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The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Student Newspaper

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lee mull givens SIMS williamson

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Kimberly maxwell saves a life

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

Opinions

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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

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.

Holidays should be happy days

By KenDrell Collins Executive Editor KDCollins@UALR.edu

I

t’s officially holiday season.

Halloween.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas. They all lift our spirits, right? Maybe. As much joy as the holidays can bring, they also have the potential to cause harm.

Let’ s start with Halloween. All of my friends hounded me because I came to a costume party this year as myself.

Now, I know this may be the greatest offence a partygoer can make, but I have a good reason. I am not a fan of the concept of disguising myself as someone else. People pretending to be something they’re not is happens everyday. It’s hardly cause for celebration.

My biggest fear is that this notion of counterfeiting ourselves gets engrained in children’s psyche at an early age.

Year after year, parents, teachers and friends compel us to dress up and praise us for doing so. It subtly teaches us that who we are alone is insufficient. Call me crazy, but I think our individuality is reason enough for celebration.

As for Thanksgiving, it is probably my favorite time of the year. One step into my family’s kitchen and you’ll see plates filled to the ceiling with turkey, macaroni and cheese, barbeque chicken and sweet potatoes. While there’s nothing wrong with have a good time

with those we love, I think that the purpose of the holiday – giving thanks – can get lost in the midst of all the feasts and festivities. We may be fortunate enough to eat until we’re stuffed, but someone will undoubtedly go without a meal or has no family to share it with.

If you ask me, the best way to show our thankfulness is by sharing with others and welcoming those in need.

Christmas is the Super Bowl of all holidays. Sharing presents, singing carols and wearing ugly sweaters is the epitome of a good time in my book.

Even for those who are not Christian, the holiday still means a break from school or work and chance to kick back and simply enjoy some hot chocolate. For those like myself, who are Christian, it is a chance to reflect on blessings received as well as to be a blessing to others. Still, there is a tendency to get absorbed in the exchange of material possession and forget the true meaning – spreading love. When love is forgotten, greed creeps in. Our concern shifts to making someone satisfied with what our money can by as opposed to sharing what it can’t.

The moral is simple: let’s make sure the holidays are happy days.

Letters to the Editor 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.

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

Corrections for the October 22 edition •Major spotlight written by Ericka Henson, not Carmien Penny

Opinions

ualr.edu/forum

November 5 - November 18, 2014

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New viral video drops bombs, misses mark Caleb Mitchell pearl necklaces. These same cute- there’s something wrong with

sy little girls then proceed, over Staff Writer the next two-and-a-half minutes, cfmitchell@ualr.edu to drop f-bomb after f-bomb as they read off a list of facts and statistics peppered with language that would make a sailor blush.

“So what is more offensive?” ontroversial viral marketing and shopping web- one of the girls inquires near the site FckH8.com has struck start of the video. “A little girl once again, this time with a new saying f---? Or the f---ing unequal video advocating equal rights for and sexist way society treats girls women and promoting feminism and women?” The girls then read and anti-sexism. Sounds good, off a list of “words more f----d up right? What could possibly have than f---,” including “pay inequalpeople up in arms over such an ity,” “rape & violence,” and “be innocuous video? Well, as is usu- pretty.” After they finish sharing ally the case with the extreme their not-so-fun facts, two adult website dedicated to ending hate women appear on the video, conand oppression via the sales of veniently wearing FckH8 t-shirts, sassy t-shirts, FckH8 has gone way and discuss how the continued overboard in their attempts to sexism that women still face in draw in viewers and make their 2014 is ridiculous – and how $5 from each purchase of one of message heard.

This latest video, titled the website’s $15 t-shirts will be “F-Bombs For Feminism: Potty- donated to charities to help make Mouthed Princesses Use Bad the world an equal place for Word for Good Cause,” features women and girls. This is followed a handful of young girls rang- by a young boy, dressed in the ing from about 8 to 10-years-old same attire as the earlier pretty dressed up in stereotypical pink princesses, who talks about how and purple, frilly, girly princess when guys tell a boy that they outfits, complete with tiaras and act like a girl it means they think

C

Hip Hop, society's downfall Grant Fox Staff Writer tgfox@ualr.edu

T

he development of our country has been well documented. Technology, race relations and equality are a few of the improvements we have made over the last few decades.

However, one of several parts of our society that lacks improvement and may even be headed down hill is hip hop culture.

Promiscuity, drugs, illegal use of alcohol and violence are prevalent in our world every day.

Anyone who says or believes otherwise lives in a box with no windows. A big factor that plays into these and other problems in society is said hip hop culture.

Come up with your top five favorite hip hop and R&B songs.

Now read the lyrics and think about them. With a very high

level of confidence I can say that you will find a plethora of innuendos, references to drinking, making mistakes, and using drugs, all amidst the use of profanity.

It’s not just the music though.

In his song “Sing for the Moment,” Eminem says “music is a reflection of self.” He goes on to talk about how kids see rappers as their idols and want to be like them. Therefore, it stands to reason that kids are going to do drugs, engage in promiscuous behavior and drink in order to be like their favorite artists. Young people are so impressionable that they begin to dream of living lives like their favorite stars. This is a serious problem.

Hip hop culture is dangerous.

Just look at T.I., Lil Wayne and Lil Boosie with their weapons offenses. Look at countless artists who have drug and alcohol problems. Look at Chris Brown beating Rihanna. These are not just casual observations. These

being a girl.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: the video has a point. The girls have a point, the women have a point, the boy at the end has a point. I’m not disputing that. Sexism and misogyny is a problem in today’s society, and that’s a sad, sad fact, especially considering the fact that it’s nearly 2015. That being said, I still feel like there could have been a better way to go about making this video and getting the point across. I’m not an easily offended person and foul language does not bother me, but there’s still something that just seems so wrong about these young children spewing forth profanity and statistics about rape and sexual violence against women.

I think part of it is the fact that most of these girls probably don’t have any idea what they’re talking about; how many 8-year-oldgirls do you know that just naturally know off the top of their heads that 1 in 5 women will be raped by a man? This video doesn’t come across to me as having good intentions so much as it

does to shock and stupefy viewers by having horrible information and language coming out of these kids’ mouths. Supporters of the video have stated that “there’s something wrong with you if you find these girls’ language more shocking than the statistics they’re sharing.”

I disagree; why can’t you find both equally appalling? I’ll admit, I found the video hilarious the first time I watched it. There was just something so absurd and unexpectedly funny about these young girls looking like something out of a fairytale spouting off “I’m not some pretty f---ing helpless princess!” It was like a bad comedy special. The more I’ve watched the video though, the more it irritates me.

The video claims that a portion of the proceeds from each t-shirt sale will be donated to charities, but it fails to mention which charities these funds will be going to. This is something a lot of viewers online have pointed out too, as well as the fact that this information doesn’t appear to be readily available on FckH8’s website either. The fact that the

are well documented issues that are thrust in our face every day, and the worst part is, we promote them. We listen to the music, we buy the albums and we worship those who jump around and yell obscenities on stage. And for what? They don’t know our names. They could care less what decisions we make based off our ignorant understanding of the world.

