04.03.14 Issue 21 IN THIS ISSUE:
Campus Comes Together Remembering Shelby Seabaugh, p.2
#LightthePATH Campus Activities hosts glow run 5K to support PATH, p.3 Tyler Rosenthal z The Signal Ouachita’s television studio will officially be named after Gary and Matt Turner in a special dedication ceremony on April 3. Gary served as pastor of Third Street Baptist church for 25 years and his son, Matt, was an OBU graduate and news anchor for THV-11.
Home Sweet Home Katrina refugee finds home in Arkansas, p.4
User Un-friendly New YouTube layout not broken, why fix it? p. 5
Ouachita to dedicate studio in memory of Turners By TRENNIS HENDERSON News Bureau
Ouachita’s video production studio will be named in memory of Gary and Matt Turner, two noted communicators with ties to Ouachita and Arkadelphia. A dedication service for the Gary and Matt Turner Studio took place this morning in Lile Hall on the Ouachita campus. Rev. Gary Turner, who served 25 years as pastor of Third Street Baptist Church in Arkadelphia, died in 2005 at age 49 following a two-and-a-half year battle with leukemia. His son, Matt, a 2003 Ouachita graduate and a news anchor for THV-11
in Little Rock, died in a car accident in 2012 at age 32. Both men are being honored through a generous gift from Sen. Percy Malone and his wife, Donna. Sen. Malone, an Arkadelphia pharmacist and businessman, served in the Arkansas Senate from 2001 to 2013 and previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives. The Malones are longtime members of Third Street Baptist Church. THV-11 and KNWA in Northwest Arkansas where Matt Turner worked for several years are both contributing financially to this project through technology upgrades for the studio. The Ouachita campus community,
members of Third Street Baptist Church and individuals throughout the area were invited to attend the April 3 dedication ceremony. Special guests at the ceremony included Rev. Turner’s widow, Lisa, and their son, Andy, as well as Matt Turner’s widow, Julee, and their daughter, Preslee. “The dedication of the Turner Studio is exemplary in many ways,” said Ouachita President Rex Horne. “We recognize the lives of two difference makers, one through pastoral ministry the other through broadcasting. Both men, father and son, lived exemplary Christian lives and influenced countless people.
Tiger Steel to perform April 9
Benson’s Boys Former coach’s memory lives on through his players, p. 7
Bracketology Sports editors’ picks at the end of an upset-filled March Madness, p. 8
S News 1 n S Features 4 n S Opinions 5 n S Sports 6 n
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By HANNAH PEARCE Staff Writer
doesn’t end slavery, but it does bring awareness,” said Hannah Osborne, a sophomore sociology major from Minneola, Texas and vice president of IJM Ouachita. “That’s our goal: to make more people aware of the 27 million people caught in slavery today. This tragedy has been a hidden crime for far too long, and Stand For Freedom sheds a light on the problem.” The theme for Stand For Freedom this year is “One day for their everyday.” Students at hundreds of college campuses all over the world will be participating in the event, dedicating one day of their lives to those who spend every day in slavery. “When hundreds of schools stand for an entire day, it makes a big statement,” Beary said. “Human trafficking becomes more of a priority for world leaders and politicians when they see hundreds of colleges and universities standing and raising aware-
Ouachita Baptist University will host the Tiger Steel Drum Ensemble’s concert at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9 in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall. The steel drum is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, an island off the coast of Venezuela. The drums make a very distinct, cheery, metallic sound and are often featured in calypso styles of music. “After the oil boom in World War II, there were all these oil drums not being used, so they [Trinidadians and Tobagonians] started sinking them down and tuning them to different pitches,” said Dr. Ryan Lewis, director of the Steel Drum Ensemble. “Playing the steel drum is a lot like playing the mallets or marimba, but it’s in a circle around a drum,” said Aaron Breeding, a freshman instrumental music education major. “It’s a slightly different technique than any other instrument I play.” The ensemble does more than just perform concerts on campus. They tour schools, learn the history and culture of the instrument as well as perfecting techniques such as tuning and composing. “There is a whole ‘choir’ of steel drums,” said Dr. Lewis. “There is a soprano voice all the way down to bass voices. The steel drum is the only family instruments to be invented in the 20th century.” The concert will feature tra-
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Sam Beary z Courtesy Sophomores Sam Beary, Nathan Perry and Shelby Sutton, and senior Chelsea Hill hold signs to raise awareness of modern day slavery at last year’s Stand For Freedom Event. The theme for this year’s event is “one day for their everyday.” Students will be at the Flag Plaza for 24 hours during the event.
Students to stand 24 hours to fight trafficking By ANNA KUMPURIS News Editor
@anniebananie14 Students from Ouachita’s newly formed International Justice Mission chapter will stand at the International Flag Plaza beginning at 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, for 24 hours straight, in honor of this year’s Stand For Freedom campaign in order to raise global awareness for victims of sex trafficking, slavery and oppression. The IJM is a nonprofit Christian human rights agency that works to end modern day slavery and human trafficking around the world. The Stand For Freedom campaign was started by the IJM as a way to raise awareness for the millions of enslaved people worldwide. Several Ouachita students, led by Sam Beary, a sophomore church media/production major from Batesville, Ark., participated in Stand For Freedom last year. Since then, Beary and several of those stu-
dents have been working to create a college chapter of the IJM here on campus. “I discovered IJM at the Passion Conference in 2013,” Beary said. “I heard about the problem of human trafficking there, and I really wanted to get involved. IJM Ouachita will hopefully help students learn about human trafficking on a local and global scale, as well as provide opportunities for students to take action and truly aid in ending modern day slavery.” As IJM Ouachita is a new addition to campus, this year’s Stand For Freedom will be one of their first events. They will also host a screening of “Nefarious,” a documentary by Christian filmmakers that exposes the modern day slave trade. Beary and the other founding members of IJM Ouachita are hoping that these events will raise awareness and motivate students to get more involved with the global fight against slavery. “Standing in and of itself
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this weekzCALENDAR SENIOR DINNER will be tonight in Walker Conference Center for the class of 2014 for those who RSVP’d. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for photo booth. Dinner is served at 6. REFUGE is tonight Second Baptist at 9 p.m. For more information, contact: James Taylor at taylorja@obu.edu. LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM A COURSE is Friday. Forms are available in your dean’s office.
CAB SPRING FLING will be Friday from 2-4 p.m. on the lawn. For more information, contact: Hillary Hill at hillh@ obu.edu. GLOW RUN 5K is Friday night at 9 p.m. Come support the participants and enjoy music during and after the run.
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Incomplete lists
1 This one.
TIGER SERVE DAY will be Saturday morning. Volunteers are invited to gather outside the Elrod Center at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast catered by Sodexo.
