Vol 111 Issue 13

The Echo

THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

WEDNESDAY

NOVEMBER 30, 2016 Volume 111 — Issue 13

ucaecho.net TODAY’S FORECAST

Campus Life:

CONWAY

Pageant: Sophomore Kelli Collins wins Miss UCA pageant.

Entertainment:

Sports:

Album: Emotional singles released from Hamilton mixtape.

Football: Bears beat Illinois State University 31-24.

Mumps confirmed in four off campus UCA students

Sunny/Cold

56/33 THE NEWSDESK

by Jordan Johnson News Editor

FROM THE EDITOR

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

French officials foil ISIS terrorist attack in France An alleged plot by five ISIS operatives to perpetrate France next week was reportedly foiled by French officials. Four of the suspects were arrested in Strasburg’s and the other in Marseille and Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins released details of the allegations on Nov. 25.

Molins said in a press conference that the arrest prevented a possible attack planned for Dec. 1.

N AT I O N A L

Police not able to locate weapon at crime scene In Chicago, police have not been able to find a gun which an unidentified officer said Kajuan Raye was carrying when the officer shot the 19-year-old on Nov. 23. The officer was responding to battery reports when he began running after Raye, and said that Raye had pointed his weapon at him twice before the officer shot him fatally. Chicago police said no weapon was found at the scene.

Nine killed by Charleston murderer, stands trial U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled on Nov. 25 that Dylann Roof was competent to stand trial. Roof will stand trial for the murder of nine people which took place in the Charleston S.C. church Mother Emanuel AME in June 2015.

Gergel said jury selection in the case would resume on Monday, Nov. 28.

Prosecutors seek the death penalty for 22-year-old Roof.

As of Nov. 22, four cases of the mumps had been confirmed in UCA students. All four confirmed cases were in students who live off campus.

UCA medical coordinator and registered nurse Sandy Childress said none of the cases on campus were severe and that the students had mild symptoms.

UCA sent out an email to students on Nov. 14 before the first cases were confirmed to inform students of the risk of mumps, and another email was sent Nov. 16 confirming the first two cases.

The emails included information on mumps symptoms and immunizations.

UCA faculty was recently updated with an email from Medical Director of the Student Health Clinic Randy Pastor.

According to Pastor UCA has confirmed only four cases of mumps since the outbreak on Nov. 10.

Associate Vice President for Communications Christina Madsen said on Nov. 21 that the university was investigating a “handful of suspected cases” and is “continuously keeping a close eye on the situation.”

Childress said casual contact is not sufficient to spread the virus.

According to an Arkansas Department of Health informational flier, the mumps is spread “easily” through coughing and sneezing, which Childress said requires close contact — around three feet — for an extended period of time.

The incubation time for the mumps is 12 to 25 days after exposure, and the virus often starts with upper respiratory

See Mumps - page 2

Assistant News Editor

Conway individual dies of gunshot wound On Nov. 23, 53-year-old Gary Phillips died at Conway Regional Medical Center of a gunshot wound, and local law enforcement were looking into the case Thanksgiving morning. The Conway Police Department began looking into the case after it was determined that it may have taken place inside the city limits of Conway.

The victim had been dropped off outside of the emergency room.

The Student Government Association made changes to their constitution and passed a resolution honoring President Tom Courtway when they met on Nov. 21.

The motion for the President Tom Courtway resolution was made by SGA President and senior Kelsey Broaddrick.

Broaddrick explained that resolutions have no actual effect on SGA’s constitution or laws.

“We do these to commemorate people leaving UCA,” Broaddrick said.

Courtway is taking a position in the Business Department.

Broaddrick said that she hoped SGA members would support the resolution, which would honor current UCA President Tom Courtway, who will be replaced by Houston Davis in January.

SGA voted unanimously for the resolution.

After this resolution was passed, a motion was made to change bylaw E of the SGA constitution.

After much debate over specific parts of the proposed

changes, the motion was changed so that the original bylaw would be split into five parts, which SGA would then discuss and vote on one at a time.

Four of the five proposed changes were passed, but the third was tabled after a discussion on the subject didn’t lead to a consensus.

There was confusion over whether the proposed change would be in accordance with UCA policy, so SGA voted that the issue be tabled until later.

Senior Class Representative John Gilbreath proposed an amendment to the last of the five proposed changes.

He said that the current wording was not grammatically correct; the amendment failed When announcements were being made, Gilbreath said, “Just so it’s in the minutes, grammar is dead.”

When SGA met again briefly on Nov. 28, graduate representative Michael Prestin reminded the students that residence halls close on Dec. 21.

Broaddrick also wished the other students a happy holiday season and asked that they not neglect their SGA duties over the winter break.

Contact Us:

Index: 4Police Beat 4People of UCA

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4Student Say

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photo by Waid Rainey

Junior Ryan Joyner spoke to a group walking around campus during the Safe Walk Nov. 16. Students, faculty and staff were invited to look for potential safety issues around UCA.

Students learn about safety in campus walk

by Caroline Bivens Staff Writer

The University of Central Arkansas held its seventh annual Operation Safe Walk at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 to identify safety concerns on campus.

Six teams — represented by the Physical Plant, UCA Police Department, Student Government Association, offices of Greek Life, Housing and Residence Life and UCA Executive Staff — covered six areas on campus to compile

lists of safety hazards.

“We’re looking for things like areas that may not be as well-lit as we would like, or sidewalks that are in disrepair or even shrubbery that may cause a vision obstruction for pedestrians or drivers,” UCAPD Public Relations and Information Officer Michael Hopper said.

Ken Schulte of the UCA Physical Plant said most of the hazards found on campus are due to outdoor lighting outages.

Schulte said some of the

lighting outages aren’t due to burnt out bulbs, but that some of the lights are on an automated computerized grid that hasn’t been adjusted to the recent time change. This is an easy fix — all the Physical Plant needs to do is flip a switch.

Schulte said if a light does have a bad bulb, it could take weeks to fix.

“We try to keep up with all the outages and lights on

See Walk - page 2

GRANTS

Adcocks fund UCA students study abroad

by Brandon Jones Staff Writer

Robert H. “Bunny” and Carol Adcock were applauded Nov. 15 after a plaque for the Adcock Study Abroad Fund was unveiled in Wingo Hall’s board of trustees conference room.

The Adcocks donated $1 million to UCA for study abroad programs.

At 2 p.m., students and faculty came to the conference room to hear about the fund,

which Bunny Adcock said his wife suggested.

Executive Vice President and Provost Steven Runge said the Adcocks have donated to UCA before and embody the UCA tenets: academic vitality, integrity and diversity.

Runge said UCA is proud to bring in students from around the world and offer study abroad programs.

“This is a huge day for students who want to participate in study abroad,” Runge said.

Senior Tyler Ramsey said he was able to go on a study abroad trip to Costa Rica because of a scholarship funded by the Adcocks.

“Before then, I was not comfortable speaking Spanish,” Ramsey said. “Now I feel confident enough to have a casual conversation with native Spanish speakers.”

Ramsey said he hopes to become a licensed counselor,

See Fund - page 2

ARCHAEOLOGY

SGA resolution for Courtway

by Brent Wilson

The Echo will not publish an issue during finals week. Our next issue will come out during the spring semester on Jan. 18.

symptoms, Childress said.

“Fatigue, malaise, runny nose, cough, fever — that’s going to be your indicator right there that something is going on more than a cold,” Chidress said.

Childress said students who suspect they may have the mumps should wear a mask and avoid contact with unvaccinated individuals, especially young children.

Childress said the best way to test for the mumps is with a buccal, or mouth, swab.

She said this test only works if the patient is infectious and showing symptoms.

“You’re only infectious from the day of the onset of the parotitis, which is inflammation of the parotid gland,” Childress said. “You’re going to be infectious from that day, two days prior to that, and five days after. That’s your window that you can test.”

Childress said in most patients, the swelling does not extend below the jawline.

She said students often have swollen lymph nodes from tonsillitis, strep throat or mono.

“That’s one good way you know, hey, this is not the mumps, because this swelling is down [in the neck],” Childress said.

Childress said there is a possibility that infected students may spread the mumps when they go home for the holidays.

However, she said that when there is a possibility that a student may be infected, UCA health clinic staff recommend that the student isolate himself and wear a mask.

“The problem is the two

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photo by Waid Rainey

North West Arkansas Research Station Archaeologist Jaime Brandon delivers a presentation alongside Lydia Rees to UCA anthropology students on Arkansas cliff shelters on Nov. 17 in the College of Business auditorium.

Lecture discusses Native American shelters

by Waid Rainey Staff Writer

The UCA Department of Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology sponsored a lecture in the College of Business auditorium on the book “Beyond the Bluff Dweller: Isolation and Connection in Prehistoric Bluff Shelters of the Arkansas Ozarks.” Organized in honor of Native American heritage month, this is the second time a lecture like this

has been held on campus since the creation of UCA’s new anthropology department.

Created two years ago, Assistant Professor of Anthropology Duncan Mckinnon said the department is a great opportunity to learn about the archaeology that can be found in Arkansas.

“This is an opportunity for people to see that stuff and understand that,” he said.

Many of Arkansas’ archaeological sites, such as the

Social:

See Shelter - page 2

Inside:

Trump’s behavior

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bluff shelters, face threats from development to vandalism.

Lydia Rees, a research assistant with Arkansas Archeological Survey, said she thinks if Arkansans had others means to learn and volunteer with digs and excavations, they could learn how to do so “scientifically and learn about the ethics of it.”

