work through this time and find a way to create a phenomenal schedule. We are looking at one of the toughest schedules in UCA

See Season- page 8

Opinion

6

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

August 26, 2020

The Voice

Hybrid classes will have an effect on our education

The Echo Staff Ronak Patel Editor Sarah Coleman Associate Editor Delaney Van Wilpe News Editor Kaitlin Benight Assistant News Editor Ed Toddy Campus Life Editor Ian Lyle Opinion Editor Kennadi Harris Entertainment Editor Travis Gupton Sports Editor Megan Holder Social Media Editor

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NBA teams shouldn’t always rely on traditional big men The Houston Rockets shocked NBA fans and it can be difficult for big men to cover the three when they traded away Clint Capela and decided point line and switch onto perimeter players. to make PJ Tucker and Robert Covington, who are I thought when Houston got rid of Capela listed at 6’6 and 6’7, to be their big men full time.. their defense would struggle but according to Given that basketball is a sport where being NBA.com, Houston’s defense ranked 16th with taller than your opponent is a big advantage, I was Capela and with Covington it sits at 12th best in one of the fans who was confused by Houston’s the league. move to play without a true big man. After Even though he is listed at 6’7, Covington watching the Rockets beat The Lakers has a 7’2 wingspan and that has helped him (2x), Mavericks, Bucks and now the block 2.6 shots a game while he has been Thunder in game 1 of the playoffs, on the Rockets. Covington provides the the Rockets could be creating a new rim protection a traditional big does, but blueprint to building an NBA roster. unlike a traditional big he isn’t a player The Rockets weren’t the first that teams can target in the pick and team to embrace playing small, the roll. Most teams actively work to get Warriors deserve credit for that, but a big switched onto their perimeters even the Warriors used their small players but with Covington that gives ball line ups in spurts and mainly Houston the edge. Covington is kept a traditional big like still a perimeter player and Bogut, McGee or Ezeli in can stay infront of guard the middle. The Rockets and forwards. are the first team to fully On the other end,

by Ronak Patel embrace it and play whole Covington is a threat to Editor games without having a shoot it from downtown and traditional big man on the attack closeouts and that floor. creates space for Harden Small forward Robert Covington has been the and Westrbook to operate. With more NBA stars key to Houston’s success while playing without a fitting the mold of Harden and Westbrook, it is big man. Robert Covington is the modern player best to surround them with players they can kick that teams should look for in the draft or in free the ball out to. Star players in the NBA are so gifted agency to play center. It sounds bizarre to have a offensively teams have no choice but to trap them player like Robert Covington be your center but and collapse the defense on them and it is better to with the way the game has changed, players like have players around them that shoot, handle and Covington are perfect to play center in this era. pass.

Last season in the playoffs against the It is still early too early to tell, but if the Warriors, Capela was ineffective and many Houston Rockets positionless style of basketball believed he should have been benched. Capela carries them to a title, it will be interesting to see if isn’t the only big man who faces this dilemna. more teams follow their lead and simply play their More teams have four to five shooters on the floor best players and not worry about positions.

People should live their lives instead of filming them The revolution of modern technology has most exciting moments of my life. shaped society to be focused on capturing Feeling the need to record everything going moments instead of truly living them. Filming an on can also cause a certain level of anxiety. The event or experience is not the same as witnessing pressures of needing to fit in with society and live something in real time. up to certain standards is perpetuated by constantly It can be difficult to accept that good moments recording and reliving events. only last for a fraction of the time that we would After watching the concert videos over I almost like. We now have technology that allows us to felt as if this was the best thing that was going to record things around us in order to watch them happen in my life. The urge to relive the moment as over and over again. Some of these events could be well as to post it on social media in order to impress concerts, parties or important milestones. others was overwhelming.

