Issue 22, Volume 117--March 30, 2022

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SINGLE COPY PAID FOR BY STUDENT PUBLICATION

WEDNESDAY

MARCH 30, 2022 Volume 117 — Issue 22

ucanews.live TODAY’S FORECAST CONWAY

Sports:

Campus Life: Stock the Den: Bear Essentials pantry raises 228 lbs of food.

The List: Brayden Bailey shares his least favorite flavors.

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UCA to avoid layoffs ahead of enrollment cliff UCA football

Rainy

MEMORIAL

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BY MIA WADDELL News Editor

THE NEWSDESK FROM THE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

I N T E R N AT I O N A L Russia shifts focus to Ukraine’s east

The Russian military announced on Friday, March 25, that Russian troops are beginning to concentrate on their “top goal — the liberation of Donbas.” Russia has increasingly focused on Ukraine’s east in the hope of forcing Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, into surrendering part of the country’s territory to possibly end the war. If Russia succeeds in destroying the Ukrainian forces in the country’s industrial heartland, Donbas, it could try to dictate its terms to Kyiv and potentially attempt to split the country in two.

N AT I O N A L

Biden budget calls for higher taxes on rich Joe Biden released a budget blueprint Monday, March 28, calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, lower federal deficits and greater funding for education, public health and housing. The proposal totals $5.8 trillion in federal spending in fiscal 2023, slightly less than what was projected to be spent this year before the supplemental sending bill was signed into law this month. The proposal lists another $1.4 trillion in revenue raised over the next decade through other tax increases that are meant to not hike taxes on people earning less than $400,000.

Will Smith assaults Chris Rock at awards On Sunday, March 27, at the Academy Awards, Chris Rock, as a presenter, joked to Jada Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel to “G.I. Jane,” and Will Smith stood up and smacked Rock across the face. After sitting back down, Smith shouted at Rock. Ultimately, Smith apologized to the academy and to his fellow nominees.

“Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father,” Smith said.

“But love will make you do crazy things.”

S TAT E

Man pleads guilty for Jan. 6 charge

An Arkansas man pleaded guilty Thursday, March 24, to a federal misdemeanor for involvement in last year’s riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Robert Thomas Snow of Heber Springs pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors to a count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Snow is the first Arkansas defendant to plead guilty to charges arising from the riot. Snow faces up to six months in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 and five years probation.

Ahead of the inevitable enrollment cliff and associated financial losses, President Davis’ Resource Optimization Initiative laid out plans to cut low enrollment programs, avoid furloughs, layoffs and benefit cuts as higher education institutions across Arkansas lag behind UCA’s financial and enrollment numbers.

President Davis held a campus forum Thursday, March 17, entitled ROI 2.0, with the goal of providing greater transparency surrounding the ROI initiative and confidence in UCA’s plan for the future.

“We can be very proud of the fact that we started ROI. It explains why we haven’t had to go into those bags of tricks that a lot of universities have had to. They’ve already burned up their bags of tricks,” Davis said.

Public four-year universities have been facing steady enrollment declines, according to data presented by Davis. Arkansas four-

Photo by Madison Ogle, Graphic by Mia Waddell

year public institutions have experienced -9.5% change in the past five years. Numbers for the fall term headcount fell from 100,413 in 2016 to 90,920.

Credit hours, which Davis believes are a greater marker of financial health, have also fallen. Annual student credit hours produced fell from 308,812 in fiscal year 2016 to 257,136 in fiscal year 2022.

“Headcount is just a number that’s for PR … the reality is, around 15,000 to 16,000 students are enrolled at UCA across the year.

Ultimately all of that is toward taking hours in

credit-based courses.

Headcount is nothing but PR, student credit hours are everything,” Davis said.

Data analyzed by EAB, a consulting firm specializing in education, predicts a 20% or more decline in student enrollment for the state of Arkansas from 20172029.

“We’re about halfway there,” Davis said. “It’s all about counting 18-year-olds, five-year-olds, and oneyear-olds. That’s all that’s going on in all that math,” Davis said.

“We want to make certain today to have a better understanding

about why we probably are in better shape than 90% of colleges and universities, but an understanding that it’s not magic,” Davis said.

Despite falling enrollment numbers, UCA’s share of fall semester freshman cohorts, compared to other four-year public Arkansas universities, increased from 13.2% to 14.2%. This data includes the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Without UofA, UCA’s share of the freshman cohort has increased from 20% in 2016, to 26.6% in 2021.

ROI began three years ago in response

to “unpredictable enrollment trends and limited state funding,” according to UCA.edu. “[ROI] started about 5 years ago with us thinking about how we’re positioning UCA for its future. That future wasn’t just a four- or five-year period, but what we’re going to look like 50 years from now,” Davis said.

Drops in high school graduates and predicted enrollment declines are at the center of the ROI program.

Davis said the university plans to, “develop budgets that are grounded in reality.”

“We’re going to continue to expect limited state funding … and moderate tuition increases,” Davis said.

“We’re not going to solve this by raising tuition levels up by an exaggerated amount.”

Davis was met with applause from the audience after reiterating his commitment to avoiding furloughs and

layoffs.

“There

are

so

mourns player

Photo courtesy of UCA sports

BY EMILEE HAGEWOOD Sports Editor

Garrett Thomas, UCA tight end from Argyle, Texas, died Sunday, March 13, in Conway, Arkansas, at Stadium Park Apartments at the age of 21.

“Garrett was a very hard worker, gritty, ambitious to be great, always having fun with a smile on his face, always made everyone laugh and was the best in all of us,” teammate Austin Eldridge said.

Thomas was described as the type of friend that everyone needs in their life, someone reliable and always willing to lend a hand or a word of encouragement.

Eldridge called him “my brother.”

Teammate and

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MEDIA

See Memorial- page 8

INSIGHT

Arkansas journalist and filmmaker UCA receives diversity award Brent Renaud killed in Ukraine war M S BY

ILO

TRAIN

Opinion Editor

EDMUND BURKE Staff Writer BY

Award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, Brent Renaud was killed on Sunday, March 13, while filming Ukrainians trying to flee Russian forces in Irpin, a suburb of the capital Kyiv.

Renaud was fatally shot when Russian troops opened fire on the car he was traveling in with American photojournalist Juan Arredondo, who was injured in the attack, as it crossed a checkpoint.

Renaud was in the region working on a TIME Studios project that “focused on the global refugee crisis,” according to a statement from Time executives.

As a filmmaker, Renaud, with his younger brother, Craig, co-founded Renaud Brothers, a small film company winning national and international awards for their documentaries.

The brothers also co-founded 501 Films, the Arkansas Motion Picture Institute, and the Little Rock Film Festival.

The Little Rock Film Festival started in 2005 and was the premiere film event in Arkansas through 2015.

Bruce Hutchinson, a film professor and film program coordinator at UCA, knew Renaud.

“The brothers started the festival right around the same time we started our film program, so pretty early on, I got to know Brent and his brother through them running the Little Rock Film Festival,” Hutchinson said. “Attending the festival and for the time it ran, it was a major event in Arkansas for film, probably the major event.”

Index: 4Police Beat 4People of UCA 4Students Say

Entertainment:

Track & Field: Women’s team sets 15 personal records.

The Little Rock Film Festival did a lot for the university and Central Arkansas.

Renaud visited UCA during the 2008-2009 academic year and spoke to film students. During the 2012-2013 academic year, both Renaud and Craig visited and held workshops with film students and screened the latest film they were working on, Hutchinson said.

“Every year, we try to bring in visiting filmmakers for the entire campus community, especially for film students and because they were documentary filmmaker journalism students.

Renaud and Craig were a big part in helping us bring visiting filmmakers in because they had a great network of filmmakers,” Hutchinson said.

“There was a time, probably up until 2015 or so, where every year for at least six or seven years, at least one of the filmmakers, if not more, was someone Renaud and Craig helped the film program set up,” Hutchinson said.

“Overall, they were extremely supportive of the film program, especially in its early years when it was getting established. Both the film program and film festival started around the same time, so between the two of them, it really grew the film community in Central Arkansas and the state in those first five to ten years from 2005 to 2015; it really helped it emerge and become what it is today, and they were central to that and an important part of us growing as a film program and helping us get connected to the outside world,” Hutchinson said.

UCA alumnus and California-based filmmaker

Justin Nickels worked with Renaud on the Little Rock Film Festival for ten years.

“There was a core group of us that worked with Brent for a long time and got to know him through the festivals; he just mentored us in different ways, often through action and discussion about what we were doing as filmmakers,” Nickels said.

“I started with the festival in 2007, so we did nine main festivals, and then we started a spin-off festival under the guise of the Little Rock Film Festival called the Little Rock Picture Show for science fiction, horror movies, and stuff like that which ran one year past the last year of the film festival, he was very supportive. So, I came to him with the idea for the other festival before another one started so we could have it in Little Rock, and he was, like, yeah, let’s do it, and how about you run it,” Nickels said.

“Brent was a very supportive person; he and Craig both seemed to believe in all of us, basically, kids who came to work the film festival,” Nickels said.

“I think it is one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had in my life was working with that festival. I met my wife through it, and I would not have met her had she not met Brent and gone up to him and asked about volunteering. So, there’s a lot of stuff that happened because of that festival for all of us,” Nickels said.

“Brent and Craig made us realize that there’s more to filmmaking than just working on commercials or doing stuff

UCA recently received the Jesse L. Moore 2022 Supplier Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine for its long-standing commitment to supporting and educating minority businesses and entrepreneurs.

The Jesse L. Moore Supplier Diversity Award is given to a university-based on efforts to engage and retain minority suppliers. UCA was selected as a recipient because of its multiple long-standing initiatives that support supplier diversity, such as the Minority Vendor Partnership Initiative. The other recipients of the award will be announced in the April 2022 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity, past winners include schools such as Clemson University and Drexel University.

INSIGHT Into Diversity is the largest and oldest diversity magazine in higher education and gives several prestigious awards each year, such as the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. The award is a major honor for UCA to receive and could put UCA on the map as a strong supporter of underrepresented communities, and it’s largely due to the work done by the Minority Vendor Partnership Initiative.