Guess Who? [Communications Edition]
Dr. Jeff Root Dean, School of Humanities Prof. of Mass Comm
Dr. Deborah (Holley) Root
Prof. of Mass Comm
Rebecca (Roe) Jones
Tiffany Eurich
Asst. Prof. of Communications
Instructor of Communications
Campus mourns loss of Shelby Seabaugh By TRENNIS HENDERSON News Bureau
Shelby Seabaugh, a junior Christian studies/philosophy major at Ouachita from Magnolia, died unexpectedly March 27. Shelby, 21, is survived by her parents, Dr. Michael and Laurie Seabaugh, and her siblings, Haydn and Gracen. Dr. Seabaugh, a 1985 Ouachita graduate, is pastor of Central Baptist Church in Magnolia. She also is survived by her fiancé, Joshua Cassidy, and her grandparents, Dr. Rodney and Rosemary Griffin of Magnolia and Wayne and Glenda Seabaugh of Hot Springs Village. Shelby was involved in a number of campus organizations at Ouachita, including the Ouachita Student Foundation, EEE women’s social club and Pruet Sisterhood. A Tiger Network Leadership Award recipient, she also was involved in the Carl Goodson Honors Program and was on the Dean’s List. Recalling that “Shelby was excited about coming to Ouachita,” President Rex Horne said, “Her smile and enthusiasm about Ouachita was contagious. Now for nearly three years on campus, I saw her smile and felt her joy of being in this special place.” Affirming the Seabaugh family’s commitment to “faithfully serving the Lord,” he said, “We will all pray for the Seabaugh family. We all feel
Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy
a depth of sorrow and want to help shoulder the burden of grief. It’s certainly a loss to Ouachita. “There is also gratitude,” Dr. Horne added. “Because of Jesus’ resurrection, this is not a final goodbye, but a brief time until we’ll see Shelby again. In the meantime, we will cling to the One who gives life, forgiveness of sin and hope.” “Shelby Seabaugh had an infectious smile, a genuine love for people and a passion for Christ,” said Dr. Scott Jackson, associate professor of Christian ministries in Ouachita’s Pruet School of Christian Studies. “She truly displayed a contagious Christian faith. “Recently, Shelby taught a Bible study in my Communicating the Gospel class,” he reflected. “Her passage was from Colossians 1:15-20 which reads in part, ‘And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead,
so that in everything he might have the supremacy.’ Shelby taught with great humor, theological savvy and passion for Jesus. She knew Him well and loved Him dearly. I’m thankful that today she is in His glorious presence.” A memorial service for the university community will be held Thursday, April 3, at 3:30 p.m., in Jones Performing Arts Center on the Ouachita campus. Memorial gifts may be made to Ouachita Baptist University, Camp Siloam Springs or Central Baptist Church of Magnolia. This marks the second tragedy to impact the Ouachita campus in less than a week. Andrew Hernandez, a 2012 Ouachita graduate, died March 22 in a single-car accident. Andrew, 25, was the manager of TaMolly’s Mexican Restaurant in Arkadelphia. He is survived by his parents, Andres Hernandez Mendoza and Servanda Jacinto Lopez, as well as three brothers, Oscar Hernandez, David Noriega and Damian Noriega, and three sisters, Mariela Hernandez, Edith Hernandez and Valeria Torres, a freshman at Ouachita. His mother works on Ouachita’s building services staff. Andrew’s obituary affirmed that he “filled everyone around him with love, laughter and care,” adding that “he will be remembered by his generosity and infectious smile.” His memorial service was held March 29 at Second Baptist Church of Arkadelphia. n
STUDIO
z Continued from Page 1 “We also have the example of Sen. Malone who honors the lives of his two dear friends with a gift that will impact generations of students to come,” Dr. Horne added. “We are grateful for the lives of Gary and Matt Turner and Sen. Malone.” Ouachita’s current video production studio, part of the Rogers Department of Communications, was built during a major renovation of Lile Hall in 2012. A smaller studio previously was housed in Mabee Fine Arts Center. “It will be a pleasure to see the name ‘Turner’ every day at work and tell new generations of students about Gary and Matt,” said Dr. Jeff Root, dean of OBU’s School of Humanities. “Matt’s combination of talent, drive and concern for others will be a reminder for our students of the impact a Christian can make in the news media. He honed his talent through hard work, but Matt inherited certain gifts from his father. Gary Turner was a celebrated preacher and a beloved pastor. Both left us sooner than we expected but taught us life lessons and left us rich memories. “Building a new studio in 2012 was a major step forward in all of our video work, and this gift will ensure that our students will always have the advantages of high quality video equipment,” Dr. Root noted. “We have a growing number of students creating video productions for both television
Tiger Traks 2014 [April 25 &26] 8-person teams $15 per person (includes tshirt)
Sign up by 5 p.m., Friday, April 11. www.obu.edu/osf/tiger-traks/
and the web. It is a vital part of the future of our department, and it is imperative the students have the proper tools. We are tremendously grateful for a gift that will benefit our current students and those coming in future generations.” Rev. Gary Turner “was well known for his charisma, knowledge, humor and willingness to help people from all walks of life,” according to GaryTurnerMinistries.net, a website that features hundreds of his sermons. He was a recipient of the Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce President’s Award and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International. Active in community service, he served as president of the Arkadelphia School Board and the Clark County American Heart Association and chairman of the board for Arkadelphia Kids’ Club. He also was a board member for Courage House, Hospitality Care Center and Arkadelphia Little League and served as chaplain for the Arkadelphia Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Department. Matt Turner, a mass communications major at Ouachita, joined the staff of KNWA in Northwest Arkansas in 2003 before moving to THV-11 in 2012. He was voted best news anchor by several publications and also named to Arkansas Business’ “40 Under 40” for achievement in business. Ouachita’s Rogers Department of Communications established the Matt Turner Outstanding Junior Mass Communications Major Award last year in his memory. n
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NEWS BRIEFS n Thirty second recaps of the biggest stories of the week. NATIONAL ― The Supreme Court
has struck down limits on the overall contributions the biggest individual donors may make to candidates, political parties and political action committees. The justices said in a 5-4 vote yesterday that Americans have a right to give the legal maximum to candidates for office and other groups without worrying that they will violate the law when they bump up against a limit on all contributions, set at $123,200 for 2013 and 2014. The case, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, did not call into question the maximum amount an individual can donate to a single candidate or political party in a two-year election cycle -- those limits are $2,600 to a candidate, $32,400 to a national political party and $5,000 to a political committee. Chief Justice John Roberts announced the decision, saying the aggregate limits do not act to prevent corruption. n
WORLD ― Hundreds of thousands
of people evacuated from Chile’s low-lying coastal areas returned home yesterday morning after authorities called off a tsunami alarm as damage from a massive overnight earthquake seemed mostly limited. The major earthquake, with a magnitude 8.2, struck off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday, killing six and triggering a tsunami that pounded the shore with 7-foot waves. Officials said the dead included people--a firefighter among them--who were crushed by collapsing walls or were killed by heart attacks. Angamos, a key copper exporting port in northern Mejillones, escaped major damage, but workers were evacuated as a precaution, according to port union leader Enrique Solar. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was shallow at 12.5 miles below the seabed and struck about 950 miles from the capital, Santiago. n
SCIENCE ― Astronomers have
taken 100 million years off the age of our planet. A new study has found that a collision with another planet – roughly the size of Mars – which astronomers believe initiated the final phase of Earth’s formation by melting its rocky mantle, actually occurred up to 65 million years later than previously thought. This crash also produced debris that went on to form the moon. Scientists have proposed that this could have happened as little as 30 million years after the solar system’s birth around 4.57 billion years ago. The study has found it happened between 26 million and 104 million years later. The study’s team ruled out an earlier collision with a “99.9 per cent confidence level” after comparing numerical simulations of Earth’s growth and chemical composition. The new modeling dates Earth at a relatively youthful 4.47 billion years old. n
HEALTH ― The longer you can run
when you are young, the faster your mind is likely to operate in middle age, a new study suggests. Researchers found that better cardiac fitness in young adults translated to better brain fitness 25 years later, adding to a growing body of evidence that links heart health with mental functioning. The authors analyzed data on 2,700 men and women over a 25-year period. The participants were recruited in 1985, when they were all between 18 and 30 years old. In 1985, all participants did a short treadmill test to assess their fitness. The researchers recorded how long each person could maintain running at their top speed. In general, people who were more fit at the beginning of the study were more likely to have higher education, to smoke less, to be active more often and to have healthy blood pressure and lower cholesterol than people who were less fit. n
Compiled by Sam Cushman, Associate Editor. Sources: chicagotribune.com, reuters.com, the sustralian.com.au
Glow run to aid human rights organization By DIXON LAND
Assistant Sports Editor
Brittany Nolan z The Signal
Sophomore Erin Chesire performs with the Tiger Steel Drum Ensemble in one of their concerts. The ensemble has been playing since last spring and performs one concert every semester.