This is the goal of UCA’s

ucaecho

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President-elect, Donald Trump should apologize for past behavior.

see page 5

2/November 30, 2016

NEWS

ucaecho.net

Walk:

Students, physical plant worker speak about lighting on campus 4 Continued from page 1

photo by Waid Rainey

Felix H. Ahoussi, Director of Student Affairs Enrollment at the International University of Grand Bassam, listens at the World Leaders Conference Nov. 16th in the McCastlain Hall Ballroom.

Leaders of the World Conference held in McCastlain Ballroom

by Waid Rainey Staff Writer

Leaders of the World 2016 was kicked with a conference Nov. 16 in the McCastlain Hall Ballroom.

Leaders of the World is an annual three-day event during which leaders and educators from around the world are invited to UCA to discuss international relations and shared education.

“The purpose of the conference is since UCA has such a large international population, is to bring different educators and leaders into one room and to share ideas,” Student Service Coordinator in International Engagement and

UCA alumnus Keith Johnson said.

Wednesday’s conference began with a presentation from Diabaté Daouda, an ambassador from Côte d’Ivoire, about his country’s up-and-coming economy.

He highlighted the importance of the role education has played in his country’s rise, largely due to exchange programs that allow students to study abroad.

Following Daouda’s presentation, other speakers from universities around the world spoke.

Marcelo DeVincenzi, the vice president for management and evaluation for the Universidad Abierta

Interamericana in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean for Quality and Academic Standards at the University of Dundee Janice Aitken were present.

“When we invite leaders from those places, they know, they’ve been to the campus, they now know what Conway, Arkansas is like,” Associate Director of International Engagement Ashley Pettingill said.

She said UCA’s high percentage of international students puts UCA foreign exchange students in a great position to play a part in collaborating with these world leaders.

Pettingill said the Leaders of the World conference is a great

Mumps:

Fund:

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4 Continued from page 1

Nurse speaks about how infected individuals can spread illness

days before that, before they knew they had the mumps, of who they came in contact with,” Childress said.

“You’re only infectious from the day of the onset of the parotitis, which is inflammation of the parotid gland,” Childress said. “You’re going to be infectious from that day, two days prior to that, and five days after. That’s your window that you can test.”

Childress said in most patients, the swelling does not extend below the jawline.

She said students often have swollen lymph nodes from tonsillitis, strep throat or mono.

“That’s one good way you know, hey, this is not the mumps, because this swelling is down [in the neck],” Childress said.

Childress said there is a possibility that infected students may spread the mumps when they go home for the holidays.

However, she said that when there is a possibility that a student may be infected, UCA health clinic staff recommend that the student isolate himself

and wear a mask.

“The problem is the two days before that, before they knew they had the mumps, of who they came in contact with,” Childress said.

According to Arkansas state law, individuals are required to receive two MMR, or measles, mumps and rubella, vaccinations after their first birthday and before they start school.

Childress said getting a third dose of the MMR vaccine is not necessary, nor is it recommended by the Arkansas Department of Health or the CDC. “The mumps is a virus. It’s somewhat like a cold, and really, you’re not going to prevent some things like that from happening,” Childress said.

“With mumps, you do have that protection because there’s a vaccine against it, although no vaccine is 100 percent.”

Although the MMR does not guarantee that an individual will not get the mumps, Childress said having the vaccine is an important factor for prevention.

way to brand the university.

“So this is a way to brand the university as well. And to develop partnership so that we can develop programs, summer camps for different universities and organizations for our UCA students to go study abroad at their universities,” she said.

Pettingill also said when they reach out to recruit, they have to explain not only where Central Arkansas is, but where Arkansas itself is.

“So if International [Engagement] gave the opportunity to come here to speak on this kind of event, for sure I am going to come here and participate,” senior foreign exchange student from Côte d’Ivoire Kayiraba Toure said. “It would be an honor for me to be a part of it.”

Adcocks show Courtway and students how they care about UCA

and that the Spanish he learned on his study abroad trip will help him work with more groups.

President Tom Courtway said he didn’t expect the day would ever come, but was glad to see it, and that students would be able to greatly benefit from the grant.

Courtway said the Adcocks care about and like to speak with students, and this gift shows their heart, character and commitment.

“They are givers. They care about students and all students here know this,” Courtway said. “We thank the Adcocks for their generosity and their commitment to UCA.” Courtway invited Bunny Adcock to the stage to speak about the inspiration for the fund.

Study abroad is important because to learn a language from a native speaker makes a big difference, Adcock said.

“This is just as much an education as in the classroom,” Adcock said.

Adcock said that after hearing people in France speaking French, he didn’t think there would be many other

ways of speaking the language, yet he heard a teacher in Arkansas who spoke to her class with an Arkansas accent.

He was shocked that students were learning this way and would likely pick up the accent, and was inspired to fund study abroad programs when Carol said those kinds of situations are why the programs are important.

Adcock experienced the need for foreign language skills when he was in the Basque region of Spain in the mid-70s.

There was tension between the area Adcock was in and Madrid, Adcock said, and when he entered a restaurant in a full black suit, everyone stared at him, seemingly wondering if he was from Madrid.

When Adcock’s waitress spoke neither English nor French, he pointed at the menu and said “moo moo,” causing the people to start laughing.

Professor Phillip Bailey and Vice President of International Engagement Jane Ann Williams presented the plaque to the Adcocks as the audience stood and applauded.

campus, but there’s just so many,” Schulte said. “If the budget would allow us, we would make the switch to LEDs. They’re efficient and they could last five to 10 years, but they’re expensive.”

Physical Plant Director Larry Lawrence said the lists created during the walk are only for consideration, and the high priority items are taken care of first.

The lesser problems are set aside for future consideration.

Schulte said the physical plant checks outages all year, but they set aside a special day to get everyone involved.

Each light on campus has a specific number on the base of the pole or on the light box.

During the safety walk, the groups used these numbers to indicate which lights needed repair.

Students are encouraged to call the Physical Plant to report any outages using these numbers.

Junior Hayley Harp said there needs to be more lighting on the street leading to her oncampus apartment.

“I live on the outskirts [of

campus] and it has the worst lighting,” Harp said. “I don’t necessarily feel unsafe, but I’ve been taught about situational awareness and to be prepared [for attackers]. I think it’s a genuine fear for females.”

During the walk, students expressed concern about numerous unlit crosswalks and the conditions of the blue emergency buttons.

The buttons were tested and were proven to be in working order.

Apart from lighting concerns, the groups found damaged sidewalks in need of repair and sidewalks that could be improved for handicap access.

The groups also suggested the installation of more emergency poles by the bus stop, the restrooms of the recreation fields the gravel lot of Stadium Park.

There were also suggestions to add speed bumps behind Donaghey Hall, down Augusta Street and down Western Avenue.

Students are encouraged to notify the Physical Plant of any possible safety concerns on campus. They can be reached by calling 501-450-3196.

photo by Waid Rainey

Jaime Brandon (left) and Lydia Rees (right) from the Arkansas Archeological Survey deliver a speech about Arkansas cliff shelters to UCA Anthropology students Nov. 17 in the College of Business Auditorium.

Shelter:

Anthropology department hopes to reach out to students 4 Continued from page 1 anthropology department.

When these public lectures are held, they are mostly attended by students who are asked to listen in as part of a class curriculum.

Rees and Jaime Brandon are both staff of the Arkansas Archeological Survey and took turns speaking to the group.

Brandon is the Research Station Archaeologist in northwest Arkansas.

“Piquing students’ interests so that they can actually get out and experience archaeology is the best way,” Brandon said. “It’s how I became an archaeologist.

I think it’s the best way to get [them] out there.”

Brandon spoke of the “thousands and thousands and thousands” of Ozark bluff shelters that are scattered across the Ozarks that do not get any attention or preservation.

These hidden sites tend to be more endangered than the well-known ones in state parks and protected areas.

“It’s always a trick making

things accessible so people feel like they are a part of them,” Brandon said.

Popular misconceptions hold that caves and bluffs were used as dwellings.

Extensive research and excavations by the Arkansas Archeological Survey have found artifacts dating back almost 12,000 years, indicating that these sites were rarely lived in and typically used for short periods of time, either as burial grounds or food storage.

Programs such as the Arkansas Archeological Survey and educational programs like UCA’s department strive to play an integral part in the preservation of these archaeological resources.

Brandon said they are a non-renewable intellectual resource.

Like physical resources, he said you can’t get them back.

“I think it is important for stewardship reasons,” Rees said. “If people respect the resource.”

Police Beat The following information is compiled from UCAPD incident reports

by Assistant News Editor Brent Wilson.

Student, friend passports lost at Japanese Embassy

Nonstudents banned from campus for marijuana

Students back into each other in HPER parking lot

Nonstudent arrested for trespassing near library

Student Nina Zhuang lost her Chinese passport on Nov. 22 after sending her passport to the Japanese embassy in Nashville, Tennesse Zhuang said she sent the passport to the embassy on Nov. 7 because she was planning a trip to Japan. Zhuang contacted the Japanese Embassy, who told her the passport had been sent back to her.

Nonstudents Aresha Tate and Atarah King were banned from UCA after marijuana paraphernalia, including a grinder and a roller, were found in their car on Nov. 17.

They appeared intoxicated so they were not allowed to drive, and student Ashley Long picked them up.

Students Victoria Neal and Kellen Dunn backed into each other in the parking lot east of the HPER complex on Nov. 21, and both students said they couldn’t see each other as they were backing out of their spots.

Both students were unharmed, but some damage was done to their vehicles.

Nonstudent Country Headershot was arrested on campus near Torreyson Library for trespassing on Nov. 16, as he had been banned for campus. Headershot told officers that the reason he was there was because he was dropping off his girlfriend at Torreyson Library.