What people fail to realize is that once Life in the digital age seems to move a moment is over, the time used to capture at a fast pace, but it is vital to slow down it essentially took away from living in the and enjoy what is right in front of you present. before it is over. This increases selfGrowing up in the digital age, awareness and in turn can increase recording less and living more has the quality of life. always been a battle for me.

Living through a phone camera Children are being born can also make the smaller details less and raised to use technology noticeable. Living life in the fast in their daily lives, which can lane can cause people to lose mean living through the track of tiny imperfections internet or phone. While and details and focus more it can seem important to on what will happen next. hold onto these memories, Once I learned we as a society are losing the lesson of living in by Sadie Clark the grasp of being in the the moment, I stopped Staff Writer present and experiencing picking up my phone to things firsthand. record everything or take Many people find this to a lot of photos. I now feel be difficult when something exciting happens like more connected to my surroundings and closer to a concert or show. Instead of watching the concert the people around me. through their own eyes, many people choose to Real fulfilment does not come from reliving watch through a phone camera. moments recorded on a phone. Although it can be When seeing Paul McCartney in concert, I easy to record the memory to look back on after it is believed that it was incredibly important to record over, this takes away from the essence of the present the entire performance in order to remember it moment. True happiness is achieved through forever. Soon after it was apparent that not only slowing down and taking in the life that is in front had I watched him mostly through my camera, but of you.

I also missed out on fully experiencing one of the

As the fall semester starts, many of us are looking forward to returning to our daily routines and seeing our friends at the university, but some of us have concerns on how the semester will be conducted.

Plenty of professors have discussed the plan of having hybrid classes due to the pandemic, but this plan has potential to affect our learning.

Many of us like the idea of remote learning. Who doesn’t love to stay in pajamas, wake up five minutes before lecture and sip coffee in bed? However, the lack of environment is bound to take a toll on our learning.

Some of us need an in-class environment in order to better focus, interact with the professor and other students and to hear and see the lecture presented clearly. These aspects of classes are what we tend to miss during an online course. Furthermore, the responsibility of showing up to class gives us more motivation to be there. Instead, with hybrid classes, we have more temptation to slack off and stay in bed, potentially tuning out or missing several class sessions throughout the semester.

Although, we do need to acknowledge the severity of the pandemic, and respond accordingly. We need to take the appropriate precautions set by our university while on campus.

Another issue with hybrid classes is a major issue we encountered during the spring 2020 semester; the use of online platforms.

Almost every teacher used a different platform for their online instruction. We students need consistency. We jumped from Zoom to Google Meets to Google Hangouts to Blackboard to Google Hangouts to Skype to GroupMe to...you get the point.

We need to be on the same page as a university.

Sure, some Some of us professors need an in-class may have to environment learn a new in order to application, but it’s worth better focus, interact with the furthering professor and students’ educations. other students Nonetheless, and to hear and we’re all see the lecture here to learn presented something clearly. aren’t we?

Elaborating further upon the use of online platforms, professors should become competent in the application that they use to conduct their courses.

Many stories have been told of the spring semester of professors’ incompetency in conducting courses online. This gave numerous students an added stress, which some of us find unnecessary.

Jumping from platform to platform was a headache enough, but to try and learn from software that the professor doesn’t know how to conduct a class through is stressful. It tended to be counterproductive and distracted us from our focus on our education. Many of us, including professors, wasted more time trying to get a grip on online courses rather than learning the course material.

Considering the hardships and difficutlties that online instructions can provide, teachers should ease up on their grading criteria if they tend to be very strict. Lenience is more than appreciated by the students during these times since we are not only learning our course content, but additional material to learn in an online setting. Many of us have not done so before. Therefore, we need some slack cut for ourselves.

If we can resolve these issues, we can find more success in the foreseeable future of hybrid courses and get back to a full focus on why we’re all here - the education that is setting us up for our future.

Have an opinion? Everyone does.

Write a letter to the editor at ucaechoeditor@gmail.com Letters to the editor don’t just have to be about Echo content.