STEEL
z Continued from Page 1 ditional calypso music on all four voices of steel drum (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), but will also include pop tunes, classical pieces, a jazz tune and even a Jimmy Buffet song. “My favorite songs we play are ‘El Montuño’ or ‘Take Five,’” said Breeding. “’El Montuño’ has kind of a weird melody and core progression, and ‘Take Five’ is a jazzy tune, which is interesting to hear on the steel drum.” The Steel Drum Ensemble includes students from all majors, making the mix of personalities and musicality among the musicians unique, something no other ensemble has. “We would love to see more non-music majors become a part of this ensemble,” said Dr. Lewis. “It’s an easy instrument to learn even if you have never had music training or
STAND
z Continued from Page 1 ness. When world leaders are awakened to the brutal reality of human trafficking, change can happen.” Throughout the 24 hours of this year’s Stand For Freedom event, students at Ouachita will be able to donate money to IJM, read stories of modern people who have been freed from slavery and take a quiz to see how many slaves are used to support their lifestyle. There will be times of prayer and worship throughout, and Will Gunter will lead a closing worship session at 8 p.m. on Wednesday for the final hour. Dr. Ray Franklin, who serves alongside Dr. David Caddell as IJM Ouachita’s faculty advisor, has high hopes that this event will open students’ eyes to the problem of modern day slavery and that they will be
don’t know how to read music. That’s totally fine.” “The rehearsals are very relaxing, a lot more relaxing than some other ensembles,” commented Breeding. The Tiger Steel Drum Ensemble meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. The Tiger Steel Drum Ensemble began in the Spring of 2013 and has performed once on campus each semester since. They also perform a concert called Panorama in the Spring, which is a joint concert with the Boys and Girls Club of Clark County. Their ensemble is called Club Steel. The concert is free to attend and all students are encouraged to come and enjoy a taste of the calypso culture through the musical talents of these students. For more information about the Tiger Steel Drum Ensemble, email Lewis at lewisr@obu. edu or contact him by phone at (870) 245-5421. n encouraged to do their part in fighting injustice. “We should own these issues. As Christ followers this is what we should be about,” Franklin said. “It’s a way to live a life of epic meaning by doing small things on a multiindividual scale.” Other founding members of IJM Ouachita who will participate in Stand For Freedom include Anna Kumpuris, a sophomore Christian Studies major from Little Rock, Ark. and the chapter’s news director; Shelby Sutton, a sophomore worship arts major from Little Elm, Texas and the chapter’s social media director; and Tyler White, a freshmen biology major from Des Arc, Ark. and the chapter’s secretary/ treasurer. For more information about Stand For Freedom or IJM Ouachita, email Beary at bea53635@obu.edu. n
Campus Activities Board will host a glow run to sponsor Partners Against Human Trafficking (PATH) this Friday night, beginning at 8:30 p.m. The run will be a 5K throughout campus, and the course will be lined with glow products to light the path. “When I became a co-chair with CAB, I wanted to put on a 5K race and the whole group was for it,” said Shelby Davis, a junior biology major. “We wanted to do it last semester, but instead decided to join with Southern Bancorp’s color run and saw everything that it would take to prepare for a race. At the beginning of this semester, we decided we would do a glow run.” Along with the glow run, Campus Activities will donate all the proceeds to PATH.
“PATH is the only shelter in Arkansas that works with victims of human trafficking,” said Samantha Burgess, a sophomore Christian studies and sociology double major. “They provide a place for women who are trapped in prostitution or are the victim of a sexual assault.” Louise Allison, the director of PATH, will speak on human trafficking before the race. Allison, who travels all over the state telling her story of being a victim of trafficking will encourage students to raise awareness of the issue. “We loved the idea of working with PATH,” Davis said. “Samantha told us some of the ideas she had in mind. We shared our ideas with her and decided to mesh them together into one race.” Following Allison’s speech, the race will begin, and volunteers will be stationed throughout the course with various
glow-in-the dark items to help the runners. As the runners start to climb the last hill, they will notice volunteers holding up signs along the hill. The signs will list facts and statistics about human trafficking today. “The runners are going to be tired when they get to that hill,” Burgess said. “We will never understand what people trapped in human trafficking go through, but just to be able to remember and reflect on them, we hope will be motivation to get over that hill.” To participate in the race, visit the Campus Activities office to fill out an application. The cost to run is $15. Registration is allowed up until the night of the race but a t-shirt is not guaranteed at that point. If you want to participate in the race, would like to volunteer or for more information, contact the Campus Activities office or Shelby Davis. n
Tyler Rosenthal z The Signal
Students serve the community during last semester’s Tiger Serve Day. Studets will meet at the Elrod Center at 8:30 a.m. this Saturday to participate in more service projects around Arkadelphia.
