Issue 16, Volume 118 -- February 8, 2023

Volume 118 — Issue 16

TODAY’S FORECAST

Campus Life:

A deep dive inside the lives of Bruce and Sugar Bear

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THE NEWSDESK FROM THE ASSISTANT

EDITOR

INTERNATIONAL

Middle East quake kills at least 4,000

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 and injured thousands more in Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6.

The quake toppled hundreds of buildings and many were trapped underneath rubble. The area is home to thousands of refugees from Syria’s Civil War, and mosques around the region have opened up as temporary shelters. The Turkish president said they were not yet sure of the casualty count.

NATIONAL

U.S. shoots down Chinese balloon

The U.S. shot down a highaltitude balloon from China off the Carolina coast Feb. 4 after it crossed over the country. China denied spying on Montana military sites and said the balloon was an off-course weather research airship with limited self-steering capability. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his Beijing trip, which was aimed to ease tensions between the two countries. The meeting was originally agreed on by President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Nov. 2022.

Memphis Zoo

panda dies at 24

Le Le, a giant panda at the Memphis Zoo, died Feb. 1. The zoo’s president, Matt Thompson, commented on the unexpected death and said there were no indications of sickness in footage of Le Le. Advocacy group Panda Voices said they saw Le Le collapse on the panda cam, and when they reached out for more information, they were told there were no health issues. A spokesperson said Le Le’s death will be investigated and that Panda Voices has made false accusations before.

Nephew of former governor in prison

Former Arkansas Sen.

Jeremy Hutchinson was sentenced to 46 months in prison Feb. 3. Hutchinson pleaded guilty to fling a false tax return and conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, and he admitted to accepting bribes from orthodontic clinics in to alter dental practice laws. Hutchinson, who is former Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s nephew, was fned $350,000.

Why did UCA Athletics suspend the cheer team?

Sports: Men’s Basketball: Bears destroy FGCU 91-87

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Community searches for teen girl; organizers want CPD to do more

BY EMILY KENNARD News Editor & BY MILO STRAIN

Entertainment Editor

The Conway community came together to canvass neighborhoods for leads about a missing 14-year-old girl Sunday afternoon, and residents say they’ve done so in the absence of police action. The canvassing came after parties made weekend searches for Tanvi Marupally through Petit Jean and Woolly Hollow State Parks, which returned no leads.

Residents met for canvassing assignments at Northside Church of Christ, which is connected to Davis Street, where Marupally was last seen walking north Jan. 17, according to the Conway Police Department’s Facebook posts.

Jenny Wallace, a stayat-home mom, said Marupally befriended her daughter when she was a new student at Conway Junior High School.

Wallace said she’s been organizing the searches with a lot of help.

“I have noticed that a lot of things have gone undone that should have been done in the frst week or two of her missing, and so I’ve just tried to make as much noise as possible about it, to try to get the community to bridge that gap,” she said.

Wallace said, “Her parents have come against so many obstacles that … many in the community wouldn’t have come against if it had been our child.”

“Our biggest thing right now is just trying our hardest to get anything on camera,” Wallace said. “That’s why we would love a press conference, love for the police department to

beg the community to watch their videos, because that is our best chance of putting together clues, and we just haven’t had any luck with that,” she said.

Gary Logan, an organizer and former Conway principal, said, “Just to think that we’re at the three-week point, and then we’re just now having mass searches. Not what we would think in our town, but it’s the harsh reality of where we are, so we just deal with it.”

Logan said the community would like to see more from the police. “We understand that there’s only a fnite amount of resources, but most certainly we would like to see more urgency and more of a response,” Logan said.

Logan frst learned that Marupally was missing on Facebook, where posts about her from local residents and the Conway Police Department have been liked and shared hundreds of times in an effort to increase awareness.

Marilyn Chapman, a Conway Junior High School

REWRITE

librarian, helped assign volunteers streets to canvass.

“I’m grateful for the community. I was starting to feel hopeless, kind of, but then everybody showed up and it kind of made me feel rejuvenated,” Chapman said.

They used a large map of Conway and highlighter markers to keep track of areas already searched.

The organizers also provided volunteers with stacks of missing posters to hand out and hang around Conway and scripts to go door-to-door.

Community members donated water and snacks for the canvassers, and the Northside Church of Christ was open for volunteers to pray or use the restroom.

Wallace said the community should pressure the police to respond more.

“I feel like there is more being done now, but we’re coming into week three,” Wallace said. “She’s a missing teen. She’s a 14-year-old, and

See Child - page 2

State senator rewriting bill about campus free speech

BY BLAKE WEAVER

Sta Writer

An Arkansas State Senator withdrew a bill that would have affected where free expression could be performed on campus, following bipartisan criticism of the bill’s vague language. The senator plans to reintroduce the bill at a later date.

Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) sponsored SB125, which would have amended 2019’s Forming Open and Robust University Minds Act. The law made outdoor areas at public universities a “public forum for members of the campus community.”

The proposed senate bill aimed to change the FORUM Act’s name to the “Free Thought in Higher Education Act” and to amend the restrictions “state-supported institutions of higher education” could impose on free expression.

Sullivan’s bill wanted indoor oncampus areas — as opposed to solely outdoor areas — to count as a public forum for campus community members.

Sullivan said, “This bill sought to bring the same rights to free speech from outside to inside … The bill accounts for disruptions to the learning environment and says no one can disrupt the educational process.”

“One example is, if drag queens wanted to walk through campus, universities cannot make a policy that they can’t, same with religious institutes as long as they don’t disrupt classes,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, explaining what he had in mind while drafting SB125, said, “Do a search for 10 minutes on students who have been disciplined for expressing

Lifestyle:

Baum Gallery exhibit displays Black art, culture

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Athletics

BY JULIA TRANTHAM

Assistant Campus Life

The UCA cheer team was suspended Monday, Feb. 6. The team posted a petition to overturn the decision and said that its coach failed to attend games and practices.

Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Teague informed the public in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter.

The statement did not give a reason for suspension, but said that the program is looking to reorganize the program for the upcoming fall semester, including new leadership for the cheer team.

Teague said in a follow-up statement that there are many alums in the area that are willing to assist with the program.

“In regard to the national competition, former UCA cheerleader Antonio Anderson has agreed to coach the competition squad this spring,”

Teague said. “He will serve on an interim, part-time basis to ensure our team is prepared for national competition.”

The follow-up statement said that plans for the future will include hiring a full-time coach to lead the team through changes in the program for fall 2023.

The initial statement said, “We look forward to announcing our intentions in the coming weeks,” Teague said. “We are also exploring opportunities that would allow our national competition team to compete this spring at their national event.”

After the initial announcement, UCA Cheer created a petition on Change. org to gather signatures from the student body and outside support from the community to overturn their suspension.

“Please sign this to

their views on campus, for expressing controversial views.

“Students have been asked to leave class based on their personal views and professors have removed these students from class for expressing views opposing their viewpoints.”

Jeremy Gillam, director of governmental affairs and external relations at UCA, expressed his concerns over Sullivan’s proposed changes to the FORUM Act.

“It would be diffcult to determine the impact because of the vagueness of the bill. Could be tremendous. It could cause disruption in class and chaos,” former Arkansas House Speaker Gillam said.

Gillam said the bill “does not delineate language between students, staff and the general public that would be allowed on campus … it would be very diffcult to govern, students wouldn’t know if they could or couldn’t say something.”

Gillam said he does not support SB125.

“Freedom of expression is important. However, there has to be a functionality to it so there is no disruption to classes and the student experience,” he said.

Gillam said Senate Education Committee members across the board shared the same opinion.

Gillam said, “The bill removes the frst amendment in numerous places, and creates a new poorly defned meaning of ‘expression,’ and is not a workable bill in the way it is currently written,” Gillam said.

See Rewrite - page 2

City building its 33rd full-size roundabout north of campus

BY MILO STRAIN Entertainment Editor

The city of Conway started construction of a roundabout at Donaghey and Prince early January. It expects to complete it this April or May as part of a larger project to improve traffic and safety on Donaghey Avenue.

Just north of UCA campus, a section of Prince is closed while the city road crew converts the signalized intersection to a roundabout.

The Donaghey Avenue Improvements project, which started with the roundabout at Donaghey College Avenues, also includes

plans for a roundabout at Donaghey and Caldwell, according to Kurt Jones, director of the Conway Department of Transportation.

“The biggest benefit that we get out of roundabouts is improved safety,” Jones said. “Even in situations where they don’t have a huge benefit in traffic flow, they have a huge benefit in traffic safety.”

Federal Highway Administration studies “indicated that roundabouts result in a 90% reduction in fatalities, a 76% reduction in injuries and a 35% reduction in all crashes compared to other types of intersections,” Jones said.

suspends cheer; volunteer coach steps up

photo by Milo Strain

City employees work Feb. 6 to convert existing Donaghey-Prince infrastructure to a roundabout. Construction began in January on the city’s 33rd full-size roundabout, and it will be completed in April or May.

photo courtesy of UCA Cheer Facebook

The UCA cheer team stand in front of its third-place trophy in Daytona, Florida, on April 8, 2022 after the National Cheerleaders Association’s national competition. The team started a petition to compete again in 2023.

photo by Milo Strain

At a table in the Northside Chuch of Christ parking lot, Shanda New, Marilyn Chapman and Jason Chapman work on assigning volunteers areas to canvass. Marilyn is a librarian at CJHS.

