Issue #19, Volume 113--Publication Date--February 27, 2019

The Echo

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

w ed n esday

February 27, 2019 Volume 113 — Issue 19

ucanews.live TODAY’S FORECAST

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IFC limits transparency

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by Emily Gist

THE NEWSDESK

Associate Editor

FROM THE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

I N T E R N AT I O N A L Spread of measles hits record number of cases

In a report published Feb. 19, the Japanese National Institute of Infectious Diseases announced that in the first six weeks of 2019, 167 measles cases were reported.

This is the highest number of cases in 10 years. A local religious group in province Mie Prefecture, Kyusei Shinkyo, is said to have been part of the outbreak after four people were infected at a workshop it had organized in the city of Tsu in 2018.

The group is known to warn people about the “hazards of using medicine to treat disease.” Last month, after the news of the outbreak became public, they group issued an apology and admitted that some believers had not been vaccinated. It has since changed its stance on the matter, teaching that vaccination is important for diseases with a high risk of infection. It has suspended workshops for the time being.

N AT I O N A L Plane carrying Amazon merchandise crashes

Contradictory accounts between The Echo and university administration regarding the UCA chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity’s hazing and suspension in November 2018 reveal a lack of transparency.

On Oct. 31, 2018, UCA’s Kappa Sigma chapter was put on social suspension through May 2019 for promoting excessive drinking. Then, 21 fraternity members from Kappa Sigma underwent investigation for hazing Nov. 7-8, and the fraternity was notified of its policy violation and full suspension via letter Nov. 16.

One month later, on Dec. 16, 2018, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette released a story titled, “UCA suspends fraternity for year, citing Kappa Sigma hazing, excessive drinking award.”

However, the associate editor of The Echo in fall 2018 and alumna Cassidy Kendall said she called Interfraternity Council Adviser Katie Frazier Nov. 9 and Dean of Students Kelly Owens some time the following week, asking about a rumor she heard Nov. 8 where a Kappa Sigma member at a bar informed her that the fraternity was suspended for four years due to hazing.

“I’m calling IFC tomorrow,” Kendall said via a Slack message thread between The Echo editor for fall 2018 Sophia Ordaz and the news editor for fall 2018

Marley Cash-Powell. The Slack message was dated Nov. 8.

Kendall sent another message the next day.

“My source was incorrect.

IFC was not happy I thought that,” Kendall said. The Slack message was dated Nov. 9.

According to the Kappa Sigma Hazing Investigation Summary Report that notetaker and Panhellenic & IGC Sorority Advisor Jordan Frederking sent to Owens, a Kappa Sigma fraternity member, referred to as Student1, called Frazier Nov. 7, 2018 requesting a meeting.

“The meeting was held in the Student Life Office at 12:30 p.m. and I was called in shortly after the conversation started to take notes,” Frederking said via email to Owens.

Director of Media Relations Amanda Hoelzeman clarified the conclusion of the Kappa Sigma investigation, where 21 students were questioned about the hazing.

“The hazing incident was reported to UCA officials by a student on Nov. 7. UCA conducted interviews that same evening and completed the Investigation Summary Report the following day,” Hoelzeman said.

Kendall said when she called Frazier asking about the hazing and suspension, Frazier sounded incredulous and told Kendall she was incorrect.

Kendall said she believed she called Frazier on Nov. 10, but according to Slack messages the call occurred Nov. 9; the day after Kappa Sigma hazing

S TAT E Bakery first in district to implement solar power

UCA’s Feminist Union puts on ‘The Vagina Monlogues’

by Lauren McCabe News Editor

photo by Taylor Sone

Saul Flores, a photographer who grew up the son of undocumented immigrants in New York City, discussed his project “Walk of the Immigrants” during a speech Feb. 22 at the College of Business Auditorium. Flores said his mother’s journey to the U.S. inspired him to retrace her steps and document his experience traveling 5,328 miles through 10 countries to bring awareness to Latin American issues.

Latino photographer speaks about immigration struggles

by Sarah Coleman Immigrant advocate and photographer Saul Flores shared his experiences with students on Thursday night in the College of Business Auditorium, Flores spoke from 7-8 p.m. about being a child of undocumented immigrants and his project to bring awareness to the struggles immigrants face.

The Latino Student Association brought Flores to UCA. Flores grew up in New York City, where he saw the American dream play out daily. His father came from El Salvador, where he escaped a civil war. His mother came from Mexico, where she escaped poverty.

“Being an immigrant in this country is not easy,” Flores said.

Index:

Flores spoke about what being an immigrant meant as a kid. It meant he woke up at 4 a.m. on Saturdays to go to work with his mom. It meant he understood socioeconomic disparities a little better as a child than others did.

“As a little kid, I felt very lucky because I got to see the disparities between our communities,” Flores said, describing his Saturday commute from Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. Flores was adamant that his mom wanted him and his sister to think and dream big. She encouraged this by taking them to see Central Park and Time Square on Saturdays, showing them that life was much bigger than their

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photo by Taylor Sone

UCA President Houston Davis dances during a hip-hop-inspired workout class Feb. 25 at the HPER Center. The room was at full capacity as junior CJ Spann led the class through different dance moves set to energetic hip-hop tracks.

Lane, UCA Outreach promote successes of women in workforce during event showcase

Staff Writer

Community Bakery on southside main street in downtown Little Rock has installed 102 solar panels on its roof. The panels will provide 15 percent of the bakery’s annual power consumption. It is one of the first businesses in the SOMA district to implement solar power.

See Investigation- page 2

DANCING DAVIS GETS DOWN

BUSINESS

Owner of NFL Patriots arrested on sex charges Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution Feb. 22. His arrest occurred as part of a human-trafficking and prostitution ring crackdown in Florida involving multiple massage parlors and spas.

There were 173 people charged with crimes related to the ring. Kraft denies he broke the law.

investigations concluded. “[The Kappa Sigma fraternity member] had said Kappa Sig was getting kicked off campus for hazing. So, the next day, I called Katie and I was like, ‘Hey, I heard from a Kappa Sig fraternity member that they were getting kicked off campus for four years for hazing.’ She was like, ‘What? Um, no,’ and she acted like it was completely outrageous that I had heard that,” Kendall said. “She was like, ‘What? No, you heard incorrect.’”

When questioned about the phone call, Frazier denied having received a phone call from The Echo during the fall 2018 semester about the Kappa Sigma suspension and hazing.

“I never received any calls about the suspension last semester,” Frazier said. “I received no calls from The Echo last semester.”

Kendall said that she gave her name and position on The Echo before asking questions when she called Frazier.

Frazier clarified that the Arkansas Democrat Gazette called her about the suspension during the fall 2018 semester, but neither the Arkansas Democrat Gazette nor the Log Cabin Democrat quoted Frazier directly in their articles about the suspension, instead referring to email documents.

Kendall said she remembered calling Frazier, who wasn’t in her office at the

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AWA R E N E S S

On Feb. 23, a plane carrying cargo for Amazon crashed into Trinity Bay in Texas around 12:45 p.m. It had three passengers onboard.

The aircraft, coming from Miami, was headed to Houston when it fell. The Federal Aviation Association reports losing radar and radio contact with the aircraft when it was about 30 miles Southeast of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

WHAT’S AHEAD

UCA Baseball: Bears tie Redbirds over four-game series

‘Alita: Battle Angel’: Live-action anime meets low expectations

‘Taste of Culture’ : Students engage with African-American businesses 4 page 3

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The McCastlain Ballroom was bustling with energy and creativity Feb. 19 as UCA Outreach and Community Engagement and the UCA Women’s Leadership Network hosted the second annual Women’s Business Showcase.

The public event was held to encourage potential business and entrepreneurial women to explore their options and resources needed to create a successful and diverse business environment. The showcase was free, allowing attendees to stroll and engage with other like-minded agencies.

Executive director of the Division of Outreach & Community Engagement Kristy Carter helped organize and promote the event by catering to a diverse number of women and businesses.

“The inspiration for this event came from members of our committee who observed the need for women-owned businesses to have a way to promote themselves to other women in the community,” Carter said. “We saw the showcase as a vehicle to help drive potential new customers and connections to women-owned businesses. We want to see these businesses thrive, be successful and eventually to ‘pay-it-forward’ in the future.”

Booths were set up for businesses from around central Arkansas, including sponsors of the event such as First Service Bank, Bledsoe Chiropractic and Arkansas Real Estate Solutions.

Patrons got the opportunity to sign up for door prizes, enjoy catering by Julie’s Bakery and

photo by Lauren McCabe

Kim Lane, chief executive officer of Conway’s The Conductor, shares advice with women in attendance on how to be their own successful creators and directors.

Lane credits being in a degrading work environment fresh out of college with encouraging her to explore her vast business options.

UCA Dining and to mingle with those who could become future partners.

The main event of the night, however, was a speech presented by Kim Lane, chief executive officer of The Conductor.

“The Conductor is a public-private partnership between UCA and Startup Junkie in Northwest Arkansas.

Everything we do is totally free,” Lane said. “We do free programming, consulting and we have a MakerSpace across the street where you can do things such as free prototyping

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and 3D printing.”

Lane said that the idea for her to become an entrepreneur was due to the unhappiness she felt in her job after she graduated Hendrix College.

She said she was extremely depressed until she met with friends and partners, particularly Jeff Standridge of the company Innovation Partners, who inspired her to bring a The Conductor agency to Conway.

“If you think back to the industrial economy, it was all

Opinion: ucaecho

© 2019 The Echo, Printed by Leader Publishing, Jacksonville, Arkansas.

FYI, the FOIA and FERPA don’t negate each other.

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NEWS

Some IT cables laid, some still to come

by Lauren Mclemore

that the new network is being tested. Underground cabling will begin on Friday and the fiber replacement process will continue until some time this fall. The construction is not expected to interfere with students’ routes or hinder internet capabilities.

Students can also look forward to using the new online housing portal and expansion of academic programs to work in conjunction with, or instead of, Blackboard. The IT department is also working with student services to provide students with a co-curricular transcript: an official document that would record extra-curricular and organizational activities students are involved in.

“This [transcript] makes it easy for you guys to get credit and take credit for all the things you do that are not academic,” Lloyd said.

He touched on the recent

Assistant News Editor

At this week’s SGA meeting, senators heard from chief information officer Mike Lloyd about recent IT adjustments, adopted a resolution for Day at the Capitol and provided an update on the free feminine products.

Lloyd talked about the many present and future projects the IT department has taken on and the network refresh which will involve updating border routers, switches, wireless access points and sensors, and underground fibers.

“We’re gonna spend about $7 million refreshing the entire network on the campus,” Lloyd said.

He said the cabling is completed in 50 percent of the buildings on campus and

scam emails and said there will soon be a mandatory awareness training to teach students, staff and faculty what to look for when verifying an email’s validity. For now, the best way to confirm email validity is to ensure that the email ends in “uca.edu” or “cub.uca.edu.”