Headershot had been walking past the Doyne Health Science Building when he was arrested.

Campus Life

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November 30, 2016

Around Campus: Women’s Giving Circle The Women’s Giving Circle recently awarded four grants to encourage young women of UCA. The Women’s Giving Circle is an organization of alumnae and friends of UCA who award grants to organizations and individuals at UCA beyond the funding of the university.

CAPCA Book Drive The Community Action Program for Central Arkansas (CAPCA) has partnered with UCA to host the annual Bookworm Collection. The goal is to donate 6,000 items to the children of the Conway community by Nov. 25. To donate, look for the boxes around campus.

“Abre Los Ojos” The Department of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures is showing a Spanish movie at 3 p.m. on Nov. 28 in Burdick Hall room 205. The movie is titled “Abre Los Ojos.”

photos by Valentin Sawadogo

{Left} Miss UCA 2016 Ashton Purtle crowns sophomore Kellie Collins as Miss UCA 2017 Nov. 18 at Reynolds Performance Hall. Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields also attended. {Right} Sophomore Kelli Collins models her evening dress at the Miss UCA 2017 pageant.

Sophomore Kelli Collins crowned 2017 Miss UCA; Miss America present

By Cassidy Kendall Staff Writer

Sophomore Kelli Collins was crowned Miss UCA 2017 at the 2017 Miss University of Central Arkansas Scholarship Pageant on Nov. 18 in Reynolds Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. This pageant was sponsored by Alpha Sigma Alpha and the Miss UCA Board of Directors.

Sophomore Megan McAfee received first runner-up, junior Kelley Brown received second runner-up, senior Alexis Sanders received third runner-up and senior Courtney Cameron received fourth runner-up.

The Music Department will host a concert for the wind ensembles and symphonic band at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 in Reynolds Performance Hall. This will be their last concert for the semester.

Choral Concert The UCA Community School of Music will hold its Voices of Central Arkansas concert at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 in the Ida Waldran Auditorium. The Voices of Central Arkansas is a community chorus made up of third- through 12th-grade children from the Conway community.

The judges were former Miss UCA Traci Sims Baugh, UCA alumni Larry Burns and Kevin Barton, former actor Lee Yack-Jaros, Arkansas Tech University Professor of Agri-Business Jim Collins and Executive Director of the Miss Ouchita Baptist University Pageant Becky Hartsfield. The Mistress of Ceremonies was Katie Bailey Harris.

The night began with a performance of the National Anthem by Miss Central Arkansas 2016 Caitlyn Cook, who later went on to perform a cover of “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston.

Miss UCA 2016 Ashton Purtle then performed a dance

before the 11 contestants were introduced.

Following the introduction was a question competition for the contestants. Each contestant was asked a question that was written by past Miss UCAs. Following the question competition was a special appearance from Miss America 2017, Savvy Shields. Shields said how thankful she was to be back in Arkansas for a short time.

The Honeybears Dance Team followed with a dance routine, and then it came to the talent portion of the pageant.

There was tap dancing, lyrical

dancing and an original theater routine. There were also musical performances, including opera, acoustic music and instruments such as the flute and piano.

The crowd was then presented to a group of six called “The Dynamics.”

The night continued with a lifestyle and fitness swimsuit competition, followed by an eveningwear competition.

The night ended with the presentation of the awards, and the crowning of Collins as Miss UCA 2017.

Collins will now go on to compete in the Miss Arkansas 2017 Pageant.

FILM

Office of Diversity, Community hosts viewing of documentary “Becoming Chaz”

by Brody Arnold

Symphonic Band concert

“I am truly humbled to be Miss UCA,” Collins said. “I am so passionate about our university and I am very honored to have the opportunity to share UCA with our wonderful state. UCA is my home and I will work diligently to represent our university the best I can this summer at Miss Arkansas.”

Eleven contestants competed in the pageant.

“Every girl competing shared the same love for UCA that I did and I’m glad I got to meet every one of them. I had the best experience and am so thankful for everyone that put so much time and effort into putting everything together,” McAfee said.

Staff Writer

The Office of Diversity and Community hosted a viewing on Nov. 16 of the documentary “Becoming Chaz” as part of transgender awareness month.

The documentary follows Chaz Bono, son of Cher and Sonny Bono, as he transitions from female to a male.

Bono had long identified as a lesbian, but felt like he was always a man.

A large part of the documentary is about Bono having surgery to remove his breasts.

Other parts include his routine of injecting hormones, and show the ups and downs Bono and his loved ones

endured while going through the transition process.

This included personality changes as he adjusted to having testosterone in his system and dealing with his mother’s reluctance to accept his transition.

Director of the Office of Diversity and Community Angela Jackson discussed the importance of the event.

“It is important to show this documentary to educate those in attendance on issues regarding our transgender community and to increase visibility,” she said. “As an office which focuses on diversity, it is our duty to provide such opportunities for our campus community.”

Administrative assistant and transgender person Noble

Gough feels like transgender people are overshadowed by other parts of the LGBT community.

“This event helps highlight the ‘T’ in LGBT that is often not as visible as the ‘LGB,’ but equally as important,” Gough said. “Our office would like to provide the campus with opportunities to educate themselves and engage in dialogue to promote more awareness around transgender individuals and the issues they face.”

There are signs at an early age that someone may be transgender.

“It’s not just wearing certain clothing, because we all know that any gender can do any of those things,” Gough said. “It’s not being happy

with themselves, mutilating themselves, coming to their parents with very disturbing things that you as a child shouldn’t be saying.”

LBGTQ and Women’s Outreach Initiatives Coordinator Reesa Ramsahai took questions from the audience after the viewing. She discussed labels.

“Labels are confusing.

Labels are very restricting,” she said. “Not all of us fit nicely in a label, and sometimes we put a lot of anxiety trying to fit into labels.”

She referenced part of the documentary in which a paparazzi reporter asks Bono, “Now that you are a guy, what’s your favorite beer?”

Ramsahai said labels like this are negative, pointing out

that some guys are perfectly fine with drinking other drinks.

Some of the audience brought up the question of why people who go from female to male undergo operations to get a penis-shaped appendage, even though there wouldn’t be any sensation.

While advancements have been made so that people can feel sensations post-operation, it is about body image, Gough said.

“Majority of the time people pursue that as a personal preference. They want to feel comfortable in their own body,” Gough said.

This isn’t always the case, but a lot of the times surgeries like this are to make people feel more comfortable in their own bodies, Gough said.

GREEK GOD

UCA Downtown UCA Downtown will host an event to meet Santa and have cookies with him on Dec. 10.

For more information, see https://uca.edu/downtown.

Home Free On Dec. 8, the country a cappella band Home Free will be performing in the Reynolds Performance Hall.

The concert will include Christmas songs as well as their usual a capella country songs.

Orchestra The Conway Symphony Orchestra and Choral Ensembles from UCA will be performing a concert in Reynolds Performance Hall on Feb. 11 featuring Danny Elfman’s music, which he wrote for Tim Burton films.

photo contributed by Morgan Beck

Sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma competes in the dance portion of the Greek God pageant. The night closed out with Alpha Sigma Tau winning the dance competition and senior Graham Brown winning the pageant.

Sigma Kappa hosts annual pageant in Ida Waldren, senior Graham Brown wins

by Victoria LaFave Entertainment editor

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, senior Graham Brown won UCA’s 31st annual Greek God pageant, presented by the women of Sigma Kappa in Ida Waldran auditorium.

As members of the UCA community filed into the auditorium, women collected a $5 charge at the door.

All of the proceeds from the contestant entry fee and the audience donations went to benefit Sigma Kappa’s Ultra Violet Campaign. The campaign is an initiative that works with Sigma Kappa’s national philanthropic partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association.

The pageant included three rounds for the eight contestants to compete in. The first round, the toga and letter round, was a chance for Greek men to share their names and affiliations with the crowd and show their personalities.

This was also the round when contestants shared their themes for the evening. There were a variety of themes, from “Family Matters” to “Shrek the Musical” to “Stomp the Stage.”

Each contestant chose the theme that best represented a part of his personality.

The second round was the talent round. This portion gave the contestants a chance to show their talents to the judges.

Several men chose to

do skits and step along with their themes.

Sophomore Sam Williamson, sponsored

by Beta Upsilon Xi, played his guitar and bass. Another talent showcased was senior Graham Brown’s “flag dancing” routine that coincided with his “Step Brothers” theme. The talent round filled the room with energy.

The third round was the formal question round.

The men entered the stage and answered questions ranging from “What was your favorite Halloween costume?” to “Why did you decide to go Greek?”

During each round change, two sororities took the stage for the dance competition.

Each group was met with

applause from its supporters, but ultimately, Alpha Sigma Tau took home the win for best dance.

Throughout the pageant, audience members were encouraged to place money in the jar of their favorite contestant.

This money also benefited Alzheimer’s research, but the award was ultimately separate from the judges’ opinions.

Graduate student Kamane “KJ” Thomas, who was sponsored by Sigma Kappa, won “People’s Choice” from audience support.

“Practicing with the Sigma Kappa girls for the talent portion was the best part of the pageant,” Thomas said.

After the final scores were tallied, Brown, a member

of Sigma Phi Epsilon, was crowned Greek God 2016. His “Step Brothers” theme won over the judges.

“I was surprised when they said my name. Me and a couple friends just wanted to come out and entertain people and apparently we did a pretty good job,” Brown said after his crowning. “I’m honored to have won and I want to thank Alpha Tau for giving me the chance and putting me up.”

