Issue #23, Volume 113, Publication Date--April 3, 2019

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

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APRIL 3, 2019 Volume 113 — Issue 23

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The Echo Entertainment:

Campus Life: What Were You Wearing?: Clothing is not consent 4

Sports:

Unpredictable Fear: ‘Us’ features gore, hair-raising jump scares

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UCA Tennis: Bears dominate SELU, McNeese in home matches 4

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SGA members launch new feminine product dispensers

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by Lauren McCabe

THE NEWSDESK FROM THE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

I N T E R N AT I O N A L $450M painting gone The painting “Salvator Mundi” which is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, was sold to an anonymous bidder for $450.3 million in November 2017 and is now said to be missing. The Louvre Abu Dhabi, which acquired the painting for a display a month after the auction, scheduled an unveiling last September that was strangely and swiftly canceled.

The culture department and staff at the museum said they don’t know why the unveiling was canceled.

N AT I O N A L Sackler family sued by state of New York On March 28, New York filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court in Suffolk County against the Sackler family for shifting funds from their company, Purdue Pharma, to private accounts.

The lawsuit names eight Sacklers and a variety of other companies, which distributed copious amounts of prescription opioids. Purdue Pharma is said to be responsible for instigating the current opioid epidemic that has led to 200,000 American deaths in the last two decades by giving misleading information about the risks of OxyContin and ignoring evidence of abuse. The company agreed to pay $270 million to settle a case in Oklahoma.

Midwest farmers fight off intense floodwaters A faulty, aging levee system in the Midwest has led to the flooding in farms, roads and Native American reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and other Midwestern states.

Although the system was designed to keep flood waters at bay to maintain the agricultural economy, the current system was not designed for river levels this intense. In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the system a D grade and suggested $80 billion in changes over the next decade.

S TAT E

FBI arrests professor

Little Rock officers and the FBI arrested Hendrix professor Duff Campbell, 59, March 29 on 150 child pornography charges including distribution, possession and viewing explicit conduct involving children. He was placed on administrative leave and is not allowed to be on campus or access computer-aided material.

WHAT’S AHEAD

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE Meet the candidates for SGA Executive Board!

News Editor

UCA has worked through the spring semester to implement a new initiative: Installing tampon and pad dispensers across campus bathrooms.

Since their installation over spring break, the dispensers have harbored positive and supportive reviews.

Senior Rebecca Bailey posted her own excitement about the new dispensers on Twitter.

“Do you see this? THIS is why I’m proud to be a @ucabears bear! @UCA_SGA made it possible [for] all female bathrooms to have FREE (yes, you read that right) tampons in all facilities by the end of this school year. Feminine hygiene costs are a burden on all women #EndThePinkTax,” Bailey said in the tweet.

The push and proposal for the dispensers to be made available in women’s and gender-neutral restrooms in all academic buildings came from SGA members themselves, which included sophomore and representative for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Jennifer Cale and sophomore class president Amber DiPersia.

Sophomore Kristin Rasmussen tweeted that installing the dispensers was a progressive move forward.

“So UCA now has free tampon and pad dispensers in the women’s bathroom for all of you who don’t know. Baby steps, but we’re getting there,” Rasmussen said in the tweet.

Cale is credited with forming the idea and convinced others around campus to agree that UCA needed to tend to girls who are menstruating in a positive way. “[The idea] started in high school,” Cale said. “I went to Missouri State University for a band competition and I went into one of their restrooms on

photo by Marley Cash-Powell

[Left to right] SGA’s sophomore class president Amber DiPersia and Jennifer Cale, an SGA representative for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, celebrate their success in bringing free feminine hygiene product dispensers to the UCA campus March 29 in the Conway Corporation Center for the Sciences’ first floor women’s restroom. Cale initiated the process in fall 2018 and, after much support from around campus over the past semester and a half, saw her initiative become a reality that will remain on campus long after she graduates.

campus. They just had pads and tampons sitting there, and I thought that it was really cool and interesting that they cared about their students in that way.”

Moving into college, Cale researched and found a company called Aunt Flo that provides campuses and universities with feminine products.

“I [felt] like UCA had the compassion to provide students with that service,” Cale said.

Last semester, The Echo covered SGA’s motion to provide $600 to fund a pilot program that would allow 10 dispensers to be tested on campus, and to fund the feminine products to be available within the devices.

“We were initially hoping that after the pilot program it would catch on and we could somehow get the school to fund it,” DiPersia said. “But as we kept going, we asked the

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Cale and DiPersia also requested to Newton that the dispensers be included with each new constructed building’s design plan, which was approved.

“Any time that there is renovation or new construction on campus, such as the new fine arts building or health sciences building, for example, [the buildings] will automatically be assumed to have dispensers placed in them,” Cale said.

Cale said she hopes that with the current and future dispensers being used around campus, it will decrease the stigma surrounding menstruation. “[I hope the dispensers] start a conversation about how women’s health, and especially menstrual cycles, aren’t taboo,” Cale said.

“We can talk openly about [menstruation] and hope that women feel they are a part of a campus that supports them.”

UCA alumni gather in fellowship to raise money for scholarships

by Christine Nichols

Assistant Campus Life Editor Stories were told and tears were shed Saturday night as University of Central Arkansas alumni reunited for Laurels and Stripes in the HPER Center to raise money for private scholarship funds and celebrate the accomplishments of both past and present UCA students.

UCA President Houston Davis gave an opening speech in which he explained the purpose of the event: to raise scholarship funds for UCA students.

“Many [students] would not have received their college degrees if not for the support of scholarship donors. On behalf of the University and our students, thank you for your generosity and dedication. You honor us with your presence tonight as we celebrate our great university,” Davis said.

Every attendant of the event, besides the scholarship recipients, was required to pay a $100 registration fee which benefited UCA Foundation scholarship funds. In addition to the registration fee, attendants were encouraged to

photo by Christine Nichols

UCA President Houston Davis gives opening remarks at the inaugural Laurels and Stripes event and introduces co-chairs Todd and Kristie Ross. The event raised $719,000 in private student scholarship money.

pledge money to scholarship funds or to create their own scholarship funds.

Elizabeth Blankenship and Barbara G. Williams were recognized as UCA Distinguished Alumni for their contributions to the Arkansas community.

Blankenship graduated from UCA in 1975 and carved a path for herself

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said. “It was about $47,000 to initiate the program to put all the dispensers in and buy all the feminine products. It’s going to end up being $12,500 each year to keep up the program.”

On campus, there are about 136 women’s restrooms and 19 gender-neutral restrooms. The types of dispensers used, Hospeco EV1 – which replaced the original dispensers provided by Aunt Flo – are in the range of $190 to $240 each, depending on volume and vendor, which leads to an estimated total ranging from $29,450 to $37,000 in dispensary costs.

SGA and UCA have decided to use Tampax tampons and Maxthin pads, which would leave the estimated cost for both products totaling about $10,260 with usages varying.

“The Physical Plant is awesome because they are going and replacing all of the feminine products each day for no extra charge,” DiPersia

COMMUNITY

Index: 4Police Beat 4People of UCA

deans of the colleges if they wanted to participate and help pay for some of it.”

DiPersia said the idea was brought up during a faculty meeting, which resulted in UCA vice pesident Diane Newton and provost and executive vice president Patricia Poulter being contacted. Poulter invited the girls to meet with her after Christmas break.

“I was nervous and thought it was all over,” Cale said. “But it turned out to be fine and [Poulter] suggested to just skip the pilot program and to go for full implementation. We then met with Diane Newton to talk about the facility part of it.”

Both Cale and DiPersia also credited Adam Hensley, a supervisor for recycling and custodial services, as a big supporter in bringing the dispensers into a campus-wide use. “[Hensley] priced everything out for us,” DiPersia

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Phone: 501-499-9822 E-mail: ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

in the elderly health care industry. She now owns and operates four assisted living facilities in Arkansas with her daughter, Ashley Blankenship.

Williams graduated from UCA in 1971 and went on to earn a Master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. She joined UCA’s

nursing faculty in 1978 and became the chairperson in 1990. By the time she retired from the position in 2016, Williams initiated the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, significantly increased enrollment into the nursing program and pioneered new ways of teaching including offcampus graduate courses.

Both Blankenship and Williams received numerous awards throughout their careers and much praise from their family members, friends and co-workers as incredible women.

Attendants were invited to enjoy their meals as a beautifully composed video, in which sophomore Jessica Chavez and her parents expressed their gratitude in the moment Chavez received the Baxley Family scholarship award, was displayed on three separate screens. Chavez and her parents believed they were being interviewed because Chavez was a finalist for the scholarship when in reality they were informed of her victory.

“I originally thought it was only for $17,000, so when I got there and they told me it was $17,000 each year, it was kind of overwhelming,” Chavez said.

She is currently earning a Bachelor’s degree in business management. She said the scholarship has changed her life completely. Because Chavez immigrated from

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NEWS

Police Beat

Reynolds uplifts Shakespeare’s women

The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Lauren McLemore

UCA shuttle van Student backs into Extra lock placed damaged by drip other student’s car on student bicycle Officer Chris Turner approached the Physical Plant parking lot March 26 to investigate a collision from March 21. The vehicle involved, UCA shuttle number 70, was driven by Reif Tucker, who said that he had pulled in for gas. After realizing he had packed on the wrong side to get fuel, he pulled out and while turning around, hit the drip ledge of the pump overhang, detaching the ledge. Damage to the shuttle was estimated at $100. Damage to the drip ledge was estimated at $200.

No citations were issued.

Student Elyse Rucker told officer Phillip Boyd on the morning of March 25 that she was driving through parking lot 203 — the lot east of the Communications Science building — and a car backed out and accidently hit her vehicle. The damage was visible to Rucker’s rear fender by the wheel and was estimated at $150. The other car, which student Hannah Schmalz drove, had an estimated $200 in damages which consisted of scratches and scuffs to the rear bumper.