SGA also unanimously passed a resolution that officially determines the positive support of SGA for a “necessary increase in higher education funding,” according to the resolution.

SGA members will take this stance when they meet and mingle with Arkansas legislators at Day at the Capitol Feb. 28.

For the free feminine products initiative, all dispensers and products have been ordered and will be installed over spring break.

HANDS-ON

UCA Cyber Range expands offered programs

by Caela Fugate

UCA’s cybersecurity bachelor’s program — provided in-depth details of the Cyber Range’s curriculum.

“The opportunities afforded by the range are not available to most students across the country. This is a great opportunity for our students,” Addison said.

UCA President Houston Davis also acknowledged the importance of the Cyber Range program for the university’s reputation as a beacon of opportunity.

“Having the Cyber Range here is absolutely a great thing for Conway and UCA,” Davis said. “We also expect the range and our cybersecurity program to be beneficial to the state, especially as our cybersecurity students begin graduating and entering the workforce. We are honored to have the Cyber Range on our campus.”

The curriculum of the Cyber Range for college students will run similarly to a typical science or engineering program at UCA with class labs and group projects. High school students will conduct their normal schedules while also having range use during a given laboratory time. There will be multiple programs under the cybersecurity curriculum ending in a degree for college majors and college credit for high school students who have used the range as part of their high school curriculum.

Addison said the entire structure of the Cyber Range will include “networking, analysis of network traffic, network

Entertainment Editor

In fall 2018, a new Cyber Range program launched at UCA following the creation of UCA’s latest cybersecurity bachelor’s degree program. Due to the creation of this major and advances in range technology, plans to correlate this new range system with the corresponding major were made, thus creating the Cyber Range program.

The first students entered the cybersecurity program in August 2018. The Cyber Range offers cybersecurity insight and experience to any student from college standing to K-12 status.

The Cyber Range program will offer these students in-depth and hands-on experience in cyberattacks similar to those currently threatening our country’s online programs. This could include defending online programs from cyber threats and attacks and learning how to prevent them in the future.

This Cyber Range system has become a central element to the cybersecurity major as the overarching goal of the bachelor’s program is — according to UCA’s undergraduate website — to produce graduates who can identify, assess and manage cyber threats. UCA is only one of two universities in the country with a cyber range program of this magnitude and specification. Stephen Addison — dean of the College of Natural Sciences, professor of physics and director of

Investigation:

defense, ethics, ethical hacking, penetration testing, software testing, threat assessment” and more. The depth of coverage will vary. The specific technology offered within the virtualized environment of the range will include global internet, workstations, routers, switches, firewalls and other basic and intricate technology available on a computer network.

Now that we as a society have developed to such an advanced technological state, there is an endless demand for increased cybersecurity.

UCA’s Cyber Range and new degree program poses a serious increase in student experience and early development within cybersecurtiy education.

“These days, cybersecurity and information assurance touches everything we do.

Protecting our most valuable information, at work and at home, is of utmost importance,” Davis said. “We’re proud to train UCA students who will graduate knowing how to keep that information safe and protect against dangerous cyber attacks. We know they are going to enter the workforce as strong assets to employers across the state.”

In order to apply to the Cyber Range program, UCA students will need to have a major in Computer Science, cybersecurity or Management Information Systems.

Any students of high school status or lower will be required to sign up for advanced information security classes, depending on the current availability.

Gazette gets more transparency

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called. She said she didn’t speak with a reporter directly.

“I would have given all of the questions to PR,” Owens said. “All the questions I’ve gotten I’ve given to PR because that is what I was directed to do.”

On Dec. 16, 2018, an article surfaced from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette about the Kappa Sigma hazing and suspension. The article’s writer, Debra Hale-Shelton, said she had heard about the hazing through an anonymous source.

“Someone tipped me a few days before the article appeared. I’m not free to give other details,” Hale-Shelton said.

According to the Log

time. Kendall said Frazier called her back the same day around 20 minutes after Kendall originally called her.

Kendall said several weeks after she called Frazier, the same Kappa Sigma member who told her about the hazing verified its legitimacy. Around that time, The Echo adviser David Keith advised her to call Owens about it.

“I called the Dean of Students and she said she had heard nothing about it. She seemed pretty genuine about it, but she still said nothing about it,” Kendall said.

When Owens was questioned about the phone call this semester , she said she didn’t remember when Kendall

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Cabin Democrat article titled “Kappa Sigma Reprimanded,” UCA President Houston Davis said UCA does not tolerate hazing and said he was glad the “internal team” took “swift and appropriate action.”

The article was published Dec. 20, 2018: Thirty-four days after Owens sent Kappa Sigma the suspension letter and 42 days after the hazing investigations concluded.

If not for the seeming lack of transparency, The Echo would have broken news of the story a week, or even a few days, after the investigations versus the month required for outside news sources to learn about the occurrence from an anonymous source.

Flores works to complete photo-documentary

4 Continued from page 1 day-to-day lives.

Flores focused his message on love during his speech.

He said everything comes back to love. As a child of undocumented immigrants, Flores saw the love his parents had for him by watching their hard work. He asked audience members to speak up about a sacrifice someone made for them to be in college.

Every person in the room had something in common — at least one person made a sacrifice for them to be sitting in the auditorium on Thursday night to hear Flores’ message.

Students, such as sophomore Seth Burroughs, came to the event for an enrichment activity credit for their Spanish coursework. The Spanish department at UCA requires all students in Spanish classes to go to a certain number of these enrichment events in order to familiarize themselves with other cultures and/or to practice their

Spanish. Burroughs did not know what to expect when attending to this event.

“I have a couple of friends whose parents are immigrants [and] a few close family friends, but outside of them, I don’t really know much about immigration,” Burroughs said.

Flores’ vision for the “Walk of Immigrants” first started with a grant he received from North Carolina State University. With this grant, Flores was able to lead service groups back to his mom’s home town in Mexico.

Through these service projects, Flores’ eyes were opened to a community he could impact.

“In an unexpected place, I discovered a community that I want to serve,” Flores said.

Through these trips, Flores began to invest more into his dream. This was how “The Walk of Immigrants” came to be.

“The Walk of Immigrants” was a project in which Flores walked 5,328 miles across Latin America and took photographs

as a way to bridge communities along the way. Flores’ four goals through doing this were to walk across Latin America — traveling the same way his parents traveled to America — to photograph the places and people he came across, to sell the photographs and use the money to help reconstruct the little elementary school in his mom’s hometown, and to return home alive.

Flores’ project received national attention from Ted, NPR, Fox news and the Huffington Post.

“What I most want students to get out of my presentation is to know they are capable of big things. I want students to find a passion to cement themselves in and to stick with it for the rest of their lives,” Flores said.

Flores is currently working on a documentary to further reach more people with the message of his trip. The title of the documentary will be “Love Walk.”

ucanews.live

Police Beat The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Lauren McLemore

Student enters room unlawfully After midnight, in the early hours of Feb. 21, officer Tyler Ryals met with Resident Assistant Timothy Johnson in the lobby of Bear Hall.

Johnson said student Magdalyn Cooper, a Bear Hall resident, called him and said a male had opened her door, entered her room and then left. Cooper woke up her roommate, student Hannah Robinson, and suitemate, student Katherine Kuchen, to tell them and they said they recognized the male, identifying him as student Trevor Jackson.

When approached by Sgt. James Keith Robinson and Ryals, Jackson said another resident, student Rickiesha Baker, told him to go “get it” from Hannah. Jackson said he didn’t know what “it” was.

Cooper said Jackson walked into her room, through the shared room into her suitemate’s room, and then back through her room to leave. Cooper’s suitemate and roommate said they did not know Jackson aside from seeing him around the residence hall.

Baker said Jackson was standing at the door of

Cooper’s room and she jokingly told him to go and “ask her for milk” because she said he had borrowed milk from them before. Baker said she thought the roommates were awake because Jackson attempted to open the bathroom door. She said he was only in there for a few seconds. Baker’s roommate was outside the room, opposing Jackson’s entrance. Jackson was arrested and charged with Criminal Trespass.

Nonstudent drunk driver pulled over Officer Tyler Ryals pulled over a Dodge Dakota around 11 p.m. Feb. 22 that had been driving at a high speed on Donaghey Avenue.

Ryals approached the driver, nonstudent Marcus Gray, who, with bloodshot eyes, told Ryals his license was suspended, but he was able to provide his registration and insurance.

When Ryals went back to the patrol car, Sgt. James Keith Robinson noticed Gray reach for something under his leg and attempt to put a bottle of alcohol under his seat. The container was an open bottle of whiskey which Ryals confiscated. Gray said he had not drunk any of the

whiskey, but he did have two beers. Ryals asked him to exit the vehicle. He first blew a .16 in a portable Breathalyzer test before being arrested. Around 20 minutes later, once back at UCAPD, his chemical breath test resulted in a .14. Gray was charged with Driving While Intoxicated.

Students ordered to pour out alcohol Officer Kaitlyn Weber saw students Charles Lee and Bryce Smith enter Robins Street Parking Lot around noon Feb. 19 without using the crosswalk. Weber approached them and gave each a Campus Citation for Failure to Stop or Yield Right of Way for not using a crosswalk.

After smelling marijuana, Weber asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle and they said no, but there was alcohol. Weber conducted a search and didn’t find any marijuana, but did find a bottle of whiskey and a 24-pack of Busch Light with 12 cans left in it. Lee and Smith were told to pour all the alcohol out on the grass in the parking lot and throw the empty containers away.

A N N I V E R S A RY

FCS student union celebrates centennial

by Rose McGarrity Staff Writer

UCA’s chapter of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences held a celebration Feb. 13 in McAlister Hall to commemorate 100 years as a student organization.

Last summer while looking through past volumes of The Scroll yearbook in UCA’s archives, senior and AAFCS member Joshua Eddinger-Lucero discovered that 2019 is AAFCS’ centennial.

“UCA AAFCS, from what we can document, has been around since 1919, but there’s a possibility it was around before then,” FCS instructor Rebekah Luong said. “The earliest documented picture from the Home Economics Club, now AAFCS, is from 1919.”

Luong said the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at UCA was once known as Home Economics and that the original AAFCS was the home economics club.

“I couldn’t find anything before 1919 that talked about the home economics club,” Eddinger-Lucero said.

To discover the origin of AAFCS at UCA, Eddinger-Lucero called the national AAFCS headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia and asked one of the AAFCS national staff members where he could verify that UCA’s unit began in 1919.

He made a few more phone calls and discovered that the Arkansas affiliate of the AAFCS was officially chartered as a state affiliate in 1921. Therefore, Eddinger-Lucero said it would make sense that the local student unit would have started prior to that.