For any men looking to participate in the future, Brown offers this advice: “Your goal should be to have a good time on stage and you shouldn’t really be trying to impress anybody. Just be yourself and have fun and the audience will see that.”

ucaecho.net

CAMPUS LIFE

November 30, 2016 /4

STUDENTS SAY

“

What classes are you

most excited about next semester?

”

story by Mary Kate Mansfield photos by Lauren Swaim

photo by Monica Sanders

Adam Bates, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute in Washington D.C., speaks to students on Nov. 17 in the College of Business about civil asset forfeiture and its affects on society. Senior Maleka Momand, a student research fellow for the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, spoke about her research paper “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” and ACRE President Dan Greenberg spoke as well.

ACRE hosts event for discussing civil assets forfeiture

By Brody Arnold Staff Writer

The Arkansas Center for Research in Economics hosted an event on Nov. 17 to discuss the controversy surrounding civil asset forfeiture.

Civil asset forfeiture is a process by which police can seize items of value from people if it is believed that these items have been obtained through illegal means.

This includes items like money and vehicles.

This issue has been controversial for a long time, because police do not have to prove that someone is guilty of a crime before seizing his assets.

Cato Institute’s policy analyst Adam Bates was the first to speak.

“Cato has been working on civil asset forfeiture and

opposing civil asset forfeiture for longer than I’ve been alive,” he said.

The federal government collected over $5 billion from civil asset forfeiture in 2015.

Bates said while this has been going on for decades, it is just now starting to generate a lot of talk about reform from Republicans and Democrats.

“It’s a very interesting issue for criminal justice because you have everyone working together, except the police and the prosecutors and the sheriffs,” he said.

Bates explained civil asset forfeiture, which he said is almost always drug related.

“The police suspect you of engaging in some kind of drug-related behavior, and once they suspect that, without arresting you and without charging you, they can take any property that they believe

is related to your criminal enterprise,” he said. “Because of the nature of contraband, that can be cash, that can be the car you’re in, that can be the home you live in, almost any item or real estate imaginable, can be and has been seized by police under civil asset forfeiture, without charging anybody with a crime, and without proving you are guilty.”

Bates said the best way to get rid of this problem is to legalize marijuana.

If marijuana was no longer illegal, police would not be able to seize money they think might have come from selling marijuana.

Senior Maleka Momand, who wrote a report on civil asset forfeiture in Arkansas, spoke next.

“In 2015 alone, the state seized almost $7 million in just cash,” she said. “This doesn’t include things like cars or

weapons or Xboxes. They seize anything and everything that might be of value that might be involved in a drug crime.”

Former Arkansas representative and current President of the Advance Arkansas Institute Dan Greenberg spoke next. “[Civil asset forfeiture] is really kind of an invitation to government corruption,” he said.

He said this is because it acts as an incentive for police officers.

The more they seize, the more they get to spend, and the more they get to keep.

Greenberg said that two years ago, he believed civil asset forfeiture took place under due process of law.

“Since then I’ve looked into this issue a little more carefully, and I am now much more skeptical that there is due process of law when civil asset forfeiture takes place,” he said.

MUSIC

Bear Bones members prepare for international competition

by Lauren Swaim Photo Editor

The top trombonists from UCA’s Bear Bones Trombone Choir are getting ready for an international competition after performing at an event Nov. 15 in Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall.

For the Emory Remington Trombone Choir Competition, different trombone choirs will record a musical piece and submit it to the International Trombone Association.

The choir that places first will be featured at the 2017 International Trombone Festival at the University of Redlands in California.

Trombone choirs from all over the world compete in the competition every year, leader of the Bear Bones Trombone Choir Justin Cook said.

Cook is also an assistant professor of trombone at UCA. The Bear Bones includes 24 trombonists, some of whom are majors, while some

play for fun. Twelve of these trombonists make up the Natural Slides Trombone Choir.

Students are selected for the choir each semester through auditions.

These 12 students participated in the Remington competition.

The choir chose to play “OsteoBlast” by Derek Bourgeois and “Bruckner Etude” by Enrique Crespo. They were scheduled to record these pieces Nov. 21.

Cook said “OsteoBlast” is probably one of the hardest trombone pieces he has come across.

The choir played both “OsteoBlast” and “Bruckner Etude” at its performance Nov. 15. At the concert the Bear Bones also played three pieces arranged by senior Tyler Walters.

One of the pieces Walters arranged was “Star Wars Medley,” a compilation of John Williams’ lesser-known

pieces from the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Cook said people are always asking to arrange pieces.

“We will always read [the arrangements]. If it’s really good, we will play it in a concert. If it’s maybe not as good, we’ll just read it,” Cook said.

The original arrangement was 20 minutes long, so they had to shorten it, Cook said.

Walters, a composition and performance major, said he is a huge cinephile and Star Wars was the first film he ever saw.

“It’s something that’s very near and dear to my heart. John Williams is just a remarkable composer and being about to arrange that kind of music is kind of neat,” Walters said.

Walters said he began arranging music when he was 12 years old.

He said he discovered music notation software and couldn’t stop messing around with it.

“It just became very addictive and when I got to college I thought, ‘You know I could do this for a living,’” Walters said.

Cook said the pieces Walters edited and arranged recently are far superior to the first few pieces he arranged.

“It’s been cool to watch that process grow and watch him start to learn to understand the trombone choir and how to make a trombone choir sound like something rather than just a big noisy mess,” Cook said.

In the spring, the Bear Bones are taking a trip to Texas for the Texas State University Trombone Symposium.

Texas State trombone instructor Martin McCain invited them to play at the symposium and to listen and talk to guest artists Denson Paul Pollard from the Metropolitan Orchestra and Tim Smith from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, which Cook said will be a great experience for them.

Junior Christy Hawking

Freshman Otis Davis

“Sensation and perception. I just love psychology classes. It’s not my major but I’m excited to see what this one’s about.”

“I don’t even remember what I’m taking next semester. Not my science ones because they’ll kill me.”

Freshman Connor Mason

Junior Carie Walker

“Music appreciation, because it’s easy.”

“I’m excited about my major African American writers class.”

Sophomore Thomas Gifford

Freshman Caina Cowart

“I don’t have very many good classes next semester.”

“Honestly none of them would be the right answer. Life span development sounds fun though.”

SPOTLIGHT

by Payton Turner

PEOPLE OF UCA Bianca Bautista

Staff Writer

photo by Lauren Swaim

Freshman Bianca Bautista aspires to become a peer coach in her residential college, Health Promotion and Wellness. Bautista would also like to become an honors student.

Freshman Bianca Bautista will rocket ahead to junior status next semester with 52 hours of college credit already obtained during her time in high school.

Bautista, a jill-of-all-trades freshman who balances 12 hours of nursing and psychology classes with I.D.E.A.L, the Big Event Committee, nine hours of practice with the Bear Marching Band every week and a job at Starbucks. Bautista accumulated at least 52 hours of concurrent credit during her time at DeKalb High School in her hometown of DeKalb, Texas.

“My school didn’t do AP and all that hooblah, we just did dual credit. So every single class I took last year, except faor my band class and my computer programming class, was college credit,” she said.

And she’s definitely not done yet. Next semester, Bautista aspires to become a peer coach in her residential college, Health Promotion and Wellness­ —better known to the UCA campus as HPaW. Peer coaches are students who are constantly available to give other students assistance and improve their academic standing. Peer coaches typically help students who are on academic probation or alert. She also plans to apply for the Shedler Honors College in January.

“I love the idea of becoming a better leader. I love helping others and I only want

to improve my people skills and learn about others,” she said.

Bautista, who is an aspiring vegetarian, laments that there are so few vegetarian options offered at UCA, specifically in the cafeteria. “They don’t serve enough food that has enough iron in it, which has made me anemic… and everything that [they] have that’s vegetarian is all carbs, so it’s not easy to eat healthy.”

Bautista originally said she began her journey at UCA because the moment she stepped on campus she fell in love. The beauty of UCA’s campus had her enraptured from the get-go, and she said that she knew immediately that this was where she belonged. She said she’d already known that UCA had fantastic nursing and psychology programs, her major and minor respectively.

“UCA’s really great about diversity,” she said, which is another reason she decided on UCA. Bautista, unlike many upperclassmen, also enjoys that she lives on campus and doesn’t have to constantly compete for a parking spot and is within walking distance of all of her classes, all of which she enjoys immensely.

“I love all of my professors, they’re great,” Bautista said.

She loves and looks forward to all of the opportunities to get involved across campus and loves to see everything that UCA has to offer.

Opinion

5

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

November 30, 2016

The Voice

Lighting issues put pedestrians in scary situations at night

The Echo Staff Maggie McNeary Editor

Morgan Embry Associate Editor

Jordan Johnson News Editor

Brent Wilson

Assistant News Editor

Amanda Nettles Campus Life Editor

Mary Kate Mansfield Assistant Campus Life Editor

Jennifer Buckley Opinion Editor

Victoria LaFave Entertainment Editor

Zach Keast Sports Editor

Denn-Warren Tafah Assistant Sports Editor

Julia Kramer Online Editor

Des’ree Dallmann Assistant Online Editor

President-elect Trump should unite country, not divide Donald Trump is the president-elect, but there is something far more dangerous than our future commander-in-chief: his supporters.

Trump needs to publicly denounce any kind of racism, sexism or xenophobia.

While I do believe that Trump will ultimately be a terrible president and his policies will try to set back social progress, I believe the way he enables his followers is the real problem.

I feel like I should make one thing very clear: I understand a lot of Trump voters did not vote for him because of his racist and sexist rhetoric.

A lot of Trump voters feel like the government no longer represents them and they legitimately wanted an outsider to shake things up. Though they may not agree with his racism and sexism, the rhetoric was also not a deal breaker for them.

