Issue 13, Volume 116-- November 18, 2020

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SINGLE COPY PAID FOR BY STUDENT PUBLICATION FEE

WEDNESDAY

NOVEMBER11, 2020 Volume 116 — Issue 13

ucanews.live TODAY’S FORECAST CONWAY

Campus Life:

Entertainment:

Sports:

New Release: ‘Holidate’ is a festive spin on ‘Friends with Benefits.’

Briana Trigg: Basketball player is not afraid of a challenge.

Sustainable Living: Honors Core III maintains community garden.

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UCA removes standardized testing requirements

Partly Cloudy

67/42 THE NEWSDESK FROM THE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

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

Protests in Belarus persist from August

Over 500 people, including at least nine journalists, were arrested by police in Belarus Sunday after 90 consecutive day of protests in the capital.

Demonstrators tried to enter the capital Minsk’s center, but riot officers and armored vehicles prevented protestors from forming in one single place. The protests began after the Aug. 9 election of Alexander Lukashenko, the first and only president of the country since 1994, who suppresses opposition and independent news.

By Mia Waddell Online Editor

UCA removed standardized testing requirements for fall 2020-2021 applications, scholarships and Honors College admissions due to COVID-19’s impact on student’s ability to take the AP and SAT tests.

Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Kevin Thomas said that the university will now use the weighted GPA from an applicant’s sixth or seventh semester of high school.

The awarding of the Achievement, University and Future Leaders academic scholarships will use the applicant’s GPA. However, students qualifying for the Distinguished Scholarship will go through a

competitive-review process.

“A committee will review student-submitted materials in order to determine a limited number of scholarships,” Thomas said.

The new admission standards also changed the minimum GPA for a student to apply from 2.5 to 3.0.

Thomas said the university looks at the success of previous incoming students to UCA based on their high school grade point average.

“We feel confident that students that succeed at this level over four years of high school will be able to succeed academically at UCA,” Thomas said.

In addition to the changes in admission and academic scholarships, the Schedler Honors College

will cease using standardized testing scores.

Assistant Dean for the Schedler Honors College Patricia Smith said that “for the last 10 years, honors has placed very little value in the overall admissions rubric on the ACT. Only about six percent.”

Smith said that like admissions, Honors College decisions will be made without standardized testing. According to Smith, Honors College will use weighted GPA as a fraction of its admissions process.

“Test scores will not be required. While some students may choose to submit them, they will not be a factor in the rubric used to score students,” Smith said.

The Honors College uses a holistic admission process

with variables such as “GPA, class rank, quantitative and qualitative information from two references, and scores on two different essays,” Smith said.

These variables are used to narrow the pool of approximately 450 applicants to a group of 150 that is then invited to campus for the Honors College’s inform and interview day. Students complete an on-site essay and participate in smallgroup discussions. These final two items are also used to evaluate students.

Honors and admissions will cease requiring standardized testing scores for fall 2020, spring 2021 and fall 2021.

Admissions recently held a promotion of waiving

S T R AT E G I E S

N AT I O N A L Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trials begin

Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine has been more than 90 percent effective at protecting people in comparison to a placebo shot according to its first analysis. The 44,000-person trial has had 94 positive cases of COVID-19, with less than nine of those among people who received the vaccine.

Once the trial reaches its endpoint of 164 cases, the company will submit an application for emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

The vaccine requires two doses given three weeks apart, and recorded side effects have been mild, including pain at injection site, fatigue, chills and fever.

Host loses battle with pancreatic cancer Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy!, died at 80 on Nov. 8. He announced in March 2019 that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, which has a survival rate of 18 percent. Trebek had hosted the show since 1984 and holds the title for most gameshow episodes hosted. He recorded shows up until Oct. 29, and new episodes hosted

by Trebek will air through Christmas.

S TAT E

Police Chief resigns after violent post Marshall Police Chief Lang Holland was forced to resign Saturday after making terroristic posts targeting Democrats on the right-wing social network service Parler on Friday.

Holland called for “death to all Marxist Democrats,” and encouraged people to give them no peace, show them no mercy. The city of Marshall condemned his actions, and Gov. Hutchinson criticized his actions, calling the posts dangerous. Holland had been the police chief for two years.

WHAT’S AHEAD

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE Multiple RSO’s come together for LoveFest.

G O V E R N O R ’ S TA S K F O R C E

Stansel serves as editor on Survey shows racial social media strategy guide disparity in policing

by Megan Holder

By Megan Holder

“Fundamentals of Social Media Strategy: A Guide for College Campuses” by Liz Gross shares how campuses can purposefully and successfully use social media.

The University of Central Arkansas Digital Media Specialist Jon-Stephen Stansel was a key contributor to the book.

Gross said, “I wrote the book I wish I would have had when I was a campus social media manager, and knew it would be stronger if someone who’s currently in that role ensured the content and advice was accurate. JonStephen was the first person I thought of. His grasp of social media strategy is among the best in the industry.”

When Stansel started workin in social media, he read Gross’s first book “Overtime, just being in the industry and conferences we were able to connect,” Stansel said.

Gross said, “I wrote the book during the first nine months of 2020, and we all know this year didn’t turn out as expected. Each time I sat down to write, I’d share some tidbits on Twitter, or ask the professional community for input. The overwhelmingly positive feedback each time encouraged me to keep writing and to publish the book as soon as possible.

That’s why we published the first half as volume one in October. Jon-Stephen is not only a key contributor, but one of the book’s most enthusiastic fans.”

Stansel said the university’s social media managers, directors of marketing, media relations, president and vice president wanted to learn how to connect more with students on social media.

Stansel said, as he was editing the book and reading through the first draft, he found that every paragraph had something “tweetable.”

Layla Holloway, chair of the community policing committee of the governor’s Task Force, conducted a survey about the community’s thoughts and experiences with law enforcement. The survey received over 2,000 responses.

The Governor’s Task Force to Advance the State of Law Enforcement in Arkansas is composed of four committees: racial/implicit bias training and community relations, accountability and decertification, community policing and officer retainment and resiliency.

Conway Community Leader Jimmy Warren said, “while the task force reflects the ideas and thoughts of the community, surveys like the one Ms. Holloway created are the grassroot perspectives of individuals with different life experiences, backgrounds and social economic status. It gives legitimacy and strengthens our recommendations by having first-hand experiences submitted and documented.”

Holloway is a sophomore and double major in public relations and sociology at UCA. Holloway said, “for community policing we didn’t really have a whole lot about how the community felt about policing in Arkansas specifically.”

Holloway said her mom and UCA professor, Dr. Yates, helped her edit her survey questions.

“They helped me formulate questions and checked to make sure there was no bias,” Halloway said.

The survey started on Sept. 25 and concluded Oct. 16. Holloway has not analyzed the whole survey yet but provided some data from it.

One of the questions said, “Have you ever had a negative experience with law enforcement?” Holloway said, “only 20% of white

Social Media Editor

Social Media Editor

Photo courtesy of uca.edu

UCA Digital Media Specialist Jon-Stephen Stansel contributedd to Liz Gross’ new book. The book helps guide professors in strategy, research and the best practices for social media managers.

He said he felt as if there were things worthy to go on his personal Twitter account “There’s a really great chapter on crisis communications on social media. I think especially this year, that has been really important,” Stansel said.

He said the chapter is directly toward university leadership. It is about what the president and vice president need to know about social media.

The book helps guide professors in strategy, research and the best practices for social media managers.

The campussonar.com stated, “It’s the definitive roadmap for social media strategy, whether campuses are building out a process and team or expanding their current program.”

The book is broken down into four sections about how social media managers approach their work. Volume

one consists of sections one and two. Volume two consists of sections three and four.

Section one is “Building and Articulating Your Core Strategy” which helps to develop the foundation of your social media program.

Section two discusses “Content Foundations” to help you develop strategy and apply it to content creation and curation.

Section three is the “Core Concepts of Social Media Management” which helps you develop frameworks and systems to help you approach the non-content aspects of your activities.

Section four is titled “What Keeps Social Media Managers Up At Night” and addresses some of the recurring issues campus professionals continually seek advice about.

Contact Us:

Index: 4Police Beat 4People of UCA

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4Students Say

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application fees during Homecoming week. Thomas said that they are unsure if the promotion raised admissions just yet, but will know in the future.

“We don’t know that but what we can say is that we had a record-setting week of applications submitted,” Thomas said.

For the week of Oct. 2631, the university had 1,652 applications submitted.

Taylor explained that due to COVID-19 limiting high school visits, college fairs and on-campus tours the university was “running a bit behind previous years in terms of applications, but after Homecoming week, we are glad to be slightly up compared to previous years.”

6 4Opinion 4Entertainment 7 4Sports 5, 8

people said yes whereas 40% of black people said yes.”

She said a racial disparity was already showing from that one question, considering twice as many black people have had a negative experience with law enforcement as white people.