Police Beat

Car smoke session sees blunt ending

Students Kason Sprinkle and Jackson Hill received a UCA drug citation and nonstudent Christopher Clampit received a verbal warning for 2.9 grams of marijuana. Officer

Skyler Cox conducted a probable search after approaching the parked car in the Legacy Learning parking lot and smelling marijuana Jan. 29 at 4:21 a.m. During the search, Cox found the marijuana in the form of two blunts and burnt ends of marijuana cigarettes, a Rubbermaid container of alcohol and a gallon jug of alcohol. Sprinkle said half the marijuana and alcohol was his and Hill claimed the other half.

Spirit:

RA gets police to pour out alcohol

Students Madilyn Zuber, Elana Scott, Avery Shell, Hailey Taylor, Kate Mcalister, Sarah Adams, William Musik and Karter Paelczak received alcohol violations after a Bear Hall resident assistant, whose name was masked by UCAPD, notified UCAPD. Officer Steve Pointer arrived at the room in Bear Hall at 10 p.m. Jan. 30, Upon arrival, the RA had collected all the alcohol and the student identification numbers of the students involved. Pointer poured the partial bottle of vodka and the partial bottle of wine down the drain and disposed of the bottles.

Busted party ends with student arrest

After Anna Crandall and Bethany Briggs were given drug and alcohol violations, respectively, they directed Officers Tommy Wise and Kaylob Boykin to the Stadium Park apartment where they partied Feb.

5. Student Emmanuel Smith answered and Wise said he smelled burnt marijuana and saw smoke. After searching the apartment, Wise found marijuana butts in the bathroom. Students Erin Birdwell, Hannah Cook and Derrick Lee got drug citations and three nonstudents were banned from campus. Smith had a warrant from Conway PD and was taken to county jail.

Team’s petition details lack of coach support

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overturn what the AD said and get them a temporary coach to finish out the season,” the petition said.

“This [suspension] means no competition at NCA in Daytona Florida, no basketball season, and no appearances. The reasoning they received was for complaints and being disrespectful,” the petition said.

The team claims that the reasoning for their suspension is false.

“The athletes had valid

complaints to the university for the last two years,” the petition said. “They wanted a coach who would coach them.”

The team said that the 2022-2023 season began with 40 athletes and lost 20 in just one semester because of the coaching staff. The team also said that the team lost two more athletes during January 2023.

The team also claimed that their coach had not shown up to most of the practices or games.

Tra c: Roundabouts

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Roundabouts aren’t just a safety measure, though.

“Generally, a roundabout will increase the capacity and function of an existing signalized intersection,” Jones said. “In almost every situation, there’s a significant increase in the actual level of service of that intersection.”

Three roundabouts on Donaghey Avenue, in conjunction with the corridor of roundabouts on Prince Street, will improve traffic flow in the area northeast of campus, in addition to making it a much safer area to drive or walk in.

“When you use roundabouts in that situation, where they’re not just a stand-alone roundabout, they actually have an even larger benefit in keeping traffic flowing down that corridor,” Jones said.

“You’ve probably been

Child:

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she’s missing and endangered. I wish that we could focus on that instead of insisting she’s run away.”

“I also feel like there’s no police presence today helping,” she said.

Wallace said Marupally ran away before, but only for a day.

“This is a totally different situation … and it’s winter. She has no cellphone, she’s 14, she has no social media.”

“I have been told by the police that the chief has said there will be no press conference for this child, and that’s very perplexing to make a statement on that … for a case that is active, for a community that’s begging to help bring this child home.”

Wallace, gesturing to the

street behind her, said, “Davis was the last street she was seen on. The railroad tracks are right down here. We didn’t know, did she cross the railroad, or did she go on either side of the railroad?”

Wallace said she wanted to know if a nearby apartment complex’s cameras had seen Marupally. “I called them and asked about the footage 13 days in. No one had known. No police offcer had spoken to them. It is the very next camera she would have been caught on,” she said, adding that the camera’s angle was too low to show someone walking by the tracks anyway.

“When I asked the police about that, he just said, we just must have missed that. But I asked him also, then

tell me how many videos have been viewed. How many Ring videos of residences have been viewed? And he said zero,” Wallace said.

Wallace said she’s received hundreds of Facebook messages offering to help and that the community’s been amazing.

“I raised money to put up billboards and buy banners, and we were able to afford two billboards, like 20 banners, some magnets. But, then probably six to seven more people have donated digital billboards, just free,” Wallace said.

She said, “The community has really risen, and I think it’s because they feel like, why has enough not been done?”

“This team coached themselves almost every single practice,” the petition said.

“There was no direction or coaching. Athletes were told if they got hurt and the coach was not in attendance then they would not be covered under the school’s insurance,” the petition said. “What is that?

This is a safety issue as well.”

The petition gathered 4,078 signatures before it was closed, following Anderson’s agreement to coach the team.

help with tra c ow

in situations where you’ve seen like, you hit every red light along a stretch of signals,” Jones said. “With the roundabouts, you don’t; that’s not an issue.”

Roundabouts also save the city of Conway a significant amount of money every year.

The Donaghey and Prince construction will be the 33rd full-size roundabout in Conway, while the city maintains “around 66” signal lights, Jones said.

“Last year, on maintenance on our traffic signals, we spent over $300,000,” Jones said. “Do you know how much we spent on our roundabouts?”

“We don’t even track it because, I mean, we don’t spend anything on it,” Jones said. “I would guess if I had to put a number to it I would say we’ve spent less than $10,000 … just on mowing

FEES

and watering, and we do all that in-house.”

Signal lights require normal maintenance and repairs. They can malfunction and vehicles can hit them.

Last year, there “were a couple [signal lights] that needed complete rewires,” which was part of the reason for the $300,000 maintenance bill, Jones said, adding that figuring out the timing of each intersection and dialing in the system is a costly and timely process.

Roundabouts also continue to function during power outages.

The total cost of the Donaghey-Prince roundabout won’t be known until it’s complete, but the average full size roundabout costs the city of Conway about $800,000, said Jones.

SGA discusses room and board increases, buying campus bikes

BY TORRIE HERRINGTON

Assistant News Editor

Vice President of Student Affairs Operations Robin Williamson,

Interim

Vice President

Terri Canino and Aramark

General Manager

Joshua Gorham presented potential a 4.97% increase in room and board for next semester.

“What we would like to propose for next year, as you can see, is a modest 5% increase, which would be an additional $413 annually,” Williamson said.

She explained that currently, students in a double room and the total access meal plan are paying $8,250. The proposal would have students pay $8,663 for the same plan next year.

Gorham explained that the increase in room and board is

correlated with the rising rate of infation.

“When we go to the retail outlets in town, we see food costs rise in real-time, but right here, we’re stuck with this 5% fat rate throughout the course of the entire year,” Gorham said. “So when that food cost is hitting everyone, students may not be as impacted.”

Alongside the room and board increase, they’re proposing a $50 increase to the dining dollar balance.

Senator Makenna Goss asked how the increase might affect the services that students currently have access to. Tarino said there might be a slight decrease in hours at places like Twisted Taco.

Richard Hammond and Robert Stine from the Campus Outdoors Pursuits and Activities proposed purchasing 50 to 100 more bikes for students.

“In general, there are about 30 to 40 circulating at any given time,” Hammond said. “We probably turn down at least half or maybe even more of the people that come by asking for bikes on a daily basis.”

Hammond presented three different bike options COPA suggests. For 100 bikes, Haro Brand would cost $67,105.98, Specialized bikes would cost $80,142.49, and Trek bikes would cost $86,880.90.

Stines said that COPA could cover 50% of the costs if 50 bikes are purchased.

He also said if more than 50 bikes are purchased, an additional $5,000 rack system will also have to be purchased because UCA currently only has enough rack room for 60 bikes.

SGA will vote on the COPA bike motion in a future meeting.

leads. Marupally is a 14-year-old Conway Junior High School student who has been missing since Jan. 17.

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“There is always a difference between concept and what is actually in the bill,” he said.

Gillam expressed what he thought needed to change in the bill.

Gillam said, “The sponsor’s intent was to just make the FORUM Act encompass indoor areas. [The bill] needs more defned terminology. The sponsor needs to proceed in a collaborative manner with the

UCA employee criticizes bill’s language

Senate Education Committee to make it workable on campus.”

“The way it is written right now makes any building accessible to the public, not just a lobby to a building … it could impact student learning. The bill is reactive, not proactive in taking care of disruptions on campus,” Gillam said.

Sullivan said he pulled SB125 because he “needed to rewrite a few things on it before

reintroducing the bill.” Sullivan offered to come to talk to students and hear their thoughts on the bill.

“Students want to be in class to learn … University administrations are opposed to this bill because they think the students aren’t able to handle freedom of expression and will cause disruptions to classes,” Sullivan said.

University cancels instruction; some have online class anyway

BY EMILY KENNARD News Editor

Winter storms forced UCA to close campus and cancel instruction Jan. 31, Feb. 1 and part of Feb. 2, but not all students felt off the hook at frst.

Some woke up to emails about Zoom classes, like the students invited to a 9:25 a.m. meeting titled “Art Appreciation in an Ice Storm” by adjunct instructor Michael Lierly.

Students in managing systems and technology, an upper-level computer information systems class taught by professor Brigid Appiah Otoo, were notifed of an “online class tomorrow [Jan. 31],” and given a Zoom link for 9:25 a.m.

Professor Muatez Mohammed’s physical science for general education classes met virtually at 9:25 a.m. and 10:50 a.m. Jan. 31.

Sophomore family and consumer science education major Shelby Bates said, “Honestly, I was not quite upset about my professor still having

class but I did think having lab still due was unexpected because I was not able to ask questions,” adding the labs are usually due Tuesday nights.