Spring Tiger Serve Day set for April 5 By JESSICA STEWART News Bureau
On Saturday, April 5, Ouachita Baptist University students, faculty and staff will conduct volunteer service projects throughout the Arkadelphia community as part of Tiger Serve Day. The semi-annual community service event is hosted by Ouachita’s Ben M. Elrod Center for Family and Community and is an opportunity for Ouachita students to be difference makers in the local community. “Many of the people and non-profits that we help on Tiger Serve Day are not able to do the work themselves,” explained Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center. “It’s a huge cost savings and help to these people and a beautiful way to act out our faith in very practical and relational ways.” “The success of Tiger Serve Day over the last 17 years has
been driven by two powerful forces,” added Ian Cosh, Ouachita’s vice president for community and engagement and director of the Elrod Center. “One is the ongoing desire of college students to serve the community in meaningful ways, and the other is the affirmation by those served regarding the effectiveness of the service offered.” Volunteers will gather at the Elrod Center at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning for a catered breakfast from Sodexo. Volunteers also will receive their service project assignments and tools before spending the morning around Arkadelphia performing a variety of community service projects such as leaf raking, window washing and small repair jobs. Volunteers are then invited back to the Elrod Center after completing their project for lunch provided by Southern Bancorp. Reagan Parsons, a sophomore biology major from Ark-
adelphia, Ark., is among more than 25 students who serve on the Tiger Serve Day leadership team. Sharing how Tiger Serve Day has had an impact on her as an Arkadelphia resident and Ouachita student, she said, “Growing up in Arkadelphia, I have seen firsthand the need for Jesus in the community. There are huge physical and spiritual needs here that would not be met if it weren’t for Tiger Serve Day.” Tiger Serve Day began in the spring of 1997 following a devastating tornado that hit Arkadelphia. More than 900 volunteers were part of the first Tiger Serve Day. Since then, Ouachita faculty, staff and students have given more than 63,000 hours of community service on Tiger Serve Days, including more than 800 volunteers who served last fall on 96 Tiger Serve Day teams. For more information visit www.obu.edu/serve or contact the Elrod Center. n
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Barbara Scorza y Courtesy
Scorza speaks at his graduation from North Little Rock High School. Scorza graduated from NLRHS after moving there following Hurricane Katrina.
Politico y Courtesy
New Orleans, Louisiana, following Hurricane Katrina in September of 2005. The Hurricane brought massive amounts of flooding after city levees broke displacing thousands of people that lived in or near the city.
Katrina refugee finds home in Arkansas By DIXON LAND
Assistant Sports Editor @dixoncland
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onday, Aug. 29, 5:10 a.m. The deadliest hurricane to hit the United States in 80 years makes landfall in the heart of New Orleans, La. The events that took place in New Orleans in the late days of August and the early days of September of 2005, are some of the most heart wrenching moments that this country has ever witnessed. In the midst of it all was eleven-year old Kenderick Scorza. Scorza had lived in New Orleans all his life. But the events that moved him elsewhere would change his attitude on life forever. “When thinking about it afterwards, it’s still sad to me looking back,” Scorza said. “Even after all of this time, there are still places that haven’t been touched. I was from the lower ninth ward, which got hit the worst. Even today, the roads are still really bad and it’s interesting to see the way the city has somewhat bounced back. It’s not nearly the way it was before the storm though.” For Scorza, the story began a few days before Katrina hit. “My family and I had been hearing about the storm and we were trying to figure out if we wanted to stay or go,” Scorza said. “It wasn’t until the day before the storm hit that we decided to go.” Scorza said that the decision to go was made from his mother, who felt as if God was telling her to leave. “My mom had been praying about it constantly asking God what He wanted her to do. Whenever she talks about it now, she says that she felt like God was speaking to her, telling her that we needed to leave,” Scorza said. “If we hadn’t have left, I wouldn’t be alive. My house was totally washed away. It was nothing but the grace of God that I am
here today.” So, on the morning of Aug. 28, Scorza and his six family members piled into his mother’s five-seat car and headed north. They assumed that they would return to their house soon, but they had no way of being sure. “Making that trek and not knowing where we were going or what was going to happen was scary. I was just expecting some little road trip but push came to shove and my whole world changed on that little car ride up to Memphis,” Scorza said. As the hurricane arrived around 5 a.m. Monday morning, it brought massive title surges of water. The levees, which protected the city that was surrounded by water, broke, releasing substantial amounts of water into the streets of the city by the second. Four hours after the hurricane had made landfall, an estimated 70 per cent of New Orleans was underwater due to levee failures. The Scorza family found themselves in Memphis as they watched the hurricane tear through New Orleans and leave thousands of homes beyond repair. “We watched the news closely and realized we wouldn’t be going home anytime soon,” Scorza said. “We had packed about two weeks worth of clothes because we had planned on being back relatively soon.” Along with being concerned for his house, Scorza was also worried about his father who stayed in New Orleans. As an X-ray technician, Scorza’s father stayed to help out. However, he had not anticipated the hurricane causing as much damage as it did. “I was worried about him,” Scorza said. “The last text I got from him read, ‘water rising. Pray for us.’ Getting that text message was really scary for me. I didn’t know if my dad was going to make it or not and if I’d ever get to see him again.” Scorza’s father survived the
Aaden Jones, Lauren Hutcheson and Kenderick Scorza in the car on their way to the Kappa Chi outing in New Orleans. The group traveled to New Orleans for their annual formal outing.
storm but was occupied by taking care of patients that had been severely affected by the storm. He eventually ended up taking three boats and two buses to escape the city to Gonzalez, Louisiana. When Katrina began to move north, Scorza and his family decided to move again, this time out of the trajectory of the storm. They ended up staying in a hotel room in Cabot, Ark. “We had no ties in Arkansas whatsoever,” Scorza said. “People saw our license plate and came by and would give us things and try to provide for us a little bit here and there. We received blessings upon blessings. From Cabot, we got an apartment in North Little Rock, and then were able to find a house where we live to this day.” Following their move to North Little Rock, Scorza’s mother was still traveling between New Orleans and North Little Rock to her job. Finally, their church in North Little Rock, Fellowship North, decided to offer her a job where she still works. For Scorza and his family, the visits back to New Orleans were still tough. “I remember going back and seeing my house for the first time,” Scorza said. “There was
still water on the way to our neighborhood, so everyone had to take boats to get back. Just seeing where my house was is still kind of hard for me to grasp. There was a house there and now its gone. The only thing that remained was the porch and the fence. One of my mom’s cars was flipped on its side in the lot.” Then, just a few weeks ago, Scorza got the opportunity to visit New Orleans once again on the Kappa Chi outing. “Some friends wanted to see where I grew up, so we drove down there,” Scorza said. “We drove across the Claiborne Bridge and you could just see the destruction. On the left there were some houses that Brad Pitt had organized to be rebuilt and some places had come back, it wasn’t the same.” As Scorza reached his destination, he was amazed at the growth that had taken over the empty lot where his house once stood. “It was all grown up. The grass was higher than my car,” Scorza said. “There were memories there and all that was left was a porch. I don’t have any baby pictures left or anythingjust a few that my dad had. Everything that was in the house was washed away.“ While at the site of his former house, Scorza ran into one
of his old neighbors. He said that talking to him was surreal. “He was telling me about how old I’m getting and about how he had remembered me being so young,” Scorza said. “Just to think that we were able to connect with things that happened after so many years.” Scorza says that even though there has been progress, New Orleans has a long way to go before it fully recovers from Hurricane Katrina. He says that New Orleans needs to continue the hope and community mindset that it currently has. “It’s a lot different than it was,” Scorza said. “Progress has been made, especially with Mercedes Benz buying the Superdome and the professional sports teams getting out and helping in the community. High figures are an important impact on the Big Easy. They make things a bit easier for people to endure.” For Scorza, like so many others, the tragedy that unfolded in the final days of Aug. and early days of Sept. of 2005 will forever remain in his mind. The image of the great city of New Orleans, flooded with water and thousands of people stranded in the streets, without food or water and in need of help will always haunt many others. n
Google Maps y Courtesy
Current view of the lot in the Lower Ninth Ward where Kenderick Scorza’s house once stood. Scorza grew up in the house that was washed away in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.