If you’ve noticed something on campus that’s positive or negative, we want to hear about it.

The Echo is printed weekly by The Courier. Decisions about content are made by the student editors.

The views published are not necessarily those of the University of Central Arkansas. All material is subject to respective copyrights.

Entertainment

7

August 26, 2020

New This Week

Beyoncé’s ‘Black Is King’ is visual and cultural masterpiece

Movies

BY

DELANEY VAN WILPE

News Editor

Aug. 25 — Benjamin (NR), directed by Simon Amstell, starring Collin Morgan, Anna Chancellor, Phenix Brossard Aug. 28 — Bill and Ted Face The Music (PG-13), directed by Dean Parasot, starring Keaunu Reeves, Alex Winter, and Samara Aug. 28 — Get Dunked! (R), directed

by Ninian Doff, starring Samuel Bottomley, Rian Gordon, and Lewis Gribben

Music Aug. 28 —Evidence Unearthed- Alan Aug. 28-Manifest EPAluna Aug. 28-Club Future Nostaliga-Dua Lipa Aug. 28-Smile-Katy Perry Aug. 28- CTV3: Cool Tape Vol.3- Jaden

To accompany Beyoncé’s 2019 soundtrack of “The Lion King; The Gift,” she released the visual album of “Black is King” July 31. The production lasted a year with the help of eight directors spanning over three continents. “Black is King” is an extravagant portrayal of the beauty of Blackness.

“With this visual album, I wanted to present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message, and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy,” Beyoncé wrote on Instagram.

With an emphasis on family legacy, Beyoncé’s mother (Tina Knowles), husband (Jay-Z) and three children made several appearances. Other notable appearances include Pharrell Williams, Tiwa Savage, Shatta Wale, Tierra Whack, Yemi Alade, Jessie Reyez, Naomi Campbell and Lupita Nyong’o.

Beyoncé, however, continued to be the main attraction of the film.

She manages to be overthe-top and tasteful in a jaw dropping fashion. A perfect example of this is a scene of her

the visual aid that is “Black is King.”

Much like “Black is King,” Beyoncé’s previous 2016 visual album “Lemonade” could not stand alone without the visuals.

“Lemonade” explores the impact of generational trauma and finding the strength to confront it. If the visuals stood alone, we would believe the album was only about Jay-Z’s infidelity. However, the visuals give insight to Beyoncé’s journey to forgiveness and photo courtesy of www.time.com rehabilitation as she makes [Above] R&B artist Beyoncé poses for a scene in her viusal album ‘Black Is King’. The film was premeired on sense of her ancestral history.

Beyoncé continuously uses streaming service Disney+. visuals to further enhance the sitting atop a leopard-print rolls “You are welcome to come it means to be a king. These consumer’s experience. royce with a bodysuit to match home to yourself. Let black interludes drive the purpose of The message of “Black singing, “I’m so unbothered, be synonymous with glory,” the film. is King” is to overcome an I’m so unbothered/Y’all be Beyoncé said. She begins to sing In a way, “Black is King” so pressed while I’m raisin’ “Bigger,” a song to emphasize provides redemption to the environment of repression– an individual’s importance, as startling CGI version of Lion that has been so common in the daughters.”

Black experience– and to rise The film’s production is she sends the baby boy down King we saw last year; however, from it with pride in order to this film is much more than a unforgettable and the aesthetics the Nile river. build thriving communities and This introduction sets retelling of a young Simba. are unmatched. Beyoncé’s style legacies. is radiating through the screen the scene of how this visual In such an important “I only hope that from and, at times, distracts the album is set up. The music is time in history, this movie audience from the story being obviously the main attraction, provides an opportunity for watching, you leave feeling but the interludes are filled with Black traditions, heritage and inspired to continue building told. a legacy that impacts the world This film and the original a combination of commentary characteristics to be celebrated. in an immeasurable way. I pray album loosely follows the from the Lion King film, More importantly, young, Black proverbs, boys and girls have a chance to that everyone sees the beauty storyline of Simba’s journey of spoken-word and resilience of our people,” recitations of Warsan Shire see themselves represented in self-realization in the Lion King Beyoncé wrote on Instagram. and includes a confusing ode to poetry (which also appears a way that has never been done “Black is King” is now in Lemonade’s visual album) before. the story of Moses. streaming on Disney+.