Associate Provost Jonathan Glenn emailed department chairs and deans Tuesday at 11:55 a.m. that when instruction is canceled, “there are no synchronous requirements for students. It is fne to have alternative asynchronous assignments and activities on-going.”

The Echo did not receive any reports about classes Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday or before 10 a.m. Thursday.

The email from the president’s offce canceling class for Feb. 1 further clarifed, “When classes are canceled, there are no synchronous requirements for students.”

UCA’s Director of Media Relations Fredricka Sharkey said there should have been no required synchronous meetings.

“It is possible that some faculty members did proceed with virtual instruction. Students may contact the appropriate department chair/

school director in those cases,” Sharkey said. A contact list for academic administrators is available on UCA’s website on the academic affairs page.

The misunderstanding sheds light on the university’s decision-making process during inclement weather.

Sharkey said moving face-to-face courses to online formats for brief periods is challenging, which is why synchronous meetings weren’t required.

“Some of those challenges include the ability of students or instructors to access a stable internet connection, and the possibility that many students may not have the necessary technology to fully participate, causing disparities in access,” Sharkey said.

Sharkey said, “Class instruction is canceled at the direction of President Davis, in consultation with the Provost’s Offce, members of the executive staff, and specifc members of campus leadership that are activated during inclement weather events.”

ZOOM

A fyer for Tanvi Marupally ofers a $5,000 reward for

Campus Life

Around Campus:

Headphone Disco: Celebrating Black Artists

From 6-10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the Student Activities Board will be in the Student Center Ballroom hosting a silent dance party. The disco will feature music by black artists in honor of Black History Month.

Made with Love Blanket Making

From 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, BearX and The Oaks will be in the Oaks Community hosting a blanket making night in collaboration with Bear Village to create blankets that will later be passed out to the community of the participants’ choosing.

Joyfully Embroidery

From 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, Carmichael Hall and BearX will be in Carmichael Hall inviting students to come and embroider a design.

Residents will be given the space to have an authentic conversation about how they have developed since being on campus.

Speed Dating

From 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, the African Students Association will be hosting speed dating for an opportunity for students to get to know each other and celebrate Valentine’s Day. The event will be in Torreyson West 320.

Girls Night Out

From 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, Chi Alpha will be having a GNO, where students will gather together and learn about reupholstering a cushion for furniture. All women are welcome to come and hang out for the event in the Chi Alpha Building.

Country Line Dancing

From 12-1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, students can jump in line and dance in a fun way to highlight Black/country culture and learn about some traditional line dances that are well known. The event will be in the State Hall lobby and hosted by BearX and State Hall.

Galentine’s Sigma Kappa COB event

From 6-8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, Sigma Kappa will be hosting Galentine’s in their house. Join members in decorating cookies while learning about Greek life. Come dressed in your Valentine’s attire!

Behind the suit

inside the lives of Bruce and Sugar Bear

BY MADISON OGLE Associate Editor

For the students behind Bruce and Sugar Bear, the life of a UCA mascot is far from unbearable.

However, a key part of keeping the mascot life fun lies mainly in anonymity and keeping the Bruce and Sugar Bear sides separate from their student lives.

“It’s one of those things where, for lack of better terms, I feel like if you’re running around saying who you are, you’re more of a clout chaser,” Bruce said. “That’s not what it’s about, it’s about making other people happy and doing something that represents school or doing something that represents yourself.”

The student behind the Bruce persona was no stranger to mascoting prior to coming to UCA. In fact, he didn’t even need to audition for the role.

“I actually got recruited to come do it,” Bruce said. “I started back during freshman year in high school. I was doing it just because I had gone to a football game with my parents and seen it when I was a little kid. I thought it was cool.”

He pursued mascoting for the remainder of high school, even working with an acting agency outside of school. The offer to become Bruce came while he was still in high school.

For the student who plays Sugar, the process of becoming a mascot wasn’t quite the same.

“I knew [Bruce] and thought about mascoting at the school before because we went to the same school,” Sugar said. “They didn’t have a mascot after he left and they didn’t hold tryouts or anything, so he just said ‘Hey, there’s an open spot for Sugar. You wanna do it?’”

In 1975, State College of Arkansas — formerly Arkansas State Teachers College — became the University of Central Arkansas. Prior to this year, you wouldn’t have seen any sort of mascot foating around campus or among pages of the Scroll.

The frst icon of UCA was dubbed Mr. Bear. The character was sponsored by the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity and the costume consisted of a single fur bodysuit and a head smaller than Bruce’s. By 1977,

Mr. Bear had a sculpted face and commanded a pronounced gut. By 1982, Mr. Bear’s name was changed to Huggy Bear.

The suit was later updated and the name changed to Victor E. Bear. By 2010, this third rendition of the suit had been renamed to Bruce D. Bear. By 2012, The suit had changed to resemble the modern-day Bruce seen on the feld today. In conjunction with Bruce’s offcial debut was the start of tailgating along Bruce street.

Sugar Bear was formerly known as Victoria Bear before her eventual name change to match Bruce.

Though Sugar Bear hasn’t always been part of the mascot package here at UCA, she said her experience so far has been worthwhile — particularly when it comes to meeting fans.

“There’s this girl, she’s like two or three, and she always runs up to me and says ‘mommy bear’ and it’s the cutest thing ever,” Sugar said. “She will just follow me around a little bit … It’s just so cute. She’s probably my favorite person I’ve come in contact with.”

Bruce said that as far as rewarding interactions go, most interactions with the UCA Marching Band are always memorable.

“There will be times where the band will come up to me like I’m some superstar and ask me for my autograph and stuff like that,” Bruce said. “It’s one of those ego boost type moments. I’m for it 100%.”

Overall, being a mascot is something that Bruce said has taught him a lot.

“I want to say you learn a lot about yourself whenever you’re doing it because you’ll go out in the suit and everybody wants to be your friend, everybody wants to know you, everybody wants to hang out with you,” Bruce said. “Everybody wants to see you, take pictures, get autographs, do this and that. Then you have class the next day and you’re a normal person again.”

Bruce said, “Nobody knows, nobody asks, nobody says anything about it. So you learn that ‘hey, I may have thought I was really important. But I know I’m not that important.”

A balance between student life and being in character, Bruce said, is crucial

to approaching the responsibility of a UCA mascot. He said that no matter what, being Bruce is about doing something that people appreciate.

Outside of the suit, Bruce said he is very different from when he’s performing.

“[A] person can have a specifc personality that is Sugar or is Bruce,” Bruce said. “Whenever I’m in the suit, I like to think I’m very outgoing, all over the place, off the walls … Outside of the suit though, I’m more close-knit, [sticking] to my friends. It’s almost like having an alter ego.”

Sugar said she feels more reserved than Bruce outside of costume, but

that the switch to get into character is essentially synchronous with putting the head on.

“[Bruce] says he’s more reserved, but he’s more outgoing than he thinks he is. It’s a little bit harder for me to get into tune with it,” Sugar said. “But once I do, I think it’s easier. Especially if I’m around little kids.”

Sugar recalled visiting a Girl Scouts convention where she stayed in character the entire time.

“It was super fun because everybody was really excited to see me,” Sugar said. “I feed off the people’s energy around me.”

Alexsis Byrd: resident assistant, anthropology enthusiast

BY JULIA TRANTHAM Assistant Campus Life Editor

If you’re looking for a person who’s involved on campus, look no further. Senior Alexsis Byrd balances being a student along with their involvement in being an ambassador, being in the Housing Staff Association, Beartegrity and being a member of the anthropology club.

“I am just an average member in my clubs, but sometimes being a member means working as hard as the executives at times,” Byrd said. Byrd said she does many different things in each group for the public.

“We are doing things to help student staff for housing, putting on programs for the general community or showing off what UCA has to offer to prospective students,” Byrd said. “The most challenging aspect for HSA and Beartegrity is trying to express how fun an event is and getting students to come to them. However, the ones that show up have a great time.”

As an ambassador, Byrd works as a volunteer to show prospective students and others around UCA.

“An ideal day for an ambassador is to be able to give two rounds of tours. [During] office hours, we spend time prepping for event days such as Bear Facts Day and Distinguished Scholars Day or prepping for our normal tours.”

Byrd said their favorite part of being an ambassador is helping others.

“My favorite part is getting to show people what our campus has to offer from an inside source,” Byrd said. “I want to tell them about our amazing campus and all it has waiting for them.”

Byrd said that the other ambassadors make the job feel as if she is working with a family.

“We have team outings as well as fun refresher trainings,” Byrd said. “Last semester we had a full summer camp moment for training.”

Byrd described their involvement in Beartegrity and what kind of activities are happening.

“Housing staff get together and put on programs for the UCA community instead of just our residence buildings,” Byrd said.

“Being a member is being open to new ideas, as well as raising awareness for events with larger themes. In April,

we will be hosting an event called The Green Bandana Project that promotes suicidal awareness.”

Byrd said she is thankful for her experiences in the group.

“I’ve learned that I really enjoy working with a group of individuals that all strive for the same objective,” Byrd said. “April is a big month because of Beartegrity Week so we have events happening every day that we all plan and strive to make happen.”

Byrd also works in Housing and Residence Life, and currently works as an RA in New Hall.

“I have been loving every second of it,” Byrd said. “Being able to help the community in dorms makes me very happy. I love getting the opportunity to help a new year of residents or an older group of residents and I deeply love working with my staff.”

Byrd said she feels that the staff has also helped her stay in housing for the four years she has been in it.

“I got into housing because I had a really good RA my freshman year,” Byrd said. “She made me feel comfortable and happy to be in a new setting, even though I knew nothing about being a college student.”

