The Forum April 2021 Edition

THE FORUM

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Student Newspaper

CAMPUS SAFETY

STUDENT ATHLETE SPOTLIGHTS

ARKANSAS RAPPERS

SUSTAINIBILITY ON CAMPUS

SMALL BUSINESS UPDATES

NEWS

LOOKING TO JUSTIFY YOUR DAILY CUP OF COFFEE?

Hear from Health & Sciences Writer Ahad Nadeem in this edition’s health column

As college students, we have to juggle school, extracurriculars and work all the while trying to maintain a social life. Coffee definitely helps fuel us, but have you ever wondered if that daily cup of coffee is healthy for you?

It turns out that coffee actually does have many health benefits.

Drinking coffee may protect your heart

In a study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, drinking coffee was linked with a lower risk of heart failure. Dr. David Kao and his team conducted an analysis of three large-scale heart studies to identify risk factors for heart disease. His team found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower long-term risk of developing heart failure in all three heart studies. Though the exact mechanism is not yet known, caffeine likely plays a role since decaffeinated coffee consumption did not produce the same results. Heart failure is a type of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States, and this new finding may help researchers better understand how dietary adjustments can help reduce heart disease risk.

Want to increase fat-burning during exercise? Try drinking coffee

Drinking coffee before exercise can increase fat oxidation (burning). This is from a study recently published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Researchers from

the University of Granada conducted a controlled experiment in which fifteen men completed an exercise test four times (in the morning and in the afternoon) after ingesting either caffeine or a placebo. Conditions before each test were standardized and maximum fat oxidation was measured during each test. The researchers found that caffeine significantly increased fat oxidation compared to the placebo. In the afternoon exercise test, caffeine actually increased fat oxidation by 29% compared to the placebo. If you’re seeking to burn fat, consider exercising in the afternoon after enjoying a cup of coffee.

Although coffee has many benefits, it’s important to consider when and how much you drink.

Researchers from the University of Bath found that drinking coffee before eating breakfast may affect the control of blood sugar, potentially increasing blood sugar response to breakfast by 50%. So be sure to eat breakfast before having your daily cup of joe.

Also try not to exceed the recommended maximum of four cups a day, as too much caffeine can cause side effects like insomnia, headache, nervousness, tremors and more. With the new Starbucks on campus, getting a fresh cup of delicious coffee is easier than ever, but make sure to moderate your caffeine consumption to avoid the uncomfortable side effects.

USABLE LIFE INVESTS IN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

USAble Life is investing in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock by donating $50,000 to create a scholarship for the school of business for firstgeneration students.

Dr. Jane Wayland has been the dean of the College of Business, Health and Human Services since 2021 and is extremely grateful for the donation because it will benefit students who need it most.

“It’s wonderful,” Dr. Wayland said. “To have an endowed

scholarship which is constant as opposed to an annual that we go out and give every year, an endowed means it is going to be there for a long, long time.”

This donation will serve firstgeneration students applying to the school of business, either full or part-time, who graduate from a Pulaski County high school. The scholarship will be used for education-related expenses, including tuition, books, fees, and room and board.

This scholarship is an endowment that recurs every year,

Dr. Wayland explains.

“Endownment means they give a certain amount of money, in this case, $50,000, and that goes into our foundation,” Dr. Wayland said. “That’s the corpus...It is always there. You don’t invade that corpus. It is an endowment; you don’t do that. What you do is you earn the interest and that becomes the scholarship every year.”

In an article by the Little Rock University News, the president and CEO of USAble Life, Jim Casey said, “UA Little Rock is a unique and invaluable educational resource to

NEW DECADE, NEW PLAZA

It’s the roaring 20s again, making it the perfect time for a new University Plaza. In 2020 on Sept. 2, UA Little Rock’s Chancellor, Christina Drale and the Little Rock Mayor, Frank Scott, joined forces to announce the revitalization plans for the Asher Avenue corridor and the University Plaza shopping center.

Drale and Scott’s end game in the revitalization project is economic growth such as bringing in new businesses and residences. This is good news for UA Little Rock’s admissions. The new University Plaza and Asher Avenue corridor have the potential to increase UALR’s enrollment over the next five to ten years.

It’s been 17 years since UA Little Rock has owned the University Plaza shopping center. The Plaza has become a historic landmark of UALR’s campus. The University Plaza has the potential to become one of Little Rock’s best outdoor malls. Every new decade requires new sceneries, buildings, and attractions. Imagine a movie

theater, arcade, skating rink and spa being located at the University Plaza, it would be UALR’s student body new popular “hang out spot”.

At a press conference on Sept. 2, 2020, Mayor Scott stated that “We are all focused on one thing. How do we develop, how do we redevelop, and how do we increase vibrancy south of I-630 and east of I-30 for this day and forevermore?”

I think an outdoor mall is the perfect redevelopment plan that Mayor Scott should look into. Millennials are now getting married, starting families, and pursuing their careers.

With that being said, the revitalization of the Asher Avenue corridor targets the millennials, and the University Plaza shopping center targets the Zoomers or so to say Generation Z since they are either still in high school or have just graduated high school. This is an exciting time for UA Little Rock.

By Desarhea Kelly

the population of central Arkansas. USAble Life continues to be a supporter of UA Little Rock and their mission in our community.”

UA Little Rock services a lot of Arkansas residents. In 2019, 92 percent of students were Araksans residents, so having this scholarship for Pulaski county graduates continues to enhance the community’s interest in the university.

Because the scholarship is so new, the application process will start in January of 2022, and the recipients will receive the funds for the following school year, 20222023.

“We try to get out announcements and sometimes put out flyers,” Dr. Wayland said. “We don’t always say what kind of scholarship it is. We market scholarships, in general, every year.”

About 40 percent of UA Little Rock’s students are firstgeneration. This scholarship is continuing the university’s goal to provide opportunities for firstgeneration students.

“We typically use our scholarships to help students stay in school,” Dr. Wayland said. “That is what the majority of our scholarships do.”

USAble Life has been on the school of business’ advisory board for many years now and continuously invests in UA Little Rock’s students.

“We are very grateful for USAble to be able to do this,” Dr. Wayland said. “They are very involved with the school. I am just grateful for their investment.”

By Azalea Andrade

GLOBAL PANDEMIC TIME WARP

As the old saying goes, nothing new is under the sun. COVID-19 has impacted the world just as the Spanish Flu in 1918 once did. As of April 2021, the global pandemic that took over the world in 2020 is not showing any signs of slowing down.

On April 11, ABC News reported that the COVID-19 virus is “spreading like wildfire” despite increasing vaccinations globally.

On April 13, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the Johnson & Johnson vaccine recall due to rare blood clots, which in return caused thousands of people who have received the vaccine to panic.

On April 14, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) reported on the organization’s website that there are more global COVID-19 cases and that deaths continue to rise globally. Thankfully at U of A Little Rock, wearing a mask on campus is required. It’s amazing that UALR cares about its student body and faculty health during these tragic times.

On April 12, ABC Channel 7 reported that Arkansans who’ve fully vaccinated are currently testing positive for COVID-19 despite receiving both doses of the vaccination. The international increase of COVID-19 deaths despite having three vaccinations to counteract the virus is the beginning of another worldwide stay-at-home order or so to say quarantine.

Unfortunately, there was an estimate of 50,000,000 deaths during the Spanish Flu. It is noteworthy to mention that COVID-19 has lasted for a year and has the potential to become worse than the Spanish Flu if people don’t continue practicing social distancing and wearing their masks to reduce the spread of the virus.

As of April 15, there are 31.5 million COVID-19 cases and 564K deaths. We all should be thrilled that summer is approaching. However, it’s hard to think about the beach and traveling the world;

when there are thousands of human beings dying daily from the global virus.

Intensifying the situation are new variants of COVID in the United States. On April 16, 9News reported that Colorado’s state health data shows four different types of COVID-19 variant strains, making up more than half of the new COVID-19 cases in its state. What makes this information important for UA Little Rock’s student body and faculty is that people from other states travel to Arkansas. If someone from Colorado who is carrying the new COVID-19 variants travels to Arkansas, it puts Arkansans lives at risk of testing positive for the new current virus variants. Not to mention, On March 30, KNWA Fox 24 reported that there are new COVID-19 variants discovered in the state of Arkansas. According to KNWA Fox 24, these new variants of the virus in Arkansas are the U.K variant and two other new ones from California.

By Desarhea Kelly

DO YOU HAVE CONSENT?

The Office of Title IX presented various workshops in April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to educate both University of Arkansas at Little Rock students and employees. The workshop Do You Have Consent? was presented via Zoom by Katisha King who is the Sr. Deputy Title IX coordinator. The definition of sexual assault in Arkansas law is any crime in which

the offender subjects the victim to unwanted sexual activity.

If sexual assault does happen, when making a campus report the victims are not required to report to the Department of Public Safety or local law enforcement. However, all faculty and staff are mandatory reporters of sexual misconduct.

The main point that King emphasized is that consent is

always active and never passive. This entails neither person being incapacitated in any way. Silence, lack of verbal or physical resistance do not equal consent. Consent can always be taken away and is never indefinite. She used the metaphor of tea to emphasize this, if a person does not want the tea, you should not force them to drink it. There are various reporting

options such as an online incident report form, phone call or email. All this information is available on the UALR website under Office of Title IX.

By Payton Dhooge

ON THE ISSUE OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Editor’s note: The following story was written from student interviews. Their names have been changed to protect their identities. The author’s account, however, is her own.

February 28, 2020. It was the night before the homecoming tailgate last year, a day I’m sure a lot of students remember because it was one of the last fun events on campus before the pandemic began.

A man followed me into the North Hall dorm. It was around 11 p.m.; I was already wearing my pajamas. He followed me inside, cornered me in the elevator cubicle, grabbed me so hard I bruised, and yelled in my face. He took my new iPhone 11, my wallet and my keys.

With him, he took my ability to function without fear on a daily basis.

I thought the same thing anyone would after being robbed, (or attacked? I never know what to call it): “I don’t want anything like what happened to me to happen to anyone else. This was preventable.”

The University of Arkansas Little Rock received the title of the safest college campus in Arkansas in 2018. That was what I told my mother when she objected to my attending here.

After My Event, I became hyper-aware of safety on campus. I smiled to myself every time I saw the Department of Public Safety patrolling campus, especially at night, because it gave me the hope that they were preventing violence on campus.

But, I still noticed the homeless on campus, because I had a panic attack every time I saw someone who I viewed as an outsider to the university community.

I was yelled at by a man walking along Fair Park Blvd. He called me “sister” and was wondering if I had

any cash. He was holding onto the residence hall fence, barely able to support his own weight; I knew he wasn’t capable of hurting me, but I still ran inside to sit on the residence hall floor to get more distance between us, and cry.

I encountered him 6 months after my event, but my fear was still as high as the day I was attacked. That was what motivated me to find a counselor on campus.

Ten months after my event, I passed a man walking across the Coleman Creek bridge. It was in the morning, he was playing music loudly from a speaker and was walking down the center of the double yellow line of the road. He had a saw or some other kind of large, sharp object on him.

DPS drove by him once but didn’t speak to him. I stopped walking, unable to move. I watched the patrol car stop further up the street, turn around and drive back towards me. I motioned to them, and they rolled down their window.

“Did you not see, he has a saw?” was the only thing I could say.

And they drove after him quickly. I continued watching the exchange by the tennis courts until I couldn’t see the man with the saw anymore.

A year of quarantine has given me a lot of time to heal. The more I spoke to other students on campus, the more I realized that too many of my peers had also endured lifechanging events concerning their safety.

I hope that by sharing my story, and theirs, other students on campus can learn from what has happened and take the issue of public safety here seriously.

Penelope and Maddy, roommates and best friends, lived in the University Village. They stayed up late watching movies in

their living room and had just gone to their own bedrooms.

“I heard the door open and close,” Penelope said. “We never locked the door unless we were sleeping because we were always in the living room with each other.”

It was around 3:30 a.m. when Penelope cracked her door and peeked around it to see a large man standing at the end of the kitchen counter.

“He turns around, looks at me, makes eye contact for three seconds, then starts charging at me,” she said.

“trial and see his face again.

Monica walked outside her residence hall to purchase groceries from the Commons Market. It was 2 p.m. on a Tuesday.

“Do you know what time it is?” a man said.

Monica, who was on her phone, had not seen the man sitting on a bench outside the store, near the residence hall she just walked out of.

She glanced over at him. He was wearing pajama pants, indecently exposed, and was touching himself.

I hope that by sharing my story, and theirs, other students on campus can learn from what has happened and take the issue of public safety here seriously.”

She ran back into her room.

“He was telling us to call Google Maps because somebody was out to kill him and they knew where he was. … He wasn’t making any sense.”

She called Maddy, who then called 911. DPS officers arrived and immediately tackled the man. They got him out of the apartment.

Both women suffer from anxiety when they’re alone in their apartment to the point where they can’t shower if the other roommate isn’t around. Neither of them likes spending the night alone in the apartment, either.

“Our upstairs neighbors are loud and it doesn’t help that I can hear their doors opening and closing,” Maddy said.

“I check the doors multiple times a day to make sure they are locked,” Penelope said. “I lock both the front and my bedroom door multiple times a day.”