Look at the club scene. How many women have ended up being single mothers because they went to a club, met some smooth talking guy, had a little too much to drink and made a mistake? How many of those men are currently involved in their children’s lives? How many people die each year due to gang violence and really just seemingly random acts of violence because people want to be the biggest, baddest person on the block? It’s foolishness. It doesn’t matter how big and bad you are or how good you are at talking smack. You are human. If someone shoots you and kills you, you’re dead. Period.

So why does all this matter?

The answer is simple. Attempting to live a lifestyle that mirrors that of one of these stars is simply setting our country up for failure.

You are part of a community. The club owners, the clothing designers, the car salesmen, the rappers, the drug dealers and so many others are more than happy to take your money. However, if you let them, you can not turn around and be angry at your own mistakes. You also cannot be angry of feel entitled to a piece of what everyone else has.

There is a popular English proverb that says, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” If you take what you are given and you squander it, some people may feel sorry for you and try to help you out. Other’s who understand the idea and meaning behind living in a capitalist society will simply capitalize on your mistakes.

Don’t buy what hip hop culture is selling you. Otherwise, we will not be able to progress as a society and eventually you will be left behind.

video has already been removed from YouTube and a host of other sites as well speaks volumes about how the majority of people feel about this video that screams click-bait viral marketing stunt.

A number of people have already called “F-Bombs For Feminism” a rousing success due to the sheer number of views that the video has amassed in such a short amount of time and how many people across the world are talking about it. However, I’d have to disagree. A simple look online easily shows how many people are talking about the video’s message and how many people are talking about its content.

Hundreds of thousands of people may be watching this video every day, but if the vast majority of them are talking about the execution rather than the main point – haven’t you failed to do what you set out to?

Have you watched “F-Bombs For Feminism?” What did you think about it? If you haven’t watched it, are you going to? Why or why not? Join in the discussion with The Forum and let us know what you think.

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News

November 5 - November 18, 2014

ualr.edu/forum

UALR student, a LR police officer, saves a life

Police Beat Jayme Goad

Naked 52-year-old burglarizes apartment at University Village A call came into the police department from a resident at the University Village regarding a suspicious, naked woman rummaging through property in the common’s area of the apartment. Shortly after 11:08 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, University Police arrived to the apartment and found a 52-year-old woman lying down on the floor unresponsive and naked. The report from the Department of Public Safety stated the woman’s clothes were soaked in urine in a laundry basket next to her by the resident’s washer and dryer unit. The resident said, according to the report, the suspect had no permission to be in the room. He said he heard someone in the room and as he opened the door, the suspect appeared in front of him, naked within “inches” from his face. The male then locked himself in his bedroom and called police. MEMS was called to the scene to assess the woman. After she regained consciousness, she was arrested and taken to the Pulaski County Detention Center. A report obtained from the Pulaski County stated the woman was charged with commercial burglary. Bond was set at $15,000. Later after review of the security cameras at the complex, police said the woman was seen walking through the complex pulling on door handles to see if they were unlocked.

EIT laptop stolen A work-laptop, which was checked out by an employee through the College of Engineering and Information, was stolen. The report stated the employee had last remembered seeing the laptop on Thursday, Oct. 23. She stated she noticed the laptop missing on Monday, Oct. 27. No further details were available.

Kimberly Maxwell, Little Rock police officer and student at UALR, used her quick thinking to save a life last month.

Ericka Henson 'she’s not breathing, she’s not Staff Writer efhenson@ualr.edu

Window busted in Lot 14 with rock In Lot 14, a woman noticed her driver’s door window was busted out when she was getting in her vehicle on Monday, Oct. 27. Although no belongings were missing from the vehicle, the responding officer said he noticed a gray rock sitting on the floor board in the back seat. Also, glass from the broken window was scattered in the back seat. The officer also said he noticed papers had been removed from the glove compartment of the vehicle.

No damage estimates were available.

O

n the evening of Oct. 8, 2014 Little Rock Patrolling Officer Kimberly Maxwell was on duty and had just apprehended a man and was preparing to take him to jail on a warrant, when she saved the life of Reyonda Smith at an apartment complex in Little Rock.

Smith was in her car and had passed out in the backseat of the car, unconscious and not breathing.

“I started hearing people say,

breathing', so I locked the doors to secure my prisoner that was in the backseat and I ran to the car that she is in," Maxwell said.

"This lady, she wasn't breathing; she’s felt a little cold. I couldn't really feel her pulse, so I picked her up out of the car and I put her on the ground so I could start chest compressions."

Maxwell explains that she got on her radio, all while trying to get the girl breathing again.

“Around the fourth set of chest compressions, she starts to come back, not coherent but waking up," Maxwell said.

Throughout the event, Maxwell said, “I was thinking I've

photo by Byron Buslig

got to do something, got to think of something. So, I just immediately thought to pick her up and put her on a flat surface, start the chest compressions.”

“I was just hoping that she made it through,” Maxwell said.

According to what Maxwell was told, Smith is okay now.

Maxwell's quick thinking and background knowledge saved Smith's life.

Maxwell isn't just a patrol officer though; she is also a student at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. She explained that she is studying in the social work program and wants to be involved more.

News

ualr.edu/forum

November 5 - November 18, 2014

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reshman Britney Givens is extremely excited to start off this semester in college as a newly elected Senator at Large for SGA. She is bursting with energy and ready to get others around her as involved as she is in student life on campus.

“An involved student is an evolved student,” she states her campaign slogan proudly, “I came up with it and it is something I try to live by myself.”

Getting involved in SGA has been a huge benefit to Givens, who was also involved in the student government at her high school, although she is now happy to reach a larger student population.

“Just getting involved has gotten me involved in so many great activities, I can really get involved in the community and make connections to get me to where I want to go,” Givens said.

She goes on to explain that getting involved with SGA and other organizations on campus is an amazing way to leap into college life. As a freshman who came from a smaller school, Givens found SGA the best way to find a home away from home.

Givens makes it clear that she cares about the students at UALR and wants to make their college years as involving and interesting as she is making hers. As a student senator, Givens has a platform to reach many with her bright smile and enthusiasm for this university.

by Natalie Doris

by Natalie Doris

E

by Natalie Doris

by Carmien Penny

H

annah Lee is an Information Science Major. Not only is she an Environmental and Spatial Technologies Scholar, but she is also involved in many campus organizations. Lee is a part of the Society of Women Engineers, Association of Computing Machinery, eSports, and the Student Government Association (SGA). Although she was born in Los Angeles, she considers San Luis Obispo, California, her hometown.

Throughout high school, she was active in sports such as golf, water polo, and swimming. Other hobbies include painting, music, anime and gaming. She considers maintaining a healthy lifestyle to be important; she attains this by eating a vegetarian diet and exercising. Rock climbing and acroyoga help by adding variety to her workout routine.

Despite all of this, Hannah admits that it isn't always easy to “just get out of bed and do your best.”

She went through many moments of self-doubt but learned to get through it and push herself. Fortunately, she had many interests that ignited her creativity.

“Gaming and anime have made a huge impact on my life by sparking my interest in computers and growing my imagination,” Lee said. “I was always curious on how games were made, so I messed with the hardware and software to see what I could construct.”

In discussing her interest in SGA, Lee said “SGA is a great way to help the UALR campus become a better place by representing the students of UALR in a decision making process.”