Byrd said she feels she has learned many life skills that she can use in future jobs.

“You gain a lot of experience having to handle awkward conversations or roommate disagreements or even just paperwork,” Byrd said.

Byrd said their current plan after graduation is to further their education.

“I would love to work for a museum in any way,” Byrd said. “I took our museum anthropology course last semester and I have had a love for museum work from then on. I enjoy learning and sharing my knowledge with others.”

Byrd said that studying and learning about anthropology brings them the most joy in their classes.

“I changed to anthropology when I was a late sophomore and it has really become a true passion for me,” Byrd said. “I think that my major is the coolest thing ever. I fell in love after taking an introduction to anthropology course and I have been grateful for that ever since.”

photos courtesy of Alexsis Byrd

photo bottom right: Madison Ogle, others courtesy of The Scroll

feld of fowers. (Bottom) Byrd poses with a bird.

Top left: Mr. Bear, the frst UCA mascot, sponsored by Sigma Tau Gamma. Top right: Mr. Bear’s successor, Huggy Bear. Bottom right: Victor E. Bear. Bottom left: Bruce D. Bear.

4/ February 8, 2023 CAMPUS LIFE ucanews.live

What is your favorite thing to do when you’re stuck indoors?

Virtual edition

photos by Brenna Metts and Julia Trantham

FINE ARTS

Students make origami art to put in museum

BY BRENNA METTS

Sta Writer

Students for the Arts invited students of all disciplines to fold origami lotus flowers for the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Thursday.

The paper flowers produced by the students and many others across the state will all become part of the AMoFA’s collaborative “Art Garden,” an installation commemorating the grand reopening of the museum happening in April.

According to arkmfa. org, this collaborative art installation is going to be the biggest art installation in Little Rock history with an estimated participation of 11,000.

The museum called for participation in December of 2022, providing video tutorials on their website on how to fold the lotus flower as well as how to make your own origami paper using sun printing and cyanotype methods.

Students who participated in Thursday’s event were provided with their own paper and watched the AMoFA’s provided tutorial videos for guidance as they folded away.

Joe Hughes, a freshman fine arts major, said that once he got the hang of the steps

from the video, he really enjoyed himself, especially when he got to experiment with the big paper to try and make the biggest flower.

“I always like being part of exhibitions that do something with the community … So it’s super fun to get to do this with something I haven’t done before, like origami,” Hughes said.

As an inexpensive, fairly easy activity, Dr. Gayle Seymour, associate dean of fine arts and communications at UCA, said that the origami event was a great way to get students involved in the organization. Seymour also expressed a desire for students of all disciplines to see they were welcome to attend the event and join the organization’s art advocacy cause.

“You might not be a painter to be an artist. You can be a culinary artist, you can be an architect, you can be a landscape designer, you can do any of these things … They are all essential to this creative economy and this quality of life that we really think art is …” Seymour said. “Our real goal for Students for the Arts is that you don’t have to be an art major, you just have to want

UNITY IN MOVEMENT

the arts to be a focus in people’s lives,” Seymour said.

Seymour also expressed her excitement in future collaboration with the AMoFA, whose opening is fast approaching.

“I firmly believe that you can’t just hope it happens, you gotta make it happen, so we need to be a little more aggressive in our outreach with them,” Seymour said.

“Even though it’s a museum that’s already been established, this is going to be a real game changer for Little Rock, for Arkansas, and for a kind of art tourism that is becoming more and more possible. I mean how beautiful is it? You go to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, you stop at UCA to see the Baum Gallery, the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts, you keep going and you end up at Crystal Bridges. It’s a beautiful kind of art extravaganza!” Seymour said.

“That’s what we really need to think about. How can we really put ourselves, this city of colleges, on the arts map?” said Seymour.

The next event for Students for the Arts is Feb. 16 and will involve students making art advocacy zines.

Dancers United: family first, dancers second

BY HANNAH ROHRER

Sta Writer

The University of Central Arkansas is home to around

200 Registered Student Organizations, one of which is Dancers United. Founded in 2009, Dancers United has not always been united.

UCA used to have two dance groups: Top Knotch and Unlimited. For the greater good of campus camaraderie, the groups joined forces to become Dancers United.

Dancers United is not only a dance group, but a networking organization that has helped members of the group obtain spots on professional teams and have doors opened that they otherwise would not have.

Some members have seen firsthand the opportunities that DU can bring to the table.

Ashley Miller is the current president of Dancers United.

Now a Senior, she has been serving as president for two, going on three years.

Miller has been dancing since the fifth grade when she decided to join her middle school’s dance team. A natural talent, she was choreographing for herself and others as early as 10th grade when she was awarded captain of a majorette team while in high school.

Incredibly proud of Dancers United and its growth in the past decade, Miller attributes DU to helping her achieve membership in a professional dance and choreo group, The FULFHEEL.ING Experience, which she also happens to be president of.

“I would love everyone to know that Dancers United isn’t all about dancing, it’s so much more,” Miller said. “We work to improve our resumes, we serve our community and we build leaders and future mentors. Every rehearsal is a life lesson that’ll build not only their professional careers but academic careers as well.”

Blessing Odusola, a UCA graduate in the process of

getting her masters, took on the role of vice president in fall 2022. She has been a member of DU since 2018.

“It’s brought a world of connections I otherwise would not have had, especially within the dance industry,” Odusola said of the benefits of being in DU. “It really fostered one of my major career paths and shaped the foundation of what that looks like for me today.”

If you are interested in DU’s upcoming events, make sure to check out the event that keeps campus talking: “The Valentine’s Soiree: Lost, Lust, Love.” The soiree will be held Feb. 14 at the Ronnie Williams Student Center ballroom and doors open 6:30 p.m.

There will be a special guest appearance made by The FULFHEEL.ING Experience, which both Miller and Odusola are members of.

The Soiree involves participation from other RSO’s showcasing their members’ talents, including singers,

@kayklownin Kaylee Walsh junior “Watch Supernatural on Net ix.”

@phoenix_mv_ Phoenix Vu sophomore

dancers, poets, artists and education in a way that is both entertaining and liberating.

“The Valentines Soiree emphasizes sex education, community, self-growth, and individual exploration amongst other things,” Odusola said.

The soiree is a perfect opportunity to get out of the house, whether you have V-Day plans with your boo after or want to laugh with your friends and maybe even make some new ones.

“Anyone can come to our event with no judgment or persecution. We welcome everyone. Everyone deserves a chance to feel loved, especially in today’s time,” Odusola said.

@anna.claire.smith.xoxo

Anna Claire Smith junior

@miajalicia Mia Johnston sophomore “Clean! Pick up around the house!” “Host concerts in my dorm.”

@s_torres945

Sanjuana Torres freshman

“My favorite thing to do is hang out with my friends for the majority of the day.”

@alliwildman Allison Wildman sophomore

“I like to watch movies with my roommates!”

Doc Lily Mae Milo Mimzie Scooby Phoebe & Renesmee

(Top) The football feld ices over. (Bottom left) Icicles form on a bush.

(Middle right) Snow falls on the ground at Snow Fine Arts Center. (Bottom right) Seats at Estes Stadium freeze over.

Winter weather around campus

photo by Brenna Metts

Origami fowers lay in a pile after being crafted by students.

Sports

Upcoming Games

Women’s Basketball

5:30 p.m., Feb. 9 vs. Liberty University

Men’s Basketball

8 p.m., Feb. 9 vs. Lipscomb University

Track and Field

Feb. 10-11, at Pittsburg State University

Softball

Feb. 10-11, Cowgirl Classic, at Lake Charles, LA Baseball

4 p.m., Feb. 17 vs. Southeast Missouri University

Bears fall short against Stetson Hatters, 99-80

BY MIA WADDELL Editor-in-Chief

UCA men’s basketball annihilates Eagles in ASUN conference upset

BY GABE WHITE Sports Editor

The UCA men’s basketball team (8-17,3-9 ASUN) came home victorious after an upset against Florida Gulf Coast University (14-11,4-8 ASUN), securing the win with a score of 91-87.

Coach Brock Widders said, “Coming out with a win is always a good feeling. Overall, I felt like it was a good step for this group. We took care of the ball, took quality shots and defended with intensity.”

Along with pulling an upset against the Eagles, the Bears’ usual star player sophomore guard Camren Hunter was outshined by both senior guard Eddy Kayouloud and sophomore guard/forward Elias Cato.

Kayouloud scored a total of 32 points in the game, whereas Cato pulled in 13 points, bagging the Bears four three-pointers. Hunter underperformed, scoring a total of nine points — his average being 17.6.

The first half began in UCA’s favor, Kayouloud giving the Bears an early edge with a fast break jump shot in the paint.

Florida Gulf Coast quickly answered back with a jump shot by junior guard Isaiah Thompson, taking the lead with a three-

pointer by Thompson only 34 seconds later.

The Eagles continued to push forward as Thompson scored his second three-pointer of the night, setting himself up to be a major driving force for Florida Gulf Coast.

The Bears’ offense took control of the court with a layup by Kayouloud and a three-pointer from redshirt freshman guard VJ Reeves, the score coming in at 9-8. UCA continued to dominate the game until the Eagles were able to steal back the lead, junior guard Chase Johnston bagging his second three-pointer of the night.

Kayouloud wouldn’t allow Florida Gulf Coast to get too far in the lead, scoring a three-pointer of his own, the Eagles ahead by two points.

With 10 minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the first half, Cato took home his first three-pointer of the night.

Averaging 16 minutes and having only started twice this season, Cato knew that this was his time to shine.