They received a letter from prosecutors that the man would be facing court dates, one in July and one in September, but they don’t think they will be able to attend the

“I was definitely shocked at first,” Monica said, “and I remember thinking quickly, ‘Don’t go back in [to the dorm]. You don’t know what this man might do. If he doesn’t have any shame in playing with himself in the middle of the day, you don’t know what he’s going to do.’”

After gaining her bearings, she called DPS and reported the incident. She gave them a description of the man and her contact information.

She was able to file a police report with the help of a Title IX representative the week of her encounter, however, they were unable to find the man on campus.

Monica is learning to manage her anxiety. She finds that it is better when she is with other people, but that is not always possible.

“I have to walk back to my dorm at night after work sometimes, and one night, I saw a man walking outside,” Monica recalled. “I thought ‘Let me walk fast, let me speed up, I don’t know who this man is.’ It turned out that he was a student here because he swiped

his ID and let himself into the building, but when I see a man outside by myself, I get tense and feel like I have to run for my life.” Monica encourages other students to always keep their eyes open and to call DPS immediately after anything happens.

“If you see something suspicious, if you see something that you doubt or has you on edge, call DPS,” Monica said. “If I had called sooner, they may have caught [the man who exposed himself].”

She never thought this would be a situation she would have to deal with.

“I say this every time I tell someone about what happened to me, it sounds like something that would happen on television or in a movie,” Monica said. “I’ve learned that you are never too safe.”

Braden was at Boyle Park around 4 p.m. on a Saturday with a professor and a few classmates to shoot a film. They were under a pavilion.

“We see a group in the parking lot. They had kids and babies, they were having a good time,” he said. “Another car pulled up, and people started yelling and getting hostile.”

Braden then heard multiple gunshots ring through the park. He ran with his group toward the tree line, and after making sure everyone was OK, Braden called 911. They directed his call to EMS responders and were asking him questions about the condition of the person who had been shot.

“I went up to the body to give them the information they needed,” Braden said. “I saw a little girl with a gunshot wound to her throat. … She was bleeding out in front of me.”

The girl’s mother was screaming. Officers came onto the scene

SEXUAL ASSUALT AWARENESS MONTH

This April marks the official 20th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month also known as SAAM. Before the official declaration of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the campaign focused on bringing awareness and prevention to sexual assault, harassment and abuse.

and took him to the station as a witness, where he gave statements to a detective. Two men were later arrested in connection with the death of 10-year-old Ja’Aliyah Hughes.

“What sits with me the most is, children love me and I love kids,” Braden said. “This little girl was only 10-years-old. Her life got cut [short], like that. It’s unfortunate, disgusting and painful that it happened.“

Braden missed a few classes after what he witnessed.

“It weighed on me heavily. I was deep in my head... I wasn’t sleeping,” Braden said. “I was reminding myself that life is worth living. I have to appreciate everyone in my life because they could be gone.”

Braden cautions people to look into knowing how to respond in emergency situations.

“Don’t travel alone. Lock your doors. Get a Life360 circle with your friends. You can do SOS, check-ins and messages on Life360,” he said.

After being through everything he has endured, Braden has learned how to be cautious but also have fun.

“You never know,” he said. “At the end of the day, don’t withhold yourself from potential memorymaking or fun adventures. Just be safe, aware and conscious of your surroundings. [Be] prepared for anything that could happen at any moment.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s going to happen regardless, but you can take steps to make it better.”

Know that there are resources on campus to help you following traumatic experiences. It took me months to realize I needed to utilize Counseling Services, but I am so glad I finally did. I now meet with a counselor for one hour a week, and I have been processing how to reduce anxiety and fear of my surroundings and the people in it. Monica, Penelope and Maddy

have all also utilized Counseling Services.

The day after my event, I most certainly was at the homecoming tailgate and basketball game, bruises and all. I wasn’t going to let what happened to me prevent me from having a college experience and force me into isolation.

Little did I know, the whole country would isolate itself in a global pandemic. Now that we have adjusted to living through this new normal, we need to address the issue of public safety on campus.

I remain scared every day and am unable to get gas or go to the grocery store by myself in Little Rock, but I am slowly starting to go out at night, in places I am familiar with and when accompanied by others. I have to call someone when I walk by myself on campus, even in the daytime.

I am taking baby steps so that someday, big steps can be taken to make changes here.

A statement from the UALR Campus Communications was given to the Forum regarding this topic: “UA Little Rock takes the safety of our students seriously and continuously seeks to improve safety measures for all of our students and employees.

UA Little Rock remains one of the safest campuses in Arkansas with the lowest campus crime rate among four-year campuses. Our Department of Public Safety (DPS) also partners with the City of Little Rock to address issues at the community level for citywide solutions to improve safety. We realize that any encounter with threatening behavior is distressing, and we encourage students to get in touch with DPS about any safety concerns they may have.

UA Little Rock maintains a safety escort program that students, faculty and staff can utilize. Call DPS at (501) 916-3400 to request a safety escort on campus.”

By Magnolia Risley

In the early 2000s, the primary goal of SAAM was awareness; both raising visibility of the teal ribbon and the meaning behind it. By the mid-2000s, SAAM incorporated prevention more heavily, focusing on areas such as communities, workplaces and college campuses. These campaigns discussed ways that individuals and communities can stop sexual assault before it happens by changing behaviors and promoting respect.

The two goals of awareness

and prevention were carried over to the 2010s, shaping the SAAM that we see today. Even though each campaign has a different theme, they all express the same message. SAAM has also branched out to Spanish-speaking audiences, with campaigns in recent years that include Spanish content. Whether that’s resources that cover the same information from the English campaign to Spanish, a different theme and style of resources, or a combination of the two, SAAM en Español has helped more communities get involved in prevention and share the same common goals: to raise visibility about sexual assault and share how it can be prevented, whether that’s through education about healthy sexuality, consent, or bystander intervention.

Recently, SAAM has focused on bringing in audiences beyond advocates, those who may not realize they play an important role in preventing sexual violence. Recent resources have focused on how people like parents, faith leaders, and coaches can become agents of change while sharing the practical things each of us can do to prevent sexual assault.

This year the university held Sexual Assault Awareness Month workshops via Zoom throughout the month.

For more information on Sexual Assault Awareness Month and how you can get involved visit nsvrc.org

By Maddie Becker

POLICE BEAT

CampuscrimereportbyWriterRemingtonMiller

Man Arrested On Campus

On April 1, Officer Jerome F. Bailey received a call from dispatch early that morning. A man had arrived at the dispatch area with a woman in his car. The caller said that the young woman had been walking down Asher Ave. naked and in need of assistance.

When officers approached the car of the man, there was a woman in the car who claimed she had been raped at the Ritz Motel.

The Little Rock Police Department (LRPD) and MEMS were contacted. LRPD arrived at the scene at 6:09 a.m. and MEMS arrived at 6:23 a.m. The woman was transported to UAMS for further treatment.

On April 5, Officer Rodney Barnes arrived at South Hall, where a fire alarm had been set off.

At 1:43 p.m., Officer Barnes arrived on the scene and met with the Little Rock Fire Department (LRFD). When LRFD entered the room, there were no residents there at the time. The room was evaluated and everything seemed to be okay.

When one of the residents arrived, they said the fire alarm was triggered by steam from the shower in the suite.

On April 6, Officer Rodney Barnes and Officer Johnny Smith were dispatched to the Commons area at 12:58 p.m. to answer a disturbance. They confronted a 35-year-old male at the scene.

This same man had already been told at 8:56 a.m. the same morning to leave campus, due to him causing a disturbance. The initial write-up of the report does not describe the type of disturbance. At 12:49 p.m., the man returned to the same location and disturbed others. Officer Barnes arrested him for criminal trespassing.

Woman Found Naked on Asher Avenue

Fire Alarm at South Hall

FALL 2021 MAY BE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

On Apr. 1, 2021, UA Little Rock announced its full reopening for the fall of 2021. Regular in-person classes and on-campus activities are to resume and the university will be moving into its Phase Four of the COVID-19 Campus Guide by Aug 2, 2021.

“We expect to be able to back to a pretty recognizable normal by fall semester,” said the university’s Chancellor, Dr. Christina Drale.

Some of the COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing will be more flexible and classrooms will go back to full capacity. As with mask-wearing, Dr. Drale is still unsure about that decision.

“I would expect us to be able to relax most of our protocols,” Dr. Drale said. “We will no longer have six feet of social distance inside classrooms, we’ll be able to have sort of normal capacity classrooms.”

Due to the declining number of cases in the state and vaccines being more available, there is a more secure feeling on easing into Phase Four. Dr. Drale is confident that this will bring a sense of normalcy to campus.

“We will continue to take lots of safety protocols,” Dr. Drake said. “We will continue to clean very aggressively and do safe practices.”

For the most part, faculty and staff are eager to get back to “normal” campus operations.

The dynamic of classes will shift into more in-person meetings but online and hybrid will continue because the online programs at the

university have historically thrived. Dr. Drale mentioned a “hyflex” dynamic that might be taking place within lectures this coming semester for those who are not yet comfortable with the more relaxed protocols.

“The big difference now is that we will have more of these “hyflex” and hybrid courses that we learned how to do during the pandemic,”

Dr. Drale said. “The hyflex ones are kind of interesting because those are ones that meet in person and online at the same time...students can go in person and sit in class with the professor and there is also a zoom option for people that want to zoom the classroom setting virtually.”

COVID-19 has not disappeared completely and some concerns have been raised by the faculty and staff. However, the anticipation to return to campus is higher than the worry.

“The faculty that I have talked to seem to be ready to move to the next phase as long as they have some flexibility and have some ability to control the environment,” Dr. Drale said.

After a year of being homebound due to the pandemic, many students and faculty are ready to get back to campus and feel a sense of normalcy again. With the resuming of on-campus activities, students will get their college experience back.

The campus health center will continue to provide COVID-19 tests and vaccines for students,

APRIL AUTISM ACCEPTANCE

Autism Acceptance Month in April 2021 is very different than it has been in previous years. Multiple people and organizations have reached out with goals and ideas for this year’s awareness campaigns. April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day and April has been selected as National Autism Awareness Month.

For anyone who isn’t sure what autism really is, it is a tough disorder to group into one thing. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental condition that affects each child differently. It can cause speech challenges, communicational issues, restricted or repetitive behaviors, and they vary in severity.

school and socialize with others in a public setting is imperative when building any kind of communicational skills.

As anyone with autism grows, they transfer their learning to a trade and a way to support themselves. There are accommodation experts, job coaches and other means of support. More often than not, despite what many think, children on the autism spectrum disorder are more than capable of taking care of themselves.

faculty and staff who need them.

Chancellor Drale is excited to get back to normal operations. She knows how difficult it has been for everyone this past year and is hopeful that the sense of uncertainty is slowly decreasing.

“I am looking forward to getting back to having an engaged campus community again,” Dr. Drale said. “Where people are talking to one another in person and they are going to activities, and going to basketball and doing all the kinds of things that make it feel like a real campus.

As for those graduating in December, there are high hopes that there will be traditional graduation.

“I would like to see a regular in-person graduation in December,” Dr. Drale said. “We are planning on it. If things change, we’ll have to change our plans, but our plans right now are to have a regular, in-person graduation.”

UA Little Rock will continue to keep students, faculty and staff as safe as possible while the reality society has been living in for the past year slowly shifts into a postpandemic world.

There isn’t just one particular kind of autism and that can be the most challenging part of the disorder. It can be changed and manipulated by many genetic and/ or environmental factors. Every child will have different strengths and weaknesses.

The entire goal of Autism Acceptance Month is to educate people about autism, give out correct information and their resources, and know how you can help support those on the spectrum. Understanding autism is the first step is in overcoming these challenges we have with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism is a lifelong neurological condition that affects 1 in 54 children as of 2020, as reported by the Central for Disease and Control (CDC). Boys are up to four times more likely to have these neurological disconnections and be diagnosed on the spectrum than girls. It is important to get to know the child and adjust their learning to how they perceive and intake information. This allows them to learn more efficiently and comprehend more in a quicker manner.

In the end, not even experts can tell us everything about autism yet. There is no diagnostician, behavioral specialist, developmental therapist, or occupational therapist that can tell you the one thing that causes autism or how to handle the disorder. These are all professionals who specialize in a portion of what it takes to understand autism spectrum disorder.

Awareness about these kinds of situations has recently started to come to light with the exposure of social media platforms. People share posts and talk about all kinds of things or people they can work to support. With this ability, there is also a great opportunity to spread knowledge.

Acceptance of this disorder and the understanding of how it works allows us to accommodate for issues that may develop. This can give anyone with this disorder equal opportunity and the ability to experience society. There are multiple incredibly successful people on the autism spectrum disorder that you may not be aware of.

Actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has been diagnosed with high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome and frequently talks about how he handles being on the autism spectrum. Clay Marzo is an incredibly talented professional surfer that has won multiple surfing competitions. He was diagnosed with autism as a child. Satoshi Tajiri, the inventor of Pokemon is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. Alexis Wineman was the very first Miss America contestant with autism. There are numerous actors, directors and scientists who claim that they could be on the autism spectrum. There are creative minds, geniuses and more that are stuck behind the spectrum.