She believes that SGA is an excellent way to help direct students to the right resources they need, and they don’t have to officially be a part of SGA to have their voice heard. “If a student has a concern, they can always go by the SGA office.”

lvis Mull, a freshman at UALR and a CLC scholar, was elected to be one of the new Senators at Large for the Student Government Association on campus.

“I wanted to become a leader,” Mull said during his interview, “Micah Parker, a big brother in my fraternity, really encouraged me to run for the position.”

But Mull is no stranger to leadership roles, “I am also a West Hall Council representative for my floor and the secretary for my pledge class.”

During his time in office, Mull has made it his mission to make the Commons Area on campus a more inviting environment where students can congregate and enjoy time together.

“Revamping the Commons will skyrocket students’ experience at UALR. I am determined to make it “the place to go” for students who just want to meet up and chill,” Mull said.

Mull’s plans for the future of students on campus does not stop there. He plans on getting more involved in SGA so that the voices of every student at UALR can be heard. Enhancing the experience of attending this university is a top priority for Mull, who hopes to eventually take on even bigger leadership roles such as the UALR SGA President.

“I do not believe in just stopping. No matter what, you should always be progressive,” Mull says, “that is the motto that I live my own life by and that is how I plan to act as a student senator and a leader in my university.”

by Hillary Perkins

John Williamson Destiny Sims

Britney Givens Elviis Mull

Hannah Lee

SGA members at large F

D

estiny Sims, a freshman at the University of Arkansas, was recently elected to serve for SGA as a Senator at Large. She is really involved in campus life even though she has just started her journey at UALR and is making it her mission to improve campus safety and enhance student life on campus.

“My main initiative is making our campus a safer environment,” Sims said, but then went on to add that she is also interested in making more food options available for students by opening a new fast food option for students on the go who wish to see more variety in the dining area on campus.

“I have always been a leader,” Sims said of herself, “with that being said, I knew that in this program I would be able to make positive changes throughout our campus, be actively involved, and also help plan campus-wide events.”

Sims goes on to explain that she finds herself in good company alongside other driven students like herself, “SGA has a foundation of leaders who have the same leadership skills and qualities as myself,” she explains, “it’s great to be in an environment full of people like you, there is a great sense of understanding among members.”

Sims is proud to be able to work with other students who are as determined as she is to make the UALR campus a more enjoyable and beneficial place for students to live. Above all else, she is business-driven and ready to take on any issue or challenge that comes her way in SGA and beyond.

J

ohn “Jack” Williamson is a junior double majoring in Systems Mechanical Engineering and Finance and minoring in Mathamatics. He was recently elected at one of the Senators at Large for the Student Government Association at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Williamson is new to SGA this fall. Other organizations that he is involved with included the Spirit Committee, an organization who helps increase school spirit, and the Donaghey Scholars.

“I want to be able to hear problems or complaints and try to get something done about it,” Williamson said.

Williamson is in charge of representing the students on campus who have not yet declared their major.

“We try to be connected to every part of the campus as much as we can.”

Williamson said that he is trying to get more people involved in SGA so they know who is representing them on campus.

“So Far it is a great organization,” Williamson said, “it’s better than I thought it was.”

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

News

ualr.edu/forum

Breaking the barrier for women Carmien Penny Staff Writer cdpenny2@ualr.edu

O

n Wednesday, Oct. 29, the Clinton School of Public Service held a panel discussion titled “Barriers in Education for Women and Girls in Arkansas.” The discussion, which was in partnership with the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, was a chance for the public to hear information on the release of three reports from the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas addressing barriers in education currently facing women and girls in Arkansas. The event included a discussion with the authors of the reports, as well as a panel with other key speakers.

Dr. Creshelle Nash, who has worked with Arkansas Minority Health Commission, the state legislature, Arkansas Department of Health, and community-based organizations, was one of the speakers on the panel. Concerning the reports, she said “I really enjoyed the combination of these three reports that’s been done because it illustrates the complexity of this problem. It illustrates the reason why we all need to be here ... across sectors, across individual areas of expertise ... to address this problem.”

The panel included two other speakers. Alice Mahony, a member of the Arkansas State Board of Education and 2009 recipient of the Woman of the Year in Philanthropy award, and Grant Tenille, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Arkansas Governor Mike

Beebe and current Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

The report titled “The Voices of Women” addressed perceptions of the status of women in Arkansas.

It was developed, administered, and prepared by Marisa Nelson, who is a Clinton School of Public Service student. The report is based around women’s reactions to a report that was published in 2013 by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas titled “1973/2013: A Then and Now Report on the Status of Women in Arkansas.” It provides quantitative data on the women in Arkansas, pertaining to their economic, political, and health status.

What Marisa’s report showed is that the women included in the focus groups have, as expected, a spectrum of perspectives. During the Wednesday panel discussion, she pointed out “Women are not a monolithic group.” While some women were comfortable with the traditional gender roles currently presented, many professed a desire for more. While gaps between men and women in many areas are closing, there is still room for improvement.

The next report titled “Delivering better Education”

by Kristen Jozkowski, Assistant Professor of Community Health Promotion at the University of Arkansas, and Mara D’Amico, a Hillary Rodham Clinton Communications Fellow, discussed the impact of teen pregnancy and birth on education in Arkansas. The report uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and peerreviewed scientific research.

Arkansas has the third highest teen birth rate and teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. This has negative social, health, and economic effects that negatively impact not only teen parents, but communities, and Arkansas as an entity.

Negative impacts economic wise can be seen in taxpayer costs associated with teen childbirth, as well as high school graduation rates. The report states “If 90% of teens in Arkansas had graduated from high school in 2012, the state would have experienced a $64 million increase in annual earnings, and an approximately $5 million increase in annual state and local tax revenue.”

Recommendations for improvements with sex education can also be seen within the report. This includes improving not only standards for sex education, but access to sexual health services, which is in alignment with CDC recommendations for reduced rates of teen pregnancy.

According to the report, the CDC also recommends including “evidence-based sex education that provides accurate information and supports the needs of teens throughout their development.” However, this is at odds with current policies. The report states “Arkansas law states that abstinence must be stressed despite the fact that research has consistently demonstrated that abstinence-only programs are ineffective in reducing negative sexual health outcomes among teens.”

The last report, “Our Common Journey” by Sarah Beth Estes, Associate Dean for Research and Community Engagement at the University of Arkansas; Jay Barth, and Ima Graves, Peace

Illustration by Carmien Penny

Distinguished Professor of Politics at Hendrix College, addresses the economics of educating women in Arkansas. The report points out the importance of focusing not only on the educational lives of women and girls, but the economic as well. It states, “When women advance economically, Arkansas is improved as a state.”

“Higher education among women will mean improved birth outcomes, more students attaining grade-level proficiency in essential academic subjects, higher educational attainment among youth, which in turn means higher waged employment among adults. Indeed, when women win, we all win," an excerpt from "Our Common Journey".

One of the events attendees was Lynette Watts, the Executive

Director of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. She said it was necessary to “expose our girls and our boys to as much as we can out there in the world.

Then encourage those interests.

Feed those interests.”

When it comes to the issue of barriers for women and girls, Lynette recognizes that although there are more opportunities for women today than there ever has been, Arkansas can do more.

From having more women in policy-making positions to supporting girls in their academic endeavors, there are many ways we can improve the current situation. This will allow room for growth and positive change not only for women and girls, but our neighborhoods, communities, and our state.

