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Tech safety questioned SAM HOISINGTON university in Arkansas.
Online Editor
The Department of University Relations announced in a September 20 press release that Arkansas Tech University had been named the safest public university campus in Arkansas by BackgroundChecks.org. A Facebook post which linked to that press release on a University Relations website garnered over 1,600 likes and over 800 shares. Tweets from university’s official Twitter account and University President Dr. Robin Bowen’s Twitter account that linked to the post got a combined 50 retweets and 85 likes. However, an analysis of campus crime across public universities in Arkansas shows that the conclusion isn’t quite that simple. Data released by the universities in 2014 and 2015 shows Arkansas Tech as a leader in several categories of crime, and campus officials aren’t willing to say definitively that this is the safest public
ANALYSIS OF DATA BY THE ARKA TECH
Certain crime statistics are required to be released yearly as part of the The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, a federal law that requires disclosure of specific crime data from college police departments. The press release from University Relations said that BackgroundChecks. org used “recent Department of Education Reports” as part of their calculations. Data from the Clery Act is the only standardized reporting on crime that is sponsored by the federal Department of Education. The data that BackgroundChecks.org would have presumably used came from the 2014 academic year (2015 data wasn’t available until this month). That data shows Arkansas Tech as the leader in aggravated assaults with 11 total aggravated assaults reported. The universities
FOOTBALL - PAGE 7
PAINT TWISTER - PAGE 8
AMBER QUAID/THE ARKA TECH with the second most aggravated assaults reported 3 apiece. When looking at burglaries, the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville)
had the most with 29, and Arkansas Tech University had the second most at 23 instances.
(SAFETY page 4)
Plans for El Paso Avenue in the works KAREN RICKETTS
FRIDAY, OCT. 14
“Biased Sex Ratios Influences Fundamental Aspects of Human Mating,” a lecture about the operational sex ratio. Hosted by Dr. Justin Moss in Brown Hall 134 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 15
Staff Writer
Over the last decade, Arkansas Tech administration purchased a dozen properties that a line El Paso Avenue, in anticipation for the right time to put the properties into good use for the Tech and Russellville communities. The properties purchased are scattered along West L Street, North Denver, North Arkansas Ave and El Paso Avenue. The earliest purchase was a residential property on West L Street in 2003, which now serves as the Campus Life Outdoor Recreation Center. Ms. Bernadette Hinkle, vice president for administration and finance, said that the university’s existing property along El Paso and the adjacent neighborhood mainly serves as offices and storage spaces. Of the 12 locations, four residential properties are currently used as office space for e-Tech, Information Systems and two buildings being used as a hybrid of storage and office space. A laundromat on El Paso Avenue also currently serves as miscellaneous storage. The remaining properties already have proposed uses. It has been proposed that residential real estate on North Arkansas Ave serve as lab space for the gaming program. The Oak Tree Bistro on North Arkansas Ave will serve as the Green and Gold Food Pantry, facilitated by the behavioral sciences organization Because We Can. Kendall Tubb, co-founder of
News in brief
the Wonder Boys take on East Central at 6 p.m. on the Buerkle Field.
MONDAY, OCT. 17
at the Bell Tower from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. there will be an Alcohol Driving Simulator for students to understand the difficulty of driving drunk.
TUESDAY, OCT. 18 NATHAN YOUNG/THE ARKA TECH The properties purchased are scattered along West L Street, North Denver, North Arkansas Ave and El Paso Avenue. BWC, said that members are expecting the food pantry to be up and functioning by August of 2017 after some much needed renovations. Taco Villa on El Paso Avenue, now property of the university, is the central location for the ‘”Experience El Paso” movement and “The Corner” event on football game days. “The Corner” has been dubbed a block party held at every home game. Those are also hosted by BWC. On game days, Taco Villa’s parking lot is filled with food trucks, live music and games for Wonder Boy fans to enjoy. “It is my hope that our campus
will have more student-centered venues, restaurants, retail spaces and mixed-use purpose facilities nearby,” Hinkle said. “I look forward to the development on El Paso to strengthen our community and to bridge our campus to downtown in a meaningful way.” Students and members of the community can share their ideas for what they would like to see on El Paso by using the hashtag #experienceelpaso (all lower case) on Twitter and Instagram. Users can take a photo of vacant lots or building and visually share their ideas with administration and community leaders.
in Doc Bryan 242 from 6-9 p.m., students have the opportunity for training to provide support, information and a safe place for LGBTQ persons.
FALL BREAK is Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21.
SATURDAY, OCT. 22
in Tucker Coliseum, the Golden Suns Volleyball team faces the Southern Nazarene at 2 p.m.
MONDAY, OCT. 24
in Young Ballroom from 6-9 p.m., students have the opportunity to learn self-defense techniques.
TUESDAY, OCT. 25
the Golden Suns Volleyball team will host Central Baptist in Tucker Coliseum at 1 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 25
at 8 p.m. the Tech Idol prelims will be held in Tucker Coliseum.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26
at 7:30 p.m., the theatre program is putting on August Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” in the Techionery.
THURSDAY, OCT. 27
begins the Signature Weekend of Giving. Check the campus calendar for more info about this event.
Corrections In our Oct. 6 issue an article in the news briefs entitled “Norman Art Gallery” we incorrectly identified the artist at the Norman Art Gallery. We identified him as David S. Scott and the correct name is David S. Smith. Also in the Oct. 6 issue was an article detailing the plans for offices moves in Doc Bryan. That article left out the Department of Diversity and Inclusion. DDI is currently in Doc Bryan Suite 248 and will be moving to the office currently occupied by the Norman Career Services.
Food recovery continues, BWC breaks record for food recovered BRIANNA DAVIS
Contributing Writer
The Because We Can organization has been a program at Arkansas Tech since December of 2015. Since then, the organization has kept it’s promise of working hard to help fight hunger in the community. BWC recently beat its record for weight of food recovered in a night shift, coming in at 667 pounds. “Just imagine how many people that fed,” senior psychology, sociology and criminal justice major Mason Sims said. Sims is the scheduling coordinator for BWC. “The way food recovery works is that we as a student collective join together to fight hunger in the
community by taking food that would have otherwise been thrown away and distributing it to food pantries all around Russellville.” On Oct. 3, instead of meeting at the organizations usual spot behind Chartwells Cafeteria for their night shift, volunteers met at Wilson Residence Hall; residence halls can get involved with food recovery by going to BWC meetings and looking into all the activities and drives that they do. “I was able to get my residence hall involved by getting into contact with Mason Sims,” junior rehabilitation science and psychology major Megan Bryant said. “I was able to get my residents involved because of the new programming that was established this year that requires resident assistants to do community service
events, and the food recovery was the first idea to pop into my head.” Though a single residence hall can get involved for a recovery night, all students from any residence are welcomed to come. “I am a big fan of helping those who cannot help themselves,” sophomore biochemistry major Maggie Van Winkle said. “I invited my friends, so they experience the feeling of helping the Russellville community also, and so we can grow individuals with each other.” BWC recovers food every Sunday through Thursday at 7:20 p.m. and they deliver every Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m. Volunteers are always welcome and students who are interested in joining the food recovery program can contact Mason Sims at msims8@atu.edu.