On the morning of March 25, student Qili Ma told officer Phillip Boyd in the UCAPD lobby that her bicycle had been locked up on the west side of the Student Center for a couple of weeks. When she went to get it, someone had placed another lock on it. Boyd and Sgt. Kevin Ford escorted Ma to her bicycle. Once Ma removed her lock, Ford cut off the second lock which was a silver Master lock. A check of ACIC confirmed that the bicycle was not reported stolen.

photo courtesy of Lesley Waterson

Students participating in Bear Boots on the Ground throw up their Bear claws as they take time to volunteer in Puerto Rico. The team put their efforts toward cleaning up from Hurricane Maria — which included an opportunity to mentor local children — and renovating roads.

Bear volunteer across America, make impact

by Matt Smothers Staff Writer

Bear Boots on the Ground volunteers and Chi Alpha members spent their spring break volunteering and helping those in need around the United States.

Chi Alpha had several groups that volunteered in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Houston and Cookeville, Tennessee.

In St. Louis, the members of Chi Alpha packaged thousands of books at the Joyce Meyer Ministries headquarters to send to prisoners in California. The books are designed to be shared amongst the prisoners.

The books are also intended to help them with decision making when they are out of confinement.

Volunteers also helped at a food pantry, giving a month’s-worth of food to those in poverty in the lower-income communities of St. Louis. The volunteers encouraged homeless people, drug abusers and recently released prisoners who were having tough times and gave them New Testament Bibles as well as toiletries.

Michael Todd, an intern with Chi Alpha, said the group wanted to help build self-esteem for those that were offput by the world.

“Chi Alpha wanted to show them that money is not the only way out of poverty,” Todd said. “We got to see God say, ‘I have grace and mercy.’ It was an amazing experience.”

The Bear Boots on the Ground had two separate groups. One group spent its break in Memphis, Tennessee, and the other spent its break in Puerto Rico.

In Puerto Rico, the volunteers were tasked with relief efforts because of the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria.

Lesley Waterson, UCA’s volunteer coordinator who went on the Puerto Rico trip, said students’ main motivations for going on the trip were “a combination of serving, giving back to the community and new experiences.”

“Some of them had never been on a plane before or swam in the ocean. Going on an alternative spring break has the potential to provide many first memories,” Waterson said.

Volunteers cleaned the beaches in Puerto Rico and served as tutors and mentors at the local Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. They spent two days, along with over 100 students from across the country, helping to renovate the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico as well.

In Memphis, the students and faculty teamed up with Living Lands and Waters, a group whose mission is, according to their website, “to aid in the protection, preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the nation’s major rivers and their watersheds.”

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Living Lands and Waters’ spring break volunteer program spanned a total of three weeks. UCA’s contributions, along with several other universities’, came in the third week. The volunteers helped clean up 117,000 pounds of waste that was dumped into the Mississippi River. They filled trash bags and brought them to a barge so the waste could eventually be disposed of properly.

Outside of working, volunteers were able to explore the city. The students and chaperones were able to visit the Civil Rights museum and attend a Memphis Grizzlies basketball game.

UCA President Houston Davis and his son, Joshua Davis, joined the trip March 20 on the docks at Riverside Park in Memphis to help students and teams in cleaning several sites.

“Service-learning is an important part of our culture at UCA,” Davis said. “[The students’] willingness to give back and serve others, both near and far, makes me proud.

I know these students are going to make a big difference in the world.”

For more information about volunteer opportunities with either Chi Alpha or Bear Boots on the Ground, visit iamchialpha.com/home.php or uca.edu/servicelearning/ bear-boots-on-the-groundalternative-breaks, or email at volunteer@uca.edu.

by Emily Gist Associate Editor

In Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet,” Ophelia’s dead body remains downstage for 20 minutes until the curtains fall, and the actress tries not to breathe too heavily.

Associate Professor of English Paige Reynolds said Ophelia began as Hamlet’s property, became a literal stage prop for Hamlet and transformed back to property of the male critics defining her death.

Reynolds gave this example March 28 to her intimate audience in a nestled corner of Torreyson Library Room 214 when discussing her book, “Performing Shakespeare’s Women: Playing Dead.” Her book offers a literary analysis about the constrictions and subsequent corpsing of Shakespeare’s women and their actresses.

In her lecture, Reynolds described the book as “situated at the intersection between the creative and the critical,” regarding integrated theater, literature, research and her creative processes.

Reynolds began her lecture by reading the introduction of her book. Her introduction described how her grandmother held sexist tendencies – she panicked when she thought her daughter would be treated by a female doctor – yet broke gender expectations because she was a “model of perseverance” and “sole breadwinner” to her family.

“My nanny Nelson was a woman too strong for the script of her life,” Reynolds said, reading from her book and even likening her grandmother to Shakespeare’s women.

“Some of Shakespeare’s women are too strong for the scripts of their lives.”

Reynolds said the women in Shakespeare’s plays are limited to their texts and the time period in which they were conceived.

“The female characters I find myself trying to resuscitate are often corpsed from the beginning of the plays in which they must still, ironically, find some way to live,” Reynolds said. “Their historical context conflicts with their human capacity.”

Reynolds elaborated that Shakespeare’s women never have direct, personal monologues with the audience like their male counterparts

photo by Emily Gist

Associate Professor of English Paige Reynolds describes her acting experience performing Lady Capulet from Romeo and Juliet in relation to her book “Performing Shakespeare’s Women: Playing Dead.” Reynolds published her book, an intersection of literary analysis and personal anecdote, Dec. 13, 2018, which is on sale on Bloomsbury.com for $64.80.

often do. They are unable to vocalize the restrictions within which they are written.

“The actor playing one of Shakespeare’s women must justify behaviors that are deemed too active – Lady MacBeth – or too passive – Desdemona,” Reynolds said. “[The Shakespeare actress] tackles a task that has been gendered twice over; first by the dramaturgical and linguistic parameters of the text itself and second by the legacy of critical and theatrical claims about that work.”

Reynolds argued that women who play Shakespeare’s women are affected by this constriction in their performances as the actresses are theatrically starved because they must act without action.

“Actors who play Shakespeare’s women can feel like the corpses their characters become,” Reynolds said. “They are dying long before they’re dead.”

Aside from outside research, Reynolds also drew from personal experience playing Shakespeare’s women when exploring theatrical deprivation. She described an experience where she performed Lady Capulet in “Romeo and Juliet” and felt constricted in her performance.

“I had ideas about the character, what I wanted to do, that were not manifested because it didn’t fit with the direction,” Reynolds said.

“And that really made me feel like, ‘This character is just experiencing one form of

deprivation after another,’ and I was feeling that too, but I sort of magnified it.”

Reynolds also described her writing and editing process and explained that she needed to go on sabbatical to focus purely on writing her book.

After her lecture, Reynolds answered questions from the audience, which ranged from critical analysis of the texts to questions regarding her acting experience.

Professor of English Wayne Stengel said he was riveted by Reynolds’ book and felt the lecture was highly successful because of its interdisciplinarity.

“It did so well at talking about the academic throws the writer goes through, the research and then the far-ranging nature of it, which you could deduce from the questions we got – we got questions about Shakespeare, about what the scholar goes through working with publishers and then about the project.”

Stengel said the book focuses on the body, which produces an interesting lens to explore Shakespeare.

“I think the book is outstandingly original,” Stengel said. “It’s a somatic –a body– criticism because she takes into consideration just what the body does as it prepares for a role.”

Death confines Shakespeare’s women, whether it’s the dead character or the actress who spends 20 minutes focused on her shallow breaths.

SGA

SGA hears preliminary university budget proposal Lauren mclemore Assistant News Editor

At this week’s SGA meeting, senators heard from administration regarding a budget proposal and announced new sustainable options in the Christian Cafeteria.

Vice president of Finance and Administration Diane Newton, accompanied by UCA President Houston Davis, presented the budget proposal that will be submitted to the Board of Trustees April 4.

The preliminary proposal includes increases in tuition at 4.4 percent, total fees at 6.73 percent, room and board at 5 percent and a total budget increase of 5 percent.

“Last year, with the freeze on the tuition by the Governor’s office, we weren’t able to give any kind of an increase to our faculty and staff,” Newton said.

In addition to adding a position for a full-time counselor in the Counseling

Impact:

Center and a couple of academic advisors, the budget also takes into account technology updates and maintenance, along with construction of new facilities.

Newton showed various charts comparing UCA to other four-year public institutions in terms of finances, and UCA held a fairly consistent median standing.

However, UCA does currently have the least expensive board rate.

“We think that we probably may be restricting what we’re allowing Aramark to do by keeping the rates so low to our students,” Newton said.

During committee reports, sophomore and senator Jennifer Cale, chair of the Housing and Food Service committee, announced that the reusable to-go box program to benefit the Christian Cafeteria will hopefully be implemented fall 2019. In an earlier meeting with Aramark General Manager Jim Nabors regarding the reusable to-go

box survey, Cale said that the majority of students –about 800– wanted the program.

“We’re going to start with 400 boxes and see if people are reacting to it and wanting to continue it,” Cale said.

In a university committee report, SGA President Joshua Eddinger-Lucero expressed frustration with the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Awareness committee for having made no progress to bring a victim’s advocate to campus — a topic discussed for the past two years. A $300,000 grant proposal is now being written to fulfill this position.

“There are things we need to be doing — things that don’t have to wait for us to apply for a grant,” Eddinger-Lucero said.

He said the committee could create a webpage to serve as a single place that is a complete source for students or victims.

Chavez offered a life-changing scholarship

4 Continued from page 1 Mexico with her parents at a very young age, she is classified as a DACA recipient and is not eligible for Federal Student Aid. Chavez believes this is one of the reasons she was awarded the Baxley Family scholarship.

“We can breathe now.

I’ve never seen [my parents] happier. [They know] my dreams are going to come true,” Chavez said.

Chavez is considering attending law school once she earns her Bachelor’s degree.

“I never thought about that before until I got this opportunity. Graduating from [UCA] is a reality now,” Chavez said.

One attendant of the event, Karolyn Ziemer, a mortgage loan officer at Arvest bank who graduated from UCA in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Finance, knows Chavez as a co-worker at Arvest bank.