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ROCKET_University_of_Arkansas_at_Little_Rock_10x10-43.indd 1

10/1/14 8:29 AM

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

Campus Life

ualr.edu/forum

Faculty Spotlight: Jeremy Ecke in what I now call literary linguistics its and application of methodology to literature and language.”

Before coming to UALR, Ecke spent one year in a post-doctoral teaching position in Poetry and Poetics at UC Berkley and then spent two years in a tenure position at Belmont University.

“When I interviewed here they had a linguistics minor that, like at Berkley, hadn’t been perused in a long time and they hadn’t had someone teaching in five or maybe tem years. There were zero students in the program and within two years I had grown the program to 20 students, had graduated five students with a minor. That’s just exciting to me to be able to build something.”

On a daily basis he conducts classes, advises and mentors students and leads workshops for students in the English department. He is involved with the Linguistics and Language Arts group on campus and co-teaches a Donaghey Scholars course during spring semesters. In addition, he takes time to write and

conduct research on his own.

Ecke is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys biking, fly-fishing and longboarding. After growing up in the wine country of California, Ecke often reminisces of the numerous times he spent surfing while growing up. He has lived in Arkansas for about three years, and although he enjoys it he still misses the West Coast.

The environment is something that Ecke and his wife hold in high regard. The couple went for about nine years without a car and just recently purchased one around the time their one year old daughter was born. “It was difficult sometimes, bicycling to go get your groceries, but it was also quite fun and there was a way in which you just really felt in a tangible way that you were practicing what you preach,” he said.

It is very clear that Ecke is very passionate about the English department, the courses he teaches and the work he does.

We are sure to see great things from Professor Ecke in the near future.

of the Biology Department, said.

"I enjoy the knowledge journey and how it changes. When I came back to school after a 12 year hiaBiology is ever changing and tus lots had changed, there was constantly growing, it is never lots of new stuff to learn and it static. The theories that we hold was very exciting," Lisa Williams, now could be laughed at gen- a masters student, said.

"Inheritably, erations into the I'm an explorer, future. That's the unfortunately beauty of Biology. there's not much It gives students to explore nowaa chance to learn days. You either and work, and look up at the learn some more, stars or you look because there is at small things always something and the thing new. about it is that it's "In humans very exhilarating they say every to sit there and 20 years there's play with proa new generateins and chemition, science is like computers, it Illustration by Zachary Tallentcals and see what it does. One of the seems like every year there's a new wave of com- other more exhilarating things is puters, and that's how it is with whenever you go through and get biology. The speed of it is just something to work. The things very quick." John M. Bush, Chair is that science is governed by a

lot of trial and error, there's a lot of error but once you get it to that point where it works, it's very energetic. I love what I do and even the failure part of it,” Richard Connor, a Ph. D. student, said.

"Being a biology major is such a great experience! We are like one big family. Everyone knows everyone and your lab partners truly become your best friends.

As the president of UALR Biology Club, I try to organize events that are science related but also fun.

We go camping together, attend lectures like Jane Goodall, go behind the scenes at zoos, and work to build a cardboard boat for the annual UALR Homecoming Cardboard Boat Regatta (which we won this year!). We also really like to volunteer and give back to our amazing Little Rock community,” Allison Jackson, a senior Biology major and the President of the Biology Club, said.

Victoria Hickey Editor vxhickey@ualr.edu

J

eremy Ecke, an assistant professor of English and director of the linguistics program, is more than meets the eye.

Ecke is beginning his third year at the university and he has come a long way since he started.

“I think primarily what was the thing the excited me about coming here, why I wanted to come here, was the opportunity to create the linguistics program,” he said.

Ecke has earned his bachelor’s degree in English with a linguistics minor, as well as a doctorate in English with a linguistics emphasis.

As a young adult, he originally earned his associate’s degree in criminal justice, which he hoped to use in a career as a police officer. He would then work as a police officer to help pay his way through law school.

Ecke wound up studying at UC

Courtesy of Jeremy Ecke

Jeremy Ecke, Assistant Professor of English, is beginning his third year here at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Berkley and was the first person in almost fifteen years to pursue the linguistics emphasis. “[The linguistics emphasis] combined classes in linguistics and literature and shifted the focus from period specific study to methodology,” Ecke said.

He took courses in linguistics,

French, Latin and Old English.

He also had the opportunity to take courses in the university’s exchange program at Stanford.

During that program he took more linguistics courses and finished with a “mixed field of study, one that blended literary research and linguistic research

Major spotlight: Biology Lela-Tamara Fluker

Staff Writer ldfluker@ualr.edu

O

f all the spectacular study areas that the University of Arkansas at Little Rock offers, one of the most sought after is Biology. Broad, intriguing, challenging, and natural are just a few words that can be used to describe the Biology Department that the university houses. Its facilities include rooms in both Fribourgh Hall and the Science Laboratories building.

The department offers bachelors, masters, and doctorate level degrees and the choice to minor in biology studying areas such as General Biology, Environmental Health Sciences, Secondary Education, and Life Sciences.

Biology itself encompasses the study of animals, study of plants, cells, evolution, and so much more.

To obtain the Bachelors of Science in Biology, a student must complete 120 course hours and take a seminar assessment course their senior year. Research experience is recommended but not required. The department has an affiliation fee with South Mississippi where students can go to do research for in-state tuition fees.

Most of UALR's biology students are Pre-Professional studies, working on advanced degrees, and working for a 4-year degree to get a job. Fields including food, agriculture, ecology, industry, academia, and government entities. You can branch out to nearly any area of study with a background in biology.

Campus Life

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

Students learn more about UALR with Trojan Cache Pauline Mothu tion is a key part of this scavenger

Staff Writer pxmothu@ualr.edu

T

he second TrojanCache, a geocache event for students, started Oct. 27 and will end Nov. 7. Through this real-life scavenger hunt, students learn more about the campus as clues are located numerous different places around campus.

TrojanCache was created in the spring 2014 by West Hall Director Leanna Payton and Coordinator of Health Promotion, Program and Education (HPPE), Vanessa Lewis. They collaborated with Social and Digital Content Specialist, Meaghan Milliorn, and Senior Web Content Manager, Jennifer Godwin, as communica-

hunt.

“We wanted students to know more about campus, and came up with the idea of a scavenger hunt. Last TrojanCache was successful with more than two hundred students participating, so we decided to do it every semester.”

They contacted various departments on campus which all agreed to be part of the event, and from there, the TrojanCache committee chose ten locations and came up with clues.

Clues about the locations are posted daily for students to see on the UALR Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and on The Fountain.

Once they find the correct location, students receive a prize and their names are entered into a drawing where they can win up to $500 in gift cards. The drawing

Illustration by Brady Jackson

will be held after the scavenger hunt, which ends on Nov. 7. The more clues a student finds, the more chances he or she gets to win cash price. For instance, if a student gets a clue every day, his or her name is entered ten times in the drawing to win one of the three cash prizes.

“Giveaways and money prizes attract students,” Payton said.

“But the exciting part is that this event helps UALR departments and students.”

This campus scavenger hunt gives students a fun opportunity to learn more about the university and departments they may not know about. Moreover, departments get the opportunity to inform students about what they do.

“It’s fun and helpful,” sophomore Ashston McFarland said.

