April 9, 2014

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THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SINGLE COPY PAID FOR BY STUDENT PUBLICATION FEE

WEDNESDAY

APRIL 9, 2014 Volume 107 — Issue 11

ucaecho.net 4 TODAY’S FORECAST CONWAY

Opinion:

Campus Life:

Political corruption makes its way into administration yet again 4 page 8

Students compete at first-ever UCA’s Got Talent performance 4 page 4

Voice:

High Note:

Baseball:

Bears fail to move ahead after 17-12 loss 4 page 9

Baker resigns, resumes tenured music faculty position

Sunny

69/46 4 THE ONLINE WIRE FROM UCAECHO.NET

Foundation returns $100,000 anonymous check; former executive’s name added to Arkansas Ethics Commission investigation by Austin DuVall News Editor

Buzz Bash to be held on business lawn The UCA College of Business will hold the first Buzz Bash from noon - 2: 30 p.m. April 15 on the College of Business lawn. UCA entrepreneurs will present their own businesses. Free food, buzz cuts and music will be provided at the festival. Students have a chance to win a free Nexus tablet prior to the event.

University students to travel abroad UCA students will travel to six countries for summer study abroad programs. In June, students will study psychology courses in France and Italy, earning six hours of psychology credit. A Spanish language immersion program in San Jose at the Costa Rican Language Academy will allow students to earn six hours of credit. During May intercession, physical therapy students will travel to China and visit hospitals for 10 days to learn about health care. Also, students will participate in the college student personnel administration program in China where graduate students will learn about culture in Beijing and visit UCA’s partner school, Qingdao University.

Sorority hosts Jam with Lambs Sigma Phi Lambda held its annual Jam with Lambs event from 7-10 p.m. April 9 in the McCastlin Ballroom. The talent show is open to all UCA students and proceeds went to World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization to work against poverty and injustice. World Vision works in about 100 countries to help families and communities. Attendees voted on the People’s Choice award recipient with money placed in the winner’s bucket.

Student media outlets win awards at conference The Echo, the Vortex, News6 and the Scroll won awards at the Arkansas College Media Association conference. Echo staff won 25 awards, including Newspaper Editor of the Year won by senior Marisa Ketchum, first place in In-depth news won by the Echo staff and first, second and third places in Editorial Writing won by senior Brad Smith. The Vortex won 16 awards.

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4 WHAT’S AHEAD

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

Courtway answers questions from students, public

Former Executive Assistant to the President Gilbert Baker is, as of April 4, a nine-month assistant m u s i c professor with a $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 s a l a r y , according to Gilbert Baker a letter sent by Provost Steve Runge. Baker was required upon receiving the letter to report to Acting Music Department Chair Paige Rose, who will provide his assignments May 15, the date when the nine-month contract period for faculty ends. Baker’s new position is based off the tenure status he gained in 2012 after requesting his tenure in the music department be reinstated. “If there ever came a time for me to leave my administrative post and return to the faculty, I

could teach music appreciation, music literature, basic theory and beginning piano, depending on the needs of the department,” Baker wrote in a Nov. 15, 2012 request to then-Music Department Chair Jeff Jarvis. The request was specifically for “a faculty rank of Assistant Professor,” the position Baker held before he left UCA in 2001. According to his resume, Baker received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1977, a master of music degree from the University of Arizona in 1978 and completed 30 hours of post masters level work toward a doctorate of church music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 198486. Baker is a former state senator, ex-chairman for the Arkansas Republican Party and was a U.S. Senate candidate in 2012. The UCA President’s Office issued a written statement the morning of April 2 stating Baker had resigned from his administrative position at UCA