opinions 5
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Thursday, April 3, 2014
YouTube layout crafted by chimps By NOAH HUTCHINSON Opinions Editor
@Hutch15 Darcy dusted off her hands after a job well done, grabbing her shovel and heading back to her car. Her friend Steve had asked to borrow her copy of “Pacific Rim” the other day. So, being the good friend that she was, she dug a hole in Steve’s yard while he wasn’t home, buried the DVD inside it, and then carefully mowed three little strips into the grass above it. Perfect. He’d be sure to find it there, and it gave her DVD delivery that sleek, space-age look that all the kids are into nowadays. I can only imagine that the above scenario would sound completely reasonable to the wretched soul that must’ve been hit over the head with a large rock on his way to design the new YouTube layout. It’s awful. Now that people have probably complained or that somebody in charge actually laid eyes on it for the first time, it’s gotten a little less awful, but not by much. First of all, when the new layout was first implemented, the video itself was pushed over to the far left side of the screen like it was in time out or something. As in, there was literally no space between the video itself and the edge of the browser window. This has been changed already, but it shows two things about the rest of the design. First of all, I don’t think
anybody looked at this before they decided to put it up. A kid with half a semester of graphic design one under his belt would be able to tell you that everybody was going to complain about that. I refuse to believe that more than one person who’s getting paid to design the layout for one of the most popular websites on the planet laid eyes on that and said, “Yeah, looks fine to me.” It also shows that the new design is really as bad as I think it is. It hasn’t even been up for a month and they’ve already scrapped one of the most noticeable changes they made. Hopefully they’ll take the hint and completely revert back to the old design, but in the mean time, I’ll take another 500 words or so to complain about it. More than anything else, what grinds my gears about the new layout is the fact that they got rid of the box off to the left side of the home page that showed all the channels you subscribe to. Now, it’s under this little centimeter wide square of gray bars up top next to the logo that pulls up a drop down menu. Drop down menus are all fine and dandy, but the first time I logged in to see that the subscription box was gone, I had no idea where to go. After a few minutes of frantically clicking on stuff to see what would happen, I found the dumb drop down menu, but it shouldn’t be that way. Now that they’ve killed the subscription box, they’ve got a ton of extra space on the home page with which they’ve done...nothing. They just stretched all the stuff they already had on there to fill the space. That’s like building a secret compartment on the dashboard of your car to hide the gas gauge so you can make the speedometer take up more room. On top of
that, it doesn’t even look any better than it did before. It went from being crowded and easy to use to being a barren wasteland void of even the simple pleasure of seeing that your favorite channel just posted a new video. Aside from that, the drop down menu doesn't even work. Once you open it up, it shows as many of your subscribed channels as it can fit inside the box with a little button underneath it that says “show more”. But you can’t click it. You have to go up to the top of the box and click “subscriptions” so you can be taken to an entirely new page that shows all of your subscriptions without telling you whether or not any of them have posted new videos. What the people who design these layouts need to learn is that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The design that’s easiest to use is the one that people have already been using for years. Look at Reddit. It’s just a bunch of blue links on a white page. People admit to shying away from it because the interface is ugly and tedious to use, but it’s still one of the most popular sites out there. The users like it just the way it is and it’s got the content and resources that people want. I’m not saying that new, innovative ideas that will actually make the world a better place shouldn’t be implemented, or that existing problems shouldn’t be fixed. It just means that sometimes you’re currently using the best layout you can think of at the moment. It’s like that line from “Demolition Man” where Sylvester Stallone finds out that in the future not only is Taco Bell the only available food source, but that they use seashells instead of toilet paper. When you’re on a lifelong Taco Bell binge and nature calls, old and practical can seem a lot better than senselessly futuristic.n
Student reflects on senior exhibit, “Divergent” passes expectations, journey through college art classes makes for a great spring break By BRITTANY EWART Staff Writer Color is one of the most important things in art, especially to a designer. Anna McCulloch and I prioritize color in our senior art exhibit titled, “Color through the Eyes of a Designer.” The show will be in Hammons Gallery in Maybee Fine Arts Center April 1-10, and the reception will be held on Wednesday, April 2, at 6 p.m. It’s kind of crazy to think after four years of art classes, designing and class projects, all art majors are presented with one of the greatest challenges of their college art career: senior exhibit. Putting over four years’ worth of your best art together in a show is not an easy thing to do and requires a few steps in order to make it the best it can be. The first step is deciding what the theme/title of the show will be. We came up with the title, “Color through the eyes of a designer” because both of our works focus mainly on color, and color is key to communicating in our work. Anna works with soft pastel colors and I use more bold and bright colors. By combining both of these color combinations together, it will create a different yet unified look for the show overall. Another part of senior exhibit that is important is being able to reflect on how you have grown as an artist. I really enjoyed art ever since I was a child and as I grew that turned into a love for art. I began to see art all around me and the creativity was always flowing. Graduating from high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to major in
when I went to college: graphic design. I had always been good with computers so art on computers seemed like it would come easy to me, but getting into it was harder than I realized. My first year of college art classes were probably the hardest I’ve ever taken, just because I had never really taken any art classes before and it was all new to me. I had never used any of the Adobe Creative Suite on a Mac before so it was a new world of art. But just some encouraging words to the new fellow artists out there: don’t give up, it gets better! Even though it seems hard learning all these new things, just open yourself to change and it’ll take you places you never thought you could go. Being an art major isn’t as easy as it looks. Looking back on my art education though, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Graphic design has taught me so much about time management, paying attention to little details and the importance of simplicity and color. Being able to have my own senior exhibit that features graphic design is so exciting, especially when I reflect on how little I knew when I first came to OBU versus what I know now. The teachers and art department are incredible here and I have learned so much over my four years here. As the exhibit is finally open this week, I am excited to have made it this far in my design education and career and can’t wait to see what the future holds. “Color Through the Eyes of a Designer” will be on display in Hammons Gallery April 1-10. For more information on the exhibit visit: http:// www.obu.edu/news. n