By Azalea Andrade

Multiple schools hire numerous special education teachers that can help their child develop an individualized educational workbook or plan. Allowing students to go to

Autism is hard to understand, but with compassion we can at least work on learning more. Learning can allow us to grow and do better as a community to support those on the Autism Spectrum. Celebrate 2021’s Autism Acceptance Month.

By Tessah Conatser

Students play Ultimate Frisbee Gage Taylor Photos

LOCAL LADIES IN SMALL BUSINESS

The smell of new leather wafts from the chairs as the buzz of hair clippers fills your ears. An open floor plan with exposed concrete floors creates an air of sophistication. Walking into the lobby of Salon Britton located on 3321 John F Kennedy Blvd #B, North Little Rock, Ark., and your attention is immediately captured by the luxurious look and feel of the space.

Tonya Britton, a 48-year-old hairstylist from North Little Rock, Ark. stands at her station, finishing a haircut for a client on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Cosmetology runs in the family with her being a third-generation hairstylist. When it came time for Britton to follow her passion and open her own salon, not even COVID-19 could stand in her way.

Finding a hair salon that met her standards of professionalism, luxury and comfort was difficult for Britton though, making the decision to apply for an LLC and open her own business a simple one.

Offering massage chairs at the shampoo bowls is one perk not many other hair salons come with, elevating the experience that much closer to luxury. Couple this comfy innovation with a very personable and experienced cosmetologist, and it’s easy to see potential success for Britton’s hair salon.

Her job isn’t solely about cutting though, it’s also about offering a relaxing and comfortable experience where her clients can be themselves. She prides herself in the genuine personal connections

with all of her guests, some spanning multiple years.

“When my clients come to see me, I want them to leave feeling good about themselves,” Britton said.

Operating a business by oneself sounds like a nightmare, but that is exactly what has been happening over at Salon Britton since opening day. Britton’s decision to work solo during this month comes down to personal preference. Working alone during the month of March allowed her to get settled into the rhythm of running a business, ironing out the small details and hiccups before putting together her team of stylists.

With each passing day Salon Britton has started to see an influx of walk-in clients looking for haircuts or an eye-brow wax, on top of her existing loyal clientele. This uptick in business has led Britton to begin the hiring process. Searching for applicants, she is looking to build a team of six cosmetologists with an esthetician, a part time masseuse and other hair specialists.

As vaccination efforts take place across the country, Britton aims for her salon’s team to be fully vaccinated. Due to the nature of cosmetologist’s work, close contact with people is inevitable. Having a fully vaccinated staff would allow for the salon to operate freely, without worrying about potential spreading of COVID-19.

While COVID-19 brought shipping delays and pushed the open-

ing of Salon Britton back by a few weeks, another local entrepreneur saw an opportunity to expand her business and cashed in!

Tiffani Silvey, a senior applied communications major with a double minor in marketing, advertising and public relations, began making masks toward the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and soled them through her online boutique. Silvey noticed the demand for face masks skyrocket and decided to help the supply chain during a difficult time when masks were not widely available.

What began as selling scrunchies to her Chi Omega sisters on Snapchat evolved into the birth of Silvey’s first online Etsy shop Shoptiffanis, in May of 2019. Roughly over a year later, she applied for an LLC to solidify her dream of running her own store.

Silvey’s business Tiffani’s Online Boutique famously sells comfortable and affordable accessories for women, only getting into the mask making industry once the nationwide lockdowns went into effect. Her products include scrunchies and headbands, headscarves, earrings, keychains, bandanas, tumblers, gift bundles and even custom apparel.

Daily visits to the postal office to ship out orders is proof of Tiffani’s Boutique’s success even through a pandemic. Once Silvey started creating face masks and selling them through her online store, business picked up and has not died down since.

“I went from 500 sales before the pandemic to 2,500 sales now,” Silvey said. “And that’s just over the past year.”

Accessories and other products from Tiffani’s Boutique are hand crafted from quality materials, meaning that they will last a few years, not just a few weeks.

This aspect of quality is bolstered by the local supply chain Silvey uses to purchases her raw materials from, the passion she has for creating and the involved manual labor.

Frequenting independently owned businesses to purchase packaging materials is one small way Silvey invests back into her community. She does not buy from big corporations because she believes in supporting local small businesses, especially during a tumultuous time for the economy. Silvey goes to buy fabrics from other local Etsy shop owners, departing from the common Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store.

“I pride myself on the luxury feel at an affordable price,” Silvey stated.

Absolute passion and a love for creating things are two driving forces behind Tiffani’s Boutique success. Utilizing the sowing skills her grandmother taught her as a child, Silvey enjoys honing her creative skills while making a profit.

Running a business such as Tiffani’s Boutique consists of 20-30 hours of manual labor per week, keeping Silvey busy on top of a part-time job and 16-hour school

schedule. Silvey attributes her passion to the business’ success, saying, “When I’m not in class or working, I’m in my workroom making products, quality testing, designing, packaging orders or just tidying up.”

Social media has helped boost Tiffani’s Botique’s notoriety throughout the community. Having a social media account provides Silvey’s customers with a quick and easy access point where people can find the store’s inventory, any sales or new products without having to visit the Etsy shop. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer free promoted self-advertising, making their presence in today’s business model a necessity.

Small businesses have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic first-hand, effectively shutting down many of their operations and eventually shutting down the establishments. Britton and Silvey’s business ventures are two astounding success stories of small businesses in Arkansas that succeeded despite insurmountable obstacles. Search “Salon Britton” and “Tiffani’s” on Facebook to find more information about Britton and Silvey’s business ventures. For a more visual aid, follow Salon Britton on Instagram at @salonbritton and Tiffani’s Boutique at @ shoptiff.

By Bennett Wood

SIXTEEN & VACCINATED

Roughly a year ago, in March, the world came to a screeching halt due to an unseen microscopic invader, the COVID-19 virus. Vaccine development began shortly thereafter, in hopes of curbing the rising death rate in the United States. About a month ago this year, in late March, Arkansans 16 years of age and older became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

Carmen Gresham, an undergraduate nursing student at UA Little Rock working toward her Bachelor of Nursing Science, received the first dose of her vaccine in February of this year when the state initially began distribution. Her heart condition along with her

around the vaccination site, while also making sure patients were wearing a face mask and abiding by public health and safety measures.

After receiving an injection of the Pfizer vaccine, Gresham was requested to sit and wait 20 minutes for observation in the case of any severe side effects or reactions to the medicine. Gresham brought a book to read during her twentyminute wait to help entertain her, not too concerned about her body’s reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. Luckily, Gresham didn’t experience any of the rarely reported side effects and went on about her day.

Gresham’s lack of concern is due to her knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine and how

“At 560,000+ deaths and counting, the need for Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has never been more imminent.”

work in the medical field training to be a nurse qualified her during phase 1a of the vaccine rollout.

One month later, Gresham received her second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the same Elder Independence Home Care facility in Bryant, Ark. The doctors and nurses administering the vaccine adhered to social distancing guidelines in and

the virus works. She also has experience administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine while volunteering at the Arkansas Heart Hospital for a school nursing project. This culmination of experience and knowledge has led her to advocate the urgent need for people to receive the vaccination.

Haphazard news coverage of the vaccination rollout from various

media outlets has helped fuel the hesitancy among U.S. citizens to get vaccinated. Couple this with individuals who haven’t studied science or are not educated on the matters of public health, and there is an understandable right of being nervous to take the vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccines being produced in the United States have been developed off of current vaccines for the SARS virus. Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines are both new models based on already existing vaccines that are not dangerous.

“The rollout of the vaccines did seem rushed, making apprehension for the shot understandable,” Gresham said. “Arkansas along with local private companies should be investing in education on how the vaccines work and are made, making it as accessible as possible.”

With a large amount of people still needing to be vaccinated in Arkansas, Gresham thinks, “the more people getting vaccinated, the better.”

While Gresham is a lucky case and didn’t experience any side effects or symptoms of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination, one student studying social work at UALR wasn’t as lucky.

Jeffrey Crenshaw, an online undergraduate student studying Social Work in the College of Business, Health and Human Services, received the first dose of the two-part Moderna vaccine in early March.

The evening of his first vaccination, Crenshaw experienced

persistent chills as he attempted to fall asleep. Fatigue followed his chills for roughly three days following the injection. It was after his second dose of the Moderna vaccine, however, that brought upon the more serious side effects.

Never running a fever, Crenshaw experienced a second round of chills alongside the second dose of the vaccine. He experienced nausea and vomiting a few times that evening as well, with his symptoms slowly disappearing over three days.

Side effects of a vaccine such as vomiting, fatigue and chills do not sound pleasant, but to Crenshaw, they are worth toughing out if it means building up immunity to the COVID-19 virus.

Cornerstone Pharmacy in Conway, Ark. administered Crenshaw’s vaccination, and quite effectively. Six chairs, socially distanced in a circle took up space in the middle of the store, allowing for public health and safety measures like wearing masks and guidelines, to be enforced.

The pharmacy pushed all of their products and inventory toward the back of the store and running their services only through the drivethru, clearing the space to set up a vaccine distribution center.

Having the pharmacy closed to shoppers and only open to those with appointments to get a vaccine also helped create a safe environment during a pandemic, conducive to administering COVID-19 vaccines.

As more people become eligible for the vaccine, the use of face

masks in public areas needs to continue. The expiration of the mask mandate in Arkansas, allowed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, does not comply with advice being given by healthcare and frontline workers. This inaction regarding the mask mandate was a poorly thought-out decision, swaying Crenshaw to believe Hutchinson’s choice was a political move, and not one regarding public health and safety.

Although the vaccinations have been quickly developed, that doesn’t mean they are bad science. These new COVID-19 vaccines have been modeled after existing SARS vaccinations, as stated earlier. This means good science is good science, regardless of how quickly it developed.

And at 560,000+ deaths and counting, the need for Americans to get vaccinated against COVID19 has never been more imminent. “The virus is much more deadly than any vaccine could be,” said Crenshaw. “I think with COVID19, our end goal should be [the] eradication of the virus. To do that, you really need everyone fully on board with the public safety measures.”

By Bennett Wood

Photos courtesy of UA Little Rock

ENTERTAINMENT

STUDENT MURAL CONTEST

Emma Chambers has been announced as the winner of the Ottenheimer Library mural contest. The student body voted on mural designs submitted by their peers, and elected Chambers’ koi fish design to debut at the library.

“My first thought was ‘Dope. ‘But how am I going to do this now?’” Chambers said.

Her deadline of April 30 was fast approaching, and the mural was large. Her finished project was 8’x16’, painted across four panels to be hung in the lobby of the library.

“I haven't worked on anything this size before, ... I'm thinking it will take 150 to 200 hours, but that is just a guess,” Chambers said.

She wanted to paint something relaxing so that students would enjoy their time in the library and be able to study, distraction-free.

“I chose to paint a peaceful pond because that's what I personally wanted to see while studying in the library,” Chambers said. “I didn't want anything glaring. ... By having an interesting composition with complementary colors, I wanted students to be able to play with the mural and have fun looking at it.”

Her mural also resembles one in Downtown Little Rock.

“I looked it up and apparently, some UA Little Rock students assisted the artist when he painted it. I loved the idea of connecting the campus community with our local community,” Chambers said.

Her assistants have been professors in her department.

“I do not have plans for people helping me paint, but I am getting help and advice from Tom Clifton,

Ricky Sikes and Peter Scheidt. Creating something this big is not something that I can do alone, so I am really grateful for their help."

“Having good professors has challenged my growth as an artist. I've improved a lot since coming to college,” Chambers said.

Chambers, a third year studio art major, is working on another project in addition to the mural.

“I will be presenting at the Student Research & Creative Works Expo. I received a Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship grant to complete an art project that seeks to find a balance between humans and nature and is a commentary on climate change,” she said.

She has at least three paintings to present, all made from materials such as wood, Chinese ink, oil paint and moss.

In the future, Chambers wants to study ceramics in graduate school and is definitely not opposed to doing other large-scale works or murals in the future.

“For now, I'm planning to focus on my studies and continue improving and challenging myself as an artist,” she said.

Her koi fish mural will be unveiled by Chancellor Christina Drale at the Ottenheimer Library. The date of the unveiling has yet to be announced.

“I feel pretty proud of myself," Chambers said. "I've worked really hard to be where I am today and being able to paint this mural is a wonderful reminder of how far I've come."

By Magnolia Risley

Chambers Works on Mural Gage Taylor Photos

EAT BEAT

A review of Little Rock local restaurants and cafes by Maddie Becker

MELLOW MUSHROOM MINUTE MAN BURGERS

Mellow Mushroom is a pizza restaurant located at 16103 Chenal Pkwy Suite 900 in Little Rock. Being a huge fan of pizza, I was excited to try Mellow Mushroom for the first time.

Mellow Mushroom offers dine-in as well as to-go ordering. Masks are still required when entering the restaurant but can be removed once you receive your drink or appetizer. When you walk in, you are greeted by the hostess who will seat you at your table.

The menu is broken up into sections like munchies, greens, stone-baked pizzas, build your own pizza, build your own salad, local items, calzones, sandwiches, hoagies, burgers and sweets.