Eddinger-Lucero said he knew the CEO of AAFCS very well, so he emailed her to ask if the national AAFCS would issue the UCA AAFCS student unit a proclamation celebrating its centennial. The state affiliate is also currently working on attaining a proclamation too.

photo courtesy of Joshua Eddinger-Lucero

[Left to right] Monica Lieblong, Joshua Eddinger-Lucero and Rebekah Luong celebrate the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences centennial at the McAlister Hall lobby on Wednesday, February 13. The AAFCS’s mission is to provide for and promote the professional development of family and consumer sciences students.

Eddinger-Lucero took the proclamation to the UCA Family and Consumer Sciences Department chair Nina Roofe and they decided to plan a birthday party of some sort for AAFCS. “I helped our UCA AAFCS president Ashley Haney and the AAFCS national student unit chair Joshua Eddinger-Lucero coordinate and plan this celebration,” Luong said.

Assistant professor Renee Ryburn and Luong are the advisors for AAFCS, and they also helped plan the celebration.

Eddinger-Lucero said the celebration took about one month to plan. Approximately 50-60 people attended the event. It was held in the McAlister Hall lobby because the Family and Consumer Sciences department is located in McAlister.

According to the AAFCS website, its mission is to

Innovation: 4 Continued from page 1

scaling one person’s idea,” Lane said. “Long story short, it was, at the time, a nonpopular idea. You would basically do whatever everyone else was doing. Now we’re in the connected age where all ideas matter. If you think about Facebook, Uber and Twitter, those are all disruptive ideas. Being an entrepreneur means being a disrupter.

That’s what we embrace at The Conductor.”

Lane also discussed challenges and issues that she saw as major problems in the workplace, such as women being underpaid, sexual harassment and the denigration of employees’ skills. After hearing a vast number of stories, Lane knew that she wanted to do something about it.

“Everything we do is about the creative genius of everyone,” Lane said. “I’m so passionate about that and I love how entrepreneurship is a playing field for people. Something else

“provide leadership and support for professionals whose work assists individuals, families and communities in making informed decisions about their well being, relationships and resources to achieve optimal quality of life.”

AAFCS serves the UCA and Conway communities by participating in service events every semester.

“In the fall, we hosted a stocking drive for the children who are in foster care in partnership with CAA [Children’s Advocacy Alliance] and stuffed over 200 stockings,” Luong said. “We also host multiple food drives for the Bear Essentials Food Pantry throughout the year.”

AAFCS meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month.

Any student who is majoring or minoring in Family and Consumer Sciences, FCS Education, Interior Design or Nutrition may join.

Event features entrepreneurial advice

[The Conductor is] passionate about is creating trust. I was an anthropology minor, so I loved the thought of community building, cultures and how we can create a place where people can share ideas.”

Carter said that UCA Outreach also found it important to reach out to those who are business-driven and want to make a positive change for themselves.

“It is our mission to connect the campus to the community through a variety of programs and services,” Carter said.

“The Women’s Leadership Network was established out of the need to provide women with opportunities to network with other women who share the same aspirations [and] challenges as well as personal and professional goals.”

At the end of the night, Lane expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to be able to be a

part of the entrepreneurship community, which has given her opportunities to travel and work internationally, even as far as the Congo in Africa.

“I think an idea that’s important is: How are you going to support thousands of other people?” Lane said.

“I think there’s something about empowerment in entrepreneurship and just taking the reigns of your life and doing something.”

For more information about the resources that UCA Outreach provides for students, visit the office located in Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center between Reynolds Performance Hall and Stanley Russ Hall. For more information about the classes, advice and guidance that The Conductor has to offer, visit ARConductor.org.

Campus Life

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February 27, 2019

Around Campus: Networking Luncheon At 11:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at the Hole in the Wall Cafe, the Women’s Leadership Network will host a lunch gathering.

Women in Business will be discussed. The luncheon costs $20. To register online visit uca.edu/outreach/wln-events.

Dance Troupe At 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Ida Waldran Auditorium, Step Africa! — an African-American dance company — will perform a blend of storytelling via dance and audience participation.

This event is free and open to the UCA community. For more information go to ucasab.com.

Rock of Ages At 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in Reynold’s Performance Hall, Broadway’s Best Party will perform for the 10th anniversary of the hit Broadway musical “Rock of Ages. ” The band will play classic ‘80s songs from bands like Styx, Poison, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake. For tickets go to tickets.uca.edu.

Creed II At 7 p.m. March 3 in the Student Center Ballroom, the Student Activities Board will show “Creed II”. The movie revolves around a man who accepts a boxing match challenge from the son of the man who killed his father. It is rated PG-13 and is free to the UCA community. There will be free food and drinks.

Open Art Competetive At 4 p.m. March 4 in the Baum Gallery, an opening reception for the Annual Student Art Competitive will be held.

The various media forms created and submitted by UCA students will be on display until March 15. For more information visit uca.edu/art/events/.

Political Roundup At 6 p.m. March 4 in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center, the Women’s Leadership Network will hold a political roundup. A group of politically knowledgable women will form a panel to answer audience members questions. Women associated with any political party or who are politically unaffiliated are welcome to attend.

Refreshments will be provided.

This event is geared toward women, but it is open to the public. For more information call (501) 450-5261.

Elevator Pitch Competition At 1:40 p.m. March 5 at the ampitheatre in front of the Student Center, Career Services will hold a elevator pitch competition. Contestants will have 30 to 45 second to give their best personal and professional elevator pitch to a panel of four judges. The winner will be awarded with a $100 gift card and $100 for their RSO of choice. To register, go to uca.edu/career/ elevatorpitch

Spring Job Fair At 9 a.m. March 6 in the Student Center Ballroom, Student and Career Services will hold a career fair. At least 50 employers are registered to attend the event. Students will need to dress professionally and bring their UCA ID to attend. The fair will end at 2 p.m. For more information contact Career Services at (501) 450-3134.

Expo embraces African-American entrepreneurs

by Macy Davis Staff Writer

With Black History Month in full swing, students crowded into the Student Center Ballroom at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 to help support Conway businesses run by African-American students and community members at a vendor event called Taste of Culture hosted by the Students for the Propagation of Black Culture.

Many local businesses set up booths to sell their merchandise and advertise their services.

The vendor expo provided everyone in attendance with important knowledge about African-American businesses.

Vendors advertised their businesses, and brought products for the students to test and buy.

Types of businesses that attended the expo included those that sold clothing, cosmetics, art, food, hair and body oil, photography and various other products and services.

The Hotspot Salon and Cosmetics is a beauty shop in Conway that specializes in the hair and beauty needs of African-American women by using natural hairstyle techniques. They offer make overs, lock re-twists, natural hairstyles, basic sew-ins and wig services.

UCA alumna Ashtone Dixon attended as the owner of The Hotspot Salon and Cosmetics.

She was very excited to come back to UCA and show the students her business and to help support black businesses in general.

“I’ve always wanted to support the events that [SPBC hosts] when they ask me to come out as a student and a black business woman,” Dixon said.

Also in attendance was UCA senior Denn-Warren Tafah to advertise his business, Tafah Oil. His product is a holistic hair and beard oil that accelerates hair growth.

Tafah got the idea for his business from his grandmother who was a strong believer in natural remedies to ailments and beauty concerns. Tafah said he is both excited and surprised that his business is doing so well.

“I never envisioned myself this big,” Tafah said.

UCA sophomores Marquette Stricklen and Rodaysia Harris bought sunglasses from BB Cosmetics at the event. The two students expressed that they plan to continue buying items from these businesses at future expos.

Stricklen and Harris are both active members of SPBC, and they were pleasantly surprised at the turnout at the event.

“Usually it’s like a touch-and-go thing. A lot of people don’t come out to view the events. But I really like how everyone came and everyone’s

photo by Macy Davis

UCA alumna Ashtone Dixon [Top] flashes her business cards at the vendor expo at UCA on Feb. 18 in the student center ballroom as she describes her business, Hotspot Salon and Cosmetics, to students. Dixon was a member of Students for the Propagation of Black Culture when she went to UCA, and she said that she enjoyed coming to the vendor expo to help support SPBC. UCA alumnus Denn-Warren Tafah [bottom] shows off his Tafah Oil booth at the vendor expo at UCA on Feb. 18 in the Student Center ballroom. Tafah makes his own Tafah Oil products, and he said he was very happy to be attending the vendor expo.

actually being supportive of each other,” Stricklen said.

SPBC is an organization on UCA’s campus that focuses on embracing black culture and educating members, along with

those outside of the club, about important aspects of AfricanAmerican culture.

The vendor expo exemplified how important African-American businesses are in society. The

different needs and desires of different cultures can only be met by having a diverse selection of businesses all over the world.

Usually SPBC averages two events per month, but during

Black History Month the events become more frequent.

“It’s very inclusive and diverse. You just get to have fun and be informed and have a great time on campus,” Harris said.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

DRAMA

UCA Makerspace maintains goal of technology education

by DJ Jones Staff Writer

photo courtsey of popejoypresents.com

Steel Magnolias, which showed Feb. 22 in Reynolds Performance Hall, tells a story of friendship and the stages of life in a small southern town. The talented cast included actors Elisa Bocanegra, Shannon Holt, Patti Yasutake, Monica McSwain, Cerris Morgan-Moyer and Inger Brown.

‘Steel Magnolias’ wows crowd during rainy weather

by Marcus McClain Sports Editor

A captivating show rooted in women empowerment was brought to UCA on Feb. 22 at Reynolds Performance Hall.

“Steel Magnolias,” produced by L.A. Theatre Works, drew many audience members out of the comfort of their homes on a rainy Friday night, and the performance didn’t disappoint.

The radio-style production coupled with vivid sound effects kept the audience actively engaged throughout the show.

“Steel Magnolias” displays a strong connection built between a group of women in a small, southern town in the 1980s. With a wide range of personalities and stages of life depicted in the play, the audience is treated to both their comical and critical interactions.

“I thought the show was a big hit with the audience,” director of Reynolds Performance Hall Amanda

Horton said. “The radio-style format was a new genre of theatre for Reynolds to present and I was very pleased with it. We try to present as many types of artistic entertainment as possible so our students are exposed to many different types of performing arts.”

The talented cast included actors Elisa Bocanegra, Shannon Holt, Patti Yasutake, Monica McSwain, Cerris Morgan-Moyer and Inger Brown.

This cast has individually collected numerous accolades and awards during their careers, including award nominations from the NAACP Theatre, LA Weekly, Broadway World and Independent Spirit.

They also have an endless amount of individual credits including national TV commercials, shows like NCIS: Los Angeles, feature films with Universal Pictures and a host of other stage productions.

“I thought the cast did a phenomenal job,” Conway resident Clyde Coleman said.

“They really showed a great

deal of emotion in their parts and made it feel like it was almost happening in real time.”

Robert Harling, “Steel Magnolias” writer, based the show on experiences with his sister. The 1987 play was transformed into a movie in 1989 and became the 14th highest-grossing film of that year.