“Felt good [being a part of the game], more of a relief that some of the hard work came through and paid off,” Cato said.

Following a dunk by junior forward Dakota Rivers, the Eagles

RECORD BREAKER

began to fly past the Bears with ease.

Florida Gulf Coast stood tall in the lead, 38-29, after a threepointer by Johnston.

With only a minute and 15 seconds remaining in the first half, Hunter picked up his offensive efforts for the Bears with a layup and three-pointer only 18 seconds apart.

The first half ended with a jump shot by junior guard Masai Olowokere, the Eagles ahead by three points with a score of 4542.

The Eagles entered the second half fired up, knocking UCA back down with two layups by redshirt sophomore center Andre Weir.

Florida Gulf Coast took its biggest lead of the game with 12 points with sophomore forward Zach Anderson scoring a threepointer, graduate guard Caleb Catto bagging a layup in the paint and junior guard Dahmir Bishop making a fast break layup.

The game began to seem like another win for the Eagles until the Bears charged forward, Reeves, Cato and junior guard Collin Cooper each scoring three-pointers.

With only 12 minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the game, the Eagles held a three-point lead with a score of 61-58.

Shot put star brings home new UCA best

BY TORRIE HERRINGTON Assistant News Editor

The UCA track and field team broke two school records as well as 27 personal bests at the University of South Alabama Jaguar Invitational on Feb. 5.

Both the men’s and women’s shot put school records were broken as well as throwers made new personal bests.

Sophomore Kiara Williams set a new personal best as well as beating the school record for shot put with a throw of 13.09 m (42-11.50). Williams placed seventh in the women’s shot put event.

Junior Malik Beasley also had a school record-breaking shot put throw, making his personal best 16.01 m (526.5). Beasley placed fourth in the men’s shot put event.

Freshman Aiden Patton placed sixth in the men’s shot put, and made a new personal best with a 15.02 m (4210.25).

Patton also achieved a personal best in men’s weight throw with 15.09 m (49-06.25).

The UCA women’s relay team, consisting of senior Kayla Scott, sophomore Zadie St. Lewis, freshman Grace Deshotels, and sophomore Kamaria Russell, placed first in the 400-meter relay with a time of 3:51.61.

All four women on the relay team made new personal records in other events.

Scott placed fourteenth in women’s 60 m hurdles with a personal record time of 8.98. St. Louis placed eleventh in the women’s 400 m with a personal record time of 57.50. Deshotels finished seventeenth in the women’s 400 m with a personal record time of 58.60.Russell placed twenty-first in women’s 60 m dash with a personal record time of 7.81 and placed ninth in women’s 200 m with a personal record time of 24.98.

Seventeen members of the Bears women’s track team made new personal bests at this invitational.

These personal records include sophomore Miranda Nichols’ 13.06 m (42-11.50) weight throw, sophomore Emma Selph’s 5:16.33 mile, and sophomore Felisa Saheib’s 5:28.25 mile.

10 members of the Bears men’s track and field team made new personal records at this invitational as well.

The men’s track and field new personal records include freshman Jonathan Heath’s 4:23.83 mile, graduate student Shamal Sullivan’s 49.86 400 m, and freshman Ty Juan Huffman’s 6.93 60m.

Overall, the Bears acquired 15 topten finishes.

Coach Josey Weaver said, “PRs, new school records, and gutsy performances all across the board for us today. We preached before the meet that we wanted to compete. I’m very proud of the team for how they responded.”

The Bear’s next track and field event is Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11 at Pittsburg State University in Kansas.

The Bears took the lead for the first time since the first half with a dunk by Kayouloud.

The lead continued to shift between the Eagles and the Bears as both teams rushed to put points on the board.

With fifty seconds remaining in the game, Thompson scored another three-pointer.

The Bears found themselves in the lead with only two points.

In the final 10 seconds Cooper came in clutch, putting UCA 5 points ahead following two free throws.

The game ended with a dunk from Kayouloud, the Bears earning their third conference win of the season with a final score of 91-87.

“One of our standards is selflessness. It includes being coachable, and open to critics and recommendations from teammates/managers/coaches. I plan on finishing my last season with the UCA bears by following the standards the coaching staff instilled in me during my four seasons in Arkansas and by listening to and executing their game plan. Being a good teammate can go a long way.,” Kayouloud said.

The Bears’ next game will be against the Lipscomb Bisons at 8 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Farris Center.

Boiling hot off a win against Florida Gulf Coast University, the UCA men’s basketball team couldn’t stand the heat against the Stetson Hatters, dropping the away game 99-80.

The Hatters (13-10, 8-4 ASUN) bossed up offensively against UCA (8-17, 3-9 ASUN) Feb. 4 in a bid to defend home court, with a total of 15 three-pointers during the fiery game.

According to Stetson athletics’ website gohatters.com, the team broke a massive score record.

“The Hatters outrebounded UCA by 20, 42-22. The aforementioned 20 assists were on 37 made field goals with 13 turnovers. In what may be the stat of the day, the Hats have not scored 99 points in a regulation ASUN conference game since defeating Belmont 106-95 on December 16, 2001.”

Despite the Hatters’ record-breaking effort, UCA Coach Brock Widders gave props to the Bears for their offensive strides as well.

“The offensive numbers, you look at them, they are great,” Widders said. “You hit 10 threes, you shoot 40 percent from three, your assists are at 18, your turnovers are five. And you lose by 20.”

“So you better do some self-examining and see where you didn’t do well. And that is rebounding and defense. We have to take pride and you have to care about those two categories just as much as we do those offensive categories,” Widders said.

Hatters graduate student guard Sam Peek acknowledged his team’s fiery offense while admitting a tired defense. In a statement on gohatters.com, Peek said, “Today we played good and when we move the ball, we’re really unstoppable.”

He continued, “We have so many weapons and offensive players that can shoot the ball. Defensively we played good but may have faded a little bit but it was important to end strong because it transitions into next weekend. It’s going to be big for us.”

With only a handful of games left in the conference season, the loss leaves the Bears in 13th place among its ASUN rivals. The Hatters, however, sit in fourth.

Hatters’ Peek shared his excitement for the team’s championship prospect on gohatters.com, “We’re so deep this year, I think we can make a big run in the tournament. We have so many guys that can share the ball that anybody can get 25 on a given night. We need everybody.”

As for the Bears, senior guard/forward Eddy Kayouloud led the team’s effort with a total of 24 points. According to UCAsports.com, Kayouloud’s performance against the Hatters was only overshadowed by his “32-point, 11-rebound doubledouble” against Florida Gulf Coast University just days before. UCA’s Widders gave words of encouragement about his team, despite not taking the dub.

“Despite today, we do like our guys,” Widders said. “We like our team. If we can continue to get this group healthy and we continue to play together, we can play good basketball. We just have to get home and fix some things.”

The Bears’ next game will be home, in the Farris Center, against the Lipscomb Bisons at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9. The game is available for streaming on ESPN+ and radio stations The Bear 91.3 and JACK FM 92.7.

Signing Day welcomes new Bears

BY MARY LESIEUR Assistant Sports Editor

Despite icy weather and canceled classes, The Bears signed 26 new football players to the team during a virtual signing day Wednesday, Feb. 1. With 11 players from Arkansas, seven from Mississippi, six from Texas and one from both Florida and Alabama, the Bears welcomed these players virtually due to weather conditions.

Out of the 26 newly signed players, 11 are from in-state, possibly bringing in some familiar faces.

Senior Andrew Hayes, a 6’1 cornerback from Ouachita Baptist University, has respectable stats. From his 2021 and 2022 stats, he has 99 tackles, five tackles, three interceptions and 17 pass break ups.

Before his college career, Hayes graduated from Bryant High School and even had an offer from Western Illinois University.

“ Being with the guys on the team for the last couple of weeks and grinding with them has me hyped up to get on the field with them,” Hayes said.

ShunDerrick Powell has also been recruited, and, given his past

offers, is a hot topic. Originally from Hoxie, Arkansas, Powell left a lasting impression on coaches. With 15 potential offers, he was awarded Dave Campbell ASUN Player of the Year in 2022, as well as several other awards.

Although the Mid-Year Enrollees are impressive, it’s hard to beat the new talent coming for the Bears this fall.

2023 Senior Braden Jones, a linebacker from Northwest Arkansas, is welcomed to the team with his notable statistics. Jones carries over 350 tackles, 12 sacks, one INT and was named the 21st-Rated overall Prospect in Arkansas by Hootens.

The Bears will also welcome 2023 Senior Miguel Graham, a defensive back from Bryant High School. Graham is a three-time 7A State Champion and has received offers from Southeast Missouri University, Murray State and Eastern Illinois. He also received a slew of awards and titles: 2021 & 2022 7A Central AllConference Selection, 2021 & 2022

AAA 7A All-State Selection, 2022 AllMetro Team Selection and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Team. Russellville High School tight end Ben Haulmark will also be a new addition to the Football Bears. Haulmark is an

attractive prospect, with 272 rushing yards, and six touchdowns for the 2022 season.

Haulmark said, “The players and staff made the difference between other teams I visited. The success that the team has and the support from the community also made a big impact on my decision.”

Haulmark has been titled the 26th Overall Prospect in Arkansas by Hootens and is even a member of the National Honor Society.

Last but not least, Ashtyn Williams, a linebacker from Little Rock, Arkansas, will be one of the newest Bears next season. Williams’ career statistics are outstanding, with 460 tackles, 36 TFL and 12 sacks. Along with his large amount of awards and titles, he received offers from the Navy, Jackson State, Middle Tennessee, Harding and Ouachita Baptist.