Holloway said, “that’s the only question I have memorized. I can only think about how much worse it can get the more in depth the questions get.”

She said Arkansas needs more surveys like this because not a lot of people know things like this.

“I would try to look up statistics about it and couldn’t find anything. If they are out there, they’re very hidden,” Holloway said. “It was a really big deal to be able to participate in and create something like this, and have these results overwhelmingly show there’s an issue right here with policing.”

Holloway said, “to be able to do this at 19 yearsold is pretty cool. It’s really exciting and the results are very eye opening.”

There were also qualitative responses. One statement was “if you ever had a negative experiment with law enforcement, can you please elaborate.”

One person discussed their dad being hit with a carjack while asleep when the police raided his home.

Another discussed that their son was beat up in the emergency room. Someone was unlawfully detained while asking for directions to the police department.

Someone was arrested on a charge and released five hours later with no charges.

Holloway said, “there’s an issue right here with community relations. At this point it doesn’t really matter what someone says or thinks.

We literally have data and actual facts of feelings and attitudes of Arkansans.”

Opinion:

E-mail: ucaechoeditor@gmail.com @ucaecho

The Echo

ucaecho

© 2019 The Echo, Printed by The Courier, Russellville, Arkansas.

Spotify’s new service will stunt independent artists’ careers.

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2/November 11, 2020

NEWS

Police Beat

The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Kaitlin Benight

Old Row photo causes concern

Slasher mystery on Halloween

Fraternity banner stolen by DZ’s

William Siler contacted UCAPD after he found a picture of what looked like a man defecating on the front lawn of the Phi Kappa Alpha house. The photo was posted on Old Row’s Telegram channel.

Around 2 a.m. on Oct. 26, video footage shows Sigma Tau Gamma pledge Asa Eddington, dressed identical to the man in the photo, arriving at the Sig Tau house. He said it was just a joke, that another pledge, Ruston Childress, took the photo, and no one else was involved.

Danielle Farris’ left rear tire was slashed early Halloween morning.

Farris arrived home around 1 a.m. Friday night, parking in the only available spot in the lot across from Bear’s Den. Because the vehicle she had to park beside had gone over the line, she took pictures of the car in case there was damage when she returned.

Katelyn Boyd, the owner of the other vehicle, stated she parked in the lot and walked to Bear’s Den, where she got so intoxicated she did not remember leaving the bar. She said a man drove her home but she doesn’t know who he is.

Around 2 a.m. on Nov. 3, a group of Delta Zeta members assisted in stealing a banner from the Sigma Nu fraternity house. Officers Webber and Boyd made contact with the vehicles spotted at the house and explained the charges that whoever stole the banner could face. Kennedy Akins and Sarah Hanesworth both stated that Abby Bray, who was not in either vehicle, had stolen the banner. The officers made contact with Bray, who showed up a few minutes later with Shreya Gopal, Danielle Hardaway, Riley Provence, and Madison Johnson, who said she had stolen the banner, not Bray.

No one was charged but the report has been sent to the dean of students.

S T U D E N T G O V E R N M E N T A S S O C I AT I O N

UCAPD will host campus walk to promote safety

by Kaitlin Benight Assistant News Editor

UCAPD will be hosting a safety on Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. The walk will begin near the police department and Chief John Merguie and Officer Chris Bentley will walk around campus with students to point out areas that need improvement. The purpose of this is to suggest things that could promote safety.

The Diversity Committee is having an International Trivia Night on Nov. 16. It will be held in student center rooms 223 and 224 from 6 to 8 p.m.. The committee also has a new Instagram account, @ucasga_diversity.

Additionally, the Bear

Advocacy Group is trying to encourage others to stay respectful of those with differing opinions.

“We’re working on graphics on how to continue to have respectable conversations with people following the outcome of the elections,” sophomore class president and Chair of Bear Advocacy Group Montana Cramer said.

The Student Resources Committee is partnering with SGA’s Public Relations Committee to promote resources that students might not know are available around campus.

The Housing and Food Committee are preparing a

proposal for gender neutral housing options. They also put forward to SGA the Senate Resolution 004, which recognizes housing and food service workers for their hard work during the pandemic.

The resolution passed.

Senate Resolution 003 also passed, recognizing students for their hard work and achievement during this unprecedented semester.

The Student Activity Fee Allocation committee allocated $120,098.44 to over 50 registered student organizations. SGA passed these allocations unanimously.

ucanews.live

Lackie named vice president of University Advancement

by Delaney Van Wilpe News Editor

Mary Bane Lackie officially took office on Oct. 15 as UCA’s vice president of University Advancement and president of the UCA Foundation.

She was previously serving as the assistant vice president for development since March 2018, and was interim vice president of university advancement since Feburary.

Lackie worked at UCA from 1991 to 1996. She started off as a hall director and moved to international programs. In the latter position, Lackie did overseas recruiting for the university.

With an impressive record, Lackie has 30 years of higher education experience under her belt. Throughout her career, she has held positions in enrollment, admissions, housing and residence life, international programs, alumni services and advancement in colleges and universities in the U.S., Dubai, Armenia and Poland.

Coincidentally, Lackie was born in Conway. Although she didn’t grow up in Conway, it was a place that she returned to often.

“When I left UAFS [University of Arkansas at Fort Smith] to come here, it was a chance to come back home for me,” Lackie said.

Prior to Lackie’s return to UCA, she served as the vice chancellor for University Advancement at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, executive director of Alumni Services and Annual Giving at Arkansas Tech University and as the director of Development at American School of Warsaw.

Her new role with UCA will require her to oversee around 30 employees in the departments of Advancement Services, Alumni Relations, Development, University Marketing and Communications.

She also is president of the UCA Foundation which is a non profit organization through the federal

Civil Discourse

Photo courtesy of uca.edu

Mary Bane Lackie took office as UCA’s vice president of University Advancement of the UCA Foundation on Oct. 15. Assuming this position was a chance for Lackie to “come back home.”

government that is separate from UCA, but “it’s only purpose is to support UCA.” “Since Mary joined UCA in March 2018, she has been a centerpiece of our campaign planning and staff development,” said President Houston Davis to UCA News. “I have seen firsthand the depth and breadth of her knowledge and her commitment to excellence. As vice president of University Advancement, I know she will continue to be a tremendous asset to our students, alumni base, leadership team, and the university as a whole.”

Lackie is proud of the work she has done with UCA thus far and the relationships she builds through her work.

“In alumni and development work, you get to work with people who want to give their money away to help people they don’t even know. You just get to

meet the most amazing people,” Lackie said. “It’s a very noble cause, and I am proud to work towards it everyday.”

She hopes to leave her mark with the work she expects to accomplish at UCA. “As the foundation has grown, and continues to grow, some of the things that work well when you’re a small foundation isn’t sustainable as you grow. So, I want to help get those processes in place that will help us be strong and grow indefinitely.”

Lackie’s educational background holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arkansas Tech University, a master’s degree in student personnel services from Northwestern State University of Louisiana and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Arkansas.

2020 ELECTION

Republican and Democratic

teams participate in mock debate

by Kelly Rico Staff Writer

The Debate and Forensics team hosted a mock debate Monday night via Zoom in which climate change, race in America, national security, leadership, American families and COVID-19 were discussed.

Senior Debate and Forensics member Lauren McHenry mediated the debate between the Democratic and Republican teams.

Adam Cox, a sophomore representing the Republican team, led the conversion of climate change. “The EPA has reported that in the past 50 years our air is 77 percent cleaner and reproduced pollution by 7 percent,” Cox said. “What we see is that we’ve moved to a more cohesive and cleaner environment as well as a cleaner energy source and we’ve done that economically sound.”

Junior co-captain Margaret Hacker, representing the Democratic team, responded to Cox by stating that companies have hurt the environment and that under Trump’s administration, “my Republican counterparts can paint a pretty picture of the idea of moving to more sustainable energy sources… what we’ve seen is that in the past four years, under the Trump administration, is egregious regulatory rollbacks.

We’ve seen economic profit prioritized at the cost of our environment.

Under a democratic administration, you would see the reinstatement of regulations for the environment of business.”

McHenery allowed each member of both parties to close their arguments within the 10 minute time frame for each question. The debate continued on to other matters such as race in America.

McHenry said, “With police violence against persons of color and protestors in mind, what is your plan for police reform at the national level?”

President of the union and senior David Lee, representing Democrats, said, “When it comes to addressing the issue of police reform, we have seen a lot of basic civil unrest. The law enforcement are supposed to deliver their justice equally and essentially uphold the values of American law in general, but we have seen that that is not essentially the case.”

CJ Parrish, freshman secretary and representor of the republican team, countered Lee’s argument of reallocating the police funding indicating that if Democrats take away the funding, police will take the necessary steps towards shortcuts in order to get their job done. “The Democratic party talks a lot about statistics about how different groups of people are systematically targeted by police yet provide no way to change this,” Parrish said. “Majority of their movement, which is defunding the police, is meant to defund and destructure our police systems as is. They do not believe in law and order.