This message could not The film opens with and interviews with Black Americans and Africans on what have been delivered without Beyoncé holding a baby.

NETFLIX ORGINAL

DOCUSERIES

New comedy-drama leaves ‘High Score’s on Netflix shows viewers confused and mad lives of video gamer designers

Aug. 28 —Higher Place-Skip Marley Aug. 28-S&M2Metallica & San

Aug. 28-Drunk on Emotions EP- Clara Aug. 28- EffortlessForest

Netflix Aug. 24- IBR-directed by David Mannor, starring Nicole Brydon Bloom, Giles Matthey, and Taylor Nichols Aug. 24- Baewatch: Parental Guidance (Season 1)

Aug. 24- Ojos in d’House (Season 1)

Aug. 26- Do Do Sol La L Sol- Netlflix Original

Aug. 28.-All Together Now- Netflix Film

Top 5 awkward situations in college List compiled by Sadie Clark Staff Writer

photo courtesy of www.whats-on-netflix.com

[Above] Actresses Maddie Phillips (left) and Devon Hales (right) and Actor Kadeem Harrison (behind) is promo for Netflix Original “Teenage Bounty Hunters” BY

SARAH COLEMAN

Associate Editor

I don’t know if it’s because I’m 21 or because this reminds me of a time in my life when I had to associate myself with private conservative christian school kids but “Teenage Bounty Hunters” is the absolute worst show i’ve seen.

There’s so many plots going on.

There’s this inherent fear of being slut shamed, there’s this weird character who is basically a teenage colonialist, people competing to be the best christian. On top of that they’re bounty hunters? This show doesn’t make any sense AT ALL. My least favorite part of this series is that it’s the most accurate representation of the most unrealistic reality. I know kids and parents who act exactly like this: toting shotguns, stealing cars, speaking in the most obnoxious southern accents, praying for the purpose of being praised.

This isn’t to knock private school kids. For one whole year I was one. The bounty hunting plot just seems like a creative stretch.

I couldn’t make it through the whole first season. It’s actually the dumbest show I’ve ever seen. Who came up with this netflix original?

They need to be fired. I’m not exaggerating.

I have overall been very hopeful for the upcoming generation, however, if this is the kind of content teenagers are hoping to see, then I no longer have hope.

Our society is doomed if we have a 1. Roll-call We as college students have learned to hate this activity. At the beginning of every semester, we are asked to either say out loud or write down certain things about ourselves. Typically this includes your name, phone number, age and one random curveball of a question. I believe it is the silence of the activity that is almost torturous. Even though this is expected at the start of every new class, coming up with a fun fact about yourself at a moment’s notice can be nerve-wracking. Despite this, the roll-call truly makes the college experience what it is.

group of teenagers who think this garbage show is funny or in any way entertaining.

The twin dynamic is very Marykate and Ashley- esque.

However, Marykate and Ashley was 110801809 times better.

Also, It was something I loved as an elementary school student. The plot of twins has been executed brilliantly. For example, Ally and Aj, Marykate and Ashley and “The Parent Trap”.

This is basic. I’ve never been so bored watching a show. If I fall asleep while watching something right after I wake up in the morning then it’s definitely a fluke. I know Netflix has been working hard to provide pandemic entertainment but this did not hit right. At all.

I didn’t have much of an interest after seeing the title and description but after watching a few episodes I can firmly state that if you actually enjoy watching this series you: 1.

Are a high schooler or junior high school student. 2. You are freshly graduated from high school 3.