With all of these new players, the Bears are excited and ready to start training with these players.

Freshman Tyler Siddons, a tight end for the Bears, said, “I feel like we’ve brought a really good signing class, and I think we’ve added a couple of really great guys.”

(Right) Sophomore guard Camren Hunter challenges junior guard Dahmir Bishop while readying himself for a layup. While UCA is ranked 13th out of 14 teams in the ASUN Conference, the Bears showed potential when stealing the victory from Florida Gulf Coast University, which sits in 11th place.

photo courtesy of UCA Sports

graphic by Mary LeSieur

FRESH TALENT

Brock Widders

The Voice

Professors lack lenience during unstable storm

Professors holding class despite UCA President Houston Davis explicitly stating they were canceled is inconsiderate of students and tone deaf to the persistent inclement weather circumstances Central Arkansas faced Monday, Jan. 30 through Thursday,

After an ice storm warning went into effect Jan. 30, Davis announced that all evening classes would be canceled; hours later he announced that all instruction Jan. 31 would also be canceled.

Marvel puts quantity over quality

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Three, The Flash, SpiderMan: Across the Spider-Verse and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. These are only four of the nine superhero flms releasing this year.

When hearing this list, the frst word that comes to mind is: overwhelming.

Only a decade ago, this number was fve for the entire year — nearly half the amount compared to today.

Why would the audience not want more of what they already love?

Well, when a production company’s quantity increases, its quality decreases.

In 2022 Marvel released four superhero titles: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Thor: Love and Thunder and Morbius.

Out of the four flms released, only two were generally well-received by audiences: Doctor Strange and Black Panther.

Not only that, but Thor received mixed reactions, whereas Morbius was received negatively by most viewers.

Out of the nine superhero movies released in 2022, only four were received positively by audiences.

When thinking of why the genre is on a downward spiral, four points come to mind.

GABE WHITE Sports Editor

The genre has become generic, the world-building is confusing, the superhero formula is running thin and the audiences are not entirely sure what they want.

As a lifelong comic book reader, I’ll always be excited when superhero movies are announced.

There’s nothing like seeing your favorite character brought to life on screen.

Even with this in mind, not an ounce of me is excited for Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Although it’s thrilling to see characters such as Kang and Modok being brought into the movies, every trailer we’ve received has looked like nothing but bland colorful action splattered across a canvas.

Nothing about this movie screams innovation — something Marvel Studios should be looking for in its 15-year-old franchise.

I’m a gen-Z young adult who spends the majority of my free time on the internet making myself jealous of the lives of the people I follow — from the clothes they wear to the way their bedroom is decorated.

Sure, some may say it’s human nature to want things others have, and they may even go as far as to call it a goal to want things others have. But, like everything else in life, there is a line that can be crossed.

This school year, I moved into my frst apartment. I’ve never been so excited about having my own place and being able to decorate it all cute and aesthetically pleasing — that is until I learned not only how expensive that can be but how impractical it is. I only have a one-bedroom apartment, which is a step up from a shared dorm room, but still not much to work with, so how hard could it really be? Very. The answer is very hard.

Let’s start with the frst issue I came across while trying to make my new apartment aesthetic like those I was constantly seeing online. The word “aesthetic” itself is ridiculous.

According to the Oxford dictionary, aesthetic is “concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.” So essentially, we’ve been selfshly obsessed with the idea of living a life that is physically beautiful. The word frst started appearing in our online vocabulary in 2015 and steadily increased in popularity through 2020.

only three seem to be offering unique adventures — those being Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Flash.

A reason why these flms have begun to blend together into nothing but common practice is because of a cookiecutter formula that began with Marvel.

Excluding flms like Black Panther, many of the superhero flms of the 2010s contained similar wisecrack humor, music, color-grading and plot devices. This cookie-cutter formula became apparent to moviegoers after 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Audiences cried for more unique flms, which Marvel planned to deliver. The problem was this wasn’t what the audiences meant by unique.

Every 2022 Marvel project seemed to adopt different subgenres into the superhero genre, such as She-Hulk being inspired by court dramas, Doctor Strange by Sam Raimi’s 80s horror style, and Thor: Love and Thunder by 2000s romantic comedies.

All three projects brought about controversy among audiences, She-Hulk and Thor receiving the worst of it.

Out of all of these sins, the worst of them is its confusing worldbuilding.

Ant-Man and the Wasp will account for the franchise’s 41st entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That’s quite a lot of stories and background work to catch up on.

While the overarching narrative is exciting for fans of the series and comic book readers like me, it’s nothing but mush and overcomplication for general audiences, something that many viewers choose to avoid dealing with.

As we enter 2023, DC Studios has announced a new branding of flms called DC Elseworlds, a franchise dedicated to producing superhero flms outside of a connective narrative.

Both of DC’s previous ventures into this type of flmmaking have proved successful both critically and commercially, providing Marvel with an interesting path to take.

Here’s to hoping they choose the right one.

While there are no rules to these concepts, there are expectations — or so we think — to ft into one of these categories and stick to it in every aspect. I don’t know about anyone else, but I wake up and choose a different style every single day.

The same goes for trying to decorate my apartment. What aesthetic did I want?

The truth is, I wanted them all. And the even harder truth is, I couldn’t just throw away everything I already owned just to decorate the apartment in a style I might only like for a month.

If you can start decorating a space or even building a wardrobe from scratch, that’s great. But for myself — that is not the case.

I’ve seen in my own life that your frst apartment or home is made up of an assortment of things gifted to you, things you’ve bought for yourself and hand-me-downs from family and friends.

On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Davis sent another email canceling all instructions for Wednesday, Feb. 1, and even noted, “When classes are canceled, there are no synchronous requirements for students.”

While some students may have jumped for joy after reading this email, others were already being sent Zoom links.

This is an obstruction of what was plainly stated in the emails and insensitive to students who do not have the resources they need without access to campus, such as a computer or private space to participate in virtual meetings, during inclement weather.

Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness Johnathan Glenn clarifed the meaning of canceled in an email sent to faculty on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The email states, “When the university has declared classes “canceled,” as we have done for Tuesday (today), there are no synchronous requirements for students. It is fne to have alternative asynchronous assignments and activities on-going.”

Classes move fast and time is of the essence. However, there is no justifcation for requiring students to attend synchronous meetings during an ice storm.

Students and teachers already have to readjust their schedules and adapt to unstable weather conditions swiftly; professors choosing to make it harder on their students and themselves indicates a lack of support for students and poor planning on their part.

If there is no room in a lesson plan for snow days or unprecedented circumstances, then that lesson plan is in for a rude awakening.

Naturally, it would be understandable for a professor to hold class if Davis had announced that instruction would continue remotely, except this is not what occurred.

Whether it was intentional or not, students reported professors ignoring these set guidelines and requiring them to attend a Zoom meeting during their regularly scheduled class time.

Students should not have to put their comfort and safety secondary to their academics.

Either professors need a refresher on what “canceled” and “asynchronous” mean or Davis needs to carve out clearer rules to prevent this violation from happening again.

Refusing to remain fexible is an issue in and of itself, but refusing to remain fexible during a snowstorm is downright ludacris.

BY ASHLYNN LITTLE Sta Writer

In my opinion, the concept of being “aesthetic” is extremely confning. As the internet adopted this word, we started seeing it paired with labels that defne what type of aesthetic something is, typically in fashion and décor.

Some aesthetics that have had their wave of popularity are the “E-girl” aesthetic, “VSCO girl” aesthetic, “Y2K” aesthetic, “academia” aesthetic and “cottage-core” aesthetic, just to name a few.

You most likely don’t have a single piece of furniture that matches and it was probably used by someone else before it became yours. And while this isn’t what we constantly see on social media, it’s real life for most of us. But there is beauty in that.

So let me be the one to tell you from experience that aesthetics aren’t everything. While you should wear what makes you feel beautiful and confdent and decorate your space in a way that makes you comfortable and happy to be in, there is no need to try and make your life aesthetically pleasing.

Once again, the true defnition of aesthetic is the beauty of something. At the end of the day, it’s much more important to have a beautiful, rich life than a social mediaworthy apartment or wardrobe.

On the fip side, no one at UCA is perfect — it could be a pure misunderstanding. There’s no doubt that teachers only acted as they saw ft for their course, but the right intention doesn’t always equate to good execution.

And because no one at UCA is perfect, no student should be held to the same class expectations as they would be under normal weather conditions.

Students should exercise plenty of patience with their professors, and in return, professors should follow UCA guidelines and offer more lenience.

We’re in the same boat, foating around this sea we’ve nicknamed UCA. When a storm hits, let’s demand less of each other.

New This Week

Movies

Feb. 10— Magic Mike’s Last Dance (R) Directed by Steven Soderbergh Starring Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek, Caitlin Gerard. Theatrical release.

Feb. 10—Consecration (R) Directed by Christopher Smith. Starring Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Janet Suzman. Theatrical release.

Feb. 10—She Came From the Woods (R) Directed by Erik Bloomquist. Starring Cara Buono, Clare Foley, Spencer List. Theatrical release.

Television

Feb. 8—Not Dead Yet (ABC)

Feb. 8— South Park Season 26 (Comedy Central)

Feb. 9— You Season 4 (Netfix)

Feb. 12—The Super Bowl: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles (Fox)

Music

Feb. 10—Paramore—This is Why [Atlantic]

Feb. 10—Rebecca Black—Let Her Burn [Self-released]

Feb. 10—Tennis—POLLEN [Mutually Detrimental]

Feb. 10—The Brian Jonestown Massacre—The Future is Your Past [Forced Exposure]

Feb. 10—Yo La Tengo—This Stupid World [Matador]

Video Games

Feb. 10—Hogwarts Legacy [Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment] PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Feb. 14—Wanted: Dead [110 Industries] PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC

Feb . 16—Wild Hearts [Electronic Arts] PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Top 5

Valentine’s Day Candies

compiled by Torrie Herrington Assistant News Editor

Filled with dynamic performances, intimate cinematography and eerie sound design, “Knock at the Cabin” provides palpable tension until its underwhelming third act.