The republican party is here to guarantee the police system is trustworthy and is also capable and that is done by increasing funding.”

Lee was able to close his response to Parrish with and said, “We are allowing actual justice to be done here. We are allowing actual accountability. Yes, there are bad apples, but the police need to learn from these bad apples and it’s important to understand that the police are not above the law.”

McHenry allowed the dispute between the teams to continue with them answering the national security budget

question about whether or not America should keep the budget it has now and remain in conflicts with other countries.

Cox was the first to respond to the question, he said, “You’re talking about countries that aren’t really super powers within the world. The fact of the matter is that we have the number one military in the world. Whenever you look at that and our spending, you kind of seem to get this understanding.

George Washington once said, ‘to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace’ and we are peacekeepers.” He continued to defend the military budget by stating that the U.S. must remain the “top dog” and in order to continue to be that, we would need to continue our military spending.

Lee addressed Cox’s statement of the U.S. retaining budgeting and encouraged Cox to state what the money is used on since republicans don’t acknowledge the specifics of the budgets. Lee also stated that “we are not the ‘top dogs.’ We are alone in the world,” citing that the U.S is not collaborating with other countries or establishing bases with them.

The debate continued on topics of the handling of COVID-19, the U.S. leadership and questions from the audience who wanted the candidates to go into depth with the answers they had provided before.

The Debate and Forensics team ended their Zoom mock debate thanking everyone for their participation and encouraged their audience to join their team regardless of their political affiliation.

Photo taken by Tristen Hall

Various groups gathered outside of the Arkansas State Capitol on Saturday afternoon following the announcement of the President-elect Joe Biden.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Board of Trustees approves VERI for eligible employees

by DJ Jones Staff Writer

The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees held a teleconference meeting Nov. 6 to approve a Voluntary Employee Retirement Incentive (VERI) for 2021.

To be eligible for VERI, the employee must be 55 years of age or older and must have a cumulative of 10 years of service to the university.

According to uca.edu, VERI will provide a 10 percent payout of an eligible employee’s base salary as of Dec. 31, 2020. VERI will also pay 0.5 percent of the employee’s base salary for each full year of service beyond 10 years.

According to uca.edu, on top of the 10 percent payout, employees will also receive $300 monthly contribution. “Additionally, all participating employees will receive a $300 per month contribution toward eligible health care costs for 36 months following the

effective retirement date. The contribution will be placed into a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) account.”

In an article from the Democrat Gazette, UCA President Houston Davis said “After completing the VERI process in 2019, we learned that there were additional employees who would have participated in the VERI, had there been a way for them to maintain their health benefits until eligible for Medicare.

With the 2021 program, we have the opportunity to assist those employees and help bridge the health coverage gap that may exist between retirement and Medicare eligibility. This is an especially important incentive for us to be able provide this year considering the ongoing strain COVID-19 has put on individuals and families,” Davis said.

In the Democrat Gazette article, UCA spokeswoman and Director of Media Relations Amanda

Hoelzeman said there are 175 employees who are eligible for the VERI. If all of the eligible employees accept the offer, it will cost about $1.79 million. Hoelzeman said the university estimates that 35 percent of the employees will participate.

According to uca.edu, “Participating employees who elect to retire effective Jan. 15, 2021, will receive a payout in two (2) installments to a 403(b) on Jan. 29, 2021, and July 1, 2021. Employees who elect to retire effective May 15, 2021, will receive a payout in two (2) installments on May 28, 2021, and July 1, 2021. Due to annual limits on retirement contributions, some participating employees may receive a third contribution in calendar year 2022.”

Employees who are eligible have 60 calendar days to decide whether they will accept the VERI benefits.

For more information about VERI visit uca.edu/ veri.

Campus Life

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November 11, 2020

Around Campus: Tim Wise to visit UCA At 7:00p.m to 8:30p.m, Nov.16, Tim Wise an anti-racist writer and educator will be hosting a lecture in Ida Waldran Auditorium, it will also be streamed on UCA’s College of Arts Humanities, and Social Sciences Facebook page.

At 2:00p.m, Nov. 16, Tim Wise will be giving a lecture titled. “Not Giving Up:Maintaining our commitment to justice in unjust times” to RSOs in McCastlain Ballroom.

Culture and cruelty lecture with Tim Wise At 9:25a.m, Nov .17, there will be a student lecture on “Challenging the Culture of Cruelty” by Tim Wise which will involve in depth ways to face racism and defeat it.

Ethics Workshop 1:40p.m to 2:30p.m, Nov. 12, the accounting club will be having a workshop to discuss ethics in accounting in the COB Auditorium and on Zoom.

Visit CubConnect for more information.

LoveFest 1:40p.m. to 4:00p.m., Nov 12, in the Student Center Amphitheater there will be an event with music, organizations and free stuff. Stop by to have a lovely experience.

Bio Club Movie Night 7:00 p.m to 9:30 p.m, Nov 13 The Biology club will be hosting an online Teleparty to watch the movie “My Octopus Teacher”. Visit CubConnect for instructions on how to join the list to receive the invite.

Photo taken by Madison Ogle

The bonfire was one of the main attractions of the night, allowing students to gather around and mingle as they awaited further festivities. The bonfire was held near the Intramural Fields on Nov. 5 between 7:00p.m. and 10:00p.m.

Bonfire offers students a place to connect

by Madison Ogle Staff Writer

The Bear Den hosted a bonfire on Nov. 6 where students were able to win prizes, play games and enjoy snacks.

“This is the second time we have held the Bonfire on campus. Last year we did it in February, and it went well,” Bear Den president, Kathryn

Walden said. “We definitely saw growth between last year and this with attendance and involvement with the students.”

The event began at 7 p.m and lasted until 10 p.m.

After arriving, students were able to sit around the fire and talk with others. Games were also available, with hula hoops, cornhole and

Jenga. Hot food and drink was also available during the night. Bear Den members established tables that offered chips and queso and hot dogs.

Water was also available, though the hot chocolate proved to be a crowd favorite. “This is my first bear den event, but I attend most of the SAB stuff

on campus which is really fun” said Kara O’Donnal as they ate chips and queso “I always like the campus stuff.”

As the night continued, the opportunity to win prizes was announced.

Prizes included goodie bags of assorted items and Visa giftcards with amounts ranging anywhere between

20-500 dollars. Students were able to win these prizes by naming the title and artist of early 2000’s songs, finishing the lyrics of summer jams, and even doing the dances that went with popular Tik-Tok songs. “ Last year I won a TV

See Hangout-page 4

Student undefeated in Smash Bros tournament

by Rob Davis Staff Writer UCA gamers left their blood, sweat and tears on the battlefield as they faced off against one another in a Super Smash Brothers tournament, leaving one man, UCA senior and Bear Claw Gaming Team Captain Matthew Briggs, at the top of the mountain.

Phi Sigma Kappa teamed up with Bear Claw Gaming on Friday, Nov. 6, to put on a Super Smash Brothers Ultimate tournament in an effort to raise funds

for the fraternity, but to also give UCA students an opportunity to come out and compete while also having friendly banter amongst one another.

“I want to increase community. We want the greek community and the non-greek community to intermingle and spend as much time with each other as possible and also other RSOs on campus,” President of Phi Sigma Kappa Bryce Hilton said. “We want to try and branch out as much as possible. We definitely love

interacting with the students on campus and with other organizations. Increasing the community is our biggest effort.”

Hilton admitted he was more hands-off in preparation for this event, using this as a learning opportunity for the new members of the fraternity to see what it’s like to facilitate events such as this and to see how they would respond when faced with positive interactions, but also to see how they would when faced with adversity since

Covid-19 has made putting on any event a struggle.

Matthew Briggs has been captain of Bear Claw Gaming for a year now and he was more than happy to help Phi Sigma Kappa prepare for the gaming tournament, but he also looked forward to playing in the tournament as he is a veteran in the Smash Brothers community, playing since 2014.

“What has attracted me to the game is the freedom that it gives you with the simplistic controls. It’s intuitive anybody can play

the game. You get to see people express themselves because of how simple the control scheme is,” Briggs said. “I’ve learned that any problem can be solved if you look at it from a “fix” standpoint by breaking down each scenario. At the end of the day, it’s all educated guesses.”

Smash players usually have a character that they will use for the majority of their games, with Briggs

See Game-page 4

Feminist Union Meeting 1:40p.m to 2:30p.m, Nov. 17, on Zoom the feminit union will be gathering to share upcoming events and ways for students to get involved. Visit CubConnect for more information must RSVP.

Advancement in Genetic with Haselkorn 1:30p.m. to 2:45p.m., Nov. 17, on Zoom the Biology Club will be hosting a virtual lecture on genetics, for more information visit CubConnect must RSVP.