You are stuck in the mindset of a high school student while you are actually a college student 4. You have been kidnapped and you are being forced to pretend to like this series so you don’t die in the hands of a psychotic individual.

If tv series could get negative ratings, I would give it a negative infinity sign. If you do like this show, please never try to be my friend. Overall i’m unimpressed and i’ll be sticking to avoiding Netflix Originals for a good amount of time.

“Teenage Bounty Hunters” is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Phone making noise in class This has happened to every one of us at one point or another.

Some people forget to turn their ringer off only for the phone to perform at its loudest at 8 a.m. on a Monday during Statistics. Other people will silently be on their phone in class when suddenly a video starts blaring over the teacher talking. The dead silence in the room can be deafening as everyone tries to figure out who the culprit is. Unfortunately, this seems like a situation that will continue in classrooms until the end of time.

photo courtesy of www.syfy.com

[Above] Docuseries “High Score” available now on Netflix.

BY

RONAK PATEL

Editor

High Score is an interesting docuseries for anyone who is interested in engineering, video games, economics and technology.

The docuseries ties in all these different fields by showing the rise of the video game industry.

Episode one, “Boom or Bust” shows the origins of the video game industry with “Space Invaders” creator Tomohiro Nishikado sharing how his idea for the first video game came from him imagining what would happen if aliens attacked Japan.

As soon as it hit the market, “Space Invaders” was booming. Players would pile up their quarters and take them to the local arcade and play as long as they could.

Nishikado explained how to keep players playing he created the high score system to keep people playing. The game was simply filled with patterns and once players figure out the patterns it would get boring. To make players want to keep playing, he used the high score model so players would keep playing

3. Walking into the wrong class Nothing wakes you up quite like 20 pairs of eyes staring into your soul as you walk into the middle of a lecture. Then comes the hesitation of whether to ask if you are in the right spot, or to back away as slowly as possible.

With so many classes sharing the same room, it is easy to get room numbers and class times mixed up. Even while waiting for class to begin, it can be easy to walk in and think your class is sitting down when instead it is another group of students. This situation is so awkward because even when you leave the room, the embarrassment follows.

to beat whoever held the high score.

MIT students realized the success these video games were having in Japan and decided to put machines in the dorms. The students were successful and used the video game money to pay their tuition. There were challenges for the students. Each week, they saw a decrease in revenue due. Revenue was going down because players could survive longer in the games and didn’t need many quarters to play for a long time. The students realized, video games had to be more challenging if they wanted a reliable economic model and decided to keep making each game more difficult.

The docuseries shows a side of the video game world that is hardly talked about and that is the life of the designers. We are shown designers who are consumed by creating games that players will nonstop. In creating these addicting video games, designers spend all their life creating the perfect games.

One of the designers even recalls almost crashing his car because he couldn’t stop thinking about coding.

4. Forgetting an assignment The room instantly gets warmer and your face bright red when you forget there was an assignment due. Here you are in class while the teacher is collecting the homework and you have nothing to show but a frightened face. What adds on to the embarrassment is trying to explain to the professor what happened and why you need more time to complete the assignment. With a course overload and outside commitments, it can be very easy to forget to do work for a certain class. It happens to the best of us, and we all get the same frightened look on our faces.

Designers have their own hours and can even choose to work from home but they are often working nonstop to create a video game that will keep consumers happy.

With in weeks or even days, the designers are expected to create the next big video game on the market.

In the documentary, players and designers alike show the joys of video games and how they allow us to escape reality but it also highlights the dark side of the video game industry. Players and designers are consumed by these games and that is what fuels the revenue of the video game industry. The video game industry helped provide a boom to economies but it also did through purposely getting consumers and employees hooked on their products.

Boom or Bust ends with how a booming industry started to bust when producers prioritized quantity over quality. The next episode of the series, looks at how the video game industry won over disgruntled consumers. High Score is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Finding a seat in the caf

For all of the introverts and awkward people out there, searching the cafeteria for a place to sit and eat is extremely embarrassing.

