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SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 Volume 117 — Issue 6
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Gas leak causes evacuations of multiple UCA properties
Rainy
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BY MIA WADDELL
THE NEWSDESK FROM THE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Shooting at Russian University kills six
A law student at Perm State University in Russia shot and killed six people and wounded 19 people, according to state media, government and university officials. Videos showed the shooter dressed in black clothing with a black helmet and a shotgun. Students barricaded themselves in classrooms or escaped by jumping out of windows and running away. The shooter was identified as Timur Bekmansurov, and a university spokesperson said he was in police custody.
N AT I O N A L COVID-19 death toll same as Spanish Flu COVID-19 has caused the deaths of about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic. The total number of deaths for both pandemics is about 675,000. The Spanish flu killed a larger percentage of the population since the total population in the U.S. was only one-third of what it is today. Experts say that, like the Spanish flu, COVID-19 may never fully disappear.
Two lawsuits filed in Texas, abortion law
News Editor
A gas leak near UCA’s campus caused several buildings and parking lots to be evacuated and left many students unable to access their dorms on Thursday, Sept. 16. The UCA Alert system sent out an evacuation message notifying faculty and students that areas between Donaghey Avenue and South Center, as well as Robins Street and Hillman Street, were being evacuated by personnel. Sergeant Ryan Britton of Conway PD said, “The fire department was dispatched down to that area for a gas leak, and when they got there, they decided to evacuate the area.” The buildings affected on UCA’s campus were Torreyson Apartments, Erbach Apartments, Oak Tree Apartments and Robin Street parking lot across from the College of Business. UCA Alert advised all those affected to evacuate, with special precautions for those smelling rotten eggs or hearing a blowing or hissing noise. The alert advised students to not use phones inside of the affected buildings, turn on lights or appliances, open or close windows, shut off the gas, light candles or enter the building before allowed by Conway Police. Many students were seen sitting outside of the buildings, working on homework, or sitting in their cars while they waited for the all-clear. After mowing yards around Conway, junior Landon Mazur came home to the streets blocked off around his house on Davis Street. “I had to leave my truck and trailer across the street and walk back inside,” Mazur said. While walking to his house, he spoke to a police officer and
photo by Mia Waddell
Fireman gather at the scene of the gas leak at 516 South Davis Street. The gas leak initially caused many buildings on UCA’s campus to evacuate due to wind conditions and worries about widespread harm from the toxic gas.
fire chief on duty who advised him to stay inside his house and do not start any vehicles until further notice. “After about an hour and a half, I was finally able to get my truck and park my trailer so I could get to work on time [at 2 p.m.],” Maze said. Unfortunately, Maze missed a class due to the gas leak. “The fire department decided to evacuate a larger area because of what could happen,” Britton said. “The way the wind was blowing could have affected it. The wind can carry the gas farther than the leak itself.” According to TimeandDate. com, a website that collects
weather data and patterns, wind speeds in Conway on Thursday, Sept. 16 were considerably higher than those of other days of the week and month, which led to concern about the gas leak. The cause for the gas leak is perceived to be local construction at 516 South Davis Street, where CenterPoint Energy was digging a ditch. “They were probably digging and punctured something,” Britton said. Britton believed that the gas leak was most likely caused by construction and that the extended period of evacuation wait time was due to how the gas lines in the neighborhood were
set up. “What ends up happening is CenterPoint came down, they create a loop where they can keep gas going for the neighborhood, and then they are able to patch the broken line,” Britton said. After over an hour of waiting, UCA Alert reported that the evacuation area has been downsized and that students could return to their apartments. “Once they were able to figure it out, they were able to reduce the area down to just this one street,” Britton said. A large police presence was initially dispatched for the situation because the area of evacuation was relatively large.
“Initially, we set up a command post over at the ball fields and had people checking in to be able to go to different areas to start the evacuation process,” said Britton. Police barricades went up at multiple locations near Davis Street, preventing students, faculty and Conway residents from traveling on many local campus roads. In addition to the Campus Alert system, UCAPD and Conway PD released statements concerning the evacuation and gas leak situation. No injuries were reported and the situation was remedied by late afternoon.