Ziemer said she played no part in Chavez receiving the award.

“I didn’t know about it until afterward. It was all her,” Ziemer said.

She said she was excited to be back on the UCA campus at the first Laurels & Stripes event because “[UCA] is home [and] we’re here to raise money for a good cause.”

Laurels and Stripes is intended to be an annual

event. The event name originated from two concepts.

Laurel wreaths symbolize great achievement and the stripes represent pride, in this case, UCA pride. The event raised $719,000 for student scholarships.

Nearly 600 people attended the event.

Sophomore Amanda Okolo spoke on behalf of the 692 UCA Foundation scholarship recipients, of which only a handful were in attendance.

“It was a truly successful evening that will significantly impact our students for generations to come through increased private scholarship support,” President of the UCA

Campus Life

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April 3, 2019

Around Campus: Fashion Freestyle At 6 p.m. April 2 at the UCA Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center, Birder Harris will teach sewing basics. Harris is a veteran seamstress who developed her sewing skills from a very young age at her family’s sewing business. Attendants will need to bring their own sewing machine and material. Harris owns her own business called Sew Unique Alteration now located in Conway. To register for the event, visit uca.edu/outreach.

Smartphone Photography At 6 p.m. April 2 at UCA Downtown, smartphone expert Tommy Wallace will teach attendants how to create beautiful photos with their cell phone cameras. Wallace is a pastor in Central Arkansas and has been developing his photography skills over the last few years. His work has been displayed locally and internationally and received awards. Wallace will teach photographic principles and techniques and demonstrate them with hands-on practice. To register for the event visit uca.edu/outreach.

PRSA Guest Speaker At 1:40 p.m. April 4 in Win Thompson Hall Room 206, UCA alumna and current Public Relations professional Jennah Denney will join the routine UCA PRSA chapters monthly meeting.

She will lecture on ‘The 30 Days of Corporate PR.’ Denney, who graduated from UCA in 2016, is currently the Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator at Today’s Power, a renewable energy provider. For more information contact mbailey11@cub.uca.edu.

Movie Night At 7 p.m. April 7 in the Student Center Ballroom, the Student Activities Board will present “Glass.” “Glass” is a PG-13 movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis. The movie is the final installment of M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero thriller “Unbreakable” trilogy.

Security guard David Dunn tracks down The Beast, who has 24 personalities, to deliver justice for his crimes. The event is free and open to the UCA community.

There will be pizza, drinks and prizes. For more information go to ucasab.com.

Holocaust History At 1:45 p.m. April 9 in the Student Center Ballroom, the Student Activities Board will introduce Alan Moskin, a concentration camp liberator, to speak about his experience. Moskin was born in 1926 and was drafted into the military in 1944 during World War II. As a part of Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army, Moskin fought in combat in France, Germany and Austria. In 1945, he participated in the liberation of the Gunskirchen Concentration Camp. For more information visit ucasab.com.

Weight Loss At 6 p.m. on April 9 in the UCA Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center, Kim McPherson will advise attendants on managing food addiction and making lifestyle changes. The event is the third and final in a series of weight loss-themed lectures.

The focus of the event is staying motivated. McPherson, who has struggled with her weight for many years, finally managed to achieve a consistent weight and has expert advice on how others can do the same. For more information visit uca.edu/outreach.

photos by Daniel Adams

[Left] UCA students and other visitors observe the displays in the What Were You Wearing? exhibit at the UCA Black Box Gallery on March 28. A large crowd visited on the opening night of the exhibit, which was presented by the Feminist Union.

What Were You Wearing? tells stories of sexual assault survivors

by Daniel Adams Assistant Sports Editor

UCA was treated to its latest exhibit called What Were You Wearing? — a coordinated effort presented by the Black Box Gallery and the UCA Feminist Union.

The exhibit displays various outfits to represent the clothes anonymous survivors wore when they were sexually assaulted.

There is also a portion of the exhibit where cards can be posted up onto the wall, giving those who may have had a negative experience a chance to share their story anonymously. Others had the

option of leaving supportive notes for survivors of sexual assault through what were called N.O.T.E.S (Now On To Each Survivor).

What Were You Wearing? will be running in the Black Box Gallery, located in the Schichtl Studio Arts building, until April 11.

What Were You Wearing? originated in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was created by the director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center at Kansas University Jen Brockman and health educator Mary Wyandt-Hiebert.

The two of them attended a conference in Little Rock for the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault and

were inspired by the reading of the poem “What I Was Wearing” by Mary Simmerling.

After debuting in Fayetteville, the exhibit has since spread across the country for college campuses to interpret in their own ways.

Exhibit-goers had the option to donate materials to two different groups that the Feminist Union collaborates with: The Children’s Advocacy Alliance and the Women’s Shelter of Central Arkansas.

The Feminist Union worked with the Women’s Shelter last month during its Vagina Monologues event, raising money that would go toward helping the group in their future endeavors.

Sophomore Bri Vongvilay,

president of the Feminist Union, wanted to create the exhibit to allow UCA students to be more comfortable with discussing the topic of sexual assault.

“I would say every UCA student should check out this exhibit because this breaks the stigma that clothes matter at the time of an assault,” Vongvilay said. “We’re trying to promote comfortability and being open and sharing our own experiences.”

Vongvilay saw the exhibit run in her hometown at the University of Arkansas — Fort Smith, and wanted to see if the same positive reaction that happened there would be replicated in Conway.

Breanne McLendon, the

executive director for the Women’s Shelter of Central Arkansas, she said was extremely pleased to receive the $800 donation from the Feminist Union.

“For us, we’re a small organization and so anything helps. What’s great about getting donations like this is that we have grants that restrict what we can do, so having these unrestricted funds really helps better our programs,” McLendon said.

Those who wish to donate can leave products in a donation box at the front of the Black Box Gallery. Anything from books, blankets, hygiene products and sports bras will be accepted.

D E F Y I N G S O C I E TA L E X P E C TAT I O N S

THRIVERS AND STRUGGLERS

Poverty workshop emphasizes importance of demographics

by Sarah Coleman Staff Writer

On Thursday March 28, members of the community, and UCA staff, faculty and students gathered in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center for Thrivers and Strugglers — a workshop centered around poverty.

Thrivers and Strugglers is a first-time event put on by the Center of Community and Economic Development. The event was a luncheon that lasted from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Several groups partnered to make this conference possible, including The Center for Household and Financial Stability, City of Hope Outreach, the College of Education, Poverty Studies Working Group, the College of Liberal Arts and Service Learning.

The Center of Household and Financial Stability presented essays with statistics of home ownership and financial stability, with a specific emphasis in demographics. Ana Kent, who has a Ph.D in experimental psychology with an emphasis in both social psychology and quantitative methods, spoke about how demography impacts some people’s successes.

“Demography is not necessarily an economic destiny,” Kent said.

Lowell Rickets, who is also with the Center for Household and Financial Stability, spoke about the impact of the recession and demographics.

“We really haven’t dented the wealth gap since 1989,” Rickets said.

Rickets said people who grew up in the 1980s were hit the hardest during the

recession. “People born in the ‘80s have large amounts of unsecured debt, student debt and displaced home ownership in several of these cases,” Ricketts said.

Ricketts also spoke of the importance of demographics and why we don’t see as many minorities with college degrees because of finances.

“Many minorities don’t go to college because they can’t afford it, and if they do go, many drop out, and this is an issue,” Ricketts said.

Ricketts explained the importance of college degrees for financial stability. He spoke about how graduate degrees and bachelor’s degrees — or even associate’s degrees — were securing a higher amount of wealth.

Kent also discussed solutions for demography and financial stability.

“If you don’t want demography to become an economic destiny, we can build wealth to promote stability or invest more in education,” Kent said.

Kent also said it’s important for local and state governments to invest in education up to the university level.

Lesley Graybeal, the director for Community and Economic Development, explained why they chose to host this event.

“The poverty studies’ working group goal is to bring together the community and UCA to speak about poverty,” Graybeal said.

This was a pilot event and UCA is working to make more events centered around poverty happen.

“We want to see big events focused on poverty each semester,” Graybeal said.

Theater Performance At 7:30 p.m. April 4-5 in the Baum’s Art Gallery lecture hall in McCastlain, the Honors college will present a theatrical performance, “Waiting for Lefty.”

The play, by Clifford Odets, is about a taxi driver strike in 1935 that actually happened in New York City due to insufficient salaries. The event is open to UCA students and is a pay-what-youcan event, all proceeds will go to nonprofit organizations. For more information call (501) 908-9990.

[Right] Visitors look over exhibits in the What Were You Wearing displays in the UCA Black Box Gallery. Recreations of outfits that were worn during victims sexual assaults and other artwork are on display for people to examine.

photo by Marley Cash-Powell

Nashville singers and husband-and-wife duo, Dave and Whitney Campbell of Midnight Noon, sing cover songs during their x-period performance March 28 at the UCA Amphitheater. The Campbells met in Branson, Missouri, started touring five years ago and have been married for the past three years.

photo by Lauren McLemore

Philosophy professor Taine Duncan explains a “Genderbread Man” diagram to help her audience understand identity, expression, orientation and biological sex as they relate to gender during a presentation at the Student Center March 28. The event was presented by the SGA and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.

Intersectionality conversation educates about gender identity, gender diversity

By Lauren McLemore Assistant News Editor

Taine Duncan, associate professor of philosophy and director of the interdisciplinary gender studies minor program, gathered with a group of students, staff and faculty March 28 in the Student Center Room 213 during x-period to spark a discussion on the topic of gender identity.

Duncan used a Powerpoint to explain to attendees things like intersectionality, gender diversity and the ways in which different genders can be both valued and oppressed.

She defined gender as being made up of two parts. The first, gender identity, is “how you know who you are in your own mind,” Duncan said. The second, gender expression, is how people present their gender to the world and how others interpret those genders based on social expectations.