Having to scan the perimeter while holding food and making eye contact with dozens of people is almost too much. After walking through the crowds of people and finding an empty seat, the awkwardness of the situation finally comes to an end and it is time to enjoy your meal.

8/ August 26 , 2020

FOOTBALL: 4 Continued from page 5 football history.” Teague has been on a tear in regards to how fast he has developed a schedule, including some odd approaches.

UCA has a schedule that consists of nine football games at this moment, and it is still a work in progress. Only two of those games are home games.

When asked about how many people will be able to attend UCA’s home games, Teague said, “25%”, which is approximately 2,500 people.

UCA will play three FBS teams

ucanews.live

SPORTS

Bears still playing despite COVID-19

this fall, as well as take part in two home-and-home series this season, something that is typically seen in just the conference portion of the college basketball season. UCA will play it’s only remaining football game from the original schedule, against Austin Peay, in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff in Montgomery Alabama on August 29. The Southland Conference has pushed the start date for volleyball back until September 1st. The men’s soccer team, who participates in

the Sun Belt conference, has had their start date pushed back until September 3.

Teague told UCA Sports, “We believe this gives us a little more time to ensure our protocols will be in place and appropriate for the health and safety of all involved.”

With an influx of COVID-19 cases on either UCA’s or an opponents team, the scheduled games in any of these sports could be subject to be rescheduled or even cancelled.

Life after Football: Brown plans future during senior year

MLB

Major League Baseball just isn’t fun anymore

photo by Sarah Coleman

A’Javius Brown, Senior Defensive Lineman, puts his Bear Claws up in front of the Harding Fountain at the University of Central Arkansas. Brown is excited to play one final season for the Bears.

BY SARAH COLEMAN Associate Editor

photo courtesy of Bleacher Report

Oracle Park in San Fransisco before the COVID-19 pandemic.

BY TRAVIS GUPTON

Sports Editor I have only been a Major League Baseball fan for about 4 years now. I picked the Oakland A’s to be my team just out of random. I have never in my time watching baseball seen anything like I am watching this season. Like it is almost laughable just how bad and how hard it is to watch baseball on T.V. now.

There have been about just as many games postponed than there have been actually played. The COVID-19 pandemic is making it hard to do much of anything. It is like every time I turn on ESPN some team has COVID-19 and they are postponing three games because of it.

It feels like at this rate we may never make it to the postseason because of all the postponements that happen

every week.

The stadiums are using artificial crowd noise which to me is just not the same. It’s not so much the noise of the fans but the energy. When thousands of people are on their feet and the energy in a stadium is at a fever pitch on a 2 and 2 count with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth.

There is nothing that can match that.

I have seen some sports make it where the fans can virtually sit in on a game which to me is better than nothing. Soccer has put cut outs in the stands which again is not as bad.

The thing with Major League Baseball is that they will put anything they can get their hands on and put it in the stands. I was watching a game where a player hit a homerun and it hit a stuffed

teddy bear.

Overnight that teddy bear became more famous than the game. There were memes and it even made ESPN top 10.

This has become a joke and I can only imagine how the players feel. You have to know that they just do not feel the same and they probably are not playing as hard because of the lack of fans.

I love sports. I think they bring this world together but right now in this moment I think we should just give up on sports. They just are not the same right now and I just can’t watch it the same anymore. Some are planning for the spring and the sports in the spring and we don’t even know what it will look like in the spring. We just need to ride each day out one day at a time.

A’Javius Brown, a senior defensive lineman who has played his whole college career at UCA, is ready to take on his last year of college in an unprecedented time.

While football is among one of Brown’s favorite things in the world, he hopes to continue pursuing his dream of becoming a pediatric dentist. This is one of the things that Brown has never been uncertain about. A year from now Brown pictures his world looking much different than it does now.