The Minority Vendor Partnership Initiative conducts research and hosts Zoom events

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for local minority entrepreneurs and business owners to provide skills and information to grow their businesses and be successful.

The MVPI was also awarded a grant by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas to research women of color in business and the different barriers and challenges they face.

The MVPI is also very involved with and supported by several other departments on UCA campus.

“UCA’s Minority Vendor Partnership Initiative is under the auspices of the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, but the Division of Outreach and Community Engagement, as well as the Division of Finance and Administration, the Physical Plant and the purchasing office, have served as dynamic campus partners,” said UCA Chief Diversity Officer Angela Webster to uca.edu.

The next event hosted by the Minority Vendor Partnership Initiative for local businesses will be a Zoom presentation titled “How to Conduct Business with UCA” with Cassandra McCuien-Smith, director of UCA purchasing, on April 6. This presentation will go over how to become a business partner with UCA and include topics such as becoming a vendor at campus events or how to properly fill out forms or proceed once you have a contract with UCA.

Not everyone deserves a second chance.

E-mail:ucaechoeditor@gmail.com @ucaecho The Echo ucaecho © 2022 The Echo, Printed by The Courier, Russellville, Arkansas.

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Police Beat

NEWS

The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Kathryn Thornberry

Loaded gun and marijuana found

On Sunday, March 20, Officer Tommy Wise arrested UCA students Malik Pickens and Jaylan Mullins after finding a loaded gun and 6.19 ounces of marijuana.

Wise stopped the pair on Erbach St. when he saw a red Camaro driving at 45 mph on Donaghey Ave. at South Blvd. While Wise spoke to Pickens, Wise smelled marijuana.

Pickens denied smoking in the vehicle. Wise informed them he had probable cause to search the vehicle.

Mullins informed Wise he had a weapon between the seat and console. The weapon was recovered by Wise, and was fully loaded.

6.19 ounces of marijuana was also recovered.

Media:

Student wreck by Snow Fine Arts

On Saturday, March 19, Officer Tyler Ryals was dispatched west of Snow Fine Arts because UCA student Hyoju Kim struck the rear driver’s side of fellow student Randall Simmermon’s vehicle. Kim said there was no driver in the other car. She said when she was turning left off Marian Ross Drive onto Emma Rasor Drive, her steering wheel did not work properly and she struck the rear driver’s side of Simmermon’s vehicle.

This caused Simmermon’s vehicle to jump the curb before coming to rest against the side of the Snow Fine Arts building.

Simmermon and Pro Auto were contacted.

Student victim of telephone fraud

On Wednesday, March 16, Officer William Colvin arrived at the UCA Police Department to take a report of fraudulent charges on UCA student Khalil Bakayoko’s T-Mobile account. Colvin spoke with a T-Mobile representative, who said the account number was used by another person.

The representative could not tell how the person accessed it, but did have access to the phone number used by the unknown person. The amount of the usage was $96. This case will be investigated by T-Mobile’s fraud division.

Determining the outcome of the investigation, Bakayoko will be reimbursed.

ucanews.live

ROI:

University braces for enrollment cliff.

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many people that have stopped me over the past two years and there will be questions like, ‘why is the University of Michigan laying off and we’re not?’”

“I can’t help it if they’re not doing the work,” Davis said.

“There are a lot of lazy people in leadership positions all around higher education, and there are an awful lot of people who only want to solve this year to year.”

The university plans to continue to avoid benefit cuts and will continue to invest in growing academic programs.

“We cannot starve them to death,” Davis said. “That’s the most short-sighted thing that we can do for positioning the university to where it needs to be 25 years from now.”

“We will not defer maintenance,” Davis said.

“That’s one of the tricks that a lot of campuses are doing right now and their shell is falling

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apart. That’s only going to get worse as we look forward to 10 years from now.”

Deferring maintenance refers to postponing maintenance activities and repairs to save costs.

Davis also stated that the university will be maintaining its budget reserves and will not be relying on pulling from them.

In response to the enrollment cliff, Davis laid out what the University has been doing to keep the budget healthy and maintain the aforementioned goals.

UCA has implemented temporary hiring freezes, reductions in temporary and part-time positions, purchasing controls and contract reductions among other things.

New initiatives of ROI that will likely be implemented in the next five years as part of ROI 2.0 as the enrollment cliff draws

nearer are the reorganization of departments and units, streamlining of academic programs, and cutting of low enrollment programs.

“There are things that might be nice to be able to have a concentration in that particular area. But I don’t know that we can afford to do that,” Davis said. “If there’s a position that comes open and we have to make a hard decision because we’ve got growing academic programs … we’re going to have the courage to do that. And when we do that, you can get angry at this face. Period,” Davis said.

“With all the carnage that’s about to come in higher education, we will not be alone. We are going to face significantly harder times within the next four to five years, but we worked hard and got uncommon results,” Davis said.

MEETING

Arkansas journalist killed in Ukraine.

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locally. We were able to grow into bigger projects because we happen to see this world that they opened our eyes to,” Nickels said.

American journalist and correspondent for Travel Channel Christof Putzel met Renaud and Craig through documentary filmmaker John Alpert.

“I had seen a piece that they did called ‘Off to War’ under the umbrella of John Albert. But Craig and Brent made it, and I was so blown away. I’d never seen filmmaking journalism like that, especially by guys around my age.

So I asked John to put us in touch, and I contacted him, and I said we got to work together,” Putzel said.

“We had a couple of false starts. First, we were supposed to go to Egypt together, and that fell apart. We went back a couple of years later, but then we were supposed to go to Haiti together, and then that fell apart. Then we finally got a story, and we went to Juarez and did a piece about gun trafficking in Mexico, which won a Columbia DuPont right out of the gate, and we worked together ever since,” Putzel said.

“I’ve been in Iraq with Brent, Egypt with Brent. We did stories in Chicago, all over Arkansas, slept in Zuccotti Park. He was the voice of Omar Hammami in my podcast; that was the last project we worked on together. I did a podcast about my relationship with this Somali terrorist or this terrorist in Somalia who was actually from Alabama.

Brent was his voice in the podcast because everything was on email or encryption, and that was, you know, only Brent could do that. So, Brent produced it with me. We’ve worked together forever. Brent was such a good guy,” Putzel said.

“Brent was immense — immensely compassionate, very focused and brave as hell,” Putzel said.

“I think the quote I was saying that has gone viral everywhere is that the only thing bigger than Brent’s balls was his heart. He was very brave, very courageous, and just so focused and incredibly disciplined. There was never a break for Brent; he was always working – always working,” Putzel said.

Putzel spoke to Renaud the day before he left for Ukraine.

“The realities of war reporting are most war journalists die in car accidents, and people don’t know that,” Putzel said.

“You’re more likely to be killed in a car accident in a war, and that’s not saying wars aren’t dangerous. They’re incredibly dangerous. It’s just that car accidents in war zones are very dangerous too, because you’re often not wearing your seatbelt or on a crazy road, and the roads are bad. So, your racing, going fast, and that’s the reality,” Putzel said.

“And then there’s the reality of getting shot, blown up, kidnapped and imprisoned. These are all things that are a reality of the profession when you’re going it at it for real, and they’re the hazards that journalists take to get the story,” Puztel said.

“Here’s the thing about covering war, is that war is one of the worst things humans do — right? It is the worst because war is humans killing humans in mass capacity, which we’ve been doing,

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almost as long as there have been humans; it’s where we lose our humanity,” Putzel said.

“The problem is that if you can’t see it, you don’t connect with it. You don’t actually see people and the suffering and the death.

You don’t have that humanity awakened inside of you to know that it’s wrong — we can’t do that,” Putzel said.

“When you hear stories about refugees, like Brent was going to do, you often hear that there are refugees everywhere, it’s a problem and hurts our jobs, whatever. It’s like, no, these are human beings. Human beings just like you who have to flee their homes — just like you one day might have to flee your home, you don’t know, and they don’t have anywhere to go. Because there’s some fucking crazy madman going insane and like, and that needs to be covered. The problem is it’s very, very hard to get up close to actually capture what that looks like, so people like Brent go out there and film it. So, all of us back home can have an understanding of what is happening over there.

Because if we don’t, that is how we lose our own humanity. And so yeah, it’s fucking hell. But if we don’t go out there and do it, and journalists don’t go out there and do it, people like Brent, you won’t know what’s happening, and you know what, that’s when it does come for you. That’s how World War Two happened. People didn’t get pictures soon enough of the Holocaust, and it didn’t get out. People didn’t know that was happening, so that madman went nuts,” Putzel said.

“Right now — there’s a madman destroying a place, and he will go for the rest of Europe unless people see that this is real. This is not just a political conversation.

This isn’t something to hide from or just post memes about on Facebook. This is a real war. The world is changing right now. And it’s very important to pay attention, and somebody, a local hero Brent, lost his life trying to bring that to people,” Putzel added.

“Look, we live in the attention economy now. You know, and where does the attention have to go? Look, at the end of the day, I’m human too. I understand that people can’t. Our psyches are not totally equipped to handle destruction and what is coming at this level, so sometimes yeah, your brain needs a little break to watch a dancing panda. I totally get it. I have no shame in like people like needing to check out sometimes like that is just like our capacity for dealing with what is actually happening on the planet right now,” Putzel said.

“The earth is dying with global warming. That’s very real; the political argument is over.

It’s a fact, and it’s happening incredibly fast. And, and now we’ve got a World War Three that could very well break out with nuclear weapons like this is this is as intense as it gets in a moment. And, so I totally understand some people need to check out and watch TikTok. I get it. I have no shame in that.

But here’s the thing to make sure you’ve swiped and watch this too because otherwise, it’s going to get worse unless the entire world rallies and stops this and figures

SGA talks electric scooters, pros & cons

BY MIA WADDELL News Editor

out and goes deeper and figures out whom do you want to be? Do you want to be somebody sitting on your couch and scrolling constantly? Or do you want to figure out what your contribution is, whatever it be,” Putzel said.