By CAROLINE POOLE Copy Editor I went with a few friends to Branson for the first couple of days of Spring Break. I was told that Branson is the Las Vegas of the South (what?). As you can imagine, when we drove down “the strip,” the biggest crowd we saw was a group of retired couples standing in line to see the Chinese Acrobats. The trip did get a lot better and by the end of the second day I had gone a little crazy in the Tanger Outlet Mall. We couldn’t resist going to the only movie theater in Branson (the Chinese Acrobats were sold out). I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on one of the newest post-apocalyptic movies, “Divergent.” I went expecting a shallow, Twilight-grade acting, endof-the-world story and left feeling challenged to find my place in the world. Cheesy, I know, and I’m not saying that it could compare to some of the other new age stories (there are countless out there) recently released, but it is definitely worth a watch. Shailene Woodley should be known for her work in “The Descendants” and “The Spectacular Now,” but I can’t stop picturing her in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” In ABC Family’s forever-long series, Woodley played a pregnant teenager who couldn’t decide between the bad-boy and the awkward nerd. Woodley has undeniably grown up. She pulled off playing Tris Prior, an unexpected rebel who breaks away from her family and fights the totalitarian government. Woodley couldn’t have done it without Theo James, the soon-to-be heart-
throb of every 15-year-old girl. A close friend of mine told me I could write the entire review on James’ eyebrows alone, if that tells you anything. The hunky actor is more than just looks, though—he has a degree in philosophy from the University of Nottingham (yeah, he’s British). James played Four, the seemingly fearless rebel leader who falls in love with Tris. The story revolves around a world where everyone has a place in one of five factions. Whether you’re Candor, the honest, Erudite, the intelligent, Abnegation, the selfless, Amity, the peaceful or Dauntless, the brave, you have a place. And, more importantly, you know where that place is based on your response to fear. The problem comes when Tris seems to not truly fit in anywhere. She realizes that she has to conceal who she really is from her family, friends and the government. She makes a rash decision to join Dauntless and is shunned from her parents and all of Abnegation—a harsh wakeup call to the backwards government system. Based on the novel by Veronica Roth and directed by Neil Burger, “Divergent” will leave you wanting to find your place in the world and discover your true potential. Of course, with any good movie comes good music. The soundtrack for “Divergent” is certainly no different— it’s packed full of Ellie Goulding, Snow Patrol and Woodkid. It’s wonderful. “Divergent” is not like every other, “the world is ending and I have to find myself” movie currently saturating the screens. It’s packed full of action, surprises and of course, love. It’s worth a watch (or a few). n
Noah Hutchinson cartoon
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Life, legacy of baseball icon, Dizzy Dean By HANNA DEAN Staff Writer
They were brothers, best friends and St. Louis Cardinal legends. The two Gashouse Gang men of the 1930s, Dizzy and Daffy Dean, were published, photographed and quoted about their baseball careers, but what was the pair like away from the field? Better yet, what was it like for the Dean children to grow up with Paul and Jay Dean? “It was normal in a lot of ways and not-so-normal in some ways,” said Paul’s son, Sandy Dean. “We moved a lot. I think I counted up, I went to nine different schools from the first grade to the twelfth grade. I went to nine different schools. So, that’s pretty close to one a year.” After Paul retired from baseball in 1943, he began managing and buying into minor league teams all across the United States. “When I was growing up, I was at the ballpark every night,” Alma Bozeman, Paul’s daughter, said. “Because that’s what daddy did. He had a ball club in Clovis and then in Lubbock. We moved around, and we just went out there every night. I didn’t think that was unusual. Of course, it was.” Some of the best memories were made at the ballpark for the Dean kids, such as the Old Timers’ Day. An Old Timers’ Game was held every season to celebrate former players that had retired, including Paul and Dizzy. Each year, the Dean kids would participate in the activities of this day with their father and Uncle Diz. “I got to meet all the Hall of Famers, because that’s who they invited mostly to those games. I met them all. I met Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Stan Musial. You name them, and I met them. Mickey Mantle,” said Dean. “When Diz would walk in the room, with all the Old Timers there, the lights seemed to get a little brighter. They all wanted
to talk to Diz, because he always had a story to tell them, you know.” Paul’s grandchildren would also get invited to the Old Timers’ Game to watch their grandfather and uncle relive their glory days. “They’d sit in the dugout with him. One time before the game started, a guy walked over and said, ‘Paul, your grandsons are going to have to leave now.’ Daddy said, ‘If they leave, I go,’” Bozeman recalled. “They sat through the whole ballgame in the dugout.” At one point in time, Paul and his kids were living in Dallas at the same time as Dizzy and his wife, Patricia. Dizzy would visit Paul frequently throughout the week and vice versa. “They were just alike,” Bozeman said. “They’d get together. I remember Diz coming over to the house, and they’d sit down and start telling stories. They’d get so tickled that you couldn’t understand a word they said.” When Dizzy came to visit, he didn’t just visit with Paul. After not having any children of his own, he was very active in his nieces’ and nephews’ lives. “He was a big jokester around us,” Paul’s youngest daughter, Dorothy Paula Patrick, said. “We talked him into playing cards with us, and we used pennies. I believe, if I’m not mistaken, we played Gin Rummy. We were losing all of our pennies, and Diz would laugh and deal the cards again. Finally, after it was all over, he was so tickled, and he handed us all of our money back. He said he had cheated.” Dizzy and Paul did not like to lose, and they would go to all measures to win. Cards weren’t the only thing they managed to cheat their way through with the kids. Dean remembers when he would “go out in the driveway, and my brother and I would play against my dad and Diz in two-on-two basketball. We had a goal up on the garage…
Of course, they would cheat. They’d hold us and foul us, and they’d do whatever it takes to beat us.” While Uncle Diz was actively involved in his brother’s life along with his nieces and nephews, Paul definitely proved to be the true family
“He’d tease me,” Dean laughed. “I could be throwing a no-hitter, and he’d say, ‘Let up a little bit and let them hit it.’ He did that to try to make me try harder. He’d use that reverse psychology on you to make you try harder.” While Paul was coaching,
when I woke up.” Even though their father and uncle were baseball celebrities, life seemed normal to the Dean kids. “You know, growing up at that time, I knew that there was something about them that everybody loved, but as
Bill Burgess z Courtesy DIZZY DEAN and Paul Dean watch as their team warms up during a St. Louis Cardinals game.
man. “He always was a good provider,” Dean said. “We didn’t ever really want for anything. We basically lived in nice places. We had nice houses and homes.” When Paul and his family were living in Clovis, he still did all of his banking in Dallas, and he would take his daughter on trips to the bank with him. “If we drove and he saw watermelons on the side of the road, he’d stop, and we’d buy one,” Bozeman remembered. “We’d stop on the side of the road, he’d cut it open, and he’d tell me just to eat the heart. He’d give me half, and he’d take half.” When the family was in Dallas, Paul had some extra time to coach little league.