“I learn about new places such as the nursing department. It is also a good way to interact with the campus community, and get prizes.”

During the first week, students who participated in the scavenger hunt had the opportunity to learn more about Alcohol and Drug Awareness and Education thanks to HPPE, the nursing program, Green Dot, and the newest religious organization Chi Alpha.

TrojanCache is sponsored

by UALR Office of Student

UPC to sponsor music night with Rayvon Owen Lela-Tamara Fluker Staff Writer ldfluker@ualr.edu

T

he University Programs Council is at it again with music, movies, and fun.

UPC will be hosting R&B singer Rayvon Owen for music night on November 11. Students are invited to come out and enjoy the show free of charge.

Rayvon Owen made his way into the spotlight when he started posting song covers on his YouTube account. Before releasing his own music, Owen did covers of songs such as Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" and Katy Perry's

"Wide Awake". After listening to these covers and seeing all the work he has put into his music career, it is evident that his success is well deserved.

Rayvon's passion for music stemmed from his childhood days of singing in the church choir. It was singing in the church choir that he realized that music is filled with emotion and that is where he realized he had something to offer through song. He later became a member of the Henrico High School Gospel Choir, as well as, the Richmond Boys Choir. In an interview from 2012, Owen told that his music inspiration comes from artists such as Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams who are all gospel artists

that motivate him in his career and taught him how to connect with his audience through song.

Artists such as Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Eric Benet, Justin Timberlake,and Luther Vandross also inspired him musically.

Owen released his first single "Brand New Day" in 2012 and released his debut EP "Cycles" in August of 2014, to which the first single was the song "Rescue".

All of his music can be found on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and other supporting platforms. He uses Facebook , Twitter, and YouTube to capture his music adventure and present his life to the world. You don't want to miss his performance in Ledbetter at 7 p.m. on November 11.

9

Courtesy of UALR Study Aboard

Students holding the T-Shirts they received during Day #3 of TrojanCache Housing, Health Services/ Health Promotion, Program and Education, and the UALR Office of Communication. Due to the success of this event, the Trojan Cache committee plans on hosting it every semester. Departments or

organizations interested in being part of the next Trojan Cache may contact Leanna Payton at ljpayton@ualr.edu or (501) 320-9904.

For more information, please visit ualr.edu/housing/trojancache/

10

November 5 - November 18, 2014

Features

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Student organization spotlight: French Club Ericka Henson ganizations on campus has been Staff Writer efhenson@ualr.edu

F

rench is spoken across five continents, in 55 countries, by more than 200 million people. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is able to provide a taste of the French culture by having a French Club for students on campus.

French Club Treasurer Michael Nix said, “The goal of the French Club is to promote the French language, its use among the students, and to create a community of French learners on campus.” Nix is post-baccalaureate student working toward a bachelor’s degree in French.

“The French Club started decades ago and like some other or-

more vital in some years than others,” said Rosalie Cheatham, French Club faculty advisor and French professor. “The club over the years has been most energetic when students organize and engage other students in the projects and activities of most interest to the group,” Cheatham said.

The club will sponsor a French movie night on Thursday, Nov. 6 in the Language Resources Center (Stabler 201) at 7 p.m. The movie is free and open to all students, and snacks and beverages will be provided. The film chosen is “Les Choristes.”

“I enjoy the activities that we have during the semester,” Nix said. “We usually have three French movie nights a semester.

It is always fun to watch a film in a foreign language, hoping that you are actually understanding what is being said.”

Alexis Williams is another officer in French Club. She said she likes the fact that, as an officer, she can influence the activities in which French Club participates.

“We’re hosting a movie night on Nov. 6, and for my part, I was able to research possible movies based on past films we’d shown in the lab,” Williams said. “Michael Nix and Pauline Mothu helped me decide which films might best appeal to a larger audience, so then I asked fellow members and each French professor to vote for which film they would like students to watch. We democratically chose ‘Les Choristes’. I like being able to help in those decisions.” Williams is a junior pursuing degrees in English and French.

UALR is home to Pi Delta Phi, a national French honor fraternity chartered in 1969. Cheatham said although Pi Delta Phi is an honor organization, the chapter

initiates eligible students each year, many of whom are also involved in French Club.

“As the faculty sponsor I am always interested in encouraging and supporting group activities, particularly those designed to give students an opportunity to speak French together and for those who have previously studied in France to share their experiences with other students who may be planning or interested in going abroad,” Cheatham said.

National French Week begins on Nov. 2, 2014. During this week, the French Club will host a bake sale in the Donaghey Student Center on Tuesday, Nov. 4, Wednesday, Nov. 5 and Thursday, Nov. 6 from 11 to 1:30 p.m..

All proceeds will go toward study abroad scholarships for France.

Students who have questions about how to join French Club can contact Michael Nix at manix@ualr.edu.

Illustration by Paige Mason

World Services for the Blind promotes personal independence, educational progression, professional specialization Hillary Perkins the individual suffers stages of

T

Staff Writer hdperkins@ualr.edu

here are those who were born blind and those who lost their eye sight later on in life. World Services for the Blind, located at the corner of 28th Street and Fair Park Boulevard, assists the blind or visually-impaired to live normal lives.

According to their website, Roy Kumpe founded World Services for the Blind school in 1947 to help the visually-impaired to live independently and find employment.

World Services for the Blind offers nine vocational courses, personal adjustment program, vision rehabilitation clinic, assistive technology learning center, job replacement assistance and a college preparatory program.

Rehabilitation Services Director Rachel Buchanan said that losing one’s eyesight is like losing a family member in that

successful.” because they were used to being Bates said it is very over- independent. Some people began grief.

“Blindness is not a death sen- whelming when those who are to settle in the first week. tence,” Buchanan said. She also visually-impaired become a part World Services for the Blind’s said the biggest loss for the visu- of World Services for the Blind. offers three vocational courses ally-impaired is driving and read- This especially applies to those to train clients for employment ing because they must ask people who lose their sight later on in life in the Internal Revenue Services: for to drive them or to read contact collection repreto them. sentative, service center Buchanan said 70 collection representative, percent of the visuallytaxpayer service repreimpaired are employed. sentative, according to World Services for the their website. The other Blind is looking forward to six include desktop supraising that percentage. port technician, assistive “Our motto has to do technology instructor, with helping people reach Microsoft Office specialist, the state of independence,” Microsoft computer sysBuchanan said. tem engineer, programJeannie Bates is the ming, and IT professional. director of external rela“Individuals who are tions. She said clients not enrolling in a full enroll for a 30-day training vocational training proand evaluation, at which gram may enroll in spePhoto by Hillary Perkins cialized courses such as point they find out where they will be placed in the World Services for the Blind, located near UALR, assistive technology, job program. seeking skills, and transiseeks to foster independence in the blind or visually“We cater to the individ- impaired. Since its inception in 1947, the school has tion courses,” Buchanan ual person,” Bates said. “If serviced over 13,000 people. said. they are successful, we are Bates said the assistive

technology learning center have numerous selections of the latest hardware and software for the visually-impaired to operate.

Job seeking courses offers oneon-one tutoring and job search skills. The courses are based on an overview of assistive technology, applications, and orientation and mobility.