In an article last year with the Huffington Post, Harling said he wrote the stage version in just 10 days, just to get the true story of his sister off his chest while also celebrating her life. This led to each character being based on real people from his hometown.

With this year being the 30th anniversary of the film, the L.A. Theatre Works made sure to do the show justice with their performance for the Conway community.

The next event at Reynolds Performance Hall willl be the Miss Essence Scholarship Pageant, hosted by Students for the Propagation of Black Culture 7 p.m. on March 7.

UCA’s Makerspace had an adult maker class teaching participants how to do graphic design on Feb. 19 in Donaghey Hall.

According to the Arkansas Conductor website, Makerspace is a work space with tools that allow students to prototype concepts and make new things.

“The purposes of these Makerspace classes is to educate participants on all of the new technology that we have like 3D printing, vector drawing, and things like prototyping and laser cutting,” master-maker Jason Huselton said. “They will basically be drawing in 2D with this program.”

The instructors used an Inkscape program to teach participants how to create vectors.

Former UCA art student and instructor for the class Sylvia Hardin said the Inkscape program is very useful program to get used to.

“This is one of our main programs that we use in here.

You can use this program on any computer, printer or laser printer that we have here, and it’s very good for people who are wanting to get into 2D design or graphic designing,” Hardin said.

Class participants used their own computers

and Hardin guided them step-by-step through an overhead projector screen.

Participants were taught how to use all of the shortcuts, features and benefits of the program. They learned elements such as how to change fonts and shapes of vectors, logos and how to change the vectors’ colors.

With technology changing so quickly, the Makerspace program is something that could aid anyone who just wants to stay updated.

One of the participants, nonstudent Erinn Stone, said she decided to come to the class to stay updated on all of the new technological features.

“For my job, I am the public information officer for the sheriff’s office, so I am trying to learn all the new programs that are out there,” Stone said. “This is my first time ever attending one of these classes. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in school, and there is just a lot of new things that I want to be updated with.”

Huselton said it is very easy for any interested students to attend one of these Makerspace classes.

“You can go to Arconductor. org where we have a list of all of our classes and you can sign up for them. It will show you everything online,” Huselton said.

ucanews.live

CAMPUS LIFE

February 27, 2019 /4

STUDENTS SAY

PEOPLE OF UCA

by Rafael Soliz ii

John Parrack

“

Staff Writer

John Parrack, professor of Spanish and director of the masters of arts in Spanish program, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He grew up as an only child with his mother and father. Parrack moved to Baltimore, Maryland as a child where he lived for 13 years.

Parrack’s father worked for International Business Machines Corp. and the family was subject to a few relocations throughout his employment.

From Baltimore, the family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where Parrack attended Lincoln East High School.

There, he helped co-found a magazine called “Muse.”

He also graduated in a tie for valedictorian of his class with seven other people.

As John grew up, he enjoyed riding his bike and became interested in cars. His first car was a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel, which he drove for four years throughout high school.

“The car was so slow that it took forever for it to hit 55 miles per hour, but going up hill it couldn’t even hold 55 miles per hour,” Parrack said.

Parrack graduated high school in 1989 and decided he wanted to further his education at Dartmouth College, which is a private university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Parrack said he chose Dartmouth because he felt welcomed and because he was drawn to its language program.

“I was interested in languages, and they had a good language program. I visited the college and met with some professors, and they were welcoming and encouraging,” Parrack said.

Parrack’s high school Spanish teacher first instilled Parrack’s interest in languages.

Parrack knows three languages in total, including English, French and Spanish.

“I don’t know French as well anymore, but at one point my French was better than my Spanish. I’ve traveled to France with my family and I could pick it back up quickly if I needed to,” Parrack said.

Parrack graduated from Dartmouth in 1993 with a double major in Spanish

The history department at UCA offers minors and majors in African-American studies — an interdisciplinary degree that develops useful skill sets such as cultural understanding, empathy and critical thinking.

Associate professor of history and codirector of the African-American Studies program Kristen Epps explained how the program is beneficial to students.

“Being part of a program that has a lot of different disciplines that are represented within it makes you a lot more marketable when looking for a job,” Epps said.

The program was founded in 2002 and initially offered solely a minor in African-American Studies.

However, as of 2004,

Freshman Diamond Blades

Sophomore Tallen Macon

“My parents. They always tell me, you know, things that happened back in their day. Like ‘I wish I would have done this’ or ‘I wish I could have done that,’ and ‘so now that I’m telling you — you better go do what I didn’t do to accomplish those goals.’ ”

“This is going to sound cliché, but it’s most likely my friends. There’s something about your friends and having them with you that can pick you up on one of your worst days or keep you going forward even when you think there’s nothing left that you can do. So I’m really grateful for my friends. “

Junior Carlos Jones

Junior Clarissa Struble

“My mom. She’s strong.

She inspires me to do more because I’ve seen her do a lot with very little. “

“Definitely my mom because she’s always been there for me through thick and thin. “

Junior Aidan Crum

Freshman Jasmine Jackson

“I would probably say my father, and the reason is because he’s always there to support me. I’ve struggled with some mental health issues the past few years, so he’s been an integral touchstone for me to kind of keep myself grounded and happy throughout even my roughest days.”

“My grandmother inspires me because growing up in the time she did, which was around 1943, she still made happen what she did today. And she’s really big on community service and helping people, not because she has to, but just because she wants too.”

Junior Kalayesha Scaife

Freshman Baker Kendrick

“My family because not too many of my family has graduated, so I want to be one that actually does.”

“That would be my dad.

He’s always been a really good role model for me.

He’s always pushing me to do better, especially in school. “

photo by Rafael Soliz II

Professor of Spanish John Parrack instructs his 11 a.m. class Feb. 22 in Burdick Hall. Parrack has been teaching for 21 years, and has been an instructor at UCA for 18 years.

and history. Then, he began graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, graduating in 1998 with a doctorate of philosophy in Spanish.

After he graduated from the University of Philadelphia, he got his first full-time faculty job at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas where he taught for three years. He’s been in Arkansas for 21 years now, and he has enjoyed his experiences in the Natural State.

“I think the summer is a little too hot, but I think your attitude affects a place. If you have a good attitude and look for the positive in anywhere you go and try to grow yourself, you’ll have a good experience

and you’ll enjoy it,” Parrack said.

After he left Lyon College, he was hired at UCA as an assistant professor, a position in which he spent six years, until 2007, when he was promoted to associate professor. In 2018 Parrack was promoted to professor and he currently teaches three Spanish courses.

Parrack is driven by an urge to see students succeed and accomplish as much as possible in the short amount he spends with them each semester.

“I enjoy meeting new students every semester. I think it’s fun and it’s a great experience. I think seeing what students can accomplish in just 15 weeks is very rewarding,”

Parrack said. “The amount of language a student can acquire in such a short amount of time is amazing. Students can surprise themselves about what they can accomplish.”

Parrack also acts as the director of Graduate Studies for the Language Department, where he is looking to grow enrollment to expand the graduate program.

Parrack is married with two children. Both children currently attend Conway High School. Parrack’s wife, Jennifer, is not only employed by UCA as an associate professor, but is also a colleague to Parrack within the Spanish program.

Parrack met Jennifer at Dartmouth College.

Unique program available in history department Staff Writer

”

Story by Christine Nichols Photos by Taylor Sone

MAJOR OFFERING

by Savannah Combs

Who inspires you to keep working toward you life goals?

UCA offers a major in African-American Studies.

The program is beneficial for prospective students interested in politics, business and teaching. The eclectic nature of the degree encompasses a wide variety of subjects such as language, philosophy and politics and is continually adding new and interesting classes. “[The program] expands the curricular offerings to look at people from different backgrounds who aren’t normally well represented in college classes,” Epps said.

Associate professor of history and codirector of the African-American Studies program Michael Kithinji said he believes the program is crucial to UCA curriculum.

“Our major in African/ African-American Studies is the most unique in the state and our students

are prepared to become well-rounded global citizens with useful skills that can be applied in diverse settings, including the government, non-profit world, business and entrepreneurship,” Kithinji said. “Our students are also prepared to undertake advanced-level education either in graduate or professional schools.”

Other important aspect of the African-American Studies program is that a major in the program earns a bachelor’s of art, and therefore requires a language. A minor in the program has been reduced to 18 credit hours which makes it incredibly accessible for students in need of a beneficial minor.

Introduction to African/ African-American Studies, AFAM 1300, is the introductory class for the program. The course is perfect for students

interested in the program, allowing students to get a feel for the concepts and ideas that are central within the African-American Studies program.

The African/ African-American Studies program could aid in one’s ability to comprehend and evaluate situations from backgrounds and cultures different from one’s own.

The African-American Studies program encourages students interested in the program to join AFAM — the African/African-American studies society — an RSO which often features guest speakers and is a resource for students.

To find out more about the program, stop by the History Department located in Irby Hall or email Dr. Kristen Epps at kkepps@uca.edu.

BEST MOVIES

UCA film club watches Oscars’ award ceremony, celebrates winners

by Ronak Patel Staff Writer

UCA’s film club held a watch party for the 91st Academy Awards, or the Oscars, in Stanley Russ Hall Room 103.

The Oscars watch party was a fun event for students in the film program and nonfilm majors were welcomed as well.

Senior Nathaly Moreno enjoys watching the progress the Oscars have made over the past few years.

“It’s changed a lot since it started, including foreign films — like this year, there is Roma.

It’s a foreign language film for the best picture category. I think it’s getting there. It’s not as diverse as it could be, but its made a step toward it. I’m an international student from

Honduras, so whenever I see a film that’s international, or has an international director, it makes me happy,” Moreno said.

Moreno plans on entering the world of film after college, and her film club cohorts could see her accepting an award at the Oscars one day.

“I’m a film major and a journalism and marketing minor. I’d like to work on a production staff in the film industry like the pre-production stage. A lot of the work is gathering cast and crew, planning and scheduling, organizing production design, location of where we will film, who will film what and other things like that,” Moreno said.

At UCA, Moreno works on indie films to help prepare for the film industry after college.

“We have three production classes here. Each level of production, we make a short film and we also have a capstone class where we do thesis films that we are working on right now. We’re working on 12 short films. I am actually directing one, my script got chosen. We work on indie films here because we aren’t funded, but we do get a small scholarship from the film department,” Moreno said.

Even students who aren’t film majors can enjoy watching the Oscars. It isn’t required to be a film major to enjoy watching the Oscars. The Oscars can also be a very big night for movie watchers when there is a film that they love up for nomination. Junior Karen Orozco isn’t a film student and

is just a casual movie watcher.

Karen enjoyed watching some of her favorite movies and stars win big at the Oscars.

“It’s cool to watch award shows. Thing is, I don’t do it often because its not my thing.

I find acceptance speeches awkward, so I wish I could skip forward through those.

I am extremely happy so far with the people taking these Oscars home this year. I haven’t been disappointed yet. Of course, I have been rooting for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to snatch those wins for every category, but I’m biased,” Orozco said.