International Students Focus Groups 1:40p.m. to 3:00p.m., Nov. 17, in person or 10:00a.m. to 11:30a.m., Nov.18, on Zoom career services will be helping students get an understanding of their career needs. Stop by to get help and to get some free merch and food.

Photos by Olyvia Gonzalez

Sophomore MaKennah West found the best radishes and spinich on campus from the Dee Brown community garden. The garden is located behind Arkansas Hall in front of Farris Hall and is the focus of an honors course that teaches gardening.

Faculty cannot resists temptatious Honors garden

by Olyivia Gonzalez Staff Writer

Behind Bear Hall and Arkansas Hall is a small community garden that Honors Core III students have maintained and harvested in order to understand sustainable living.

“Students can take from the garden, but I would prefer they didn’t in the fall,” Allison Wallace, Dee Brown garden memorial coordinator, said. “Only because a part of what they

learn in my class is to cook [what they have planted].”

Both faculty and physical plant members have been caught snagging a few berries from the bushes which is an encouragement to the students in the course, but concern that one might harvest their crops before is worrisome.

There is no control over who can take or plant in the garden because it is a community garden, but it is a

project for the eight students students in the course this semester. The honors college does stress the importance of one being a respecter of personal items because everything was purchased by the honors college.

The honors college has fundraised or has been grant sustained to build the brick shed, compost bins, and has supplied the trees, grasses, seeds, and plants for students to care for.

The layout of the garden is different from the rest of campus. The area where the garden was designed using a low-impact model, where the ground uses rainwater runoff as a part of a natural infrastructure to lead water to other plants.

Over the course of this semester, the students in Honors Core III were able to plant and harvest mini varieties of cabbage, beets, carrots, lettuce, spinach, plus

much more.

“I never liked gardening growing up,” sophomore, McKennah West said, “So, I was kind of skeptical about taking this class, but now that I am in it I thoroughly enjoy it. A lot of people do not know how their food is grown, how its made, or how it is transported and food is essential for life. We all need to know how to grow

See Grow-page 4

4/ November 11 , 2020

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CAMPUS LIFE

STUDENTS SAY

Bear Den organizers said that planning events has become more difficult.

it harder to stay “ Is motivated this semester? ” Story and photos by Haley Melendez

Photo by Madison Ogle

Students gather around the bonfire and wait for the song contests to begin where they may win a variety of prizes. The event was held near the Intramural Fields on Nov. 5 between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00p.m.

and airpods at a different event, and this year I won a PS4 from the Bang Bang Bingo event.”

O’Donnal went on to win a goodie bag after dancing it out to one of the last Tik-Tok songs of the night.

“This year has been weird.

I think the fact that people were cooped up for so long makes them want to get out and have fun. We try to be that fun environment they are looking

Game:

for!” said Walden in regards to the year’s events.

“It has been difficult with planning around COVID because we usually do group activities.” Walden continued, “We have been working super hard to take those extra precautions in advance to stay ahead of any mishap that may happen. Some of those precautions are handing out individual hand sanitizers and

the UCA bammies to students as they come to events as well as sanitizing stations that we encourage students to sanitize before and after touching common objects.”

Bear Den organizers also made sure that students kept their masks on and refrained from letting students get food without the assistance of a Bear Den member. Hot chocolate stations were also frequently

sanitized.

“The Bear Den is the spirit section on campus. We go to every sporting event possible.

We also do events like the bonfire around campus to get those who may not enjoy sports that much involved in other ways.” explained Walden, “Our main goal is to get students out on campus, get them engaged, and generally let them have a good time!”

Freshman Sidney Cooper “Yeah, it has because like I dont really talk to teachers or go in-person, and so its like super weird not to have someone constantly reminding me about my stuff so it makes me feel like I’m not even at school.”

Freshman Emily Daniel “Yes, for sure! I get easily distracted during zooms that I dont have to show my face in and I definitely wait to do my assignments last minute.”

Player explains that Super Smash Bros is a simplistic and strategic game.

Photo by Rob Davis

Freshman Maya Bishop

Sophomore Courtney Coney

“Yes, and its not even because of Covid. Its the amount of work my teachers are giving me to compensate for in person classes. As soon as I finish the work for one class, I already have more work . I feel like they are giving us so much work and feeling like I am never getting it done makes me not want to keep trying. ”

“Yes, its so much harder for me to stay motivated this semester because all the work in one place is so overwhelming... plus deadlines are harder to keep up with, and when I look away from my screen, I feel like I’m going to get flagged for cheating, plus I don’t feel like I’m actually learning.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Gordon

Senior Madison Duggar

UCA senior Chase Woodruff contemplates picking Cloud as his champion before getting into his first warmup game as he waits for the Super Smash Bros tournament to commence. Phi Sigma Kappa hosted a Super Smash Brothers tournament on Friday, Nov. 6, with the help from UCA’s gaming club Bear Claw Gaming in an effort to raise funds for the fraternity while also offering a chance for UCA students to come together for gaming and unity.

using the Pokemon Trainer most often for of how versatile the character is.

“It’s three different characters in one so while everyone picks their character at the character select screen, I have the choice of going through a rotation of characters,” Briggs said. “I have a character that does really well at low percentages…

Grow:

and then I can go into another character that is super long-range and has priority over most people’s moves which can be annoying because he has a really big hitbox and then I have a really heavy character who is really slow but is also really powerful so only one interaction is needed to get a kill.”

All of the versatility that

the characters offered helped Briggs in winning the 13-person tournament while also not losing a single match in each five-game series until the finals. Briggs remained positive throughout the tournament while even offering words of encouragement to the other competitors including a few members of Bear Claw gaming who

came out to play.

Bear Claw gaming have weekly practices on Thursday at 7 pm.

Students who are interested in joining Bear Claw Gaming can find a link to join their discord server at www.ucaesports.com/home, where admins, like Matthew Briggs, can help you through the process of joining the team.

Honors students report that faculty members have been swiping berries from their garden.

it organically.”

The eight students in Honors Core III were not sure what they were getting into when they first joined the course, but hoped they would learn

something from the gardening experience. Most made a reference to the textbook being a helpful guide in learning about gardening, which is to say everything about this

course was essential.

“I wanted to take this course because it was hands-on,” sophomore, Allison Snodgrass said, “since basically all of my classes have been online this

semester it has been really nice to have a reason to get outside and be able to interact with other people safely and make something that people can take from out of the process.”

“ Its definitely harder to stay motive this semester. I’m stuck in a dorm all day with no roommate ... It’s hard to make myself study or stay on top of school work when life is like this.”

“Yes it has been harder to stay motivated. I need structure in my life to stay on top of things, and I feel like with online school there isn’t any.

Also, when I’m doing my work it feels like I’m doing it all alone.”

People of UCA: Greta Hacker

by Sadie Clark Staff Writer

Margaret Hacker, who goes by Greta, is a senior at UCA majoring in Public Administration with a double minor in Honors Disciplinary Studies and Professional Writing.

After graduating in May 2020, Hacker plans on pursuing a career in counseling. She is currently studying for the GRE, or the Graduate Record Examination.

She then plans to go into the mental health counseling program at UCA. Originally, Hacker began college as a political science major, but decided to focus on public administration because it focused on the day-in and day-out of studying people and organizations that perform government work.

“It’s kind of a twist from my undergrad, because originally I was planning to go into public service, like work in state or

local government,” Hacker said. “I started figuring out that if I could have done it all over again, I would have become a psychology major.”

Hacker’s interest in mental and emotional health and how the brain works is part of why she got into public administration in the first place.

In the future, Hacker believes that she would rather work with people one-onone than manage a large organization, but she said that things can always change.

“The motivation is the same for both degrees, and I do eventually want to go into the policy side of mental health because there’s a lot there,” Hacker said.

The same things that Hacker wanted to address in public service she can still address through a career in mental health.

Hacker has been the president of Bears At the

Ballot, UCA’s branch of Vote Everywhere since 2019. She is also the co-captain of the UCA Debate Team, and is a part of the Honors College as well as the Food Recovery Network.

Although she holds many leadership positions, Hacker sometimes struggles with being in positions of authority, even if it is not always apparent.

“I think sometimes people don’t get that perception of me because I am in leadership positions a lot,” Hacker said. “I could be seen as a leadership person but really I like working with people one-on-one and function better in small groups.”

Her father, a constitutional law professor, was an major inspiration for her to pursue public administration.

“I grew up learning about politics and learning about political theory and by the time I was 12 or 13, I was trying to memorize all of the

amendments,” Hacker said.

Working in the children’s department at her local library in high school is how Hacker connected public administration with her desire to serve people.

“There, I saw a lot of people who were utilizing public services because they had nowhere else to go and they had no more resources,” Hacker said.

Many people who were homeless or had limited access to the internet would utilize the library, which inspired Hacker to pursue a career of helping people.

Hacker has played the piano since she was three-years-old, which she said is one of the most consistent things she has done outside of school.

