The UALR Forum Special Edition (Nov. 19 - Dec. 9)

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WHO ARE THEY? 4 STORIES 4 PAGES 4 LIVES

Also in this edition senate blood drive

The untold stories of homelessness: From OUR HOUSE to your house

SEE PAGE 8 page 9

Fiddling around

page 17

taylor swift album review

page 19

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

Opinions

ualr.edu/forum

AN OPENING WORD

Executive Editor KenDrell Collins Advisor Sonny Rhodes Operations Manager Art Director Byron Buslig

News Editor Victoria Hickey

Features Editor Alexis Williams

Sports Editor Maggie Rogers

Entertainment Editor Abigail Marshall

Business Manager Laura Rodriquez

Distribution Manager Jordan Anderson

Graphic Designer Tori Temple

Photo Editor Brady Jackson

Graphic Designer Chris Helliwell Staff

Lela-Tamara Fluker Grant Fox Brian Gregory Ryen Staggers Alyssa Causey

Shashank Avvaru Natalie Doris Jayme Goad Pauline Mothu Caleb Mitchell

Tanner Newton Logan Sturgill Paige Mason Zachary Tallent Carmien Penny

Homelessness in Arkansas

By KenDrell Collins Executive Editor editor@UALR.edu

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WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR? Photos by Victoria Hickey Maggie Rogers

I’m actually just really excited to be home and spend so much time with my family.

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; members of the UALR community are allowed one copy per edition. The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the staff and contributing writers and do not represent the official views of UALR. Students enrolled in Journalism 3320 and other reporting classes are contributing writers for The Forum. Advertising inquiries should be referred to The Forum’s advertising office and can be reached by calling 501-569-3319. The Forum is published 7 times in each of the fall and spring semesters.

The Forum editor can be reached at 501-569-3265. All material published in this newspaper is copyrighted.

Letters to the Editor

ture entitled The untold stories: From Our House to your house brings their uncensored stories.

For the sake of the privacy and safety of some of the individuals, we have omitted their last name or provided a pseudonym. Nonetheless, their stores are 100 percent true. It is our hope that during this holiday season, you remember their stories. Let them serve as a reminder of how precious life is and how fortunate you are. I hope that they touch your hearts the way they have touched ours.

Philosopher Theodore W. Adorno once said, “The need to let suffering speak is a condition of all truth.” May the stories of those in our special feature speak truth to condition of homelessness in our city as well as to the resiliency of the human spirit.

ave you ever wondered what it’s like to be homeless?

The motto of journalism has long been very simple: seek truth. But what is the truth about homelessness in Arkansas? It’s true, Little Rock may dwarf in comparison to megacities like New York City and Los Angeles, when it comes to the volume of homeless people. The truth, however, is that it still exist and the suffering of our homeless population is equally real.

In an effort to highlight their stories, The Forum paid a visit to Our House, a local shelter for the working homeless. Our writers sat down face-to-face with individuals who have experienced some of the greatest struggles a college student can imagine. From domestic violence and gang affiliation, to job loss and loss of loved ones, our special fea-

-Diana Arias, Sophomore Criminal Justice Major

I’m thankful for my supportive family and friends here at UALR. -Corrigan Revels, Senior Mass Communication Major

The Forum welcomes letters to the editor on any subject as well as comments on our news coverage and editorial position.

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 staff will not alter the meaning of the letter, but will correct spelling and punctuation and edit to conform to Associated Press and news style.

All letters are subject to publication. The editor has the right to reject any letter especially those letters that are libelous, obscene or incoherent.

I am thankful to have gotten to know 30 other ladies this spring, which are my line sisters.

-Brandye Gilmore, Junior Psychology Major

Letters should be emailed to editor@ualr.edu or sent to: The Forum University of Arkansas at Little Rock 201J Donaghey Student Center 2801 S. University Ave. Little Rock, Ark. 72204

Hilary.

-Jonathan Treloggen, Sophomore Psychology Major

Opinions

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

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The American people are the losers...again Brian Gregory seeks to blame the other for both sides that need to be dealt Staff Writer bjgregory@ualr.edu

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id anybody really win or lose this election? That’s the questions I have had to ask myself in the days that have passed.

Many of my liberal friends lament this past midterm election as a loss for civil rights for minorities, the impoverished and the common American. The conservative friends I have will say the election proves that morality, individual responsibility and less government are the way to guide the nation.

Is this really true? I am not so sure.

Since 2006, four out of the past five elections have led to sweeping and historic victories for one party. Also since 2006, the country has seen the greatest gridlock in American political history. Which means that none of the victories had have been able to produce the change they seek. Each party

the problems in America. This is natural. What isn’t natural is having grown men and women arguing and bickering like young children.

The Democrats and Republicans didn’t win or lose the election. We lost the election.

We lost because we are the main culprits in the political process.

When Newt Gingrich stood upon the steps with other House Republicans after their sweeping victories in the midterm election of 1994, he said, “We are signing a contract with America.”

They did sign a contract with America and we accepted the terms. We accepted the terms of both parties disagreeing with each other instead of cooperating and doing what’s best for the American people. We have accepted the terms but lament the consequences.

Many Americans say they are tired of the fact that we have a Congress and a President that seem so irreconcilably opposed to listening to each other, but that’s exactly what we elected.

More gridlock. I am not here to put down either party for I feel there are many things on

with. However, many Americans across the country do the same thing. We call ourselves moderate, but we align and defend one side or the other. While we might have conservative and liberal views, Americans like to have two sides.

There can’t be any gray areas in an argument. Either you are this way or you are that way.

You are either for the Affordable Health Care Act or against it. You are either for banning gay marriage or against banning gay marriage.

To be quite honest, I wasn’t that surprised by the results of the election. I predicted that the Republicans would take the Senate and that they would also keep their hold in the House. I could’ve told you that Republicans would fill most if not all of the constitutional seats and national seats for the state of Arkansas.

Honestly I am not mad at the results of the election.

What I am mad about is the continuation of polarization and lack of quality in the candidates that are running for office. I am not saying there isn’t a need to hold strong to one’s beliefs. I

come check out our online edition at The Thinking Man: Politics of Ebola

By Shashank Avvaru Staff Writer SXAvvaru@ualr.edu

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bola is spreading fast and wide. The biggest fear the world has (even though some countries want you to believe otherwise) is the undeniable truth: there is no unanimous cure, at least not yet.

Nations are working diligently to change that. The United States is, like always, spearheading with guns blazing to find a cure for this worldwide con-

tagion. Even Russia, one of our stark political rivals, has put its differences aside in this quest to eliminate Ebola before it is too late.

An interesting development has emerged amid this chaos: Ebola apart from being an epidemic has become a political platform.

The nature of politicians and political enthusiasts to turn everything under the sun into a political opinion is nothing new. The earliest modern situation I can remember was that of women’s rights during the early ‘20s. While everyone with a flair for history will hail the eventual conquest of women and their right to vote as a great political achievement, few will recognize that this win was large in part due to the protests

of women’s organizations across the country.

I make this point to showcase how quickly anything that catches the attention of the public eye turns into a political entity.

The world gives credit for this today to the then political revolutionaries even though that is far from the truth. The National Women Suffrage Association encouraged the typical housewife to tear through society’s chains and protest for her right to vote.

Newspapers, radio, pamphlets, church etc. were all used as mediums for this effect. Hundreds turned into thousands and thousands into millions. Congress had to surrender this well-deserved right to women before long.

Ballot boxes began filling up with the thinking man’s as well as the

am not saying that people with strong opinions aren’t allowed to hold them. But there is less of a need for demonization and not working together at all. I don’t care that Mark Pryor has voted with President Obama 90, 93 or 97 percent of the time. French Hill and Asa Hutchinson have friends in Washington that have a lot of money, why does that matter to me?

We might say that we hate all of the negative TV, YouTube and radio ads, but I sincerely doubt it.

Americans eat it up. We let that, instead of the real facts, dictate our decisions. We allow Democrats to tell us that Republicans hate minorities and poor people.

We allow Republicans to tell us that Democrats are people who want to stop people from buying guns and believing in religion.

Honestly, this is a bunch of stupidity.

Stop buying into the lies. We need to stop allowing the demonization from both sides. We need to cut out old and new stereotypes that say black people must vote Democrat, and that Republicans are a bunch of old, white and senile men. Each party has a way that they believe is right to run

the country, that’s perfectly okay.

They have platforms and they should run with them, but we need more cooperation and less polarization.

So let’s say no to Barack Obama challenging Republicans to “bring it on.” Say no to John Boehner telling the President “he will get burned.” Neither the Republican or Democratic parties won the election. The American people have lost, if anything. We have continued the party jargon, pointing of fingers and gridlock.

We need our candidates to have substance. Our leaders in state and national governments need to have integrity and get things done through bi-partisanship.

As a Christian, I plan on praying for our nation, government and its leaders because that’s what the Bible commands. But, I also think we need to remember a now famous quote from our first president George Washington.

“Beware of the two party system,” he warned.

We, the American people, by not taking heed to his warning have inevitably produced the systematic problems in our political system that only seems bound to continue.

http://issuu.com/theualrforum thinking woman’s vote.

As soon as news of Ebola’s lethality broke out politicians were quick to seize the moment.

Commercials were edited to include what a senator thinks we should do to fight Ebola. Speeches were tweaked to throw in a governor’s opinion on the disease’s repercussions. The travel ban is a perfect example as well; banning residents of West African nations from entering American territory became a right-wing principle.

Republicans across the country criticized Obama for not imposing a travel ban. Democrats, in stark contrast, commended the President for this move and highlighted its advantages.

Yet there is not enough recognition for the real fighters of Ebola. The doctors who put on a

suit and dance with death every time they go near an Ebola patient, the scientists working day and night to find a potential cure for Ebola and the courageous journalists who are willing to stand in the middle of a plague just to bring the truth to us are just some of the many people who we should be crediting for the progress we have made in tackling this disease.

Fifty years from now history will tell you that it was the brave politicians of our time that successfully neutralized Ebola. If you are willing to dig deeper you will be surprised by the truth.

Has history become too political for its own good. Have we become too political for our own good?

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News

November 19 - December 9, 2014

ualr.edu/forum

A somber reminder: Veteran’s Day at UALR Treyvon Herron story and this is what her unit

Police Beat Jayme Goad

Juveniles Going Through Vehicle Content; Both Charged On Tuesday, Nov. 11, two juveniles were seen in Lot 10 allegedly opening car doors and shuffling through the vehicles’’ contents.

When an officer arrived, he witnessed the males walking east on 30th St. away from Lot 10. According to the officer, they were accompanied by a third juvenile who “took off running” when the officer approached with his lights on. The other two began to run until ordered to stop. The individuals refused to comply with orders and a second officer arrived to assist. Both individuals were taken to the UALR Police Department where they gave factious names and numbers when asked for their guardian’s contact information. The two suspects were released to their guardians on a citation with a court date. Both were charged with obstructing government operations and refusal to submit to arrest.