I ordered a build-yourown calzone with mozzarella, provolone, and seasoned ricotta cheese, Italian sausage, mushrooms, and onion. The starting cost of the calzone was $8.99 and then each ingredient added is $0.99.

I went on a Tuesday night and they weren’t very busy, but I waited about 25 minutes to get my food. The customer service wasn’t the best. I saw my server maybe three times the whole time I was there.

When the food came out, I was surprised at how big the calzone was. It came on a plate with a decent size of warm marinara sauce. Out of all the calzones I’ve had, this one was by far the best.

Their hours of business are Monday-Sunday 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.

As you go out of the front gate to the Little Rock Air Force Base, you’ll come across Minute Man, a small, service-disabled veteran-owned restaurant located at 120 John Harden Dr. Suite 1 in Jacksonville. Minute Man is located at the end of a small strip of businesses. Since Minute Man is located by other businesses parking is not an issue. There are even reserved parking spots for active and retired veterans along with handicap accessible parking.

The restaurant offers dinein and has a convenient drivethru. When you walk in, you will see the tables spread out to accommodate social distancing, and masks are still required when entering the restaurant.

The menu is easy to read and is broken up into different categories; Minute Man Burgers, Minute Man “Free Reign” Rotisserie Chicken, Minute-Mex, sides, desserts, drinks and a kids menu. They also break down what ingredients are in each food item which is really helpful for people with allergies.

When I walked inside, the drive-thru seemed to be busier than the lobby. There was only one other family dining in at the time I was there.

I ordered a bacon cheeseburger which comes with your choice of mayo or mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomato and your choice of American, Swiss, or pepper jack cheese, and of course bacon.

I’m not a fan of condiments, so I ordered mine with lettuce, tomato, onion and American cheese. I chose fries as my side and root beer to drink. The

If you've ever been to a Tacos 4 Life restaurant you're probably aware of how great their food tastes but what you may not know is that Tacos 4 Life helps provide over a million meals a year to underfed children.

Tacos 4 Life was founded on June 9, 2014, in Conway, Arkansas. Since then, they have opened 19 locations across the natural state, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee.

you four rice packs,” Reita Bell said. Reita is a team leader at the North Little Rock Tacos 4 Life. She said the importance of the mission is stressed to her during every shift.

burger alone was $7.99 and to add a side and a drink was an additional $2. It took them about 10 minutes to come out with my food. The food came out hot and fresh.

The employee that took my order was very helpful and checked on my table multiple times to make sure everything was good. The portion size is great compared to what you pay. I highly recommend checking out this veteranowned restaurant.

Their hours of business are Monday- Saturday 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.- 2 p.m.

You can check out their website for more information: https://minutemanburgers. com/

Tacos 4 Life is partnered with Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit Christian organization that donates meals to 70 different countries around the world. They work with organizations in countries like Honduras, Haiti, Belize, Dominican Republic and Swaziland.

Many of the children there face economic and health challenges. The food is used as a foundation to provide medical care, education and skills training.

Meals from Feed My Starving Children are developed by food science and nutrition professionals to supplement nutritional needs and reduce problems with malnutrition.

As a company, Tacos 4 Life has provided over 18 million meals worldwide to starving children. For every taco, quesadilla, salad, nacho or rice bowl, 24 cents are donated to Feed My Starving Children.

Those 24 cents go to a Mannapack that is then sent to a hungry child. Each Mannapack provides six meals. “A dollar will get

“We have a counter where all of our meals are counted on an hourly basis. As we’re ringing in meals, those numbers are going up and we’re telling the guests that we just fed this many kids,” she explained. “We’re stressing our mission that we’re not just here to feed hungry guests but we’re here to feed hungry kids as well.”

This year Tacos 4 Life participated in Good Samaritan Day on March 13. Reita and all of the Tacos 4 life staff pushed for double donations. She said that this year Tacos 4 Life raised 38,889 meals as a company for starving kids.

“Almost 40,000 kids are going to get fed,” Bell said. “Tacos 4 Life is not like fast food. You don’t come here just to get food. You come here to get service and to be served. We treat our guests like family and we want you to be happy when you leave.”

You can donate meals by purchasing food from the restaurant or by going to the Tacos 4 Life website and donating there.

On May 6 at 7 p.m., Feed My Starving Children will be hosting a virtual event where you can learn more about the organization and hear stories from those impacted. You can go to fmsc.org to learn more and register.

By Maddie Becker

TACOS 4 LIFE: THE FIGHT AGAINST WORLD HUNGER

RONIA KATTOUM UALR Professor named as ‘Woman to Watch 2021’

Born in the occupied territories of Palestine and raised in Chicago, Ronia Kattoum is a chemist at heart with a unique success story. Even though Kattoum is a mother of four and a full-time chemist instructor, she is productive and involved in many organizations on campus. She's active as an Educator minor Coordinator, Freshman Programs Coordinator, co-leader of the PeerLed Supplemental Instruction Workshop Faculty and much more. During summer 2020, Kattoum

began her Ph.D. in Applied Sciences-Chemistry. In a recent interview, Kattoum stated that "I knew I wanted to teach at a college level so I pursued two master's degrees. After teaching for seven years, I decided to get my Ph.D."

In 2024, she plans to add her Ph.D. to her collection of accolades. These include a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, a Master's in Chemistry and Higher Education, and her 2021 recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award

in Teaching for the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. With eight months to go in 2021, you never know, Kattoum may have some tricks up her sleeve that could change UA Little Rock's Department of Chemistry for the better. There's more than meets the eye when it comes to Ronia Kattoum, making her one of the women at UA Little Rock to watch in 2021

By Desarhea Kelly

WHAT’S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT?

The sayings “save the bees” and “vegan friendly” are being taken seriously more and more by people and companies every day. Aaron Schaller with a PhD in biochemistry and Darko Mandich are the co-founders of a new company called MeliBio. MeliBio has a chance to provide new found hope for the bees and for vegans— their solution is vegan honey.

MeliBio is a start-up company located in Berkeley, Calif. which is addressing the issues of non-vegan honey products, and the harmful act of retrieving honey from honey bees as they see the opportunity for a new product on the market. How they plan to accomplish this and provide a solution is by making vegan honey where bees will not be involved in the production.

According to Media, C., this new honey is formulated from, “synthetic biology, precision fermentation, and plant science” made to have the same taste and texture and nutritional value as bee made honey. Because MeliBio is a new company showing promise, they have received pre-seed money in the amount of $850,000.

With this funding, MeliBio predicts it will have its first product of synthetic, non-bee made honey on the market by late 2021. On top of this, fifteen companies have already agreed to use MeliBio’s honey at starting the end of 2021.

More recently, when looking at consumer behavior, vegan products have become increasingly popular in the consumer market: plant based burgers instead of cow

meat burgers, almond/soy/oat milk instead of cow milk, garbanzo juice instead of chicken eggs, etc. This is partly because so many consumers are allergic to animal produced products; those who are lactose intolerant are unable to have milk, so they use milk substitutes like almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk.

There are also vegan consumers that choose to avoid animal products altogether. They believe to be more sustainable, healthier and sometimes cheaper. The bee industry is not perfect. Smoking is used to control bees, and the clipping of the queen bee’s wings keeps her in the hive. Taking too much honey from the bees so they are left with little nutrients are some unethical practices; as a result, bees are dying and may not be able to make enough honey to keep up with the demand.

Conscientious consumerism has increased as the concern for the honey industry and safety of the planet has increased. These people are looking for alternative products that will not be harmful to the environment or other people.

Consumers are now demanding transparency from producers and marketers. This means knowing how the bees are treated during the honey extraction process and how it is harmful to the bees’ ecosystem, as well as knowing how it affects the honey they are consuming.

They are worried that honey is not as edible as companies are making the honey out to be. Honey is a great sugar substitute

and a great ingredient in skin care products. However, if you are a vegan, how do you sweeten your food and what do you put in your skincare products?

These were the issues MeliBio saw. There was a gap in the food market and unnecessary animal mistreatment occurring. Now, MeliBio is seizing the opportunity to fill this gap and meet consumer demands with a vegan product in this new vegan food product market.

Their honey will be created in a lab and will be pure and untouched by pesticides or other chemicals. One last thing MeliBio has considered is price. They know consumers want good quality honey that is not outrageously expensive. Because it will be grown in a lab, there is no worry about weather messing with the honey production which also means nothing to mess with and increase the price due to lost supply.

If you think about it, diamonds produced in a lab are cheaper than diamonds that are mined—it is the same idea.

MeliBio shows a lot of promise to be an answer to many consumers seeking vegan products, especially vegan honey. It only took two minds looking at the market and consumer behavior to realize how they could provide a product to meet consumers needs and wants. Do you think this synthetic honey is the answer?

By Amanda Gordon

LIBRARY RISE WORKSHOPS

The Ottenheimer Library offers various workshops on Research and Information Skills Exploration (RISE) online. The skills taught are meant to help students have academic and career success. The workshops are offered concurrent on zoom but are also available upon request. If an individual is needing a more specific skills workshop they are encouraged to contact a library team member. The library services request form is easy to fill out and can be found on the Ottenheimer Library webpage.

This past April they offered classes such as basic searching, speed dating with general databases, Search Smarter and Strategically, Thinking About Graduate School?, Score Higher On Admissions Tests with Test Prep Tools, and Are you ready for the next step? Ace Your Occupation Exams.

Some basic skills that are covered are how to find specific types of information using popular search engines along with an overview of citation tracking. How to use the databases provided by the Ottenheimer Library and which are best for specific content. Learning Express’ Grad School Test Prep is an e-learning tool created to help students prepare for graduate school admission tests. Also Learning Express’ Career Preparation for licensing exams’ and has online books to help students prepare for common professional exams. RISE from Ottenheimer Library is a useful tool for any students wanting a little extra help.

By Payton Dhooge

CELEBRATING GREEK WEEK

The University of Arkansas Little Rock hosted its annual Greek Week festivities during the month of April. This year’s events were Greek-only, where chapters were able to bond and come together as COVID-19 restrictions began to accommodate gatherings larger than ten people.

The week featured Letter Day, where members of sororities and fraternities were encouraged to wear their greek apparel and post photos on social media, Lip Sync Battle/Karaoke Night, Dodgeball and ended with Field Day at the Coleman Recreation Complex.

Volunteer days at the Campus Garden were also scheduled to take place but were canceled due to rain.

Lucee Lugo, Assistant Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life in the Student Experience Center, coordinated with the Greek Week Committee, which had representatives from each chapter

THE SOCIAL AT TROJAN CAFE

The Social at Trojan Cafe is an evening filled with good music, virtual games, prizes and cuisines that they typically do not serve at the Trojan Cafe. After a long day of studying for exams and completing assignments, The Social at Trojan Cafe is a great place to spend time with friends and have peace of mind.

If you missed out on all the fun this spring semester, that's okay because The Social at Trojan Cafe will be here waiting for you at the beginning of fall semester! Even if you don't live on campus, you should come enjoy the campus experience with your friends and make college memories that you can share with your children in the future!

If you’d like to stay updated about Trojan Cafe events for the upcoming fall and spring semester, click or scan the links below.

By Desarhea Kelly

involved, in order to prepare for the events.

Some chapters were not able to participate due to COVID-19 restrictions from their national headquarters.

“The goal this year was different than that of previous years," Lugo said. "Mainly, I wanted it to be a place where our members could come and get to know each other cross-council because, with COVID-19, they haven’t had the chance to do socials or fun events with others."

A total of three new member classes have joined the Greek community since the pandemic began in March of 2020, (one class each semester), so new initiates are less familiar with their peers than in the past.

This year, the events were closed, but Lugo plans to get more of the campus involved next year.

“We’re wanting to open it up more and [make] it be an opportunity for other students to join,” she said.

As chapters gear up to recruit in the Fall, Lugo was just happy to end the semester on a positive note that allowed the community to come together.

“[The week] was so fun," Lugo said. "I started this job last May, in the middle of the pandemic. Any chance to see students in person and hang out is so fun; I think I had just as much fun as they did We wanted students to come to get to know those they didn’t know, have a good time, and end the year ready to come back in the fall. We’ll be pretty busy in August."

Karaoke Night was hosted in the Ledbetter Halls and was complete with a stage and lights. Greeks were able to sing into microphones and had a great time.

Dodgeball, which even had referees in SEC student workers, had the Greeks divided into teams, first numbered off evenly, then men versus women.

Dylan Brown, Delta Chi President, enjoyed dodgeball the most.

“Dodgeball was my favorite because I like to stay physically active and I enjoyed the company of the sororities. Dodgeball was also a childhood activity I loved,” he said.

He appreciated that Greek Week gave his chapter the opportunity to be social.

“We loved getting out and being with other organizations, especially our sister sororities," Brown said. "I think it’s important to the whole social environment on campus with COVID-19. Being involved with other Greeks during these times has proved to be difficult."

The events were able to build Greek Unity on campus. Annalise Behr, Kappa Delta External Vice President, was relieved by the success of Greek Week.

“I feel like as Greeks, we should stick together and push one another to be better," Behr said. "Greek Life means nothing if we don’t all work together to make it a good experience."