This year at the Oscars, the film “Bohemian Rhapsody” had a big night and won the most awards. “Bohemian Rhapsody” surpassed “The Godfather” in number of awards won.

Opinion

5

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

February 27, 2019

The Voice Opioid epidemic: an old problem rearing its head

The Echo Staff Marley Cash-Powell Editor

Emily Gist

Associate Editor

Lauren McCabe News Editor

Lauren McLemore Assistant News Editor

Aysha Dixon

Campus Life Editor

Christine Nichols

Assistant Campus Life Editor

Ryan Bradford Opinion Editor

Caela Fugate

Entertainment Editor

Marcus McClain Sports Editor

Daniel Adams

Assistant Sports Editor

Dy’Kajeon Brown

Online/ Social Media Editor

Taylor Sone Photo Editor

Ricky Rivera Cartoonist

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FOIA, FERPA: knowing your rights

Most of us have heard the phrase before, year, updating each addition with any even if we aren’t familiar with the acronym: changes necessary after the most recent The Freedom of Information Act or FOIA. General Assembly. Copies of these books are The FOIA is federal protection designed to made available to the public at no charge.

Another protection that is important to ensure that federal institutions don’t dupe students is the Family Educational Rights citizens by concealing information.

According to FOIA.gov, “Since 1967, the and Privacy Act of 1974, or FERPA, which Freedom of Information Act has provided “is a Federal law that protects the privacy of the public the right to request access to student education records,” but also allows records from any federal agency. It is often “parents or eligible students the right to described as the law that keeps citizens in inspect and review the student’s education the know about their government. Federal records maintained by the school,” according agencies are required to disclose any to ed.gov. information requested under the However, FERPA doesn’t protect FOIA unless it falls under one of nine a student’s directory information. exemptions which protect interests Exactly what is considered directory such as personal privacy, national information is debatable, and the security and law enforcement.” law is ambiguous.

Sometimes, this information However, the law does allow concerns incidents reported schools some discretion as to to the police. Wouldn’t what is considered directory you like to know if information. there were a string of The University of drug-related reports in Central Arkansas defines your neighborhood? directory information as Because of the FOIA, “student name, class level,

by Marley Cash-Powell we the people have the full- or part-time status, Editor right to know the who, terms of enrollment at what, when, where, why the University, degrees and how concerning earned and academic such activities. Because of the FOIA, news- honors received.” reporting agencies can tell you.

According to this policy, UCA will not Sometimes this information concerns violate FERPA when releasing identifying communications by elected individuals factors without written consent. If you do within our government or employees of not want this information to be disclosed, publicly-funded institutions. We the people you must formally withdraw consent in have the right to know exactly how our writing. representatives are communicating on our Oftentimes, universities try to use FERPA behalf. The FOIA protects us from being told as a means of blanket denial for FOIA something other than the truth and allows requests by redacting information that many us to witness documents with our own eyes.

According to arkansasag.gov, “The inquirers don’t realize are not protected Arkansas Freedom of Information Act is one under FERPA. More often than not, these of the most comprehensive and strongest blanket denials are successful.

However, the more you know about open-records and open-meetings laws in what information you can attain under the the country.”

Arkansas’ Attorney General, currently FOIA and what information of your own is Leslie Rutledge, partners with the Arkansas protected under FERPA, the better able you Press Association to publish a “Freedom of are as a student and as a citizen to remain Information Act Handbook” every other informed and protected.

‘American Boy’ an inaccurate representation Esquire was incredibly tasteless with its that only white people are representative “American Boy” issue trying to portray what of America. As a minority, it sucks to see us they call the “American Boy” struggle in excluded from consideration as the poster the modern world. I have no issue with the children of America. headline or the idea of the cover; I am open White men will never know the struggle to hear new perspectives and feel every of having groups of people go out of their perspective should be respected. way to make them feel less than. White males Everyone’s struggles should be shared don’t leave their houses worried they will be and discussed, but this cover felt like it was attacked or harassed because they live in a done as a message to marginalized groups country that believes they are dangerous to stop talking about their struggles. with no basis to that belief.

The content of this article seemed No one seems to care about violence ill intentioned. Though, it claimed against these groups and, therefore, to explain “what it’s like to grow we continue to speak out. Crimes up white, middle class, and male against these groups frequently go in the era of social media, school unpunished. These individuals are shootings, toxic masculinity, made to feel “othered” and they have #MeToo and a divided country.” no choice but to share their stories The article seems to be in the hope that some day enough saying white males feel people will understand their uncomfortable listening pain and, hopefully, that to topics like school understanding will lead to shootings, toxic change. masculinity and

by Ronak Patel My response to the #MeToo. If hearing Staff Writer article isn’t to hate white about these struggles men and never allow makes your life difficult them to talk about their then how do you think the people living these struggles feel? If you struggles. We all need to voice our struggles aren’t a part of the problem then you have and be there for one another if we ever want true empathy and equality, but marginalized nothing to be stressed about.

Why release this during February — the groups are tired of media made in poor taste month dedicated to black history? It felt like like this.

Minorities don’t all speak about issues the story was purposefully published so the public would argue about this controversial that affect them just for attention or some article, detracting their time and efforts sick pleasure. Some have faced harsh realities away from the positive elements of black and felt their experiences needed to be shared, to speak about the issues they know history.

This magazine cover alone appeared for the purpose of talking through them and divisive. Why does the magazine make the not just to distract from larger issues going word American synonymous with the image on in the world with nonsensical non-issues.

I will never understand why people want of a straight white male? America is a diverse country and it is closed minded to think to silence marginalized groups so much.

You see the death tolls of the opioid epidemic on new reports, or maybe hear the President talk about it in one of his wall tirades, but south of the border is not where we should be looking. The source of the problem lies right here in America.

Opioid overdoses have gotten out of control. According to The National Safety Council, people in the United States are more likely to die from an opioid overdose than a car crash. The odds of dying in an opioid overdose are 1 in 96 and the odds of dying in a car crash are 1 in 103. This is senseless considering virtually everybody drives every day.

Mexican drug cartels are not the cause of this epidemic, but rather drug manufacturers and doctors like Barry Schultz right here in the United States are.

Schultz was making more than $6,000 a day prescribing copious dosages of opioid — he passed out the highly addictive drug like candy on Halloween — which prompted one Palm Beach county prosecutor to name him one of Florida’s “most notorious drug dealers.”

Schultz didn’t see it that way.

“I’m a scapegoat,” he said during a 60 Minutes interview with Bill Whitaker.

Schultz explained that he was one of hundreds of doctors prescribing medications for chronic pain. However, Schultz clearly went above and beyond what would be considered an appropriate dosage.

During a six-month period, Schultz prescribed over 800,000 opioid pills from his office pharmacy. Some patients were given prescriptions of up to 60 oxycodone at a dosage of 30 mg. each per day.

This overprescribing led one of Schultz’s patients to overdose, and in July 2018, Schultz was sentenced to 157 years in prison.

As bad as these doctors are for betraying their Hippocratic Oaths, they’re simply the dealers. The main culprits behind this epidemic are the drug companies.

Companies like Purdue and INSYS Therapeutics Inc. bribe doctors to sell their drugs. Six former INSYS executives and managers have been charged with bribing doctors to prescribe fentynl, a highly addictive opioid nasal spray.

Five Manhattan doctors were also charged for taking bribes of over $800,000 collectively as they were treated to expensive dinners and strip club visits.

This is nothing new; drug companies and doctors have done this in the past Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, heroin was marketed and sold by the drug company Bayer. It was even given to kids. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal claimed there was no danger of acquiring a habit.

Heroin is also an opioid, so when it was outlawed, drug companies created a new opioid that targeted the exact same receptors in the brain and, thus, oxycontin was born.

This brings us to the biggest contributor to the opioid epidemic: the drug company Purdue.

In the 1990s, Purdue incessantly advertised its new drug using golf balls, plush toys and even a swing-music-themed CD. Purdue has also allegedly misled doctors and consumers on how addictive oxycontin can be, all while the Sackler family, who founded Purdue, made over $4 billion in profits from opioid products.

To make matters worse, now Purdue is trying to put all the blame on the people whom they’ve gotten addicted. In a 2001 email, the then-chairman and president of Purdue Richard Sackler wrote, “We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals.”

Purdue also pursued ways to make money off addicts by weaseling into the antiaddiction market, and in 2012 the company tried to get oxycontin FDA approval so it could market to children as young as 6.

So if we are looking for solutions to the opioid epidemic, we should start at the top.

Prosecute the Sacklers and bring charges against their company and all of the other companies that marketed in this way.

We need more regulation on drug companies because there are always new drugs that can be made. If oxycontin gets outlawed, they’ll move on like they did with heroin. We need to make drug companies’ priority helping people, not making money.

So if we are looking for solutions to the opioid epidemic, we should start at the top.

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Entertainment

6

February 27, 2019

New This Week Movies

March 1 — A Madea Family Funeral (PG-13), directed by Tyler Perry, starring Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis, Patrice Lovely, Mike Tyson

March 1 — Greta (R), directed

by Neil Jordan, starring Isabelle Huppert, Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Jane Perry

March 1 — Climax (R), directed by Gaspar Noé, starring Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub, Kiddy Smile

Music March 1 — Rap Or Go To The League — 2 Chainz March 1 — Liquid Colours — CFCF March 1 — Gaia & Friends — Crystal Fighters March 1 — Till I Burn Up — Delicate Steve March 1 — Median Age Wasteland — Hawksley Workman March 1 — Wasteland, Baby! — Hozier March 1 — I, The Mask — In Flames March 1 — GREY — Little Simz March 1 — Tasmania — Pond March 1 — The Verdict — Queensrÿche March 1 — White Stuff — ​Royal Trux March 1 — Good Fruit — YTEEN

Netflix March 1 — The Notebook, directed

by Nick Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Rachel McAdams March 1 — Budapest, starring Manu Payet, Jonathan Cohen, Monsieur Poulpe March 1 — Saving Mr. Banks, directed by John Lee Hancock, Justin Richmond, starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley March 1 — Stuart Little, directed by Rob Minkoff, starring Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie March 1 — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman

Five traditions that need to be trashed List compiled by Christine Nichols Assistant Campus Life Editor

‘Alita: Battle Angel’ falls short in manga-to-film adaptation

by Ricky Rivera

The main problem I found with the movie overall is just how off target the film was with its emotional timing. The film either takes itself too seriously or not seriously enough. The fact that the strangers next to me and I couldn’t help but laugh at the hokey death of a main character, which was supposed to be a key emotional moment, shows how off-the-mark the film was.

Cartoonist

When I saw the first trailer for “Alita: Battle Angel” back in the summer of 2018, I fell in the camp between cautiously curious and woefully unimpressed. I, along with a number of people online, looked at Alita’s big CG anime eyes and thought, “Oh great.