Currently, Hacker works in UCA’s Creative Writing Center as a writing tutor and lives on-campus with her new pet Betta fish, Eunice.

Photo by Sadie Clark

Greta Hacker is a senior at UCA. She is a public administration major with a double minor in honors disciplinary studies and professional writing.

o open fall Tennis season

Sports

5

November 11, 2020

Football 3 p.m., Nov. 14 vs Eastern Kentucky @ home Men’s Soccer 6 p.m., Nov. 13, Sun Belt Championship vs Georgia State University

Editor’s Take

Photo courtsey of UCA Sports Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on funding from team owners that went to various political campaigns this election.

BY ASHLEY SAVAGE Sports Editor

The Los Angeles Times published a report on the total funds that different L.A. sports owners contributed to certain political campaigns, and it is telling.

This is something that more papers should cover when it comes to where the owners of these teams sit on the political scale.

Years ago, your political affiliation wouldn’t be too telling of where you stood in regard to human rights issues, science-related matters and other important topics. However, in 2020, that is not the case.

To put it bluntly, it is unlikely that people will believe that you care about any of those things if it comes out that you provided serious funding into the campaign of Donald Trump and other various republicans.

Siding with Trump and the rhetoric he has used and encouraged just simply isn’t a good look. Whether you’re the boss of the cupcake shop down the street or a partial-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, consumers and fans want to know these things. That’s why there was substantial interest in the report that the Los Angeles Times released.

The report said that Jeanie Buss, the Lakers’ controlling owner’s total political contributions ended up just around $7,670. However, people were pleased to see that Buss had contributed to these funds to Democratic campaigns throughout the campaign-period.

As for The Lakers’ partialowner, Jim Buss, nearly $7,211.75 were contributing to the Republican party and its campaigns.

Steve Baller, the Clippers’ owner, was also reported to have contributed almost $3,755 to Democratic campaigns.

Although this information isn’t going to be something that ultimately has millions of fans turn away from any of these teams, I think it’s information that people are finding to be highly relevant in today’s society.

I think reports like these are highly influential and allow people to see who they’re funding and supporting when they choose team franchises to become so loyal to.

Again, this isn’t to say that a team owner that funds republican campaigns is homphobic, racist, or anything else highly alarming.

I just feel that these reports have the potential to be telling and that it allows for consumers and fans to understand what their team owners support during highly political times.

Senior Khaleem Bennett moved from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to play basketball for UCA. Since then, Bennet hasn’t played a game that his mom was able to attend due to legal reasons. Bennett’s girlfriend has created a Gofundme so that his mom will be able to attend the game against the University of Arkansas on Dec. 12. The fund was created in Oct. and has nearly reached half of its goal.

Gofundme started for student-athlete’s mom earns over $2,200; 5k goal

BY KENNADI HARRIS

Entertainment Editor A Gofundme account for UCA men’s basketball player and senior Khaleem Bennett has been started in order to raise money for his mother to come to the US and see him play.

Bennett is an international student from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He came to the United States in 2014 to play basketball. However, since Bennett has come to the United States, his mother, Courtney Bennett, has not been able to leave Canada and see her son play due to old legal issues.

Khaleem Bennett’s girlfriend, sophomore, Destiny Cepeda started the Gofundme on behalf of Courtney Bennett in October after hearing her story. “[Cepeda] never understood why my mom never came to see me play. Basically when I told her the reason she started texting my mom without me knowing and

decided to start a gofundme,” Bennett said. The basketball player said when the Gofundme started to gain traction on social media, Cepeda surprised him with the news of her creating the campaign.

Courtney Bennett said the news made her emotional. “I started crying,” Bennett said followed by a laugh. “It was a delightful surprise...it was just great that I finally could be able to take care of my legal issues and travel freely into the states.

My mind already went to me sitting in the stands,” Bennett said.

The goal for the Gofundme is $5,000 and as of Nov. 6 it is at $2,280. Khaleem and his mother are hoping to reach this goal before the Arkansas vs. UCA game on Dec. 12.

“UCA and Arkansas are both in state and they haven’t played each other in like 20 years. It’s the biggest game of the year

and it would be awesome for my mom to come to that game especially since it’s in Arkansas and she could meet my family out here, my girlfriend’s family and stuff like that,” Bennett said.

Khaleem Bennett has been on the UCA men’s basketball team for four years now and plays as the team’s shooting guard. Nevertheless, the decision for him to transition from Canada to the United States was a difficult one for him and his mother.

“He was only just about to turn 16 [when coming to the states] and as a parent you’re not able not ready to stop raising your child at that age…the simple fact that he was a really good kid and to not be able to see him on a daily basis was really heartbreaking for me,” Courtney Bennett said.

Khaleem says the decision put a little

pressure on him. “I didn’t want to make my family disappointed so when I came to the states I basically tried to give my all into playing basketball,” Khaleem said.

Khaleem Bennett and his mother stay in contact often through phone calls and FaceTime. “She motivates me, gives me quotes and talks to me before the game.

Even after a bad loss...she’ll give me a little time and will text me then talk to me and we’ll go over what happened,” Khaleem said.

“She is one of the main people who are in my support group so for me not to be able to see my mom all the time is hard but I know no matter what I do my mom supports me and she supports me from far away.”

Donations can be made to this Gofundme at https://gf.me/u/y6ckd7.

Photo courtesy of ucasports.com

The men’s basketball team is looking to secure the win in this season’s Southland Conference Tournament. After falling short last season, the Bears won’t let COVID take away from their goals.

UCA’s men’s basketball prepares for upcoming season despite COVID-19 changes

BY ANDREW MCMAHAN Staff Writer

After falling short at the Southland Conference tournament to conclude the 2019-20 season, the University of Central Arkansas men’s basketball team is looking for a better result this season.

“Our number one and only goal as of right now is to win the Southland Conference Tournament. We know we have the pieces to do it and we feel this is our year to put it all together and make it happen,” senior guard Rylan Bergersen said. “We would love to win some of these big non-conference games and go into the conference tournament with a good seed, but getting a bid into the NCAA Tournament is our main goal and expectation. Bergersen, who averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and shot 42.3% from the field last season,

will be the leading returning scorer for UCA this season. UCA is also returning other key players such as Senior guard/ forward Eddy Kayouloud who averaged 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and shot 45.9% from the field.

“The most notable change is the departure of Hayden Koval - he was an integral part of what we did over the last three seasons on both ends of the floor,” men’s basketball head coach Anthony Boone said when discussing rotation changes.

Boone said, “Samson George, a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh, will help to add toughness and strength to fill the void left by Koval.

Also, Khaleem Bennett, while not new, did not play last season due to injury, and will help provide a tremendous boost to

NEW TRANSFER

Samson George is a new transfer to UCA from the University of Pittsburgh.

George will be playing alongside UCA’s men’s basketball team in the upcoming season as they reach for the 2021 Southland Conference win.

the team this year.”

With some uncertainties still looming about COVID-19’s impact on the upcoming season, Bergersen and other upperclassmen have been trying to lead by example on how to handle the abnormal times.

Bergersen said, “I think the biggest message we’ve been trying to send is to treat/prepare for this season the same way we typically would.” The season is starting later than normal so the conferences and NCAA could have more time to do what is necessary to successfully prepare for the season during the pandemic. Many schools, including UCA, have been forced to rebuild schedules due to cancellations in regards to COVID-19. This has led UCA to schedule some regional opponents

that the UCA is not accustomed to such as the University of Arkansas. There is excitement on both sides as these teams have not played each other since just before 1950.

Boone said, “It is great when instate teams play each other, and we are thankful for the chance to travel to Fayetteville to play the Razorbacks.

Playing the first basketball game UCA will have against them in around 70 years adds to the opportunity we have in playing a great program.”

UCA will be opening their season on November 25th at the Justin Reed Ole Miss Classic at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. UCA will face multiple regional foes in the Classic such as Arkansas State, Jackson State, and Ole Miss.

PRE-SEASON POLL

The Sugarbears have landed 6th place in the pre-season poll regarding the Southland Conference tournament. Despite COVID-19 and other obstacles, the Sugarbears are shooting for 1st in the upcoming season.

Opinion

6

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

November 11, 2020

The Voice

The two-party system needs to come to an end

The Echo Staff Ronak Patel Editor Sarah Coleman Associate Editor Delaney Van Wilpe News Editor Kaitlin Benight Assistant News Editor Elvira Toddy Campus Life Editor Haley Melendez Assistant Campus Life Editor Ashley Savage Sports Editor Ian Lyle Opinion Editor Kennadi Harris Entertainment Editor Mia Waddell Online Editor Megan Holder Social Media Editor Sidney McCoy Cartoonist

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It is not theological or biblical to “Accept Jesus” The doctrine of salvation has been flipped, stubbed their toe and yelled ‘Jesus Christ’ is going turned and watered down. God did not intend up in the rapture. for misinterpretation to happen, but mankind The Greek word for ‘call upon’ is epikaleó, stepped in and by God’s humbleness, He chose which means ‘to put a name upon or to surname’. to leave us alone because He is a gentleman that Excitingly, this means we will receive a new name refuses to violate our will. when we are saved.