Field Day was able to accomplish that goal. It featured local food trucks, a bounce house, kickball games and other competitive activities such as Cornhole and ring toss. Some Greeks even brought their dogs.

“Field day was amazing,” Brown said. “I enjoyed the food trucks. Kickball and the bouncy house were a lot of fun. The dogs [being] there made it even better.”

Overall, Greeks were grateful to be able to meet in person. They were able to do so with safety protocols in place like social distancing, wearing masks, checking temperatures and using hand sanitizer frequently.

“[Delta Chi was] thankful campus approved and allowed us to meet in person with social distancing,” Brown said. “We have enjoyed building bonds through social media and Zoom, but we’re ready to have more in-person events.”

Lugo cautioned Greeks to be safe this summer and to be hopeful for future recruitment seasons, but the SEC does have a Plan A, B and C to accommodate in-person, hybrid and virtual recruitment festivities.

“We are ready for anything," Lugo said. "We will mirror what the Chancellor says. … [I have my] fingers crossed we can have more of a traditional fall experience that many people will really like."

Campus has reason to be excited about the future of Greek Life.

“We are growing," Lugo said. "We are going to move forward and COVID-19 tried, but it did not get us. [There are] lots of things to come."

By Magnolia Risley

Panhellenic Dodgeball Magnolia Risley Photos

OBEF PUTS THE UNITY IN COMMUNITY

The Ossie Barnes Empowerment Foundation (OBEF) is a nonprofit organization located roughly twenty miles south of Little Rock, within the Hensley/Woodson area. Since 2017, they have worked to improve the underserved community and the lives of its residents. CEO Paula Withers was inspired to create the organization by her late great-grandmother Ossie Barnes's unrelenting drive to serve her community.

"This model," Withers says, "is based on her life efforts as an educator in the Pulaski County Special School District for fifty-four years and a community organizer that helped the Hensley/Woodson communities prosper and flourish for over seventy years."

Withers, her associates and countless volunteers have continued Ossie Barnes's legacy through tireless efforts. They have provided residents with free cell phones, meals, a monthly newsletter, access to technology, informative classes, bus transportation and other resources. They have hosted clean-up events, social gatherings, activities and forums with elected officials to address local concerns. And they have recently established an unprecedented community center and property—near the location where Barnes used to teach—that will become the hub of opportunity. These endeavors, and many others, strive to create a society based on self-sufficiency, sustainability and unity.

As part of their beautification initiative, OBEF partnered with Keep America Beautiful and planned a community cleanup

event from May 8 to May 16. This weeklong event includes park maintenance, trash removal and yard work. Volunteers will also make planters and plant flowers and trees.

"Our rallying cry is Harambee," Paula says. "We all work together; everyone has a part to play."

According to Mwende Mutuli Musau, a writer from the BBC, "the word means 'all pull together' in Kiswahili, Kenya’s national language." A harambee is "a type of self-help event that’s deeply ingrained in the moral compass of the country." OBEF keeps this motto alive through their daily actions to unite the rural citizens of the Hensley/Woodson area. Their hope is to effect change by promoting programs and opportunities that will lead to the growth of the community.

The organization has volunteer and internship opportunities open for UALR students and other community members. For more information about the available positions and what you can do to support them, please contact paula.OBEF@gmail.com.

Phone number: 501-397-5331

Address: 5204 W Hensley Rd, Hensley, AR 72065

Website: https:// obefcommunity.org/

Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/ OssieBarnes EmpowermentFoundation/

By Danielle Spence

FEMALE RAP CLASS OF

OBEF Photos

Photos Courtesy of Pat Ward & Earnice McDaniel

BATTLING THE NEGATIVITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA

As the world continues to live through the pandemic era, people’s usage of social media has spiked. In the beginning weeks of the COVID19 pandemic, the Harris Poll found that between 46%-51% of adults in the US were using social media more since the beginning of the outbreak. With usage at an all time high, social media has begun to impact many lives around the world whether it is positive or negative.

Social media can play a huge role in deteriorating the state of a person’s mental health. Though social media has been known to release a lot of dopamine (chemical brain releases when a person is happy), it comes with its own risks. Negative aspects of social media can begin to prey on the mindsets of its patrons and sometimes become so unbearable that it ends up causing an immense amount of damage to a person’s mental state.

Polarizing political views and opinions, slanderous comments and racist statements are all factors.

Natalie Norwood struggles to fully commit to being on social media. Natalie Norwood, a shift supervisor and former history teacher at Joe T. Robinson stated that there have been times where she was completely overwhelmed by negative comments after posting that views and opinions have become clouded by bad news sources.

“I feel that I needed to distance myself from that negativity,” Norwood said. “I usually follow people who support my views. Views like supporting LGBTQ rights, the Black Lives Matters Movement and musical artists that promote body positivity. That being said, it’s kind of impossible to not entertain some form of negativity.”

She also states that it is important to set boundaries just as you would in life.

“People should constantly check their social media and remove the things they don’t want to see,” Norwood said. “If you notice that there is someone who says something you believe to be

THE FOOD PANTRY TREKS THROUGH PANDEMIC

offensive, instead of commenting on their post you should unfollow them.”

With these types of comments and posts there are many ways to block them from your feed and out of your mind’s eye.

“Some social media sites are making it easier to block toxic things on your page now,” said Lauren Rothman, a freshman at Arkansas State University and a former K-Pop stan account owner who battled toxic comments and negativity within her stan community.

“When I was running my account, there were times where I got overwhelmed by certain posts where opinionated fans made claims or even said very racist or xenophobic things,” Rothman said. “So in order to combat this I found ways to block the post and any comments or statements that I didn’t want to see in the future. When I’m on twitter I use the word filter tool and filter out certain words so that it doesn’t show me the post. I also filter certain topics, usually those that contain speech that is racist or slanderous.”

Even though she does this with certain posts, she still understands that negativity is sometimes needed on social media in order to understand and be updated on social issues.

“Even though I do mute words or filter them out completely,” Rothman said. “I try to make sure I’m leaving some negativity on my feed because not only does it bring awareness to social issues it can also provide information that may be informative.”

Social media can sometimes seem like a double edged sword, but sometimes a slash that sword is a reality check that is needed.

Overall social media can be informative and can provide a good outlet to express positivity, but it can also be overwhelming for someone if they’re not controlling the negative aspects of their feeds and blocking it or using it constructively to gain knowledge.

By James Johnson

The COVID-19 pandemic made a lot of students, staff and faculty at UA Little Rock insecure. These were called unprecedented times, which meant insecure and uncertain times. Many had questions about what school and campus would be like now, and how would a campus community survive such an event.

The UA Little Rock Food Pantry still fights to serve one need on campus, hunger.

Tiffany Silvery, a student worker at the pantry and the graduate assistant for the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps (CLC), commented about the state of the on-campus food pantry. Silvey said, “the biggest thing that’s changed since COVID-19 is the fact that it is not mandatory for the student mentors to come in for office hours anymore.”

In previous semesters, CLC mentors would be required to work a certain number of hours in the UA Little Rock Food pantry. The CLC mentors and students previously were able to do a lot of work to support the food pantry. CLC groups used to participate in an annual goal called Reach 13,000.

The Reach 13,000 project lasts from August to April in the academic year. There would be fundraising events, usually two in the fall semester and two in the spring. The goal is to raise over 13,000 donations of nonperishable food items for the pantry, the Staff Senate Helping Hands Committee and the 12th Street Clinic, to distribute to those in need.

To cover that loss, UA Little Rock partnered with the Shackleford Walmart along with UA Little Rock Athletics in order to get supplies. The staff would be given a monthly budget of a thousand dollars in order to purchase food to stock the pantry.

“Since we could not do those Reach 13,000 events,” Silvey said, “this partnership basically

fills those donations.”

Due to COVID-19 safety regulations, that has just not been possible in the past two semesters. There have been fewer donations and fewer volunteers at the food pantry.

Silvey also said “there are less people coming to get food. You’d think it would be different. It’s very weird to me.”

The pantry provides contactless pick-up, increased sanitation, and volunteers are expected to wear gloves and sanitize their hands constantly. Most orders from the food pantry now include a personal protective equipment (PPE) pack to encourage safety during the pandemic.

Now that the partnership is over, there is an increase in the need for donations. The food pantry staff is beginning to brainstorm fundraising ideas that will fill the needs of the pantry and prioritize the overall safety of those involved.

There has not been an official decision on whether or not the food pantry’s operations will change as the UA Little Rock campus opens up next semester. Silvey said, “contactless pickup might stay the same.” The contactless pick-up might increase those using the pantry by offering a more anonymous way to receive help.

The pantry is still accepting donations and volunteers. For those interested in planning a fundraising project or volunteering, they can email pantry@ualr.edu.

By Remington Miller

THE PET PANDEMIC

This year, COVID-19 has changed quite a lot. Social distancing and the lack of communication have caused a rift in everyday life. Yet, there seems to be one benefit: we get to spend all this extra time at home with our beloved pets. This April 11, we celebrated our furry friends- and not-so-furry ones toofor National Pet Day.

In order to spread some happiness around campus, I went looking for some university students with pet pals of their own. Pets have a special meaning to us pet owners, and many animal choices can speak to our personalities. There are the reptilian lovers, the farm animal experts and the domesticated fur parents. With so many animals to buy and so many to save, it is always a joy to bring someone new into the family. The quarantine has given many people the opportunity to discover a new part of themselves, and a new side to their pets.

Throughout the pandemic, we have all tried new things in an attempt to rid ourselves of boredom. A few of us might have tried puzzles, board games, technology, or some of us got the trifecta. Learning how to handle our kids, work and school. One thing is for sure though, our pets at times, don’t make it easy.

We have to remember that this has been an adjustment for our pets, too. I spoke to Micah Rodriguez about her three cats. The black one is named Jasper, the gray one is named Little Bit, and the tabby one cat is named Tuck. While cats are known for their attitude and sass, it seems like there is never a dull moment in this house of three.

"Jasper tends to think Zoom calls are his time to shine," Rodriguez said. "He normally likes to yowl or flash his fanny like it’s his Only Fans page.”

The gentle side note gives us a great idea as to what we should expect from this cat. He spends most of his time with Micah while she works, but they all take care of their human.

“They have a way of sensing when I am stressed and tend to cuddle up to me," Rodriguez said. "They also provide company and entertainment.”

In our world, any form of entertainment will do. Having a pet can be a job in itself. There is a lot to handle with them when

they destroy everything, but they seem to always think of us in the end. Even if that means barking during our online meetings and flashing their tail ends now and again during a Zoom call.

Luckily, online calls and virtual meetings have allowed for more schedule freedom. While in the past there was always a time for the commute, for class, for food and for work; we find ourselves having more free time.

For Danielle O’Brien, her pets have encouraged her to go outside more during her time at home.

“With the lockdown, it was hard to find moments to leave the house and staying inside all day, every day was damaging our physical and mental health," O'Brien said. "Beanie and Kota love going on walks and playing in the backyard, so they kept us out in the sun and moving.”

Walking your pet is a task that can be burdensome at the end of a

His worst habit is one that was rather hard to break—digging. Throughout the pandemic, we have had snow and rain, but it never stopped this dog. Quarantine has given Jason the perfect chance to fix up the yard and manage the grass, but he has come to leave one particular spot in his yard alone. This has been known as the “NoGo Zone” in his household.

The places every dog must bury their favorite toy or bone they will finish later.

“There is no point in trying to fix a broken clock," Davis said. "Eventually, I’ll get around to making him move holes, but it isn’t too much of a concern. It is a pain, but he is a happy dog and I love him, even if he tracks dirt everywhere.”

We all come in a little dirty, and some pets more than most.

“Our pets are the loyal ground for us to stand on.”

long day. Quarantine has allowed us to not only gain more chances to play and exercise our pets but ourselves as well. Going out and trying new things is a great way to make it through quarantine with your pet. Take an extra walk or two and get a little extra sunshine.

At the end of the day, whether we are working from home or not, our pets are the loyal ground for us to stand on. Never wavering and always caring.

“Zoe is my best friend and I know she’ll always be there for me through my ups and downs. She’ll always hold a special place in my heart,” Brittany Christian said.

Her dog seems like a handful but is quite the opposite.

“She’s very quiet and aloof so I don’t have too many problems with her," Christian said. "She has my back and I have hers, even when she misbehaves.”

While many of our pets have their moments of destruction or bad habit, we always get through it with them. We have a new opportunity to train our animals, but other times we take it in stride. In other words, we pet owners learn to put up with it.

This is what Jason Davis has learned to do with his dog, Nike.

One thing is for certain, the pandemic has been colorful with our pets around. Whether they are showing off in Zoom calls, getting us in the sun, helping us get out and about or being our number one companions, everyone’s pets are unique, and each has its own stories to tell. They are our emotional support, our backbone, the thorn in our side and our best friends. At least they always manage to keep us entertained.

Consider how COVID-19 has affected your pets and how. Just remember to give them all the attention you can for now, who knows how long quarantine will last. Your pet will miss you, so give them plenty of treats and spoil them while you’re still stuck socially distancing from people. Animals are way cooler anyway.

If you do not have a pet and are thinking of getting one, please consider visiting the many animal shelters in Little Rock when looking for one. Little Rock Animal Village, North Little Rock Animal Shelter and Humane Society of Pulaski County are all wonderful options to choose from in the Little Rock area.