Another live action adaptation of a manga (or anime) that’s entirely tone deaf as to what made the original source material special in the first place.” In this sense, my first impressions were spot on.

Produced and written as a passion project by James Cameron, “Alita: Battle Angel” is an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s early ‘90s manga “Gunnm” directed by Robert Rodriguez. Set in the year 2563, the floating city of Zalem looms over the cyber-punk slums of Iron City where the cyber-prosthetics expert, Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) discovers the remains of a female cyborg (Rosa Salazar) with an intact human brain.

After repairing her with a new body that Ido had intended for his late daughter, the girl awakens with a happy-go-lucky attitude considering she has no memories of her past. Ido enchances her attitude by

photo courtesy of https://comicbook.com

Alita (Rosa Salazar) — a previous Martian soldier found amongst garbage and rebuilt by a kind-hearted scientist — awakens to find her memory wiped and her surroundings unknown in “Alita: Battle Angel.” The film was based as a reboot of a previous cyber-punk Japanese manga series and was released Feb. 14.

naming her Alita and raising her as a surrogate daughter.

From here, we’re introduced relatively quickly to the movies cast of antagonists, supporting characters, factions and greater world building about a long-ago war with the Martian colonies that basically left the earth in the sorry state it’s in.

There’s a great deal of backstory and lore in the first 30 minutes that the audience is

expected to willingly digest. To the movie’s credit, condensing multiple volumes of a manga into the essential, key beats that also comprise a satisfying narrative arc in the constricting limit of around two hours of screen time is a challenge that many movies before it have failed to meet. (Looking at you, “Last Airbender.”)

With that in mind, most of the key characters’ motivations

are fairly clear: Alita wants to remember her past, bad guys want to kill Alita and basically everyone else wants to get to Zalem by any means possible.

I had problems with elements of the story itself, but the majority of the story issues could be attributed to either the condensing choices or not adapting outdated elements of the source material to modern storytelling.

It comes off as mellow dramatic and silly when it’s supposed to be serious, but then when we’re supposed to feel something, it throws in a joke, utterly failing to read the room. This is coupled with the fact that elements of the visuals don’t mesh properly. There’s a dubious amount of highly-detailed CG technology in the cyborg designs, but human faces are plopped in, forming a crowd of regular-looking tourists.

In the end, if you’re an anime fan — or even just a fan of the cyber-punk or sci-fi genres — and are planning to see this movie, maybe turn off your brain a bit and try not to take this one too seriously because it’s clear that the creators didn’t.

“Alita: Battle Angel” is currently showing in Little Rock and Conway theaters.

The film is rated PG-13.

FIGHTING GAME

SUPER POWERS

Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ displays heroes, twisted history

by Daniel Adams In an industry dominated by the movies and TV shows produced by DC and Marvel, “The Umbrella Academy” is a wonderful change of pace from your run-of-the mill superhero show.

Originally a Dark Horse Comics series written by Gerard Way, former lead singer and co-founder of the popular band My Chemical Romance, “The Umbrella Academy” series began in 2007 and was put to work in becoming a Netflix Original 10 years later, releasing Feb. 15.

The series focuses on a group of seven siblings adopted by an eccentric billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore).

Oddly enough, these kids are all part of a phenomenon where women gave birth to children on the same date — Oct. 1, 1989 — at the exact same time. However, none of the women were pregnant when that day began. There was no explanation for this at the time, but Hargreeves attempted to adopt as many of the unexplained children as possible.

While Hargreeves refers to his adopted children by their given number, during the first episode titled, “We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals,” the viewers are slowly introduced to the academy’s former tenants, now all grown up.

The show reveals four of the seven children as grown-ups — Number One, the astronaut named Luther (Tom Hopper); Number Two, the vigilante named Diego (David Castaneda); Number Three, the movie star named Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman); and Number Four, the drug addict named Klaus (Robert Sheehan) — before finally revealing Number, Seven Vanya (Ellen Page).

The entire opening

sequence is amazing to watch.

The creators help the viewers easily keep track of the cast of characters through masterful transitions from one character to the next.

Oddly enough, the other two members of the family aren’t seen at first. As the group is forced to come together due to unforeseen circumstances, the distant siblings are brought back to the old house for what’s presumably the last time.

As the episode progresses, we’re shown what happened to Number Five, (Aidan Gallagher) and Number Six, Ben (Justin H. Min), but further explanation would give too much away. Of course, the rest of the “Umbrella” family is just as unusual. What would you expect from a group of kids that were raised to be crimefighters?

With the particular way that the scenes are shot, the music and action sequences blend together wonderfully in this series. We can go from a gunfight with “Don’t Stop Me Now” blasting in the background to having characters introduced with a remixed “Phantom of the Opera” — thanks to the work of expert violinist Lindsey Stirling. It’s enough to set the tone and make you realize that whenever the songs are kicking in, something is seriously about to happen.

“The Umbrella Academy” will have you at the edge of your seat as you watch the siblings grapple with the challenges presented and, perhaps the hardest of all, learn to work together as a family after being apart for over a decade.

I highly recommend checking this show out, even if you’re not a fan of masked vigilantes.

It’s packed with enough drama to compel audiences to binge this as fast as they can.

The first season of “The Umbrella Academy” is now streaming on Netflix and is rated TV-14.

1. College attendance policies I have successfully earned over 80 credit hours and have more than maintained the GPA requirements to maintain my scholarships. I take five classes per semester, I work 35 hours a week and I am in a committed relationship. I pay to be in the classes I am enrolled in and I should have the freedom to choose when I attend class.

Some days I can accomplish more by staying at home and doing homework than I can by attending class. I shouldn’t face grade penalties for missing more than two days of class during a 16-week semester.

Placing restrictions on freshmen is questionable, but on a junior?

I know what I’m doing, thank you.

2. Boys should also be chased Whether it’s waiting for a boy to ask you out, receiving gifts on anniversaries or Valentine’s Day without returning any to him or leaving your search history of jewelry store websites in plain view because you’re trying to give him a hint, many of the relationship expectations set for men are outdated and unfair.

Why does he have to get your number? For the women who aren’t sure how to do the things men often do, I say fuck it. Do it anyway. Men don’t instinctively know what to do in relationships either. Ask a cute guy for his number. Bring your man a box of chocolates (or a bag of chips if they’re more into that). I guarantee, he’ll appreciate it.

Assistant Sports Editor

photo courtesy of https://www.xbox.com

Three essential characters from previous anime series — [Left] Naruto Uzumaki, [middle] Monkey D. Luffy and Goku ­— collaborate in the newly debuted video game “Jump Force.” The game released for PS4 and Xbox One Feb. 15.

‘Jump Force’ unites beloved anime characters in arena

by Ryan Bradford Opinion Editor

The latest and greatest manga crossover fighting game, “Jump Force” from Bandai Namco, arrived Feb. 15 with a host of new characters.

The game highlights some of the most popular manga characters featured in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and is headlined by Monkey D. Luffy from “One Piece,” Naruto Uzumaki from “Naruto Shippuden” and Son Goku from “Dragon Ball Super.”

“Jump Force” came out during the 50 year anniversary of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and shares the same spirit, joining beloved characters together in one place. The game features a 3-on-3 arena-fighting style that allows you to switch characters or call for support with ease.

The game opens with Frieza, from the Dragon Ball series, attacking New York City with a group of shadowy henchmen known as Venoms.

Goku battles his nemesis while the player character is eventually injured by one of Frieza’s attacks.

The only way for your character to survive is to be reconstructed and made into a hero. This grants him various abilities and allows him to fight alongside the many characters 3. Female celebratory dress It can be a real confidence booster to dress up. But some standards are currently in place that are kind of bullshit if you think about them. When I attend a celebration of any sort, even ones that are celebrating my accomplishments, I instinctively think I have to dress up. I search my closet and bathroom for the most uncomfortable attire and wear it, not because I want to, but because it’s “appropriate.” I’m not asking to wear sweatpants and a T-shirt to graduation, but I’d love to accept my diploma without chemicals on my face and without facing stares and whispers about my supposed lack of professionalism for not wearing a bra.

throughout the main story or in the versus battles.

The ability to create a custom character is nothing new in fighting games; you can create Mii fighters in the “Smash Bros” series and in the latest “Soulcalibur,” another Bandai Namco game.

“Jump Force,” however, stands apart and allots these custom characters greater customization in the moves department.

The game allows its players to give their characters iconic attacks like the Rasengan or Kamehameha from the various iconic characters that make up the roster.

This game also has a lobby-style menu, meaning that instead of simply selecting what mode to play, the players actively walk their characters to the area with the corresponding mission or mode. The custom characters you create also serve as lobby avatars.

Other items, such as the headband and hairstyle of Sakura Haruno, are available for purchase at the one of the

shops in the lobby. This lets you bring even more major characters into the game, although you’ll have to do so without their move sets for the most part.

The gameplay itself is well-executed with an easy combat system. The graphics also look great, although the game is lacking in animation.

Scenes with the characters are generally stiff and the developers seemed to put their animation focus into the combat.

The game really shines in its character interactions.

As with any crossover, the major aspect fans are looking for is how the characters from different franchises will interact with one another.

“Jump Force” delivers with plenty of fun scenes.

You get interactions like Boruto Uzumaki from “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” meeting the younger version of his father in Naruto from the Shippuden series. While others might be far-fetched interactions that you never would have dreamed such as Yugi Muto, the title character of “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, meeting Dio Brando, an antagonist from “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.”

Overall, “Jump Force” is a game that comes just shy of greatness but, nonetheless, still makes for an incredibly fun time. “Jump Force” is available for download and purchase for PS4 and Xbox One consoles.

4. Forty hour work weeks If you read the first column, you should understand that I am by no means a lazy person. Forty hours per week of work doesn’t seem too bad until you start doing the math. There are a total of 168 hours in a week, minus 56 hours per week for sleep, 40 hours for work, and then 10 hours of drive time, and you’re left with about three days a week to spend recreationally. That doesn’t even include meal preparation or bathing. As short as life is, I want to be able to spend more than 35 percent of it with my family.

Citizens of Denmark work an average of 33 hours per week and they were ranked second on the 2018 World Happiness Report.

The U.S. ranked 18. Coincidence?

I think not.

5. Intelligence testing In recent years, a person’s potential has come to be defined by numbers. Grades on standardized tests and ACT scores control our futures.

Imagination, artistic ability and morality are disregarded in the academic system. Simple numbers can convince children of their worth, make or break a scholarship or terminate a college acceptance letter.

Individuality and interpretation are not valued because there is only one right answer to a multiple choice question. The multiple choice exams I’ve taken have given me easy A’s, but I don’t retain the information.

I don’t know how to apply it to anything worthwhile. I’m good at memorizing simple facts, and I’m rewarded for it, but I shouldn’t be.

The character creation also allows you to bring characters who didn’t make the cut into “Jump Force.” For example, iconic hairstyles exist that resemble those of characters such as Kazuma Kuwabara from “Yu Yu Hakusho” and Shikamaru Nara from the “Naruto” series.