Male asks to borrow student’s phone; runs away with phone A male approached a female by the Student Union B on Wednesday, Nov. 12, around 11 a.m. asking to use her cell phone to call his teacher, according to a report obtained by the Department of Public Safety. The male was wearing a maroon “UALR” pullover hoodie with “UALR” on the right sleeve. The report said the man began to walk toward the doors of the building as if he was exiting. It also said the male kept opening the door by the fire exit while talking on the student’s phone. The woman began to run towards the suspect and he started to run out of the fire exit towards Stabler Hall with her phone. The suspect was not located. No further information was available.

Suspect at the Field house takes off with student’s cell phone A woman’s cell phone was stolen when she loaned it to an unknown male at the Field House on Wednesday Nov. 5.

According to the report, the woman handed a male her phone to make a call while her and her friend moved out of the rain up under the awning at the Field House. The woman said that’s when the suspect ran off with her cell phone. According to the woman, the male was wearing a dark hoodie, with the hood up, also with a gold logo on the front and dark jeans. Later, a male fitting the description was seen at Game Exchange across from UALR off University Ave. When an officer arrived, he said he approached the male fitting the description given, but his phone did not match the description given by the woman of her cell phone. No further details were available.

went through in Iraq. Hart’s story Staff Writer noticeably stirred up emotions in tkherron@ualr.edu the audience.

ARVets is a business centered hose attending a Veterans Day event at the University in Arkansas whose mission is to of Arkansas at Little Rock help improve the overall quality were encouraged to imagine the of life of veterans and their famisituations that veterans that have lies by making the resources and services they need more easily been placed in.

Nicole S. Hart, chief executive obtainable.

Also speaking at the event, at officer of ARVets, asked those attending the event to close their 9 a.m. on Nov. 11 in Ledbetter eyes and imagine a combat sit- A and B, was Chancellor Joel Anderson opened uation. She then began to talk Anderson. about a unit who suffered major with a personal thank you to losses and the ordeals they went the veterans, not only here on Photo by Treyvon Herron through when their encampment campus, but all over the world. Nicole S. Hart, CEO of ARVets The Pledge of Allegiance, the Star delivers a powerful speech during was bombed.

When everyone opened their Spangled Banner and a moment the Veterans’ Day opening ceremony. eyes, Hart admitted this was her of silence followed his address.

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Voters successfully pass new minimum wage ballot measure Jayme Goad Staff Writer jmgoad@ualr.edu

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he new minimum wage ballot measure in Arkansas, which will increase the state’s minimum wage incrementally to $8.50 by 2017, was approved by voters earlier this month.

Arkansas’ minimum wage has remained the same since 2006 at $6.25 per hour. According to the Arkansas Department of Labor, if the employer makes more than $500,000 per year in business, the employer has to pay the federal minimum wage which is $8.25 per hour.

Arkansans’ curiosity has been sparked regarding the new changes and how it will affect the local economy. Rev. Steve Copley with the Arkansas Interfaith Alliance was the man behind the proposal for the minimum wage increase. He said the proposal organization had unsuccessfully tried two times to bring the state’s minimum wage up to the federal standard in legislative sessions.

During the last session in 2013, they tried to introduce the $8.50 minimum which failed.

“We decided then that it was time to try the ballot initiative again. It had been eight years

since the state minimum wage had been increased,” Copley said.

The $2.25 raise will begin gradually to increase beginning in January. The wage will be at $7.50 January 1. It will then be raised to $8.00 January 2016 and finally in January of 2017, the state’s minimum wage will reach the full amount of $8.50.

For minimum wage employees, the average income per year is approximately $13,000, according to Copley. “If you buy $100 worth of groceries a week, which is probably a low figure, but there’s $5,200 a year of that thirteen already gone. Say $350 for rent and I know that’s low, but there’s another $4,000. So you have spent nearly $10,000 of that $13,000 just to have a place to live and pay for groceries,” Copley said.

He said the importance of increasing the minimum wage is to allow families more time at the home and not being forced to work more than one job. Making the current minimum wage, Copley said, “You can’t raise a family. Folks just can’t live at that level.”

Some economist’s aren’t so sure that this was the right decision for the Arkansas economy.

Mark Funk, the chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, said he believes this was

Illustration by Byron Buslig

not the best decision Arkansas made. Funk said Arkansas could have chosen other options such as subsidized child care, earned income-tax credits and improving public transportation.

Another concern of Funk’s was the affect this new minimum wage law will have on younger job applicants. “With this minimum wage, it’s going to cause there to be fewer of those jobs, of those opportunities for young folks. So the minimum wage, you know allows, encourages, I don’t know what the correct word is there, workers to discriminate against the people we’re trying to help the most,” Funk said.

Also, many Arkansans are afraid that with the new law in place, prices of other items will increase. Funk said that’s simply not the case. He said yes they will, “but perhaps too small to even measure.”

Funk also added that he believes the short-term effects of the new minimum wage increase will “mute or prolong” businesses from adding additional employees to their staff.

Both sides did agree on one thing: with the gradual increases, businesses will be able to adjust their budgets slowly to adapt to the full amount increase of $2.25 per hour for minimum wage employees.

News

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Students encouraged to write the new UALR fight song Pauline Mothu Staff Writer pxmothu@ualr.edu

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ith more than 100 degrees, 60 graduate programs, and seven athletic teams, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock offers students a quality education and college experience. However, one element, common to other universities—a fight song.

In order to promote UALR and increase the school spirit, the Trojan Spirit Committee, created last year by sophomore Connor Donovan, is inviting students to participate in a lyric writing contest to create the future UALR fight song.

Connor Donovan, Trojan Spirit Committee President and Student Government Association (SGA) Senator for the College of Business, decided to create a fight song for UALR in order to increase students’ participation to events.

“We all ended up here under different circumstances,” he said, “I am proud to be at UALR. I am proud to be a Trojan, and I want to promote my school and its great education.”

Donovan hopes that having a fight song at UALR will not only increase the students’ participation to sporting events, but also increase the school spirit and promote UALR statewide.

“We have great athletic teams,” Donovan said. “Our soccer team is playing well, so is the

track team, and our volleyball is doing fantastic. Unfortunately, except for basketball games, not many students come to the home games. Compared to other universities, there is a lack of school spirit.”

Sophomore and SGA Senator for the College of Engineering and Information Technology, Matthew Shockey, agreed with Donovan’s statement.

“When you go to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, people are proud of their school and wear the school colors,” Shockey said. “It is not the case at UALR. When you walk around campus, you do not see all students wearing maroon and we want to change this. We want students to be proud of UALR.” “Everyone knows the ‘Calling the Hogs’ song. We want everyone to know the future UALR fight song,” said Donovan.

He and Shockey knew, like many other students, the UALR music played during the games, but they were unaware of a previous fight song until Patrick Newton, Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications, found the lyrics in a yearbook.

UALR used to have a fight song that encouraged Trojan Victory in the 1940s and 1950s, but it faded away over the years. At this time, UALR was a community college with no dormitory, students simply went to class and drove back home. According to Shockey, this may have been the reason why the fight song did not remain. The lyrics may also have been a reason for its disappearance.

“The old fight song was, and

November 19 - December 9, 2014

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CLC reaches 13,000 again

Illustration by Carmien Penny

Interim Director of Athletics Bob Denman agrees with me, a little cheesy and outdated,” Donovan said.

The new fight song will be neutral and not focused on one sport, as it will be played at the different UALR sporting events.

All currently enrolled students can participate in the contest for a chance to have their work become the official UALR song and win $500. Once the contest opens, students will be able to find the mp3 link on the UALR web page as well as the UALR Facebook and Twitter pages, and submit their lyrics to Matthew Shockey at mdshockey@ualr.edu or through an online submission on the UALR web page. They will have until January 23, 2015 to submit their creative work.

When all the submissions are received, a panel of about ten people will review them and vote for the best lyrics. This panel should be composed of Matthew Shockey, Connor Donovan, SGA President Lauren McNeaiil, Interim Director of Athletics Bob Denman, Director of Pep Band Charles Law, Music Department Chair Jeremy S. Lane, a dance team member, and a couple of alumni.

Donovan and Shockey hope to introduce the UALR fight song during homecoming this coming March.

“I am proud to be at UALR. I am proud to be a Trojan, and I want to promote my school and its great education.”

-Connor Donovan, Trojan Spirit Committee President and SGA Senator for the College of Business

Photo by Naty Dorris

CLC Scholars stand proudly with some of the canned goods they collected this year to exceed their goal.

Natalie Doris Staff Writer nmdoris@ualr.edu

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each 13,000 is a campuswide initiative that began as Reach 12,000 in the fall of 2009, a project designed by the Student Government Association to raise one canned food item for approximately every student enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Chancellor’s Leadership Corps (CLC) has taken charge of the drive, but it still has the same mission.

“It is a really great opportunity, not only for community members who benefit from the drive, but also for the students at UALR to branch out into the community,” Lindsey Clark, a Junior CLC mentor, said.

“We donate before Thanksgiving to the food bank and the rest of it we donate to helping Hands,” said Katy Raines, senior CLC peer advisor.

The cans collected by CLC are donated to the Helping Hands organization, they are then donated to people in need in the community.

The CLC members are proud to say that they have well-exceeded their goal of 13,000 canned good items in the three years since they took over the initiative, collecting over 14,000 nonperishable items each year.

“Our kick-off event is a kickball tournament that invites students all over UALR, not just in CLC, to donate cans and be in the tournament,” said Dillon Nash, junior CLC mentor. "We got over 3,000 cans at the tournament this year.”

Other events include the Corpse Ball, Boys Will Be Girls, Carnival of Talents, and department-based food drive competitions. Each of these are planned

by CLC students who orchestrate the campus wide events to bring all of UALR together while bringing in donations to benefit those in the community who need it most.

At the Corpse Ball this year, students were able to raise almost $500 dollars along with 605 cans, while Boys Will be Girls brought over 800 cans, along with cash donations. At the Carnival of Talents, almost 800 cans were donated.

The CLC students are extremely enthusiastic and capable of working with one another while reaching out to UALR students, providing a positive medium through which students from all different areas of interest can gather together while serving others through their donations.

Clark, Nash, Raines, and Steele agree that the spirit of the CLC program is well-reflected in their Reach 13,000 drive, which has become a tradition for CLC. “If everyone on campus donated one nonperishable item, can you imagine how easy it would be to reach our goal?” Raines said.

The Reach 13,000 drive for nonperishable food items ended on Friday, November 14, with the final count still unclear, but reaching beyond the CLC program’s goal, as in previous years.

The work that the CLC students put into the collection of such a vast amount of food items for those in need is evident through the improvements they are making on campus and beyond.