Every animal needs a forever home and you never know what animal you could end up saving.

By Tessah Conatser

Micah Rodriguez

Jason Davis

Chloe McGehee

Danielle Spence

Brittany Christian

GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES

2021 is the year of good music and high production videos. Many music artists such as Saweetie, Bankroll Freddie, and Karol G have released new hits and projects and are taking over YouTube, Twitter, Spotify, and iTunes. Check out why you should listen to these three artists today!

#1. Why you should listen to Saweetie’s new EP “Pretty Summer Playlist: Season 1”.

On April 16, the Filipino west coast rapper shocked her fans with a surprise EP and trended on Twitter for 48 hours! Saweetie collaborated with new upcoming talented artists and explored new sounds. Her artistry, lyrics, and vocals have improved since her 2017 debut in the music industry. Every song on Saweetie’s new EP is astounding, motivating, and worth listening to on repeat! This new EP is a warm up to her highly anticipated debut album Pretty B**** Music, which is expected be released this summer or fall. Click or scan the link below to check out Saweetie’s new music video ‘Risky’ featuring Drakeo The Ruler!

Saweetie Risky ft. Drakeo The Ruler Music Video #2. Why should you listen to Bankroll Freddie’s debut album “Big Bank”?

On April 2, Bankroll Freddie proved why he’s the current bestselling and most-streamed Arkansas rapper! On his debut album, Bankroll collaborated with well-known mainstream music artists such as 2 Chainz, Megan Thee Stallion, and PnB Rock. My

song from his debut album is “Pop It”, it’s a catchy song and a summer anthem for his female fans. Bankroll Freddie has made several achievements with his debut album “Big Bank”, which are trending on YouTube for three days, charting at no.40 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart, and charting top 50 on the HipHop/Rap iTunes chart. Click or scan the link below to check out Bankroll Freddie’s new music video “Pop it” featuring Megan Thee Stallion!

Bankroll Freddie Pop It ft. Megan Thee Stallion Music Video #3. Why you should listen to Karol G’s new album “KG0516”.

On March 26, the Latin superstar released her third studio album and officially left her mark in the music industry. Karol G collaborated with other popular Latin mainstream artists such as Mariah Angeliq, Anuel AA, J. Balvin, and Ozuna. All of her songs on this album are classic and filled with beautiful melodies. Karol G showed the entire world that female Latin artists are here to stay! A day after its release, “KG0516” became the biggest debut for a female Spanish album in Spotify history. Karol G is here to remind everyone that the Latin culture roots are deep within the music industry. Click or scan the link below to check out Karol G’s new music video “El Makinon” featuring Mariah Angeliq!

Karol G El Makinon ft. Mariah Angeliq Music Video

By Desarhea Kelly

JUSTIN BIEBER’S JUSTICE

anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and then again midalbum. Including parts of King’s speech in his album sparked controversy, claiming that he was attempting to be a “white savior” trying to solve injustices simply by making “Justice.”

Justin Bieber’s anticipated sixth studio album

“Justice” was released on March 19 just 13 months after his fifth studio album “Changes.”

On February 26, he announced the release date for “Justice” in a post on Instagram that said, “JUSTICE, the album March 19th. In a time when there’s so much wrong with this broken planet, we all crave healing and justice for humanity. In creating this album my goal is to make music that will provide comfort, to make songs that people can relate to and connect to so they feel less alone. Suffering, injustice

and pain can leave people feeling helpless. Music is a great way of reminding each other that we aren’t alone. Music can be a way to relate to one another and connect with one another. I know that I cannot simply solve injustice by making music but I do know that if we all do our part by using our gifts to serve this planet and each other that we are that much closer to being united. This is me doing a small part. My part. I want to continue the conversation of what justice looks like so we can continue to heal.”

When you listen to the album, the first voice you will hear is Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “Injustice

Justin tweeted, “I know that I cannot simply solve injustice by making music but I do know that if we all do our part by using our gifts to serve this planet and each other that we are that much closer to being united.”

The album includes songs like “Holy,” “Lonely,” “Anyone” and “Hold on” all of which reached the top 20 in the United States, at numbers, three, twelve, six, and twenty. The album’s fifth single “Peaches” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which became his seventh number-one single. This is his first album to be tagged as explicit with songs like “Lonely” and “Peaches.”

This album was anything but disappointing and listening to it makes me even more excited to see him in concert later this year.

By Maddie Becker

LANA DEL REYS’ CHEMTRAILS OVER THE COUNTRY CLUB

Chemtrails Over the Country Club is Lana Del Rey’s seventh studio album. The opening song White Dress refers to Del Reys’ life at 19 before becoming popular and sets the overall theme of the rest of the album. She recalls simpler times in her youth “It kinda makes me feel, like maybe I was better off” is the ending lyric to the song that resounds within the album. The way she sings White Dress is in a raspy and strained whisper that is different from her other songs.

The song Chemtrails Over the Country Club also is very nostalgic and bittersweet. The music video, however, creates a different atmosphere than when only the music is being listened to. Her clothes and the red car that she drives set the time period like the 1930s and Del Rey is presented as a wealthy woman. There are idyllic scenes by a swimming pool but also caged birds. In the second half of the

music video, the mood becomes darker and her group of friends, as well as her, are portrayed as feral and surrounded by wolves. The caged birds represent her lack of freedom in the idyllic world while the wolves her ability to be who she is.

For Free is a Joni Mitchell cover that is not as good as the original. Dark But Just a Game and Yosemite are two songs that I resonated with from the album. Her sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell! was immensely better however Chemtrails Over the Country Club is not a disappointing follow-up.

By Payton Dhooge

favorite

Photo Courtesy of Diamonte Harper

CONCRETE COWBOY: WAS IT WORTH SADDLING UP FOR?

Caleb McLaughlin has returned to the screens of Netflix with the Netflix original movie, Concrete Cowboy, based on the book titled “Ghetto Cowboy” by Gregory Neri. McLaughlin is better known for his role as Lucas on Netflix’s Stranger Things but embodied a completely different element than we’ve ever seen him in before with his role as Cole in Concrete Cowboy.

Cole is a troubled and rebellious teen who is battling a war within himself. The audience immediately sees this as the opening scene begins with Cole’s mother getting a call from the school that Cole has gotten into a fight. It is then implied that this is nowhere near Cole’s first scuffle and that he has been moved around from school to school for all the trouble that he has gotten into. Cole’s mother then decides that was the last strike, and abruptly drops Cole off in Philadelphia at his father’s house, Harp, who is played by Idris Elba.

Cole and Harp’s relationship is full of tension and is nearly nonexistent. As they struggle to get along, Cole begins to hang with his childhood friend/cousin, Smush. Smush is rebellious as well, and the duo began going downhill from the moment of their reunion. Harp sees that Smush is a bad influence, and attempts to prohibit Cole from hanging with him any longer. Instead of taking heed to his father’s advice, Cole decides to sneak and see Smush repeatedly by working at the stables as an outlet.

After a major turn of events, Cole and Harp finally reach a turning point in their relationship. The movie wraps up with one of the

During the COVID-19 pandemic, you would think that we would have no appetite for horror. We have been living our own apocalyptic horror stories this past year.

Regardless, “The Unholy” was released to theatres on April 2nd. It is a movie in the horror genre and rated PG-13. The movie is a film adaptation of the novel “Shrine” by James Herbert. The novel was written in 1983. The film was directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos, known for his work on “Beauty and the Beast” (2017) and “Hercules” (2014).

UNLEASHING

THE UNHOLY

main problems within the film being solved, and the cast (majority played by real Fletcher Street Stables community members) rides off on their most prized possessions, the horses.

Overall, Concrete Cowboy deserves a 6/10. The film is a slow burn, which is not necessarily a calamity, but the pace is entirely too slow. There were multiple moments where it was hard to stay focused and easy to zone out. Also, the major turning point was very predictable and didn’t come as much of a surprise at all. The combination of a slow burn with a predictable climax is a duo to be avoided. These are the only two major flaws that damaged the film, but these two aspects are key tokens of any film.

On the other side, the cinematography, acting and overall performance picked up the slack for those two major losses. Each scene was filmed beautifully and stood as the epitome of visual engagement. Each actor embodied their role, which is especially significant in regards to the fact that most of the cast members were Fletcher Street Stables members and not trained actors, yet you could not tell them apart from the other actors. The performance overall was moving and noteworthy, adding to the film’s replay value.

Concrete Cowboy put its own spin on Western meeting Urban. By putting together the overall message of the film as a whole and reallife connections and history, it is clear to see why this story needed to be told on screen.

By Maygan Bryant

The movie follows a journalist, Gerry Fenn (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who was down on his luck after being exposed as an unethical journalist. He travels to Banfield, Massachusetts, and unknowingly creates another sensational story on accident.

Gerry manages to unleash an old spirit who poses as the Virgin Mary, only referred to as Mary, and cures the ailments of the townspeople. Specifically, the film follows a young girl, Alice (played by Cricket Brown), who is deaf and mute until this spirit cures her. Alice proceeds to praise this spirit and bring in support from all around the nation. She truly believes that she is cured and healed by the Virgin Mary herself.

It is Gerry who uses his investigative skills to discover the origins of this “Mary” and help Alice defeat the ghost. His character arch became complete as he chose to sacrifice his reputation as a journalist, for the second time, and save a town.

I feared this movie would be eerily similar to “The Nun” (2018), with a heavy religious emphasis that just does not terrify audiences anymore. A lot of modern scary movies are scary for only a few moments on screen and fall flat the rest of the movie.

Overall this movie surprised me. I enjoy horror movies and this one posed more than the stereotypical demon possession and haunting. “The Unholy” was a film that commented on religious hierarchies and internal workings, capitalism, mass mania and unethical journalism. Those things may be scary, but they are hardly the horror most fans are looking for.

The demon, Mary (played by Marina Mazepa), was one of the scariest things I have seen from the horror industry in a while. I found the movements, backstory

and appearance of Mary to be able to fuel nightmares. Finding out that Mary had been accused of witchcraft, I rolled my eyes in the theatre. The witchcraft trope has been fleshed out, but “The Unholy” provided a new angle on the horror that could manifest in such a dark topic.

A mask being nailed into her face and the dolls being locked with impossible dates were certainly unique aspects that caught my attention, and the attention of the audience. The idea alone is terrifying, but the imagery of Mary in her physical being is haunting.

The film also made quite the commentary using Gerry as the main character. He was not the object of possession, though he was the catalyst of the story. He is often criticized for making up a story he covered in his career before the movie and provides an insight into how the news works. In one scene, he calls an old boss and attempts to sell her the story before anyone else, for his job back. Even if, the news agency is hesitant to accept such a controversial reporter back into their workforce.

Alice becomes a national sensation, often appearing on t-shirts, and many from around the world watch livestreams featuring her. “The Unholy” speaks to something I think the pandemic

left us with, a need for hope. The public was so willing and ready to believe that there were miracles in this small town, especially those that heal. The movie’s filming was originally put on pause back in March 2019

Beyond that, like “The Nun” (2018), this movie’s religious aspect was unique. “The Unholy” focused on the order in which the Catholic church deems something a miracle. In 2011 Joshua E. Keating, from Foreign Policy wrote an article “How Does the Vatican Decide What’s A Miracle?” While miracles can be on a wide array of subjects, “The Unholy” focuses on medical miracles. Keating wrote “For a recovery to be declared miraculous, it must be "complete," "instantaneous," and "durable" — meaning the cured condition doesn’t return — as well as scientifically inexplicable.” This follows through with similar criteria given to Gerry by representatives of the Vatican during the film. This film would not make it into my top five favorite films, but it was worth the ticket to go see safely, as in sitting socially distanced in the theatre and wearing masks. UA Little Rock students can still show their Trojan ID at the ticket booth and receive a matinee price at any showing.

By Remington Miller

Global warming has exponentially increased in the past ten years. Society is evolving into becoming more environmentally friendly by recycling, composting and thrifting. However, another way to reduce your carbon footprint can be to reduce your daily meat intake.

Gloria Sanchez, a Brownsville, Texas resident, has been a vegan for about three years but that’s not where her journey began.

“I decided to go pescatarian because I knew nothing about being vegan,” Sanchez said. “I was always under the mentality [that] I could never stop eating meat...I transitioned into vegan and it was a lot easier than I thought.”

Historically, humans were meant to hunt and gather with the resources available to them. As humankind progressed, the hunting of animals became much more rapid and commercialized. Because of that, now massive meat and chicken farms exist where many animals are exploited and harmed during the process which can lead to moral and even health issues.

Stephanie Giraldo, an engineer from Miami living in California, is a passionate advocate for animals and the earth. Her vegan journey started about five years ago because of her empathy towards animals.

“Initially, I went vegan just to cause less harm to animals,” Giraldo said. “I just don't agree with the way the animals are treated in factory farms and just in meat and dairy industries, so that is initially why, but as I learned more about the different areas of being vegan, I learned more about the environmental aspects of being vegan and how much more sustainable it is for the planet.”

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, cattle—raised for beef and milk— is responsible for about 65 percent of the livestock sector’s total gas emissions into our atmosphere. A lot of the food we consume nowadays inevitably has a carbon footprint but by eating a more plant-based diet, that footprint can be significantly reduced.