“I spoke to a pastry chef today, who made the most incredible bread kano pastry that I’ve ever seen because he said he felt helpless, but he knows how to make cakes. So, he went and like meditated on this for days and days. It’s one of the more moving tributes I’ve seen because what I saw wasn’t just a cake made in Brent’s honor. What I saw was a human being going deep inside of his soul. Deeply trying to figure out who am I going to be, what is my contribution to this? You know, and like that is what everyone needs to be doing right now. Everyone needs to figure out who the fuck they are and who am I going to be in this war?” Putzel said.

Putzel found out about Renaud’s death right before the news broke via text.

“I found out within a couple of minutes of the news breaking — not long before. I think I knew 10 to 15 minutes before the news broke,” Putzel said.

“The thing about Brent is that he saw people, the light in people amongst all their suffering and struggles. That’s why he was determined to show it, you know; I think he saw it himself and in people. And I think that’s why he worked so hard and was so good at it was he just really felt he really saw people, and I think people felt seen by him. And that’s why they would open up to him almost anybody. And I think he just felt like this is stuff that needs to be seen. You know, like he just he really believed everyone’s story.

Especially those that would probably otherwise not get the attention that really deserved to be told,” Putzel said.

“Brent’s projects were like his children. He was immensely proud of every project, and he worked immensely hard. Trying to do it Brent Renaud highlight reel is almost impossible because there were just so many incredible stories. His first, “Last Chance High” for HBO, “Off to War” for Discovery Times, “Meth Storm” for HBO, “Army in The Cartels, which he did with me for Current TV. Then there’s “American Jihadi,” which he did with me.

“Shelter,” which he did for VICE documentary films about LGBTQ homeless kids in New Orleans, and then, of course, he won a Peabody for “Last Chance High,” and that’s just to name a few. Any one of those pieces for any other journalist, if you had even had your name associated, one of those would be a highlight of your life, you know, and that’s somebody Brent had; he was just that good,” Putzel said.

Funeral services for Renaud were held on Saturday, March 26, in The Sanctuary at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church.

A letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was read during the service.

“A talented and brave journalist, Brent lost his life while documenting human tragedy, devastation and suffering of the millions of Ukrainians,” wrote Zelenskyy.

Electric scooters may soon be coming to campus, as proposed by sophomore Vice President Annabelle Van Asche on Monday, March 28, 2022.

Van Asche presented the pros, cons and logistics of electric scooters at peer universities such as Arkansas State and Arkansas Tech.

ASU and Arkansas Tech previously had scooter programs on their campus, but both have discontinued them.

Dr. Kevin Solomon, Associate Dean for Campus Life at Arkansas Tech, claimed that the novelty of the scooters wore off quickly.

The city of Russellville and Arkansas Tech partnered with Bird, a supplier of electric scooters.

Solomon said that within 5 weeks of the implementation of the program, interest in the scooters had drastically decreased — leaving them littered across campus.

The program was at no cost to the university and Arkansas Tech’s student government collected the commission from the program.

Arkansas State University also previously had a contract with an electric scooter company, but the vendor pulled out citing the small market.

Bill Smith, chief communications officer for Arkansas State University, said that liability was on the company,

not the university in regard to student injuries.

Senator Van Asche gauged public support in an email sent out to students. Of the 713 students who responded, over 50% — 463 students — said they would use electric scooters if they were introduced on campus.

230 students said they would support electric scooters, but they would not use them.

Van Asche said that students told her UCA’s campus was not quite big enough for the scooters to be useful and cited walking as their main form of daily exercise.

Van Asche also stated that the addition of scooters would increase student jobs.

The scooters have to be picked up, charged, and parked … a problem that has arisen at other universities.

The University of Arkansas stated on their website that rider education and a forced parking model would have been beneficial in the rollout.

Van Asche said that despite many people thinking that scooters are a greener option for transportation due to relying on the fossil fuel-based electric grid, there is no net difference between charging the scooter and using a gasoline-powered vehicle.

The introduction of electric scooters could also help with recruitment efforts, according to Van Asche, who was previously an ambassador for UCA. Van Asche outlined a map of UCA, outlining the perimeter of where the scooters would work.

Additionally, a speed limit would be programmed into the scooter, with some areas limited to 6 mph and others at a maximum of 15 mph.

Van Asche proposed the idea during an open forum, meaning no vote or resolution was held. Van Asche has also previously presented the idea to President Houston Davis.

In other business, Skyler Austin proposed SGA getting involved with Ecosia, a search engine that plants a tree for a certain number of searches.

Austin said that 45-50 searches equal one tree. Ecosia has planted 146 million trees worldwide. Austen stated that Ecosia does not plant in “random places,” but instead looks for areas that would benefit the most from reforestation.

Although SGA cannot make a motion to adopt Ecosia as the University’s default search engine, it can make a resolution in support — which it plans to debate doing in the future.

The Housing and Food Committee said that doggie bags will be installed in Bear Village and the enforcement of cleaning up dog waste will be up to the housing staff.

The Safety and Wellness Committee further promoted its Food for Fines event, which is taking food donations to forgive parking tickets. Students may bring selected food items to the SGA office in the Ronnie Williams Student Center during x-period on Thursday, March 31.

S T U D E N T A F FA I R S

Safe Spring Break event sees lower turnout

BY FELICITY AUXIER News Editor

Advocacy for safety among college students is essential when it comes to things like Spring Break, which is why the Students Affairs departments host the Safe Spring Break events.

“The topics at these events serve as a good reminder to make smart decisions about situations they may encounter during Spring Break. Everyone at the university wants students to return to campus healthy and safe,” Associate Dean of Students, Jenna Davidson said.

One of the most talkedabout events among students for Safe Spring Break is the wrecked car.

“Our hope is that students will read the stories and negative

experiences that their peers have gone through and be compelled to make decisions that are safe and that avoid similar consequences. For example, getting a DWI can be a terrible experience for a student. They may spend the night in jail, disappoint themselves and family, and face harsh legal consequences. One of our programs focused on having a designated driver or calling an Uber driver,” Davidson said.

“Attendance seemed lower than what it was pre-covid.

A large number of students participated in sharing a personal story regarding the negative effects of alcohol on the wrecked car,” Davidson said.

Other than the “how has alcohol affected you?” wrecked car program, Student Affairs held programs for the Gordie Center,

which is a substance abuse prevention organization, Save AR Students. This organization is aimed toward education and prevention of substance abuse among Arkansas students, as well as an open house of the Student Health Clinic to showcase its resources.

“We brainstorm topics, program ideas, and combine them with activities that students have enjoyed in the past such as the wrecked car display. We collaborate with several areas on campus to increase impact,” Davidson said.

The events were held March 14-17, before the start of Spring Break. In addition to student affairs, the Dean of Students office and UCA Police Department also helped in putting on Safe Spring Break.

Campus Life

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March 30, 2022

Around Campus:

Science Wednesday: The Science of Urban Trees From 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, Hughes Hall and BearX will host a panel with the Conway Tree Board at Kings Live Music in Downtown Conway.

Still I Rise From 7:15 -8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., will host an event for survivors of sexual, physical, emotional abuse and those dealing with mental illness in Student Center room 215.

International Trans Day of Visibility Table From 1:00-2:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, Allies in STEM and BearX will have a table set up outside the Student Center where they will be recognizing International Trans Day of Visibility. The table will include activities such as button-making, teaching the importance of gender identity and how impactful transgender people in particular are.

Students learn about graduation requirements

BY DELANEY VAN WILPE

Online Editor

Leigh Ann DenHartog, director of academic advising, shared with students the resources and credits they need to help them reach graduation.

She emphasized five things students need to graduate: lowerdivision core classes, 40 hours of upper-division core, major or minor requirements and 120 hours in total credits.

DenHartog said, “[It’s a] little bit more than just the check sheet.”

She also showed UCA’s resources, such as accessing transcripts, accessing the academic calendar, a GPA Calculator, DegreeWorks (which shows students’ personal progress in all areas of requirements), Academic Maps (which maps out a potential degree path depending on a student’s major) and how to find an advisor. All of these resources can be found on UCA’s website.

Junior Joseph Ellis, who is majoring in marketing and minoring in graphic design, said the workshop was helpful. “[I learned] a lot of things. A lot of the resources [she showed] I didn’t know about freshman year, so I just kind of had to find my way,” Ellis said.

For lower-division core, also known as general education classes, students need at least six courses in Critical Inquiry (those of which need to fulfill a Quantitative credit, Physical Science credit, Life Science credit, American History and Government credit, Social Science credit and

Graphic by Delaney Van Wilpe

Course’s have individual course numbers that correlate with their respective classifications. One indicates freshman, two indicates sophomore, three indicates junior and four indicates senior.

a Fine Arts/Humanities credit), three in Effective Communication (which need to fulfill a Writing Foundation credit, Research and Writing credit and an Oral Communication credit), two in Diversity (which need to fulfill a Diversity in Creative Works credit and a Diversity in World Cultures credit) and one in Responsible Living.

Out of these requirements, a student needs to also take into account that they need at least one class with an FA code (for Fine Arts), one with a HUM code (for Humanities) and two with SS codes (for Social Sciences) to graduate.

More information on lowerdivision core can be found at uca. edu/academicbulletins/ld-ucacore.

For upper-division, a student needs to find classes in their major that will fulfill the categories of Critical Inquiry (I), Communication (C), Diversity (D), Responsible Living (R) and UCA Core Capstone (Z). Some majors do not have all the letters, so a student must meet with their advisor about where they can fill these requirements elsewhere.

Upper-division courses are listed on uca.edu/ academicbulletins/ud-uca-core with classes in alphabetic order of majors and their corresponding letters.

For major and minor requirements, every student’s academic journey looks a little different. There are major and minor checklists on every UCA department website.

This resource can help students plan their future courses better by knowing needed prerequisites and what courses may be offered each semester.

UCA requires students to have at least a 2.0 GPA overall, and in their major and minor classes.