Because exploring gender topics can be new territory for some people, Duncan explained each slide carefully and used references such as comedian and author Sam Killermann’s diagram, The Genderbread Man, to make it easier for audience members to understand the differences between gender identity, gender expression and biological sex. Throughout the talk, she also often invited audience members to share

their experiences to help clarify the points made in her presentation.

“The UCA community, in particular, is becoming increasingly diverse when it comes to gender,” Duncan said. “We’re actually getting to be known as a more trans-inclusive campus.”

One of the transgender people in attendance, Erin Weindorf, is a graduate student at UCA pursuing a Masters of Arts in Education who attended the talk to gain insight on how to be an effective K-12 Special Education teacher.

“I hope to facilitate an environment of creativity and individualism where each child feels safe to express themselves with no chance of being bullied,” Weindorf said.

Duncan also discussed how detrimental the expectations for masculinity and femininity can be even for people who continue to identify as the same gender they were assigned at birth.

“Even though I’m a cisgendered woman and I like my feminine expression, thinking about all of that playfulness that can exist in gender helps me to be more authentic, too,” Duncan said.

“I can still also love my power tools at home and that can be an essential part of me and not feel like I’m doing something that is wrong.”

People in attendance gave

the examples of men choosing to paint their nails or wearing clothing items targeted toward women.

According to the presentation, not being able to perform the way society expects often has unfortunate and sometimes deadly social consequences.

Learning about these things is crucial to developing places where people can feel safe to be themselves in every aspect of life, including business.

One presentation slide listed a statistic from Sangeeta Badal Gallup 2014 that said gender-diverse and gender-engaged businesses in the hospitality category experienced a 58 percent higher net profit than single-gender and less engaged institutions.

“Gender studies are important to culture where humans are not boxed in with predetermined sets of life instructions we must adhere to that does not allow us freedom to express our true identities,” Weindorf said.

The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Student Government Association organized the event. The Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Angela Webster, who introduced Duncan, also announced that in the fall, Duncan will become the department chair of philosophy at UCA.

ucanews.live

CAMPUS LIFE

Qandah discusses resources for going Vegan

by Ronak Patel Staff Writer Michael Qandah, owner of Happy Bear Cooking, went from a butcher and an avid meat eater to a vegan later in his life. Qandah’s girlfriend, who is a vegan, inspired the change.

In his cooking class held at UCA Downtown, Qandah taught participants how to make plant-based carbonara, lasagna and chocolate chip cookies. The class focused on creating normal meals nonvegans enjoy into a vegan style to show that vegan options can be tasty.

One of the biggest drawbacks people see with veganism is not being able to eat meat or cheese. Qandah used a combination of foods like tofu, cauliflower and mushrooms to produce a meaty flavor, making the absence hardly noticeable.

Adopting the vegan lifestyle was not a challenge for Qandah.

“It wasn’t a weird transition going from being a butcher to being vegan. I have always been passionate about cooking. It’s definitely a different train of thought, but a lot of the same things I apply when I’m cooking meat, I apply to the vegan lifestyle.

I like the challenge of making things vegan. It’s definitely more challenging than doing just normal conventional food,” Qandah said.

One of the biggest goals Qandah has with his classes is helping people realize that veganism is more than just a way of eating, but rather, it is a lifestyle.

April 3, 2019 /4

STUDENTS SAY

“

What do you think of the college bribe scandal?

”

Story and photos by Christine Nichols

photo by Ronak Patel

Vegan chef Michael Qandah shows participants how to make a plant-based lasagna March 30 at UCA Downtown. Qandah became vegan after meeting his girlfriend.

Junior Allison Barbar

Senior Torian Burns

“It is a way of life. It focuses on causing as little impact on the Earth as you can by avoiding things like meat, dairy or any animal products. It’s living a lifestyle that doesn’t promote any animal cruelty,” Qandah said.

Qandah has enjoyed being vegan and its benefits.

“I slimmed down when I first started veganism. I just feel like I make better decisions when I am eating vegan. It’s easier to stay in a healthy mindset and make the healthier choices while I am vegan,” Qandah said.

Qandah can’t see full vegan restaurants becoming a trend, but that is something he

“I think it’s unfair for those of us who have to struggle and work hard to get where we need to go. I think that there’s like a certain amount of privilege that comes with that. We can’t [all] bribe our way into things.”

“If your parents save the money that they set aside for you, that’s one thing. But if they’re paying people to take your tests or [are,] paying off administration to help you get in, that’s a totally different thing. It kind of sucks that they just get a free pass.”

Sophomore Bri Vongvilay

Senior Lauren Stone

“That happening, in social media and in the news, is legit privilege.

And if people aren’t aware of their privileges then how can they be other-oriented and help the community?”

I think that they should go to jail. Everyone involved should be prosecuted cause it’s just not fair.

They’re on the crew team and not doing the exercises or anything.

How do they not know?

Sophomore Patoreus Lewis

Junior Braeden Davis

“That’s wrong. ‘Cause you know some kids in here who actually had to work really hard to get in the school, and so when they’re bribing people to get inside, it just looks bad.

“What upsets me is if I could have gotten a higher ACT score then I could have gotten more money. But obviously they don’t have to worry about that.”

hopes to one day successfully bring into our culture.

“I travel quite a bit and I see it in the bigger cities and I feel like it is on the up and up. As for right now, a completely vegan restaurant might not be the most reliable thing because it’s a hard sell.

When you’re vegan, especially in our culture, it cuts out a large portion of people. My idea is to eventually have a restaurant that has vegan and conventional products to help bridge the gap,” Qandah said.

Going vegan is an intriguing lifestyle, but many find it difficult to start because they are not sure where they can find proper guidance and

information.

“It is a tough thing to start. There is a good vegan community online, and there are a lot of resources.

There are books like ‘Thug Kitchen’ and the website Minimalist Baker. Those are all great places. We have local Facebook groups like the Little Rock Vegan Shopper and the Little Rock Vegan Dinner Club.

They are always offering great information,” Qandah said.

For anyone interested in learning more about veganism, UCA Outreach has plans to have another vegan chef as a guest. More information can be found on uca.edu/outreach/.

LAUGHTER

Comedian jokes about her relationships with food, her girlfriend

by Lauren McCabe News Editor The Student Activities Board was proud to introduce comedian and actress Jen Kober to UCA’s campus for her performance at 7 p.m March 28 .

Students who were interested in having their funny bones tickled before preparing for the stress of finals gathered in the Student Center Ballroom to hear Kober, a performer of over 30 years, talk about her life experiences in the most comedic ways.

Originally from Louisiana, Kober is known for her stand-up storytelling and improvised comedy, which earned her the title of 2017 and 2018 winner of National Public Radio’s Snap Judgement Comedic Performance of the Year. Kober has appeared in numerous roles in hit TV shows, such as “The Middle” and “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” and will be featured in drag queen RuPaul’s new sitcom “AJ & The Queen” set to premiere later this year.

Kober focused on telling jokes that perhaps every college student could relate to or laugh about, such

as interactions with her grandmother and girlfriend, everyday interactions and how her life has been panning out since she left the swamps of Louisiana to search for opportunity in California.

“I bet you can tell that my shirt is a Walmart-brand shirt from the men’s department,” Kober said. “I went there to buy this shirt, and I don’t know if you know this about Walmart, but the extended sizes are $2 more and are known as skinny-bitch extended sizes.”

The crowd roared in laughter as Kober joked about her weight and her attempts to eat healthy with her girlfriend, which she described as nearly impossible due to her love of snacks and meat.

Kober also cracked up the audience as she talked about how she spends her time at her grandmother’s house in Alabama.

“My grandma has candy in a dish from 1974,” Kober said. “I try to get a piece of candy corn from the bowl and it comes out all together in one big ball.”

The audience cheered as Kober described how much she loved being able to perform at UCA as a part of her tour, which

has gone on for 255 days now. “[Comedy] was really all I could ever do,” Kober said. “I was the kid in class who was always trying to make everybody laugh. I always finished my work first so that I could move on an entertain and distract everyone else in my classes.”

The people around Kober supported her pursuit of her passion for entertainment as they recognized her bubbly and comedic personality.

“I was lucky that I had teachers and my parents who kind of steered that energy into something positive instead of telling me to shut up and sit down all the time,” Kober said.

Kober participated in acting classes and Forensics — Speech and Debate in high school; she became a speech champion at a national level.

Kober, as part of the LGBTQ community, sees her comedy as a way to reach out to other LGBTQ people to remind them that whatever discrimination or struggles they may face, she supports them.

“I always come out on stage [as gay],” Kober said. “I never say ‘roommate’ or pretend that I have a ‘friend.’ Like I said on

stage, I think some [people] don’t like gay people or don’t feel comfortable around gay people because they don’t know any gay people around them. It’s important for me to let people know that it’s all going to be okay and that you’re not going to catch [homosexuality], [that] I’m not going to be upset with you and that you’re not going to go to hell and burn in a fire.”

Sophomore Madison Conner decided to attend when she found out Kober would be doing stand-up comedy.

“I like to laugh a lot, so if a comedian is here and they’re not very good, I’m probably going to laugh anyways,” Conner said.

However, Conner stated that she was not disappointed in the stories and punchlines that Kober talked up in an hour’s time.

“It was super funny,” Conner said. “I enjoy a comedian who can make jokes about themselves and pretty controversial issues that they can make light of.

She did a good job with that.”

SAB’s next event will be the screening of the movie “Glass” at 7 p.m. April 7 in the Student Center Ballroom.

PEOPLE OF UCA: Jarret Counts

by Dy’Kajeon Brown Online/Social Media Editor Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it.”

This is a quote that sophomore Jarret Counts said had the most impact on his life growing up. Counts was born in the city of Wichita, Kansas, and is the son of Gary Counts and Trisha Smart-Counts, who were both also born and raised in Wichita.

Growing up, Counts’ family always stressed the importance of family, education and involvement.

As a child, Counts participated in multiple sports such as football, bowling, swimming, golf and baseball.

“I played every sport but soccer,” Counts said. “I just couldn’t get over the fact I can’t use my hands.”

However, he also described how his grandfather always had him sing old school blues songs whenever he’d come over to visit.