After taking a getaway trip to their secluded cabin, husbands Eric and Andrew, played by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge respectively, along with their adopted daughter Wen, played by Kristen Cui, must fght for their survival when taken captive by unusual intruders.

Tied up and with only hours to decide, the family is forced to either bring about the end of the world or make a choice that will change their lives forever.

Unlike his latest horrorcentric flms such as “Old,” “Split” and “The Visit,” Shyamalan has returned to a quieter time in his flmography, far more similar to his drama/ thriller “The Sixth Sense.”

Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s novel, “The Cabin at the End of the World,” the adaptation is primarily held together by its committed cast.

While Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Abby Quinn give fery, passionate performances as Redmond, Sabrina, and Adriane — Dave Bautista’s performance as Leonard is the stand out amongst the four intruders.

Bautista fnds a way to perfectly balance the subtlety of Leonard’s character.

While he is an intimidating fgure throughout the flm’s runtime largely due to his stature, Bautista portrays him as a kind, reluctant antagonist, easily becoming a memorable character in Shyamalan’s flmography thus far.

“Knock at the Cabin” is without a doubt one of Shyamalan’s most skilled technical efforts to date.

Although it’s nothing like “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the flm fnds ways to cleverly heighten the simple premise, specifcally in its cinematography and sound design.

Going against most of Shyamalan’s past visual styles, the flm fxates on using close-ups as much as possible.

Because of the overabundance of close-ups, it makes the flm’s story feel far more personal and lived-in.

Whenever the flm decides to go against this technique, a unique angle or interesting shot composition is always present.

Unsurprisingly, the flm’s cinematographer is Jarin Blaschke, who was nominated for an academy award for his work on “The Lighthouse.”

Striking a resemblance to

While the conversation hearts are the classic Valentine’s Day candy that features the infamous phrases “be mine” and “love you,” they are last on my list for one very simple reason: they taste like chalk. I mean, that is essentially what they are. These candies are chalky, favorless, messy and overall not a good candy option. They are very fragile, so when you open up a box of these they are typically chipped and broken, which is disappointing. So, while they are a staple in the Valentine’s Day aesthetic, they are not the ideal candy.

Arby’s new limited time menu item, the Steakhouse Garlic Ribeye sandwich released Jan. 23, has serious potential to be in the fast food sandwich hall of fame.

On the fip side, Dairy Queen’s blizzard of the month, the Triple Truffe blizzard, and the new Under the Rainbow milkshake released Jan. 29, are overwhelmingly bland and downright revolting.

I was eager to get my hands on the Steakhouse Garlic Ribeye sandwich, which consists of thinly sliced ribeye steak, garlic aioli sauce, a slice of Swiss cheese and crispy onions layered between a buttered and toasted bun.

“The Batman,” the flm shines with its subdued but hair-raising sound design.

Whether it be the dull dragging of an ax against aged wood or a blade steadily carving through a piece of rope, the sound design helps heighten these scenes of suspense, instilling a tone of uncertainty in each character’s life.

Although it does have its trademark Shyamalan lines that don’t always translate well to screen, this is easily one of his better screenplays.

As far as the presentation went, the sandwich appeared sloppy. Pieces of ribeye were wrapped around the sandwich like tentacles and aioli was spilling out in all the wrong places.

The favor profle was a much different story.

The ribeye was rich with steakhouse favors, and seasoned and sliced as if a premium butcher shop prepared it.

The Swiss cheese cut through the sandwich’s fattiness and acted as a savory stabilizer.

The sandwich had the ideal amount of aioli, which means way more than enough in my book. The aioli was tangy and

creamy and had an authentic garlic taste.

Two glaring issues were that the fried onion bits were not crispy whatsoever, and the sandwich desperately needed a vegetable element, such as arugula or sauteed mushrooms, to freshen it up.

Overall, the way the favors and textures collided so wonderfully with each other impressed me.

tasted more like sugary rocks than the delectable candies.

Not even the sweet vanilla soft serve or chocolate drizzle could save this blizzard from tasting so barren.

The Under the Rainbow shake was an unfortunate blend of vanilla soft serve, strawberry puree, kiwi-strawberry favoring, rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream.

Two sips were enough to solidify my decision to chuck it in the trash and never look

The strawberry puree was puzzling because it tasted both genuine and artifcial, delightful and nauseating.

Whenever he has someone writing beside him, in this case, Michael Sherman and Steve Desmond, you sense the uptake in quality quickly.

Not only does the screenplay craft very humane and relatable characters, but displays a gay romance in such simplicity and normalcy that it’s refreshing.

Besides its well-written characters, “Knock at the Cabin” also features interesting commentary on religion throughout its entirety, creating a compelling argument for either side by the end of the flm.

The adaptation’s biggest faw is undoubtedly its ending.

Deciding to stray away from the book’s fnal chapter, Shyamalan’s adaptation shoots for an ending flled with much more fnality.

Aside from being far less interesting than the book’s ending, this is easily one of Shyamalan’s most disappointing fnales.

Missing is the legendary “Shyamalan twist,” the flm wraps up quickly with a fairly defnitive ending.

Although neat endings such as this aren’t necessarily bad, the fnal minutes of the flm feel out of place in comparison to the flm’s deeper messages as well as tone, leaving the audience thinking to themselves, “That’s it?”

While the flm’s ending may leave viewers dissatisfed, “Knock at the Cabin” exists within the upper echelon of Shyamalan’s flmography and provides an intense, thought-provoking time at the movies.

“Knock at the Cabin” was released on Feb. 3 and is now in theaters.

Honestly, as long as the candy is pink or red, it can be marketed for Valentine’s Day, which is exactly what Kit-Kat did with this candy. I appreciate the fact that these candies are raspberry favored instead of strawberry or cherry-favored like most other Valentine’s candies; it’s a refreshing alternative. These are perfect for people who love a bit of texture in their chocolate because Kit-Kat has the perfect wafer-to-chocolate ratio. My one critique is I wish the chocolate was more festively pink-colored and not as dull. They look a little bland.

On Jan. 27, “Shotgun Wedding” debuted on Amazon Prime, showcasing yet another J-Lo movie.

Currently, it is on Amazon’s top ten list — although its rating on Rotten Tomatoes says otherwise.

The movie is about lawyer Darcy Rivera, played by Jennifer Lopez, and minor league baseball player Tom Fowler, played by Josh Duhamel.

The movie introduces Darcy and Tom at their destination wedding in the Philippines. From the movie’s beginning, you can tell there’s some tension between the two. The couple defnitely has something going on, whether it be cold feet or normal wedding day jitters.

On the day of the ceremony, nothing goes right for the bride, Darcy. She isn’t wearing the dress she wants, her hair is not done the way she wants, and she’s ultimately questioning the entire day — the fuff, the wedding and the groom.

Darcy texts Tom, asking

These lollipops are some of the only hard candies I will eat; the favor of them is almost addicting. They have the perfect cherry favor and have phrases such as “love ya” engraved on them. Anytime I participated in a school Valentine’s Day candy exchange, these lollipops were the item I always gave out. Not everyone loves the classic chocolate gift, so these lollipops could be a good alternative. Plus, there are like 30 of them in one bag, making them good for party handouts. Not to mention, they’re heart-shaped, making them very cute.

Sadly, my euphoria was short-lived by a rather disappointing dessert.

Dairy Queen’s Triple Truffe Blizzard is meant to replicate the joy of opening a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.

However, if a lover gifted me this, I’d consider a breakup.

The blizzard is a mixture of vanilla soft serve, peanut butter, caramel and fudge-flled truffes with chocolate syrup.

None of the favors, besides maybe the peanut butter, truly stood out.

The chocolate truffes

The sprinkles were probably the worst aspect because they added a jarring and unnecessary crunch to a shake that already had nothing going for it. As lovely as kiwi syrup sounds, it was overshadowed by all the other favors that didn’t work together. I hope I never fnd that shake under a rainbow.

The Steakhouse Garlic Ribeye sandwich was a stroke of genius on Arby’s part, but it could use some renovation before it can be as great as its other fast food sandwich cousins.

Dairy Queen should stay away from truffes and sprinkles so disasters like the Triple Truffe Blizzard and the Under the Rainbow shake never happen again.

Essentially, these new items from Arby’s and Dairy Queen are a real mixed bag. Choose wisely.

him to meet her somewhere private and he obliges.

While talking, a group of pirates holds their wedding party hostage and the couple hides from the pirates, trying to fnd help.

I found myself laughing more at the movie itself than the humor in the movie because of how unrealistic the plot was. Alongside the weak plot was bad acting and forced characters. I love rom-coms, but this one just seemed a little too corny for my taste.

The movie did some things right, however.

Shot in the Dominican Republic, the cinematography was well done, showing off the beautiful landscape. The costumes were great, but I had a problem with Jennifer Lopez’s outfts.

Who in their right mind would fght pirates in a rippedup wedding dress?

Not to mention the fact that you could see her shapewear and garters.

That concern is deeply rooted within any woman’s belief in being comfortable.

There were so many instances where she could’ve changed out of her dress.