All classes will go to the institution GPA, but not all go toward a major or minor GPA. DenHartog said, “There is a little bit of leeway sometimes, so talk to your advisor about it.”

After all of these requirements are met, students must apply for graduation before they can graduate. This can be done through Self Service on myUCA. For more information, students can visit uca.edu/advising or contact their academic advisor.

R S O F E AT U R E

General Recital From 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, the Music Department will host a general recital in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall.

Self Defense with the SIA’s From 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha Inc. will host a self defense event in Student Center room 213 where students can learn how to properly defend themselves without severely injuring the attacker.

Red Flag Event From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, April 1, the Student Government Association will host an event in the Student Center to promote awareness for relationships or friendships that are less than ideal and show students warning signs to look for in the future.

April Fools Day Fundraiser Concert From 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 1, the Music Department will host an April Fools Day Fundraiser Concert in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall.

Be the Light 5k Run for Cameron From 6 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, Delta Zeta Sorority will host a 5K run in honor of Cameron Maynard on Farris Road. The money from the event will go towards The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Pre-law society gives UCA students headstart

BY DELANEY VAN WILPE Online Editor

The Pre-Law Society, a newly created RSO, plans to provide resources and assist UCA students who have an interest in attending law school after they complete their undergraduate degrees.

“Our RSO is unique in that it’s targeted directly towards pre-law students. There is no ‘pre-law’ degree, and so we offer the most direct connection to law school after graduation,” Vice President Logan Smedley said.

As a part of junior Haydyn Hudnall’s honors thesis project, she made plans for the RSO after she realized there were not many resources available at UCA for students like herself interested in pursuing law school. Hudnall, who plans to pursue law school after undergraduate and become an immigration attorney, is currently an English and Spanish double major with a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies.

“I thought if we had a structured organization where we could bring students together and share the information, then it would benefit not just me, but other students in the future as well,” Hudnall said. “We just really want to be a resource for

students on campus.”

The RSO plans to have monthly informational meetings provided by the executive board on topics like the LSAT, bar exam and the law school application process.

The executive board consists of President Hudnall, Vice President Smedley, secretary Vivian Norris, treasurer Justin Krikorian and media coordinator Gabby Thurman.

Hudnall said they are also hoping to do networking events like a career fair or a law school fair, which will be at the beginning of the fall 2022 semester. They also plan to bring in current attorneys to share their experiences in the field.

Hudnall said this organization is designed to give students direction and exposure. “[It will] expose them to the different types of law that are out there, [like] business law, environmental law, immigration law, and help them be more prepared for when they actually do go to law school,” Hudnall said.

Smedley said, “The connection to other students who are ahead of where they are, faculty who can help get them there, and speakers who have connections are valuable to someone considering law school.”

Any UCA students, regardless of major, are

welcome to join the RSO. “Even if you don’t know for sure that you want to go to law school, we encourage those kinds of students to come to our meetings to network and talk to other students to see if that would align with their interests,” Hudnall said.

They held their first meeting Feb. 22, which was a general interest meeting. They had a turnout of 15 people.

At their general interest meeting a lot of students were interested in learning more about the LSAT, so their next meeting — which will be on March 29 — will cover information on the LSAT. Norris will present at the meeting and give an overview of the test and how to study for it.

Their last meeting of the semester will be April 19. They plan to do a “networking event for prospective students” and bring in attorneys currently working in the field, Hudnall said.

In the future, the RSO hopes to create an LSAT scholarship, which would help students with the expenses of taking the test. Every time a student takes the LSAT, there is a $200 fee.

“We know that’s not always an option for students, so we want to be able to provide them with those kinds of scholarship opportunities,” Hudnall said.

COMPETITION

Minority Mentorship Program hosts ‘Wild ‘n Out’

BY SYDNEY AMBRUS Staff Writer

UCA’s Minority Mentorship Program hosted a night of fun and laughter with their rendition of the popular comedy game show ‘Wild ‘n Out’ in the Ronnie Williams Student Center Ballroom.

Many students gathered in the ballroom to watch two teams, Red Squad and Black Squad, go head to head in four different game categories during the event, hosted on Tuesday, March 15.

The two teams consisted of MMP members and MMP executive board members.

“I feel like everyone who was chosen to participate is either naturally funny, or they can think of very witty funny things to say on-site,” said Black Squad member Shuntia Hunter.

At the end of each category, the audience voted on which squad won each round.

The first category was Lemme Holla, where each team had to use its best pick-up lines on the opposing team’s girl of choice.

After going back and forth with their flirtatious lines, the Red Squad won the round.

The second category was Kick Em Out The Classroom, which was ultimately a rap battle between the two teams. The Red

Photo by Sydney Ambrus

The Minority Mentorship Program displays the “Wild ‘n Out” logo at the event’s beginning. The rendition of the show involved four different game categories for students to participate in, including “Lemme Holla,””Kick Em Out The Classroom,” “Hood Jeopardy” and “Turn Me Up In The Headphones.”

Squad could not keep up with the Black squad’s catchy punchlines, which led to the Black Squad winning the entire round.

After a brief intermission with water and popcorn, the show continued with the third category

called Hood Jeopardy, where teams were given a question and a member from each team had to race to the buzzer to try and score the point.

“What I enjoyed most was the good jeopardy game. Everyone

had multiple funny things to say, and it was very fun to see a safe but competitive race to the podium,” said Hunter.

The Black Squad won the jeopardy category.

The last category of the night was Turn Me Up In The Headphones. In this category, a member from one team wore headphones while rapping about a specific person on the screen, and a member of the opposing team, with their back turned, had to guess who the specific person the team was rapping about. The Red Squad won the round.

After the end of the last round, the crowd voted on which team won the entire game of ‘Wild ‘n Out,’ resulting in a win for the Red Squad.

“I enjoyed being able to express myself fully and be the energetic person I am. I love competing, so doing whatever is necessary to help my team win,” said MMP Executive Board and Red Squad member Ky’shaun Bradford.

“One thing that I hope students gain from this is to let them know that the Minority Mentorship Program is a safe place where they can come in and feel they can be themselves and just have a good time,” said MMP Team Leader Ryan Jones.

4/ March 30, 2022

CAMPUS LIFE

ucanews.live

228 pounds of food raised for Stock the Den

STUDENTS SAY you passionate “What areabout? ” Story and photos by Olivia Snelson

Photos by Maci England

(From left to right) Wellness intern Kaitlyn Shae and Dietetic Interns Haley Donoway and Rose Rofkahr delivered donations to the Bear Essentials Food Pantry. The Stock the Den food drive gathered 228 lbs of food in donations. One of the donation boxes (right) was located near Torreyson Library’s front entrance.

BY MACI ENGLAND

Staff Writer

The Bear Essentials Food Pantry collected donations for the Stock the Den food drive March 7-18.

With all of the donations, Stock the Den contributed 228 lbs of food to the Bear Essentials Food Pantry.

The drive began after Ethan Baldridge, a dietitian on campus, was approached about doing a food drive for National Nutrition Month.

Graduate student and dietetic intern Haley Donoway

coordinated the event. Donoway was interning with Baldridge at the time and was immediately on board with the idea.

“We thought it would be fantastic to team up and give back to faculty and students on campus,” Donoway said.

Individuals in the Nutrition and Family Sciences Department, UCA Dining and the HPER Center supported the drive. Donation boxes were made by wellness intern Kaitlyn Shea, volunteer Andie Montgomery and Baldridge and Donoway.

Shea created a graphic for the event and assisted in

promotion while Baldride and Donoway were the main organizers.

Donation boxes were placed in the Torreyson Library, Christian Cafeteria, HPER Center, and the Nutrition and Family Sciences Department office.

“We’re not sure if an event like this has been done in the past, but we have greatly enjoyed organizing with the Bear Essentials Food Pantry and are hoping to make an impact on campus,” Donoway said.

The goal of the Stock the Den food drive was to collectively contribute donations while

increasing awareness for the Bear Essentials Food Pantry on campus.

Earlier this month, the Bear Essentials Food Pantry Fund received $4,872 from UCA’s Day of Giving.

Located behind the UCA Physical Plant, the Bear Essentials Food Pantry is an oncampus food pantry that serves students, staff, and faculty. The pantry is free to anyone in need with a UCA ID. The Bear Essentials Food Pantry is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

CONCERT

Photo by Bennett Tinnermon

Left to right: Flute players Elizabeth Douglas, Alex Trawick, Kami Kurtis, Alan Sun and visiting instructor Brianne Little of the wind ensemble play one of the performance’s five compositions, guided by Michael Hancock, UCA Director of Bands and conductor for the performance. The performance’s feature song was “Symphony No. 2 ‘Voices,’” written by composer-in-residence, James Stephenson.

Alexis Jack Sophomore

Cesar Blas Graduate Student

“Helping others so as to bring a smile to everyone’s face and love everyone.”

“I have been exposed to music, all my life pretty much. Most of my family are musicians. I like history, and art barely, but I’m completely into music and history.”

Susanna Dodds Sophomore

Ethan Granniss Freshman

“I’m a Christian so my faith, but then under that, my family and my friends and just life.”

“I’m really passionate about music. I did marching band this year for UCA. And I also listen to music a lot. That’s a big part of my life.”

Carolina Segales Senior

Gracie Moltz Sophomore

“Music. I’m a pianist. I like it because I feel it makes me work harder and be more efficient.”

“Treating people how I would want to be treated.”

Ensemble represents transfiguration through music

BY BENNETT TINNERMON Associate Editor

The music department held a wind ensemble concert in Reynolds Performance Hall on March 16 with composer-inresidence James Stephenson.

The concert’s title, “Transfiguration,” centered around Stephenson’s “Symphony No. 2 ‘Voices.’” The piece is about the death of Stephenson’s mother in 2016 and how he coped with it through the writing of the symphony, Stephenson said in the program notes.

After hearing the UCA wind ensemble perform “Symphony No. 2,” Stephenson said he was overwhelmed in a good way.

He was happy to hear the music live after the pandemic made live music difficult, Stephenson said.