Aside from hurting our environment, there is a gray area of moral and ethical issues that arise in factory farms. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there are so many wrongs happening within factory farms. Animals are treated in inhumane ways like overcrowding, chipping teeth without anesthetic, breeding for fast growth, among other tragic practices.

Therefore, people like Sanchez and Giraldo have opted out of buying and consuming animal products to try and advocate

against factory farms’ practices and treatment of animals.

“I definitely feel a lot more connected to animals and to the planet itself,” Sanchez said. “...I don't have that guilt in me. I think that because when the animals get tortured, I am taking in that energy...I felt like I felt their pain and I didn't want to go through that.”

“...Choosing to live this kind of lifestyle, I feel has connected me more to animals,” Giraldo said. “I have a lot more compassion towards them. I don't know, maybe it's cliche, but I feel a lot more connected to animals and I don't ever see myself going back.”

Making the transition into a plant-based lifestyle comes with doing research and allowing that information to fuel decisions. With the rise of streaming services, documentaries on this topic have also become readily available such as “The Game Changers,” “What the Health,” “Forks Over Knives,” “Cowspiracy” and many others.

“I was really into plant medicine,” Sanchez said. “I realized that we were eating animal products such as chicken and meat to get the nutrients that we need from the plant, so why not directly get it from the actual source.”

Like with any controversial topic, there are many misconceptions that arise due to misinformation. Medical News Today has debunked some of

these inaccurate assumptions such as vegans lack protein, you can’t build muscle on a vegan diet, dairy is necessary for strong bones, too much soy consumption causes cancer, vegans can’t replace essential vitamins that come from meat and others that are myths.

Giraldo and Sanchez have heard all of these and more and know, from their experiences, that it is simply not true.

Due to the vast number of options out there, Giraldo has expanded her knowledge on vegan cooking and even vegan small businesses trying to raise awareness that eating a plantbased diet does not have to be boring.

“We don't eat good food, and that all we eat is salad and vegetables,” Giraldo said. “That can’t be further from the truth. There's amazing vegan food out there. It's completely expanded you know what kind of foods that I typically cook with and going to try new restaurants and you like desserts and recipes.”

From her experience, Sanchez knows that intaking the right amount of protein is not about needing meat but about knowing and listening to what her body needs.

“Everyone always says like, ‘oh how do you get your protein?’ and it is actually a lot easier,” Sanchez said. “...I eat a lot of beans and I take protein shakes. I have to

take care of myself... there [are] still people that are missing vitamins and are careless. It's the same thing with being vegan, you just have to know your body and listen to it and listen to what it needs.”

In 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a study that showed a steady increase in agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions. A lot of it was linked to the rise of factory farm systems of animal production.

According to the study, since 1990, carbon dioxide emissions increased by 16.2 percent, methane emissions by 14.4 percent and nitrous oxide emissions by 7.3 percent. They also noted that “methane is 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide is nearly 300 times as potent.”

The vegan movement has gained a lot of traction in recent years and with much information out there, it might be time to get informed and understand the environmental consequences that come from commercialized meat and chicken farms. It might not be the end all be all, but it might be a step towards reducing the speed of global warming.

“I don't know if being vegan is the only solution,” Giraldo said. “But I think just being more aware of where we get our food from like how that whole supply chain works and just finding better alternatives [might be beneficial].”

By Azalea Andrade

RECYCLING ON CAMPUS REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Due to ongoing climate change, sustainability and recycling have been on the top of the mind for many organizations. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has been implementing measures to be more green and try to reduce the carbon footprint on campus.

John Carr is the sustainability chair on campus and has been committed to effective recycling and educating students, faculty and staff on how they can become more environmentally friendly.

“We always tried to do a variety of different things on campus to increase the sustainability of it," Carr said. "We have promoted people utilizing water bottles instead of buying bottled water.”

Recycling bins are located all around campus—both inside and outside—that promote reprocessing and reusing of suitable products. The campus also has hydration stations that promote using reusable water bottles instead of plastic.

Aside from these practices, the UA Little Rock sustainability committee organizes events that are

meant to try and raise awareness of the importance of being sustainable and good to our environment.

“We sponsor two events,” Carr said. “In the fall, we have sustainability day and we always have an Earth Day activity.”

Because of COVID-19, the event that is usually held on Earth Day was canceled in 2020. However, at the end of February of this year, the sustainability committee partnered with Entergy to give out LED lamps and light bulbs, energy-conserving power strips and reusable coffee tumblers.

The reduction of electricity consumption is vital to keep this earth green. When the television is off, it is still consuming electricity while being connected. Carr recommends various options to reduce the consumption of electricity and save the planet one choice at a time.

“[There are] things everybody can do,” Carr said. “If you use a power strip, it will kill the power going to the television. Now when you turn the power strip on, it takes a little bit longer for your televi-

sion to turn on, but during the 20 hours it’s off, it is not utilizing any electricity.”

The facilities department has a supervisor overlooking custodians who educate the staff on recycling and ensuring they stay on top of it. Due to the pandemic, some of those efforts have been put on pause but Carr is confident that they make a difference and will resume.

“Before [COVID-19], we would have some staff that would go around in the evenings or at night and collects the recycling from the buildings,” Carr said. “Those individuals have been moved to sanitize the building. I imagine they will go back to recycling mode here after this event goes away.”

The sustainability committee has continuously made an effort to reduce the campus’s carbon footprint. It is important to know that recycling actually happens. When a student puts a plastic bottle or cardboard box in the recycling bin, that actually gets picked up and taken to its appropriate location.

“We have always been recy-

cling stuff, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard,” Carr said. “I think we are recycling more...We try to make them...convenient enough that it is easy to [recycle].”

As if all these resources aren’t enough, the sustainability committee holds a grant competition to fund “innovative research and teaching proposals for a $2,500 grant toward the development and promotion of the principles of sustainability.”

Some of these grants have been used for research and others have been used for sustainable projects such as the greenhouse at the campus garden and installing energyefficient lighting in stairwells in resident halls.

“When I first got involved in the sustainability committee, we gave grants,” Carr said. They were $500 and we have since increased them to a maximum of $2500.”

Entergy is once again donating various products to promote conservation. The giveaway is happening on Earth Day, April 22, 2021. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the

sustainability committee will be giving away LED lamps and light bulbs along with energy conversing power strips.

Continuously implementing recycling and sustainability information and education on campus can generate ideas and practices that will make our society more environmentally friendly.

“I’d like to get rid of the sale of bottled water,” Carr said. “...and that we can recycle all the disposable containers on campus. I’d like to get rid of the styrofoam on campus and move to materials that will biodegrade eventually.”

Throughout the years, Carr has seen lots of sustainable improvements around campus. His hope for the future is that UA Little Rock continues implementing ways to reduce waste and increase the sustainability infrastructure that can lead to a greener planet.

You can become more informed on how to be more sustainable by following the monthly sustainability tips at https://ualr.edu/sustainability/sustainability-tips/.

By Azalea Andrade

2020 would have been the 50th anniversary of the beloved Earth Day, and UA Little Rock had big plans to celebrate this milestone. Unfortunately, COVID19 had other plans and the UALR Sustainability Committee was forced to shut down their big Earth Day celebrations.

This year, the committee is doing more for Earth Day than in 2020, but still being conscious of health guidelines.

As an MS Biology student and member of the Sustainability Committee since 2014, Seth Cook knows how important Earth Day’s message is and wants to share that to the campus community.

“Earth Day is 24 hours where we reflect on why the Earth is important and do what we can to keep it healthy,” Cook said. “It's important because if the earth is unhealthy, we will be unhealthy as well. Also, it's just the right thing to do. If you make a mess, for instance, you clean it up.”

Dr. David Luneau also volunteers for the committee, as he sends out monthly ‘sustainability tips’ and is quite passionate about conservation.

“I think it's important to remind ourselves each year as we see we get further and further from nature. We live in houses and we work in buildings and we talk over computers like we're doing [in classes and conversations] now, and you know we just we just get further and further out of touch with nature,” Dr. Luneau said. “I think Earth Day at the very least is an annual reminder to think about our connection with the earth and how important it is. We can't live our entire lives inside houses, and all we depend greatly on the natural world for our food, our water, our air and everything else that basically sustains us.”

As for the committee itself, they are small but mighty in their actions and goals.

“We have always been a small committee,” Cook said. “But we have a small budget that has allowed us to make a big impact.

SUSTAINIBILITY ON CAMPUS

The committee sponsors a number of grants that students can apply for based on developing and promoting sustainability. We have awarded over $7000 through these grants. Our goal is to increase and promote sustainability on our campus as well as in the homes of our students, faculty and staff. This is important because small changes made by each one of us can add up to a large impact.”

These grants are utilized to spread awareness of conservation, while also improving campus as a whole.

“We have installed hydration stations in almost every building, [and] we will install more soon so that people can refill their water bottles instead of having to buy a new one. We installed those big red recycling bins with the Little Rock Trojans logo as well. We have sponsored many events to distribute free Entergy LED light bulbs, smart power strips and LED desk lamps with USB charge ports, too.”

This is not everything the committee does, though. They play a large role in campus recycling as well as helping the campus garden, even though the two are not affiliated.

“We encourage recycling,” Luneau said. “We do a lot with the placement of recycle bins. We've been involved and have been working with the food vendors for food scrap for composting in the garden. Just having a campus garden is amazing for us and for the students. [We want to] just in general keep a presence of the process that leads to sustainability and keep moving the campus in the direction of a sustainable environment.”

Dr. Luneau believes that although the committee is small, there is power in the more personal involvement.

“I think it's better that it gives the more of a feel of a grassroots campaign,” Dr. Luneau said. “You've got people on the campus who are representatives

of all the factions on campus, the administration, the faculty, the students and the staff trying to live their life in a sustainable way and help others learn how to do that.”

While the grassroots campaign is great, the committee is currently searching for ideas to bring to campus that students may enjoy and participate in. More participants would greatly help them in their goals for campus sustainability.

“Involvement in programs that promote sustainability could be better,” Cook said. “For instance, we usually don't have a lot of participation at our campus cleanup events. We have had the Little Rock Wrestling Team once, and they picked up so much litter in an hour! There is also a Geology class

Cook encourage everyone to take the extra steps and do your best.

“Don't buy and consume so much - keep what you already have for longer,” Cook said. “Patronize local eateries instead of big corporations. Visit a farmers' market. Participate in a litter cleanup. Recycle bulky plastic such as milk jugs, laundry detergent jugs and shampoo bottles. Grow native plants. Visit our campus garden for a jump start on composting. They provide a bucket, and you just bring it back when full. Focusing on even one of these ideas will reduce your carbon footprint. It doesn't take much to do your part. If everyone did even a little bit more, we'd be in much better shape.”

“Look around with so many students [coming] come to class

“Think twice before you throw something in the trash can.”

that has done a few litter cleanups, and we appreciate their work as well! These examples show what one large group can accomplish together. Another improvement would be to have more students involved in the Sustainability Committee. We have very low student participation.”

If anything, the Sustainability Committee has shown us the power in being environmentally conscious, even when facing the struggles of a global pandemic.

“I think we're doing a good job of recycling on campus,” Dr. Luneau said. “I think we could do a better job of that like we could do a better job of virtually everything we do, but I think with the recycling program we need to get the word out more; make sure that everybody has easy access to the recycling and consistent recycling messages. We don't get that at [UA Little Rock] and we don't get that in the city [of Little Rock] or [Pulaski] County.”

As students, it can often be difficult to recycle or be sustainable in our lives, but Dr. Luneau and

with a bottled drink of some sort,” Dr. Luneau said. “Plastic, metal or whatever, I would encourage every student to not take the easy way out when they leave class. There's a trash can in almost every door in a classroom and it is just too easy to drop that bottle in the trash can when usually right around the corner somewhere is a recycling bin. [There is] a real simple thing to do that only costs you a few steps, a few steps are good for your exercise and so good for the environment. So look for those recycle bins and think twice before you throw something in the trash that you know to be recyclable.”

If you are interested in participating in the Sustainability Committee, Cook and Dr. Luneau encourage everyone to join and be involved. Check out their website for more ideas: https://ualr.edu/ sustainability/. They are also active on their Facebook page - UA Little Rock Sustainability! You can email sbcook@ualr.edu if you'd like to attend the 1-hour monthly meetings.

By Chloe McGehee

SPORTS

UALR

STUDENT ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT PAUL BIANCHI

Graduate student Paul Bianchi made history by becoming the firstever University of Arkansas at Little Rock wrestler to qualify for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. With the program having only been established in 2018, this is a huge win for the Little Rock Trojans wrestling program.

At the beginning of the 20202021 season, Bianchi was ranked #24 on the Trackwrestling preseason ranking and later ranked #26 in the NCAA Coaches Ranking.

“It felt pretty good because that is a good way to start the season off,” Bianchi said. “It gives me a chance to go to nationals and represent my school at a national level. It put a lot of hope in me that I could accomplish my goals.”

Growing up in Wisconsin, it was difficult to play a sport year-round due to the weather, so Bianchi started wrestling at the age of five. No other sport sparked his interest as much as wrestling did. With his mom’s support and motivation, what started as a hobby lead to an important life journey that opened many doors for him.