“As for transition courses, they consist of the college preparatory program as well as the transition from school to work course,” Buchanan said. The college preparatory program is an eight-week summer program that gets clients prepared for college, which begins every year in June. The transition from school to work is a way to prepare clients to get a General Education Development (GED) diploma.

World Services for the Blind is located at 2881 Fair Park Blvd. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Meals are served three times a day. For more information, visit wsblind. org.

Features

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5 things only people engaged in agricultural pursuits understand Tanner Newton Staff Writer tgnewton@ualr.edu

F

rom 2007 to 2011, I was in my high school’s chapter of Future Farmers of America in Sheridan, Ark. I served terms as the chapter’s vice president, treasurer and junior advisor. I have an Arkansas State FFA degree. Right now, I am serving as the vice president of the Sheridan FFA Alumni. I know a thing or two about agriculture that most people don’t.

A few years ago I was sitting in a session at the Arkansas State FFA Convention when an ag teacher dressed in flip-flops, shorts and a Hawaiian shirt hit the stage to sing a pretty good performance of Megadeth. The stereotypes associated with people who “live and work on a good farm, or (are) engaged in other agricultural pursuits” do not match this man in any way at all.

Another stereotype is that these people are idiots. This is simply incorrect.

When people think of agriculture, they tend to think only of livestock and crops. This is a limited view of what constitutes agriculture. Agriculture is not just sows and plows. It is an

umbrella term that covers everything from mechanics to science.

The National FFA Association teaches agricultural education. A student who attends these agricultural classes will be taught how to weld, wire, and fix a broke down car.

One of my favorite aspects of my time in FFA was learning parliamentary procedures. I am familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order because of agriculture, which can also be used as more evidence against the ‘idiot’ stereotype.

Everybody in FFA is required to complete a project. Mine was livestock showing. If you have ever been to a fair then you are vaguely aware of livestock shows.

What you probably don’t realize is how expensive are these shows, in terms of time and money. To competitively show an animal can take hundreds of hours, just to prepare the animal to perform.

And it’s necessary because an untrained animal at the fair will do terribly.

For my project, I showed hogs.

Typically, I would get three market hogs at about $250-300 apiece.

It costs about $40 a week to feed them and I will have them for about five months. Also, there are registration fees. Fencing must be bought and if I don’t have a way to transport the livestock to the show, then a trailer must be bought too. All told, I can expect to drop about $4000 on one show.

Digression: the State Fair is not about fried Twinkies or rollercoasters; it is about the livestock shows. I mentioned earlier that if you have ever been to a fair then you are vaguely aware of the livestock shows. Nobody gives the animals and the people showing the animals enough credit.

The state grand champion lamb received no media attention but everybody went crazy over deepfried gum.

A colleague recently covered the state fair for the paper. In her article, she briefly mentioned the shows at the beginning and then towards the end wrote, “Also, many different livestock shows will be held throughout the fair dates.” Next to the article was a drawing that represents the fair.

It was of a Ferris wheel and food.

Considering all the hard work and effort that goes into showing an animal, it feels really crummy to be an afterthought to fried lemonade. I don’t blame my colleagues for this; I blame a society that values food and fun over hard work and sacrifice.

Lastly, I will call out the public school system. The FFA is one of the best things going in schools and it is constantly treated like an unloved stepchild.

Extracurricular activities, namely sports, tend to get all the love.

Meanwhile, over the last seven years my old FFA chapter has had to fight tooth and nail to remain alive.

November 5 - November 18, 2014

11

Food habits French Pressed

By Pauline Mothu Staff Writer pxmothu@ualr.edu

F

rance and the U.S. are different on many levels, and it is particularly true when it comes to food. For instance, when Americans think of French food, they think about bread, wine, pastries, and escargots, whereas when French people think about American food, they think about hamburgers, French fries, donuts, and sodas.

Needless to say, the first time I came, I knew it would be very different.

However, I certainly did not expect to get sick because of the food. I am not sure why I got sick but I have some ideas: it could be because of the processed food, because I was not use to such large portions, or because of how fast I had to eat.

In France, we have small portions and take our time to eat with friends and family and we enjoy our food. Another difference is that we do not snack as much as Americans.

Actually, we usually do not snack. I am sure why we do not snack, it may be because our meals are on a set schedule: breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, a “goûter” around 4:30 p.m. and dinner around 8 p.m.

Snacking is just not part of our culture; we do not need to eat small portions every two or three hours.

In fact, since 2007 the French government requires TV food ads to add a white banner stating, “For your health, avoid snacking between meals”, “For your health, work out regularly”, “For your health, eat at least five fruits and vegetables each day”, or “For your health, avoid eating too much fat, too sweet or too salty of food.”

Moreover, some foods we find

here in the U.S., such as the food coloring rBGH, are banned in France. The U.S. also controls the imported foods and some French foods are banned, such as several cheeses and foie gras.

Further, France has a system called AOC, which stands for “controlled designation of origin”, that protects its cultural and gastronomic heritage by guaranteeing the product’s origin and uniqueness. This system has been mostly applied to cheese and wine, as they are part of the French cultural history and central elements of the French diet and food.

There are about four hundred different types of French cheeses, and France produces about seven or eight billion bottles of wine each year. As I mentioned earlier, eating habits are very different, and I had to adjust when I first came to Arkansas. For instance, I was living on campus so I had a meal plan, and eating a big dinner at 6 p.m. was difficult as I normally eat dinner around 8 p.m. in France. Same when it comes to breakfast. I cannot eat a big breakfast composed of eggs, bacon, hash brown, and sausages.

French breakfast is usually light and composed of tea/coffee and bread or cereal. After three years living in Little Rock, one would think I have adopted the American diet; in some areas I have -like snacking, and having soda at lunch instead of water, but when it comes to breakfast, I have not.

When it comes to food, France and the U.S. are very different, but I read recently an article on the French governments website that representatives from the cities of New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami visited with the Ministry of Agriculture to learn more about one of the key-determinants of the French diet: teaching children about taste, pleasure, and diversity of our food.

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

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Donaghey Scholars carve countless pumpkins for art's sake Natalie Doris

Staff Writer nmdoris@ualr.edu

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n Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m., several Donaghey Scholars met in the Scholars’ Student Lounge and brought with them both their props and implements of destruction. The victim?

A fleet of pumpkins ready to be transformed into jack-o’-lanterns and other pumpkin art.

“We are just starting this new event for around Halloween as an opportunity for the Donaghey Scholars to unwind and pour their creative energy into their pumpkin vessels,” said Simon Hawkins, director of the program. “It’s a great chance for even those who are utterly unartistic in every way to at least come up with a clever idea and turn it into a somewhat decent creation.”

Scholars were excited to embark on the pumpkin massacre, pulling pumpkin guts out of their chosen pumpkins before creating their masterpieces. Far from traditional, many of the pumpkins transformed into creatures with stems for noses and Disney princess crowns with hearts nestled inside. And then there were the less artistic, much more straightforward pumpkins, including one that proudly displayed the words “this is a gourd” carved into its surface.

First-year Scholar Madison Christie shared her impressions of the event.

“I think it was a great way to bring together some of the Scholars in a more relaxed setting outside of the classroom,” she said.

