The Echo | September 26, 2018

The Echo

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

WEDNESDAY

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 Volume 113 — Issue 5

ucaecho.net TODAY’S FORECAST

Campus Life:

CONWAY

Ebony Models: Meet the Models day-party lasts into the night

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Entertainment:

Sports:

Hilda & Twig: Pearson’s characters are animated, novel

Volleyball: Sugar Bears got Ladyjack-ed up at conference 4 page 7

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THE NEWSDESK FROM THE EDITOR

I N T E R N AT I O N A L High-speed rail station opens in Hong Kong A 15-track rail station opened Sept. 22 in Hong Kong. The investment cost $10.75 billion and now connects Hong Kong with over 44 mainland locations.

The rail link aids numerous travelers with its ability to cut traveling time to Beijing from 24 hours to nine. Though, a fear of border security has arisen with the new technological innovation.

According to CNN, the Hong Kong government believes the station to be a means of “cross-boundary transport” and more checkpoints between borders must be formed to increase security.

N AT I O N A L Bill Cosby sexual assault trial begins Renowned actor Bill Cosby, 81, begins sentencing Sept. 24 for his three counts of aggravated indecent assault against actress Andrea Constant. Constant claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at Cosby’s home in 2004.

However, because of Cosby’s age, his defense team plans to argue for home detention.

Each count of aggravated indecent assaults could hold 22 months to 10 years in prison. Cosby has yet to make any public apology regarding the case or show any considerable remorse.

Over 60 women have made allegations against Cosby, ranging from aggressive groping to drugged rape.

image courtesy of cunc.weebly.com

This image is posted on the homepage of the Collegiate Union of National Corporatist’s website. The superimposed neon colors and font style in the upper left represents a style called fashwave commonly used online by neo-fascist websites.

photo by Lauren Swaim

Blues musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Guy rocks the house during his sold-out performance Sept. 20 at Reynolds Performance Hall. He didn’t fail to entertain the audience, playing his guitar backwards, behind his back, with a drumstick and with a towel.

National Corporatists spark off controversy

Blues Hall-of-Famer visits campus

by Sophia Ordaz & Emily Gist

by Taylor Sone

Flyers advertising a jacket drive organized by the Collegiate Union of National Corporatists sparked controversy because of what some students and professors suspect to be connections to white supremacy arising from the group’s fascist political views.

The flyers were found the week of Sept. 12 at billboards in Irby Hall and public kiosks around campus, including kiosks in front of Old Main, the Student Center Amphitheater and Torreyson Library. Senior lecturer in the philosophy and religion department Phillip Spivey was one of the first faculty members to be made aware of the flyers.

In an email to CUNC, Spivey called the jacket drive a “not-so-clever recruitment tool,” and said that faculty would actively be removing the flyers and dissuading students from participating in the drive.

He concluded the email by telling CUNC to “take your white ethnostate and stick it up your ass.”

A representative of CUNC who declined to identify himself

Campus Life Editor

Buddy Guy, blues legend and seminal figure in the history of guitar, brought down the house at a sold-out show Sept.

20 at Reynolds Performance Hall, featuring some of the award-winning artist’s best work.

Guy and his band opened with a spirited rendition of “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues,” immediately rousing the crowd.

He smiled at the conclusion of his opening song, and said, “Excuse my language, but shit, y’all could make me play all night.”

Before launching into his next song, Guy said, “I’m about to play something so funky y’all can smell it,” then launched into a cover of Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man.” Guy involved audience members throughout the night by encouraging the audience to sing along and talking to them about himself and his music. Near the end of the show, Guy even walked offstage and into the crowd while playing a

blistering solo.

His talent was on full display, but he didn’t hesitate to let the other members of his band take the spotlight and demonstrate their mastery of the blues. Marty Sammon, Guy’s keyboardist, layed down several soaring solos. Ric Jaz, Guy’s rhythm guitarist, played a scorching solo during the band’s rendition of “(You Give Me) Fever.”

Guy also brought Quinn Sullivan onstage during his show. Sullivan, Guy’s opening act, quickly demonstrated why Guy chose to tour with the 18-year-old prodigy. Sullivan proved himself as an extremely skilled musician, playing original songs like “Cyclone” and “Midnight Highway” before the main show.

A wide variety of people were in attendance at the show, from students to members of the community, as well as UCA faculty members, including UCA President Houston Davis.

“I was absolutely blown away,” Davis said. “I knew that he is a world-renowned talent, but getting to see him in person was incredible. He’s just an artist, someone who was

blessed with talent from the get-go. For him to still be able to do that at 82, that’s pretty special.”

Freshman Brayden Discenza said, “I was raised on blues. It’s really cool to hear somebody you listen to and you’re raised on live. It’s one of the best feelings to just watch people jam.”

Like good cognac, Guy has aged to perfection. The seven-time Grammy winner’s guitar playing is as startling and electrifying as it ever was, proving him a master of his instrument.

Rolling Stone Magazine ranks Guy No. 23 on its “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” list.

Near the end of the show, Guy paid tribute to several of his favorite blues artists, all friends of his, with covers of the late B.B. King’s “Sweet 16,” John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” and Eric Clapton’s “Strange Brew.”

“It was awesome. I’m so glad we came. Even at 82 he can still tear it up,” freshman Brandon Yant said. “You can tell he’s having fun up there.”

Editor & Opinion Editor

‘The Makings of a Teacher’: exhibit, reunion honors Kuster Campus Life Editor

Five -year-old boy shoots, accidentally kills himself Five-year old Brennen Esau killed himself with a parent’s gun by accident in Southwest Little Rock. No adults were home when the accident occurred, but the boy was with three siblings ages 14, 10 and 6. Officers arrived at the scene around 9 p.m. Sept. 22 to find Esau’s mother hugging her other crying children outside of the home. It was around 8 p.m. when the mother found her son dead from the gunshot wound. No charges have been issued at this time.

WHAT’S AHEAD

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE Banned Books Week: Public readings and book giveaway

Art Professor Deborah Kuster has taught art education at UCA for 16 years, but after the spring 2019 semester, she is retiring.

Kuster has been involved in art education for more than 40 years, and has taught all ages in schools, museums and community centers. She has been teaching at UCA since 2003.

There was a reception at UCA Downtown Sept.

21 where Kuster’s current exhibit, “The Makings of a Teacher: Textile Art by Deborah Kuster” is on display until Oct. 1.

The exhibit showcases many of Kuster’s quilted artworks, as well as publications in which her work has been featured. Attendees munched on hors d’oeuvres while viewing the pieces and talked to Kuster about them as jazz played softly in the background.

Many attendees were Kuster’s former students, themselves now teachers.

photo by Taylor Sone

Conway residents Renée James (left) and Ferrel James (right) view Art Professor Deborah Kuster’s piece “Where Are the Feathers?” during a reception for Kuster’s exhibition “The Makings of a Teacher: Textile Art by Deborah Kuster,” Sept. 21 at UCA Downtown. Kuster, who has been teaching art education at UCA for 16 years, will be retiring in the spring.

UCA alumna Brianna Peterson said Kuster’s retirement is a loss for students in the art education program.

“I feel sadness that students won’t get to experience her [anymore],” Peterson said. “But there’s no way she will stop teaching or being an artist.”

UCA alumna Marianne Nolley said Kuster had a “huge impact on her life.”

She described Kuster as effervescent and enthusiastic,

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See CUNC- page 2

TEXTILE ART

by Taylor Sone

S TAT E

rejected claims that the group holds white supremacist beliefs and said CUNC were “victims of defamation by the collegiate institution.”

The representative cited a blog post titled “CUNC and Race” on the organization’s website, which states that “Prejudice solely on the basis of racial difference is disingenuous and destructive as an idea.”

“Our platform has never made mention of white supremacy, an ethnostate or anything of the sort as being an ideal we have as a political organization,” the representative said in an email to The Echo. “These claims were fabrications, constructed by ‘academics’ who claim to hold the knowledge of exceptional perception.”

The representative said CUNC chooses not to label its political philosophy as its members hold a variety of beliefs. However, the stances CUNC does hold collectively include advocating for traditionalism and opposing materialism, classical liberalism and pure capitalism and socialism, the representative said.

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and said Kuster cares a lot about her students.

“I would not be where I am without professor Kuster,” Nolley said. “I’m sad a little [at her retirement]. But I want her to do whatever brings her joy.”

“The Makings of a Teacher” features a variety of Kuster’s artwork. Those in attendance viewed hanging art like “Deal With It,” a piece inspired by Kuster’s grandson, as well as works of sculpture like “Vulnerable” and “Broken,”

both made while she was reflecting on the loss of her father. All Kuster’s works employ fabrics that are hand-loomed by the artist on her 40-inch Gillmore loom, which she then pieces together in a patchwork style.

Kuster said that retirement is a “new season,” for her.

“We’ll see what carries over, what takes a new look,” Kuster said.

The latest piece at the reception was made earlier

Social:

that morning by Kuster and a group of teachers who attended a professional development workshop that Kuster hosted. The workshop ,titled “Reflecting Together on Curriculum, Student Engagement and Resiliency,” was held at UCA Downtown.

The piece was untitled.

The piece is a collage that exhibits some of the patchwork features found in Kuster’s art by weaving together pieces of paper with ideas written by the teachers in attendance at the workshop. The aim of the workshop was to give teachers new ideas for lessons in their own classrooms and to let them share what inspires them about teaching with other educators.

Kuster also hosted a student reunion at the McAlister Hall Mirror Room from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 22. Kuster’s current and former students mingled and reconnected during the party. Kuster provided name tags with pieces of fabric she made on her loom. Students arrived with their families, suggesting just how much had changed since their time at UCA. Despite this, when they talked to Kuster, it seemed as though they had never left.

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NEWS

Shelle Stormoe educates writers in new Writers@Work series

by Alexis Leyva Staff Writer

The College of Fine Arts and Communication kicked off its Writers@Work speaker series with a lecture from former UCA faculty member Shelle Stormoe Sept. 20 in Thompson Hall.

The Writers@Work series aims to teach new writers about the ways different types of writing and media can be incorporated into various career fields. Stormoe is the first of a lineup of speakers to be part of the Writers@Work series.

Stormoe currently serves as the membership and activities coordinator for the Quapaw Quarter Association in Little Rock. She has served many roles as a writer, editor, public relations specialist and educator with over 15 years experience.

Her presentation was centered primarily around tips to help writers develop a sustainable career.

“The secret is there is no secret as to how to develop a writing career,” Stormoe said. Many of her points encompassed skills other than what is typically taught in writing workshops.“ Research skills, technology skills, public speaking, editing, subject matter knowledge, video editing, audio editing, project management and passion are all skills that have helped me get jobs writing,” Stormoe said.

She also emphasized the power of networking for attaining jobs in creative careers.

“Meeting people leads to things you would never

expect.

Relationships lead to more relationships, and those relationships lead to opportunities,” Stormoe said.