SGA
Two lawsuits were filed in Texas against a doctor who admitted to performing an abortion that is now considered illegal under the new Texas abortion law. The law allows private citizens to enforce the abortion ban once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually about six weeks into a pregnancy. Oscar Stilley of Arkansas sued to test the constitutionality of the Texas law. Felipe Gomez of Chicago sued as well, asking a court in San Antonio to declare the new law unconstitutional.
S TAT E
Lowest case count in AR since July
Arkansas COVID-19 case numbers had the lowest daily increase since early July with 396 new COVID-19 cases reported to health officials on Sept. 20. Active COVID-19 case numbers also dropped to 15,004. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that although case numbers have dropped, Arkansas’ vaccination numbers are still not as high as they need to be. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said she is still concerned about a winter COVID-19 surge in Arkansas.
WHAT’S AHEAD
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
Students participate in speed dating to make connections.
photo by Vivian Norris
(Left) Incoming SGA senators take their oath during the groups first meeting. The oath consists of swearing to “support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Student Government Association.” (Right) The executive board leads meeting with President Mya Hall. The board passed a motion to nominate Hall and Executive Vice President Davonne Moore for homecoming court.
Student Government Association swears in new members BY VIVIAN NORRIS Staff Writer
The Student Government Association held its first meeting of the 2021-2022 school year Monday, Sept. 27. The meeting followed their annual retreat, where new senators were introduced to their positions and assigned to committees. To commence the meeting, President Mya Hall led the senators in their oath to officially accept and begin their roles as senators. Through the oath, senators swear to “support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Student Government Association” and “advocate for the betterment of all constituents,” according to Article V of the SGA Constitution. There were no new updates for any standing or ad hoc committees. The Internal Affairs Ad Hoc committee was reintroduced this year, after going on a hiatus the last academic year. “Internal Affairs is in charge of finding and correcting mistakes and inconsistencies within the SGA Constitution. We are also in charge of considering amendments and changes to the Constitution prior to voting in the full Senate,” Montana Cramer, junior
vice president and Internal Affairs Committee chair, said. Madison Aldy, vice president of finance, motioned for the Student Government Association to submit Hall and Executive Vice President Davonne Moore as its homecoming court nomination. The motion was passed by unanimous consent. “I think Mya and Davonne are really good candidates because they have done so much for us so far, already...and it wouldn’t be just a nomination. It would be a co-sponsorship because they both have other organizations nominating them as well,” Aldy said. Four new UCA faculty are joining Charlotte Strickland in her eleventh year in advising the SGA. Strickland is the director of Professional Development and Training in the Division of Student Services, where she also serves on the Diversity Advisory Committee for the university. This year, Strickland is joined by María Negrete Padrón, Adam Rose, Taine Duncan and Michael Kithinji. Among many roles promoting diversity at UCA, Padrón is the associate director of the Office of Diversity and Community. “[María] acts as an advocate
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for underrepresented students to ensure that they are exposed to networking opportunities and to enhance their communication and leadership skills,” according to uca.edu. Rose serves as the associate general counsel and compliance officer, as well as the Title IX Coordinator at UCA. According to uca.edu, “[Adam Rose] coordinates the University’s compliance with Title IX and the Title IX complaint response procedures.” Duncan is the chair of the philosophy and religion department as well as an associate professor and director of the gender studies program. Her courses currently consist of Gender, Race, and Class and Feminist Philosophy. Kithinji is an associate professor in the history department and co-director of the African and AfricanAmerican studies program. According to uca.edu, he is also a published author and co-editor. Starting next week, Monday, Oct. 4th, the SGA will be returning to their chambers in the Student Center Room 208 for their weekly meetings for the first time since the pandemic began amid the spring 2020 semester.
Inside:
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Periods should not be stigmatized.
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