In between the laughing and the separation of pumpkin entrails in the student lounge,

Photo by Naty Doris

Photo by Naty Doris

This pumpkin carving contest is the first of its kind for the Donaghey Scholars. Students said they hope it will continue to become a Halloween tradition in the program. Photo by Naty Doris

The Scholars brought fresh-baked cookies and apple cider to enjoy during the pumpkin carving. Afterwards, many students carried home pumpkin seeds to be used for roasting at home.

the Scholars found themselves learning more about each other’s creative sides. “You can draw?” and “I can’t believe you came up with that!” were bellowed across pumpkins and cups of cider alongside heaps of student-made pumpkin spice cookies.

“I was surprised at how artistic some of my fellow Scholars could be, and I was excited to see the other side of many of them, aside from the scholarly side,” Christie said. “I would definitely like to go to event in the future.” This seemed to be a common sentiment among Scholars after their pumpkin-carving experience.

In the aftermath of the pumpkin carving, different Scholars carried home large stashes of pumpkin seeds for roasting while others helped themselves to the award-worthy cookies from the lounge before leaving.

In the true spirit of the Donaghey Scholars Program, debates ensued over which pumpkin carving had turned out the best, which was more creative, and which was the funniest

Cinderella carriage that Natalie made because I thought it was a clever use of the pumpkin,” Christie said, laughing. The others agreed that transforming the humble pumpkin into a carriage, complete with wheels made from

looking when all had been said and done. On Oct. 30, just in time for Halloween, the scholars voted that the pumpkin carved by firstyear Scholar Natalie Doris was the best.

“My favorite pumpkin was the

the carnage of other pumpkins, was their favorite carving.

The Donaghey Scholars look forward to future events that will bring them together in the same way as the day of the pumpkin massacre.

Illustration by Carmien Penny

Features

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

13

CALLING ALL TROJANS: costumed tricycle race registration now open Photo by Alexis Williams

Junior political science major Aaron Lazenby demonstrates how difficult it is for a fully-grown adult to ride a child’s tricycle.

Alexis Williams

UALR’s Interfraternity Council and junior political science major.

Lazenby believes in his words, which is why he and fellow IFC veryone deserves a members (including Greek Life Advisor Jenny Hunt, also the assochildhood.”

These are the words ciate director of campus life) will of Aaron Lazenby, president of host UALR’s first costumed tricy-

“E

Editor aawilliams@ualr.edu

Photo by Alexis Williams

All proceeds of the IFC tricycle race will benefit local non-profit organization Community Connections. cle race on Friday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.

Registration is currently open to all students.

“You hear about motorcycle rides and bicycle rides but never tricycle ride, especially costumed tricycle rides. And we just thought it would be funny to

see grown men on Big Wheels,” Lazenby said.

He clarified that, while it is an IFC event and many Greek men will participate, any student or student organization on campus can register to race.

“It’s open to everyone. If you

Personal Statements 101: writing the perfect statement of self istics you possess.

There are also two types of Staff Writer personal statements. The first is ldfluker@ualr.edu a general statement. It may have formatting requirements and hen it comes to a college a word limit but does not limit career and beyond there what you can write about. You is one thing we would should still try to make your stateall need: a personal statement. ment relate to the reason you are The personal statement is an writing. extremely important step to applyThe other type is more speing for undergraduate and graducific and asks questions to be ate degree applications, scholaranswered. What are your ships and post-baccalaureate prostrengths and weaknesses? What grams, medical and law school do you consider your biggest applications, and professional achievement in life? Describe positions. It provides applicants yourself in three word, and why the opportunity to differentiate these words? Be sure that you themselves from other potential follow all instructions given and candidates with the same paper answer the question clearly, makcredentials. Companies and ing sure avoid getting off topic. schools use it to take a much When writing, you want to more personal glimpse into who think about the things you have you are. It assists in setting you to offer the person, school, or apart from other applicants and organization you are writing to. describing the distinct characterWhy is this opportunity impor-

Lela-Tamara Fluker

W

tant to you? What makes you different from the other people pursuing the same goals as you?

What experiences have you had in this field of work or study? You also want to make certain that the statement is relevant to the audience that will see. If you are applying for a scholarship for art majors, express your passion for art and give examples of what you’ve already experienced in the fine arts community.

It is best to avoid cliches. If you are applying to medical school, saying that you “like to help people” and are “good at biology” is not exactly expressing anything that the reader doesn’t already expect. Instead try expressing your passion for the field, why you became interested and what things you have already learned.

That would be the same for any field.

For example, you wouldn’t

want to apply for a teaching position with the statement “I’m interested in this position because I enjoy teaching and the academic atmosphere”. Instead, try telling where your passion for education stemmed from and why it is important to you. A good alternative might read more along these lines: “During my freshman year in college, I struggled with some of my classes. I found myself on the verge of failing my second semester because I didn’t know material and because I lacked self-discipline. During that semester I had the pleasure of having a professor that offered me tutoring and supported me, even in my failures. She motivated me to build my work ethic. From my experiences with her, I know that failure just provides you with another chance to succeed. I want to pass that on to students and

can get five people together to make a team, then sign up,” he said.

All proceeds from the race benefit Community Connections, a non-profit organization devoted to providing extracurricular activity opportunities for children with special needs. Lazenby said he was drawn to the mission of Community Connections and others.

“They just let these kids be kids,” he said.

Since its creation in 2005, the nonprofit organization has grown to support nearly 500 children per year. It offers opportunities for soccer, football, cheerleading, music, theatre, art, martial arts, golf, and autism support.

The race will begin on the street near the Kappa Sigma fraternity house and will extend to the amphitheatre and back.

Students interested in signing up can register at ualr.edu/ greeklife. Lazenby said info will also be sent via email, Twitter and Facebook.

inspire them to never give up on the pursuit of their goals.”

This helps to show that you obviously have experience because you pursued a college career and went through the struggles of being a student. The statement expresses that you learned from your academic setbacks and have a goal for your position in the education field.

According to author Ann Levine, when writing a law school personal statement you should avoid using words such as “worldview”, “personally…”, “in conclusion…”, “I believe…”,”unique”, and “firsthand experience”. The reasoning is further explained in her article, “Six Words to Avoid in Law School Personal Statements”.

With these helpful hints and more, you will be able to create a personal statement that catches the eye of employers, admissions coordinators, and scholarship committees getting that much closer to fulfilling your dreams and goals.

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

SLACKERS

by Chris Helliwell

mundane magic

by Zachary Tallent

UALR GIRL

by Paige Mason

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

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Titles Suck, this album rules Caleb Mitchell Staff Writer cfmitchell@ualr.edu

I

f you have yet to hear the name “Dillon Francis,” then be prepared to within the coming months. An American DJ and music producer from California, Dillon Francis has been around for years, releasing singles, being involved in various musical acts such as Meowski666, and touring with other prominent electronic artists like Nero and Flux Pavilion.

However, due to a series of delays, Francis’ debut album “Money Sucks, Friends Rule” is just now seeing a release in 2014, nearly ten years after Francis arrived on the scene.

Francis specializes in a subgenre of electronic music known as moombahton, which is a blend, or fusion genre, of house and reggaeton music; this interesting musical style is prevalent through-

out “Money Sucks, Friends Rule” and gives the album an interesting sound and style that at once sounds both unlike anything you’ve ever heard before and strangely familiar.