Stormoe recently published a children’s coloring book, “Saving Arkansas’s Treasures,” which highlight important historical sites across the state, and has been distributed to over 40,000 children in Arkansas.

“I started this coloring book program because I already knew how to reach middle school kids and high school kids, but I really wanted to do something that included all the kids in Arkansas,” Stormoe said. “I never in a million years thought I would end up writing a really popular coloring book.”

After her presentation, Stormoe opened the floor for questions from the audience.

She addressed the topic of

writing for social media.

“The key thing about writing for social media is that you have to keep flexibility in your life,” Stormoe said. “I don’t think anybody has figured out the ‘correct’ way to write a social media post.”

The majority of those in attendance at the Writers@Work speaker series were UCA faculty members who knew Shelle Stormoe as a former colleague.

“I taught with Shelle in the past, so I knew she would have some good ideas on how to market your writing skills,” Ellen Stengel, senior lecturer in writing, said.

Although not many students attended, many of the faculty members that came planned to use some of Stormoe’s tips within their classrooms.

MOVEMENT

SGA promotes sexual assault awareness with poster campaign

by Ryan Bradford Staff Writer

Last year, the #MeToo movement took the nation by storm, exposing how widespread sexual violence is. Here at UCA, the Student Government Association is putting forward a poster campaign to help combat and raise awareness of sexual assault on campus.

Junior SGA Vice President of Finance Spencer Burton said that he put forth the idea after he learned someone he knew was a victim of sexual violence.

There are currently posters from Only With Consent, an organization dedicated to teaching consent, in the Student Center.

Some read “Sex without consent is rape” and “The way I dress does not mean yes.”

Other posters explaining what affirmative consent is

CUNC:

and providing resources on sexual misconduct reporting and support services at UCA are in residence halls and sorority houses. SGA plans to expand the poster coverage to fraternity houses.

“I pushed to get these up before Welcome Week because students that walk on this campus need to hear this immediately,” Burton said.

Burton also worked with the unofficial University Sexual Misconduct Awareness and Prevention Committee, which is currently working on becoming recognized as an official committee.

He also pitched the idea to participate in the Red Flag Campaign, which uses a bystander prevention strategy to address and prevent.

“It is in the early stages … [the committee] only meets once a month so it’s hard to sustain a campaign like this,” Burton said. Instead, he went

through SGA to get the posters up.

Burton wants to host a Red Flag Campaign on the Student Center lawn. The goal of the campaign is to use bystander intervention to prevent sexual assault, dating violence and stalking on campus by highlighting things to watch out for.

Burton wants the fall semester program to focus on unhealthy relationships and dating violence, specifically aimed toward young people. He hopes to work with SGA to bring guest speakers on campus to talk about these topics.

The focus in the spring will be on sexual misconduct.

Last year, Burton wrote a resolution in the SGA senate in support of mandatory sexual misconduct training for first-year students, a dedicated victim’s advocate and a general sentiment toward supporting survivors.

The sexual misconduct training is now mandatory for first-year students. If they don’t complete it, a hold is placed on their account.

The dedicated victim’s advocate would offer more specialized counseling for victims of sexual assault.

Burton is still in the process of developing funding and logistics for the advocate.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 20-25 percent of college women and 15 percent of college men are victims of forced sex during their college experience. NSVRC also reports that more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims do not report the incident.

If you are a victim of sexual assault on campus, you can report it through the UCA Police Department at 501-450-3111 or the Title IX Office at 501-450-3247.

ucaecho.net

Police Beat The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Caela Rist

UCAPD finds marijuana while aiding student Officer Zachary Sanders was dispatched Sept. 16 to help jump start student Mekenna Taylor’s vehicle when he smelled burning marijuana coming from inside her vehicle. Taylor was parked in the west parking lot outside the College of Business when Sanders arrived. Taylor asked the officer where to obtain a new battery after her car was successfully jumped. Before Taylor and her friend, fellow student Katherine Stewart, left the scene, Sanders came back to the vehicle to investigate the smell. After Sanders searched the car he located 12.7 grams of marijuana, a metal grinder with a Bob Marley emblem and a black scale. Taylor was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Schedule VI less than 4 oz and Possession of Instruments of a Crime.

Student has asthma attack outside Carmichael Hall Officer Phillip Boyd was dispatched Sept. 19 to investigate a medical incident involving a student in respiratory distress. Upon arriving he found student Shakayla Foster sitting on the sidewalk outside of Carmichael Hall where unnamed bystanders reported she was having a severe asthma attack. Foster collapsed shortly after the attack began and one of her friends retrieved

her inhaler from her dorm room. After the inhaler failed to stop the attack, the Fire Department and Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services arrived to administer care to Foster. She was transported to Regional Medical Center for further treatment.

Woman arrested for driving while under influence, BAC 0.17 At around 1:50 a.m.

Sept. 15 officer Zachary Sanders witnessed a yellow 2007 Ford Focus turn off of Bruce Street the wrong way into an oncoming traffic lane of a parking lot west of Estes Stadium. After being signaled to pull over, the car eventually parked. Sanders approached the vehicle to identify himself and the reason for the traffic stop. Sanders immediately noticed that the driver of the vehicle, Kyra Twiggs, was intoxicated. After failing to locate her insurance card four times, Sanders asked Twiggs to step out of the vehicle. He asked her several questions including if she had taken any substances. She said no to each question. Sanders performed the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, the Walk and Turn test, the One Leg Stand test and a Preliminary Breath Test. Twiggs displayed close to 100 percent of all cues of impairment for each test. After failing to provide sufficient breath samples on three attempts, Twiggs’ final BAC was registered at 0.17. Twiggs was charged with Driving Wrong Way in a One Way and Driving While Intoxicated.

ARCHIVES

Removing CUNC flyers is interfering with the group’s free speech.

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“Our members have a wide array of beliefs, reaching from one extreme of mutualist anarchism to that of Stalinism and even fascism, plus everything in between.

Some students have called the CUNC Third Positionist.

However, radicalization is not a requirement nor is it fully representative of our members,” the CUNC representative said.

The CUNC site contains a multitude of references to fascists and fascism. The group cites Giovanni Gentile, who is popularly considered the philosopher of fascism, and Oswald Mosley, who formed the British Union of Fascists in 1932.

In its blog, the group advocates for a dominant monolithic American culture.

Jared Holt, a research associate at Right Wing Watch and a UCA alumnus, said the site is reminiscent of “fashwave,” an online trend popular among young alt-right sympathizers, neo-Nazis and neo-fascists.

Fashwave appropriates vaporwave, a niche internet genre of ‘80s retro-futurism characterized by neon colors, Greco-Roman symbolism and pixel painting. In fact, the image on CUNC’s landing page depicting a solitary figure superimposed on a futuristic cityscape was designated as a popular fashwave image by a 2018 Mic article.

“Fashwave is primarily an online thing,” Holt said. “It was leveraged … to try to make the alt-right edgy or cool in some way.”

Although CUNC seems to align itself with fascism, Holt said the group does not reveal any apparent white nationalist ideology.

“There is one element missing from the equation at the moment: racial identitarianism,” Holt said.

“There are many red flags surrounding this group’s professed ideology and the pattern it follows with the historical formation of fascist and white nationalist groups, but there’s not yet a professed idealization that explicitly states a white nationalist mission.”

Despite the lack of definitive messaging connecting the group to white supremacy, students have voiced their concerns. Senior Keely Smith said the presence of the group at UCA makes her uncomfortable.

“I love UCA, and I don’t want to see something so hateful and

photo by Lauren Swaim

This flyer advertises a jacket drive organized by the Collegiate Union of National Corporatists. The symbol on the flyer was an adaptation of the flag of the Brazilian Integralists, a fascist group in Brazil, but, according to CUNC, the symbol was only used for its aesthetic qualities and the Sigma’s common use in the collegiate setting.

vile taking place on a campus I care so much about,” Smith said.

Junior Juan Melendez said he originally thought the jacket drive flyer was posted by a misguided conservative organization, but that when he witnessed the language on the CUNC website, his suspicion of the group turned to fear.

“I do not know whether CUNC is a fascist organization, but I do know that it presents itself as a conservative nationalist organization being run out of my city. That was a scary thought,” Melendez said.

The CUNC representative said that since the controversy surrounding the group, they have received hate mail and threats and that they prefer to keep the names of group members and the group numbers confidential.

“We believe the academic institution is hostile to us at this time because of the poor actions by Phillip Spivey, so confidentiality is just a precautionary measure at this time,” the representative said in an email.

Because CUNC did not actively condone violence or present any signs of hate speech, its flyers fall under the right to free speech. Director of Media Relations Amanda

Hoelzeman said only UCA building administrators and the Department of Student Life are allowed to remove materials that do not comply with campus policy. If people outside of those groups were to tear down the flyers, they would violate the group’s free speech protections.

According to the 20182019 student handbook, only UCA students and RSOs may post flyers on the UCA campus. CUNC is made up of all UCA students, according to their emails to The Echo, but Hoelzeman said, “Groups are not allowed to distribute literature on campus until they follow the process and are confirmed as a “Recognized Student Organizations.”

Despite this policy, buildings like Irby Hall have a loose implementation of those rules.

Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Peter Mehl said the billboards in the halls of Irby have plaques stating that if anyone wants to post on them, he has to get permission from the dean of that floor.

Even so, these plaques are often covered by other flyers.

Mehl said any boards without this plaque are supposed to abide by general school guidelines, but are not

closely regulated.

“We don’t have anything other than a general university policy, which nobody really enforces too well,” Mehl said.

“So we really don’t have a real definite policy, and maybe we need one.”

CUNC emails stated that the group was formed in January 2018 and is headquartered at UCA. The group added that they have plans for future fundraisers for Renewal Ranch, Habitat for Humanity and Big Brother Big Sister, and to further its political engagement.

“Political engagement is mostly within the walls of the group, with reading sessions, debates and even panels being on the horizon soon. Our external purpose is to serve the people of Faulkner County, not politicize or divide it,” the representative said.

Holt said that in his research, fringe groups often use fundraisers to make themselves more approachable to those with moderate beliefs.

He cited Identity Evropa, a white supremacist organization geared toward college students that also uses fashwave symbology and conducts community outreach programs like jacket drives and park cleanups.

“Especially because it’s volunteer-based, people get the idea that groups like this are doing good work in the community and they want to get involved,” Holt said.

“Behind closed doors in private, these conversations could often switch to something much more sinister, I’ve seen in my work.

Which is a bit troubling, but the whole sort of recruitment process to get more moderate people involved involves reaching a sense of shared agreement on a broader issue and then slowly introducing more radical aspects to it.”

CUNC’s more radical leanings align the group with Third Position ideology, a political philosophy that opposes both capitalism and communism, and has popularly been championed by neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups.