“My mother’s side of the

family were very fine-arts oriented,” Counts said.

Counts’ favorite instruments to play were the saxophone and drums — he even recalled performing a small Michael Jackson-inspired dance number.

“High school was a growing point in my life as I had many ups and downs.

All through pre-k to middle school, I’d tried to participate in all activities, but [in] high school I decided to take the backseat,” Counts said.

Counts attended a private Christian high school in his hometown. He said the coach for the school was one of his biggest supporters outside of his family.

“I knew that with any issue or concern I had there, I could always count on him to keep me level headed and [encouraged me to] not quit, but learn and always take something good out of the situation,” Counts said.

Following his coach’s death during Counts’ sophomore year, he strived to walk in his coach’s footsteps and to help others in need.

Counts learned many lessons during his high school

career — from perseverance to grit — after tearing his ACL and Meniscus when returning to play basketball.

Counts is currently majoring in health administration and hopes to one day become a pharmaceutical sales representative.

As Counts attends UCA, he continues to grow and learn many life lessons that all college students should learn.

“As I’ve been at UCA, I believe that everything is coming together, other than learning how to do my own laundry,” Counts said.

Counts has learned how to rise to the occasion in different situations and utilize his personal leadership skills.

Following his graduation, Counts also plans to enroll in the master’s program at UCA to gain more in-depth knowledge about both the medical and business side of being a pharmaceutical sales representative as he ventures out into his career.

Counts is highly motivated to complete this goal.

“My biggest motivation, other than my family, is failure.

Everyone hates failing. I use that drive to create a positive

mindset,” Counts said. “Find the opportunity to grow and learn from your mistakes,” Counts said.

Counts is also heavily involved on campus in several organizations and programs such as UCA ambassadors, Project X ambassadors, the Minority Mentorship Program, the Black Male Achievement Challenge, the Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference as an attendee, the All Greek Council as a representative, as an Ideal mentor and as a 2018 Greek God. Counts was a Spring 2018 initiate of the Iota Gamma chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity where he holds the position of exchequer and community service and social events chair. He said he believes joining the fraternity was one of his biggest accomplishments at UCA because it required a lot of hard work and dedication.

“Getting involved on campus has always been a big deal for me. My family always said that it takes a village to raise a child, and I believe the connect[ions] you make, along with a strong support, system will take you far.”

photo by Dy’Kajeon Brown

Sophomore Jarret Counts stands outside the Student Center at the amphitheater April 1. Counts will continue to remain a prominent figure on campus and encourage other UCA students to get more involved.

Sports

5

April 3, 2019

Bears shatter winning streak, lose 3 by 1 point

Upcoming Games Softball

4 p.m., April 3 at Mississippi Valley State

by Lauren McCabe News Editor

Beach Volleyball

12 p.m., April 5 at University of Louisiana at Monroe Tennis

1 p.m., April 5 at Stephen F. Austin Baseball

5 p.m., April 5 vs McNeese State University

Editor’s Take

photo by Marley Cash-Powell

UCA freshman Chunxi Xin serves with grace and power during her doubles match against Southeastern Louisiana University at home March 29. Xin and senior Marli Van Heerdan won the set via forfeit at 4-1 after SELU sophomore Ximena Yanez suffered a shoulder injury.

photo courtesy of ACCSports.com photo courtesy of SportsLogos.net

Major League Baseball’s regular season began on March 28, the earliest recorded opening day in the history of the sport.

MLB’s return to play welcome in absence of other major sports

by Daniel Adams Assistant Sports Editor

As the Major League Baseball season continues once again, the storylines to keep track of for this year are in abundance. Likely the ones hitting closest to home will follow left fielder Hunter Strong and catcher Tyler Hancock who were drafted from UCA last year — both going to the Kansas City Royals in the 25th and 31st rounds of the draft respectively.

The baseball regular season hasn’t even started yet, but the year has already had one of the biggest news stories possible. One of the all-time greats, right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, retired after playing in two games in Tokyo, Japan, with the Seattle Mariners for one last run. He’s one of those players who has a surefire chance of landing in the Hall of Fame on his first nomination.

That aside, one of the more notable things from the offseason was the amount of money that some players were able to snag in their free agency deals. Bryce Harper got a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies — now the second-largest deal in MLB History, but the largest a free agent has ever gotten with a new team.

Personally, I have a bit of a soft spot for the Los Angeles Angels since that was the team the Arkansas Travelers were affiliated with when I grew up in North Little Rock. Whether or not they’ll be successful this year, especially with the mega-contract that they gave to Mike Trout, will be something that I’ll have to wait and see about, along with the rest of the country.

I know that UCA’s baseball season has been underway for several weeks now, and the Bears are having a good year themselves, but I believe it’s safe to say this is the time that baseball can easily have its time in the national spotlight.

While February is the month of the NFL and June is the month of the NBA and NHL, we can now see who will make it to the end of the road in October for Major League Baseball and earn the right to call themselves World Series champions.

I can’t wait to see the results.

Tennis continues dominance, remains strong on UCA courts

by Marley CashPowell Editor

The UCA tennis team (13-6, 5-1 SLC) spent the weekend doing some home-court housekeeping, hosting guests — the Southeastern Louisiana Lions and the McNeese Cowgirls — which the Bears cleared out in equal measures at 6-1 on March 29 and 31.

The Lions (5-9, 2-4 SLC) came in March 29, only to be dominated during both doubles and singles play.

After a brief rain break during doubles, sophomore Yada Vasupongchai and freshman Mei Ishimura won 6-3, senior Marli Van Heerdan and freshman Fuka Nonoyama won 4-1 — after SELU sophomore Ximena Yanez suffered a shoulder injury and was forced to forfeit — and seniors QiLi Ma and Rada Manataweewat played at 4-3, unfinished, to earn UCA the doubles point.

For singles play, Van Heerdan set UCA’s winning streak in motion, defeating SELU freshman Flory Bierma, 6-0, 6-1.

“She played amazing,” Bierma said. “I did a great job.

She just hit one more ball every time.”

As a senior, Van Heerdan has plenty of training and experience; however, she also said the team has been working with behaviorists to learn the importance of training one’s brain to correct the body’s muscle memory.

“For tennis players, routines are very important,” Van Heerdan said. “You don’t want to be doing different things every time because the more you train your brain to do the same thing ritual-wise, the less you have to think about that… Instead of focusing on what you have to do, you can now look at [your opponent’s] game and analyze.”

The Bears continued to gain points left and right in singles, bringing them to 4-0

before two tiebreaker battles ensued on the remaining courts.

Xin played against SLC Player of the Week, SELU freshman Putri Insani from Indonesia, earning UCA its fifth singles point.

Insani won the first set, 6-3, and Xin won the second set 6-4, before they entered a tiebreaker round for the ages.

The set climactically built to a 14-12 win for Xin, who remained focused even after defeating her competition.

The last match to finish was the duel between Ishimura and SELU senior Ceci Mercier, the second tiebreaker battle of the day. Mercier and Ishimura each took a set at 7-5.

However, Mercier refused UCA the clean sweep by defeating Ishimura, 10-8, in an intense finish that left Ishimura overwhelmed with disappointment, even though UCA did win 6-1 overall.

Yanez wasn’t the only SELU

See Tennis- page 8

HOT AND COLD

The UCA softball team (17-17, 4-5 SLC) played four close games this past week with a 4-3 loss against SEC foe Mississippi State (21-10, 1-5 SEC) and losses of 2-1 and 1-0 in the three game series against Lamar University (17-20, 8-7 SLC).

UCA started their week on March 26 at Farris Field.

The Bears made a couple of defensive mistakes in the fourth inning, allowing the Mississippi State Bulldogs to get 3 unearned runs and take the lead.

Freshman pitcher Kamryn Coleman played a hard game as she tossed all seven innings, allowing only 1 earned run while striking out a pair of Bulldog hitters. Coleman is now officially second on the squad with a 3.00 ERA for the season.

However, the crowd got to witness one of the nation’s top base-stealers, junior outfielder Kayla Crutchmer, swipe her 26th bag of the season. She remains second in the Southland Conference in that category.

Following the Bulldogs’ lead, the Bears responded back by tying runs in the bottom of the sixth inning because MSU made errors of their own.

But Mississippi State used a pair of singles in the seventh inning to make the winning one-run victory over the Bears.

“We had our chances and Kam pitched a great game,” Kuhn said to UCASports. “If we play error free, we win that game. Now granted, you can say the same for them, but they just came through with a couple base hits in the seventh that were the difference.”

Despite the home loss, the Bears drove into Texas with high spirits to compete in a March 29 doubleheader, three-game series against Lamar State University (16-20, 7-4 SLC), picking up one win and one loss and extending their SLC road game winning streak to five games in the opener.

Freshman catcher Tylar Vernon took an early lead on the plate and picked up some

big-time hits.

Vernon was 2 of 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs, including a gapper in left-center that gave UCA an early advantage.

Sophomore infielder Erin Blackburn also used her skills to impact the win. Blackburn led the Bears with three hits in the game, while also scoring 1 run and picking up an RBI. However, it was thanks to the Cardinals who dragged out the game at 2-1 in the ninth inning of the second game and forced a two-game split.

While the Bears pushed across 1 run, they were met back with a challenge as Lamar took advantage of some Bears’ mistakes to make 2 runs in the bottom of the inning and pick up its seventh SLC win of the year.

After the loss of the first doubleheader game to Lamar, the Bears stepped out and stepped up to give it their all March 30.

For the second game, UCA and Lamar were locked up in a pitcher’s duel.

Lamar starting pitcher, senior Julia Voluntad, held the Bears’ No. 1 SLC offense in check all day. The Cardinal hurler limited UCA to just four hits, all singles, in the contest.

But Bear team members such as senior outfielder Oakley Sisemore, who recorded a hit and made a dive in left field for UCA, and junior infielder Cylla Hill, who was the only Bear to reach base twice and recorded one of the four singles and also drew a walk in the loss, put up a fight until the very end.