2.

understand the pinching and tightness of shapewear, but as a woman, I’d refuse to wear that for the entire day. I was taken aback by this, to say the least.

My concerns with the dress are not unfounded — Darcy spent the frst thirty minutes of the movie pleading that someone help her out of the dress, so why would she not take it off?

This level of ridiculousness made the movie funny, despite there being little to no humor.

While I lack a sense of humor, I can at least tell when it’s being forced.

Although I found several faults within the movie, I enjoyed the story line’s twists and turns.

The movie’s best quality is Carol, played by Jennifer Coolidge. Her character was well portrayed, being the mother of Tom and having some of the funniest lines in the movie.

Despite Coolidge’s performance, I checked to see how much longer until it was fnished.

Overall, the movie was a bit of a bust.

“Shotgun Wedding” is streaming on Prime Video.

I realize men will never

Personally, I am a fan of sour candies and the fact that there are limited-edition heart-shaped Sour Patch Kids just gives me an extra hit of serotonin. Honestly, anything that is tiny and heartshaped will make me happy. They come in pink and red and are perfect for anyone who likes sour gummies. If you’ve ever seen a commercial for Sour Patch Kids, you know they pride themselves on being sour and then sweet; these gummies hold true to that standard. My boyfriend loves Sour Patch Kids, so I always purchase these for Valentine’s Day.

1. Box of chocolates

A heart-shaped box full of a variety of chocolates is one of the classic Valentine’s Day candies. When I think about gifts for this holiday, the frst thing that comes to mind is chocolate. These boxes are flled with several chocolates, which makes them perfect for sharing. Now obviously the brand and price range play a role in the quality of chocolate boxes and not all chocolate boxes will reign superior. I suggest any box that comes with a balance of fruity and sweet favors. Bonus points if the chocolates are heartshaped too.

5. Conversation hearts

4. Kit-Kat Raspberry Creme

3. Sweetarts Lollipops

Sour Patch Kids Hearts

List

‘Knock at the Cabin’ proves to be one of Shyamalan’s better efforts, despite dull ending

Jennifer Lopez (left) and Josh Duhamel both star in “Shotgun Wedding.” The flm released on Amazon Prime Video on Jan. 27 after frst releasing in Singapore in December 2022.

Arby’s limited-time sandwich isn’t to be missed, but you can skip Dairy Queen’s new blizzards

photo courtesy of amazon.com

photo courtesy of arbys.com

‘Shotgun Wedding’ overhyped, disappointing

Bautista fnds a way to perfectly balance the subtlety of Leonard’s character.

The Steakhouse Garlic Ribeye combo meal from Arby’s. The limited item was released on Jan. 23

photo courtesy of universalpictures .com

“Knock at the Cabin” is M. Night Shyamalan’s fourteenth feature flm. Released by Universal, the flm stars Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint.

Lifestyle

Go and Do

Live Music

7-11 p.m., Feb. 10 — Yuni Wa Electronic Night — Vino’s Brew Pub

8 p.m., Feb. 10 — Trey Johnson

— King’s Live Music, $5 cover

9 p.m., Feb. 10 — Joshua Ray Walker — White Water Tavern, $12 ticket

Hearne Collection a ‘Source of Light’ on campus

7-11 p.m., Feb. 11 — Any Given Room, Lilac Kings, Zilla & Prop Hunter — Vino’s Brew Pub

Baum Gallery features Black artists, alumna

The Baum Gallery is currently showing a multitude of pieces in its exhibit Source of Light: The Hearne Collection, by all Black artists, including works by artists dating back to the 1820s.

by the eras they were made in. When walking through the frst gallery, you’re introduced to the artist of the early 20th century.

completely. To say the least, the second collection was eye-catching in many ways, creating the complexity of “where to start.”

beautiful and meticulous, some having multiple media.

While doing some research on Mandumbwa, I was able to contact one of her models, Senior Patricia Ahounou.

p.m., Feb. 11 — Deshon & The Electric — King’s Live Music, $5 cover

8 p.m., Feb. 11 — Limestone — Full Moon Records, $10 cover

“Works in this gallery include printmaking, bronze, clay, alabaster, photography, fber art, oils, pastels, watercolors, acrylics, artists’ books, and others,” according to UCA.edu.

While the sources of the works differ, the collection offers a deep connection with the elements of visual and literary arts.

Juan Rodriguez, a collector from New York, eased the process of the loan, making The Hearne Collection a possibility for the Baum Gallery.

Walking into the gallery, one is overwhelmed by what to take in frst.

These pieces are more foral and landscapelike, with a few that are original in their own way.

My favorite of the frst collection is Henry Ossawa Tanner’s Banjo Lesson, a mixed media piece.

BY MARY LESIEUR Assistant Sports Editor

The piece conveys the visual of a banjo lesson between an older man and a small child, making the viewer awe at the precision and detail.

Luckily, I was able to interview Baum Gallery’s Director, Brian Young, and ask him about the importance of the second gallery.

Young said, “In the big gallery — if you were a young BA or BFA student — there are many different media for you to explore … to see how different artists approach those different media.”

9 p.m., Feb. 17 — Traveling Squirrels — Bears Den Pizza

Events/Live Shows

7:30 p.m., Feb. 8 — Blue Man Group — Reynolds Performance Hall. “Featuring pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity.” Tickets on sale starting Sept. 3.

11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Feb. 11 — Forever Thrifted Vintage Swap Meet: Valentine’s Market — 711 Main St, Little Rock. 30+ vendors, artists, food trucks and music.

5-8 p.m., Feb. 17 — Art for the Soul — UCA Downtown. “At our fourth annual exhibit focused on commemorating Black History Month, come view meaningful expressions of local Black artists.”

Each artist displayed diverse methods of art with separate narratives. The pieces themselves all had a different story, making it even more intriguing to try and digest.

Each gallery has a different purpose and the three collections are categorized

Heading into the next collection, the biggest gallery, there’s almost too much to digest, but in a principled way.

The second room features artists Ron Adams, Jacob Lawrence, James Van Der Zee, and many more.

There are sculptures as well as paintings that line most of the walls

The fnal gallery is a special collection of “powerful works” by artist Lousie Mandumbwa, former UCA alumni, Class of 2020.

“Mandumbwa has also been mentored and represented by Hearne Fine Art since 2017,” according to UCA.edu.

Her computer-fgural pieces are

Ahounou explained the detail and love Mandumbwa gave to her pieces, as well as Mandumbwa’s reassuring and personable demeanor.

“She did an interview with me so that she could get to know me more and see how she can connect my personality to the drawing,” Ahounou said.

While Mandumbwa did not include Ahounou’s drawing in this collection, she posted a picture of the drawing on Instagram, captioning the drawings “Patricia I” and “Patricia II.”

Within all three galleries, one can conclude that all of the media shown at the Baum has a form of a deeper meaning for the spectator to analyze.

These pieces are all beautiful and meaningful, and the showcasing of these artists was well done and articulate.

Baum Gallery will be showing the Exhibition, Source of Light: the Hearne Collection, from Jan. 26 to Feb. 24.

Hendrix student shares vibrant, conversational art

Adaja Cooper is an awardwinning artist and student whose work focuses on the experiences and heritage of African Americans. Cooper was born in Magnolia, Arkansas but grew up in Little Rock.

A young Cooper was always interested in art, taking commissions as early as elementary school.

However, she started to take it seriously in her junior year at Little Rock Central High School, where she was inspired by her art teacher, UCA graduate Rex Deloney.

Her art specializes in paint and she describes it as conversational, vibrant and intimate.

“I work a lot with acrylics, oil, house paints, and gouache. I am also a blossoming muralist and printmaker.” Cooper said.

As for inspiration, the movies and music videos she watched as a kid lend to her creativity.

“I am inspired by Black culture and media,” Cooper said.

Her proudest moment as an artist was being on the cover of the Arkansas Times in July of 2022. Additionally, she was a fnalist for the 2022 Arkansas Times “Best of Arkansas’’ in the visual art category.

“The fact I was nominated for Best Artist in Arkansas is still mind-blowing,” Cooper said.

Cooper’s art has been published and displayed across the state.

In July 2021, she created a painting titled “Ignite Your Imagination” for the Central Arkansas Library System, which was

in

Roberts Library.

While she dominates the art scene in Arkansas, Cooper is also a student at Hendrix College. Cooper is majoring in art with a minor in Business.

When it comes to managing her art business and going to school, Cooper said, “Sometimes my work life and personal art-making fow together.

However, I often have to compromise on personal projects to make time for school.”

Cooper has a mini art studio in her room that helps her with this work and school balance.

Her favorite painting that she has done changes depending on how she feels.

“Right now it’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’,” Cooper said. It was sold shortly after she made it.

“I loved the color palette and texture on it.”

Next, Cooper wants to get her masters in fne arts, have her art displayed outside of the country and start screen printing her own T-shirts.

Cooper’s art can be purchased on her website adajacooperstudio.com

Follow Adaja on Instagram

@adajacooper for more art content.

(Top left) Adaja Cooper poses next to her acrylic, oil painting of Erykah Badu. (Top middle) A self portrait of Cooper, titled, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Cooper’s favorite piece. (Top right) An acrylic, oil painting of R&B artist SZA. (Bottom) Cooper posing next to her cover of Arkansas Times, where she was a fnalist in the

(Left) Two people analyze a piece of art at Source of Light: The Hearne Collection in Baum Gallery. (Top right) Art by Louise Mandumbwa, UCA alumni, is featured alongside the works of other artists from the Hearne Collection. (Bottom right) The gallery will feature the exhibit until Feb. 24.

photos by Mary LeSieur