his wife would be parked in the outfield, and every time her son would strike a batter out, she would honk the horn. Not only was he involved in the lives of his children, Paul left a lasting impression on his grandchildren as well. “When we lived in Clarksville, grandpa would drive over every once in a while and stay the night. When it was time for bed, I had two twin beds in my room. He would sleep in there with me,” Paul’s grandson, Kevin Dean, said. “He always wanted to talk about baseball, and I did, too. He would tell me a lot of things I didn’t know and a lot of things that I did know, but I was so happy to have him there that I just listened. He would still be talking when I went to bed and still be talking
my dad’s child and my uncle’s niece, it was hard to put them in that kind of category,” Patrick said. “They were my dad and my uncle. They weren’t any more special than anybody else, but that’s the mind of a small child.” The only evident difference was the constant relocation. Making friends for the kids was hard, because they never stayed in one spot and one school, but they always found a strong sense of security within the relationships of their family. Dean describes it as his mother used to tell him, “everyday was like a holiday, because we traveled a lot and went a lot of places, and lived in a lot of places. That’s just a different type of education than most kids get.” n
Frakes dominates diamond and science lab By DIXON LAND
Assistant Sports Editor As she digs her cleat into the dirt, Ouachita Lady Tiger Softball Ace Abbi Frakes winds up for another pitch. As the ball hurls to the plate, the batter eyes in on the ball but swings early. Strike three. Frakes, a senior biology major from Houston, Texas, started playing softball early in her life. Marked by weekends playing six or seven games over a two-day span, Frakes continued to succeed. “I decided in sixth grade to play competitive softball,” Frakes said. “It was more of a commitment and intense. On weekends, I was occupied. I couldn’t go to birthday parties and things like that, because I was playing softball. I realize that if I really wanted to do this, I had to put all I had into it because it was more of a timeconsuming activity.” From sixth-grade competitive softball, Frakes began to succeed in high school softball. “It definitely helped to have that experience with select ball because all the better girls in high school had that experience,” Frakes said. “So it really helped a lot.” Frakes said that high school sports in Texas, which are generally considered extremely competitive, became a challenge for her to succeed at. “There were so many rivalries and every rivalry game was huge,” Frakes said. After having a successful high school career playing soft-
ball, Frakes decided to commit to Ouachita. She said that she wanted to go to a school that was faith based, but also smaller than schools in Texas. Frakes wanted to focus on education but also get to play softball. “Coach came down to see me play in a tournament and that got me really excited,” Frakes said. “I had family in Texarkana and was familiar with the school. I wanted to come to a school that was smaller, but also was faith based because that is really important to me.” Flash forward to Frakes freshman season at Ouachita. During a game against the University of Arkansas at Monticello, she was hit when a pitch came back and hit her in the face. Luckily she was not injured severely. “I went and got a CT-scan and nothing was completely broken, but there were several cracks,” Frakes said. “After that, I decided that I was just going to wear a facemask and had a little surgical procedure. It wasn’t anything major.” Following a two-week hiatus from softball, Frakes was back on the diamond. Thankfully, the injury occurred near the end of the season, and Frakes was given most of the summer to fully recover. “When they did the procedure, they went up through my gums, so the stitches were able to dissolve pretty quickly,” Frakes said. Frakes breakout season came last year when she pitched
218 innings, and recorded 79 strikeouts. She also won 13 games for the Lady Tigers and recorded a 3.61 ERA. Along with leading the teams in wins, Frakes led the Lady Tigers in a deep run into the GAC conference tournament, where the Lady Tigers won two straight, then were knocked out by ECU. This season, Frakes said she wanted to improve on last season and has set higher goals for herself. “I’d really like to focus on holding teams to as little runs as I could. It’s difficult to hold them to zero runs, but I’d like to keep them to a low run count.” Frakes said. “I’d also like to limit lead-off walks,” she said. Frakes said that leadoff walks are something that she really has focused on more this season and stressed the importance of limiting them. “A lot of the time, when they get one, it ends up that they score at least a run in the inning,” Frakes said. “I’d like to get ahead on every batter and to keep mental sanity and not stress as much.” But Frakes said that for her, pitching is as mental as it is physical. She says that her mentality depends on the situation. “If I have a full count, my heart races a little bit more,” Frakes said. “If I’ve got an 0-2, I can be a little bit more relaxed. It also depends on the amount of outs and runs and such. But I try to stay as cool and collected as I can.”
For the team, Frakes said that they have worked on communicating effectively and they think that doing so will help them significantly. “This year, we wanted to work on communication and change because in the past we have struggled with communication, whether that be communication between coaches and players, or between players on the field,” Frakes said. And Frakes said that the ultimate goal right now is for the Lady Tigers to reach the GAC tournament. After college, Frakes has ambitions of nursing school and potentially utilizing her Span-
ish minor. “The plan is to go to nursing school in January,” Frakes said. “I don’t know what area of the hospital I want to work in, but I’m waiting until after nursing school to decide. “I think it would be cool, though, to go on doctor’s trips to Spanish speaking countries, since I have a Spanish minor.” For Frakes, whatever she decides to do, she will certainly be successful. Frakes, in her competitive nature, is destined to be great at whatever she does, whether that is throwing softballs or working with doctors in foreign countries. n
Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy
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Thursday, April 3, 2014
Coach Buddy Benson and former Assistant Coach David Sharp look on as Ouachita football players run a play. Coach Benson coached for 31 seasons at Ouachita and earned four conference championships.
Roy Borroughs y Courtesy
Benson’s Boys Former Coach remembered best by the players who loved him most
Although he is remembered for all of those things, there is one thing y dad’s name is Skillet Hands. that sticks out to me: his boys. Coach Well not really. I mean, his real Benson had something that you don’t name is Mark, but if you were to ask see in college football very much anyBuddy Benson, his name is Skillet more; a genuine care for his players Hands. and a desire to see them succeed in, My dad was a linebacker during not only athletics, but in academics his college days here at OBU. Coach and in life. Benson thought that maybe he could This was proven time and time make a good fullback as well. again. The boys that he coached left My dad’s first game his football program as an OBU Tiger, Coach as men, and if you ask Benson calls him over anyone who played for and tells him he’ll be him, they truly believe getting the ball. He has that the success of his only one request: don’t players off the field is a drop it. direct reflection of him. Long story short, my Benson’s Boys are dad dropped the ball like a fraternity. Men (along with kicking it who have a 30-year age about five yards, but difference bond over that’s beside the point). the fact that they played Coming off the field, for the Coach Benson. Coach Benson pulled It gives you bragging him aside and said, rights. The fact that “You will never play you survived Coach another down of ofBenson’s grueling, chalfense, Skillet Hands.” lenging football pro. gram obtains automatic And he never did. Anyone who’s respect from others. – Kristen Morris I never had the pleaever even heard of Ouachita has probsure of meeting Coach ably heard of the late Coach Benson. Benson, but I’ve seen the product of He’s a legend here. He coached the him. Tigers for 31 seasons, won four confer- Every year, at OBU Homecoming, ence championships, and made two I get to see my dad reunite with all trips to the NAIA national playoffs. of his old football buddies. The one He coached 16 All-Americans (one thing that always comes up in converof them being good ole Skillet Hands sation is Coach. himself), 208 All-Conference players, Even though they all have some and he was named AIC Coach of the kind of different story about how they Year four times. had to face the wrath of Coach Benson But besides the numbers, what was at one time or another, the one thing Coach Benson really known for? His they have in common is that every humility? His drive to win? His de- single one of them absolutely adored mand for excellence? the man.n By KRISTEN MORRIS
M
Staff Writer
Benson’s Boys are like a fraternity. Men who have a 30 year difference bond over the fact that they played for THE Coach Benson
Ouachitonian y Courtesy Coach Benson gives his quarterback a play to run on Ouachita’s offensive drive. Benson was well liked among his players throughout his 31 years of coaching.