I said all of that to say this: Romans 10:9 is How do you put on the name, you may ask? what most people base their salvation on. The Through baptism in Jesus Name. scripture reads, “That if In the simplest scripture, thou shalt confess with although there are others, thy mouth the Lord Jesus, Galatians 3:27 states: “For and shalt believe in thine as many of you as have been heart that God hath raised baptized into Christ have put Him from the dead, thou on Christ.” In a sense after one shalt be saved.” is baptised they become John There is no scripture Smith Jesus. that states “by accepting As a college student, online the Lord as your Savior, classes were a difficult switch. then you are saved.”

I relied heavily on lectures to Accept and believe have teach me what I needed to two different meanings. know for an exam.

by Olyvia Gonzales To understand the I approached my Staff Writer true meaning of the word spiritual life the same way; or phrase the reader must how many of us actually go go back to the original back and study the Word that language: Hebrew/Arabic (Old Testament), and is preached on Sunday?

Greek (New Testament). The Word of God calls us Now more than ever it is important to solidify believe Jesus Christ is our Savior. Believe, pietho the truth for ourselves when it comes to salvation; in the Greek, means to be persuaded, to obey, to a spoken word may sound like the truth but it must be yielded to, or to comply with. become our individualistic truth.

With a quick read through Romans, you Just the same, go study the scriptures for can most definitely come to the conclusion that yourself in the Word and correct me if I may be believing in Jesus Christ is essential in salvation. wrong.

That is where we all start as Christians.

In addition, I am not quadrilingual, but tools Romans 10:13 states, “For whosoever shall such as the Strongs Concordance, Blue Letter call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It Bible and the BibleHub will help you see the does not mean by simply uttering the name ‘Jesus’ correct Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew definitions of we are saved. If that is the case, everyone who has words in scripture.

Spotify’s new service will stunt independent artists careers In an age where it has never been easier for any $0.004 per stream. artist to be able to blow up from seemingly out of Remember when I said earlier that the music nowhere thanks to platforms such as TikTok and industry can be shady? Spotify is no different Soundcloud, Spotify has released a new feature because they weren’t even transparent about how allowing artists to take a lower royalty on their song much smaller the cut the artist would be receiving in exchange for promotion from Spotify. In other in exchange for Spotify’s help in promoting their words, Spotify is trying to finesse all independent music. artists.

Artists typically make the most money by It has been no secret that the music industry is performing on tour or through selling merchandise, riddled with shady people and deals that are done but independent artists usually don’t have this behind closed doors that are aimed at keeping the luxury as it’s harder to book tours for smaller names big music labels and organizations on top of the and even harder for them to be successful so they industry while they rake in really rely on the revenue all the fruits of the artist’s they receive from streams labor. Spotify is now making on YouTube, Apple Music, it blatantly obvious that this is Spotify, etc. That’s what what their intentions are after makes this new service from announcing their new service.

Spotify so insane to me The problem with this because they know this too, new service is that nothing they just don’t care. What is guaranteed in terms of I don’t think they expected how the artist’s music will was for the general public to be played because the artist call them out for the service would be gambling on which a great number of their song being streamed people on social media through Spotify’s autoplay and other various news

by Rob Davis feature or through radio organizations have.This Staff Writer sessions which I would newest service from have to say aren’t popular Spotify is predatory in features on the platform. every sense of the word, Another issue that arises with this service is as they look to capitalize on the hopes and dreams of that no artist is exempt from it meaning a label giant these smaller artists, hoping to catch a buzz anyway like Atlantic Records can take this risk because they can, even if it means losing out on a significant they don’t necessarily need all of the profits from amount of their revenue and knowing that nothing is their songs because they are more than likely to guaranteed from Spotify. Your song may never blow have successful releases due to the teams that up and their pockets will only continue to get bigger. are involved at labels. The everyday independent Artists need to start being respected for their artist doesn’t have that freedom to throw away a art and they should be compensated as such without percentage of their royalties from streams which having to compromise their livelihoods in hopes of are already miniscule to begin with, at an average of securing the ultimate dream career.

Americans need to stop voting in the two-party system because it is not progressive as a nation and it is merely destructive.

First, the U.S. Constitution says the nation should not be ruled by a twoparty system. Furthering this practice is unconstitutional and defies the concept of a free nation that bears democracy.

Second, voters should have the right to vote for whom they want to see in an elected position. The concept of “stealing votes” and voting within a two-party system restricts voters’ freedom to vote for whom they want to see in office.

If a candidate doesn’t receive a vote, the vote should not be seen as stolen.

Maybe they just didn’t deserve or earn it from that voter!

Guilting those who vote for a third party, any aside from Democratic or Republican, is despicable and needs to stop. Doing so silences the freedom that the voter has and defeats the purpose of a democracy. If one feels obligated to vote for one of two parties that they do not support, then what is the point of voting?

Citizens should vote for candidates, not parties. People should vote for the candidate that best suits their ideals, morals, principles, beliefs and what they want to see implemented in their city and nation.

Voters should vote for candidates with the best policy that the voter supports, not because two reigning parties have the majority of votes.

This gives voters a sense of uselessness when it comes to their vote because it tells the voter that their vote for their thirdparty candidate does not matter.

You don’t have to vote for candidates you don’t support!

Voting for other parties gives people more voices and other candidates a better chance. Many U.S. citizens complain about having to vote between two people they do not like or support, but that should not be the case.

You don’t have to vote for whom you don’t support!

Other parties should be given a chance because they can bring more to the table and progress society in various ways that have not been implemented before.

This is a reason why other countries, especially in northern Europe, are so successful.

For example, Germany comprises several parties, constantly fluctuating votes between each one. More than often in Germany than in the United States, the Green Parties win elections. There is nothing wrong with voting Green!

German voters vote to see the best in their society and economy, and that is how American voters should act. Needless to say, but Germany has one of the best economies, while the United States is in roughly $20 Trillion in debt. German voters play a huge role in their economy!

Voting for other parties outside of the two-party system is the only way to progress in politics in the United States as it will bring change in ways that have been restricted and unseen due to only voting for Democrats and Republicans.

Plenty of independents and Green Party candidates have brilliant ideas that could further the development of the economy or progression in the American society and they deserve to be given a chance.

Sure, the two parties are not all bad and nobody should feel guilty about being a Democrat or Republican. However, everyone should research every candidate in the race because they may just find the next best president outside of the two parties that dominate American politics.

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

November 11, 2020

New This Week

Pitchfork’s new podcast examines politically driven music

Movies

BY

Nov. 13 — Freaky (R), directed by Christopher Landon, starring Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn Nov. 13 — Ammonite (PG-13), directed by Francis Lee, starring Saoirse Ronan, Kate Winslet Nov. 13 — Dreamland (R), directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, starring Margot Robbie, Finn Cole

Music Nov. 13— Because of a Flower- Ana Roxanne Nov.13 - SundayCharlie Kaplan Nov. 13- Elton: Jewel Box- Elton John

DELANEY VAN WILPE

was Janelle Monae’s “Hell you Talmbout.” In this song she chants the names of Black victims of police brutality. This song later shows up, peculiarly, in David Byrne’s of the Talking Heads’ musical American Utopia. “I think it’s amazing because he’s asking you to do the same thing that she’s doing.

He’s not defanging the song.

He’s just putting it in a different context for a different purpose and for a different audience.

And that’s just making the music adaptable for a wider group of people,” King said.

Songs like this are so dire Singer Janelle Monae (left) and rapper Kendrick Lamar (right). The “When Music Becomes Too Political” to movements. Just listening episode on “The Pitchfork Review” can be listened to on all streaming platforms. to the sample of Monae’s song feels like I am in the middle of Hussey, Pitchfork Associate they just never knew. recontextualized, on one level protest. “People are looking Staff Writer, about the role of “The first mainstream that’s incredible in terms of the for this huge songs that have protest music across American protest song in popular music enduring quality of that music become kind of really important history on this episode. is very likely ‘Strange Fruit’ and how it’s managed to last. rallying cries from many During the episode, Patel by Billie Holiday. It has these Sometimes that repurposing is different backgrounds. They asked her guests various incredibly haunting and deeply problematic,” King said. have become protest music by questions on their thoughts impressionistic lyrics that use Kanye’s “Blood on the association.” Patel said. of the roots and increasing the metaphor of fruit hanging Leaves” sampling of the song Songs like Beyonce’s importance of protest music. from trees to protest the “Strange Fruit” is a prime “Formation,” Kendrick’s lynching of Black Americans,” example of this. “It felt like As the guests gave examples “Alright,” and the resurgence of artists and specific songs that King said. “It is explicit protest he was taking something that Pop Smoke’s “Dior” during are influential, there would music because it doesn’t let you was so incredibly political and the recent protests are songs be an excerpt played to follow hide. You are implicated once personalizing it in a way that was that are “very pop, but feel not only irreverent, but a little their commentary. I think this you listen to that song.” politically empowered.” element is crucial for listeners Unfortunately, these disrespectful to the original I happily recommend this because it either exposes them important songs can be context,” King said. episode, and the podcast, to to music they haven’t heard twisted in some respects as However, the listener’s music lovers and historians before or brings listeners to it is translated through time. experience can be enhanced alike. Available on Apple realize that a song they do know “When [a song has] been by the recycling of music. An Podcast and Spotify. is, in fact, a protest song and sampled and repurposed and example, provided by King,

News Editor

In the wake of an election and political unrest, “The Pitchfork Review” podcast released an essential episode over “When Music Becomes Political Protest” on Oct. 30.

