Feb. 20, 2013

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w w w. UCAE cho .n e t Single Copy Paid For by Student Publication Fee

Volume 106 — Issue 5

February 20, 2013 Wednesday

Opinion:

Campus Life:

TODAY

Voice: SGA’s refusal to fund annual event shows independence

Reynolds: Herm Edwards discusses importance of leaving behind positive legacy

Partly Cloudy/ 20% Rain Late

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Baseball: Bears open season with three-game sweep

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T H U R S DAY

Sports:

80% Rain/Storms

-HOUSING-

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Room, board rate increase expected

F R I DAY Partly Cloudy

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by Marisa Hicks Associate Editor

Fountain of News Board of Trustees Sets Feb. 22 Meeting Agenda The UCA Board of Trustees will discuss room and board rates and pouring rights pertaining to Coca-Cola contract negotiations at its Feb. 22 meeting. Other topics of discussion include the naming of the UCA Honors College, university retention policy, a financial update and contract review procedures. The meeting will be at 10 a.m. in the Wingo Hall Board of Trustees Conference Room.

Spring Enrollment Up 1.5 Percent From Last Year According to UCA figures, the university has 10,147 students enrolled for the spring 2013 semester, a 1.5 percent increase from last spring. In spring 2012, 9,998 students were enrolled. Of the 10,147 students, 7,833 are full-time and 2,314 are part-time.

International Engagement Hosts Trip to Crystal Bridges UCA students were invited to join the Division of International Engagement on a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Feb. 17. While in Bentonville, Ark., students toured the museum’s works of art such as American artists Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol.

Toad Suck Review Releases New Edition At Launchapalooza The third annual Toad Suck Review Launchapalooza, held Feb. 15 on the rooftop of Michelangelo’s Restaurant, ended the week-long ArkaText literary festival at UCA. This year’s review features a 3-D cover with glasses for viewing. The Toad Suck Review was recognized as one of the 10 best literary journals in 2012 by Library Journal. For more informaton about the literary journal, visit toadsuckreview.org.

Culture Talk On Love And Relationships Celebrates Valentine’s Day UCA’s Division of International Engagement hosted a Culture Talk Feb. 14 in the McAlister Hall Mirror Room on different cultural perceptions of love and relationships. Culture Talk happens once a month with a different topic at each session. The next Culture Talk will be March 14 on beauty, art and entertainment.

View More Stories at MyFountainOnline.com Stories featured include articles written by Fountain writers.

rendering courtesy of City of Conway Planning and Development

National convenience store Kum & Go will be located at the corner of Dave Ward Drive and Donaghey Avenue. Location of the building, traffic flow and architectural design were considered during the pre-construction process.

Kum & Go approval gets mixed reviews by Clark Johnson Sports Editor

Construction has begun on a new Kum & Go convenience store, which will be located at the entrance of UCA. The Conway Planning Commission worked closely with the Conway City Council to address residents’ concerns, such as the noise and traffic the store would create. The store, which will sit at the northeast corner of Dave Ward Drive and Donaghey Avenue, is expected to service the UCA community. The location formerly served as one of Textbook

- A D M I N I S T R AT I O N -

Faculty discuss weight-training facility funds, Coca-Cola contract at meeting by Brandon Riddle News Editor

UCA President Tom Courtway spoke about paying off debts from a weighttraining facility at a tense faculty senate meeting Feb. 12. UCA is currently in contract negotiations with Coca-Cola for a pouring rights contract with the university. Courtway said money received from the Coca-Cola contract could be used to pay off debts acquired from building an indoor weight-training facility. A decision has not been made by the university on how revenue from the contract would be used, although Pepsi contributed to athletics in the past. In 2003, the university entered into a 10-year contract with Pepsi. A $500,000 cash payment made up front

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commission meeting, UCA President Tom Courtway said Kum & Go representatives were forthcoming in meeting university design requirements. The design includes brick-wrapped canopy columns, an eight-foot fence to screen the convenience station from neighboring houses and brick signage at the corner of Donaghey Avenue and Dave Ward Drive. Bricks to be used are described as “UCA blend” from ACME Brick, according to the planning and

See Rate - page 2

See Approval - page 3

SPREADING THE LOVE

and, under the terms of the contract, $120,000 was guaranteed in sponsorship and commissions. “The $500,000 was applied to the construction of what is now known as the Pepsi indoor practice facility,” Courtway said. Courtway said the remainder of the facility project was bonded at an amount of about $680,000. “Of the $120,000 that has been paid in the Pepsi contract each year, $70,000 was allocated to athletics, $25,000 was allocated to the Student Center and $25,000 was allocated to the housing department,” Courtway said. Courtway said money was given to photo by Pham Minh

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Sophomore Wells Thompson holds a puppy at the UCA Humane Society event, “Smooch a Pooch,” Feb. 14 in front of Lewis Science Center.