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

Campus Life

ualr.edu/forum

Faculty Spotlight: Kevin Lewis Victoria Hickey

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Editor vxhickey@ualr.edu

evin Lewis, Financial Aid Advisor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, works daily to assist students in finding money to pay for their education.

Lewis grew up in Little Rock and attended Mills High School, after graduating he went to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where he received a Bachelors in Political Science. He then came to UALR to receive his Master’s in Public Administration.

After graduating Lewis says he applied for the Financial Aid position at UALR, received an interview “and the rest is history.” He started in August of 2014

and after four years of working here, his favorite part is “the students.” Lewis also likes the fact that “UALR offers a World Class education at a good affordable price.”

When Lewis isn’t helping UALR students, you can find him with his wife of 19 years and their four children, who a l l happ e n t o share h i s same initials, KLL. He also spends time coaching youth football in North Little Rock, fishing, hunting and volunteering with several different community organizations.

A piece of advice that Lewis shared, for students as they get older and closer to graduating college is “take advantage of networking in your degree field and don’t be afraid of volunteering.”

He also wants to encourage students to stick with it and don’t give up.

“How can we help you r e a c h y o u r goal?”

That is the question that Lewis has as a Financial Aid officer here at UALR. Lewis encourages students to “Never give up on your dream.”

“Never give up on your dream.”

-Kevin Lewis

Courtsey of Kevin Lewis

Kevin Lewis, a UALR Financial Aid Advisor, does a lot more than just help college students find money for their education.

Major Spotlight: Music Ericka Henson

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Staff Writer efhenson@ualr.edu

n today’s world, where music is all around us, it isn’t surprising that many campuses offer a music program. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is one of those campuses offering a Bachelors and Masters of Music.

“We’re trying to prepare students to work in music, as teachers, performers, composers, and scholars. We also want to give majors a well-rounded musical

education (music performance, history, theory), even if they don’t choose to pursue music as a career,” Rolf Groesbeck, Associate Professor of Music History and Ethnomusicology, said.

“To declare the major you need a performance audition, a music theory placement examination, and a keyboard skills exam. You audition on an instrument (winds, strings, percussion, piano, or guitar) or voice,” said Groesbeck. “To take the music theory placement exam you need to know something about musical notation.”

In order to obtain a BA in Music, you need to take core classes, the minor and language requirements, and additional hours to reach 120 hours. Included in those hours are 49 hours dedicated to music theory, history and performance. To declare a BM in Music Education, you must complete 135 hours.

“BAs & BMs in performance allow students to pursue performing careers, entrepreneurial endeavors, and continued study at the graduate level. Music education degrees are accompanied with licensure to teach in Arkan-

sas, meaning that graduates are eligible to obtain employment teaching music in public or private schools,” Jeremy Lane, Department Chair of Music, said.

“I chose to major in music, because I want to teach music and it is something I have always wanted to do, so that’s what I’m going to do,” said Keenan Henery, a Junior Music Major. “The theory side of the music major is the most challenging yet rewarding side; it’s how music works, how things are put together. Things you really don’t get in high school that tap into your mind.”

Illustrations by Paige Mason

Campus Life

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

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Annual Fall Dance Harvest Lela-Tamara Fluker Staff Writer ldfluker@ualr.edu

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he 2014 Fall Dance Harvest, entitled ‘7 Degrees of Separation’, will be held November 20-23, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Center for Performing Arts. There will be four total performances, each one presenting a variety of styles of unique contemporary dance.

Tickets are on sale now, available for purchase at the Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are

$10 for general admission and $5 for students, seniors, and UALR faculty and staff.

“We go through this choreography series for two semesters before the show and we work choreography on ourselves. We work a lot on what comes out when we, as dancers, improv, and by doing this project it’s so much bigger and so much more important because you’re putting it on someone else and you have this chance to really see it with all of the lighting and everything that goes into a bigger production like you would see in

New York or in Chicago,” Summer Mize, a senior dance performance major, said. “It gives you a chance to really play with costumes and get more of the allaround feel of a production other than just the choreography of it.”

“Each fall we get to pick a different name for the concert that we’d like. It’s typically Fall Harvest, but we can chose another title and since there was seven of us and the pieces are very different- we chose ‘7 Degrees of Separation’. The goal is to have the students do all of the work backstage and student choreog-

raphers, who are seniors in the dance program. So it’s kind of our final project for the dance program” There will also be a Fall Dance Harvest Festival that will take place on Saturday that will allow people 14 and up to take a ballet, jazz and modern class free of charge, after which they get to eat dinner and receive a free ticket to the show.

This will be a wonderful concert in which dancers, choreographers, and technicians will get to showcase their talents while also grabbing the attention of

Illustration by Zachary Tallent

students and potential students at UALR. These events act as an open house while also exhibiting the wonderful talents of our dance and theater students at UALR.

Staff Senate to host blood drive at UALR Victoria Hickey

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Editor vxhickey@ualr.edu

rom 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 21, 2014, students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have the opportunity to donate blood.

The blood drive is a partnership between the American Red Cross and the UALR Staff Senate Blood Drive Committee. Staff Senate Communications Officer Jennifer Goodwin came up with the idea to make this drive a competition between UALR’s registered student organizations. The group with the most donors will be featured on the UALR homepage banner with a full write-up on the organization.

The university has worked with the American Red Cross for many years, and they constantly struggle to meet a goal of 50 donors. The Staff Senate hopes to change that this year. They have worked hard on this year’s drive entitled, “I Bleed Maroon.”

“Approximately every two seconds, someone in the United

States needs a blood transfusion,” said Danielle Ray, American Red Cross Communications Manager.

“Regular blood and platelet donors are needed to meet the demand because on average, 44,000 pints of blood are needed in the US each and every day.”

All the blood collected will be given to Pulaski County hospitals, unless there is a greater need elsewhere. All it takes is one pint of blood and with that donors can help save up to three lives.

“This time of year, blood donation is even more important,” Ray said. “Inclement weather, seasonal travel and other factors often keep regular donors from giving during the winter months.”

To schedule an appointment in advance, students can use the Red Cross Blood Donor App or visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code ‘UALR’.

“Anyone who schedules an appointment in advance will be eligible for a golf cart ride to and from their appointment,” said Karen Lee, committee chairperCourstey of Karen Lee son for the Staff Senate Blood The UALR Staff Senate hopes students will donate blood on November 21, to help those in the community.

Drive.

SPECIAL FEATURE

The Untold Story from

JOHN T

by KenDrell Collins

I

t’s 7 a.m. The Wal-Mart employee just clocked out and is exhausted, not only because he just worked an overnight shift but because, in two hours, he has to be at his second job.

“I have to work two jobs,” says John T (whose name has been changed to protect his privacy).

“It’s hard to make it if you’re working Wal-Mart and anything else. It’s pretty much what you need to do.”

Most of the other 39 men he shares a dorm with back at the Our House homeless shelter are just waking up. They’re getting ready to go job searching or to begin the workday.

“I work so much, I’m not able to hit breakfast and lunch like I’d like to,” he says, referring to the free meals provided at the shelter by local churches.

Rewind to about four months earlier. John T was still working two jobs, one of which was at a manufacturing plant. He was earning a respectable living for himself and had an apartment tucked away in a quaint spot on Little Rock’s Riverfront Drive, in view of the Arkansas River.

He made regular drives to see his mother at her retirement home in his nearly 20-year old Toyota Camry.

Then, the unexpected happened. Supervisors at the manufacturing plant noticed that he wasn’t getting things done fast enough.

Our House to yours

“’You’re not quite the fit we want,’” John T. recalls them saying. “’So we’re going to have to let you go.’”

“It’s like, well, that kind of blows.” He laughs and says, “But it happens.”

The situation put him in a rough spot. He knew he would not be able to pay his rent and he could no longer ask his family for help either.

“I’d always been somewhat reliant on family to try and help with some financial emergencies,” he says. “But, you know, when you get older, you can’t keep relying you have to kind of start relying on yourself.”

“It got to the point where I had used some of my mom’s retirement money for things like a new tire and stuff like that, because I just didn’t have the finances to do it on my own.”

The rest of John T.’s family did not approve of this behavior and told him he had to learn to better manage his finances without borrowing from others.

John T knew he would have to limit his expenses since his income had been reduced. He did the only thing he thought could do – broke his lease agreement and moved out.

“I never thought I’d be in a homeless shelter. I don’t think anybody ever pictures that.”

John T was once a student at the University of Arkansas and later took classes at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He paid his way through college with the help of student loans.

Like his father, John T also went into the military service after college. He spent December of 1986 to 1991 working in computer technology at a base in

The Our House shelter offers dormitory-style living that houses 80 residents.

One side of the facility is for men and the other for women and children.

Norfolk, Virginia.

“I’d never been to a shelter before.”

“I’ve never had drugs or jail.

I’ve never had any of that stuff.

It’s quite a change of pace from doing the college thing and in the military and then getting out and think you’re doing OK, but then losing your second job.”

He is now paying off rent for breaking lease agreement. “Two months rent plus another one.

A couple thousand dollars,” he adds.

John T originally signed up for Obamacare, but after losing his job, he could not afford it with all of his other expenses like storage, his phone bill and his credit card. Besides that, he is required to save nearly a hundred dollars every two weeks and pay $21 per week to live at the shelter.

As a younger boy, John T says he dreamed of growing up and having a house and family. It still is his dream.

“It’s challenging. But you take it a day at a time. Do what you gotta do and keep your eye on the prize, keep my bills paid off and then it’ll slow down a little.”

Pretty soon, John T says, he will have enough saved to buy a new car. He has his eye on a new three-wheeled, eco-friendly car called an Elio.

He even has an invention in the works that he plans to launch someday.

“It’s very unique. It’s a children’s storybook creation tool. So they’d actually design their own little stories with this thing, but there’s nothing like this on the market. It’s called analyst edition series of books for kids.”

photo by Byron Buslig

John T says he knows that he will need to get on his feet first, so he’s taking life one day at a time.

He also shared the reason why he is thankful for what he has.

“People always tend to think that they have it bad until they start looking at others that have it worse. You always kind of feel, ‘well, I’m working my butt off, I’ve got two jobs, yadda-yadda.’”

“But I start looking and think, you know, I’ve got plenty of money saved up. I’m on top of my bills. I don’t have any major health crap going on. I don’t have any major financial drains anymore, so I’m really pretty blessed.”

Five years from now, John T says he hopes to be in his own house or apartment, possibly married and with kids. As for his time at Our House, he calls it “a transitionary period.”

photo by Byron Buslig

JOHNEL PRESLEY

by Grant Fox

O

n Wednesday, November 12, I had the pleasure of visiting with a young man at a local shelter called Our House.

Our House serves as a haven to the homeless as long as they abide by certain requirements.

The non-profit gives its residents a bed, food, and multiple services that give the inhabitants a sense of community.