“They played technically, amazingly.

They brought their hearts to the piece, they were musical and they knocked it out of the park. I was absolutely floored and delighted,” Stephenson said.

Michael Hancock — Director of Bands, associate professor of music and conductor during this concert — said he

knew “Symphony No. 2” passionately, having lost his aunt, whom he described as his “musical mother,” last year.

“I wanted to expose my students to it at a time when I could deal with it. So this has been a joy and a pain to work on. Not because of the notes, but because of where the music takes us,” Hancock said.

Stephenson said he had expected the music to come naturally but instead found himself with composer’s block, unsure what to write. Stephenson described how he later moved forward with the piece.

“I sat at the piano and pounded a low Eb octave, followed by an anguished chord answer. I did this three times, with three new response-chords, essentially recreating how I felt,” Stephenson said in the program notes.

Prior to the intermission and Stephenson’s piece, the ensemble also performed Julie Giroux’s “Overture in Five Flat,” Ryan George’s “Firefly,” Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Adagio” and Eric Whitacre’s “October.”

Hancock said the heaviness of Stephenson’s piece was balanced out by the lighter pieces by Giroux and George.

In the program notes, George dedicated “Firefly” to his two daughters and described a moment watching his 4-year-old look at a firefly in their front yard and how that inspired the piece.

Senior pianist Naren Palomino described the rehearsal with Stephenson the night before the concert as being one of the most intense and powerful rehearsals they have had in the wind ensemble.

“We were able to truly understand what’s behind the notes … Once we understood that, I felt that the wind ensemble … we were connected as one, big ensemble — we were listening to each other. So I think it was a really powerful concert,” Palomino said.

Stephenson said, “Despite the ice storms, despite the sicknesses and all the things we had to do, it has been a tremendous labor. I’ve been inspired by the students and their work in this music.”

The music department will host an April Fools Day Fundraiser concert on Friday, April 1, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The music department also hosts regular general recitals during x-period on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

People of UCA: Aaron Conrad

BY EMILY KENNARD Staff Writer

Aaron Conrad is from Benton, Arkansas, and is a junior in the UCA Schedler Honors College. Coming into UCA as a public administration major, he later became interested in sociology.

“I added the sociology major after taking the introduction course because I found the material so interesting and just kept taking classes,” Conrad said.

Conrad keeps himself busy. On top of the two majors, he also holds leadership positions in several clubs and conducts several extensive research projects.

“I’m the president of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honors society. We meet alongside the sociology club, and we plan events, do research, and attend conferences,” he said.

Being a part of Alpha Kappa Delta gives him events to prepare for and look forward to. He said the RSO has been working closely with the sociology club on planning LoveFest, a mental-healthfocused festival happening April 28 in front of the Ronnie Williams Student Center.

“I’m also the vice president of Pi Sigma Alpha, the honors society for political science. In that club, we have had events on what graduate school is and events with local politicians,” he said.

He also has a student worker position where he helps and consults with registered clubs.

“I work in the Office of Student Life, which oversees all the RSOs, so working there makes me feel more connected to all the RSOs on campus,” Conrad said.

Conrad likes to research what he’s passionate about,

which can involve issues in public administration, or sociology.

“A couple of the [Alpha Kappa Delta] members and I are traveling to C h i c a g o in April to present r e s e a r c h about voter suppression,” Conrad said.

Conrad is also heavily involved in the Honors College community and is working on several research projects with the support of its faculty.

“I’m currently working on my capstone on campus policing in public higher education. It’s a quantitative study that compares the crime rates to the size of police forces as well as student-to-officer ratios at institutions of higher education.

“I’m also working on research in the Honors College to further develop training materials for our peer coach program, a peer-to-peer support program that promotes

wellness,” current peer coach Conrad said.

He likes to visit state parks, play with his cat Samson, and volunteer for party events and political campaigns in his spare time.

Conrad said his college experience has challenged him to mature and grow in new ways.

“I’ve learned so many lessons, but mainly, I have just learned how to be an adult and accept myself,” he said.

After UCA, Conrad plans to pursue a master’s in public administration and work in the public service. He said he’s looking at several out-of-state schools.

“I want to work for a budget office or in local government, but I also have a passion for education, so I will probably keep getting my doctorate on the table and may go back to higher education at some point,” Conrad said.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Conrad

Conrad poses in front of Stonehenge during a two-week tour in Scotland and England over his last winter break. Conrad is involved in multiple RSO’s and campus organizations, including Alpha Kappa Delta.

Sports

5

March 30, 2022

Upcoming Games

Baseball 5 p.m., April 1 at North Alabama Tennis 12 p.m., April 1 vs Bellarmine University Beach Volleyball 1 p.m., April 1 at University of Louisiana at Monroe Softball 12 p.m., April 2 at North Florida

Editor’s Take

Season Reflection: Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball BY

EMILEE HAGEWOOD

Sports Editor

The Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team have unfortunately ended their season after Saturday’s loss to Duke University (78-69) in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.

This was the Razorbacks’ second-straight Elite Eight appearance in coach Eric Musselman’s third year of coaching.

The men played an impressive game in the Sweet Sixteen, where they beat the number one seed team, Gonzaga 74-68.

The Razorbacks went 28-9 in conference play and 13-5 in the SEC, which was pretty close to last season’s performance.

The last time the Razorbacks were in the Final Four was in 1995, the year after they had won the national tournament title. The team lost to UCLA in the national championship game of 1995 and hasn’t made it back since.

I believe with more time under Musselman’s coaching, the Razorbacks could make it back to the Final Four and win.

Although it was heartbreaking to see the Razorbacks lose to Duke, I wouldn’t be surprised if Duke went all the way under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski has been coaching at Duke since 1980, and this is his 13th time taking his team to the Final Four.

He will be retiring after this NCAA tournament, and I would wager he’s got one more win under his belt and a few tricks left up his sleeve.

Duke may have great players, but the Razorbacks are quickly adding to their ranks as they sign new players for the 2022-23 season.

The top uncommitted guard recruit for his class, Anthony Black, committed to the University of Arkansas on Sunday.

Black is Arkansas’ third fivestar recruit for the 2022 cycle, inching closer to Duke for the top-overall class in the cycle.

There’s no doubt that Musselman is enhancing his recruiting efforts in hopes of going all the way to the national championship game next season.

Photo courtesy of ucasports.com

Shut-out pitching leads to 2-1 win against Lipscomb BY

ANDREW MCMAHAN

Staff Writer

The University of Central Arkansas’ baseball team (9-13, 4-2 ASUN) played the Lipscomb Bisons (12-12, 1-5 ASUN) in their first home game in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Bears won the series two to one. Starting pitches played a monumental role in UCA’s winning formula this weekend.

In the first game of the weekend, on Friday, the Bears won by a score of 2-0. UCA sophomore pitcher Tyler Cleveland started game one on the mound for the Bears.

Cleveland set the tone for the game by contributing a complete-game shutout while giving up two hits in the process. Cleveland recorded eight strikeouts with zero walks and improved his pitching record to 1-1.

On Monday, Cleveland was recognized by the ASUN Conference for his pitching prominence during the dominant shutout Cleveland delivered. Cleveland was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week.

UCA plated their two runs on six hits. One of the runs was a home run by junior catcher Noah Argenta. That was Argenta’s third home run of the year.

Freshman pitcher Reid Bowman had two out of UCA’s six hits. Even though the bases were loaded in both the sixth and seventh inning, two errors kept the Bears from scoring more than one run.

In game two of the three-game ASUN Conference series, the Bears once again rode the tail of exceptional starting pitching in a 6-0 win.

The Bears completed back-to-back shutouts to take the series in the first two games.

UCA sophomore pitcher Jesse Barker was the culprit this time for the Bears, as he also threw a complete-game shutout.

Barker improved his pitching record to an even 2-2 in his young collegiate baseball season.

Barker tallied seven strikeouts while allowing just one walk. Nine innings is the longest pitching outing thus far for him in his collegiate career.

The Bears and Bison managed to have the same hit totals in the second game the same as they did in the first.

The Bears out hit the Bison 6-2. UCA sophomore third baseman A.J. Mendolia and junior first baseman Hunter Hicks both hit their first home runs of the season during game two.

See Lipscomb- page 8

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

UCA female athlete, coach share views on equality in sports BY

AMBER AUSTIN

Staff Writer

The effects of women’s history have left UCA’s women coaches and athletes wishing to see more support from UCA’s community as well as a better effort toward equality in women’s sports compared to men’s.

In light of March being Women’s History Month, it is important to look at and gain insight into the evolution of women’s sports and the hardships women in the sports industry have and continue to face today.

To start, there was a time before the 1900s when women’s sports did not exist.

While it was taboo for women to break gender norms and showcase even the slightest bit of masculinity, men deemed women as not capable to participate in such activities.

According to Concordia University, Saint Paul, it was

not until the 1900 Olympics that women made their first appearance in sports where 22 women competed in what was labeled as “womanly sports.”

Following 22 years later, in 1922, the first Women’s Olympic Games took place in Paris where women started to compete in more physically demanding events.

Throughout the next hundred years, women would defy the odds and prove themselves to perform and athletically accomplish just as much as their male counterparts; this did not come easy however as women struggled to break the stigma, earn resources and gain respect from males who were involved in, and are fans of the industry.

Today, the evolution of women’s sports can be seen by those a part of women’s sports on UCA’s campus.

“The trend of equality in women’s athletics is improving across the country. I think the visibility of women’s athletics, in general, is helping bring women’s

sports to the forefront,” UCA softball coach Jenny Parsons said.

Being a part of the movement, UCA has taken steps in an attempt to provide equal resources to its women’s athletics program.

“The women’s sports have evolved at UCA in terms of facilities and funding for female athletes. I have seen a vast improvement in facilities in general, with much improvement for women’s sports across the board,” Parsons said.

Parson added that even with these improvements, she would like to see the UCA community continue to work toward equality between men’s and women’s athletic programs.