“We just kind of started doing it for fun and then started to get a little bit more serious,” Bianchi said.

However, this college journey was not an ordinary one. UA Little Rock is not where his collegiate career began.

“My first couple of years in college, I wrestled at North Dakota State which was cool and it was a decent experience,” Bianchi expressed. “In my third year, I decided that I wanted to look for other schools to go to because I did not have that feeling anymore where I wanted to be at that school or I was kind of losing my motivation to wrestle.”

To Bianchi’s luck, the National Collegiate Athletic Association

(NCAA) created a transfer portal in 2017 where athletes can essentially add their name to a pool and are easily visible for coaches from other colleges. That is where his journey with the Trojans began.

“The first [school] that called me was UA Little Rock,” Bianchi said. “We scheduled a visit and I kind of fell in love with the whole area. I liked the feel of the campus. I liked my future coach [Niel Erisman] and he was so motivated in creating something special. I want to be a part of that.”

It also helped that one of Bianchi’s younger brothers was already part of the team.

With most success comes challenges faced and for Bianchi, he had to find a balance between the sport, keeping his mind healthy and time management.

“For me is to keep staying healthy and keeping your mind happy,” Bianchi said. “Because a lot of times when you are going through the season...it can get a little hard sometimes because you are doing the same thing every day and you got school to worry about and competitions to worry about and it can get hard sometimes on people.”

When Bianchi is not on the mat, one way he keeps his mind happy is by hiking or having a fun game night with his teammates and friends.

Having a supportive coaching staff is also vital for keeping the athletes in good health and ensuring the understanding of anything they could be going through.

“As time goes on, if you have good coaches, they can help you with that,” Bianchi said. “I think that’s very important. Our coaching staff does a really good job with that.”

This 2020-2021 season was Bianchi’s last as an athlete but

he’ll be transitioning into the coaching staff as a graduate assistant coach for his second year of graduate school. He is working on his master’s degree in sports management.

As for after completing his second degree, Bianchi hopes to coach but is open to whatever opportunity comes his way.

“As of right now, coaching is something I have a passion for,” Bianchi said “I really hope I can build some skills in that and kind of build off of that and become a great coach.”

Trojans wrestling has a bright future ahead of them and Bianchi is hopeful the program will continue to build and stay successful.

“Our program is really building right now and we got a lot of people coming in this next year. We are all really excited [about] that.”

What started as a hobby in Wisconsin has lead Bianchi into a world of opportunity and a bright future for what lies ahead.

“It brought me to new places,” Bianchi said. “It formed connections with new people I never would have met without wrestling.”

By Azalea Andrade

JOHNATHAN JONES

Johnathan Jones has been leaving his mark on every track he’s touched across the country during this current season with the UA Little Rock Track and Field Team. Since his middle school years, Jones has specialized in the high jump event, jumping for Pulaski Heights and moved on to jump for Central High School.

Jones was redshirted during his Freshman year, but the amount of recognition he has received this year definitely makes up for it. Jones was honored with the award of Silver Medalist in the Sun Belt Conference and has broken U-A Little Rock’s school record a stunning total of four times.

Jones is also the school record holder for indoor and outdoor, tied for 17th in the nation for indoor, and notably cleared 7’1 (2.16 meters) at the South Alabama Invitational in February of this year.

Of course, to get this type of recognition and earn these levels of success, work has to be put in behind the scenes. At times it can be difficult, but Jones says that he faces these challenges head-on by living by the mantra, “Believe in yourself because hard work is worthless for those that don’t believe in themselves.”

Undoubtedly, Johnathan Jones is an athlete to watch out for. His skills and potential are more than impressive, and he can only continue to become greater.

By Maygan Bryant

OPINION

ARKANSANS’ FIGHT FOR TRANS RIGHTS

ByBennettWood

“A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient,” reads one section of the modern Hippocratic oath from the American Medical Association Code of Ethics. The Hippocratic oath is an ethical code used by the medical profession since its creation by ancient Greek physician Hippocrates.

Now, in April 2021, and this oath is practically being spit on by the Arkansas state House and Senate. The House Bill 1570 titled “An Act To Create The Arkansas Save Adolescents From Experimentation (Safe) Act; And For Other Purposes” would ban gender transition and reassignment procedures, and medication. HB1570 makes it a felony crime to provide these to transgender youth.

After a surprising veto by Governor Asa Hutchinson, the bill was then transmitted back to the House and the Senate where the veto was overridden and HB1570 became Act 626.

How did we allow this bill to become law, fellow Arkansans?

Besides a gross example of government overreach, this bill strips the parent’s (and patient’s) of their right to make the correct decision regarding the patient’s health. Decisions regarding healthcare of transgendered people should NEVER come from a politician, especially when that politician is a cisgender heterosexual male.

When multiple, well known medical associations came out against HB1570, it should have been a wake-up call to the Arkansas legislature that this bill was wrong. The American Phycological Association, American Medical Association

and the Arkansas chapter of the Academy of Pediatrics have come out as opponents of HB1570, with some stating this bill initiating a slippery slope of legislating what happens in the physician’s office.

HB1570 is the first bill of its kind in the United States that effectively bans transgendered youth from transitioning. Arkansas will forever be marked as the first state to attack LGBTQ, more specifically trans-youth, and their ability to access healthcare. A disgustingly bigoted stain on the legacy of the Natural State.

Restricting healthcare to anyone on the basis of gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation or religious affiliation is unethical, and contradicts the long-standing Hippocratic oath healthcare professionals take upon graduating medical school. The oath’s core message has never wavered, promising that physicians act in the best interest of the patient, and to protect the patient’s privacy.

Denying healthcare to an already vulnerable population (trans youth) while battling the COVID-19 pandemic is cruel and discriminatory. HB1570 seems to prioritize state legislature’s religious beliefs against the advice of almost every major medical association in the U.S.

While supporters of HB1570 state the bill will save children from experimenting with hormone therapies that make permanent changes to the body, I find this incredibly ignorant. This reasoning lacks the backing of peer-reviewed scientific research and seems like an argument plucked straight from the culture war surrounding LGBTQ civil rights.

Arkansas is dangerously encroaching upon human rights with this legislation attacking healthcare for trans youth. This

politicization of medical healthcare will have deadly side effects on countless trans and other gender non-conforming youth.

Trans girls are girls, and trans boys are boys, period. No one but you can understand the nuances and complexities of your own gender, so why should middleaged southern, male cisgender politicians be in charge of trans youth’s gender-based medical care?

This bill will cause more harm than good within the trans community here in Arkansas. As a member of the local LGBTQ community in Little Rock, I perceive HB1570 as a direct attack on my trans brothers and sisters’ lives. This act is beyond reproach and should be challenged at every level of the judicial system.

The President of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, is an opponent of this legislation, citing its danger, “We should be expanding healthcare and making it more affordable, not advancing bills that make it harder for LGBTQ Arkansans to receive the healthcare they need.”

UALR’s response to the slew of anti-trans legislation coming out of the Arkansas state government has been encouraging to say the least. Chancellor Christina S. Drale, Ph.D. released a statement to the campus community regarding the status of HB1570. In the letter, Drale cements the University’s stance, stating that, “UALR is an institution dedicated to providing an inclusive learning and work environment where everyone is valued and respected, and everyone has the support to operate authentically in their identity.” This small show of support and acceptance goes a long way and offers hope to transgender students at UALR.

My plea to the Arkansas state legislature is this: stop attacking my community and its children under the false guise of “saving adolescents from experimentation”. Save the medical advice and healthcare recommendations for those who earned a medical degree. To those of you in the medical profession who took that Hippocratic oath, please continue adhering to its principles. My community’s life depends on it.

WEAR A MASK AND WASH YOUR HANDS

ByMaddieBecker

Over the last year, our face mask has become a part of our daily wardrobe. Gov. Asa Hutchinson put a statewide mask mandate in place last year after the coronavirus hit the natural state. Since the mandate was put into place, there is a lot of controversy and refusal from some regarding the masks.

When the first known cases of COVID-19 came out, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to the president, said that we don’t need to wear a mask but as the pandemic went on and more information became available, masks became strongly recommended and soon mandated. We need to understand that when the pandemic started, the coronavirus was a disease no one knew anything about, so of course, the information will change as more is discovered.

The statewide mandate in Arkansas didn’t take place until the governor felt like we absolutely needed it, and even then some people still refused to wear a mask.

In my opinion, the governor has handled the pandemic the best he can. In one of his early press conferences, he mentioned he didn’t want to put

a mandate in place, but after so many people didn’t take the mask recommendation seriously, he felt like a mandate was a necessary thing to do.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about the masks. I think businesses should have a right to require you to wear a mask. A business requiring you to wear a mask is no different than “no shoes, no shirt, no service.” What I don’t understand is when I see people wearing their masks in public places, especially restaurants, touch the door handles, menu, their phones, etc, and not wash their hands before eating or touching their face. Wouldn’t that cancel out any protection you had from wearing your mask?

You have to be all around sanitary. I’ve been to multiple restaurants since COVID-19, and I’ve had a waitress try to sit my friends and me at a dirty table. You can’t trust a business to sanitize everything for you. That's not just for restaurants, anytime you go out you should always wash your hands before you eat or touch your face or mouth.

Even though the statewide mask mandate was lifted last month I will continue to wear my mask when appropriate to protect myself and others. If we all do our part there is hope that we can come out of this time of uncertainty.

OPINION: TOP 5 ARKANSAS RAPPERS ByDesarheaKelly

Arkansas has numerous talented rappers throughout the state! This is a new decade, Arkansas rappers now have the potential to flood the mainstream music industry just like Memphis and Atlanta rappers have done the past few decades. I’m enthusiastic about more underground Arkansas rappers becoming signed artists and charting on Billboard like Arkansas hottest rapper Bankroll Freddie. Although most Arkansas rappers may remain independent like Memphis sensation Key Glock, I’m still excited to see them chart on Billboard without a major record deal. As a writer with an interest in Hip-Hop culture, I’m thrilled to write about this new era of Arkansas music that’s emerging.

#1. Cee Kay

It’s no secret that Cee Kay is the hottest rapper from Pine Bluff. The hardcore rapper made history by becoming the first Arkansas rapper to be nominated for the XXL magazine freshman cover and the first Arkansas rapper to have a major distribution deal through Republic records. An interesting fact is that Republic Records have signed household names throughout the years such as Drake and Nicki Minaj. On April 20, a source close to Cee Kay revealed that his next project will speak for itself and prove why he’s 1 of the top 5 best rappers from Arkansas.

#2 D. Dirt Lil Rock Obama

Just like Jay-Z and Master P, D. Dirt Lil Rock Obama is a jack-of-alltrades. When he’s not in the studio recording music or entertaining the public on his popular radio show, he’s busy being an entrepreneur at his record label “Tho’d Studio Ent.”. Throughout the last decade, D. Dirt Lil Rock Obama has become an Arkansas legend and gatekeeper of the Arkansas underground music industry. His influence and impact in the Arkansas HipHop community will never be duplicated or forgotten.

#3 Tmoney Chasin

Since 2013, Tmoney Chasin has

been chasing his dreams non-stop and putting in the work behind the scenes. He has become 1 of the top 5 best rappers from Brinkley throughout the past 8 years and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down! The odyssey of Tmoney Chasin rapping with his popular group mate Johnny Boyie in cars to recording his raps in music studios and making a name for himself is very inspiring. What makes Tmoney Chasin stand out from his peers is his personality, he is down to earth and reminds you of Kevin Gates and Money Mann. One thing I can say about Tmoney Chasin music is that when you listen to him, you can feel him.

#4. YBG Scooter

Since 2019, YBG Scooter has become 1 of the top 5 best rappers from Brinkley due to his hard work and dedication. YBG Scooter’s Aries zodiac sign definitely fits him. He’s bold, ambitious, youthful, and oozes confidence. Moreover, YBG Scooter’s artistry and musical style have improved throughout the past 2 years. What makes YBG Scooter stand out from the crowd is his aesthetics; he has his own image and style like Key Glock and Moneybagg Yo. On April 13, he released a music video to his new single “RAW’’ and announced on his social media platforms that he has a new project on the way.

#5. Lil Ricchi

In 2021, Lil Ricchi created his own lane and took off like a rocket! His debut single “Take Ova” featuring the legend “Bobby Womack” accumulated over 1K views in less than a month. Just like the greats before him, Lil Ricchi had to network outside of Arkansas to become the successful rapper he was born to be. What makes Lil Ricchi unique is his versatility; he’s able to venture into different sounds like Travis Scott and ASAP Rocky. On April 25, A source close to Lil Ricchi revealed that he is working on a project that will capture and inspire all ethnic groups.

STAFF

The Forum is the official student newspaper at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Forum is funded in part by the student activity fee. The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the staff and contributing writers and do not represent the official views of UALR. The Forum is published 7 times in each of the fall and spring semesters. The Forum editor can be reached at editor@ualr. edu.

The Forum welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. Letters must include the author’s name, classification, major or position and a contact telephone number for confirmation. Letters are subject to editing to meet space limitations. Please limit letter to 500 words or less. The

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