The Cardinals ended up coming out with a 1-0 victory, scoring 1 run in the fourth inning and stopping the Bears’ bats in their tracks to earn their eighth SLC victory of the season.

The Bears will be back scoping out a win during its midweek road trip with a matchup at Mississippi Valley State April 3.

Following this, the Bears will return home for a three-game series with Texas A&M — Corpus Christi, starting with a doubleheader April 4.

The final game of this series will also have a special touch as the team’s recognize Cancer Awareness Day.

E L E VAT E D C O M P E T I T I O N

UCA accepts challenge at annual Texas Relays

by Lauren McLemore

Assistant News Editor photo by Taylor Sone

Redshirt junior Christian Brasher swings at a pitch during the Bears 8-1 rout of the Pine Bluff Golden Lions March 26 at Bear Stadium. The Bears had a strong start with 6 runs in the first three innings, and finished the game with 10 total hits.

Bears dominate Golden Lions; drop three straight to Islanders

by Lisa Sullins Staff Writer

The UCA baseball team (12-16, 6-6 SLC) grabbed a 8-1 victory over the UAPB Golden Lions on March 26 at Bear Stadium before falling to Texas A&M — Corpus Christi on March 29 and 30.

The Bears scored 4 runs in the first inning, as the first three batters were all walked.

After the Golden Lions scored their only run in the top of the seventh inning, the Bears came back strong with two hits in the bottom of the same inning.

Junior UCA pitcher Mark Moyer (2-1) allowed just one hit in a combined four innings.

Senior pitcher Taylor Anders finished the last two innings, striking out the first four batters and added a fifth in the ninth.

Juniors Ty Callahan and

Zach Smith also pitched two innings and one inning respectively, helping hold the Golden Lions to only five hits and 11 strikeouts.

“Our defense was outstanding, as well as our offense,” head coach Allen Gum said. “We played well, and we really pitched well.

We played a complete game, having an overall good night.”

The Bears did not fare as well in their double header with the Texas A&M — Corpus Christi Islanders at Corpus Christi, losing both games of the doubleheader. “[It was] two very competitive games. We give credit to Corpus for executing late,” assistant head coach Nick Harlan said. “We had a few mistakes magnified that cost us. Outside of one or two innings, I liked our approach on the mound. Our pitchers

went right after them all weekend.”

The final score of the first game March 30 was 9-8.

However, senior infielder Tyler Smith collected his first home run of the season, having a great day with 6 RBIs. Still, the Islanders held onto a lead in the 10th inning.

The game ended with an RBI single from junior second baseman Itchy Burts, defeating the Bears.

Smith was three for five and finished with 6 RBIs and scored 2 runs, while freshman Kolby Johnson was two for five.

Junior infielder Beau Orlando walked two players but was also able to score twice himself.

In the final game of the double hitter, the Bears were holding a 6-5 lead in the ninth inning when Islander’s junior outfielder, Thomas Jeffries,

See Baseball- page 8

A small group from UCA women’s track and field team ran at the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays hosted by the University of Texas at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas from March 27-30.

Following the North Florida Spring Break Invitational, the women travelled to Austin where freshman Gracie Hyde placed 10th in the women’s 3,000-meter run steeplechase with a time of 10 minutes 51.76 seconds and Taylor Dunn placed 21st in the women’s 5,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 18:58.68.

“This meet is one of the most prestigious in the country and is a big deal to all of the competitors from around the state, country and world,” University of Texas head coach Edrick Floréal said, according to the host school’s website.

The Relays host over 7,000 athletes annually, making it a large source of national competition. “[The meet] is massive; tons of power 5 schools.

It’s really hard to even get in,” Hyde said. She said the difficulty of the meet is part

of the reason UCA took such a small group.

In the women’s 4x400, UCA’s relay team, which consisted of junior Ajah Criner, freshman Tyler Rose, senior Victoria Campfield and senior Aliyah Robinson, finished 31st.

Their finishing time was 3:53.23, just a few seconds slower than the team’s school record — 3:51.29 — which was set in the 4x400 relays at the SLC Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, at the end of February.

“We recently switched up our relay order and I had to run first, so I made sure I got out strong and kept us in the race, and I did just that,” Rose said. “It wasn’t our best time but there’s still time for improvement.”

Rose said it wasn’t one of the team’s best meets and it felt like the recent travelling back and forth from Florida had taken a toll on the women.

However, they did experience a few high points in Florida with junior Erin Woodward coming in second for the women’s 1,500-meter run at 4:49.98 and the relay group of Criner, Rose, Campfield and Robinson finishing fourth with a time of 3:52.62. The team will compete again at the Little Rock Open hosted by UALR from April 4-6.

Opinion

6

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

April 3, 2019

The Voice More state funding for college will help society

Safety regulation should be mandatory

The Echo Staff

After the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight the parts don’t even need to be sold in the first 302 on March 10, a slow but steady process place. As Bjorn Fehrm, an aviation analyst with began as the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane was the company Leeham, told the New York Times, pulled from service all over the world. This “Boeing charges for [the parts] because it can, was the second crash this type of plane was but they’re vital for safety.” involved in, after Lion Air Flight 610 crashed They don’t charge money for the safety parts into the Java Sea on October 29, 2018. because they need to make a profit, they charge Obviously, these are both tragic disasters, prices for the safety parts because Boeing knows but did you know something possibly they can make a few extra bucks from doing so. It’s practices like these that are absolutely could have prevented these disasters from horrible for any company to put into effect, happening? According to a CNBC especially one of the top airlines in the article from March 21, both planes world. that crashed weren’t equipped Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell if with an angle of attack indicator anything will change as a result. While or disagree light. Both parts would the investigation continues, Boeing at the have helped indicate if the planes very least will offer the disagree light were in trouble before they for free. It would be better if they crashed, as the indicator would show how tilted the could offer both parts for free, nose of the plane is while but that would mean they’d the disagree light lose more money. would be active if the This isn’t even the first sensors on the jets are time Boeing’s practices have

by Daniel Adams giving contradictory been called into question.

Assistant Sports Editor signals.

A lawsuit involving Brazil’s What I’d like to Gol Airlines and a previous know is at what point did corporations decide version of the 737 revealed that the airline had to that this was a good business practice in the pay for simple things like oxygen masks for the first place? The same question can apply to crew as well as proper weather radar technology. car sales, since there are features that are sold How long will this practice continue? Do for more money on new cars, but this is much other airline manufacturers do anything like more serious! this?

The exact cause of the Ethiopian The fact that companies must pay extra for Airline crash has yet to be determined as things like oxygen, safety tech or even simple investigators are looking over everything from things like fire extinguishers is terrifying. It’s one faulty software to erratic data. thing for a car to lack a better radio or improved Regardless of the cause itself, it’s terrifying seating due to budget costs, but to lack vital to picture a plane in the air that’s missing vital safety equipment on a plane? Airplanes are safety parts. I admit, I don’t fly around the machines that work best when every tiny piece world as much as other people, but I’d like of tech is attached, for better or worse. So I can to know that I can fly with the smallest risk only hope that everyone puts away the greedy possible. cravings of selling as much as possible and puts The worst part about this, though, is that human safety above everything else.

Marley Cash-Powell Editor

Emily Gist

Associate Editor

Lauren McCabe News Editor

Lauren McLemore Assistant News Editor

Aysha Dixon

Campus Life Editor

Christine Nichols

Assistant Campus Life Editor

Ryan Bradford Opinion Editor

Caela Fugate

Entertainment Editor

Marcus McClain Sports Editor

Daniel Adams

Assistant Sports Editor

Dy’Kajeon Brown

Online/ Social Media Editor

Taylor Sone

Commercialization takes away from nature

Photo Editor

Ricky Rivera Cartoonist

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Over spring break, three of my friends preserving nature’s beauty and allowing and I hopped in a car and drove out West. One accessibility. place I was excited to visit was the Garden of Even though I wasn’t impressed with the the Gods, which is registered as a National Garden of the Gods, I was blown away by Natural Landmark.

Rocky Mountain National Park, which was After seeing photos and hearing about it, another stop on my road trip. This park was less I had high expectations for my visit to commercialized. Its visitor center was the park. I thought the giant red rocks small and only had the bare necessities.

While at Rocky Mountain National would be majestic, and don’t get me wrong, they were gorgeous!

Park, I saw an elk. In contrast, the However, I was disappointed by only animals I saw at the Garden of how commercialized the park the Gods were dogs. was.

It snowed just a few days I was surprised when my before I arrived to Rocky friends and I reached Mountain National Park, so the park because the large evergreen trees it was right by a were powdered with white subdivision. I wish it snow. When I looked over was further away from the landscape, everything

by Rose McGarrity the city. was silent and peaceful. I Staff Writer The visitor center felt relaxed. It was one of featured a short those moments you never ticketed movie about want to end. the national landmark, a gift shop, a coffee In that moment, I realized the United States shop and a mini-museum about the park. It has so much to offer. I had been focused on seemed like the Garden of the Gods landmark trying to go visit other countries, but now I want cared more about making money than about to visit as many national parks as I can. the preservation of the national landmark There was never a point while at the Garden itself. of the Gods where I was completely away from My friends and I left the visitor center anything built by humans. It’s not just any and walked toward the red rocks on a paved kind of national park I want to visit; I want to walkway. I assumed once we reached the visit more parks like Rocky Mountain National rocks the sidewalk would end, but the Park — the kind of park where I can experience sidewalk never ended. nature without constantly seeing man-built I support the accessibility of the Garden creations, where there is no one else around and of the Gods park, so I’m glad it had the where I can truly feel at peace. paved pathway. That was the one bit of Arkansas has many great places in nature commercialization I thought was warranted. to visit, such as Petit Jean State Park, Buffalo We need to preserve our nation’s national National River and Mount Magazine State Park, parks and landmarks, but there should and there should be more national parks like be a middle ground somewhere between them.

Tuition is one of the biggest barriers when it comes to access to a higher education and one that could be lowered if states increased college funding. However, the funding trend is on a steady decline.

This problem affects UCA. President Houston Davis said at an SGA Presidential Town Hall meeting March 27 that UCA tuition will increase. He cited the lack of state funding as a contributing factor, saying that funding the decline over the past 30 years.