- L E G I S L AT U R E -

Bill to allow concealed carry for faculty, staff passes Arkansas House, goes to senate by Brandon Riddle News Editor

The Arkansas House of Representatives passed a bill Feb. 15 that would allow faculty and staff with a permit at public colleges, community colleges and universities to carry a concealed handgun. House members voted 70-11 in favor of HB 1243, the concealed carry bill introduced by District 84 Republican State Representative Charlie Collins of Fayetteville. Collins amended the bill last week to allow public colleges and universities to opt-out from allowing handguns on campuses. According to an Arkansas Democrat-

Campus Life Entertainment Opinion Sports

Gazette article, Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe said he would likely sign the bill into law if the legislature sends it to him. The bill went to the senate after house approval. Following recent shootings at schools and universities, the discussion of gun control and individual gun rights has been a major topic of discussion. If HB 1243 were to become law, Arkansas would become the 23rd state in the United States to allow public universities and college campuses to decide on concealed carry gun rights for faculty and staff. UCA is currently designated as a gunfree zone. Students, faculty and staff are not permitted to bring handguns on campus,

Next Issue:

Index: Around Campus

Broker’s book stores, but has since been torn down to begin construction on the nationwide chain’s convenience store. The nationwide chain began forming plans for building the store near UCA’s campus in spring of 2012. After drafting plans to present to the planning commission and city council, Kum & Go changed its approach multiple times, submitting new requests. UCA was consulted on the project to help Kum & Go’s architectural design match the university’s nearby buildings. Two design schemes were considered and the first was chosen. At a July 16, 2012 planning

UCA’s Student Life Committee and Student Government Association unanimously approved a room and board rate increase proposal, which the UCA Board of Trustees will vote on at its Feb. 22 meeting. SGA Vice President senior Jovana Ilic said the rate increases were necessary in order to stay competitive with other fouryear universities in the state as well as other universities within the Southland Conference. Ilic said the increases will help fund renovations and repairs to housing facilities, which include university apartment complexes and residence halls. The proposed rates, which will go before the board of trustees, include a 2.96 percent room rate increase and a 3.2 percent increase in board rates. For a standard room, room rates would increase $156.29 and board rates would increase $168.96 for an academic year. With the rate increases, room and board costs would be $5,585.55, which is an increase of $305.55. Summer housing renovations include installing privacy stalls in bathrooms and adding sprinklers around Hughes Hall as well as updating kitchens in Farris, New and Baridon halls. “[Privacy stalls] have been wellreceived in the buildings we’ve added [them] in,” Director of Housing Stephanie McBrayer said. Renovations also include updating

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Students receive National Who’s Who Among Students honor

even with a concealed carry permit. UCAPD Project Manager Arch Jones said the university will not comment on the proposed legislation. UCA President Tom Courtway did not return calls Feb. 18 from The Echo for a comment on the bill. In a Jan. 30 article from The Echo, Jones said UCAPD does not support the right of students, faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns on campus. “It is the UCA Police Department’s position that guns on campus would detract from the healthy learning environment on our campus and create additional risks for our students,” he said. A similar bill was passed by the Arkansas legislature earlier this month that allows church members to carry handguns

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Inside:

Contact Us: @ucaecho

with a permit. Beebe signed the “guns in churches” bill into law Feb. 11 after the house passed the measure 85-8 and the senate passed with a 28-4 vote. At the national level, Democratic President Barack Obama spoke about gun control in his State of the Union address Feb. 12. “Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals,” Obama said in his address to the nation. “Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive

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© 2013 The Echo, Printed by the Log Cabin Democrat, Conway, Ark.

Abolishing deferred rush

Freshmen should be able to rush greek organizations in the fall page 8


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