The women athletes of these programs also long to experience the same amount of peer and campus

See History- page 8

TRACK AND FIELD

Bears set 15 personal records at Bulldog Relay

BY WILL

MCDONALD

Assistant Sports Editor

Photo courtesy of ucasports.com

The Bears track and field team hit 15 personal records in the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays at Mississippi State University last Friday and Saturday.

One of the personal records came from freshman mid-distance runner Emma Selph. Selph ran her personal best in the 1500m with a time of 4:51.28.

“It felt absolutely amazing to PR. This past week was hard with our training, so to see it pay off was great.

I went into this race with a goal to run under 5 minutes, so I told myself to just go for it,” Selph said.

Sophomore Jenny Peake placed seventh and threw a personal record in the javelin throw with a throw of 39.75 meters.

“My mindset was to go out there and have fun. I’ve just recently transitioned from a multi to a thrower through an injury. So I was really excited to throw a PR,” Peake said.

The Bears are always aiming to set new personal records, and some, like Peake, are even striving to break school records.

“My goals for the season are to break the javelin and shot put school record and then place in both of them at conference,” Peake said.

Selph said,“The team’s goals for

the rest of the season are to keep improving our times and personal bests. We aim to place high in outdoor conferences and show everyone what UCA is made of.”

The other 13 personal records set this past weekend were Ali Nachtigal in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 11:50 and the 1500m with a 4:57.42.

Marie Schmidt ran an 18:47.04 in the 5000m. Zadie St. Louis ran a 2:18.01 in the 800m dash, placing sixth. Ashlyn Floyd ran a 2:22.43 in the 800m dash, placing ninth.

Layla Cleare ran an 11.96 in the 100m and a 24.64 in the 200m dash, placing fifth and eighth. Ciara Tucker ran a 12.17 in the 100m dash, placing 13th. Z’Kiah Kuykendall ran a 12.22 in the 100m and a 25.20 in the 200m dash, placing 18th in both.

Symone Quiles ran a 1:05.37 in the 400m hurdles, placing fifth. Anne Baliel vaulted 3.05m in the pole vault, placing 15th, and Taylor Coleman jumped 5.43m in the long jump, placing 14th.

In addition to these personal records, Talayssia Sanders, Tamera Rhode, Tyler Rose, and Laila Cleare placed first in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:50. Sierra Temple, Laila Cleare, Kendelle McCoy and Tyler Rose placed sixth in the 4x100m relay with a time of 48.06.

Opinion

6

March 30, 2022

The Voice UCA shou ld exp and t he c ampus shutt le s e r v i ce s

Not everyone deserves a second chance

The Echo Staff Addi Freeman Editor-in-Chief Bennett Tinnermon Associate Editor Mia Waddell News Editor Kathryn Thornberry Assistant News Editor Madison Ogle Campus Life Editor/Cartoonist Olivia Snelson Assistant Campus Life Editor Milo Strain Opinion Editor Sydney Cyr Entertainment Editor Emilee Hagewood Sports Editor Will McDonald Assistant Sports Editor Delaney Van Wilpe Online Editor Olyvia Gonzalez Assistant Online Editor

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Comments or complaints about content of The Echo or in reference to anything on campus should be registered with the newspaper by letters or email to the editors. All letters must be limited to 300 words and include the author’s name and phone number. All letters may be published unless they are marked private. Letters may be edited for style, clarity and length.

Editorials written in The Voice express the opinion of the newspaper and the editorial staff. Individual staff opinions are expressed in individual columns.

The Echo office is located in Stanley Russ Hall 124

ucanews.live ucaechoonline@gmail.com ucaechoeditor@gmail.com David Keith, Advisor

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UCA should expand the shuttle program to offer more services to students.

Conway has no public transportation system whatsoever, and not everybody has a car. Students that don’t have a car have to catch a ride with a friend or ride a bike if they need something off-campus, and neither of those solutions is consistent or convenient.

If you don’t have a bicycle or nobody is free to take you to the store, you’re pretty much out of luck unless you want to shell out the money for an Uber or a taxi, which are also pretty inconsistent means of transportation here. We aren’t exactly in a major metropolitan area with Ubers and taxis driving around looking for fares.

Even if you do have a bike, Conway is very spread out and hostile to pedestrians and cyclists.

While it’s obviously better now than it used to be, with more bike lanes and sidewalks being built all the time, there’s still a long way to go.

If you need to go farther than a couple of miles, biking can become a pretty daunting, even dangerous, task. It’s also very inconvenient to use a bike to run errands because a bike has next to no storage for anything you might need to carry back with you.

The shuttles already offer rides to stores around Conway for international students and faculty, so it’s certainly possible to offer such services to the rest of the student body.

In our generation, it’s become so If you are considering giving someone a normalized to say “everyone deserves a second chance, there are a few factors that second chance,” but I disagree with that could and should affect your decision. statement.

First, time is a huge factor. How long did Maybe this is because of minor trust you know this person before you went your issues we all have but seriously, why would separate ways? How much time has passed you let someone come back into your life since the last interaction you had with them? when they already decided to leave?

How much longer would they even be in They already left your life once. Why your life if you gave them a second chance? would you let them come back and For instance, it would be a lot easier to possibly make the same mistake rekindle a relationship with an old best again? friend of five years compared to an old Everything happens for a coworker who you have only known reason. That relationship ended for six months. for a reason. That friendship This takes me to my next point ended for a reason.

— probably the most important How many times will they factor. say, “I’ve changed.” How How strong and meaningful a many times will you believe relationship or friendship was it only to realize it was a can make a difference. lie? How many times will If my childhood best you let someone come friend of eight years back and hurt you wanted to be friends again? again and hang out, I

BY ESTEFANIA MOJICA You grew distant would probably accept Staff Writer from that friend for the invite. a reason. We have to However, if my outgrow many people friends from freshman throughout our life, even when we don’t year math class wanted to rekindle our want to. friendship I would respectfully decline or And of course, there are always the honestly probably wouldn’t even reply to the thousands of “what if” questions that you text, simply because I wasn’t close to them ask yourself. and not being friends didn’t really change What if they really did change? What much in my life. if they actually want to be my friend again?

When making a decision like this, I think What if I regret not giving them a second most of us would probably ask for advice chance? from someone. Although it is important My dad always told me those what-if- and helpful to hear the opinions of others, doubts will only fog your mind, and don’t you are the only one who ultimately makes a Expanding the shuttle service help you make decisions. choice.

You just have to make a choice and Before you let someone re-enter your would also help alleviate some of the follow through with it. Looking back at life, give it a little bit more thought. Weigh pain students are feeling from the past decisions isn’t going to benefit your the pros and cons of the decision you are recent spike in gas prices and give stupresent-day life. going to make.

Expanding the shuttle service would also help alleviate some of the pain students are feeling from the recent spike in gas prices

Don’t complain about what you can’t change My mother always used to tell me not was nothing I could do about how much gas to worry about the things that I couldn’t costs, there isn’t anything any of us can do control. Being a very anxious child, this was about it. I realized that I was just wasting my not something I liked to hear. But as I got breath by complaining, and there wasn’t any older, I started realizing that by taking her point. advice, my life became a whole lot less It certainly didn’t make me feel stressful. Now I am convinced that this better to continue to dwell on is advice everyone should take. something that I had no power Recently, I’ve begun over. I started to think about remembering my mother’s advice areas of my life that deserved more and more. Part of the reason more of my focus. College and for this is due to the current gas my performance in school, prices. how I treated other people I found myself, as I’m sure and my future were all many of us have recently, things that I actually pumping my gas and rolling did have control my eyes as the price climbed over. higher and higher. I I’m only a junior remember getting in my in college, and I’ve car and complaining to already lost both my boyfriend about how of my parents. it cost me $10-15 more I’ve allowed these

BY OLIVIA SNELSON than it used to for a full experiences to make Assistant Campus Life Editor tank. me stronger and I’ve been traveling more mature. I’ve a lot more recently, so had to grow up a lot I’ve had a lot of time to dwell on the fact that sooner than a lot of my peers. gas is $4 a gallon. Then one day, I heard my I understand that everybody complains mother’s advice in my head again. and every now and then is okay, but I think a I stopped complaining about the gas and lot of people would be better off if they just started realizing how much worse it could took a step back and looked at all the good be. I started to think about what my life things they have in their life. I’ve realized would be like if I didn’t even have a car to that life is very short, and I don’t want to put gas in, if I didn’t have a home to drive waste too much of it complaining about stuff to at the end of the day, or if I was someone I can’t change. who was stuck in Ukraine in the middle of If I could give anyone advice that I a war. believed to be as effective as my mother’s, it That was when I remembered, once would be to complain less and just enjoy life again, just how blessed my life is. There because you’ll regret it if you don’t.

dents a more environmentally-friendly alternative to driving their cars. Ten people piling into a shuttle to go to Wal-Mart is a lot less damaging to the planet than ten people taking ten different cars.

Advertising it as an environmentally-friendly alternative to driving would also be a really easy way to make UCA look good, in case any of the suits are reading this column.

The shuttle service could also be used to save lives. Even though UCA likes to maintain the image of a campus where nobody ever drinks or does drugs and nothing dangerous ever happens, that is not the case. Students drink, and a lot of them drink at bars.

Having a shuttle take students back to campus at the end of the night, no questions asked, would be a lot safer than having a bunch of plastered students trying to find their own way home. Obviously, the logistics would need to be worked out more, we don’t want to be dropping people off to get drunk or anything, but it’s certainly an idea worth exploring to help students who are already out to get back safely.

The only downside to expanding the shuttle system would be the cost of running more shuttles, but that seems like a small price to pay for helping our students, especially those without a consistent means of transportation.

Have an opinion? Everyone does.

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

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

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

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

Entertainment

7

March 30, 2022

New This Week Movies

‘Halo’ sets up complex story, room for improvement BY

EDMUND BURKE

Staff Writer

March 30 — Nitram, directed

by Justin Kurzel, starring Caleb Landry Jones, Essie Davis, Judy Davis, Sean Keenan, Anthony LaPaglia and Annabel Marshell-Roth — When a young man’s relationship with an heiress comes to a tragic end, his loneliness and anger leads him to commit nihilistic and heinous acts

The first episode of “Halo” debuted on Paramount+ on March 24, introducing novices like myself to a universe that first came to be in the 2001 launch of Xbox’s “Halo: Combat Evolved.”