Sports

7

February 27, 2019

Upcoming Games Baseball

3 p.m., Feb. 27 at Missouri State University Softball

5 p.m., Feb. 27 vs Ole Miss Women’s Basketball

6:30 p.m., Feb. 27 at Stephen F. Austin University Men’s Basketball

7 p.m., Feb. 27 vs Stephen F. Austin University Tennis

12 p.m., Mar. 1 vs Lamar University

Editor’s Take

photo by Taylor Sone

Senior pitcher Cody Davenport winds up against Illinois State University on Feb. 23 at Bear Stadium. Davenport helped the Bears pitching staff keep the lead as the Bears beat the Redbirds 6-4 with a walk-off home run by second-baseman junior Cole Fiori.

Bears fight with Redbirds, tie in delayed four-game series

by Emily Gist Associate Editor

photo courtesy of the New York Times

J.D. Gibbs [left] with his father Joe Gibbs [center] and Denny Hamlin before a race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The younger Gibbs passed away Jan. 12 due to a degenerative neurological disease.

Hamlin wins opener with perfect tribute

by Daniel Adams Assistant Sports Editor With every negative sports story, it feels good to discuss the positives. The Daytona 500, NASCAR’s opening race, delivered as Denny Hamlin secured a win for his Joe Gibbs Racing team. This comes just a few weeks after the death of J.D. Gibbs, the son of team owner and former NFL coach Joe Gibbs.

The UCA baseball team (3-4) fought against the Illinois State Redbirds in a delayed series Feb. 23-25. In a proverbial tug-of-war over the course of the four-game series, and the teams tied in total wins; The Bears won the first and third games of the series (6-4, 4-1) and the Redbirds won the second and final games (8-0, 6-3).

In the first game of the series Feb. 23, the Bears fought a hard against the Redbirds, with the scores knotted throughout most of the game. Eventually they pulled away with a 6-4 victory over the No. 2 scoring team in the nation.

Junior second baseman Cole Fiori sent a ball flying to

the left center fielder and two runners walked home, earning the Bears the final two points at the bottom of the ninth to earn UCA’s victory. The Bears have started off strong with a 2-2 season.

The Bears closed the first inning behind with a score of 1-0. This left the game at a marked standstill for the rest of the first and the second innings, the Bears tied with the Redbirds at the end of the third inning and kept up their pace; it was the Redbirds’ turn to catch up.

Junior third baseman Christian Brasher hit a double and shot past home, tying the scores in the third inning. Both teams struck a standstill in the fourth, and UCA gained a slight lead at the bottom of the fifth, bringing the score to 2-1.

The Redbirds matched again in the sixth, tying the score 2-2 but UCA pushed the lead again at the bottom of the inning, making the score 3-2.

The scores tangoed up until the ninth inning: The Redbirds tied the score 3-3 in the top of the seventh, UCA led 4-3 by the bottom of the seventh and ISU evened it out one last time in the top of the ninth.

The score was tied, 4-4 at the top of the ninth, but the rest of the first game is history.

Junior catcher Beau Orlando said he and his teammates were confident when entering the second day of the series Feb. 24, elated by their previous wins.

“We were real confident coming in, especially last night, winning late, having a walk off win is always fun, and the

by Lauren McCabe News Editor

There was neither a burnout nor grass thrown up to celebrate the driver. However, the image of Hamlin parking his car in the tri-oval as if he was saying “You all know why I did this,” is something that I’m going to remember for a long time.

Even in death, people can still be remembered in the best ways possible, and sports are once again able to bring those together in times of tragedy.

This is a feel-good story that’s worth reading, even with all of the negativity that comes up in the sports world.

photo by Taylor Sone

Senior pitcher Ellie Reeves winds up against the University of North Alabama on Feb. 24 at Farris Field. The Sugar Bears lost 10-1 in a game that ended in a sixth inning mercy ruling, the second game of the Michelle Short Memorial Classic.

Bears host first tournament at Farris Field, nab dominating victory over Jackson State

by Marcus McClain Sports Editor

Defending Farris Field has been the number one goal for the UCA softball team (9-6) since Feb. 20 as they began a nine-game homestand.

The Bears got off to a good start with their opening opponents, the Lions of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The doubleheader saw UCA take two victories, one in a close 3-2 battle, and another with the Bears dominating in a 8-0 win.

UCA needed extra innings to put away the Lions in the first matchup. Freshman pitcher Kamryn Coleman’s line drive into right field brought senior outfielder Oakley Sisemore home to grab their first win at Farris Field in 2019.

In the second matchup of the day, sophomore pitcher Rio Sanchez completed her second career no-hitter. She was also able to strike out nine batters in the process. This was the first no-hitter for UCA since the last time Sanchez completed the task on Feb. 9, 2018 against

Grambling State. She was also able to strike out nine batters in the process In just four innings of at-bats, the Bears racked up 11 hits as their offense found its rhythm. Senior Libby Morris also kept her hot streak going.

Following the game, Morris became the leader of RBIs and home runs for UCA. The three following games were played as part of the inaugural Michelle Short Memorial Classic.

The tournament is named in memory of the 2004 UCA softball player who passed away in a car accident while at UCA. The classic began with the Bears taking on the University of North Alabama on Feb. 24 but the outcome was much different. A hot game at-bat, including at 4-run third inning, powered the Lions to a 10-1 victory.

UNA was just the second team to outhit the Bears this season while also holding UCA to their lowest run total.

The second game of the day started in a similar fashion, but

See Baseball- page 8

Bears win one, drop one in two Missouri matchups

The race officials also paid tribute on the 11th lap of the race, where the broadcast went silent and the JGR teams held up flags from their pit boxes in honor of J.D.

In the end, Hamlin and his two teammates, Kyle Busch and Eric Jones, delivered first, second and third place finishes for Joe Gibbs Racing and the first by teammates in the Daytona 500 since 1997.

approach, they were ready to swing, they were one click ahead of us, like coach Gum said, and we were one click behind. They were ready to feel the ball, ready to hit the ball,” Moyer said.

After the first two innings, the Bears ramped up their defense and the game held at a standstill as neither team earned any points for the next six innings. At the top of the ninth inning, the Redbirds earned another run, completing the 8-0 victory for their first win in the doubleheader.

Throughout the game, the Redbirds earned two double plays, which each made the crowd, filled mostly with UCA fans, groan.

The second game of the

M I X E D R E S U LT S

C AT C H I N G R H Y T H M

J.D. unfortunately passed away Jan. 12 due to a degenerative neurological disease. J.D. was the team president and the man who discovered Denny Hamlin; so, to say he had an impact on Hamlin’s career is a gross understatement. In honor of J.D., Hamlin’s car donned younger Gibbs’ football jersey number: 11.

The 500 itself possessed plenty of drama on its own — from the underdog run of Matt DiBenedetto, to the fact that the race became a list of cars that weren’t damaged. As “The Big One,” the ever-familiar multi-car wreck that occurred on superspeedway tracks, took out competitors, Hamlin was still running strong as the laps ran down.

guys are loose and the guys are confident coming off two wins, so we’re ready to go after it for today,” Orlando said. “These guys were definitely a good fight last night, definitely a tough team to beat, and we’re going to try to do what we can to win tonight.”

In the second game, the Redbirds clawed back with a vengeance, earning a sweeping victory in the first two innings.

The Redbirds earned 4 runs in the top of the first inning, earned three outs and followed immediately with another 3 points in the top of the second.

Junior and pitcher Mark Moyer said ISU started the game aggressively, earning them 7 of the 8 points in the first two innings.

“They had an aggressive

the Bears were able to storm back. After allowing two runs to South Dakota State University in the top of the first, UCA responded in the bottom of the first with three runs to take the lead.

Junior Kayla Crutchmer went 1-3 at-bat in this contest and also scored two runs for UCA. This moved her to 11 runs scored for the season, reaching a tie with Morris for the team-high.

The score seemed to be locked at 3-2 for the second, third and fourth innings until the Jackrabbits took control in the top of the fifth. The pressure was then shifted back to UCA to respond before the game’s end.

Crutchmer was again able to come through for the Bears, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh to push the game into extra innings.

However, South Dakota showed its strength in the top of the eighth, scoring three runs that UCA was unable to match, giving them the 7-4 victory and

See Softball- page 8

The UCA tennis team split matches in Missouri this past weekend to finish up their last series before conference play against the University of Missouri and Missouri State University Feb. 23-24.

Feb. 23 started out with the Bears making the trip to Columbia but left them behind the Tigers of UOM with a 1-0 score. However, the top four UCA players ended up recording three or more set wins against their opponents.

Freshman Chunxi Xin earned the No. 3 spot for her first spring collegiate match and defeated freshman Lisa Fukutoku (6-3, 3-6, 7-6) to earn the 1 lone point for the Bears.

The match also saw freshman Mei Ishimura and sophomore Yada Vasupongchai score 5-4 in doubles play, resulting in a 6-2 win.

The UCA Bears got back on the bus after the defeat, determined to change their luck and receive a victorious 6-1 win against the Bears of Missouri State.

Xin put on a fierce game face the next day as she continued her solid play with a 6-2, 6-2 win to score the Bears’ first point.

Senior QiLi Ma returned from a previous injury to take her place in the No. 6 spot and win 3-6, 6-3, 11-9.

Freshman Fuka Nonoyama, senior Marli Van Heerdan and Vasupongchai also were able to finish the day with a few wins.

While the Bears did walk away with a win in the books, Van Heerdan confirmed that the biggest challenges they’ve faced this far comes from personal team injuries.

“This semester we have had injuries that we have been battling which has caused us to play with only five players for several matches — meaning we automatically forfeit one doubles and one singles match,

starting us at an immediate disadvantage,” Van Heerdan said.

Vasupongchai also echoed Van Heerdan’s remarks.

“The injuries that affected the team members [were] the biggest challenge for the [team],” Van Heerdan said. She also said she “personally, felt more pressure when there were only five of [them] playing and just one match down.”

However, Van Heerdan said she is excited to continue to pursue and hopefully reach the goals that the team has set for each other, as well as to reach her own goals.

“We are zoned in and ready to win the doubles point, which would set us ahead for the rest of the matches,” Van Heerdan said.

“We have worked for and prepared for that a lot this week so we are ready to go and do it.

I would like to step up and win both my matches at number three, defeating another SEC player which would be my third big win this semester, and I think that would be ideal for me,” Van Heerdan said.

“I would also like to just go out there and enjoy it — have fun. This is my last semester so I want to make the most of every moment and treasure all the memories.”

Vasupongchai also bragged on the advantages she believes the UCA Bears have over other their competitors.

“Our advantages are the way we act, support and love one another,” Vasupongchai said. “No matter how hard the situation is, we will help and lift each other up as a team and individually.”