“This group is entering territory that a run-of-themill right-wing group would be strained to entertain. This is a fringe political movement and many signs indicate that if it is to advance forward, it could head toward the extreme fringe,” Holt said.

photo by Lauren Swaim

Students can use listening devices, such as a record player, to listen to music collected in the UCA Music Lab on the second floor of the Torreyson Library. The lab has over 9,000 music media and 10,000 music reference books and score sets.

Music lab renovates new space

by Lauren Swaim Photo Editor

On the second floor of Torreyson Library, the UCA Music Lab offers a large selection of music materials for students, faculty and staff.

Last spring, the music lab got much-needed renovations.

Before moving to its current space, the lab was moved around the library several times.

LeBeau-Ford said that in the 11 years she has worked at the library, the music lab has moved three times.

Music technician Elizabeth Gayfield said the renovations were made because Library Instructional Services needed more room. Both benefited after Instructional Services and the music lab switched rooms.

Instructional Services didn’t have enough computers to fully function, LeBeau-Ford said, so now they have a technologically up-to-date teaching lab.

“The move wasn’t to give [the music lab] a better space, it was to give Instructional Services a better space,” LeBeau-Ford said, “but we also got a better space here.”

Gayfield said besides getting a larger space, the music lab also received computers, more tables and new furniture. Now it’s a more enjoyable space for students to relax and study.

“Even if you’re not a music student, you are welcome to come in, stretch out and relax,” Gayfield said. “Check out some music and relax. It’s just a pleasant place to be.”

Besides its collection of music and its peaceful atmosphere, the music lab

offers students, faculty and staff free access to an online music-streaming service, LeBeau-Ford said. Torreyson Library has an annual subscription to Naxos, which streams mostly classical and jazz albums. Students logged into their UCA accounts can go to the Torreyson Library website and click on a link that will take them to the Naxos streaming website.

Collection development librarian Renee LeBeau-Ford said the lab has over 6,000 CDs and vinyl albums; 300 DVDs; over 11,000 music literature books, reference books and score sets; and miscellaneous cassette, VHS and digital audio tapes. The lab also has 1,800 UCA music recital CDs and copies of recital programs. A large portion of the music in the lab was donated by professors and other music enthusiasts.

Senior student worker Alexis Shaw said the music lab offers listening stations for students who want to check out and listen to any of the music in the lab.

Students can check anything in the lab out of the library, except the music recital CDs; those can be checked out but must stay in the library. Music students can ask for a copy of their own music recitals if they ask for one.

While the lab doesn’t have many contemporary titles, it does have a wide collection of classical and jazz music, since that is what is taught at UCA. Sifting through the filing cabinets of CDs, one can find albums by Bob Marley or Led Zeppelin and The Beatles Anthology DVDs. There are also CDs, DVDs and scores from musicals and operas.

Campus Life

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September 26, 2018

Around Campus: Banned Books Week The UCA English department and the Alpha Zeta Chi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta celebrate national Banned Books Week with public readings from banned books on the Torreyson Library steps, book giveaways and literary events throughout the week.

For more information, visit the Banned Books page on the English Department’s Facebook page.

photo by Aysha Dixon

Ebony Models members encourage the crowd to dance at the Meet the Models party Sept. 20 at the Short/Denney Hall courtyard. The event kicked off Ebony Models’ fall 2018 season and promoted their upcoming fall fashion show.

Ebony Models party and pose during meet the models

by Aysha Dixon

Young Democrat Meeting The Young Democrats will have a general meeting from 1:40 to 2:30 p.m. Sept.

27 in Student Center 213.

During the meeting members will discuss future events, volunteer activities and the upcoming midterm elections.

For more information, contact the Young Democrats’ UCA chapter at uca_youngdemocrats@yahoo. com.

Social Media Editor

The sounds of music, laughter and a good time filled the Short/Denney courtyard the evening of Sept. 20 as Ebony Models kicked off the fall semester with their Meet the Models party.

Students in the Short/Denney dorm could not help but to join in the party by either singing tunes from their dorm room windows or joining the crowd below as they line-danced and sang nostalgic tunes.

As Ebony Models’ first event, members had no idea

how great of a turnout the event would have, junior Ebony Models secretary Dalonia Jenkins said.

News of the event spread by word of mouth and with a vibrantly colored Instagram flyer that matched the organization’s royal purple and black colors.

The Ebony Models’ executive board and senior Ashtone Dixon, lead choreographer and emcee for the night, were the brains behind the operation.

Dixon hopes to not only make Ebony Models a more well-known organization around campus, but also to give the freshman models a

taste of the type of events the organization plans on putting on in the future.

The Short/Denney courtyard was decorated to resemble a backyard get-together, complete with a DJ and wooden stage for the models to strut down.

The event began promptly at 7 p.m. as 40 models of all classifications, genders and backgrounds mixed and mingled with the crowd. The high energy level kept everyone on their feet and in good spirits.

Once it was time for the models to present individually, each model had a chance to work the catwalk as the emcee announced each one’s name,

classification, major and philosophy on life.

Most freshman models, like Montanna Jackson, were recruited by Ebony Models during Conway Daze.

“Growing up, I always had dreams of being a contestant on ‘America’s Next Top Model.’

Once I saw the opportunity to enhance my modeling skills on campus and make friends, I jumped at the chance to be involved,” Jackson said.

Within a week of being a part of the organization, Jackson said she began to consider other models as part of her UCA family.

Parties are not the only events Ebony Models plan to

have on campus. An upcoming fall fashion show, a spring show and other events are on their agenda.

Jenkins said the organization plans to encourage its members to volunteer, become more confident, gain modeling experience and enhance their overall experience at UCA. Although tryouts for Ebony Models have already passed, students hoping to become involved in the organization can support events for their fall 2018 and spring 2019 season. Stay updated on all things Ebony Models by following their Instagram page @ucaebonymodels.

O R G A N I Z AT I O N S

Science Wednesday The second Science Wednesday of the semester will discuss the science of identity from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 27 at Kings Live Music in downtown Conway. Students can join three expert panelists, all UCA professors, to explore this fascinating topic. For more information, contact Physics Professor Ashley Hicks at ahicks@uca.edu.

Intramural Canoe Battle There will be an intramural contest pitching three-person canoe teams in a nautical contest to sink opposing team’s vessels Sept. 27 at the HPER Aquatics Center.

Fraternities, sororities, students who live in residence halls and independent students can sign up for the event at uca.edu/campusrecreation/ or contact Logan Wile at lwile@uca.edu with questions.

Moon Festival UCA’s Confucius Institute and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association will celebrate the Moon Festival at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 28 in McCastlain Hall. All students are welcome to join in a night of fun, food and moon magic.

For more information, contact Guo-Ou Zhuang, Confucius Institute director, at gzhuang@ uca.edu.

photo by Marley Cash-Powell

UCA hosts its annual RSO Fair Sept. 20 on the Student Center lawn. RSO representatives spoke with students about becoming involved with their organizations and handed out organization swag and treats.

RSO fair demonstrates diversity of available student pursuits and activities

by Marley Cash-Powell News Editor

The Division of Student Services and the Office of Student Life hosted its annual RSO Fair Sept. 20 on the lawn in front of the Student Center.

RSO stands for recognized student organization. UCA currently has 183 RSOs. This year’s fair hosted organizations such as Food Recovery Network, Bass Fishing Club, Pulse Campus Ministry, Rotaract Rotary Club Partners, True Holiness Saints Center, Alpha Sigma Tau, Students of Pre-occupational Therapy, Counter Culture and the Student Activities Board.

This year, the Film Club debuted at the fair. Senior Film Club President Nathaly Moreno said this is the first year the Film

Club has officially been an RSO. Last year, Moreno was secretary of the Film Club, but over the summer she and other officers submitted the paperwork to register the organization officially in her first term as president.

Moreno said the club wanted to participate in the fair this year because they want to recruit people interested in filmmaking, screenwriting or acting.

Senior Film Club social media officer Zack Stone said, “Our goal is to let [students] know that there is a Film Club that exists here, and that we don’t just do film screenings.

We’re also learning what it is actually like being in the filmmaking world.”

Film Club members can learn what it’s like to be in screenwriting or production

by learning what type of duties are entailed in these positions.

The club screens student-made films, attends film festivals as a group, hosts workshops and has guest speakers like directors or producers.

Dancers United is a returning RSO. Senior Dancers United parliamentarian Tamera Grady said this is the organizations 10-year anniversary at the RSO Fair.

Grady has been a member for four years. She learned about Dancers United before she was a student at UCA. “I learned about [Dancers United] when I was in high school because I saw some videos of them dancing on YouTube and I was like, ‘I think I want to do that.’”

She said she hopes everyone will check out Dancers United’s upcoming performance at the

Homecoming pep rally.

Another new RSO was the Wellness Ambassadors.

“We’ve had a lot of people [today] who didn’t know about the services available at the Student Health Clinic. When I first found out about [them], I was like, ‘I’m already paying for all this.’ So, it’s fantastic to get to utilize [the services],” junior Wellness Ambassador Ashley Haney said.

This semester, the Wellness Ambassadors plan to host events for sexual education, nutrition, covering eating disorders and meal prepping ideas, and health screenings.

Haney said the ambassadors are trying to get students more involved with their own health.

Junior Wellness Ambassador Landon Bruich said, “Instead of having to go elsewhere to get x-rays, blood

work, immunizations, flu shots — flu season is coming up — they can just get it done at the Student Health Clinic, and most people don’t know that it’s free since they are paying that annual fee.”

African/African-American Studies Society debuted at the fair in 2016.

“We are really just trying to do small programs here and there to bring [AFAM] up,” AFAM President Shayla Harrell said. “Next week, we have a [Zumba/Hip-Hop] dance class in the HPER and we’re going to try to get everyone to come out and stay fit.”

AFAM plans to host speakers talking about mental health Oct. 9 and domestic violence Oct. 15.

Both events will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in room 213 of the Student Center.

OUTDOOR PURSUITS

COPA session provides students with hands-on paddlesports experience at HPER

by Taylor Sone

Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser The Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute will host a pancake fundraiser 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 30 at Stoby’s Restaurant. The proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to support the group’s philanthropic and service efforts throughout the community. Tickets cost $5.

To buy tickets in advance or for more information, contact Tracie Spivey at

Campus Life Editor

Campus Outdoor Pursuits and Activities didn’t let the rain get the best of them and, with a timely venue change to the HPER Aquatics Center, still managed to deliver a free beginner class on canoeing and kayaking, covering many aspects of paddlesports.

COPA director Anthony Fillippino delivered the class Sept. 22 with the help of sophomore COPA worker Nick Davanzo. Fillippino lectured while Davanzo demonstrated techniques in the pool.

The session started out with the basics on how to get the canoe or kayak onto a vehicle so it can be driven to the “floating” destination.

Fillippino demonstrated how to use the foam blocks and load straps that are provided whenever a student rents one of COPA’s free canoes or kayaks.

He said COPA workers will help attach the canoe or kayak to a vehicle to demonstrate proper technique to the those without prior experience.