The podcast is an extension of Pitchfork’s original site where they specialize in music journalism. They are well known for their album reviews and coined themselves as the “most trusted voice in music.”

The podcast, hosted by Pitchfork’s Editor-in-Chief, Puja Patel, kickstarted in July, and has released new episodes each Friday at midnight since.

“Each episode, your favorite Pitchfork writers and editors bring in-depth analysis, explore the best new music, revisit old classics and report on the latest music news,” Patel said. “It is a podcast for the music obsessed and the music curious.”

The most recent episode came just in time, right before the 2020 election. 2020 has been one of the hardest years our nation has seen; and in hard times, people make and rely on beautiful and meaningful art.

Patel speaks with Jason King, professor at NYU and founding faculty member of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and Allison

EXPRESSION

LO V E

Nov. 13 - Fear and Loneliness-The Darcys Nov. 13 - Trip Lambchop Nov. 13 —So Help Me God- 2 Chainz Nov. 13- Survival KitGoodie Mob

photo courtesy of www.nyt.com

Emma Roberts (left) and Luke Bracey (right) star in Netflix original movie, “Holidate” streaming now.

Photo taken by Haley Melendez

“Flowers on the Moon” by Billy Chapata. Avalaible now on Amazon.com

Nov. 13- MP3- 45 Erika Ender

Nov. 13- Weird!Yungblud

Netflix Nov. 11- Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun

Nov. 11- The Liberator Nov. 11- A Queen Is Born Nov. 11- What We Wanted Nov. 13- Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Nov. 13- The Life Ahead Nov. 13- The Minions of Midas Nov. 13- The Crown: Season 4

Top 5 houseplants that don’t die easily List compiled by Addoson Freeman Staff Writer

‘Holidate’ puts a new-age twist on holiday romances ‘Flowers on the Moon’ highlights self-love through beautiful poetry BY

HEIDI MACKEY

Staff Writer

A “Holidate” is someone you are casually dating around the holidays so that you do not have to be single and lonely. This term comes from the newly popular Netflix movie, the “Holidate”. This movie is currently ranking at #7 on Netflix.

The movie is centered around Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey). Sloane is recently single and tired of her mom and the rest of her family trying to set her up for the holidays.

Jackson just wants someone to take to holiday parties, so he doesn’t have to go alone.

From the very beginning, the film seems relatable on Sloane’s side. I mean, no one wants their mom constantly nagging them about dating, grandkids, and why you aren’t dating more. It’s like when you reach the mid-twenties you have to date and get married.

The holidays just make it even worse.

Sloane and Jackson set up an arrangement to bring each other to holiday parties with no strings attached and no sexual relationship.

Sloane even goes on to say how friends with benefits never works because they always realize in the end that they really do love each other.

This movie was a new spin on the friends with benefits but holiday edition. I knew from the

minute that Sloane brought that up, that is how this movie would end. It was predictable in all ways possible.

At first, they didn’t want to do the holidate arrangement and then they both finally caved into it.

If you’re looking for a movie with depth than this isn’t for you.

This movie does cover the topic of being lonely around the holidays and how depressing that could be.

Everyone can relate to being lonely and around the holidays it is even worse. That is about as much depth as you will get out of it.

Jackson’s character is condescending and pretentious with his ideas around the holidays.

His sexist opinions about women going crazy around the holidays is not all true. Not all women go crazy on the holidays and look for someone to be with. Not all women in heterosexual relationships demand the commitment. For a movie written in 2020, these ideas and opinions are really outdated.

This is a really good rom-com for the holidays. The chemistry between the two leads really makes the movie even better. I’m not sure if it’s the Australian accent from Luke Bracey but that really seals the deal.

This won’t be a holiday movie classic like “The Holiday” or “Love Actually”. I don’t recommend watching this with your family but it is more of a girl’s night vibe or date night.

1. Echeverias

2. Cacti

Echeverias are succulents, and succulents should always be a goto for those with a black thumb.

Succulents like echeveria can survive almost anything. They keep water stored in their leaves, so you don’t have to worry about watering them very often. I water mine only once a month.

Sometimes I wait even longer. If you don’t over-water it and put it by a window that gets plenty of sunlight, your succulent should thrive. Pro tip: Just because succulents are virtually indestructible doesn’t mean you should cut the stem to try to grow more than one plant. You’ll have to nurse it back to health, which takes forever. Trust me.

Cacti come in a huge variety, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one you like. Some of them are plain and green, but others can grow flowers. Plus, they’re even more indestructible than echeveria. A cactus needs plenty of sunlight and occasional watering. I’ve found that they grow pretty slowly, so if you don’t see dramatic growth after a while, there’s no need to worry. Pro tip: Plant your cactus in a planter with a hole in the bottom and bottom water it by placing the planter in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes. This will help the roots grow stronger.

BY

HALEY MELENDEZ

Associate Campus Life Editor

Poetry is a form of art that hits every person who reads it differently. If you feel like you relate to what its content offers, the words of the author hits deep, but if you’re reading it and you have no connection to the content, then the meaning is hidden.

This book will captivate any audience once it’s been opened and read.

“Flowers on the Moon”

by Billy Chapata is an eye opener. We often never hear much on the news or social media about Black male authors or their work.

Chapata would be one of those authors that many overlook because he gets drowned out by “major authors’ and celebrity autobiography books. He is now based in Atlanta, Georgia and has had many of his books and poetry published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. He has tugged the heartstrings of many fellow authors and his fans because of his poetically infused words that he has gained from his life story.

He writes them because it’s his passion, his drive, it’s his way of healing and growing, but not just for

3. Sansevieria Sansevieria has several names, but I call it the snake plant. It has many different varieties.

My expertise is in Dracaena Trifasciata. Not only does it add a beautiful pop of green to a room, but it has amazing benefits.

Sansevieria plants clean the air of toxins like formaldehyde. These plants are low-maintenance and can live in bright light or shade.

You should only water them when the soil is completely dry. Pro tip: You can use a snake plant’s leaves to tell if it needs water. If you can bend the leaves without applying much pressure, it’s time for water.

himself, for everyone who is going through the same things he did and didn’t feel like they had someone who understood.

This book was released on Oct. 20. 2020, and I had preordered it a month before because I was automatically drawn in by the design he chose and the words he used to title his book. Once that first page turned over I immediately felt like I had to keep reading till the end.

“There is nothing ordinary about you, there is nothing simplistic about you, there is nothing mediocre about you” was the first look into what Chapata had to offer to his readers. This book of poetry is full of self love, self growth, self care making connections or breaking them and learning to let the negativity in your life go at ease.

“How often are you around yourself? You’re readily available for other people but have you tended to you? Have you shown yourself the same amount of love and compassion that you’ve shown them? Have you told yourself the same beautiful things that you’ve told them?

How often?” page 105 of this beautifully constructed

4. ZZ plant

Like the snake plant, the ZZ plant cleans the air from several toxins. It’s droughttolerant, so you don’t have to worry about watering it very often. It can survive in the shade but needs an occasional visit with the sun. A ZZ plant grows extremely slowly, so don’t worry if you don’t see much change. Pro tip: Keep an eye on animals and curious children around the ZZ plant.

It’s toxic if ingested and can cause skin irritation when touched.

book. He emphasizes that we shouldnt waste our time on things that shouldn’t matter but we let them.

He has poems that are meant to help people realize that if someone treats you badly they aren’t worth anymore of the time that we gave unto them. He reaches out to teens, young adults, middle age adults and possibly even senior citizens if they themselves are going through a hard time or feel lost. On the back of the book his blurb “I am not for everyone, and that is my magic. You cannot take that from me.” adds onto the curiosity of what’s within his book, what are on those pages, will i enjoy what he has to offer?

Choosing this book of poetry was not a mistake or a regret. The $15 that it cost, was worth the insight I was exposed to while flipping through every page. if you are a fan of the poetry “milk and honey”, “The sun and all her flowers’’ or “whiskey words & a shovel” or just feel like you need to be uplifted this book of poetry is the perfect book for you. This book is on sale and available on Amazon for $13.49 as well as many bookstores worldwide.