Next up, the Bears will open their conference play with a home match against the Lamar Cardinals on March 1 at the UCA tennis courts. Just two days after that, Central Arkansas will travel to Waco, Texas to take on Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

ucanews.live

SPORTS

8/ February 27, 2019

SPORT

UCA STATS CORNER OPPONENT

RESULT

RECORD

Men’s Basketball

Nicholls State University

100-57 (L)

(10-17, 5-9)

Women’s Basketball

Nicholls State University

68-52 (W)

(11-13, 6-8)

Tennis

Missouri State University

6-1 (W)

(6-5)

Softball

Jackson State University

11-0 (W)

(9-6)

Baseball

Illinois State University

6-3 (L)

(3-4)

photo by Dy’Kajeon Brown

Sophomore Demicya Griffin sports her UCA track t-shirt with high hopes for the upcoming semester. Griffin is prepared for the upcoming indoor conference championship this Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, in which she will run multiple events.

BUMP IN THE ROAD

Sophomore fulfills dreams of being D1 athlete Women’s basketball clawing to make SLC tourney

by Dy’Kajeon Brown Online/Social Media Editor

Sophomore Demicya Griffin is known as “Honey” by her peers due to her vibrant hair color that is easily outshined by her bright personality.

Born in Mount Pleasant, Texas, Griffin is the second oldest of her siblings. She remembers as a young girl dreaming of running college track as a D1 athlete.

“They made us run in PE and forced us to do meets in fifth grade, literally,” Griffin said as she described her introduction to track.

Growing up, Griffin attended three different high schools: Mount Pleasant High freshman year, Texas High sophomore year and Gilmer High junior and senior year.

Griffin often thinks back to her time in Texas, comparing the different environments — mostly the climate.

“Man, Texas weather was great. Arkansas weather is bipolar,” Griffin said.

Griffin applied to UCA in 2017 before she received an

email from the track coach, Richard Martin. He offered her a scholarship, something she knew she couldn’t resist.

Moving from Texas to Arkansas was a big adjustment for Griffin — learning to care for herself as an adult, navigating through the busy streets of downtown Conway and being far away from her family. But Griffin’s bright smile made her easily approachable.

Griffin’s first track meet with UCA was at Arkansas State University freshman year in the indoor facility. Griffin participated in the 400-meter dash and the 1600-meter relay.

“I was nervous and sick to my stomach because it was literally my first indoor meet, and I’ve never ran indoors,” Griffin said.

Griffin said she believes her greatest achievement with the UCA track team was in the 2018 Southland Conference when she broke the UCA outdoor record for the 4-by-4 event by 2 seconds.

Griffin’s teammates praise her hard work and dedication to the team, and her constant

positive attitude.

“She is very dedicated and competitive; you can tell she loves what she does,” sophomore Tyler Rose said.

Griffin’s favorite memory on the track team involves not only her own achievement, but her family being there to witness it.

“My family drove four hours just to watch me race at a home meet, and I placed first,” Griffin said.

Griffin is involved in a number of organizations on campus such as the Ebony Models, SPBC — where she holds the position of special tasks co-chair — Big Event Team Leader and she’ll also be a mentor for Minority Mentorship Program in fall 2019. Lately, she has taken her modeling a bit more seriously and has booked several fashion shows around the Little Rock area.

Griffin is majoring in Health Science and, after college, she plans to become a physical therapist.

She also plans to move back to Texas, start her career and eventually build a family of her own following graduation.

T O U G H T R AV E L S

Men’s basketball continues falling in SLC standings

by Aysha Dixon Campus Life Editor

The UCA Bears (10-17, 5-9 SLC) put up a fight Feb. 20 against McNeese State (8-19, 4-10 SLC) in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Feb. 23 against Nicholls College (12-15, 5-9 SLC) in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

The Bears forced an overtime against McNeese State, but ultimately fell to the Cowboys 83-75 in the H&HP Complex. Game leaders included sophomore point guard DeAndre Jones who scored 17 points, sophomore center Hayden Koval who finished with 17 points, freshman forward Eddy Kayouloud who contributed 14 points, and senior forward Tanner Schmit who scored 8 points.

The Bears were outscored 15-7 in overtime, and 32-23 in the second half after leading 45-36 at the game’s half. UCA shot 49 percent in the first half, hitting six of 15 from 3-point range, but could not maintain their stamina after halftime.

Softball:

The Cowboys went six of six at the free-throw line in overtime, while the Bears were just six of eight for the entire game. McNeese had 10 fouls overall, with junior Forward Shamarkus Kennedy picking up five of them after scoring 26 points and shooting 10 of 16 from the field.

The Cowboys won the rebound battle 46-38, including 11 offensive rebounds. and 22 assists compared to UCA’s 14 assists.

Junior guard Jarren Greenwood had a double-double for McNeese, with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard James Harvey added four 3-pointers and 14 points.

UCA, which has lost six straight games, continued its road trip at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana, on Saturday afternoon.

A Southland Conference record in 3-pointers boosted Nicholls to a 100-57 victory over the University of Central Arkansas as they nailed 22 on Feb. 23 at Stopher Gymnasium.

UCA, which had 17 turnovers, had just one player

score in double figures. Schmit made a pair of 3-pointers and ended the game with 10 points.

The Bears made 17 field goals for the game and shot only 29 percent. Nicholls returned to the court with a 44-25 halftime lead on the strength of 10 threes.

UCA freshman forward SK Shittu had 8 points, sophomore forward Jared Chatham had 7 points and junior forward Jordan Grant scored 6 points.

The Colonels successfully connected 22 of 41 shots from beyond the 3-point line to account for 66 of their points.

Junior guard Danny Garrick was six of 11, graduate student guard Jeremiah Johnson was five of 11 and freshman guard Kevin Johnson was four of six.

UCA went eight of 28 from 3-point range in the loss.

The Colonels made 22 shots from beyond the arc and just 11 2-point shots. Nicholls broke its own SLC record of 21 three-pointers it shared with Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

UCA hosts Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Farris Center, and Abilene Christian for Senior Day on March 2.

by DJ Jones Staff Writer

The UCA women’s basketball team (11-13, 6-8 SLC) split games in their last two contests at home against McNeese State University (6-18, 4-9 SLC) and on the road at Nicholls State University (16-10, 10-4 SLC) Feb. 20 and Feb. 23.

In the first game, the Sugar Bears defeated McNeese 76-45 in the Farris Center. The win gave the Sugar Bears their fourth straight victory, winning each game by at least 19 points and their seventh straight win against McNeese.

The Sugar Bears started the game out slow, but went on a 10-0 scoring run in the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter of play, the Sugar Bears outscored McNeese 17-9 to go into the halftime break with a 39-24 lead over the Cowgirls.

UCA outscored McNeese 37-21 in the second half to close out the big win.

The Sugar Bears shot 48 percent from the field, 55 percent from behind the 3-point line and 78.6 percent from the free throw line.

UCA grabbed 35 rebounds and also had 12 steals on the

Baseball:

4 Continued from page 7 doubleheader, after a 40-minute break, the Bears clawed back, with excellent pitching and earned a 4-1 victory. The Bears learned from their mistakes from the opening game of the doubleheader and got three outs on the Redbirds before they could score any runs. At the bottom of the first, the Bears took a slow and steady lead with 1 run.

Neither team earned any runs from the top of the second to the top of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, UCA junior catcher Nathaniel Sagdahl shot the ball to the far end of center field, earning UCA two runs and bumping the score to 3-0.

4 Continued from page 7 innings at-bat.

Next up for the Bears is SEC opponent Ole Miss. The

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17, but the Colonels were able to finish the game out strong and take the win.

The Sugar Bears shot 34 percent from the field, 41 percent from behind the 3-point line and 50 percent from the free throw line.

Orr lead the Sugar Bears again with 12 points, four assists and three steals.

The Colonels shot 35 percent from the field, 31 percent from behind the 3-point line and 82 percent from the free-throw line.

Senior guard Cassidy Barrios led Nicholls in scoring with 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

UCA junior guard Taylor Sells has been out with a foot injury, but she feels that she could help her team out in games like these.

“I think I could help the team out with scoring and try to make sure that our offense flows more,” Sells said.

“I think I would be able to come in and do that without breaking what our team has right now,” Sells said.

The Sugar Bears will play their next game against Stephen F. Austin State University Feb. 27 in Nacogdoches, Texas followed by a home game March 2 in the Farris Center.

UCA drops final game against Redbirds

Bears bounce back with dominating win

the second consecutive loss for the Bears.

“The first game, we didn’t play very well and UNA did, so they put it on us pretty good,” head coach David Kuhn said.

“The second game, we came out and played a little better and swung the bats a little better. We just have to pitch a little better and play better defense. We’re just a work in progress, and we’re going to try to get better every day.”

They were certainly better in the next contest Feb. 25 against Jackson State University.

The Bears dominated the Tigers for a 11-0 victory to get back in the win column.

For the game, UCA racked up 13 hits and scored at least 1 run in each of their four

night.

Senior guard Kamry Orr led the team in scoring with 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Sophomore guard Maddie Goodner was next in scoring for the Sugar Bears with 13 points, four rebounds and two assist.

The Cowgirls shot 39 percent from the field, 17 percent from behind the arc and 45 percent from the free throw line.

Sophomore forward Bre’Ashlee Jones lead the Cowgirls in scoring with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

In the second game, the Sugar Bears were defeated 68-52 at Nicholls State Feb. 23.

The loss broke the Sugar Bears four-game winning streak and gave the team its eighth conference loss.

Senior guard Antonija Bozic started the game out with a two 3-pointers to give the Sugar Bears an early lead, but Nicholls was able to outscore them 15-7 in the first quarter.

Nicholls led the Sugar Bears 30-23 at the halftime break.

In the first four minutes of the third quarter, the Colonels went on a 12-2 scoring run to give themselves a 17-point lead.

UCA was only outscored by 1 point in the fourth quarter, 18-

focus for the team entering this matchup is remaining level-headed.

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Without easing on defense, the Redbirds were held back, earning no points in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, UCA freshman Cole Fiori earned yet another run by hitting a double and stealing home after a ISU throwing error, bumping the score to 4-0.

The Redbirds, refusing to end the game empty-handed, earned their only point with two hits and a groundout in the top of the eighth. Neither team earned any more runs the rest of the game, earning UCA the victory for the game and a leg-up for the series. Monday’s noon game would determine the ultimate series winner.

Both teams fought with all

of their might in the final game at noon, Feb. 25. Every point from both teams was earned in the ninth inning.

Then, the Redbirds exploded, earning a whopping six runs. In the bottom of the ninth, UCA attempted to match ISU, but fell short, earning only half of the Redbirds’ points and ending the final game of the series 6-3.

Reminiscent of the games themselves, both teams tied for wins in the overall series.

The Bears will travel to Springfield, Missouri, and fight the Missouri State Bears Feb. 26-27, playing for three days in a row due to the delayed series against ISU.