Upon arriving, I was introduced to Johnel Presley. At first glance, I immediately saw the excitement in his body language.

He had a pep in his step and seemed more than ready to talk

about his experiences. I was more than willing to ask the questions that would make him feel comfortable divulging his story to me. What I was not fully expecting were his answers and their depth.

Presley was born in Chicago, Illinois, his home for 26 years.

He had lived with multiple relatives there as he worked to find his place in the world. He started out with his mother and things were going well. Then, in 1993, at the young age of eight, he lost his brother to a motorcycle accident.

“Things started going down

hill from there,” Presley said.

He lived with different relatives from time to time and got involved with a rough crowd. It is no secret that gangs play a large role in the streets of Chicago, and Presley’s life was not an exception. It was easy to “run with a crew” so that he didn’t feel alone.

He was arrested and charged on drug and weapons charges in 2007.

“I spent 39 months in jail.

Three in maximum security and 36 in mid-max,” Presley told me.

“The first eight I was just surviving. Not really doing much, just

feeling dead. After that, I decided to prepare myself for life after prison. Real life. I wanted to give myself the best chance at making it on my own when I got out.”

Presley spoke about the first test he took and how it felt to get a good grade. His second test went even better. Then he told me something that left me stunned.

“I thought I was dumb.”

“I thought that I couldn’t really do anything except what I had been doing. I thought drugs and drinking had messed up my brain. When I got my GED, it gave me the self confidence that I

could succeed.”

“Jail was a blessing. If I hadn’t gone there who knows what would have happened, you know? I might not be alive and I definitely wouldn’t have the opportunities I have now. Safe to say.”

That last bit really stuck with me. Here was a man who was by no means living an “American Dream,” yet there was a sense of positive attitude you couldn’t help but realize in his words.

He told me plenty of his stories about his time in prison and in the streets of Chicago, each one giving me more insight into the view that life was meant to be lived in a goal-oriented fashion.

“I want to be a fashion designer. Urban fashion is what I really enjoy. Right now, every day is just a grind both in my mind and on my body. All I can do is my best and keep my goals in mind. If I do that, I’m doing what I was put here to do. I want to be self made,” Presley told me.

“T.I.’s music speaks to me about being a better person. Lil Snoop and Young Dro speak to me about chasing after my dreams. I want to be self made.”

After his release from prison in 2011, Johnel moved to Little Rock to live with his sister. When she moved back to Chicago, Johnel decided to stay and continue working his job at a local warehouse. It was then that he stumbled upon Our House.

“I googled homeless shelters in Little Rock and Our House popped up. I would rate Our House a 10 out of 10. They are great here.”

Presley said. “Life is tough, but they do what they can to help us out and make it easier. In daily situations I have to show how strong I am just going through the struggle. My past keeps me strong.”

As I sat looking at a man who seemed to have made a 180 degree turn in five short years, I had one last question. His answer did not disappoint.

“What would I tell young people as a message from what I know in my life?” Presley said pausing.

“If you have goals or dreams don’t give up on them. You are never too young and never too old to start chasing dreams.

When your opportunity comes along, like mine did, go for it and do whatever you have to do to get it. Otherwise you’ll just being a background character in everyone else’s lives.”

MICHELLE VERREE

photo by Byron Buslig

I

magine moving away to an unfamiliar state, leaving behind everything you hold dear to your heart for a totally new lifestyle. Michelle Verree, current resident of Our House, did just that. She came to Arkansas looking for a new, stress free life that she never was able to experience.

Michelle was born and raised in Philadelphia. She had a relatively easy childhood; one of her favorite memories was learning how to cook from her father and her grandmother. Sadly, Michelle fell victim to the bullying epidemic that most children face growing up, but she did have a few close friends that helped her get through those tough times.

She was a B student all throughout her education until the birth of her first child, and then she became a C student. She was 17 years old at the time.

Raising one child can get hectic, but Michelle raised five children all by herself. They were all close to each other and helped each other when times got rough.

“We worked together as a family,” Michelle said. “I always taught my kids to work together no matter what.”

For 11 years, Michelle worked in the Philadelphia School District.

There, she performed numerous jobs. She had a secretary position and worked in food services.

She’s done so many things that she can’t fully recall all the jobs she did.

“I was more like a jack of all trades when I first started,” Michelle said.

Due to budget cuts, she was laid off from her job with the school district. That put a strain on her income, but still Michelle found ways to prosper.

“It was tough for a little while, but I made it,” Michelle said with a smile on her face. “I’m not a person that gives up on anything.”

Michelle researched Arkansas before she moved here on Jan. 13, 2014. She realized that this would be the place where she could start over. Here, she would be able to make new friends and become involved with a new community like she’s wanted to do.

“It feels like a state where I can retire and feel comfortable to blend in,” Michelle said. “In Philadelphia, I felt like I was froze in.”

Before she moved to Arkansas, she had trouble finding a job, which caused her to be stressed out most of the time. Transportation

also became a problem for her.

With the support of her children, it made it easier for her to make this decision. She saved up some money and decided to take a chance, a chance that ended up in her favor.

“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve felt more relaxed with myself,” Michelle said.

She added that her self-esteem and confidence levels have risen substantially from living in Arkansas.

“Back home, my self esteem was so low, Michelle said. “I felt like I was stepping on myself at

by Maggie Rogers

the time.”

When Michelle arrived at Our House, they gave her the training she needed to find a job in the Little Rock area. For six months, she was a cook and a housekeeper. When her training ended, Michelle was unemployed for two weeks before she found a job outside of Our House. She has always liked to work and plans to keep working until she can retire.

“I enjoy working, I love to work until I can’t work no more,” Michelle said. “It’s in my genes. I got this from my father and my grandmother.”

When she has the money saved up, Michelle plans to find an apartment of her own and, some day after that, a house. She sees herself gradually raising herself up to where she wants to be.

What is her secret? Finding a way to remain stress free and not worry so much about the little things.

In my classes, I learn a variety a things that will help me become a better journalist. Little did I know, I was going to learn two things that will always be in my mind: one, stop dreaming because those dreams can easily

be turned into a reality with a little hard work. Secondly, never be afraid to do something. With bravery and strength, you can do anything you set your mind to.

photo by Byron Buslig

MOLLY

by Pauline Mothu

M

any of us complain about little things and wish our lives could be better, or at least easier, but we often forget that some people are less fortunate. Some people do not have enough money to sustain themselves, and have to go live in a shelter.

Molly is one of these persons.

She has been living at Our House, a shelter in Little Rock, since February 2014.

Molly was born in Iowa, and grew up in Arkansas before leaving her family and friends to live in Florida with her husband. They

have two children, a 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter.

At first glance, Molly is like any other married woman and mother, but Molly is also a statistic. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in three women will experience some sort of physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Molly is one of these women. She has been abused by her husband for eleven years. Her children have also witnessed and been victims of abuse.

“I thought I could change him,” Molly said. “I also thought that

maybe one day he would decide to change and be better. He never changed. He has been abusive for eleven years.”

The abuse could have been going for several more years, but one day, Molly decided to leave her abusive husband. She stayed in a shelter in Florida before coming back to Arkansas where her family lived.

“I left because I was scared for the safety of my children. They had witnessed and been victims of abuse too,” Molly mentioned. “I wanted a safe place for my kids,” she added.

Molly decided to go to Arkansas to be closer to her family, but in order to leave the state of Florida, she had to press charges against her husband.

“My daughter was born in Florida, so I had to press charges and get approval from a judge to be able to leave the state,” she said.

Molly took her two children and drove to Arkansas but did not stay with her family who left the state shortly after Molly came in. Only her sister remains in Arkansas. They contact each other from time to time. Fortunately,

Molly had friends to stay with in Searcy, Arkansas, but that did not last.

“I could not pay the rent anymore so they asked me to leave,” she said. “I had to find a place to stay for me and my kids, and I had no car because my husband tracked it [there was a tracker on it] and took the car from me,” she added.

Molly first came to Jacob’s Place, a homeless mission for families in Searcy, before coming to Our House.

“It was not easy at first,” she said. “As a victim of domestic violence, I was scared to be around men, but Our House does background checks for sex offenders.”

Our House has been a very supportive institution for Molly and her children. Molly said the staff and her experience there gave her strength, motivation, and encouragement.

“This place has been empowering. They made me rethink my strengths,” she said. “Now I am working on my GED to be able to go to college. I also want to be financially secure to provide for my kids.”

Our House provide Molly and other residents with parenting classes, budget classes and a financial adviser. The staff also keeps track of the residents’ finances, helps with resumes, gives advice for job interview, helps with job search and also allows residents to save money.

“You have sixteen days to find a job,” Molly said, “then you pay 42 dollars every other week for rent and have to put 270 dollars in savings every other week. Once you leave the shelter, you get all the money you saved while there.”

Our House has also been helping Molly’s children. She said it was not easy for her daughter and her son who has multiple disabilities - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger’s syndrome, but they adapted quickly. Her daughter even recently told Molly it felt like her family.

“Our House has a wonderful program for children,” Molly mentioned. “They had an anti-bullying program as well as a ‘no judging’ art project. The staff also provides them clothes and school supplies.”

Molly and her children take it one day at a time. Molly hopes to get back on her feet, find her own place, be a nurse and be financially secure. She also wants her children to have a good education and go to college.

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Features

November 19 - December 9, 2014

ualr.edu/forum

University appoints new police chaplain Jayme Goad Staff Writer jmgoad@ualr.edu

M

icah Maulden, an officer at the department of public safety, has been appointed to serve as the first police chaplain of UALR. Maulden, from Arkansas, graduated from UALR in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in international studies with a concentration in Middle-Eastern studies.

While at UALR, he participated in an internship at a federal law enforcement agency. After graduation, Maulden worked at the Conway Police Department for a short time until a seminary school in St. Louis offered him a scholarship. While in seminary school, Maulden met a police chaplain who played an important role in motivating Maulden to become a chaplain himself.

Maulden joined UALR’s police program in August 2o14. Maulden said having a chaplain for students and employees to speak with “puts people at ease.” He said there are many reasons why a chaplain is important.

“When three or four of us all show up at once and something life-changing has just happened, it’s good to have somebody around that has a little bit different focus,” Maulden said.

Maulden will serve as the university's first-ever DPS chaplain.

He received a scholarship to at-

tend a semiing. nary school in “We emSt. Louis. Photo phasize jusby Jayme Goad tice, but I As chapthink we need lain, Maulden to emphasize will be “on-call mercy equally.

24/7”. He will So when you be available sit down and for serious cirget on somecumstances in body else’s which a stulevel and look dents needed them straight to be taken in the eyes, to the hospithat person tal but don’t realizes, ‘They have family are not here nearby to stay to strong-arm with them me; maybe in the emerthis person Photo by Jayme Goad gency room. has my best Maulden will serve as the university’s first-ever DPS chaplain.