According to the Paramount streaming service, “Halo” set a new record as its most-watched series premiere globally in its first 24 hours of release, previously established by the “Yellowstone” prequel “1883” back in December.

The Paramount+ original April 1 — Morbius (PGseries, already renewed for a 13), directed by Daniel second season, is produced Photo courtesy of www.paramountplus.com Espinosa, starring Jared

by Showtime, 343 Industries, The “Halo” series on Paramount+ is based on the Xbox game of the same name, which first released in 2001.

Leto, Michael Keaton, Matt and Amblin Television.

“Halo” has already been renewed for a second season.

Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared “Halo” is the Harris and Tyrese Gibson dramatization of an epic 26th- Murphy, and Danny Sapani. is somewhat familiar; an by a super-soldier wearing an century conflict between super-soldier advanced combat exoskeleton — Dr. Michael Morbius The first episode, engineered humanity and an alien threat works for the imperial United super suit.

“Contact,” takes place attempts to heal his rare known as the Covenant.

Nations Space Command, in 2552 and serves as an A glaring difference blood disorder, but the The series stars Pablo introduction to the universe which was designed to both between “The Mandalorian” remedy is potentially worse Schreiber as Master Chief – undoubtedly familiar to control and protect humanity. and “Halo” is the livethan the disease — John or Spartan-117 — seasoned gamers and essential A civil war is underway action and CGI — perhaps an Natascha McElhone as Dr. to newcomers. across the colonies in the intentional look, but there are Halsey, and Jen Taylor as April 1 — The Contractor The first episode opens universe where the space times the live-action actors in Cortana, the most advanced with an attack on a colony marines and Spartans are “Halo” look out of place next (R), directed by Tarik Saleh, AI in human history and on planet Madrigal, where hated and viewed as the to the heavily CGI Spartan starring Chris Pine, Florian potentially the key to the enemy. super-soldiers. human rebels of the outpost Munteanu, Ben Foster, Gillian survival of the human race.

Comparisons to “The After being ordered to are annihilated by the alien Jacobs, Kiefer Sutherland, The series also stars Covenant. The only survivor Mandalorian” are easily made assassinate the teen — Master Bokeen Woodbine, Shabana Nina Hoss and Amira Casar Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive is Kwan Ha, who Master Chief here. While Kwan Ha is no Chief removes his helmet in — An elite soldier gets child, she is the innocent who a moment between the two to Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley saves. caught in a dangerous The show’s premise is suddenly being protected prove he’s no threat to her but Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie conspiracy and must fight to SHOW ALBUM stay alive to uncover the true motives of the people who betrayed him

Music

Morris’ ‘Humble Quest:’ refreshing, unapologetic EMILEE HAGEWOOD

April 1 — PEP — Lights

BY

April 1 — Immutable

Dallas, Texas native and country-pop artist Maren Morris released the honest, heart-felt and relatable album “Humble Quest” on March 25.

The album features Morris’ signature deep-bottomed voice and breathtaking high notes while being ferverously unapologetic.

The single, “Circles Around This Town,” released Jan. 7, starts the album with Morris’ background story for her humble beginnings as a country artist.

Morris explained how a few demo tracks led her to Nashville where she ended up getting rejected multiple times competing, referring to her audition for American Idol.

Obviously, those rejections didn’t stop her, as she rose to stardom with her single “My Church.”

She sings, “Couple hundred songs and the ones that finally worked, was the one about a car and the one about the church.”

Morris has always been real and gritty with her music in a way that’s relatable and infectious. It’s why I’ve been a fan for so long.

Her next song, “The Furthest Thing,” is a gutsy but soft song about the struggles of a long-distance relationship.

Morris sings, “Yeah, we’re the furthest thing, but damn do we still fit so perfectly,” and that line is honestly, well, perfect.

She captures exactly what it’s like to be committed and in love with someone, even while being apart. As someone who’s been there, done that and is still doing that, it’s become one of my belt-in-the-car songs.

“I Can’t Love You Anymore” is exactly the opposite of what you’d expect from the title. It’s an upbeat song about loving someone so much, you couldn’t possibly love them any more than you do now.

This song reminds me of a lot of Morris’ other hits with how catchy and enjoyable it is. It’s a song that’ll definitely be on my beach/lake playlist.

The title song, “Humble Quest” continues to elaborate on the journey Morris is on as a country-pop artist. The aftermath of “Circles Around This Town” isn’t as catchy, but still features rich vocals and

deeper meanings.

“Background Music” is my number one favorite song on the album. It describes how forever isn’t really forever because humans are finite beings.

Instead of focusing on the end, Morris sings, “You and I can dance our way through it and I’ll love you till all that we are is background music.”

It’s beautifully done and impossible not to sing along to.

This is a song I could see myself putting on my wedding playlist.

The sixth song, “Nervous,” has a great beat and makes me wanna dance, although the lyrics are a bit basic.

“Tall Guys” is a stupidly funny song about all the advatages of dating a tall guy, which I love because I’m a tall girl that only goes after tall guys, so I find it hilariously accurate.

My favorite lyric from the song is when Morris sings, “They keep me looking up when I’m feeling down”, it’s funny metaphors like these that keep me coming back.

The eighth song, “Detour” isn’t one of my favorites.

It’s bland and too broad to understand exactly what she’s talking about. All I could gather was that she had come to some metaphorical fork in the road with her partner and taking the long way isn’t the wrong way.

It’s confusing – skip it.

Now, I love hummingbirds, but “Hummingbird” actually makes me like them less. It’s sounds pretty, but no one needs to hear the word hummingbird that many times in one song.

“Good Friends” is okay, it’s about friendship but the tempo is slow and it makes the song feel like it’s dragging on.

Now the last song on the album, “What Would This World Do?” is my second favorite.

When I was listening to this song in my feelings the other day, it made me tear up! It’s an emotional ballad about losing someone and how even though the world doesn’t change, our worlds change.

It was a sad ending but also surprisingly refreshing and wholesome.

A lot of the songs were refreshing, catchy and brought good vibes to my heart and mind, while a few others were kind of lackluster. All in all, it’s highly enjoyable for any country lovers.

1. Grape Grape is one flavor that is never done correctly. Artificial grape flavoring does not taste like the original fruit at all. Grape comes in at the top for the worst flavor you could choose. It is almost an insult that one of the most adored fruits shares the same name of an artificial flavor that has no likeness to the original flavor and tastes disappointing in every product that has a grape flavor. Gatorade, gummies, Kool-aid and Dum-Dums are examples of products adored by millions of people around the world, but many who eat them share a common dislike, and even disgust, for the fake purple residue they call “grape.”

2. Licorice Licorice is by far one of the saddest flavors that the world has ever conjured up.

When you think of wild and unique, enjoyable flavors, you think of bright colors and refreshing tastes and smells that draw you in. Licorice has zero of these qualities.

It is bitter and unappetizing.

Licorice resembles more of a rubber tire than an edible combination. If licorice is a flavor that you hold dear to your heart, I do not believe you, as we can all unanimously agree that nobody truly loves this pointless, forgotten flavor.

— Meshuggah April 1 — THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND — PUP April 1 — Unlimited Love — Red Hot Chili Peppers April 1 — At The Hot Spot — Warmduscher Information from:

www.metacritic.com

Netflix April 1 — Apollo 10 1/2, directed by Richard Linklater, starring Jack Black, Bill Wise, Lee Eddy, Natalie L’Amoreaux, Zachary Levi and Glen Powell — A man tells stories from when he was a 10-year-old in 1969 Houston, blending nostaligic tales with an account of a journey to the moon April 1 — The Bubble, directed by Judd Apatow, starring Karen Gillan, Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, Maria Bakalova, Vir Das and David Duchovny — The cast and crew of an action franchise attempt to shoot a sequel while quarantining at a fancy hotel April 1 — The Last Bus, directed by Gillies MacKinnon, starring Lauryn Ajufo, Moosa Mostafa and Phoebe de Silvia — After going on a lifechanging field trip, a group of students fight to save humanity from an army of drones

Top 5 Worst Flavors List compiled by Brayden Bailey Staff Writer

instead wants to save her life.

Master Chief starts to seemingly think for himself after having touched and connected in some way to a recovered artifact on planet Madrigal from the Covenant.

Not much is revealed about the origin or significance of the recovered artifact — yet.

The other comparison that immediately comes to mind is “Hunger Games” and Katniss Everdeen’s relationship with The Capitol.

Dr. Miranda Keyes proposes to Kwan Ha that she make a propaganda video denouncing the attack by the Covenant on Madrigal and explaining to other colonies that the UNSC is helping and wants to end the war between the outposts and themselves.

Kwan Ha threatens to expose the UNSC. When the UNSC realizes that Master Chief is compromised, they attempt to bring him, his ship and Kwan Ha in before the Spartan reconnects with the artifact.

Comparisons aside, the first episode of “Halo” seemingly begins to set up a complex story with potential for improvement.

The jury is still out — episode two, “Unbound,” will be released on Thursday, March 31.

Sports Editor

Photo courtesy of www.fxnetworks.com

Season three of “Atlanta” premiered on FX on Thursday, March 24, 2022. The show stars Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz.

Donald Glover’s ‘Atlanta:’ back without skipping a beat

BY

MILO STRAIN

Opinion Editor

“Atlanta,” the hit TV show and brainchild of Donald Glover, returned for its third season on FX after nearly four years since season two ended in 2018.

“Atlanta” follows the story of Earn Marks, played by Glover, as he manages his cousin Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles’ rap career and rise to fame in the titular city of Atlanta and tries to make amends with his ex-girlfriend and co-parent Vanessa, played

by Zazie Beetz.

The show is known for its free-form structure and social commentary with loosely related, often high-concept episodes full of surrealist comedy and bizarre side-plots that form a greater overall narrative.