5. Aloe Aloe is a type of succulent.

Many people have trouble keeping aloe alive, but it’s not too difficult. Aloe is finicky. It needs a lot of sunlight and not too much water. I typically water mine every couple of months. If you think your aloe plant needs water because the top of the soil looks dry, you’re probably wrong. Before you water it, stick your finger in the dirt a couple of inches, and if it feels cool and damp or if any dirt sticks to your finger, it doesn’t need water. Pro tip: If you still aren’t sure about whether your aloe needs a drink, lightly squeeze one of the leaves.

If it’s squishy, you should water it.

ucanews.live

SPORTS

8/ November 11, 2020

SPORT

UCA STATS CORNER OPPONENT

RESULT

RECORD

Football

Missouri Western State

52-10 (W)

(4-4)

Men’s Soccer

Georgia State

1-0 (L)

(3-5)

M-Basketball

TBA

TBA

TBA

W-Basketball

TBA

TBA

TBA

photo courtsey of Briana Trigg

Senior Briana Trigg spends her days checking off assignments and tasks that have to be done that is in the time that she doesn’t spend playing basketball. Post-college Trigg plans on playing overseas and training others too.

UCA basketball player dreams of international success BY

ELVIRA TODDY

Campus Life Editor Briana Trigg, number 0 on the UCA basketball team, is a humble athlete with big dreams of international success. Trigg isn’t afraid of a challenge and she is confident in the numerous possibilities her future holds.

Trigg is a senior this semester; she is pursuing a major in health education and possesses dreams of becoming a professional trainer.

Trigg explained that she chose the health education major because of the variety of options it will offer her post graduation.

Trigg explained that the field she is pursuing is a broad one. “There are a lot of options for me as far as a career.”

Trigg is originally from Tampa, FL, and before attending UCA she was enrolled at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, AL, where her team won two championships against Chattahoochee Valley Community College.

Trigg said that winning those championships are two of her fondest memories connected to the sport.

Trigg was recruited to UCA during her sophomore year, but she has been playing basketball since the sixth grade. She explained that she enjoys the sport much more now then when she was younger because at this it has become more challenging.

“I feel like I enjoy it more because the struggles this level brings,” Trigg said.

Although she isnt afraid to challenge herself,

Trigg explained that balancing school and sport can be difficult.

Trigg appreciates the difficulties that come with being a student athlete. “Whenever you get through adversity it’s a rewarding feeling.” She added that playing basketball has taught her a lot about time management.

To Trigg schoolwork is something that has to “get done regardless,” so she uses whatever freetime she has to accomplish her classwork.

The pandemic has made this semester harder for Trigg because it has kept her separated from her teammates, who she is used to spending time alongside.

Trigg is a versatile basketball player. “I can play inside and out … whatever position Coach Rushing thinks I have an advantage, depending on who we play.”

At first, Trigg was concerned about playing during a pandemic, but said that she is confident in the protocols her coach is enforcing to protect the team. “We always have to have our masks on and keep our distance,” Trigg said.

In the future, Trigg said she wants to see herself go international. “I see myself playing overseas and training people whenever I’m not in season.”

Trigg also has a twin sister, Ayanna, who plays on the basketball team with her. The two sisters were recruited to UCA together. the biggest lesson Trigg has learned from playing basketball is challenging adversity . “Whenever you get through adversity it’s a rewarding feeling,” she said.

Photo courtesy of uca.edu

Many people weren’t sure what seasons would look like for athletes after COVID-19 struck the globe earlier this year.

Ultimately, following COVID-19 protocols has allowed for them to pursue their seasons more than expected.

UCA athletics sees success in COVID-19 efforts BY

ASHLEY SAVAGE

Sports Editor

The day-to-day of a studentathlete is full of responsibilities and tasks. Throw a pandemic on top of it and it is almost unimaginable.

The arrival of COVID-19 in March has forced athletes into a bubble of precautions as they venture through their seasons with the understanding that at any moment, the team could be under quarantine.

Basketball player, Amari Mitchell, said, “We were tested weekly. Every single Tuesday between six and seven in the morning.”

Despite being around each other day in and day out, athletes across campus feel secure in the protocols being enforced.

“We are constantly in contact with each other and we naturally come across people outside of our bubble at the grocery store, picking up food and other places,” Mitchell said. “[However,] they have provided circumstances to follow that keep us safe and playing the game that we love.”

UCA’s men’s soccer player J.C. Avellaneda attested to the protocols put in place while in season, showing that the athletic department has

done everything they can to ensure that athletes are being cared for

athletic department or the students on campus, everyone is doing their

properly. “We have to be tested at least 48-72 hours before each game.

I think it’s the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Avellaneda said. “If you know who is positive,

part.

it’s easier to have it under control.”

As for positive test results, the athletic department is swift in handling them.

“Just like anybody, if one of

university.

“I think they are handling it well. It’s a difficult situation because even though they are taking a lot of measure, it can still spread,”

our teammates tests positive for COVID-19, they go into isolation on campus with the other positive cases and live at those apartments for 10 days,” Mitchell said.

Athletic Director Brad Teague has worked diligently to make

Avellaneda said. “We follow so many measures. Like when we wear masks in the locker room, or when we wear masks on the bench during games.”

The efforts are there and the numbers seen on UCA’s website confirm that these protocols really

sure that athletes across campus are being cared for. With seasons ending and other seasons beginning, his tremendous efforts will continue.

“We test once per week for

do make a difference. “[The athletic department] is making sure that we understand who all we were in contact with, providing immediate COVID-19

the fall sports,” Teague said. “We test 25% of the other sports weekly.

There have been about 400 tests each week.”

These protocols will only

testing for the individuals in contact and just making sure we have what we need to recover efficiently,” Mitchell said.

The positive cases for

intensify as needed.

“When basketball starts Nov. 25, they will test thrice weekly,” Teague said.

Life under COVID-19 is

COVID-19 are inevitable.

These protocols that are being followed have allowed for our athletes to pursure their seasons with the comfort that they are being cared for to the best of the university’s ability.

stressful for everyone involved.

Whether it be the athletes, the

Many athletes are finding it comforting that UCA’s efforts have shown to be working, not just in the athletic field, but across the

photo courtesy of UCA Sports

The pre-season poll has the Sugarbears landing in 6th overall in the Southland Conference tournament. The team hopes to work through the challenges of COVID-19 so that it can place higher up on the tournament rankings.

Sugarbears working toward high Southland placement BY

RONAK PATEL

Editor

Two weeks from today, the UCA women’s basketball team will start their season on the road against Baylor.

In the Preseason Poll, the UCA women’s basketball is projected to finish in sixth place in the Southland Conference. Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State, Abilene Christian, Texas A&M- Corpus Christi and Southeastern Louisian are expected to finish ahead of UCA. The poll was conducted by Southland coaches and sports information directors from around the conference.

Last year’s poll also projected UCA to finish sixth in the conference.

Headcoach Sandra Rushing hopes the Preason Polls projection will bring motivation to the team, “I was really surprised to be ranked that high (sixth) considering how we finished last year. I hope this is a motivating factor for our players. I really don’t pay that much attention to preseason polls. A lot of things can happen throughout the season and it’s not where you start but where you finish,” Rushing said to UCA Sports.

One of the areas that stopped the team from finishing higher in the standings last year was their record on the road, they finished 4-11 in away games. At home the Sugarbears was able to rack up more wins than loses finishing with a home record of 9-5. The team finished with an overall record of 13-16. The Sugarbears will also look to improve their record within the conference. The team

finished with a record of 9-11 against conference opponents.

One of the areas, the team struggled with was three-point shooting. The Sugarbears finished the season shooting 24% from beyond the arc. During the offseason, the team addressed their threepoint shooting with the addition of senior guard Tori Lasker. Lasker is a transfer student from UA Little Rock. Lasker led the Trojans with 38 threepointers made. Lasker will provide floor spacing needed to create space for junior guard/forward Briana Trigg and junior forward Hannah Langhi.

Langhi and Trigg were the leading scorers for the team last season.

In addition Lasker, the Sugarbears added transfers: sophomore point guard Charlay Conway, junior forward Lucy Ibeh, junior guard Lauryn Mapusua and junior guard/forward Anita Payne.

Along with the transfers, the team added freshmen two freshmen— forward Jayla Cody and guard/ forward Ruth Balogun.

This season UCA’s men and women’s basketball teams will play the Razorbacks. The Sugarbears will get to the face the Razorbacks on Dec. 13. Another notable opponent on the Sugarbears’ schedule will be a road game against Mississipi State on Dec. 20. The Sugarbears will play two SEC teams this season.

For fans who want to support the Sugarbears in person, the first home game will be played on Dec. 5 versus Central Baptist.