He received a If f a student interest at or employee scholarship to attend a seminary school in St. Louis. heart,’” Maulexperienced den said. something The new traumatic and just needs chaplain also plans to attend someone to talk to and disthe State Police Crisis Intercuss the situation, the chapvention Training, which will lain would be available to teach him how to deal with speak with them. circumstances like individuThe police uniform Maulals struggling with suicidal den wears daily will be exthoughts. changed for a UALR polo“This is a case where type shirt with “Chaplain” someone needs to go talk engraved on it. Some peowith [suicidal individuals], ple can be intimidated by not put them in cuffs. They the police uniform, he said, need to be reminded why Photo by Jayme Goad so the department wanted their life is valued,” Maulden to provide the new chaplain Chaplain Micah Maulden offers a comforting said. with something more invit- word of advice to other officers after Maulden’s The chaplain has experiovernight shift at the police station.

Have a problem?

Need assistance from law enforcement?

You can contact the UALR

Department of Public Safety

at

501.569.3400

ence in funerals and death notifications as well. He will coordinate with the office of communications and the Pulaski County coroner’s office in the event of a death to notify the family, Maulden said.

Also, Maulden said he will be someone for other law enforcement officers to talk to at the department of public safety in the event of a tragedy.

“The officers are people too,” Maulden said. “They may not show it, but they feel the weight of their actions whether that’s putting their hands on somebody to arrest them, or them getting hurt.”

Maulden said in movies it seems as if the officers always “win the fight,” but in reality they sometimes lose the fight. This is when Maulden can discuss in private with the officers how to move forward from that specific situation.

Students and employees needing to contact the chaplain can do so by calling UALR’s department of public safety at (501) 569-3400.

Features

ualr.edu/forum

November 19 - December 9, 2014

13

Illustrations by Zachary Tallent

Road trips with big families Grant Fox but you can sleep. Right?”

Staff Writer tgfox@ualr.edu

S

ome of my first memories in life, and quite honestly some of my favorites, are going on long trips with my family.

Over the course of my life, I have made the drive from Little Rock, Arkansas to Knoxville, Tennessee at least 50 times. The trip is a little over five hundred miles one direction. Do the math and that is a total of 50,000 miles. Oh, and that was all before I went to college. One might think, “How bad could it be? You pack up your stuff and your parents and hit the road. Sure it’s nine hours in a car,

Well here’s the deal. That may work pretty well when kids are older and more mature or if you only have two or three kids to keep from ripping each other’s heads off. Now imagine yourself with four siblings and two parents on a familiar road for nine hours. Herein lie a multitude of issues.

First, even if four of the kids are content with their lot in life along this journey, that fifth child will make life living hell for another, and the domino effect will simply be a time bomb waiting to explode in a shower of poking fingers and “Stop it!” sessions. The first problem is usually where that child is sitting in the car. Bucket seats are

like thrones for the prince and princess. The bench is where the peasants sit. All the way in the back. And of course, no kingdom is complete without a court jester.

That is the middle back seat. If it’s a baby, everyone can forget about a peaceful drive.

After about thirty minutes, whatever activity each child chose to partake in upon departing home is obsolete. If a DVD player is available, there is always the struggle of what movie to watch. Eventually, movies too will no longer keep the ever-invading dark force known as boredom at bay.

Next, there are “the stops”. My father, being the well-traveled man he is, made sure we knew

there would be only two stops on a travel day. A third was only allowed for emergencies. I was always inclined to go along with this plan because, like my father, I took pride in the timing myself and being as efficient as possible.

My three sisters on the other hand, cared not for these mental games. Rather they seemed to have a fascination with drinking as much water and Capri Sun as possible right before beginning our journey. Genius… They never seemed to figure out that a woman’s bladder is quite the opposite of a camel’s hump. Regardless, bathroom stops always seemed to extend our family trips by thirty or more minutes.

About the point that only an

hour remained in our long journey, some kids had passed out from frustration, some were attempting to escape insanity by playing with their original toy of choice, and still others were content to simply count the miles down. Arrival brought tears of joy and promises to never undertake such a challenge ever again.

Yes that last bit may be slightly exaggerated. And yes many drives were easier than others. Yes these are some of my favorite memories and led to some amazing experiences. And yes, traveling with your family, however large, can be fun.

One thing is for certain. When it comes to taking trips with a large family, the struggle is real!

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

Features

ualr.edu/forum

Health factors may influence decision between flu shot and flu mist Ericka Henson

D

Staff Writer efhenson@ualr.edu

oes the flu shot trump the flu mist, or does the quickand-easy flu mist reign over the flu shot?

Health Services held its second annual flu vaccine campaign on Oct. 22 and Nov. 17, in which students, faculty and staff could receive the vaccine on campus.

The vaccine, in the form of both shot and mist, was offered at no additional fee to students, since its costs are covered in the health fees of student tuition.

So that begs the question as to which form is preferred. Is one more effective than the other, or are they equal?

Health Services Director Marie Sandusky is also an advanced practiced registered nurse who sees patients regularly. She said the flu shot is an inactivated influenza vaccination.

“The researchers go to another part of the world and try to track down what the variances of flu are going to be that year.

Then they give their best to give you coverage for the four major types of influenza that affect the population. They put it in their laboratory mix and they come up with a shot,” Sandusky said.

Sandusky explored the core differences between the flu mist and flu shot.

“Flu mist is a little different.

It is also a vaccine to prevent influenza, and in the same way, it is developed each year based on the strands that [researchers] feel are going to be affecting the

population, but a big difference with the mist is that you don’t have to get a shot, you just get to squirts up the nostrils,” she said.

“The other difference is, it’s what we call a live vaccine, so the vaccine is not really dead. So you can’t take it if you have something that affects your immune system.

You are actually at a greater risk of catching the flu if something is wrong with your immune system,” Sandusky said.

When most healthy people opt for the flu mist, the virus is actually designed to die once they put the mist in their noses and it reaches a certain temperature.

With the flu shot, patients receive a shot in the arm.

Patients cannot receive the flu vaccine if they are over 49 years old, have asthma, a chronic disease problem, an immune system problem, or if they take care of someone in their home with an immune system problem.

“However, if you have all those right, then it’s actually really effective,” Sandusky said. She agreed that both the flu shot and the flu mist are very effective.

Sharhonda Kelly is a student and health services employee.

She said, “I’ve never had an aftereffect come from the shot. The only thing is that my arm is normally sore for a day.”

“I’ve never had any cold or flu like symptoms since I’ve been getting them. I’ve never gotten the flu,” Kelly said.

Sandusky said Health Services administered more flu shots than mists this year. They ordered about 200 flu mists and “well over a thousand” flu shots.

The Society of Professional Journalists Presents Published Children’s Author

Jennifer Adams PLACE DSC Leadership Lounge DATE Friday, December 5th TIME 11-12pm

Food and drinks will be provided

Features

ualr.edu/forum

Researchers propose benefits for showing thanks year-round, not just on Thanksgiving

Carmien Penny grow as thankfulness is practiced Staff Writer cdpenny2@ualr.edu

A

round this time of year, gratitude gains the spotlight.

As Thanksgiving approaches, people tend to focus more on what they are thankful for. Even on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, news feeds get a little more positive as statuses and hashtags are filled with words such as thankful and gratitude. More research is showing however, that maybe showing thankfulness should go beyond a thirty day challenge in November.

Robert A. Emmons is not only an author and psychology professor at University of California - Davis but a leading scientific expert in the research on gratitude. In an article published in 2010, he discusses the benefits of a consistent practice of gratitude. The benefits can be seen in physical, psychological and social aspects of people’s lives. Some of these effects include having a stronger immune system, more optimism, and feeling less lonely. Feelings of compassion and forgiveness also

more.

Emmons also talks about ways people can practice gratitude and make it a part of their everyday lives. He encourages keeping a gratitude journal, as well as learning prayers of gratitude, which can be found in many different spiritual traditions.

Catherine Price, a freelance writer for many publications including The New York Times, wrote an article about her personal experience with making gratitude a daily practice. She expresses the doubt she had at the beginning, and goes into detail about the initial awkwardness she felt about having a journal dedicated solely to gratitude, as well as what it was like to write a “letter of gratitude” to her grandmother. (She says it was overall a very positive experience, despite her grandmother’s suspicions that she was practicing for a eulogy.)

However, Price was also curious as to how long the effects of these gratitude-based exercises would last.

University of Michigan psychologist Christopher Peterson told Price, “There are no longterm quick fixes for happiness …

Illustrations by Paige Mason

November 19 - December 9, 2014

French Pressed

By Pauline Mothu Staff Writer pxmothu@ualr.edu

College graduation (a closing word)

I

So if you become a more grateful person and you add those exercises to your repertoire, you’ll be different six months or a year from now.”

“But if you say, ‘Okay, I’m done with the story and I’m going back to the way I was,’ it’ll just have been a six-week high. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not going to permanently change you,” Peterson said.

For many people, keeping a daily journal is unrealistic, and that is fine. For those wanting to ease into the deliberate practice of gratitude, writing in a journal just once a week can be an excellent starting point. Others have a simpler, yet equally powerful approach to showing gratitude.

Cali Moritz, sophomore studio art major at UALR, said she was thankful for her family and close friends.

“I never fully understood how hard my parents work until I was in college, and how they’re there for me when it really matters,” Moritz said. “I really don’t think there’s anything I can do that will amount to my appreciation, so I can only show it in the little things … like listening, and helping out where I can.”

t is nearing the end of the semester, which means some students are one semester closer to finish college while others are about to graduate. I belong to the second category, after three years of being at UALR, I am about to go out in the ‘real world.’

Experiencing graduation in the United States is going to be a new experience for me, as we do not go through the same process in France. The main difference is in the graduation ceremony. Here in America, graduation is a big deal.

Whether it is high school or college, students attend a ceremony, wear a cap and gown, receive their diploma, then take pictures with friends and family.

There is no ceremony in France, at least in most French universities. Students take their final exams, and a couple of weeks later, they check online or at their university to see if they have passed or not. When I got my bachelor's degree in France--which is called "licence", there was no party, just a small family gathering. This cultural difference may be one of the reasons why I do not think graduation and attending the ceremony is a big deal.

Many students, whether American or French, decided to apply for graduate school after earning their bachelor's degrees. Here again, there is a difference between the French and the American educational system.

In the U.S., students who want to go to graduate school need to first apply by paying an application fee and sending in their official transcripts and proof of grade point average of at least 2.75 on a 4.00 scale, proof of identification, and the official standard test scores required by the program.

Usually students must take the GRE and obtain a certain score to be able to go to graduate school.

Then, the graduate program decides whether or not the student is eligible.

Applying to graduate school is different in France. Graduate

15

programs there fall into three different categories: taught masters, research masters, and doctorates.