While he hopes to be in a dental school program, he pictures a world full of studying and learning instead of the pressure of football and school.

Brown remains hopeful, even in this strange season. “I’m looking forward to this season specifically because of the many

obstacles we’re about to face head on, a pandemic and multiple FBS programs in one season. This will test us more than we’ve ever been tested in the past and will push our bond, cohesiveness and most importantly conditioning,” Brown said.

Brown is also extremely excited to play this season because he is part of a very special team for the 2020 season. He gets to be a part of a team that gets to do something that no team previously in UCA history has done before. “Being a possibly four FBS program in the span of one season will give us crazy national exposure--- that will send this program leaps and bounds,” Brown said.

Not only is Brown pumped about a new season, he is also excited to leave UCA with a bang.

“It’s my senior year and it could be my last go around at this football

thing so who wouldn’t be ready to play,” Brown said.

Brown has learned a lot, not just about football, but about life in his years as a Bear football player.

He has learned about hard work, dedication and having an energetic attitude. He learned most of these traits from you and I---- the fans. “UCA Bear football fans are some of the most dedicated and energetic folks I have ever seen, it’s kind of inspiring really,” Brown said.

Even with the Southland Conference’s decision to postpone the 2020 season, the UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague announced publicly that the Bear’s would continue to play 11 non conference games this season.

This means that fall football is still happening and details about seating and tailgating can be found at www.ucasports.com.

TAKE CARE

Health, saftey of players number one priority for Athletic Department

BY TRAVIS

GUPTON

Sports Editor

The Athletic Department at UCA has taken center stage since COVID-19 started to appear in Arkansas and now they are making sure student-athletes are taken care of.

The Southland Conference announced earlier this month that they would move all their fall sports to the spring.

UCA had the decision to make on if they would play a full non-conference fall schedule or play three seasons in a row.

Athletic Director Dr.Brad Teague explained in a press release on ucasports.com on why UCA would not play fall sports in the spring.

"It is, in our opinion, all about the well-being of our student-athletes,' Teague said.

"It's about having recovery time, and having mental and emotional time off from their sport. And if you play fall '20, spring '21, fall '21, we don't think that is possible and it's not good for their health and well being. And also, we don't know what the spring is going to look like, as far as COVID-19 or scheduling or any of that. So if we can safely provide our fall programs a

somewhat normal fall season, we think that is best for everyone involved.'

With the players' health in mind athletes and coaches have come to accept the nonconference schedule that will be played this fall.

Bears quarterback Breylin Smith is one such player that appreciates that the school is looking out for him and his teammates. “ Our moral hasn’t changed.

We know Dr. Teague was working to get us games so we had to do our job and work to be ready to play.” Smith said.

Not only is COVID-19 an issue in this day and age but so is the social injustice in the world right now. Smith said that UCA has a great administration that will not stand for injustice. “ I’ve been very proud of how the Administration has handled everything regarding the social injustice that has gone on lately,” Smith said. “I have seen guys within our team rise up and take on opportunities for change, and that has been great to witness.”

There is some disappointment that the fall sports are moved to the spring and people are still coming to accept that.

“ I was for playing in the fall obviously,” Teague said. “But we are a conference and I respect the decision of the majority.

This will be one season to remember even if there are no conference titles on the line.

There season will be tough with not only COVID-19 but the schedule that has been made so far is extremely hard. “ I think the schedule we have is the toughest there’s ever been at UCA,” Smith said. “That is an opportunity to showcase this program on an extremely high platform and I am glad to be a part of it.”

This season will have a lot of off the field distractions but Head Coach Nathan Brown knows his team will be ready.

“We have great leadership in place, along with a great medical team here at UCA,” Brown said.

“I know they will make the best decision to try and move forward with the student athletes' health at the front of their minds. I know our young men are ready to play but we can conform to any schedule and will be ready for whatever is thrown our way.”

The Bears start off their season against Austin Peay State University on August 29 at 7 p.m.