Ouachitonian y Courtesy Coach Benson (top left) poses for a pre-season picture with his assistant coaches.
Ouachitonian y Courtesy The official signals second down to Coach Buddy Benson and quarterback Mike Carroll discussing strategy on the sidelines.
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March Madness A not-so-pro insider look
By: Chelsea Byers and Dixon Land
“Not only was it unpredictable, but it was also the most entertaining in recent years.”
W
ell, it’s that time of year again, when our brackets bust and our paper shredders finally make themselves useful. Not that we are competitive in any sense of the word, but Chelsea completely dominated Dixon in the tournament challenge. So you are probably wondering what this page is about. There are two answers to solve your mental distress - the first being the sports editors’ chance to vent about their poor decision-making skills, the second being a breakdown of what will most likely happen in the national championship game. Dixon Land, Assistant Sports Editor, is confident in the fact that the Kentucky Wildcats, while the youngest team, have one of the best coaches in college basketball right now. On top of playing their best basketball right now, Coach Calipari has even noted to the press that while he usually only practices about an hour a day during the tournament, these players were dedicated to longer practices and focusing on the fundamentals. Chelsea Byers, Sports Editor, believes that Casey Prather’s Gators have what it takes to win it all in the championship game. So yes, maybe we have lost to University of Connecticut and Wisconsin already, but that doesn’t mean we won’t annihilate them in the tournament. Florida is playing strong and can beat, potentially, any of the three teams left in the bracket. With the offense we have lined up on the floor, Dixon’s Kentucky, or even Scott Hartley’s Wisconsin pick, is going to have a tough time against Billy Donovan’s boys. April 7 will roll around and another March Madness will officially be over. We wish you all the best in your mental recovery from this completely upsetting tournament season. n
Florida UConn
-Dixon Land
“This isn’t what March Madness was supposed to be like, my bracket deserved better.”
-Chelsea Byers
UF UK
Wisconsin Kentucky
Chelsea’s Side of the Court Dixon’s Side of the Court Why Florida? Why would the best team out on the court make it to the championship game and win? Because they know what it takes and they know what needs to get done to beat either Kentucky or Wisconsin. If Wisconsin makes it, they have the drive to reclaim their pride from the previous loss this season, and if UK makes a run for it, the Gators have three key retorts – balance on the court, they’re playing their best basketball right now and Casey Prather.
Kentucky no doubt has the best talent on the court – hands down. With four projected NBA first round draft pics, UK is loaded. They’re probably the only team that can match Florida’s size on the low block. Kentucky can get hot quick from beyond the three-point arc as well. Kentucky will easily role over the cheese-heads and meet a stalemate in Florida for the national championship. Look to see them beat UF’s press early and often and prevail in a very close game.
Players should look for alternative to union NCAA and players need to find a middle ground before unions rule college football
By DIXON LAND
Assistant Sports Editor @DixonCLand Once again, the NCAA has overstepped its boundaries and gotten shown up in court. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago ruled that Northwestern University football players could, and most likely will, unionize. The ruling showed that the players have enough evidence to prove that athletes could qualify as employees of the university. Working between 20 and 50 hours per week, getting paid (with scholarships) and generating millions of dollars for their institutions definitely should qualify them as employees of the university. By unionizing, the players are essentially attempting to get a seat at the monopolizing table of the NCAA. For years, the NCAA has gone about ruling on decisions with little to no input from the players. A monopoly is a specific person or organization that supplies a particular commodity without any competition. And this monopoly from the NCAA has existed ever since Walter Byers became the first executive director of
the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1951. Byers, along with a board of trustees from the NCAA, established the term “student athlete.” Recently though, Byers exposed the actions of the NCAA in his book Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes. In it, Byers called it “a nationwide money-laundering scheme.” In fact, he even says that “Collegiate amateurism is not a moral issue; it is an economic camouflage for monopoly practice…[one which] operates an air-tight racket of supplying cheap athletic labor.” So even the former president that invented the idea of a student athlete believes that the NCAA’s grip on its players is wrong. Here’s the thing: players receive compensation, even if it doesn’t show up on a W-2 on tax day. They get scholarships and training. They’re required to practice much longer than they are required to study or go to class. So should they be allowed
to unionize? Personally, I’d argue against the unionization of college teams. While the treatment of players in the NCAA seems to be wrong at the current time, unionizing teams would not be the proper way to go about handling this. For one, unionization of college players would recognize them as employees of the university. This would make their compensation (scholarships, training, -Dixon Land food, etc.) taxable income. Furthermore, players unionizing would rupture much of the current landscape of college football. Athletic Directors would be careful to schedule teams that they thought might back out of a game because of their players being on strike. And while I do believe that the NCAA has noticeably kept player representation out of the governing body of collegiate athletics, unionizing would not do much help for the players.
“For significant and beneficial change to occur, students have to have a voice in the decisions made”
In conclusion, the best way to solve the current issues at hand, is for the NCAA to loosen its grip on student athletes. For starters, the NCAA needs to provide medical benefits, at least somewhat, for players who have long-term effects from playing college football. Also, the NCAA needs to allow “student athletes” to get jobs if they need extra money to pay for food, clothes or other expenses that they may not be able to afford due to their financial standing at home. Third, the NCAA has to do a better job of enforcing the “student” part of “student athlete.” If college football is going to actually provide an education, which the NCAA harps on so much, then they must actually give athletes the chance to succeed in the classroom by enforcing mandatory study hours and educational standards. Lastly, the NCAA has to give the athlete a seat at the table. They make millions of dollars a year off studentathletes performing on the field and yet the athletes get nothing but the promise of an “education.” While the NCAA and colleges make millions For significant and beneficial change to occur, students have to have a voice in the decisions made. n