Each university is free to set its own criteria and makes decisions on an individual basis.

When I was studying in France, I got a bachelor's degree in American and British literature and civilization with an emphasis in translation. Instead of going to graduate school in France, I came to UALR. Had I decided to apply for graduate school in my field, which was translation, I would only needed to complete the application online. However, going into the second and last year of graduate school is not that easy in France. Students are accepted into the second year based on their academic folder. Also, they must pass a translation test and go through an interview.

Not every student is made to go to graduate school, and some decide to find a job after getting their bachelor's degrees. In my opinion, it seems easier for a recent American graduate to find a job than a French one. Here in the U.S., most students work and do internships while taking classes. In France, except for some programs where it is required, students do not do an internship.

Moreover, American students have the opportunity to become involved on campus, which can be added to their resume. It seems that here, volunteer work as well as campus involvement is an advantage while looking for a job. I do not think it is the case in France; employers look more at one’s education.

Even though every country has a different system, we all manage to find a job at some point.

I enjoyed being a student at UALR and writing this column. I hope you liked reading it.

16

November 19 - December 9, 2014

mundane magic

by Zachary Tallent

UALR GIRL

by Paige Mason

Comics

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Entertainment

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

Fiddling around with music and love

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Illustration by Logan Sturgill

Maggie Rogers

“Sam told me that day, ‘You got to meet this guy, he’s my roomEditor mate and he plays fiddle and he mjrogers1@ualr.edu can’t wait to meet you,’” Phillips said.

Phillips was excited to meet him because she didn’t know a Donaghey Scholar is maklot of musicians, especially ones ing headlines in the state that play the violin and the fidfor her musical talents. dle. Elam on the other hand was Freshman Emily Phillips has very nervous. When he heard won various competitions and Phillips play, he almost got emoawards; she recently earned the tional because of how beautiful J. Mulkey Kent award. Including the music sounded. Jeff Long conall of her accomplishments, she vinced Phillips to have a fiddle off has been “fiddling around” with with Elam and they played three someone who shares the same songs. According to Elam, they love for the musical world. played a song to make you dance, Benton native Everett Elam one to make you sad and one to plays the fiddle like Phillips, and make you love. he also plays the keyboard and Phillips played the dance and guitar. He attended and gradusad song that blew Elam “out of ated from the Arkansas School the water,” but Phillips quickly for the Blind. There, he took viodisagreed with what he said. Elam lin and fiddle lessons at age 10. received the flower at the end of At first, he disliked the fiddle but the face off, which means he was victorious.

“They gave me the flower I think because I was blind and then I just handed her the flower,” Elam said as Phillips laughed in the background. “I was like no, you won that.”

After that event, Elam took a couple of lessons from Phillips.

She also started playing in his band regularly. He asked her to be his girlfriend after he finished a half marathon one day, saying it was the best day of his life.

This magical duo has different musical styles, which Phillips enjoys. To see who is better, it depends on what they’re playing but Elam quietly said she is better than him. “[Elam] makes fun of my classical because it always sounds Scottish,” Phillips said.

An old Irish Proverb says, “The most beautiful music of all is the music of what happens.” Phillips and Elam played their music Courtesy of Facebook together, and what happened next Who knew music could bring two people together? Friends of Everett Elam and was an unexpected, beautiful love Emily Phillips told them that they should meet and discuss their musical talents. libretto.

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grew to appreciate its beauty.

Last October, Elam was in a jazz parlour and they played various songs together. The members of the group were Sam Lawhorn, Jordan Anderson, Jeff Long, and Theo Holen. Lawhorn was awarded the Donaghey scholarship a year later, where he told Elam all about Miss Emily Phillips. “[Lawhorn] came in one day and he’s like, ‘Dude you better sit down,’ and I was like, ‘Why what’s up?’” Elam said. “He’s like, ‘There is a state fiddle champion in the Donaghey Scholars Program and she’s going to play at the next parlor.”

Elam recalls that he was doing dishes at the time and said he almost broke a glass because of what he just heard. Lawhorn also talked to Phillips about how she had to meet up with Elam because of their shared interests.

Courtesy of Sound Cloud

The Multi-Talented Jon Bellion Grant Fox Staff Writer tgfox@ualr.edu

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on Bellion is a name relatively unknown outside of the realm known as the music industry.

However, within that world he is a star on the rise. Born December 26, 1990, in Long Island, New York, Bellion has drawn much of his inspiration from Kanye West, Coldplay, John Mayer, and Andre 3000.

“I loved everything, but it was Kanye West who really changed everything for me,” Bellion told the Huffington Post.

Bellion’s career began when he released his first mixtape, “Scattered Thoughts Vol. 1”, on his Facebook page. Bellion, who produces and writes all of his own music, signed with Visionary Music Group in 2012. He has also been responsible for writing the chorus to the song “The Monster”

by Eminem featuring Rihanna as well as co-writing the song “Trumpets” sung by Jason Derulo.

Bellion’s first tour, “The Beautiful

Mind Tour” began on October 1, 2014.

Bellion’s latest mixtape, The Definition, dives into the whole idea that the music industry is unoriginal and monotonous. Over the course of the album, he demonstrates not only his influences but also his raw talent. From “Money Right” to “Luxury” young Mr. Bellion pushes for originality and staying true to one’s self within the industry.

The style of music is quite unique. Bellion has the ability to change the beat and feel of a song while not distorting the entire message therein. The album itself speaks volumes to Bellion’s talent but also leaves listeners waiting for his next album.

Bellion undoubtedly has the ability to make it as a star in this ever demanding industry. With a slight tune up and refining of his musical skills, he should be able to break out and into the public eye.

Fans of multiple genres should keep an eye out for Bellion’s big move onto the mainstream music scene as he has all the makings of a standout artist on the verge of a breakthrough.

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

TV Discovery: Penny Dreadful

Entertainment

Space: The Final Frontier Tanner Newton

Shashank Avvaru

Staff Writer tgnewton@ualr.edu

Staff Writer sxavvaru@ualr.edu

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Zach Martin Staff Writer zrmartin@ualr.edu

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ictorian-era London has a special place not just in the history books but in our hearts as well. It is the starting point of modernization, the birthplace of great literature and also, for better or for worse, ground zero for horrors and nightmares.

The show’s premise is proudly borrowed from penny dreadfuls - cheap fiction magazines sold in London. Popular for their dark themes and incredible characters people all around London bought them and by the beginning of the 20th century Great Britain had fallen in love with Varney The Vampire and Sweeney Todd just as much as it had with Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre.

In this same fascinating London, beautiful and possessedby-demons Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) is living and surviving paranormal experiences. In the underbelly of the city Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) is a postmortem surgeon by day and a mad scientist by night trying to bring the dead back to life.

A handsome American gunmanfor-hire Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), a member of a traveling circus with a mysterious past is spearheading shows and drawing crowds. In the posh manors of London lays Dorian Gray a wealthy, charming man with mystical secrets of his own.

All of their lives crash together when they encounter Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) who is on the hunt for his missing daughter who has been kidnapped by the notorious Count Dracula.

Our beloved classic horrors have finally converged in an epic TV series airing on ShowTime.

The story involves characters from the Dracula storyline and also Dr. Frankenstein and his formidable monster. The show will focus on solving supernatural mysteries, and battling against

Illustration by Zachary Tallent

evil villains while each character fights their own battles against their inner demons. In this series, even the good guys have their fair share of skeletons in the closet.

Dorian Grey, Vanessa Ives, Sir Malcolm, and the doctor himself all led lives that brought about some amount of destruction and horror at some point.

What with Dr. Frankenstein fending himself from his horrible creation and the anguish and injustice he feels towards the Doctor, and Ethan Chandler, American immigrant, running from his past and shielding it from everyone else, the series is full of surprises. Each character and their interaction with the story will absolutely shock and awe every viewer, which will give this suspenseful horror show the exact jolting enjoyment that we have all been searching for.

What makes this series so ingenious is the fact that the good guys aren’t completely innocent.

It brings about the complexity of each character trying to fight off their inner evil while policing other evil entities in the process.

Complexity in the storyline makes for a very intriguing plot and allows zero predictability. Penny Dreadful is THE show to look for this season because its concepts and storyline is a mix of classics, yet will certainly be a completely original plot.

Penny Dreadful is one of the dark horses on TV today and for good reason. A gripping plot, fascinating characters, and the sullen backdrop of London are some of the many reasons why Penny Dreadful should be your go-to TV show this January.

ualr.edu/forum

hristopher Nolan’s new film, Interstellar, is set in the not too distant future where mankind has made planet Earth uninhabitable. Hoping to save the human race, a group of astronauts leave Earth to look for a more inhabitable place to live. It’s reminescent of films like Wall-E but dead serious.

The astronauts are Cooper (Mathew McConaughey), Brand (Anne Hathaway), Romilly (David Gyasi) and Doyle (Wes Bentley).

These people are risking everything for the greater good. For example, McConaughey’s character is a father of two young children. There is a cool planet that they land on where one hour there equals seven years on Earth. Cooper’s children age to his own age in the brief time that he is there. In just a few hours he misses most of his kids’ lives. Did I mention that the movie is dead serious?

Cooper’s daughter is played by Jessica Chastain as an adult. She is getting some Oscar buzz. I agree that the character should get nominated but not for Chastain.

Mackenzie Foy plays the character at 10 years old and she steals every scene that she has.

She acts opposite McConaughey, Hathaway, Michael Caine (as Hathaway’s father) and John Lithgow (as McConaughey’s father-in-law) and puts them all to shame. It is rare that a child actor has such talent. Hopefully she can be one of the lucky few child stars that makes it.

However, as good as the cast is, the real breakout star here is the robot named TARS. TARS is a minimalistic monolith looking robot with a sarcastic sense of humor. In a throwback to the good old days of Star Wars, TARS is a puppet. Voiced and controlled

by Bill Irwin, he is the coolest robot to appear in a movie in years. I’d like to see TARS take on Optimus Prime. The Autobot wouldn’t stand a chance.

Nolan and his crew of animators show some of the best looking scenes in movie history.

Watching a spaceship fly past Saturn is breathtaking. Unless the Academy is feeling guilty about not giving the last Planet of the Apes the award, Interstellar will win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The effects team doesn’t just create pretty images in the background either. One planet they land on is covered in water.

McConaughey trying to steer his ship through a rogue wave is awesome. The most thrilling moment is when McConaughey has to dock his shuttle to a crashing space station.

It’s obvious that I liked this movie a lot but I do have a few problems with it. Most of those

problems come near the end. I’ll try not to spoil too much here, however Nolan gives us a peek inside a black hole and it’s very weird. The scene is so weird that it has to be Nolan’s attempt to one-up Stanley Kubrick’s famous ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This part doesn’t derail the movie but it does slow it down a bit.