Davis is right, the funding has been down, and this affects tuition costs.

When a college isn’t fully funded by the government, then it must gather that money from somewhere else – mainly the students.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Overall state funding for public two- and four-year colleges in the school year ending in 2018 was more than $7 billion below its 2008 level, after adjusting for inflation.” That’s just over the past decade.

Tuition itself has been on the rise over the past 30 years, growing more than other consumer goods. College tuition had risen by 260 percent between 1980 to 2015, while consumer goods have only risen by 120 percent, according to Business Insider.

Only California, Hawaii, Wyoming and North Dakota’s funding rose during this time, while Illinois was excluded due to a lack of necessary data to make a valid comparison.

According to the Department of Education, the average cost of tuition, room and board, and fees at a four-year post-secondary institution was $9,438 in 1980. Business Insider reports that cost is now $23,872.

This coupled, with the rising cost of living and somewhat stagnant pay, is even more calamitous for students who support themselves.

This also disproportionately harms low-income and minority students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 60 percent of the wealthiest students complete their studies and graduate while only approximately 16 percent of low-income college students graduate.

Black and hispanic families are minorities that stand to suffer the most from this. According to USA Today via the Young Invincibles study, black and hispanic families spend less — $12,660 and $11,540 respectively — than white families — $13,588 — each year on college.

However, when factoring in “that minority families tend to have lower wages and household incomes, the relative cost for black and Hispanic students amounts to a larger chunk of their earnings.”

Not to mention people like the DACA recepients who are not eligible for federal financial aid and generally rely on private scholarships.

The solution should be more state funding for colleges. This would help lower the cost of college tuition across the board and make it easier for students to attend.

This will not only affect students but whole communities as well. According to “Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020,” a Georgetown University study by Anthony P. Carnevale, Nicole Smith and Jeff Strohl, about 65 percent of available jobs will require a college degree by 2020; therefore, people with degrees are necessary for a society to grow and thrive — and if students can’t afford to get a degree, then this can mean disaster for the public.

This can be avoided if the government funds colleges like they did in the past, perhaps even more. This would allow more people to enroll as students and get degrees. Funding colleges will only help society.

Is that not the government’s role: To assist society unto greatness and growth?

If so, then it is their duty to help today’s students for a better tomorrow, and they can start by funding our future through post-secondary education.

When a college isn’t fully funded by the government, then it must gather that money from somewhere else – mainly the students.

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

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Entertainment

7

April 3, 2019

New This Week Movies

April 5 — Shazam! (PG-13), directed by David F. Sandberg, starring Zachary Levi, Michelle Borth, Djimon Hounsou, Mark Strong April 5 — Pet Sematary (R), directed by Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer, starring Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence April 5 — The Best of Enemies (PG-13), directed by Robin Bissell, Alyssa Marie Stilwell, Sam Rockwell, Taraji P. Henson, Wes Bentley

Music April 5 — Incinerate — Bella Novela April 5 — El Chan — Bryce Dessner April 5— What’s It Like Over There? — Circa Waves April 5 — American Rock ‘n’ Roll — Don Felder April 5 — Interview Music — Idlewild April 5 — Free Spirit — Khalid

Jordan Peele’s horror film ‘Us’ soars, shocks audiences

by Macy Davis Staff Writer

The movie “Us,” directed

by Jordan Peele, will cause the bravest of viewers to let out a gasp or two in horror, while also containing a fair amount of humor.

The new horror film — which has a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes — was released March 22. The film unravels a terrifying tale of a normal family on vacation in Santa Cruz who discover they are hunted by a family who look identical to them.

This was Peele’s second horror movie to feature African-American leads.

His first horror movie direction was in “Get Out” (2017). Horror movies have been primarily made up of caucasian stars with African-American playing secondary roles. “Us” rejected this stereotype and starred an African-American family.

Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) is a seemingly ordinary American mother with a husband and two children. Nyong’o perfectly portrays both the real Adelaide and the other Adelaide in her gripping performance.

Adelaide, along with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), work to protect their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), from the

photo courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com

Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) fights for her life against the doppelganger version of her family in the horror flick “Us.” Released March 22, “Us” grossed over $128 million in the box office as of March 31.

identical but twisted versions of the family.

The movie is not for the faint-hearted. If gory deaths and graphic violence aren’t your thing, this may not be the movie for you.

While many horror movies are lacking in the jump scare department, “Us” did their audience proud by placing scary moments where the audience least expected it.

In one scene of the film, a character lays dying on the carpet — blood gurgling in her throat — she attempted to crawl across the floor gasping for breath, but to no avail. Her killer slit her throat before the woman was able to escape.

For a large chunk of the movie, I was hiding my face behind my fingertips with only the faintest sliver of space between them so that I could still see what was going on. The horror wasn’t scary in a traditional way. What truly made the film terrifying was

BREAKUP VIBES

its unpredictability.

The music director, Michael Abels, intensified horror scenes with his clever use of musical cues. The music director used sharp tones and building chords, which sped up the hearts of the audience members.

Even though this horror film was riveting, it left a lot of questions unanswered. The ending cleared up a lot of the immediate questions to the plot, but the audience was left with a strong sense of

uncertainty.

The Bible verse Jeremiah 11:11 was referenced repeatedly throughout the film. However, there isn’t an explanation of the true significance of the verse or how it relates to the overall plot. Maybe this symbol was meant for audience interpretation, but it still could have been addressed.

Some of the physical movements of the other family were somehow comical and terrifying at the same time. Duke’s character added most of the comedy to the movie. During the most intense scenes, he would say the funniest things.

While the imitation family holds the real family captive, Gabe tells the other family that he will give them whatever they want — even the boat that he’s so proud of.

Every member of his family looks at him like he’s crazy, because it’s obvious his boat is not something the other family is interested in.

The comic relief was embraced during the few seconds it lasted before the terror began again.

If you have the strength to make it through this intense movie filled with terror and gore, you’ll be met with the highest rated horror movie to hit theatres in months.

“Us” is currently playing in theaters everywhere and is rated R.

ANIME DEBUT

‘The Promised Neverland’ holds thrilling plot ‘A Place We Knew’ album provokes emotion, empathy by Emily Gist Associate Editor

April 5 — Periphery IV: Hail Stan — Periphery April 5 — The Seduction Of Kansas — Priests April 5 — Morbid Stuff — PUP April 5 — Stronger Than The Truth — Reba McEntire April 5 — Amidst The Chaos — Sara Bareilles April 5 — Brutalism —The Drums

Netflix April 5 — Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 2, created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, starring Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Lucy April 5 — Legacies: Season 1, created by Julie Plec, starring Danielle Rose Russell, Aria Shahghasemi, Kaylee Bryant April 5 — Our Planet, directed by Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey, Colin Butfield, starring Sir David Attenborough April 5 — Tijuana, created by Daniel Posada, Zayre Ferrer, starring Damián Alcázar, Tamara Vallarta, Rolf Petersen April 5 — Unicorn Store, directed

by Brie Larson, starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Bradley Whitford

Five guys who make you want to delete Tinder List compiled by Sarah Coleman Staff Writer

by Rose McGarrity Staff Writer

Australian singersongwriter Dean Lewis expressed heartbreak in his latest debut called “A Place We Knew” on March 22.

“A Place We Knew” is Lewis’ first album; however, this isn’t Lewis’ first time releasing music. Besides this release, Lewis also debuted an extended play record called “Same Kind of Different,” which he released in 2017.

The theme of this album seems to be lost love with an intense, melancholic sound, likely so it relates to the theme. Even though the songs on this album pertain to lost love, anyone can enjoy the songs within the work.

Each song within the album has a wonderful, steady beat. Lewis’ vocals and the instrumental backgrounds are relaxing and mellow.

The guitar is a prominent instrument used in each piece. The background music sounds like something you might hear in a coffee shop.

“A Place We Knew” is especially worth listening to if you’re going through a breakup. Through his lyrics, Lewis clearly describes what heartbreak feels like through his first hand experience. It’s apparent from the song lyrics that Lewis has been hurt by love before.

For instance, in the song “Waves,” Lewis sings “Moments of magic and wonder. Is it ever coming back again?”

It’s also clear from his lyrics that Lewis has previously moved past heartache. In the song “7 minutes,” Lewis said, “I can think a little deeper, think a 1. The mailman This is an extremely generous guy. He loves to deliver packages — in all shapes and sizes. You may receive these packages day or night — 6 a.m. or 2 p.m. In the middle of a class or even at church on Sunday morning.

In fact, you may be minding your own business when you get a message notification.

You open it, and there it is.

His package. Unwrapped.

Unsolicited. No one enjoys receiving unsolicited pictures, gentlemen. If she didn’t ask for it — which is probably the case 95 percent of the time — she didn’t want to see it. Men, please stop doing this.

little clearer, with these new found eyes.”

“A Place We Knew” is available for streaming and purchase through Spotify and Apple Music.

In the first episode of the new anime series “The Promised Neverland,” three 12 year olds — Emma, Ray and Norman — peer through a barred gate.

“What is this?” Emma asked.

“It’s a gate that connects the inside and the outside,” Norman said.

“Outside, huh? We’ve never been outside.”

“That’s because we’ve been here ever since we were born.”

“Mom always tells us, doesn’t she? ‘Don’t go near the gate or fence in the back of the forest because it’s dangerous.’”

“That’s obviously a lie,” Ray contributed.

This was the first mystery introduced in the series, and though this mystery was answered by the end of episode one, it was only the beginning of the group’s problems and laid the groundwork for an even greater puzzle.

At first glance, “The Promised Neverland” looks like a happy-go-lucky anime story. However, let’s not judge an anime by its artwork — “Madoka Magica” anyone?

This anime is especially difficult to review because even describing the basic plot is a major spoiler for the series as a whole. As such, I must risk being vague to avoid spoilers.