Next, Davanzo entered one of COPA’s kayaks and demonstrated paddling techniques while Fillippino

described in detail how to execute them. For good paddling, Fillippino said good posture must be observed, as well as properly holding the paddle.

For the kayak or double-sided paddle, this means when the paddle is held above the head, one’s arms should be at 45 degree angles.

For canoe paddles, this means keeping the top hand on the grip and using deep strokes.

Fillippino went on to discuss safety on the river.

When discussing life vests, he said it is important not only to observe safety, but to also

observe the law. Arkansas law requires anyone under the age of 12 to wear a life vest while in a boat, and for anyone older to have easy access to a life vest.

Fillippino then demonstrated what is meant by easy access. Keeping the life vest loosely on constitutes easy availability, as does keeping the vest at arm’s length and unzipped.

After the informational portion of the session, Fillippino invited attendees to test out COPA’s Old Town canoes and Ocean Kayaks in the pool.

Freshman Nicole Hartsel

was the first to get into the water and test out the techniques she had just learned.

“It’s different than a paddleboard, but a lot of fun,” Hartsel said. She said she loves the outdoors, and looks forward to taking advantage of everything COPA has to offers.

Near the end of the session, Fillippino said there will be more sessions in the following semesters, covering a variety of outdoor recreational pursuits.

“You can show up and get some information that will make you more comfortable with our [COPA] products,” Fillippino said.

ucaecho.net

CAMPUS LIFE

September 26, 2018 /4

STUDENTS SAY

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What do you like or dislike about the fall season?

story by Jessica Huffmaster photos by Lauren Swaim

photo by Rose McGarrity

Associate Professor of Music and orchestra director Israel Getzov conducts the Conway Symphony Orchestra as they play at their annual Concert in the Park Sept. 21 at the Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall. The concert was moved indoors due to weather.

CSO defies rain, plays indoors from wide selection

by Sarah Kapity Entertainment Editor

The Conway Symphony Orchestra hosted its annual Concert in the Park Sept. 22.

Although typically held in Simon Park, due to rain, the event was moved to Snow Fine Arts.

Conducted by Israel Getzov, associate professor of music and orchestra director, CSO performed music from “Carmen,” the third movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, selections from “Oklahoma,”

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” and the “1812 Overture” by Tchaikovsky.

Getzov said a long-time goal of the CSO has been to play all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies in Conway, and so far they have done all but one.

HesaidSymphonyNo.3 isthe second-most difficult to play.

However, when performing just a short piece from it, it seems to come naturally to every musician onstage, he said.

Getzov delighted the audience with jokes, encouraging audience

participation.

A random number was drawn from a bowl halfway through the performance, and the person sitting in the seat with that number had the opportunity to go onstage and conduct for a few minutes. The lucky winner did a good job after a humorous 30-second lesson from Getzov.

“It was exceptional. [They did] a very good job, and had a great selection too,” graduate student Christie Birdsong, friend and sister to two of the flutists, said.

The “1812 Overture” was

a particularly interesting and jarring selection, due to the cannon blasts Tchaikovsky included toward the end of the piece.

The sound effects came from the hallways surrounding the auditorium, but they were still quite loud and realistic.

Senior Cassie Hammons, who has seen the CSO perform before, said she thought the show was a great example of the orchestra’s talent.

The Conway Symphony Orchestra’s complete schedule is available at conwaysymphony.org.

LANGUAGE LESSONS

Conversational Korean class offers introductory instruction for free

by Lauren McLemore Staff Writer

The UCA Community Language School will be offer free Conversational Korean classes from Sept. 24 - Dec. 3 on campus, with classes held from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. every Monday in Torreyson West room 311.

The room is only accessible through the handicapped entrance to the west of the main library doors. The classes are free of charge, open to both UCA students and members of the Conway community.

Streiff said the class is expected to be 80 percent students, with an average of 10 - 12 people per classroom.

No prior knowledge is needed to attend the class, and only a writing utensil and notebook are

necessary supplies.

Class instructor Da El Kim is a Korean student at UCA and has taken this class in the past, said Cheryl Streiff, a senior lecturer in the Intensive English Program. The curriculum will consist of what Kim calls “Korean characters” and later, more in-depth basic conversational phrases.

Streiff said people attend the class for various reasons such as having recently adopted a Korean child, expressing an interest in Korean culture, attending a church connected to Korean churches or having upcoming travel plans to Korea. “[The class’s] been surprisingly popular,” Streiff said.

She said the class started about three years ago when Korean student Ha Ram Kim, who

is now a senior at UCA, came to her with an interest in teaching the class. Upon finding out that he could not be paid, offered to teach as a volunteer.

In the past, the class has also been taught by student Sangeun Lee, whose English name is Deborah. All teaching positions have been volunteer- and student-held. It is the Community Language School’s only student-taught class.

“I’m hoping this conversational Korean class will make more people get interested in Korean culture and community,” Kim said.

The founding of the class has had a positive impact on the Korean community on campus.

Alongside the class instructors, Streiff has also noticed something special about the volunteer work of the Korean Club and the work

of certain Korean faculty with their family members.

Streiff said the willingness of student volunteers to teach the Korean language “doesn’t surprise her” and the class is a good representation of their “spirit of giving back.”

She said teaching is hard work.

“They just have a high sense of responsibility and obligation and need to share,” she said.

The CLS also offers a second free class for those interested in learning Japanese, held in Irby Hall room 203.

No school credit will be given for completing these classes.

For more information and registration forms, contact Streiff at cstreiff1@uca.edu, or visit u c a . e d u / w l a n / c o m m u n i t ylanguage-school/.

Freshman Pauline Paulmier

Junior Lindsey Bates

“The weather because it’s not too hot or too cold. This is truly my favorite season, and I love the colors of the leaves as they change.”

“It’s not too cold or warm, but a nice middle.

It’s pretty much the best season overall, in my opinion.”

Senior Josh Nilz

Senior Eric Jackson

“I like the tree colors and that it’s less humid. I don’t like that it starts to get cold because it makes my joints hurt, but I like pulling out my blankets.”

“I like football season and being able to meet new people during the fall semester.”

Senior Druid Wen

Senior Chris Terrell

“It’s not as hot or humid as during the summer, which is a nice break from the overbearing, traditional Arkansas weather.”

“I like the weather and walking around campus, being able to see the scenery.”

SPOTLIGHT

PEOPLE OF UCA Marvin Williams

by Marley Cash-Powell News Editor

photo by Marley Cash-Powell

Student Success coordinator Marvin Williams volunteers with the food pantry outside of his usual Student Success job duties. His everyday job is to work with students who are on first-time academic probation.

Marvin Williams is a Student Success coordinator at the Office of Student Success, who recently received his 15-year certificate from the university.

“I provide academic success workshops for the campus every Tuesday and most Thursdays this semester during x-period,” Williams said.

He said these workshops are open to all students wanting to attend, and cover topics related to student success such as time management, study skills, how to study, how to take notes, procrastination, goal setting and paraphrasing strategies.

“All of the skills that we feel students need to be successful,” Williams said. “Each Tuesday, I have a presenter who comes and covers one of those topics.”

Williams moved to Conway in 1990 from Osceola, Arkansas, graduating from UCA in 1995 as a speech language pathology major. He went to work at Faulkner County Day School assisting children with special needs and instructing a class for eight years.

“A position came open here [at UCA] for an academic adviser. It was an emergency hire, and I think I had a weekend to make a decision about a career change,” Williams said. “It was one of the best things I could’ve ever done. I can see myself retiring from UCA.” Williams also works with students who are on their first academic suspensions.

When a student’s cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0, the student is placed on first academic probation, which involves a suspension of two academic terms. The second probation involves a full-year suspension and the third probation, an indefinite suspension.

Students on their first academic probation can opt to go through a boot camp program, requiring them to attend the workshops that Williams orchestrates to log a minimum of five study hours in the library each week while

attending a noncredit academic seminar. The boot camp has been an available option since 2005.

“The Office of Student Success tries to front-load students with the resources that they need so that hopefully we can prevent them from ending up in academic turmoil,” Williams said. Suspensions are a last resort and the boot camp functions as a second-to-last resort for struggling students.

Williams also volunteers with the UCA Bear Essentials Food Pantry located in Old Main.

“When I came back to UCA in 2003, I started out as an academic adviser, and I can’t tell you the number of students that were low on food,” Williams said. “I would walk students down to the cafeteria and I would pay for them [to get] a meal.”

He said there were a few other people on campus — like Reesa Ramsahai, staff counselor and coordinator of Outreach Programming in the counseling center, and Brian James, Resident Master at EDGE Residential College in Hughes Hall — who had noticed the same need.

“We kind of got together and wanted to see [the food pantry] happen on campus,” Williams said.

They drafted a proposal and received the support of the administration. The pantry also receives some funding from SGA and direct deposits from employees who want to give each pay period.

“It started small, but it’s grown, and the word is getting out,” Williams said. “[Contributors] will call me once or twice a month [when] they have excess [food] and [they] share it with the UCA Food Pantry. Sometimes it’s fresh produce.

Today we have meat and baked goods.” “[Williams is] the spirit of the food pantry,” Jacob Christie, volunteer coordinator for the food pantry, said. “Since we’ve started tracking in January of this year, we’ve had 947 students and staff use the pantry, and we have taken in over 6,700 pounds of food.”

Opinion

5

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

September 26, 2018

The Voice

CUNC-style fascism should not be tolerated on campus

New safety rules will reduce NFL injuries

Caroline Bivens

encephalopathy. CTE can lead to memory loss, The 2018 NFL season has implemented new confusion, impaired judgment, aggression, rules in an attempt to make the game safer, and depression, anxiety, impulse control issues and though defenders must now learn new rules for a suicidal behavior according to the Boston University game they have been playing most of their lives, this medical health page. emphasis on safety is a step in the right direction.

CTE was found in 99 percent of deceased NFL The most notable rule the NFL added makes players’ brains that were donated to scientific intentional use of the helmet illegal. Defenders research, according to a study published in the have always been able to use their helmet as a Journal of the American Medical Association. weapon in order to make tackles, but now it’s a flag.

Three former NFL players who committed It probably isn’t a coincidence that the rule suicide, Junior Seau, Dave Duerson and Andre comes a year after the tragic injury suffered by Waters, were all found to have CTE. Duerson even Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier. During sent text messages to his family asking that his brain a Monday Night Football game last year, Shazier be studied, knowing all along that something was launched himself, helmet-first, into a Bengal wrong, according to The New York Times. It’s player in a tackle attempt. He instantly fell to also worth noting that former NFL players the ground squirming and unable to move Art Monk, Tony Dorsett, Jim McMahon and his lower body.

Jamal Anderson are all currently plaintiffs in Millions of people watched as concussion-related lawsuits.