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funds and distributes them in support or against specific candidates, legislation or initiatives. Seven of the eight PACs Morton contributed to gave Maggio $12,950 as of Jan. 31. Six of those “gave almost exclusively to Maggio,” the article stated. UCA Foundation President Shelley Mehl wrote to Morton in a March 24 letter to covey the foundation’s appreciation of the money, but “given recent developments we feel it is in everyone’s best interest to return this gift.” Mehl states in another letter to Kathy Carroll, the foundation’s executive director, that “in July 2013, Gilbert Baker brought me a $100,000 check to the Academic Facilities Fund. Mr. Baker said that the donor wished this gift to be anonymous.” The check was receipted July 15, 2013. Courtway sent a letter to Morton dated Aug. 1, 2013 with a handwritten note beneath the typed text. “When Gilbert came back

from his visit with you, I was impressed and very encouraged,” the letter stated. “Thank you so much for this most generous donation – we all appreciate it very much – it really helps us as we move ahead in planning the nursing building. TC.” Mehl said the UCA Foundation is not subject to FOIA requests, but provided letters and receipts “in the interest of open disclosure and in support of UCA.” According the DemocratGazette, the July 8, 2013 check was received shortly after Morton and Baker visited each other. The day Morton wrote the $100,000 check is the same day Maggio heard a plea from a Morton-owned nursing home involving a lawsuit resulting from the 2008 death of Martha Bull, 76. Bull was a patient at the Greenbrier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, one of 32 nursing homes across four states both — all owned by Morton.

See Baker - page 2

POLITICS

Trustees hear cost projections for Greek Village, Alumnus creates controversy Lewis Science Center; discuss room rate increase again with latest anarchist goal by Austin DuVall News Editor

All seven UCA Board of Trustees members attended a two-day retreat at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View on April 2-3 to discuss current university affairs, as well as look at future projections for the 2014-15 school year concerning accruement of university debt because of various projects and proposed room and board changes for 2016. No votes were made on any of the numerous proposals made during the retreat. President Tom Courtway said, “We started doing this a few years ago. In my opinion, boards need time to have a good discussion and have a good presentation of a lot of different topics so they can get a good feel of what’s going on because they have to make decisions going forward.” The current board chair Cay Hinkle, a Mountain View native, organized the retreat. Student Government Association President senior Adam Price, Staff Senate president Lindsay Osborne and Faculty Senate president-elect Don Bradley also attended the retreat. After an executive session in which nothing was voted on, Vice President of Finance and Administration Diane Newton provided a year-to-date financial overview and housing projections for fall 2014. According to Newton’s PowerPoint presentation, the overall housing occupancy is at 100.22 percent for fall 2013, an increase from the 94.24 percent occupancy rate from fall 2012. Newton is anticipating a occupancy rate of above 100 percent for fall 2014 and showed UCA is currently running 60 applications above last year, adding that Bear Hall has 356 beds but 731 applications list the residence hall as the individual’s top priority pick. For university apartments, Newton is looking at an even 98 percent occupancy rate on

opening day, if not more. The housing department is currently running behind based on a timing change made to the reapplication process for returning students. Stadium Park apartments are projected to lead all other university apartment complexes in net revenue with an estimated $828,926 in income next year. Bear Village trails slightly behind with an expected net revenue of $795,719. According to the presentation, Conway Hall is expected to lead net revenue for 2015 with $586,647. Short-Denney Hall is expected to earn $571,111. The approved UCA room and board rate for the 2014-15 school year sits at $5,778. Trustees listened to a proposed increase for the 2015-16 school year, leading the total to a hypothetical $6,038. Currently, the room and board rates for UCA is $5,530. As of June 30, 2013, the university has an outstanding debt of $129,314,929 with a debt burden ratio of 5.72 percent. The debt burden ratio measures an organization’s reliance on debt as a source for financing its mission and is recommended by the presentation to be at 7 percent. The debt coverage ratio as of June 30, 2013 is 2.6 percent. This ratio measures the excess income available for covering annual debt service. The presentation noted that the recommended range for universities to fall into is between 2.4 and 2.6 percent. Through payments and bonds for Greek Village Phase I and II, the Donaghey Corridor and the renovation and expansion plan for Lewis Science Center, the university is projected to reach a total debt of approximately $195,414,929 with a debt burden ratio of 7.24 percent and a debt coverage ratio of 2.30 percent. Provost Steve Runge provided an extensive overview of the university’s current academic standings, including an admissions and retention update, as well as graduate school and UCA online updates.