There are a lot of people in the United States who have backward views when it comes to equality.

Seeing the future president and his followers accept this mindset encourages them to act on their hate.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the U.S. has already seen a spike in harassment and hate crimes since election night, and I fear that these will only increase over the next four years.

According to the SPLC, there have been 701 reported incidents of hateful harrassment around the country since Trump’s election on Nov. 9.

“Other patterns pointed out previously are holding too, notably that anti-immigrant incidents remain the top type of harassment reported and that nearly 40 percent of all incidents occurred in educational (K-12 schools and universities/college) settings,” SPLC’s hatewatch staff said.

It is no different than a child mirroring the

behavior of his parents. When a child sees a parent exhibit openly sexist or racist behavior, he assumes it is the norm and will mimic said behavior.

When someone who yearns for the social environment of the ‘50s or ‘60s sees someone like Trump, it speaks to his inner hate. It makes him confident that he can act on this hate without repercussions.

In past weeks, reports have already surfaced of incidents of harassment throughout the nation. According to cbsnews.com, kids are telling Hispanic classmates they are going to be deported and Muslims are being targeted with harassment and hate speech.

Trump needs to listen to the very

by Brody people he has targeted Arnold throughout his Staff Writer campaign.

Muslims are now scared to wear hijabs in public, undocumented workers are afraid of being torn from their families and women are terrified of rape culture becoming even more of a norm than it already is.

Trump should attempt to see things from the perspectives of groups that have been marginalized by his campaign.

These people have legitimate concerns about what is going to be acceptable in society going forward, and they need to know that they will be protected.

I hope that Trump is a successful president.

I hope he proves me, and many others, wrong.

When we have a successful president, we have a successful country.

If he wants to be successful, Trump needs to drastically change his rhetoric and denounce this hate to avoid an increase in hate crimes.

Since he won the election, Trump has spoken about uniting a divided country.

If he is sincere about this, he cannot continue with the rhetoric that dominated his campaign.

The United States will only become more divided if this increase in hate crimes continues.

Lauren Swaim Photo Editor

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

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Media, entertainment should be more racially sensitive Racial jokes have become some of the most controversial, yet exploited, pieces of social commentary in entertainment. Much of the humor on television and what we consume on the internet targets race directly.

Some view this as harmless fun, while others feel it’s the same insensitive behavior that has continued since Jim Crow laws were implemented.

The current status of entertainment is that we allow just about as much as the law permits.

Outside of censorship laws that still exist on television and radio, pretty much anything is fair game in American culture.

Unlike other countries that ban certain expressions of free speech, the ideals we support in America glorify free speech without restrictions.

This includes any expression of hate, homosexuality, religion or patriotism.

Beliefs and ideals that have sparked controversy are to be treated the same because all speech is protected equally under America’s doctrine of freedom, and the topic of race has taken prevalence in our society.

Some view the use of racial jokes in entertainment as manipulative and a form of hate speech, which has created a sense of caution for those in the business.

For example, comedian Sarah Silverman received a lot of public scrutiny for trying to push the envelope with her decision to use black face as a joke for an episode she titled

“Face Wars” without thinking of the damage it would do to her reputation.

“There’s a still of me on Twitter in black face….it’s totally racist out of context and I regret that,” Silverman said in an interview.

On the other hand, actor Robert Downey Jr. was openly accepted by the public for his use of black face in the movie “Tropic Thunder.”

Racial insensitivity extends so far beyond Hollywood that it almost seems commonplace to acknowledge it without addressing it.

Whether it be common slang or the name of a professional sports team or TV show, the public ignores the consequences

by Malachi and avoids any real Thornton dialogue that confronts Staff Writer racism. It’s normal for people to unfairly pick and choose what words are useful and what words are problematic.

It’s not as if people aren’t petitioning for change. Complaints about the types of things displayed in the media and on television that some feel are disrespectful are common means of protest.

Now we have a president-elect who invites the type of careless and selfish behavior that those who exercise racial insensitivity exhibit. The hope is that Trump invited racially insensitive conduct purely for votes and that he will hold the office of president successfully.

Racism will likely continue to be a part of our society until it no longer proves itself useful.

With mainstream media, the entertainment industry, and American politics seeming to invite racially insensitive behavior with open arms, it is unclear when the futility of racism will become the norm.

Have an opinion?

The lighting conditions at night can be intimidating in many communities for individuals who rely on walking as their primary means of transportation.

Some roads exist in total darkness at night because of a lack of adequete lighting and ill-maintained streetlights, making it difficult for pedestrians to see where they are walking and for drivers to see pedestrians who are out late.

It is common to see pedestrians walking home from school, work or stores around town in complete darkness, especially recently, with the sun going down at around 6 p.m. For people who don’t have the means to drive themselves around or obtain rides to navigate from point A to point B, the dark conditions of urban areas at night can be terrifying and potentially hazardous.

Regardless of whether one would admit it, there is an inherent human fear of darkness.

“Researchers believe that human fear of darkness stems from genetic encoding that hardwired us to avoid predators at night,” medicaldaily.com writer Lecia Bushak said.

Our eyes are not conditioned to adapt well to low-light situations, making it difficult to understand our environment and see potential hazards that could be lurking in the areas of total darkness on roads without proper lighting. Injury can result from tripping on objects on the side of the road or even falling into holes or ditches.

A more formidable hazard that accompanies the darkness at night is crime.

“Robbery is mainly a nighttime crime, increasing after 8 p.m.,” John C. Smith University reported on its website, citing the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

“An estimated 63 percent of rapes and 72 percent of motor vehicle thefts occur at night. Crime generally increases during the winter months because of extended periods of darkness.”

Crime, whether it be robbery, rape or murder, tends to occur in the late hours of the night when most people have retired to their homes for the day. This puts pedestrians in a scary spot at night, making them more vulnerable to criminal acts than if they were walking in broad daylight.

Walking in total darkness is also dangerous due to drivers at night.

At night, drivers often have minimal time to react to pedestrians walking on the sides of roads, which can cause accidental collisions. This possibility for pedestrian collisions is multiplied for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 15 percent of fatal car crashes involved a driver with a blood alcohol content of greater than or equal to .08 g/dL colliding with a pedestrian.

John C. Smith University’s website provides tips for preventing dangerous situations when out at night. “Travel with a group after dark,” “always wear reflective or light-colored clothing” and “let someone at your intended destination know your expected arrival time” are just a few of the suggestions they make for those who have to venture out after dark.

The state of lighting in most communities is not something that city officials are blind to. It is a problem that plagues most communities, Conway included.

Improvements to this problem can only be implemented when community members speak up. Cities don’t have enough manpower to track down every lighting issue in their districts by themselves.

Most cities have a way to report problems with street lighting on their official city websites, which is an easy way to make a difference in communities worldwide. To report a problem with streetlights in Conway, file a Street and Traffic Maintainence Report at cityofconway.org.

Crime, whether it be robbery, rape or murder, tends to occur in the late hours of the night

Everyone does.

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

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

The Echo is printed weekly at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark. Decisions about content are made by the student editors.

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

Entertainment

6

November 30, 2016

New This Week Movies

December 2 — Jackie (R), directed by Pablo Larrain, starring Natalie Portman, John Carrol Lynch, Peter Sarsgard and Billy Crudup.

December 2 — Kidnap (R), directed by Luis Prieto, starring Halle Berry, Sage Correa and Lew Temple.

December 2 — Incarnate (PG-13), directed by Brad Peyton, starring Carice van Houton, Aaron Eckhart and David Mazouz.

Music December 2 — Awaken, My Love!

- Childish Gambino December 2 — Darkness and Light - John Legend December 2 — Hamburg Demonstrations - Pete Doherty

Broadway to mixtape, anticipation building

by Taylor Fulgham Staff Writer

It’s no secret that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical “Hamilton” is a genius piece of art on its own. The Broadway production opened in the summer of 2015 and immediately exploded with rave reviews.

The cast album won a Grammy; Tony Awards followed, with the show winning 11 of its 16 nominations. It was then announced that Miranda would produce a mixtape featuring reworked songs and new songs that never made it into the final draft.

December 1 — Maize, for PC. December 2 — Super Mario Maker 3DS, for 3DS. December 2 — Steep, for PC, PS4 and XBox One. December 6 — Werewolves Within, for HTC Vive, PSVR and Oculus Rift.

December 6 — Dead Rising 4, for PC and XBox One. December 6 — The Last Guardian, for PS4.

December 13— Shantae: HalfGenie Hero, for PS4, Wii U and Xbox One.

Live and Local November 28 - December 1 — The Festival of One Act Plays - Bridges/Larson Theatre. No tickets required.

December 1 — Love and Theft Revolution Music Room, Little Rock.

Tickets are $16 to $20.

December 3 — The Schwag Revolution Music Room, Little Rock.

Tickets are $10.

December 3 — Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade - Downtown Little Rock. Free to public.

December 3-4— Celebrity Attractions’ Broadway Series - Elf - Robinson Center Music Hall. Tickets range from $25 to $70.

December 4 — Jeff Dunham Perfectly Unbalanced - Verizon Arena. Tickets are $49.50.

December 6 — Documentary Film Screening: A Place at the Table - Ron Robinson Theater. Bring one non-perishable food item for entry.

The first of the singles released was The Roots’ cover of “My Shot.” From the opening lines, it is evident that this is a new take on the “Hamilton” track. Black Thought, a member of The Roots, opens with the line “Mugshots, gun shots, dope shots, jump shots / Take you,”

The track continues with the familiar refrain of the original “My Shot,” with Black Thought repeating “Yo I’m just like my country / I’m young, scrappy and hungry / And I’m not throwing away my shot” over Nate Ruess’ background vocals. The combination makes

List compiled by Emily Gist

for a powerful hook.