“The Promised Neverland” follows the three 12 year olds in what appears to be an orphanage. Their mom, the primary caretaker, raises the kids ranging from 3 to 12 years old until they’re supposedly adopted by a family and must leave the orphanage for good. One strange detail within the orphanage is that every child has a different number etched into his neck.

But the series takes a terrifying turn when Emma and Norman try to return

an adopted orphan’s plush bunny and discover just what lays beyond the mysterious barred gate. Their discovery prompts the rest of the series as they plot a death-defying escape.

A new episode airs every Thursday, the latest being episode 11 (one before the season finale). In episode 10, Norman performed some recon, but after making a shattering realization he returned to Mom and was sent off to his foster family.

Mom paid Emma a visit, who was in the infirmary after breaking her leg, and told her to “give up.” The episode ended with Ray and Emma in the dining area the night before Ray would be sent off.

Ray asked Emma, “Did you really give up?” and Emma smiled mischievously.

Episode 11 reveals just how complex the kids’ plan is. The series is like watching a chess match between the mom and the three 12 year olds, and the politics within the anime rival that of “Game of Thrones.”

Every interaction between each character is carefully thought-out and the kids must remain 10 steps ahead of Mom to outsmart her.

Plot-wise, the story reads like a Sherlock Holmes novel; every detail is important

and cannot be overlooked in relation to the kids’ plan.

The anime’s plot is by far the best element of the series, keeping viewers at the edge of their seats at every turn and, unfortunately, ending each episode on a cliffhanger.

Storyboard-wise, the series also excels. While the kids plot, the perspective often shifts into a far-off window or peering through the bushes as if someone is listening in and watching them. This adds to the suspense as the viewer is constantly fearful that someone will overhear the kids plotting.

The greatest drawback of the series is its animation. The animation isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but most scenes are stagnant as characters talk to one another. However, if that’s the biggest drawback of a series, then the anime is doing a fantastic job.

Because only one season has been released so far, and each episode is 20 minutes, one could easily catch up within a few days, if not one day.

The season finale airs April 4 and should finally set the kids’ plan into action. Be sure to go onto Crunchyroll for free and catch up quickly, because I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

2. The ‘that’s not my ___’ guy This is the guy who posts pictures to his profile with other girls but says “Don’t worry! She’s not my girlfriend.”

He may post pictures with her including her kids but says “Hold on! They don’t belong to me.” He may even stoop low enough to post pictures with cute puppies, but — much to your disappointment — he’ll clarify they don’t belong to him on the unfortunate occasion that you match. This guy is confusing, Why would you put yourself in a position to clarify things to a stranger? Avoid him — and his confusing traits — at all costs.

3. The catfish While it is sad, the majority of the time, if a guy seems too good to be true, he is. This is the guy with photoshopped abs who says he has a “great job” and probably only has one or two pictures of himself on his profile. If he makes plans, he’ll cancel them. If he’s bold enough to actually show up, you’ll probably cry when you realize he doesn’t actually look like… that. To quote Max Joseph from Catfish on MTV, “This is the kind of scum that gives the internet a bad name.” Ladies and gentlemen, be careful out there.

4. The insta-marrige guy This guy moves quick.

It’s honestly tragic if you think about it. This guy is desperate for a relationship.

You get a weird vibe from him — considering he probably compliments you way too much. He’s the type of guy who wants to meet the second you match. If you happen to meet this guy, the second you leave he’ll already be texting you. If you can put up with this weird level of commitment from a stranger, he’ll ask you to be his girlfriend the second time you’re alone with him. I can’t stress this enough people: RUN.

5. The dateline guy Let’s face the facts, meeting people on the internet is always risky. This guy will raise every red flag there is and if you see it, don’t ignore it. There are a lot of really scary and charismatic dudes out there — hello, Ted Bundy.

You’ll feel uncomfortable around this guy. No one wants to end up buried in a barrel in someone’s backyard or sold into human trafficking.

Share your location with your friends. Don’t go anywhere without telling someone. Stay in public places — don’t let a stranger know where you live.

Be smart, and happy swiping!

In my previous experiences, many albums only have one or two decent songs, but I enjoyed every song on this album; many of them are catchy. I don’t think every song on this album will be a radio hit, but many of them will likely be popular for a lengthy period.

One of the most heart-wrenching songs of the album is Lewis’ song “Be Alright.” This song also happens to be my favorite song on the album. It’s a fan favorite as well, and many radio stations have played it.

In “Be Alright,” Lewis sings about how his friends told him everything would be okay after a breakup. The song “Be Alright” teaches listeners that heartache will eventually pass.

Other songs on this album teach listeners valuable lessons as well. In his song “Half a Man,” Lewis said, “How am I supposed to love you when I don’t know who I am?” Through this song, he teaches his listeners that it’s vital to love yourself before entering a romantic relationship.

I think many audiences will enjoy this album because they will be able to connect with it. Almost everyone has experienced heartache. I think it was brave of Lewis to release this album because he displays deep, raw and personal truths within his songs.

If you have yet to listen to this album, or any of Lewis’ music, then I suggest you listen to some of his songs.

photo courtesy of threeifbyspace.netk

[Right to left] Ray, Emma and Norman abandon Grace Field House orphanage to seek a thrilling adventure. The most recent episode of “The Promised Neverland” released March 28.

ucanews.live

SPORTS

8/ April 3, 2019

Tennis:

Domination comes at critical point in season

4 Continued from page 5 player weakened by injuries during the competition. SELU freshman Vicky Scholz also suffered a back injury during doubles.

She managed to finish her doubles match but didn’t play in singles. SELU freshman Bernadette Dornieden was still recovering from knee injuries that she suffered over a month ago, but she still managed to complete her singles match.

“If we had the winning lottery ticket, we’d leave it in our jean pocket and wash it,” SELU head coach Jason Hayes said, making light of his team’s luck this season.

The Cowgirls (7-8, 2-4

Baseball:

SLC) came to town March 31, meeting nearly the same exact fate as the Lions had two days prior.

In doubles play, Van Heerdan kicked off another winning streak. The Bears went 6-0, 6-2, 4-3, unfinished, earning the first point for UCA. In singles play, Van Heerdan continued her dominance against McNeese sophomore Sofia San Jose Moreno, earning 6-0, 6-2, and bringing UCA to 2-0; however, Ishimura faced another upset, losing to McNeese junior Marija Mastilovic at 6-3, 6-3.

Ma finished next with a win against McNeese

freshman Dalia Ahmed at 6-1, 6-3, followed by Xin who won against McNeese senior Giovanna Fioretti at 7-5, 6-2.

Nonoyama entered into a tiebreaker with McNeese senior Charoline Erlandsson, which Nonoyama won at 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, before Vasupongchai rounded out play by defeating McNeese freshman Carlotta Romito at 7-5, 6-2, bringing UCA to 6-1 overall for a fourth straight win.

The Bears will head to Texas April 5-7 to face Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches and Sam Houston State in Huntsville for continued conference play.

Mistakes cost Bears in close games

4 Continued from page 5

photo by Taylor Sone

Senior pitcher Cody Davenport stands on the mound after practice April 1 in Bear Stadium. Cody pitched seven games this season and helped lead the Bears to a 6-6 Southland Conference record.

Senior leader maintains SLC title focus

by Rafael Soliz II Staff Writer

Cody Davenport, a senior pitcher at the University of Central Arkansas, has been on the mound since he was 9 years old.

Davenport was born and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he had a tight-knit family and a close group of friends.

“I have a very close and supportive family. They’re very into sports and very encouraging to me in whatever I want to pursue. I’m very thankful for that. I had a core group of friends that I wouldn’t trade for anything,” Davenport said.

Davenport played wiffle ball with his mom and dad in the yard when he was young and he loved the Houston Astros. He credits that as what sparked his interest in baseball at a young age. He started playing baseball when he was 7 years old.

He has pitched for his teams since kid-pitch started, but he occasionally misses playing the outfield and batting. Davenport spent a lot of his free time in high school hanging out with his friends, going fishing and playing

basketball — his second favorite sport. Even with all the fun, Davenport didn’t get distracted from his goal to play college baseball.

He was a two-time All-State selection as well as an All-Conference player in high school and won the class 7A state championship during his junior season. After his senior year in 2015, Davenport was named the Arkansas Democrat Gazette Player of the Year.

While looking for a college to call home for the next four years, Davenport weighed his options with a few topics that he wanted to be covered.

“I wanted to find a place that would let me be a two-way [hit and pitch] player.

Secondly, I was looking for the best — or at least a good scholarship,” Davenport said.

“I was looking for a place that I could make an immediate impact and I had always wanted to play Division I baseball.”

He received multiple offers to play baseball at the Division I level, as well as some other colleges, but in the end, he felt that UCA was the best fit for him.

“When I came here, I felt at home. The coaching staff is full of great men that care about you even outside

of your baseball career, and that means a lot,” Davenport said. “I saw how close all the guys were and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Davenport’s teammates think very highly of him as well. He is seen as a leader and an extremely hard worker.

“Cody is our leader; he shows up every day and goes to work. He sets a good example for a lot of the younger guys on how to go about your business.

He’s a great teammate,” junior outfielder Paul Rouse said.

As far as this season goes, Davenport thinks the team is beginning to click as one unit.

“I think we will be very successful and have a chance to play for a Southland Conference Championship,” Davenport said.

Davenport hopes to continue his baseball career beyond college, but he doesn’t let his future plans distract him from his current goal.

“Right now I’m focused on where I am at UCA and trying to win a championship with these guys here,” Davenport said. “You never know when your last time to play the game might be, and I’d hate to overlook the importance of each game I get to play right now.”

led off the inning, scoring the tying run.

Freshman pitcher Luke Marback drew a bases-loaded walk, bringing two out for the game winner. UCA freshman outfielder Bryce Dodd went three for four with 2 RBIs

for the Bears. Reagan and Orlando had two hits each for UCA. “It was a tough weekend.

We played really hard, just made too many mistakes,” Gum said. “This will be a big week on how we respond to

the disappointment of the weekend.”

The Bears face Oklahoma State next as they travel for the April 2 matchup.

They will then return to Bear Stadium to face off with McNeese State April 5-7.