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effective immediately. President Tom Courtway declined to comment on Baker’s resignation. On April 5, the Arkansas DemocratG a z e t t e published an article stating UCA had returned a $100,000 check to n u r s i n g Michael Maggio home tycoon Michael Morton. Files obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Democrat-Gazette showed the UCA Foundation returned the gift dated July 8, 2013 on March 24 amid controversy involving political action committees (PACs) connecting Baker with Morton, the same person whose checks totaling $24,000 have “since become part of two state investigations of Circuit Judge Michael Maggio of Conway,” according the article. A PAC is an organization that collects contributed campaign

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The files for this presentation were not immediately available. Courtway said the first day ended with a “very nice dinner” at Hinkle’s home and trustees were treated to Ozark-style music performed by a few guest musicians. The next day, after a UCA Foundation update from the organization’s president, Shelley Mehl, trustees discussed a timetable for Greek Village Phase I construction. According to the timeline, the groundbreaking ceremony will be April 25 with construction starting in mid to late May. The construction is expected to be finished in mid-July 2015. Other handouts included graphic representations of the placement of houses for individual UCA sororities. Major maintenance and renovation projects currently underway for UCA is the storm drain connecting the HPER Center to Bruce Street and renovation to the basement in McCastlain Hall and the Lewis Science Center roof. In terms of student housing, the card access system outside dorms will be updated along with an Internet upgrade to Bear Village, Erbach, Oak Tree and Torreyson apartments. Bear Village and Stadium Park apartments will both receive apartment renovations. Fire sprinkler systems will be improved in Baridon, Bernard and Short-Denney Halls. ShortDenney Hall will receive a fire alarm replacement. Trustees later viewed the possible architecture plans for the Lewis Science Center expansion plan, along with a conceptual design review of the Donaghey Corridor Mixed Use project. The Donaghey Corridor would create 165 beds and would cause a 6.5 percent increase in room and board rates to break even the first year of occupancy. The board will have a budget workshop where it will discuss the proposed budget for the 2014-15 school year.

by Brandon Riddle Editor

UCA alumnus Cody Wilson was a prominent student government figure at his alma mater before international m e d i a named him a leading anarchist in Cody Wilson the digital realm. Wilson, 26, made headlines in 2013 with the Liberator, a 3D gun he designed made mostly of plastic, and continues to create controversy as a leading proponent of crypto-anarchism. His 3D gun project blueprints were posted online and later removed, at the request of the State Department. According to the Associated Press, the blueprints were downloaded

more than 100,00 times. Named after the FP-45 Liberator pistol designed for mass production during World War II, the 3D printed gun is also a symbol of government resistance. Wilson’s latest project is a Dark Wallet that serves as a wallet for the online currency Bitcoin, a mechanism for breaking free from monetary regulation. Bitcoin is primarily digital, exists without a central authority and offers no form of balance insurance, according to a Forbes article. Wilson’s projects are part of his work at Defense Distributed, a non-profit organization “dedicated to striking the roots of all statist monopolism,” according to its website. He runs the operation from his apartment near the University of Texas – Austin, a university he

See Alumnus - page 2

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Greek SAFA funding totals down; fraternity awarded largest amount by Laura Landers Assistant News Editor

The UCA Student Government Association released the finalized version of the Student Activity Fee Allocation (SAFA) report for spring 2014 with Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity receiving the most funding. According to the report, SAFA gave a total of $293,734.68 to 59 organizations on the UCA campus. Of that total, Sigma Phi Epsilon received $28,408.38, which is an all-time high for the fraternity. In the recent past, SAFA has given the fraternity $12,000 in

fall 2013, $20,000 in spring 2013, $7,650 in fall 2012, $16,560.25 in spring 2011 and $9,800 in spring 2010. Other Greek organizations that received the most funding include Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority with $25,000 and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity with $13,160. In total, Greek organizations were given a total of $83,019.32, which is 28.26 percent of the total funding. This is a decrease from the fall 2013 SAFA in which Greeks received 31.8 percent or $59,236.80 according to the

See SAFA - page 2

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