Next is Sia’s cover of arguably the best song in the entire “Hamilton” canon, “Satisfied,” originally sung by supporting character Angelica Schuyler. Original Broadway actress Renée Elise Goldsberry owns every line and word in that song, making rapping while wearing a corset sound easy. Sia’s cover is a triumphant rendition, although not as satisfying as Goldsberry’s. Sia seems to perfectly understand Angelica’s longing to be with Hamilton and her inability to do so because of their different

social statuses.

An unlikely addition to the mixtape, Kelly Clarkson demonstrates her vocal prowess with the emotional and bittersweet “It’s Quiet Uptown.”

It seems Clarkson connects with the piece on a personal level, as the singer recently gave birth to her second child and the song is about the joys of children and the heartache that comes when you lose them.

She alternates between powerful belts and lilting falsettos, proving why she was the original American Idol.

Finally, the last single

NETFLIX

by Denn Warren Tafah Assistant Sports Editor

“True Memoirs Of An International Assassin” is an action comedy starring Kevin James, who acted in movies such as “Hitch,” “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” “Here Comes The Boom” and television shows such as “The King of Queens.” In this movie, James plays Sam Larson, a writer who portrays himself in a book as something he is not and has to live up to his words.

The movie grips the viewer’s attention at the start with an intense action scene. A man in a syndicate has just gotten word that the best assassin is coming to kill him. He tells his men to be on the lookout, but before he can finish talking, a car drives into the compound. And guess who jumps out? Larson.

Normally, these roles are given to Matt Damon, Dwayne Johnson or Tom Cruise, but Kevin James is more realistic to our society than “The Rock.”

In the movie, he is a mid-level office drone who escapes

the slavery of his day-to-day existence by writing fictional spy novels. He is single in his 30s, has low self-esteem and has caligynephobia, which is the fear of beautiful women.

James has definitely accepted the irony of playing an action hero, which is funny, bold and inspirational.

Returning to the plot, Larson jumps out of the car, kills a few guys, jumps on the escaping helicopter, kills his target and saves the girl. However, it turns out it’s just a scene from his book. A lot of the conversation between Larson and his friend about a real spy ends up in the book.

His book gets rejected by literary agents, but is picked up by a low-rent e-publisher who retitles the book and changes it to non-fiction. He gains success because of the book but he also puts his life in danger, because the person he wrote about was a real assassin called “The Ghost.”

He gets kidnapped by a Venezuelan warlord who wants him to kill the president of Venezuela. However, Larson won’t do it by himself. He is

This movie shines a light on the open corruption in several Third World countries, especially Venezuela. According to the Washington Post, “Drastic shortages of food, medicine, electricity and other necessities are causing small riots.

Organized crime and extra judicial police killings have given Venezuela a frighteningly high rate of murder and violence, with narco-traffickers allegedly in cahoots with corrupt allies in the government and security forces.

Runaway inflation means that from March 2015 to 2016 a basket of basic goods for a family of five became 524 percent more expensive.”

According to a local nongovernmental organization, Venezuela faced 170 lootings or attempted lootings from January to April 2016.

If you watch this movie expecting a box office hit, you will be disappointed. Take it as it is: a Netflix movie.

Markiplier returns after hiatus, fans rejoice After a five-month hiatus, YouTuber Markiplier returns to “Subnautica,” a game about exploring the ocean, and titled his new video “I Hate The Ocean.” The 33rd episode gives a fresh new start to the play-through series.

Before the hiatus, Markiplier’s “Subnautica” episodes ranged from twenty to thirty minutes long and had lost their flair. With the long episodes, the game became lackluster both for Markiplier and his audience. The editing was sparse so there were long moments of mindless chatter.

Additionally, the use of cheat codes gave the game less urgency and excitement.

In the 33rd episode, Markiplier acknowledges these problems in the prior episodes, saying he had played them as a means to an end instead of enjoying the game and scenery for what it was. So Markiplier made a promise: he’s not going to use cheats or outside guidance unless it’s from

Warner Bros. hit mass audiences with this collection of shorts including “Pinky and the Brain,” “Mindy and Buttons” and many others. However, the world centers around Yacko, Wacko and Dot, a trio of anthropomorphic beings who get into shenanigans and sing songs between shorts. With a combination of educational songs, outlandish schemes and a few well-placed and sometimes questionable jokes, “Animaniacs” is a missed classic among ‘90s kids.

comments between videos. By doing this, Markiplier hopes to make a new start and enjoy the game for its exploration aspects rather than play it checklist-style.

As the episode progresses, Markiplier sticks to his promises and the video is much better for it. The editing is smooth and allows for his best jokes and comments to come through.

The editing of his camera screen also provides some visual humor in the episode. As he plays, the audience can tell he’s enjoying the game more as he points out changes the game has made and makes some comedic comments about the new creatures and features as he plays.

previously encountered and what they do. At one point he questions what a type of fish is, despite having encountered it in previous episodes.

Another minor flaw in the play-through is the length.

Though less lengthy than some of his other episodes, the 33rd episode is 18 minutes long. This leads to a few instances when the viewer may become disinterested due to repetition. However, this was an improvement from his previous episodes and a majority of the game play is enjoyable.

Halfway through the episode, Markiplier’s avatar drowns because he is not paying attention to the air meter. This reveals the greatest flaw in the episode: since Markiplier is starting anew, he’s become rusty, so there’s a lot of backtracking he needs to do when he dies.

Though not his best, the 33rd episode of “Subnautica” is enjoyable with Markiplier’s visual and vocal humor. The episode also shows that there is potential for the next few episodes of the game to be generally more enjoyable for both the audience and Mark because new elements have been added to the game.

Markiplier has promised to go about playing it with a different attitude.

It also takes him some time to remember the characters he’d

Markiplier uploads new videos on YouTube every day.

2. “Teen Titans” The show featured classic comic characters including Robin, Sapphire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven, each with distinct, relatable personalities.

This team worked together to fight crime. But aside from the action and fighting, the show also tackled deeper themes about stereotypes, acceptance and perseverance.

Three-dimensional characters combined with intense combat scenes and introspective themes gave the show mass appeal among kids.

Each line is spirited and biting, with Snow tha Product rapping interchangeably in English and Spanish. She highlights the double standards that Latinos face in America.

The singles are an exciting preview of what is to come on the mixtape. I’m incredibly impressed with all the tracks so far. It has already proven that it will stand the test of time.

“The Hamilton Mixtape” is available for preorder on Amazon.com.

accompanied by the beautiful Rosa Bolivar (Zulay Henao), a former DEA agent who chooses to be a “one man” army because of the corruption in the world.

YOUTUBE

by Emily Gist

The track features rappers K’NAAN, Snow tha Product, Riz MC and Residente, each immigrants or children of immigrants.

Each verse highlights the struggles immigrants face with the American political system.

Miranda called the track “timely,” releasing it within days of Donald Trump’s electoral victory.

FILM

Comedy shows plight of world

1. “Animaniacs”

Top Five Missed Animated TV Shows

highlighting the clichés and stereotypes of black adolescents.

Recently, four singles were released from the mixtape — “My Shot,” “It’s Quiet Uptown,” “Satisfied” and “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done).”

Staff Writer

December 2-4 — The Elves and the Shoemaker - Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Tickets are $12 for general admission.

photo courtesy of billboard.com

Lin-Manuel Miranda poses with Questlove and Black Thought from The Roots. Queen Latifa, Jimmy Fallon and Usher have also signed on to participate in “The Hamilton Mixtape.”

Black Thought critiques these sentiments, saying that when society perpetuates these stereotypes and tells youth that this is all they are worth, they are bound to never reach their full potential.

December 2 — Blue & Lonesome - The Rolling Stones

Video Games

released was a forceful and politically charged track that samples a line from the “Hamilton” number “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down).” The title speaks for itself: “Immigrants (We Get The Job Done).”

3. “Invader Zim” An odder and more intense show than the typical cartoon, “Invader Zim” offered a new perspective. Zim tries to conquer Earth and blend in yet is extremely obvious in his plans. The only person to notice such strange behaviors is Dib, Zim’s arch-rival. The grotesque imagery depicts the alien nature of Earth from Zim’s point of view and the humor derives from his interactions with Dib and the other humans. And who could forget GIR, Zim’s dim-witted yet lovable robot companion?

photo courtesy of comingsoon.net

The cast of “Almost Christmas” attempts to calm a high-stress situation during Christmas. The film grossed over $17 million within its first week.

Comedic Christmas gold

by Des’ree Dallmann Assistant Online Editor

With Christmas almost a month away, the comedy “Almost Christmas” was released in theaters on Nov. 11.

While the film is laugh-out-loud funny, it lacked the chemistry and charm we are all so fond of in family Christmas movies.

Directed by David E. Talbert, “Almost Christmas” is about a retired mechanic and his children celebrating their first Christmas since his wife and their mom died.

In the beginning, a short timeline shows the couple’s life together, from when each of their children was born until the wife’s death in early 2016.

As Christmas approached, the husband and father, Walter Meyer, played by Danny Glover, prepares to spend the holidays with his four children: Rachel, played by Gabriel Union; Cheryl, played by Kimberly Elise; Christian, played by Romany Malco; and Evan, played by Jessie T. Usher.

When they all gather together for the week before Christmas, the struggles of their everyday lives and past tensions cause constant commotion in the house.

Union, master of many roles, portrayed Rachel, who is a stubborn, goofy divorcee in law school. In an attempt to make her seem like the dorky next-door neighbor and youngest sister, her character came off as more of a teenager, even though she was divorced and a single mom.