Shazier suffered a spinal injury so severe With these concerns aside, the NFL is that he was temporarily paralyzed. The as successful as it has ever been. League only thing that would have been worse revenue reached $8.1 billion in 2018, for the league would be a player actually according to Bloomberg, and it still dominates dying on the field. other sports in television ratings, despite Fortunately for Shazier, he has a drop in recent years. recovered enough to be able Still, the concern over to walk again, albeit in a concussions, CTE and other limited capacity. The most brain-related injuries have disturbing part of his created long-term concern for ordeal, though, happened

by Timothy Morrison the sport. According to Today, months after when the Staff Writer participation in high school NFL tried to market football has declined by 2 Shazier’s recovery as an percent in 2017. Meanwhile, uplifting story, having him participation in other high school sports reached appear at the NFL draft. record-high numbers for the 29th year in a row in An injury like Shazier’s isn’t the likely result 2018 according to the National Federation of State of helmet-to-helmet hits; more commonly, those High School Associations. These types of trends may hits result in concussions. It is easy to dismiss the eventually catch up with the league. negative effects of concussions as a viewer. Players In prioritizing the health of its players, the NFL will leave a game, and return to the field in a week is doing what is morally right, while also protecting or two as if nothing happened. Concussions are itself. Yes, NFL games aren’t the same as they used to an invisible injury, meaning that we can’t see the be, but that isn’t an inherently bad thing. It isn’t as damage. if the league has become flag football or two-hand In 2015, Karlos Williams described his touch. experience following a concussion as “having really The concern over concussions and CTE probably bad headaches. Not being able to sleep. Not being won’t ever go away. The NFL must do its best to limit able to eat … You’re always tired … Your head’s these problems while also keeping the game as close always kind of pounding, throbbing.” Williams said to its roots as possible. It’s fair to say that football these symptoms lasted for weeks. will never be safe, but the NFL is making it safer, and If you have repeated concussions, you are that’s a step forward. at a great risk of developing chronic traumatic

Aysha Dixon

Volunteer outreach could do more harm than good

The Echo Staff Sophia Ordaz Editor

Cassidy Kendall Associate Editor

Marley Cash-Powell News Editor

Caela Rist

Assistant News Editor

Taylor Sone

Campus Life Editor

Jessica Huffmaster

Assistant Campus Life Editor

Emily Gist Opinion Editor

Sarah Kapity

Entertainment Editor Editor

Cody Macomber Sports Editor

Marcus McClain Assistant Sports Editor

Online Editor

Social Media Editor

Lauren Swaim Photo Editor

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Chances are, at some point in your life you have in one swoop. been bombarded with Facebook posts of people This, my good readers, is done by selling going on trips to poverty-stricken cities or countries international service and commercialized charity for mission trips supported by church organizations, experiences to people who, according to Newsweek, school clubs or personal ties with family or friends are one reason a developing area may see that provide them the opportunity to volunteer in “selfishness instead of selflessness,” which harms these areas. host communities around the world.

Perhaps you might have even been, or currently An incendiary report published by South African are, one of those people who uses social media to and British academics suggests that westerners reminisce on your time and the experience you had visiting to volunteer can “prevent local workers from tending to the villages and orphanages of locations getting much-needed jobs, especially when they are affected by natural disaster, war or simply paid to volunteer.” The volunteers who build their houses, plant their crops and even construct a lack of funding to support any type their orphanages are taking local workers’ of impactful community structures such as food pantries, churches and jobs. But do they ever think about what the housing. locals’ plans are after they have gone? Have Now, don’t get me wrong; these visiting volunteers provided change volunteering abroad in places less that will last in a meaningful, sustainable fortunate will always leave you way after they have left? with a full heart, and might leave In some instances, police in those you visit with one as well. developing countries have seen a boom in unregistered orphanages.

But what may be lost on those UNICEF officials have even involved is that building houses, investigated that “children’s tending to children or cooking them meals can actually be welfare was secondary to extremely harmful to that profits” and found that “less city or country’s progress than one-third of income goes to pull themselves out of to child care” in places like

by Lauren McCabe poverty.

Ghana and Cambodia. The Staff Writer The Guardian volunteers always tend to make reporter Ian Birrell said it an effort to get to know the it’s been proven that small orphaned children, but in “well-intentioned westerners do little to alleviate” hindsight, their visit could lead to separation trauma any type of poverty that a developing country may for the kids after their departure, especially if they be experiencing. But how is that so? Volunteers aid had grown close to a particular child. locals in farming or cleaning regimens, building huts Truthfully, working in a developing region or reconstructing churches and get to conversate should ultimately result in an actual and tangible with villagers one-on-one to hear their life stories change in the host communities, and a change in which are then shared with others. Those feelings how you yourself perceive the world, rather than of enthusiasm and a sense that one is doing the your next profile picture. If you feel the need to right thing give those charity or volunteer workers a continue to volunteer, you should. reason to come back and do more.

First, look for organizations abroad to work with However, what you may not know is that these that are there to help you try and make a difference. kinds of trips or missions are commonly thought of Research the charities that you are donating your as “guilt trips” where teenagers, young adults and money and time to and how they are helping local sometimes even the elderly have seen a call to serve cities. Be mindful and aware of the connections you the less fortunate and feel the need to spread some make with the indigenous population. But most happiness where they feel it’s lacking. Before their importantly, see how your own community at home trip, they may see pictures of rundown orphanages, could use your help and physical participation to starving children or trash piles that may be help you feel the same happiness and see the same considered home for some and feel the need to fly joy on others’ faces that you can find anywhere in the 14 hours to Africa for a week to fix those problems world.

In light of current events regarding the jacket drive flyers posted around campus last week by a fascist group called the Collegiate Union of National Corporatists, there is an apparent need to define and understand what fascism is, its tie to racism and the danger that it poses to the UCA campus.

According to Merriam-Webster, fascism is a political ideology “that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation and forcible suppression of opposition.”

If one searches the organization who posted the flyers, the Collegiate Union of National Corporatists, one finds strikingly worrisome terminology relating the organization to fascist ideology. The site uses language like “a strict opposition to multiculturalism is needed” and “sub-cultures aren’t inherently destructive, but a monolithic dominant culture — American Culture — must be prevalent.” These ideas exalt nation and a dominant culture over the individual, thus fitting the very definition of fascism.

According to emails CUNC sent The Echo, members of the group hold a range of ideologies, from Mutual Anarchism to Stalinism to Third Positionism to even Fascism, admitted by the group itself.

Corporatism, which is in CUNC’s name, advocates for large interest groups, or corporations, holding governmental power. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, in Italy during World War I and II, the implemented corporatism instead reflected the will of the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, revealing the fascist implementation of the ideology.

According to Naked Capitalism, there has been a rise in groups supporting Mussolinistyle corporatism, or fascism, in the U.S. since 2013. These groups muddy definitions to fit their ideological agenda, and this is exactly what CUNC appears to be doing.

On its website, CUNC cites and quotes fascist leaders. These leaders include Oswald Mosley, who formed the British Union of Fascists after his meeting with Mussolini in 1932, and Giovanni Gentile, who wrote about fascist philosophy and is considered the philosopher of fascism.

Fascism is an extremely dangerous ideology.

Throughout history, fascism has been used as a means to fight and kill those in opposition of its ideals. Dictator Benito Mussolini led the fascist party in Italy that was responsible for killing an estimated 400,000 people, according to the Inquisitor. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler led a fascist regime that is responsible for the deaths of over 20 million people, according to the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Admittedly, Nazism differs from fascism in that Nazism emphasizes race, whereas fascism emphasizes nationalism, or state, according to Differences Between. However, fascism still advocates for a single nation and a single culture.

This is extremely dangerous to minorities as their culture would most likely not fit into this single cultural identity, thus easily lending fascism to racism and even neo-nazism.

Although CUNC says racism is “disingenuous and destructive,” the site actively opposes multiculturalism that is intrinsic to ethnic diversity.

Though it is true that race and culture can be separated based on individual cases, there is no denying that overall, ethnicity is connected to culture in a profound way. By preaching a dominant “American culture,” presumably white American culture, one immediately rejects diversity of culture, and thus, ethnic diversity. Therefore, that very idea is xenophobic and ethnocentrist, and could quite easily lend itself to racism.

It is unfortunate that this opinion piece needs to be written. It is unfortunate that there exists an organization that advocates for fascist ideology and manipulates language to try to redefine its history.

Organizations like this promote an ideology that is destructive to the well-being of a just and tolerant society.

CUNC’s advertising to our college campus elicits greater concern as this ideology spits in the face of UCA’s core values. UCA’s mission statement of diversity advocates for “enhanced multicultural learning opportunities” for students, faculty and staff.

The fact that this group was behind a seemingly innocuous jacket drive flyer makes one wonder how many more of these fascist groups are out there, hidden in the woodwork.

The site actively opposes multiculturalism

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Entertainment

6

September 26, 2018

New This Week Movies

‘Hilda’ an inspiring, imaginative cartoon for all ages

by Sophia Ordaz Editor

Sept. 28 — Night School (PG-13), directed by Malcolm D. Lee, starring Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Brooke Butler, Keith David Sept. 28 — Smallfoot (PG), directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, starring Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya Sept. 28 — Hellfest (R), directed by Gregory Plotkin, starring Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards, Tony Todd Sept. 28 — Little Women (PG-13), directed by Clare Niederpruem, starring Lea Thompson, Ian Bohen, Lucas Grabeel, Melanie Stone Sept. 28 — Monsters and Men (R), directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, starring Chante Adams, Giuseppe Ardizzone, Nicole Beharie

Music Sept. 28 — Reduxer — Alt-J Sept. 28 — Holler — Amy Ray Sept. 28 — Disease — Beartooth Sept. 28 — Elephants On Acid — Cypress Hill Sept. 28 — Wut Wut — Dillon Francis Sept. 28 — The Lamb — Lala Lala Sept. 28 — Young Sinatra IV — Logic Sept. 28 — Digital Garbage — Mudhoney Sept. 28 — World on Sticks — Sam Phillips Sept. 28 — Total Retaliation — Terror

Netflix Sept. 28 — Chef’s Table: Season 5 (TV-MA), starring Dan Barber, Massimo Bottura, Bill Buford, Lara Gilmore Sept. 28 — Hold the Dark (TV-MA), directed by Jeremy Saulnier, starring Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgard, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough

Hulu Oct. 1 — American Psycho (R), directed by Mary Harron, starring Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas Oct. 1 — Ancient Aliens: Season 4 (TV-PG), starring Robert Clotworthy, Giorgio Tsoukalos, David Childress Oct. 1 — Robocop (R), directed

by Paul Verhoeven, starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy Oct. 2 — The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG), directed by Henry Selick, starring Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara

Netflix’s “Hilda,” a 13-episode animated series, has as much in the way of imagination as it does in magnitude, making it a sure fit for audiences both young and old.

Hilda (Bella Ramsey) is an inquisitive blue-haired girl who is a magnet for magical creatures. She lives in a cottage surrounded by forests and mountains with her mother (Daisy Haggard), but the two later move to the nearby Trolberg, the city of her mother’s youth. Much to her mother’s chagrin, Hilda would rather have magical creatures as company than ordinary children.