Another thing that disappointed me was how little Casey Affleck has to do in this movie. He plays McConaughey’s adult son and he doesn’t do much. Casey Affleck is a great actor, much better than his brother Ben, and it’s a shame that they waste his talent on such a small forgettable role.

Illustration by Byron Buslig

Entertainment

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November 19 - December 9, 2014

19

Illustration by Zachary Tallent

College Classi cs

Illustration by Byron Buslig

Swingers

All hail the new queen of pop Caleb Mitchell by 80s and 90s electropop, and it

Shashank Avvaru clubs, and meets women but he out and relaxing, when not study-

is not really there. His mind and Staff Writer heart are still with his ex while sxavvaru@ualr.edu his body is tormented to hopeless Zach Martin attempts by his friends to get him back in the dating scene. Will he Staff Writer ever get back to normal or is this zrmartin@ualr.edu the end of the road for him?

Swingers apart from being a comedy is also at its heart a tragwingers is two hours of pure edy. It is a bold perspective of perfection. It is a perfect the human condition and a man’s representation of a young, infinite need for love and comheartbroken man. It is perfectly panionship. light, self-depreciative, philosophThis flick is a blast into the ical and sweet. It is also, more past with extreme bromantic than anything, the perfect rep- notes. It’s a film to sit around resentation of the comeback of in the dorm room with all the swing music in the ‘90s. guys, doing whatever it is we do.

Bottomline: Swingers is perfec- With fast talking, smooth humor tion. from the great Vince Vaughn, and Mike (Jon Favreau) has a bad the acting from famous director life to say the least. A New Yorker Jon Favreau, this story will have with Hollywood dreams living in you and your buddies cutting up L.A. breathing through one failed and dying laughing at all the guyaudition after another, his ex-girl- meets-girl hijinks and the fails friend has left him with a torn with women that us men are so soul and an abysmal future. Add familiar with. to this a group of friends led by We’ve added this movie to Trent (Vince Vaughn), a smooth- the great list of “College Classics” talking charmer who jumps from because this list cannot be free of one woman to another every its heavy share of “Bro” movies. night with ease and careless- Every college dorm is full of many ness. Mike attends parties, goes to groups of select friends chilling

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Tech Corner: Smart Watches

Brady Jackson and two sizes to choose from. The

Staff Writer bajackson4@ualr.edu he market has already seen the release of Android’s smart watch the Moto 360.

Coming spring of 2015, the long awaited Apple Watch will hit the market. The Moto 360 has a price of 249.99 which is cheaper than what Apple has set for their starting price of 349.99, so the Android watch is definitely cheaper, but is it better?

The Android’s Moto 360 has a 360 design like the name suggests and is 46 mm in diameter with a thickness of 11.5 mm. The Apple Watch has a rectangular design

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first one is 38 mm and the second is 42 mm in width. Unlike the Moto 360 with only one design, the Apple watch has three designs available. The three designs are: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition.

The Apple Watch has a stainless steel case and the display is made with sapphire crystal.

The Apple Sport’s case is made with lightweight anodized aluminum and the display is made with LonX Glass. The Apple Edition’s case is made with18-karat gold or 18-karat rose gold and it has the sapphire crystal display as well.

Unlike the Apple Watch with the sapphire crystal display the Moto

ing of course. There is nothing quite more satisfying than getting your ‘boys’ together, playing some Madden and sitting down to watch a hilarious movie built for us. Now don’t get us wrong,this has many aspects that appeal to the female sex, so ladies please don’t be discouraged from this film with its “heavy hitting” cast.

This movie is so great because many tight groups of friends can appeal to the story because trouble with women and expensive trips to Las Vegas are more than likely in the futures for all of us.

Friends after college is exactly what this movie represents and as college students we want to be reminded of the fun, sometimes challenging times we have in store for us with our very own friends. Swingers, the ‘bro’ flick of the 90’s, will crack us up and have us rooting for Mike like he was our own friend, which makes this move such a classic.

To those of us that grew up in the last breath of the 20th century, Swingers will bring back fond memories. To us 21st century high-rollers Swingers is a truly original and captivating film.

360 has Corning Gorilla Glass for the display with the display using backlit LCD IPS. A cool feature the Moto 360 and Apple Watch give you is the built-in heart rate monitor.

The Moto and Apple both use Bluetooth 4.0 technology to connect to your phone. The Moto 360 uses the Android Wear OS while the Apple Watch uses the iOS 8. Both use the GPS from your phone. Since you can see the GPS on your watch you can drive and use the watch for directions instead of your phone for it.

As of right now, both watches have about the same specs. The only difference between the two is the price tag and design. Now that you have the facts, it is up to you decide which one is better.

instantly sets the tone for the rest Staff Writer of the album. This is followed by cfmitchell@ualr.edu the album’s second single, “Blank Space,” which is the best song on the album by far and is arguably the best song Swift has ever come or ages I have hated Taylor out with. Embracing the ridiculous Swift with a passion. What image of crazy ex-girlfriend that started out with a mild dislike the media has portrayed her as for for the “Teardrops on My Guitar” years now, Swift sings about her singer with her debut album, “long list of ex-lovers,” who will progressed over the years into a tell you she’s insane. The song is strong, seething, disdainful scorn self-aware, tongue in cheek, and for the pop-country singer and her absolutely brilliant, showing a side innocent good-girl-wronged-by-a- of Swift that most of us probably scheming-man act and plethora of could have never imagined seeing ‘all guys suck because my last boy- just a few years ago. friend did me wrong’ songs.

“Out Of The Woods” and “I Know Recently, however, there has Places” are two standout tracks been a shift in the winds. My pas- that are easily among the best Swift sionate dislike for Swift wavered has done. Featuring heavy synthstrongly in the face of oh-my-god- pop elements and darker, moodier this-song-is-so-catchy-and-I-can’t- tones than most of Swift’s songs, stop-myself-from-singing-along hits both songs are so wildly differlike “I Knew You Were Trouble” ent from anything the singer has and “22,” as Swift moved from pop- done before that it’s almost hard to country to vaguely country-influ- believe it’s even her singing them. enced pop with the release of her “Bad Blood,” a spite-filled song last album, “Red.” I was severely allegedly about beef between Swift troubled by how much I enjoyed and fellow superstar Katy Perry is these songs…could my iron will be another great track, and of course, melting from the scorching heat of there’s the lead single “Shake It this new Taylor Swift?

Off,” which is still fantastic, despite When the singer made the news the ridiculous amount of radio airmonths ago that her newest album, play it’s seen.

“1989,” would be her first official, The closing track on the standocumented, full pop album, my dard edition of the album, “Clean” heart skipped a beat. What was features surprising backing vocals this sensation I was experiencing? from Imogen Heap, and while Heap Upon the release of “1989,” I furi- and Swift seem like an unlikely ously skimmed YouTube, desperate combination, it completely works. to find uploads of the album and The track is another stellar highlisten to this new sound. YouTube light and it’s a fantastic closer to the and Swift worked furiously to standard edition of the album. remove every single upload of the If you’re skeptical, trust me: album, but they could not keep there’s a reason “1989” is selling as up with the sheer amount of fans well as it is. This is a strong contenduploading the album every min- er for 2014’s best album, and it’s ute. I finally found one. I listened. arguably Swift’s best album to date.

And I listened again. And finally, While many singers have experiI, ladies and gentlemen, World’s mented with switching genres with #1 T-Swizzle Hater for far too long, various degrees of success, few hauled my butt to Target as fast as could possibly imagine having the I could to purchase the $20 deluxe level of roaring crossover appeal edition of Taylor Swift’s “1989.” I that Swift has proven to have. have no regrets. It’s that good.

“1989” is not merely a ‘good pop “1989” starts off with “Welcome album,’ or a ‘good pop album for a To New York,” which is bound to former country superstar’ – it’s one become New York’s official song of the best pop albums in many before long, or someone’s an idiot. years, a testament to Swift’s superThe track is a great starter for the star power, and an exemplification album, which is heavily influenced of the best pop music has to offer.

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Sports

November 19 - December 9, 2014

ualr.edu/forum

Trojans win events one stroke at a time Maggie Rogers and the final event of the day, Editor mjrogers1@ualr.edu

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he UALR Trojans swimming and diving team made a splash against the Evansville Purple Aces on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Donaghey Aquatic Center.

Even though the Trojans lost 176100, they won a total of six events out of 16 at the meet. There was also a new school record set by a UALR swimmer. Head coach Amy Burgess says the team performed well against their opponent.

“We had a great day, the girls usually swim good at home and they swam awesome,” Burgess said.

The Trojans won the 1,000-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 200yard breaststroke, 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley,

which was the 200-yard freestyle relay. One swimmer for the team really stood out at the competition. Freshman Tori Fryar won the 1,000-yard freestyle event with a time of 10:23.01. Plus, she won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:05.33.

Fryar also broke the UALR school record for the 1,000-yard medley with her event win. The previous record had a time of 10:37.97. Burgess says Fryar works really hard in practices to come up with well-executed acts at swim competitions.

“What you see in the meet is kind of what she puts in, she’s a great kid,” Burgess said.

Fryar also takes first for the 50-yard backstroke record with a time of 29.26.

Sophomore Jinson Kang won the 200-yard butterfly event with

The swimming and diving team competed at home against Evansville.

The Trojans lost 176-110. a time of 2:10.47. She also won the 400-yard IM event with a time of 4:37.11. Freshman Nuria Gallego Murcia won the 200-yard breaststroke event with a time of 2:25.20. During the 200-yard freestyle relay, sophomore Courtney Coe went first, Fryar went second, freshman Emma Doll went third, and senior Valeriya Teplova finished the race. From the start

of this race, the girls swam with great speed and kept a good pace.

With their combined efforts, they won the event with a time of 1:39.10.

The team of freshman Courtney Goff, Coe, Gallego Murcia, and Teplova finished third in the 200yard medley relay with a time of 1:50.58. Doll came in second during the 200-yard freestyle with a

Photo by Maggie Rogers

time of 1:58.76. In the 100-yard backstroke, Goff finished third with a time of 1:01.44. Gallego Murcia finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke event with a time of 1:07.88.

The Trojans will compete next at the UALR Christmas Invitational on Thursday, Dec. 4 through Saturday, Dec. 6 at the Donaghey Aquatic Center.

Trojans snag season opening win against UAM Maggie Rogers

Editor mjrogers1@ualr.edu

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he men’s basketball team started their season on a positive note by defeating the University of Arkansas at Monticello Boil Weevils on Sunday, Nov. 16. The Trojans defeated UAM 77-64. UALR head coach Steve Shields said he’s happy with how the Trojans moved the ball during the game.

The Trojans never lost the lead throughout the first half with teamwork from the offense.