As for the other roles, the chemistry between characters was so lacking that I had a hard time believing they were all family.

The glamorous back-up singer and sister-in-law played

by Mo’Nique was the star of the film, as she was portrayed as the loud-mouthed, alcoholic, tell-it-like-it-is character that 4. “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” Virtually every kid had an imaginary friend, so this show appealed to kids of all ages. The story focused on Bloo, who was an imaginary friend. Though the first episode centered around the conflict Mac had with moving on from Bloo, the two end up meeting a colorful cast of characters including Eduardo and Coco. With hilarious interactions between uniquely-designed characters and thoughtful dialogue, the show is dearly missed.

kept the audience laughing through the movie.

Another character that contributed to the laughs in this film was Cheryl’s husband, Lonnie, played by J.B. Smoove.

The character is portrayed as a fast-talking wannabe with a wandering eye. Having Mo’Nique and Smoove in the same room made the film.

As funny as they were, their jokes and comments were not made for a typical family Christmas film.

The plot expands over five days, Christmas being the fifth day. Maybe it was the lack of chemistry or maybe it was the focus on the family issues that left this movie out of the Christmas movie genre, but it lacked the Christmas charm we are all so fond of in holiday movies.

Instead of leaving the movie thinking, “I can’t wait until Christmas,” I thought, “Wow that was awkward, but it made me laugh.”

Because the movie’s main focus was on the family and the loss of the mother, Christmas was used as more of a plot device rather than a setting.

Even in the scene when the family did the traditional Christmas tree shopping, instead of helping, everyone fled to go about their lives.

In the traditional Christmas family dinner scene, the commotion is at its all-time high with the youngest sibling, Evan, getting upset with his father for almost selling the house, and Cheryl pulls a gun on her husband after finding out he was cheating on her.

Also, in the entire movie there was a total of three Christmas songs played.

If you are looking for a laugh, look no further, but if you were hoping for anything more, you will be disappointed.

“Almost Christmas” is rated PG-13 for strong language, sexual content and violence. It is currently playing at Cinemark Towne Centre in Conway.

5. “Danny Phantom” When Danny walks into his parents’ machine and accidentally turns it on, he turns into Danny Phantom, a ghost-boy. After getting used to his new abilities, Danny uses his powers to keep the city safe while also hiding his identity from his ghost-hunting family. With comical characters, outlandish dialogue and a unique premise, we surely miss the days when we could run around our rooms pretending to float, turn invisible and fly through our bedroom walls.

Sports

7

November 30, 2016

Editor’s Take

It’s the end of a bad year, unless it’s about sports

By Zach Keast Sports Editor

2016 is finally at an end.

While this has arguably been one of the most unpleasant years in recent memory (rest in peace countless loved celebrities), in sports, this was one of the most memorable years.

For starters, an internet meme was born out of the NBA Finals.

“The Warriors blew a 3-1 lead.” I’ve read that at least a couple dozen times on Reddit, and especially on Sportcenter comment boxes on Facebook.

The Golden State Warriors had the greatest regular season record any team in the history of the NBA ever had with a 73-9 record.

With a record like that, they were a shoe-in for the championship.

Then Lebron James said “no” and led Cleveland to their first championship in over 50 years.

We can’t forget Peyton Manning leading the Denver Broncos to win the Super Bowl months before that, thus closing the book on such a legendary career.

I am incredibly glad he decided to call it quits while on top, rather than tip-toeing around the NFL for the next five years as the oldest player in the league. (Looking at you, Brett Farve.)

And the most incredible feat, other than a quarterback retiring when he should, is the over 100-year-old curse finally being broken.

As a long-time St. Louis Cardinals fan, I have made many jokes at the expense of the always terrible Chicago Cubs.

But in the last week of October, I couldn’t help but root for the team that I spent 20 years making fun of. I actually stood up and cheered when third baseman Kris Bryant threw the last out to first base.

They deserved it. And you know it’s been one insane year when a Cardinals fan is happy for the Cubs. Goodbye, 2016.

photo by Lauren Swaim

Junior wide receiver Brandon Cox runs the ball past the defense during the Bears’ game against Nicholls State University on Nov. 12 at Estes Stadium. UCA stole the win with a score of 31-21, with Cox running for four yards with one reception.

Bears win playoff game, head to second round

By Denn-Warren Tafah Assistant Sports Editor

The University of Central Arkansas football team (10-2) defeated the Illinois State Redbirds (6-6) 31-24 in a first-round playoff game on Nov. 26 at Estes Stadium.

It has been 11 years since UCA hosted a playoff game and four years since UCA participated in a playoff game.

Coming into the game, both teams had victories over FBS schools.

UCA beat Arkansas State, which is on track to winning the Sunbelt Conference. Illinois State beat Northwestern, which

later beat teams like Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana in the Big Ten. At the start of the game, Illinois State went up 10-0 with a touchdown from their running back and a field goal in the first quarter.

The beginning of the second quarter is when UCA scored its first points.

Junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand found senior wide receiver Desmond Smith in the end zone for a one yard touchdown.

With the clock at 5:45, Illinois State also scored with a touchdown pass, making the score 17-7.

The Bears grabbed momentum after junior

offensive linebacker George Odum blocked a punt and sophomore wide receiver Jakari Dillard picked it up and returned it for a four-yard touchdown.

Then Smith scored again with another pass from Hildebrand to give UCA the lead at 21-17 in the fourth quarter with nine minutes to play.

A five-play, 25-yard drive got the Bears to the field goal position, giving them three extra points and increasing the lead to 24-17.

However, Illinois State put together their fastest scoring drive.

They scored in only four plays for 81 yards in one minute and 38 seconds.

With the game coming to an end and the score tied at 24-24, The Bears ran the ball for a four-yard gain by running back Antwon Wells for the touchdown, beating Illinois State 31-24.

UCA’s defense held the Redbirds to only 94 yards and a touchdown in the final 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the offense picked up momentum as Hildebrand finished with 268 passing yards. Senior wide receiver Jatavious Wilson had 75 yards receiving and Smith had two touchdown catches.

Senior defensive lineman Jordan Toliver spoke about the team coming back from halftime.

“We went in and we told ourselves just keep doing what we’ve been doing all year, it’s eventually gonna turn out how we wanted to. And it did,” Toliver said.

Smith was proud of the coaches’ game plan.

“I feel like the coaches came up with a great game plan. The team came out, didn’t give up and made great plays,” Smith said.

With the win, the Bears advance to the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision tournament to face Eastern Washington, ranked number two in the FCS playoffs, in Cheney, Washington on Dec. 3.

V I C TO RY

Upcoming Games Football

Women’s basketball continues dominating teams

By Brent Wilson Assistant News Editor

3 p.m. Dec. 3 vs.

Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington Men’s Basketball

6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 vs.

Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri Women’s Basketball photo by Waid Rainey

6 p.m. Dec. 2 vs.

Crowleys Ridge College in the Farris Center Men’s Track and Field

Dec. 2 - Dec. 3 vs.

Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Senior point guard Maggie Proffitt shoots a basket at the Sugar Bears’ game against Williams Baptist Nov. 22 at the Farris Center. Proffitt scored 13 points in the game, which UCA won 82-32.

The UCA Sugar Bears basketball team (3-1) beat the Williams Baptist College Eagles (2-5) 82-32 on Nov. 22 in the Farris Center.

The game began with the Sugar Bears scoring 11 points, and Williams Baptist was left with zero points with six minutes left in the first period.

By the time the second period began, UCA had gained another nine points and Williams Baptist had gained eight.

In the first part of the second period, with six minutes and 46 seconds left to go, UCA gained another 10 points and Williams Baptist had not scored

a single point.

When halftime started, Williams Baptist had made 13 points for a total of 21, but the Sugar Bears were still leading by 27 points, with a total of 48.

At halftime, the crowd was entertained by the UCA dance team, the Honeybears.

UCA widened their lead in the fourth period, ending the period with 68 points to Williams Baptist’s 23 points.

UCA’s senior center Raquel Logan was injured during the third period and fell to the floor, with head coach Sandra Rushing assisting her.

Rushing said after the game

See Basketball- page 8

D E F E AT

Sugar Bears lose in second tournament round to Islanders

By Malachi Thornton Staff Writer

The University of Central Arkansas women’s volleyball team put the final touches on another season when they lost against the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders on Nov. 19 in the Farris Center.

The team was optimistic, trailing along their victory over Houston Baptist to advance to the semifinals to play Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

“The level of play in the conference has increased since last year so there will be a lot of great volleyball,” head coach Jeni Chatman said before the team faced their first loss from an SLC team in the tournament

since 2014.

The first set was highly competitive. The lead changed twice and UCA didn’t give up much ground until a 4-0 run after the Sugar Bears tied the score at 9-9.

Islanders capitalized on a pair of errors by sophomore right side Samantha Anderson, accompanied with some efficient offense.

UCA came back to within one point to make the score 15-14. Sugar Bear defense continue to struggle and Islanders went on another 3-0 run, forcing a UCA timeout with the score now 18-14.

UCA tried to gain momentum but it wasn’t enough to best their opponent.

The Islanders pushed the

margin and eventually took the set 25-20.

The second set began with much of the same after the Islanders went on a 3-0 run.

UCA brought the game back within one point making the score 4-3, but had to call a timeout early thanks to more defensive errors that pushed the gap to 8-4.

By the middle of the set, UCA battled back and eventually tied the game at 15-15 and forced a timeout for Texas A&M CC. The fans in the crowd had their emotions on display as UCA rallied, exchanging the lead twice but not giving up ground before they took the set 25-23 and tied the match 1-1.