“Hilda” is based on a graphic novel series of the same name written and illustrated by Luke Pearson.

On a family trip to Norway, Pearson daydreamed of trolls among the country’s mountains and fjords. This experience in Norway and

List compiled by Cody Macomber Sports Editor

his interest in Scandinavian folklore materialize in the landscape of “Hilda” and the magical creatures she encounters.

Not only does she run into creatures of legend, Hilda lives in a world inhabited by fantastical animals from Pearson’s imagination. Twig, a white deerfox with sharp antlers, acts as Hilda’s trusty sidekick in all her adventures.

Woffs, giant spherical cat-like creatures, fly over

Hilda’s mountain home, and nittens, tiny kittens the size of lice, take over Hilda’s scalp.

These whimsical creatures lend “Hilda” an air of endearing otherworldliness, not unlike the Cartoon Network staples “Adventure Time” and “Steven Universe.”

Unlike too many cartoon series aimed at young audiences, “Hilda” doesn’t settle for easy truths and often arrives at messy resolutions.

In one episode, Hilda unites a couple of age-old giants only

to have one of them step on her mountain home, completely destroying it and leaving her and her mother with no other choice but to move to Trolberg. In another episode, Frida (Ameerah Falzon-Ojo), a high-achieving, Type A Sparrow Scout leader, learns that failure does not always entail disaster. Far too many cartoons connect the dots for children. “Hilda” grants its audience the credit they deserve — which is to say, a substantial amount.

A LT - H I P - H O P

by Sarah Kapity Entertainment Editor

Brockhampton released its first album of 2018, “iridescence,” Sept. 21.

Last year alone, Brockhampton released three albums, and they may do so again, according to a tweet by founding member Kevin Abstract days before the release that teased a “trilogy part two.” With 14 members, the self-described boy band is unlike any other, and so is their music.

This summer, founding member Ameer Vann was removed from the group after facing accusations of sexual abuse and emotional manipulation. A central part of Brockhampton, Vann was featured on the cover of all three “SATURATION” albums.

The group canceled the rest of their tour after the scandal, releasing a statement apologizing for Vann’s actions.

Despite the official apologetic stance of the band, Abstract continued his support for Vann, stating “I’ve never seen Ameer hurt anyone.”

Before the controversy, Brockhampton was planning to release an album titled

“Puppy,” but ended up delaying and eventually canceling it. “iridescence” is a sign that Brockhampton is as strong as ever.

Many of the songs come with the familiar intensity that we saw in previous albums, but in songs like “WEIGHT,” there are welcome lulls in the fast-paced beat accompanied by softer vocals. This is not to say the intensity isn’t a good thing — it’s definitely a hallmark of Brockhampton’s sound. The many different voices, instrumentals and sound effects make each song a puzzle that is a delight to put together.

B r o c k h a m p t o n tackles important issues in “iridescence” such as insecurity, sexuality, racism and mental illness.

In “WEIGHT,” Abstract raps about coming to terms with being gay (“I thought I had a problem / Kept my head inside a pillow screaming”) and Joba raps about inequality and oppression (“And all my life I’ve taken handfuls / Force-fed by the hand that feeds us / But not all hands created equal”.)

These hard-hitting topics are delivered particularly well because each member of

Brockhampton allows their emotions to come through in their voices as they rap, which adds dimension and soul to every song.

A theme running through nearly every song in the album is dealing with being famous while still holding onto your roots, not leaving those who matter behind or letting lust for money cloud what’s really important in life.

In “TONYA,” Bearface raps “Sorry, I don’t call / There’s no money on my mind / But my money or my mind / What’s the first to fall? / I never wanted this s**t, yeah.” On the same track, Abstract raps about how he would prefer a “quiet Texas place” to fame, and Dom McLennon raps about missing his family but how they are always with him in spirit. “iridescence” will make you want to stand up and dance, or at the very least bob your head, imagining you’re dancing. Every song brings something unique to the album; you’re guaranteed to catch something new each time you listen to it. “iridescence” is available for purchase on Google Play and iTunes and is streaming on Apple Music and Spotify.

Carrie Underwood’s latest album “Cry Pretty,” released Sept. 14, establishes a different sound from Underwood’s previous works, as she seems to have matured.

In earlier albums, Underwood sang mostly of breakups and heartache. In her famous song “Before He Cheats,” Underwood sang about digging her keys into the side of her ex-boyfriend’s car to take revenge for his infidelity.

Her early songs relied mostly on melody and beat, and were lacking the more vulnerable side of Underwood.

“We threw the rule book out the window and went where the music wanted us to go,” Underwood said of the album in an interview with WE Fest.

She uses “Cry Pretty” as a way to show her fans more of herself. It is almost as if she is taking off a mask to reveal her true self and beliefs to her fans. such

belief

she

1. They are colored like fruit

As the saying goes, the mind is a powerful thing. If you think you’re going to have a bad day, you will probably make that happen. If you think you are going to conquer the day, you probably will until your chemistry professor reminds you about the test you didn’t study for. So, it should be no different to persuade our mind that we are eating fruit when really, we are eating fruit-colored and -flavored balls of sugar. I mean, fruit has sugar just like Skittles. They have the same flavor. How different is it, really?

photo courtesy of screenrant.com

Actors Kristine Froseth, Noah Centineo, Shannon Purser and RJ Cyler pose for a promotional shot.

Netflix original ‘Sierra Burgess Is a Loser’ proves its title right

by Caela Rist

Assistant News Editor

player, texts the number with the expectation of getting to know Veronica.

In exchange for tutoring Veronica, Sierra tricks Jamey into believing the person he is talking to over the phone is actually Veronica, with her help. Thus, the two spend several weeks catfishing Jamey in the most cringe-worthy manner.

Though it was never suggested by her original confidence, because Sierra is supposedly insecure of her physical appearance, she fears telling Jamey the truth because she assumes he would never date someone that looks like her. This underlying factor of insecurity is supposed to make manipulating Jamey acceptable, although, her best friend Dan (RJ Cyler), who is the jewel of this movie, does briefly mention that it is “very bad” what Sierra is doing.

Regardless, it is almost entirely glossed over that Sierra not only stole weeks of Jamey’s life, but manipulated him into revealing intimate parts of himself to a fabricated person.

Here’s the rub: Because Sierra is a girl, this movie is supposed to come off as a charming romantic comedy where the football player falls for the atypical and beautiful-despite-her-size girl.

A notable line is “You can pretty much fake your way through anything / But you

“Cry Pretty” is available for purchases on Google Play and iTunes and is streaming on Apple Music and Spotify.

2. They are cheap

3. They are shaped like cereal

4. The sugar rush

5. ‘S’ is written on each piece

Let’s not kid ourselves.

We are in college. No one can afford to eat fancy crepes from IHOP (or is it IHOB?) every morning. Instead, we usually settle for cheaper options like prepackaged sausage biscuits or Pop-Tarts. But even a box of Pop-Tarts costs $2 or more, while a package of share-size Skittles costs about the same with twice the sugar, providing you more bang for your buck.

You can buy a six-pound bag of Skittles for about $8. That’s basically a chicken that lays golden eggs packaged nice and neat in a plastic sack.

Again with the mind games.

It is as though you have to perform some Jedi mind tricks in order to simply “taste the rainbow.” It wouldn’t hurt, but consider this: We think of a bowl of Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a good breakfast to kickstart our day, when they have considerably the same amount of sugar as a bag of Skittles. If you are eating Trix cereal (even though you’re too old for that stuff, because it’s for kids — or so I’m told), Skittles look exactly the same.

I just don’t suggest putting Skittles in milk.

Sometimes, life just hits you in the head with a piano and then expects you to play it. Like when we are forced to take a class that is only offered at 8 a.m. in order to graduate, and mornings just aren’t our thing. Many mornings, it’s just not going to work out.

We wake up too late to eat a “solid breakfast” like a cup of yogurt. Stop that. Eat a bag of Skittles and you’ll have just enough energy to last through those super exciting lectures from Professor Monotone at 8 a.m.

Is Wrigley, the company that manufactures Skittles, trying to secretly tell us something?

What does the “S” on each Skittle actually mean? You can settle for the seemingly obvious, but I believe it could actually stand for words that only encourage eating Skittles for breakfast. Wrigley may want us to “start” our day with Skittles. It could just mean it’s a great nutritional “source” for breakfast. I personally think it stands for “stop eating anything for breakfast except Skittles.”

Carrie Underwood gets vulnerable in ‘Cry Pretty’ Staff Writer

“Hilda” is now streaming on Netflix.

Director Ian Samuels’ Netflix original film, “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser,” had the ambitious intent to reiterate how society should not dictate the definition of beauty. Oh, how far he fell.

The film encompasses the story of Sierra Burgess (Shannon Purser), a supposedly hideous outcast.

Sierra is labeled a deformed hunchback figure by most of her fellow peers. None deliver harsher blows than Queen B — and I do mean B — also known as Veronica (Kristine Froseth).

Veronica plays the cliche role of the dazzling cheerleader and head of the so-called high school food chain.

Contrary to the beliefs of her peers, Sierra is a typical teenage girl. She plays the clarinet in her high school band. She both admires and lives in her father’s unearthly shadow of fame as an established author, and she’s planning her departure to college from the safe haven of high school.

Except, for Sierra, high school isn’t so safe. To my delight, Sierra refused to allow the malicious comments of Veronica and others dent her exterior confidence. There were multiple scenes where Veronica and other students would hurl biting insults at Sierra, and she would let them bounce right off. She comes off as content with herself and hits her enemies with nothing more than grace and charming wit.

Even when Veronica gives Sierra’s phone number to a quarterback from another school as a cruel joke, Sierra is unaltered. This is why it was so outrageously out of character when Sierra began to catfish Jamey (Noah Centineo).

Jamey, the star football

C O U N T RY

by Rose McGarrity

The subtle hand by which “Hilda” intertwines the wonders of childhood with fantastical entities recalls the entrancing worlds of Hayao Miyazaki. It’s a technique that injects magic into the everyday, encouraging viewers to return again and again to the series and to see the mundanity of their lives with fresh eyes.

C AT F I S H

Brockhampton releases powerful comeback album

One

Top Five Reasons You Should Eat Skittles For Breakfast

photo courtesy of cartoonbrew.com

Hilda and her deerfox pet, Twig. The Netflix original cartoon has a color scheme that is mostly made up of soft blues, reds and oranges.

Perhaps the most enchanting detail of “Hilda” is how smoothly childhood encounters are maximized to fit mythic proportions. The phenomenon of imaginary friends is complicated when Hilda befriends a tiny elf who her mother cannot see until she signs the elf’s contract.