Junior James Reid was the top scorer of the night with a total of 12 points. At the end of the first half, their field goal percentage was 34.2 percent. The Boil Weevils had a higher FG percentage with 39.3 percent. The score at the end of the first half was 38-29 with the Boil Weevils lagging behind the Trojans. UALR’s three-point percentage at this Photo by Maggie Rogers point was 42.9 percent. UAM still had the better percentage with The men’s basketball team had their first game of the season on 55.6 percent.

November 16 against UAM. The Trojans won the game 77-64.

One of the top rebounders of the night for the Trojans was freshman Roger Woods with a total of 13 rebounds. Four of them were offensive rebounds and nine of them were defensive rebounds. Forward Gus Leeper recovered seven rebounds in the game, along with junior James White. The team had a total of 42 rebounds.

When the second half of the game began, the Trojans didn’t let up their attack. Their lead only increased and UALR had a 7-0 run against the Boil Weevils.

As time passed in the half, UAM started to sink three-pointers left and right. It looked like they were going to catch up to UALR, but that didn’t happen. UALR’s FG percentage was 59.3 percent, beating UAM’s percentage, which was 41.4 percent.

UALR’s efforts throughout the game paid off with the season opening win 77-64 against UAM. The Trojans had a 44.6 FG percentage. The Boil Weevils had a 40.4 FG percentage. UALR’s 3FG percentage was 45.8 percent. The team made 11 three-pointers in the game.

There were a few errors in the game, but Shields is confident that the team will correct them in time to face their other competitors.

“I see this team continuing to get better,” Shields said.

With UALR’s seniority and how practices are going, things should turn out well for the Trojans.

“I think the positive with this team, as I’ve said numerous times, is we have good senior leadership,” Shields said. “J.T Thomas, Ben Dillard, Gus Leeper, those are three captains that the team voted on last week and we’ve had good practices throughout our 28 practices.”

The team has only had a few practices not go so well, but Shields said that’s normal with a team composed of primarily juniors and seniors.

“I can honestly say that we’ve had three or four bad practices and you’d expect that from an experienced team,” Shields said.

The men’s basketball team will play at home on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 3:30 p.m. against the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Sports

ualr.edu/forum

November 19 - December 9, 2014

21

Breaking records account history Students and athletes face off at Meet the Trojans Brian Gregory order to advance to the final, basketball team engaged in fivein the making for the Trojans which was a battle of the sexes minute scrimmages. On the girls Staff Writer between the female and male bjgregory@ualr.edu winner. Taylor Gault won the women’s three-point contest, and James Reid defeated Mareik Isom in the men’s. In the end, he men and women’s bas- Reid defeated Gault to win the ketball teams co-hosted overall three-point contest. the first ever Meet the There was also a tricycle race Trojans event on Thursday, Nov. between Cameron Palmer and 6, 2014. This was a chance for Cortez McClure, both UALR stuboth UALR students and fans to dents. In the first go around come out and see the basketball there was a dispute between teams before they start their who won, so they had to go a seasons. second time. During the second The Meet the Trojans event race it seemed as if Palmer won, began with an introduction of but they decided to do last round all those connected to the bas- for all the marbles. McClure ketball program. Trey Schaap of then dusted Palmer to win a five the 103.7 Buzz radio station was dollar gift card. introduced as the new voice of After the tricycle race, there the UALR women’s basketball was a bowling contest between team on the radio. Head coaches Nora Bouzihay and Shynita Ellis.

Joe Foley of the women’s team Ellis went first and while she and Steve Shields of the men’s was only supposed bowl one team introduced both teams. time, she bowled three times During the event the fans and she missed the pins three were treated to several activi- straight times. Bouzihay was ties. The first event was a three- able to get five out of the six point shooting contest. Each par- pins and also won a $5 dollar ticipant had to make as many gift card as well. three pointers as possible in Both the men and women’s

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Photo courtesy of UALR Athletics

The UALR volleyball team’s hard work has paid off throughout the season.

New records have been set and a winning streak has continued to grow

Brian Gregory Staff Writer bjgregory@ualr.edu

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he volleyball team is having one of its greatest seasons in school history.

The Trojans have had five players win a conference player of the week award. Senior Edina Begic has led the way with six offensive player of the week awards. She also set the school record for most kills and was able to become the school’s leader in total kills. Begic also became the sixth player in Sun Belt Conference history to record 2,000 kills.

“It’s been real fun,” head coach Van Compton said. “We’ve taken time not only to enjoy this season but enjoy every moment of the season.”

This approach seems to be working because team members have set many individual and team records. Besides setting school records, the team has also been on an incredible winning streak.

One of the greatest things about this season has been the team’s setimg a school record for consecutive wins. Starting with their win over Lamar in the Oklahoma Nike Invitational, the Trojans have won 18 straight matches. For the seniors on this team, this is one of the best ways to go out.

“Being on a win streak and having the chance to go undefeated in conference is the best way to go out as a senior,” senior Capri Rino said.

“It feels really great to win 18 games in a row – all of them have been fun,” Begic said.

The team has a 17-0 record in conference. This is a school record for most consecutive wins in conference and it is also the highest win total in conference play ever.

“Getting to and winning the conference championship is the most important thing, especially if you want to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Begic said.

“We are a really good team and we play against a lot of good teams,” senior Adisa Hodzic said. “It helps that we play more as a team.”

This season has been thorough display of dominance of their opponents. Compton maintains that it’s all about one word: focus.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a healthy team and to also have a lot of focus. There were many times we could’ve lost a lot of focus, but we haven’t,” Compton said.

Rino said she believes the team’s work in the gym has helped a lot.

“We are a lot stronger than a lot of the other teams because of our work with coach [John] Barron,” Rino said. Barron is the director of athletic performance.

After all the team has accomplished so far, they now set their sights on winning the conference championship.

“We haven’t accomplished all of our goals, but we believe with the proper focus that we will be able to achieve those goals,” Van Compton said.

At Meet the Trojans, students and athletes participated in fun events for the crowd. The men’s basketball team competed each other as well.

side the Maroon team defeated the White team. The White team for the men’s team defeated the Maroon team.

When talking to both head coaches they both seemed very excited for the team. Women’s Coach Joe Foley his team is somewhat undecided.

“We have a lot of senior guards which is good for our team, but our big kids are fairly young,” Foley said.

Foley believes that if the guards steady them in the beginning, then the post players will eventually come together.

Coach Steve Shields of the men’s team is “very excited, because this team will play an exciting style of basketball.”

Two years ago UALR had one of the youngest teams in the country, but now they have matured into seniors and juniors.

“We move the basketball really well and we have a good mindset. Out of the 23 practices we’ve had only two of them be bad,” said Coach Shields.

Photo by Brian Gregory

22

Sports

November 19 - December 9, 2014

ualr.edu/forum

Garuba earns Sun Belt honor Hillary Perkins Staff Writer hdperkins@ualr.edu

S

Photo Courtesy of UALR Athletics

During a league banquet, Fali Garuba was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team. She earned that honor with her hard work throughout the soccer season.

itting downstairs in the Jack Stephens Center, Fali Garuba gave some insight on her experience as a soccer player as well as being named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team. The secret behind Garuba’s and the team’s success is their positive attitude on everything they do.

“It’s all about humbleness because everybody has something that they need to work on,” Garuba said.

Garuba is a freshman majoring in biology. She was born in Nigeria, where she said that family was valued most. She moved to Austin, Texas at the age of seven.

Her athletic career started in

the seventh grade where she first started playing volleyball. She played basketball, ran track, and then played soccer. Garuba said once she and everyone around her realized how good she was in soccer, she decided that she wanted to play soccer by her eighth grade year.

In Garuba’s high school career, she said at one point during her freshmen year her soccer teamwas not very good. But as time went on with the team gaining more experience, things got better and better. She improved each year up until the time she graduated. As for accomplishments, Garuba won the offensive award her junior year. She was the captain of her team and won MVP her junior and senior year as well.

She said that competing with each other was another way her and her high school teammates got better, by pushing and motivating each other.

“I think that everything

just revolves around attitude,” Garuba said. “You can be the best player in the field, but if you don’t have the desire or the heart, then you won’t be successful.”

The topic of discussion that has been revolved around most athletes is that fine line of making a career out of the sport they love or should they make a career out of their academics?

Some think that their chances of becoming an athlete are slim.

Garuba chose UALR because she knew that her education would be a top priority.

“I wanted to come to a place where I knew academics would also be valued as athletics,” Garuba said.

Garuba loves to play all types of sports, but this is not something that she considers as a career. After graduating from college, she plans to attend medical school to become a doctor.

“It’s just something about helping people,” Garuba said.

Nolan sets new record at Sun Belt Championship Pauline Mothu Staff Writer pxmothu@ualr.edu

O

n November 2, graduate student Cheryl Nolan set a new personal and school record in the 5K event at the Sun Belt Championship held at the USS Alabama Memorial Park in Mobile, Ala. With a time of 17:14.8, she breaks the previous record set by teammate Emma Dahl by .05 seconds and improves her personal record by 30 seconds. Nolan also earned the Sun Belt First Team honors.

Nolan said she was, “shocked and pumped at the same time” about her record, because her mindset goal was to be in the “top 10, possibly top 5.” She added that her training, coaches, and teammates had a positive impact on her; she has seen an improve-

ment in herself since coming to UALR. Nolan runs the 800, the 1500, and the 5K track events. She has been running since age 11, and has been wearing the UALR colors for a year. She previously ran for her high school in Ireland, and for Arkansas Tech University before coming to UALR to get her master’s degree in counseling.

Achieving the 5K record is one of Nolan’s biggest achievements in her career.

“This is definitely the best race of my career, everything went well,” Nolan said. “I was very lucky. Doing well at the Sun Belt Championship was my ultimate goal, and breaking both records [personal and school record] is a bonus,” Nolan added.

She also said she is a much better runner than before.

“I have seen an improvement since coming here. Every coach and training is different and you

do not know if it is going to work until it pays off,” Nolan said. “For me, it just clicked.”

Nolan said that her teammates had a positive impact on herself and her athletic improvement.

Compared to her former team in Ireland, Nolan’s home country, UALR’s team is bigger, runs about forty to fifty miles a week, and is more competitive which pushes oneself to improve.

“We all had a great season and ran really well,” Nolan said. “Our performance is a positive factor for upcoming track athletes because it shows our training plan is working.”

The Sun Belt Championship was the last race Nolan ran as a UALR athlete as she has used her four years of eligibility. She said that she is sad to leave the UALR team but is glad to have done so well in the Sun Belt Championship since it is a very important event for every athlete.

Although she will no longer be apart of the UALR track and field team, Nolan plans to keeping training with her current teammates who have become

her friends. She also plans on running unattached races in the U.S. as well as participating in the national track and field meeting in Ireland in July 2015.

Photo Courtesy of UALR Athletics

During her last run as a Trojan, Cheryl broke the school record. Upon graduation, she plans on being a mental health counselor.

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