Texas A&M CC opened the third set on another big run and

eventually pushed the score to 9-2.

UCA gave up seven runs of three scores or more over the entire set. Anderson and sophomore outside hitter Haley Tippett led the set for the Sugar Bears with a pair of kills along with freshman outside hitter Abbie Harry.

The fourth and final set was again too much for the Sugar Bears, who gave up an 8-2 lead early.

The start gave Texas A&M CC the advantage, outscoring their opponents 20-17 and eventually ending the set with the score 25-22 for the 3-1 match final. During the match, Anderson collected a team-high 14 kills along with four blocks and three digs, and junior

middle blocker Megan Nash added 10 kills and four blocks.

Tippett closed out her season with 15 double-doubles, 13 kills and 14 digs. Freshman setter Elizabeth Armstrong finished the match with 43 digs assists and nine digs. Defensively, sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Dimon tallied 16 digs while freshman defensive specialist Rayna Jefferis made 15.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Sharp made 12 digs in her last performance as a Sugar Bear.

Armstrong said she is looking forward to next season.

“We ended the season on a high note, and most of the players are returning,” Armstrong said.

8/November 30, 2016

SPORTS

ucaecho.net

UCA STATS CORNER

SPORT

RESULT

SCORE

RECORD

Football

W vs. ILL

31-24

(10-2)

W-Bball

W vs. WBC

82-32

(3-1)

M-Bball

L vs. WMU

80-63

(2-4)

Volleyball

L vs. T A&M CC

3-1

(16-14)

Bears leave New York with a win

By Emily Gist Staff Writer photo by Lauren Swaim

Freshman Taylor Sells (1), a guard for the women’s basketball team, grew up playing basketball in Tulsa and almost everyone in town knows her, she said. She is majoring in exercise sciences and hopes to become a physical therapist.

Freshmen welcomed to bear nation

By Lauren Swaim Photo Editor

There are two newcomers to the world of women’s basketball at UCA. Freshmen Taylor Sells and Maddie Goodner are playing as guards in their first college season this fall. Both said they have loved their experiences with the basketball team and UCA. Sells started playing basketball when she was 4 years old, and has been involved with the basketball community ever since.

She played for both the girls’ and boys’ teams growing up and she said she is widely known in the basketball community in Tulsa. She said that when she was younger, everyone knew her because she was fast and she played like a boy.

Since coming to UCA, Sells has loved her experience. She didn’t have as much muscle strength when she started practicing in May and it would get really sore, but she’s gotten stronger since playing basketball here, she said.

She said she also loves working and playing alongside her coaches and teammates.

“They just feel like family to me,” Sells said. “I can tell them stuff and they’ll tell me the ugly truth rather than the pretty lie.”

Sells thought when she came to UCA that the work would be harder, but since she went to a college-level high school, it wasn’t as hard of a transition for her, she said.

She is majoring in exercise science so she can become a physical therapist. She also wants to pursue a degree to be a chiropractor.

Goodner, another freshman on the women’s team, always liked playing basketball, ever since she was 5 or 6 years old.

She was a part of a little league team at the Boys and Girls’ Club in Greenwood, where her dad was one of the coaches.

At first, basketball was a game where she could socialize with her friends, but starting sophomore year of high school, she began to love the sport.

Goodner said the basketball community in Greenwood was really popular, so it took a lot

of hard work to be on the team.

Goodner loved her basketball experience in Greenwood.

The town is renowned for their sports, so just walking down the street people would recognize her, she said.

During her junior and senior years of high school, she worked really hard and went to basketball camp during the summer.

The UCA basketball scouts talked with her the entire time she was at camp and watched her play during her senior year.

Since signing with UCA, Goodner said her experience has been overwhelming. She loves playing UCA basketball and is excited to be here.

“It’s much different from high school,” Goodner said, “but it’s been a fun process and I’m learning more about the game because they really try to expand your game. It’s been eye-opening.”

Goodner is majoring in business, sales and marketing in hopes of becoming a CEO one day. She doesn’t know where she wants to be after college, but she would like to stay in Conway.

VOLLEYBALL

UCA men’s basketball (2-4) played in the Maui Jim Invitational against Chattanooga University (4-2) on Saturday and Army West Point (2-4) on Sunday and returned with a loss and a win in that order. The invitational took place at Christl Arena in West Point, New York on Nov. 19 and 20.

The Bears lost against the Chattanooga Mocs 75-64 on Nov. 19. In the first half of the game against the Mocs, tension was high as the Mocs and Bears fought for a lead. According to ucasports.com, the Mocs started with a 21-point lead over the Bears.

In the second half of the game, the Mocs increased momentum and gained a lead that the Bears couldn’t overcome.

“We played a good, experienced Chattanooga team that outlasted us, but I was really proud of our fight and how we came back in the second half,” junior point guard Jordan Howard said. “We responded and bounced back from the loss to winning the next day.”

On Sunday, Nov. 20 UCA won against the Army Black Knights with a score of 81-76.

Of those 81 points, 41 of them were earned by seniors Derreck Brooks and Jordan Howard.

“The win felt better than anything I did individually,” Howard said. “It was a big win for us on the Army’s home court and a big step for this team.”

During the first half of the game, the Bears got a head start and gained an early lead.

However, during the second half, West Point stepped up their game and forced the Bears to keep up their momentum for the last half of the game. In the last minute of the game, junior

guard Mathieu Kamba came in with a layup, and around the last twenty seconds sophomore forward/center Tanner Schmit got a pair of free throws. This left the Bears holding a f ive-point lead over the Knights and earning a victory.

Winning the game against the Knights was a highlight for Howard. “My favorite moment was the satisfaction and feeling of capturing the win with my teammates after the game,” Howard said.

The Bears had a few days off until Nov. 26 when they played against Western Michigan University. They lost 80-63.

The Bears shifted their focus to their next home game, which was against the Little Rock Trojans on Nov. 29 in the Farris Center.

“It’s a must-win for us. It’s early in the season, but it’s best we right the ship now rather than later,” manager Deshaud Kelly said.

photo by Waid Rainey

Senior center Raquel Logan takes a mid-range shot against Williams Baptist College on Nov. 22. The Sugar Bears won the game 82-32, extending their winning record to 3-1.

Basketball:

Sugar Bears basketball has their biggest win

so far this season. Coach is pleased, but believes they can still improve.

4 Continued from page 7 that Logan was “ok.”

Despite Williams Baptist making some significant gains in the last period of the game, they could not rival UCA’s score.

According to ucasports, the Sugar Bears won by “their largest margin of victory and highest offensive output since a 93-38 win over Crowley’s Ridge College last December.”

Also according to ucasports. com, senior point guard Maggie Proffitt became one of only eight players in the history of the Southland Conference to make over 200 three-point photo by Lauren Swaim

Junior Reid Malone is the UCA volleyball team’s volunteer assistant coach. After college he wants to some day become the volleyball team’s head coach.

Assistant helps bring the team together

By Taylor Fulgham Staff Writer

The University of Central Arkansas volleyball team is a group of young and diverse competitors, coming from places ranging from Arkansas to Canada to Norway. The volleyball coaching staff guides these students to success in every match possible, inspiring the athletes to compete at their top level every time.

One of the individuals in charge of helping the team perform the best they can is Reid Malone, a UCA junior originally from Irving, Texas. Malone acts as the team’s volunteer assistant coach.

Malone joined the staff last spring when the new coaching staff was implemented for the team.

“Being a coach for this team is a foot in the door for my own career that will be starting

soon,” Malone said.

The 20-year-old student, who also serves as a Resident Assistant for Bear Hall, aspires to be a head coach one day.

Malone extolled his duties as a volunteer assistant for the team.

“I help the team in practice by giving them another set of eyes to watch for things that could improve and a body to play against,” Malone said.

Megan Nash, a junior kinesiology major from Ontario, Canada, spoke on Malone’s dedication to the team and willingness to put himself onto the court to help in any way.

“He is someone that comes into the gym every day with energy and passion for the game. He’s always pumped to be there and give us feedback and just be a part of any drill he can,” Nash said. “He’s also someone who is the same age as most of us so he is easy to talk to.”

Nash also said she thought Malone impacted the team for the better.

“I feel like he brings a certain energy to the team. He wants to learn and get better while also helping us get better.

He adds another set of eyes to watch if we are doing things correctly, so he gives good feedback to help us out and make us better everyday. He’s also a very competitive person so he brings that attitude to the court in every drill we do, even in our warm-up,” Nash said.

The UCA volleyball team competes in the Southland Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) along with teams from Stephen F. Austin State University, Sam Houston State, Lamar and New Orleans as well as other schools from around the southeastern portion of the country.

VM UCA’s Vortex Magazine

shots, with 202 in her career at the end of the game.

Several of the other team members also added points and moved upward in their personal careers.

Coach Sandra Rushing said she was pleased by the victory, but still wanted to see improvement, and said that her ultimate goal was “same as last year: we want to win a championship.”

Rushing said she felt the team was making good progress, and that nothing helps young athletes quite like

experience.

Rushing said that they would continue working on defense, as well as every other aspect of their game continuously.

So far this season, the Sugar Bears have won three of four games against Hendrix College, Alcorn State University and now Williams Baptist, with one 74-49 loss against Texas A&M University.

The Sugar Bears will play again on Nov. 29 in the Farris Center against Alcorn State.

The Vortex is now looking to fill the roles of Editor and Assistant Editor for the 20172018 academic year. If you’re interested applications can be found on our website at ucavortex.com or outside Garry Craig Powell’s office, located at Thompson Hall 325. Applications are due by 9 a.m. Monday January 16. Interviews will be Tuesday Jan.17 during x-period.