Children throw rocks at birds, one of which is a talking thunderbird whose flight over Trolberg brings good fortune every year. A Sparrow Scout park cleanup turns into a mission to rescue hibernating vittror, nature spirits of Scandinavian legend.

displays in this album was political. Several songs in this album, such as “The Bullet,” mentions gun violence. This is especially interesting because addressing gun violence is not something country artists typically like to do.

“Cry Pretty” is also more soulful than Underwood’s previous albums. In some parts of the album, Underwood sounded similar to Christina Aguilera.

The soul in Underwood’s album can be attributed to the hurt Underwood has experienced in her life recently.

According to The Washington Post, over the past three years, Underwood has had three miscarriages and also had to undergo surgery after a rough fall. These events may be part of the reason her album is full of soul and raw emotion.

One song that stands out on the album was the title track, “Cry Pretty.”

can’t cry pretty.” Underwood is essentially stating that it’s hard to hold back emotions sometimes and that not everything in your life can be perfect and work out the way you want it to. Although this album is deeper than her previous albums, her sound is still predominantly country.

Overall, I wasn’t blown away by the album as a whole or by any of the songs on it. It likely will not stand the test of time, but it is a decent album to listen to. Many of the songs on this album were more pop than country, so I anticipate these songs will become temporary hits.

Underwood should be proud of her album “Cry Pretty.” It won’t go down in history as one of the best albums, but she was able to convey more about herself to the public and be vulnerable, and that’s a success in and of itself.

Instead, the movie depicts a stalker, romanticizes catfishing and belittles the true nature of body positivity.

If the roles were reversed, and Sierra was a Silas and two boys were catfishing her to this level of dedication, there would be outrage. Thus, Sierra represents the opposite of what feminism and body positivity movements stand for. To say Samuels fell short of his ultimate goal of redefining society’s standards is a gross understatement.

You can now stream “Sierra Burgess Is A Loser” on Netflix.

Sports

7

September 26, 2018

Editor’s Take

ROAD TO THE GOVERNOR’S TROPHY

UCA’s next football game could determine its destiny toward playoffs

Date

Sport

Location

Pts.

Result

Aug. 17

Women’s Soccer

Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex

3

(tie) LR 1.5 UCA 1.5

Sept. 6

Volleyball

Conway

3

UCA wins LR 1.5 UCA 4.5

Sept. 9

Men’s Cross Country

Conway

2

UCA wins LR 1.5 UCA 6.5

Sept. 9

Women’s Cross Country

Conway

2

UCA wins LR 1.5 UCA 8.5

Oct. 14

Men’s Cross Country

Little Rock

2

-

Oct. 14

Women’s Cross Country

Little Rock

2

-

Oct. 22-23

Men’s Golf

Little Rock

2

-

Oct. 28-30

Women’s Golf

Hot Springs Village

2

-

Nov. 28

Men’s Basketball

Conway

4

-

Dec. 4

Men’s Basketball

Little Rock

4

-

by Marcus McClain Assistant Sports Editor

For the fourth consecutive season, Sam Houston State was picked to win the Southland conference.

With UCA picked to finish third, the Bears have a chance to prove the preseason polls wrong just as they did last season.

Although Sam Houston is returning their top two receivers from a year ago in senior Davion Davis and junior Nathan Stewart. The duo accounted for 2,854 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns for the Bearkats last season.

However, this shouldn’t be a problem for UCA. The Bears were able to battle through the Bearkats’ high-powered offense in last year’s matchup and get the 41-30 win at Estes Stadium.

This time, though, the Bears will be traveling to Huntsville, Texas, to face Sam Houston on their home field.

In their last contest at Elliot T. Bowers Stadium in 2016, Sam Houston got the best of UCA with a 36-point victory.

Still, this time around UCA should be well-rested and highly prepared coming off a bye week for this matchup of last year’s top two teams.

On the other hand, Sam Houston will be looking to bounce back after a 27-7 loss to Nicholls and being held scoreless in the final three quarters.

Although it’s still an early season game, this is one that could have high implications on the standings to end the year.

To repeat as conference champions, this is a game that the Bears need to win.

Again, the Bears’ defense will be tasked with stopping a high-powered Sam Houston offense averaging 24 points per contest.

An advantage for UCA ,though, is Sam Houston averaging a loss of 60 yards per contest in penalties.

With a strong offense of their own, averaging 28 points per game, UCA is provided with an extra edge.

If the Bears can go into Huntsville with a focused defense and the steady offense they have shown so far this season, they will prove the preseason polls wrong for a second consecutive year, which could possibly lead to back-to-back conference championships for the Bears.

photo courtesy of UCASports

Senior Kellen Dunn (10) celebrates after she gets a kill to help the Sugar Bears defeat Southern Illinois University three sets to one. In the match, Dunn had 14 kills and two digs. Junior Elizabeth Armstrong (9) had a game-high 43 assists to help UCA continue its success with a record of 10-4.

Conference schedule starts rough; Sugar Bears swept

by Marcus McClain Assistant Sports Editor

The UCA volleyball team (10-4, 0-1 SLC) suffered their first conference loss Sept. 21 against the red-hot Stephen F. Austin State University Ladyjacks (14-2, 1-0 SLC) 3-0.

This marked SFA’s 11th consecutive win and second straight against the Sugar Bears, dating to last season.

The game was dominated by defense as the Sugar Bears held SFA to a hitting percentage of only .248, but were only able to hit .178 percent themselves.

The matchup of the Southland Conferences’ top teams from one year ago was highly competitive in the opening set that featured 15 ties and six lead changes. UCA took an early 4-1 lead, the largest advantage either team would see.

Late in the set, UCA held a 22-21 lead, but the Ladyjacks controlled the set from that point on. A 4-1 run was capped off when SFA junior Ana Hollas

gave SFA the match point.

In the second set, the Ladyjacks were able to increase their kill total for a set by five from the opening set, while UCA saw a slight decrease of kills in the set.

UCA junior setter Elizabeth Armstrong was all over the stat sheet, collecting eight assists, six digs and two blocks. Still, this wasn’t enough as the Sugar Bears were unable to grab the lead during the set. SFA was able to hold onto their early 3-0 lead despite UCA tying the score early at 5 and again at 21 behind a 7-2 run.

The final set began with a bang for SFA as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead. The Sugar Bears clawed back, using a 10-4 run to take a 25-24 lead. From there, things went cold for UCA as the Ladyjacks took the final 3 points and completed the sweep.

“We fell short, but we put up a great fight,” sophomore middle blocker Amari Mitchell said. “We’re going to take this loss and learn from it by understanding what we need to

do better on our side of the court so next time it’s a completely different outcome.”

Senior Samantha Anderson led the Sugar Bears in kills for the match with 12 while Armstrong dished out a match-high 35 assists. Defensively, sophomore Emily Doss led the charge with 21 digs. Armstrong, Mitchell and senior middle blocker Savanah Allen added three blocks.

This game marked the first sweep of the Sugar Bears since last season, which was also against SFA, the eventual regular season conference champs.

The Southland Conference Preseason Poll predicted the Ladyjacks to repeat as champions with UCA predicted to finish second.

The Sugar Bears will have an opportunity to avenge this loss an dprove the polls wrong later in the season, but UCA’s next action will come Sept. 27 in the Prince Center against the University of Texas A&M at Corpus Christi, and Sept. 29, hosting Houston Baptist University.

B E AT I N G B R A D L E Y

photo courtesy of UCASports

UCA has opportunities to score, misses chances

by Daniel Adams Staff Writer

Upcoming Games Volleyball

6 p.m. vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi University Sept. 27 Women’s Soccer

Men’s Soccer

4:30 p.m. at Drake University Sept. 29 Football

3 p.m. at Sam Houston State University Sept. 29

CHASING GOALS

Senior forward Camille Bassett runs the ball up the court in hopes of making her sixth goal of the season. Bassett and the Sugar Bears continue conference play Sept. 28 and 30 as they aim to be the top team in the Southland Conference.

photo courtesy of clipartxtras.com

7 p.m. vs. Henderson State University Sept. 28

table by Cody Macomber

photo courtesy of Travis Gupton

Sophomore forward Kasper Anderson splits Bradley defenders on the way to the goal Sept. 22. Anderson had two shot attempts in the game, but wasn’t able to connect. The Bears shut out Bradley 3-0.

Men’s soccer conquers the Braves

by Ronak Patel Staff Writer

The UCA Bears played their first Missouri Valley Conference opponent, Bradley University (5-1-2), Sept. 22 in wet conditions, capturing a 3-0 win.

With this, UCA now sits comfortably in the standings at 3-3-1 overall and 1-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Getting this win was huge for UCA’s goals of defending its Missouri Valley Conference title and possibly repeating as champions of the conference.

The Bears not only won, but they won in a dominating fashion against Bradley and

were in control most of the game.

UCA recorded their third shutout of the year, and on offense, tied their season high of goals at 3 on a kick from freshman Alberto Suarez after a long throw in from sophomore Jake Bates.

The Bears nearly got a fourth goal from junior forward Niklas Brodacki on a penalty kick.

Coming into the game, Bradley was one of the hottest teams in the conference. Bradley hadn’t suffered a loss since Oct. 21, 2017. and was on a 12-game win streak until UCA broke it.

UCA players of the game included Brodacki and freshman

defender Alberto Suarez.

Brodacki and Suarez combined for 3 goals, with Brodacki scoring two of them. These goals wouldn’t have been possible without the assist from their teammates, senior Christian Ilia and sophomore Jake Bates, who both combined for three assists.

On defense, junior goalie Marc Olsen had three saves.

UCA’s next two games will be played on the road. UCA will take on Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sept. 25 following that game with a game at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 29.

UCA will be back home Oct. 6 against the University of Evansville at 2 p.m.

The road gave the UCA Sugar Bears (6-3-1) trouble once again Sept. 21 against Lamar University (6-3), as UCA lost 3-1.

The Sugar Bears were also scheduled to play McNeese State University Sept. 23, but the game was postponed due to poor field conditions.

With the rainy weather in Lake Charles, Louisiana, head coach Jeremy Bishop said the conditions weren’t favorable to play in.

“The rain can make the field have a big impact on the game or make it dangerous for athletes because of standing water and muddy conditions,” Bishop said.

The McNeese State game will now be played at 1 p.m. Oct. 7 at at Lake Charles.

Against Lamar, it took some time for the game to get underway as a lightning delay caused a pause in action.

Once action began, UCA created chance after chance to score, but unfortunately was never able to capitalize in the first few minutes of the game.

Junior Connie Awuku-Darkoh, who was named Offensive Player of the Week last week, got off a shot in the fifth minute that went slightly wide.

While the Sugar Bears got off shot after shot, it took a penalty kick by the Cardinals in the 12th minute to break the 0-0 tie.

UCA continued to get off shots and corner kicks, but

would concede another goal to Lamar in the 28th minute and went into halftime down 2-0.

The second half saw a similar type of game as the first half, with the Sugar Bears getting shots off, but failing to capitalize. It would take an effort by senior Camille Bassett to score her fifth goal of the season in the 72nd minute.