“Atlanta” examines and explores different aspects and modern challenges of being Black in America with a satirical, razor-sharp wit and a brutal honesty not seen in many other shows.

In true “Atlanta” fashion, the entire first episode of the new season, entitled “Three Slaps,” does not pick up after 3. Cinnamon Cinnamon may be a questionable addition to the list of worst flavors. However, unlike peppermint or regular mint, cinnamon carries a burning sensation that does not leave you with a refreshing aftertaste. The first time I bit into a Hot Tamales candy, the intense cinnamon caught me off guard. I could not process if the flavor I was tasting was minty, spicy or poisoned.

Unless you enjoy the pain of eating molten rocks and confusing your taste buds, cinnamon has no delicious taste and an aftertaste of burnt charcoal.

the cliffhanger that season two left us with, instead telling an entirely new isolated story with completely new characters. We don’t even get a glimpse of any familiar characters until the final scene of the episode.

Even the official episode description makes fun of the wait fans have had to endure, simply reading “Wow it’s been a minute. I mean, I like this episode about the troubled kid but we waited 50 years for this?”

“Three Slaps,” which could stand alone as a short film, starts with a particularly unsettling cold open before focusing on the aforementioned troubled kid, Loquareeous. He is sent to live with a white lesbian couple and their three other adopted Black children by Family and Children’s Services after a well-meaning, yet ironically misguided guidance counselor thinks Loquareeous is being abused.

This episode is really genius and an extremely dark way to start the season. Loquareeous’ story almost exactly mirrors that of Devonte Hart, who was one of the victims of the 2018 Hart family murders, in which a white lesbian couple abused then murdered their six adopted children and killed themselves by driving their SUV off a cliff.

Devonte Hart went viral in 2012 as a symbol of racial unity for a picture of him embracing a police officer at a police brutality protest in Portland and a picture of him wearing a sign that read “free hugs” at the same protest.

“Atlanta” recreates this right down to the “free hugs” sign, with Loquareeous running up to a police officer at one point, begging him to take him back to his real parents, depicting what could have really happened when that picture was taken.

Loquareeous has to endure a series of horrors whilst living with his new family such as being called “Larry” because they can’t spell his name and starving because they don’t feed him enough, among other harrowing experiences.

“Atlanta” proved it’s still got something to say after four years with a powerful season premiere, and with the second episode continuing the story of Earn and Paper Boi not long after the season two cliffhanger, the show’s return is a welcome one.

4. Butterscotch Butterscotch has a deceptive name with butter in its title, leading you to believe it is buttery smooth, and its appearance makes it seem like a brother of caramel. But Butterscotch is no brother — it is the creepy uncle that no one wants to hang around for too long. Though the flavor isn’t too common among the more popular options, you can expect the same flavor from the old candies that your grandma carries around for any occasion. Butterscotch won’t make you vomit when it touches your mouth, but unless an old lady is offering some to you, you won’t be taking any.

5. Root Beer Although I am one of the few people that genuinely enjoys root beer as a soft drink, I can agree with many people that root beer as a flavoring is rarely pulled off well. Unlike Coca-Cola and other darker flavorings, root beer’s ginger flavor doesn’t usually translate well into candies and other foods. Root beer flavoring creates a bitter or even sour taste when done poorly, which is all too often.

Unless it is in a root beer float with creamy vanilla ice cream, root beer doesn’t stand very well on its own.

ucanews.live

SPORTS

8 / March 30 , 2022

UCA STATS CORNER SPORT

OPPONENT Kennesaw State

9-1 W

19-11, 4-2

Baseball

Lipscomb University

3-0 L

9-13, 4-2

University of North Alabama

7-0 W

11-6, 3-0

3-2 W

10-6

Beach Volleyball

Missouri State

Lipscomb: Johnson says coaches, faculty recognize person behind athlete BY

ANDRAEA AGUILERA

Staff Writer

Despite not wanting to play the sport at first, redshirt-junior Jordan Johnson has played softball since she was six.

“I honestly did not want to play softball, but one of my friend’s dad talked me into playing tee-ball for him. From there, my dad was my right-hand, helping me through everything,” Johnson said.

Johnson has played softball at UCA for four years and serves as a pitcher and infielder.

To Johnson, the softball team’s greatest achievement of the year so far is beating three Power-Five teams.

She said this puts their name forward. Her biggest personal accomplishment on the team is throwing three perfect games during her career at UCA. “This season has been a roller coaster, but it has been pointing upward for a majority of the time. We have seen some really good teams, but we have also had some tough games that didn’t go our way. We have been working so hard as a team though, and I believe it is really going to pay off with a lot more great things to

come,” Johnson said.

In 2019, Johnson earned the Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete and had 31 strikeouts over 53.1 innings.

She earned a spot in the Second Team All-Academic SLC and recorded a career-high eight strikeouts against Lyon.

Johnson is a criminology and chemistry double major. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school for a forensic science degree. She’d love to be a forensic scientist but also hopes to someday coach a softball league.

“I would also like to coach young softball players to help them achieve their dreams like I had when I was growing up,” Johnson said.

The softball player chose to attend UCA for several reasons. Being from a small town in Kansas, Johnson is glad Conway isn’t overwhelming.

She describes UCA’s campus as feeling like home, and she enjoys the beautiful scenery.

Johnson also credits the coaches and academic staff as being part of the reason she chose to study at and play for UCA. “The coaches and academic

staff here only want the best for you, not only as an athlete but as a person, which is what it is all about because, one day, sports will end. UCA has great programs for what I am studying, which will prepare me for the future,” Johnson said.

Johnson balances school and softball by taking life one day at a time and not getting caught up in what the future holds.

She tries to focus on living in the moment to the best of her ability.

“Coping with being a studentathlete is never easy. You constantly have to miss class and makeup work with little free time, but I feel it is all worth it,” Johnson said.

She also uses her free time to do things that make her happy, like going for hikes or seeing movies. This keeps her mind off of stressors in her world.

Johnson’s advice for wanting to compete at the college level is to always be coachable and flexible.

“There is a place for every athlete and a role that needs to be played, and the quicker you can accept that and fit into that, the better you will be,” Johnson said.

GOLF

RECORD

Softball

Tennis

Photo courtesy of Jordan Johnson

RESULT

Errors lead to third game loss

Continued from page 5 Junior first baseman Hunter Hicks hit his second home run of the season with a three-run home run over the left-center wall.

In game three, Lipscomb finally broke into the scoring column during their only win of the weekend.

The Bears fell to the Bison by a score of 3-0 when they out hit the Bears 8 to 6.

UCA junior pitcher Andrew Shoultz was credited with the loss for the Bears. Shoultz’s pitching record is now 2-2.

There were 12 runners left on base and only six hits from UCA. The Bears went five innings without a single hit and couldn’t catch up to the Bison’s.

Although they didn’t win the last game, the Bears still won the series and are now 4-2 in their early conference season.

The Bears will look to face the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, to resume ASUN conference play this weekend in another three-game series.

Photo courtesy of ucasports.com

home run—his third one of the season.

History :

Littmann shares encouragement for women

Continued from page 5 support that men athletes get during their athletic performances.

“Being women in sports, we tend to see less support by fans and sometimes encounter people dropping their standards which can be a little degrading,” sophomore women’s soccer player Emily Wissel-Littmann said.

Littmann feels one of the reasons that equality in women’s athletic programs is lacking is because women do not get the representation they deserve in the sports industry.

“I hope to see more things in the media that

highlight women’s achievements in sports at all ages. I feel there have been great accomplishments that have gone unnoticed,” Littmann said.

This is what encourages Littmann to find her own empowerment which is playing games and practicing with male athletes as a way to prove to herself that she is just as capable.

It serves as a reminder and inspiration to other women that they are too.

The fight may be rocky, but women in sports are determined to change the industry for the better.

Memorial : “We lost some light in this world.”

Continued from page 1

Photo by ucasports.com, graphic by Mia Waddell

roommate Samuel Camargo agreed saying, “he’s the best roommate I could’ve asked for.

We can relate in so many ways.

He was more like a brother to me.”

Thomas enjoyed spending time with his friends always, whether it was hunting, fishing or going out on the weekends, you could find him with his friends.

“Garrett was the life of the party. He always knew how to put a smile on your face. He always had the energy no matter where he was,” Camargo said.

His parents said in Thomas’ obituary by Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home, “He was our world and will be deeply missed.

We were unprepared for this unexpected loss, but he touched the lives of many, and [we] pray he will always be remembered for his heart, determination and passion for life. We feel so blessed that he was our son.”

Thomas was a junior in college, majoring in business.

He was on the Dean’s List and had a GPA of 3.44.

He was a stellar student and

friend and a force to be reckoned with on the field.

“Meanest dude on the field, no one on the defensive side of the ball wanted to face him,” Eldridge said.

Thomas had started his college football career as a walk-on, meaning he had no scholarships for football.

After suffering many injuries and working hard, Thomas was going to be put on a scholarship at the end of the spring semester.

Eldridge said, “After three years of hard work, this upcoming summer he was going to be put on scholarship to where he didn’t have to pay for any of his school. It was inspiring to see him do that because that’s what he was always working towards and working so hard for.”

His work ethic and determination were what would’ve led Thomas to a fullride scholarship.

“The craziest and meanest dude you would want to be by your side on the football field would be Garrett,” Camargo said.

“He was uplifting and the

most motivating person I ever met. He always pushed the people around him to get better.”

Many would agree that Thomas’ love for UCA and his teammates shone brightly wherever he went.

Camargo said, “He was a true UCA Bear at heart and did everything he could to be out on the field with the guys, even if it was on the sidelines or on the stripes, he always wanted to be there for us.”

Thomas’ parents went on to say in the obituary that he was a Christian and that he was probably spending his days in Heaven catching crappie with his grandfather.

“We lost some light in this world. He brought so much joy and happiness in people’s lives,” Camargo said. “He impacted a lot of people’s lives, and we need more people like him.

I’m extremely blessed to have crossed paths with him and be able to call him my brother.”