The goal wasn’t enough, as UCA lost to Lamar 3-1.

Despite the loss, Bishop had several positives to take away from the game. The most notable was that UCA dominated the statistics, outshooting the Cardinals 27 to 10, and getting more corner kicks with 10 to 5.

“The score doesn’t tell the whole story,” Bishop said after the game. “We had way more of the possession, shots, and shots on goal. We just have to finish our chances. If we keep playing the way we are playing, the goals will come and we will have the success we are striving for.”

Coach Derek Nichols echoed Bishop’s thoughts about the game against Lamar.

“We did all the right things and controlled the rest of the match,” Nichols said.

“However, we just couldn’t find the back of the net enough.

This week, we will continue to work on our speed of play and finishing. When you create as many chances as we did, we have to put more away.”

The Sugar Bears come back home for two more games, hosting Abilene Christian University Sept. 28 and the University of Incarnate Word Sept. 30.

ucaecho.net

SPORTS

8/ September 26, 2018

SPORT

UCA STATS CORNER OPPONENT

Football

Volleyball

BYE

Stephen F. Austin State University

RESULT

RECORD

-

(2-1, 1-0)

3-0 (L)

(10-4)

Men’s Soccer

Bradley University

3-0 (W)

(3-3-1, 1-0)

Women’s Soccer

Lamar University

3-1 (L)

(6-3-1, 1-1)

photo by Marley Cash-Powell

Senior Marli Van Heerden plays singles and doubles on the women’s tennis team. She is an accounting major who enjoys attending church, spending quality time with her friends, volunteering and relaxing.

UCA tennis player passionate about family, competition as she starts her senior season

by Cody Macomber Sports Editor

Senior tennis player Marli Van Heerden of George, South Africa, has used her passion for people and tennis to motivate her throughout each day as she aims to live her life based in faith.

When she was young, Van Heerden’s mom’s best friend wanted her own daughter to play tennis, and then asked Van Heerden to take lessons with her daughter, who was her age.

She played, fell in love with the game immediately, due in part to her natural ability. Her parents were both runners, so she gives her genetics credit for her running ability and athleticism.

She started winning tournaments early in her career and those teaching her to play encouraged her to continue.

She played in elementary school and competed in tougher tournaments as she got older and increased in skill.

When she played in the under-12 division, she was ranked number one in her country. She had a racket sponsor, Wilson Sporting Goods, that encouraged her to play even more. She played every year in the national tournament, and said she usually ended in the top four. Van Heerden finished second in the national tournament her under-18 year, and won the doubles national tournament.

Van Heerden said she was one of the few ranked tennis competitors in South Africa that wasn’t home schooled.

“I felt like I wouldn’t have been able to do homeschooling, because I’m super extroverted and love people,” Van Heerden said.

It made schooling difficult, because she traveled for many tournaments, but prioritized school as much as she did tennis.

“I think that [schedule] kind of led to being able to manage my time now as a student-athlete, because I grew up getting into that habit of time management,” Van Heerden said.

She was raised in George, South Africa with two younger siblings. Her parents, developed a love for her culture early on.

She speaks Afrikaans as her first language, with English being her second language.

She said in George they love barbecue, and eat a lot of meat.

She said she misses summers being in December and winters being in June and July.

They also drive on the other side of the road in her country, which caused her some issues when she first arrived in America.

Upon high school graduation, she spoke with coaches from different schools and really liked UCA. She prayed about the decision and had a dream about UCA, so she decided to come to Conway.

“It was very important for me to go somewhere where I was going to be happy and the Lord wanted me,” Van Heerden said.

With her love for nature, the beauty of Arkansas is part of what drew her in. She said her love for nature, making friends

and feeling that she was where she was supposed to be helped her adapt quickly to being in Conway.

She grew up in a Christian home and went to church, but really developed her love for God when she met some friends in Arkansas that showed her that her faith was about a relationship over religion.

Van Heerden said she started to depend on the Lord and saw he was trustworthy and experienced his love, which comforted her while she was away from home.

“Obviously, you need people and you need family,” Van Heerden said. “I love my family, and it’s very important to me, but I feel like it’s the Lord’s love that’s kept me going.”

She is majoring in accounting and is scheduled to graduate in December 2019.

She plans on getting a Master of Business Administration degree after that, wanting to get an MBA. She plans to stay in Conway at least until graduation, but will use all of her athletic eligibility in the Spring 2019 semester, so she will only be a student for her final semester.

Though she won’t be playing professional tennis after college, she plans to play recreationally and continue enjoying it.

“At first I thought I could never imagine my life without competitive tennis, but the Lord’s taught me that it’s not who I am, so I can do anything, basically, and still be considered good enough or loved by him,” Van Heerden said.

SHORT AND SWEET

photo by Ronak Patel

photo by Ronak Patel

Senior Marli Van Heerden prepares to start the match with a serve Sept. 21 at the UCA Tennis Court. At the UCA Fall Classic, Van Heerden won two of UCA’s 10 single wins.

Tennis dominates shortened Classic

by Marcus McClain Assistant Sports Editor

Despite the UCA Fall Classic starting a day early and also being cut a day short due to weather, the UCA tennis team saw high levels of success Sept. 20 and 21.

The Sugar Bears rode their momentum from the Austin Peay Invitational, and earned a Flight C doubles championship from freshman Mei Ishimura and senior Rada Manataweewat with 6-0, 6-1 and 6-4 wins over Southeast Missouri State University, the University of Missouri Kansas City and Missouri State University.

UCA was on pace to earn a second doubles championship in Flight B doubles with senior Marli Van Heerden and

sophomore Yada Vasupongchai, but came up short against SEMO’s freshmen Romana Tarajova and Manuela Barriga 6-4.

They also finished with a 10-2 record in singles play despite no flights being completed.

Ishimura also contributed in singles with two victories in singles defeating Jonna Krupa of SEMO and Ceci Mercier of SLU in Flight C Singles.

Freshman Furka Nonoyama defeated Alye Darter of Missouri State University and Purti Insani of Southeastern Louisiana University in Flight A Singles.

Heerden also controlled Flight D singles with wins over Ceijenia Cornelius of Oral Roberts University and Grace Ball of UMKC.

Manataweewat also earned two singles victories in Flight E over Mara Prescot of MSU and Thea Dassy of UMKC while only dropping one set.

The only singles losses for UCA came in Flight B as sophomore Yada Vasupongchai lost to Yana Grechinka of UMKC and Anna Alons of MSU. “Last week ther were some great things, and this week I think we improved on those things” head coach Casey Wharton told UCASports.

“I think overall, the team is in a good place. I’m excited for our next tournament” The Sugar Bears’ next competition will be Sept. 28-29 as they host the UCA Fall Invitational before travelling to Dallas for the SMU Invitational Oct. 5-7.

Men’s soccer to begin associate membership in Sun Belt, ends its Missouri Valley tenure

by Cassidy Kendall Associate Editor

The men’s soccer team will end its associate membership in the Missouri Valley Conference to join the Sun Belt Conference, beginning fall 2019.

“The Sun Belt conference is a step up in competition,” UCA athletic director Brad Teague said. “We are excited and honored they asked us to be a part of their group. We would not have been asked if our soccer program and athletics program was not competitive athletically and academically.”

UCA will be the sixth member in the Sun Belt Conference. Other members in the conference include men’s soccer teams at Appalachian State University, Coastal Carolina University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University and associate member Howard University.

“Our expectations with

the move to the Sun Belt are to compete right away with the top teams in the conference,” men’s soccer coach Ross Duncan said.

“We know the quality of these teams and we know how strong the conference is, but we want to set our targets high.”

Duncan said this division shift will bring new challenges such as traveling long distances to places like Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina, and having exposure to new opponents.

“Travel will be a bit different, but we are used to long trips from our experience playing in the Valley,” Duncan said. “We have a year to prepare for the move though, so that will give us time to watch these teams on film and really get to know them inside and out.”

According to UCASports, the Sun Belt is in its 26th season sponsoring men’s soccer as an NCAA Division-I varsity sport. The conference’s men’s

soccer rating percentage index has improved 10 spots since reinstating the sport between 2014 and 2017. The conference’s representative in the NCAA tournament has won games in each of the past two seasons – Coastal Carolina in 2016 and 2017.

“The Sun Belt is excited to have Central Arkansas and its men’s soccer program join our conference as an associate member,” Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson told UCASports. “The program’s growth and success on the field and in the classroom was evident as we embarked on this process and that led to our Presidents and Chancellors to make the unanimous decision to welcome the Bears into the Sun Belt family.”

This will be the Bears ninth and final season in the Missouri Valley where they have captured one tournament title.

FAY E T T E V I L L E FAT I G U E

Chile Pepper Festival daunting for Bears

by Lauren McLemore Staff Writer

During the 30th annual Chile Pepper Festival meet in Fayetteville Sept. 22, the UCA men’s cross country team finished 13th and the women’s cross country team finished 11th.

The men ran an 8-kilometer race at 9:30 a.m. and the women ran a 5-kilometer race at 10:20 a.m.

The men finished with 398 points and a total time of 2:11:31, and the women finished with 371 points and a total time of 1:34:20.

Women’s competitor and senior Taylor Dunn said the festival is an exciting meet for the teams because it is a big in-state race.

According to chilepepperfestival.org, the competition hosts over 80 collegiate programs and 120 high school programs each year.

“There is tons of great competition and the

atmosphere is always great,” Dunn said.

Dunn said the team ran well and she was proud of everyone, but especially the freshmen who “stepped up” when upperclassmen grew tired.

The UCA women celebrated their victory over conference opponent, Stephen F. Austin University, and a few runners’ achievements of setting personal records.

Freshman Gracie Hyde finished 20th at 18:02.7 and recorded the fastest time for the women’s team.

Hyde, along with freshmen Kennedy Timmerman and Casey Gore possibly achieved their best personal times, Dunn said.

The men’s team saw the meet more as preparation for conference. “[The Chile Pepper Festival] is just a stepping stone for us on our way to conference,” senior Brant Cook said.

The men’s total time of 2:11:31 is a significant increase

compared to their 1:22:41 finishing time at the previous meet run at the UCA Cross Country Challenge.

Cook said the team ran the way they knew how, but ended up “getting embarrassed” because of a certain way of training prior to the meet.

Junior Alex Hanson, finished in 46th with a time of 25:53.4, the fastest time of the runners for the UCA men’s team, followed by senior Julien Jeandree, who finished 71st with a time of 26:07.9.

“I think our main focus will be on making sure we recover and maintain our composure,” Cook said about upcoming meets.

According to UCASports, the men’s team will be split Sept. 29, with part of the team competing at the Rim Rock Classic at the University of Kansas at 10 a.m., and the other at the Cowboy Stampede held at McNeese at 9 a.m. The women will be running Sept. 29 at the Rim Rock Classic at the University of Kansas at 9 a.m.