“Money Sucks, Friends Rules” starts off with the fast and furious “All That,” which features Twista, The Rejectz, and a handful of bizarre lyrics, including the memorable “we poppin’ bottles like they pimples.” ...No thank you.

This is followed up by the album’s lead single “Get Low,” featuring DJ Snake. “Get Low” was the earliest song off the album to be released, making waves all the way back in February, so you might have heard this one before. If you haven’t, then you’re in for a treat – this song was the lead single for a reason; it’s an insanely catchy song that just makes you want to get up and dance, and despite its relative lack of lyrics and general repetition, it’s hard not to get the song’s memorable beat stuck in your head.

courtesty of Mad Decent

The third track on the album is also the second single, “When We Were Young.” A collaborative effort with Canadian electronic duo Sultan + Ned Shepard featuring The Chain Gang of 1974, “When We Were Young” is a great song that gives all three acts a chance to really shine. While it’s a bit slower than most of the other songs on the album, it’s easily one of the best. Other highlights include “Set Me Free,” featuring Martin Garrix, “Love in the Middle of a Firefight,” featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco fame, and “We Are Impossible,” featuring The Presets.

In the midst of all these standout tracks lies a sneakily hidden bomb, just waiting to take unsuspecting listeners by surprise. “Not Butter” is a song about the butter substitute I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®, and yes, you just read that sentence correctly. After your recover from the initial “what?” factor, the song is actually pretty hilarious, and seems to just be a joke song done for comedic purposes. Soul-searching, inspiring lyrics include the lines “You can put it on bread,” “you can put it on lobster,” and of course, “You can put it on anything...but you know what? I can’t believe it’s not butter.” Deep stuff, man.

“Money Sucks, Friends Rule” concludes with “Hurricane,” with vocals provided by Lily Elise from Season 1 of NBC’s The Voice.

Arguably the best song on the album, “Hurricane” is a great song, closer to what is, overall, a rather great album. While a song about butter substitute seems wildly out of place on this album, no matter how funny it may be, Francis’ debut album is still a solid effort that is bound to have his name on more people’s lips before long.

If you’re looking for meaningful, intellectual music on “Money Sucks, Friends Rule,” then run, run fast. However, if you’re looking for the kind of music that you can just let loose and dance and have a good time to, then Dillon Francis is your guy.

courtesy of Android Downloads

Clash of Clans Review Grant Fox Staff Writer tgfox@ualr.edu

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izards, minions, giants, dragons, and even a character resembling Mr. T riding a warthog. All of these and you are in command.

If this sounds like fun to you, the world of Clash of Clans is waiting.

The game’s developer, Supercell, released the free game internationally on August 2, 2012. With the belief that the best games on any platform are designed for that specific platform, Supercell has developed Clash of Clans using touch screen capabilities for smartphones and tablets.

The game starts out with the player being informed that the village is under attack. This introduces the player to both attack and defense tactics. From there, similar to many other games of the same genre, the player learns to develop his own kingdom. There are seemingly endless ways to upgrade and develop your own personal vil-

lage.

After a few upgrades are made, the option to rebuild your clan castle becomes available.

This is where the online aspect of the game comes into play.

Once the clan castle has been completed, the player then has the choice to either start his or her own clan or join an already existing one. This adds a sense of community and interactive game play similar to that of Xbox Live or the Playstation Network.

As with many other games developed to be free in the app store, money is made not only through advertising, but also through the option to purchase game currency using one’s credit or debit card. If a player does not wish to spend his or her own money, then patience is required in playing the game. While basic upgrades take anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours, more complex upgrades can take five or more hours.

Clash of Clans currently makes $640,000 per day and it is estimated that as many as 20 million people worldwide play.

With a consistently growing online community, Supercell has definitely created their Mona Lisa masterpiece.

Entertainment

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

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Annual World Cheese Dip Championship impresses with record turnout Caleb Mitchell of cheese dips, including On the In addition to

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Staff Writer cfmitchell@ualr.edu

ittle Rock is a city known for a variety of things: being the capital city of Arkansas, the home of the Little Rock Nine, the site of the Clinton Presidential Library, and....the city where cheese dip was founded? Yes, believe it or not, Little Rock is widely believed to be the city where this delightfully gooey, cheesy, golden dip was invented. It’s thought that the dip was invented in 1935 by Blackie Donnelly, the owner of the Mexico Chiquito restaurant franchise. Though there’s some debate as to the accuracy of these claims, it’s enough for the World Cheese Dip Championship to be held in Little Rock each year, and honestly, we’re okay with that.

Saturday, October 25, saw the World Cheese Dip Championship return for the 4th annual championship at South Main Street and the turnout was at a record high.

A number of local and national restaurants, vendors, and organizations had booths at the event offering a bevy of different kinds

Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, and San Francisco’s Tacolicious. In addition to the fight for the title of best cheese dip, a variety of other awards were up for grabs, including Best Booth and People’s Choice.

The People’s Choice award was determined by giving guests to the WCDC two tokens upon arriving to the championship. After trying everyone’s cheesy creations, guests then blessed the vendors who they believed to have the best liquid gold with their token(s), and the vendor with the most tokens at the end of the day was crowned the winner. This year’s winner was actually a tie, with the award going to Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro and the ConcheeZtadors, “the world’s most-decorated queso/luchador team.” This marks yet another win in the ConcheeZtadors book, who also won various awards each year at the WCDC from 2010 – 2012.

On the Border took home the award for Best Booth with their festive Day of the Dead theme, while Dizzy’s also won the coveted award for Big Dipper – Professional for the best non-amateur cheese dip.

a fancy trophy and free entry into next year’s Championship, the winner of this category also receives $1,000 and a WCDC prize pack. Winners of the People’s Choice awards win $500 and a prize pack, as well as a smaller trophy.

Though it’s exciting that this year’s Championship had record attendance, it appears that most vendors weren’t entirely prepared for the large turnout. The event lasted from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., but many vendors were running dangerously low on their cheese dip supply well before 3:00 p.m., if not completely out of it already.

We arrived to the WCDC at around 1:00 p.m. and were only able to

Illustration by Paige Mason

try dips from about five different vendors due to the vast majority of booths already being out of the cheesy goodness. Though it didn’t win People’s Choice, our personal favorite was a delicious cheese dip made by AmeriCorps’ City Year team – it was so good, we had to go back for seconds! On the Border provided unlimited tortilla

chips to all guests who attended, giving us plenty to munch on with our cheese dips.

All proceeds from the 2014 World Cheese Dip Championship benefitted the Harmony Health Clinic, a local clinic that provides free medical and dental services to uninsured and under-insured residents of Pulaski County.

Local eatery builds community though food Abigail Marshall Loblolly Creamery.

Another aspect to The Root Editor Café that is worth mentioning is almarshall@ualr.edu the vegan and vegetarian options they offer. That was the biggest factor I considered when makhe Root Café has graced ing my visit to The Root Café for Little Rock with its delithis review. Not one to like eating cious food since June 2011. alone I invited my mother to go Located downtown in the revitalalong with me. When we arrived ized South Main District, now breakfast was still available, and known as SOMA, this quaint little with rave reviews from friends café has earned its rightful place we decided to try it out. as one of the staples of the Little But first I wanted to talk Rock foodie scene. about how charming the décor Serving breakfast and lunch, was. It was very true to its local the unique aspect of The Root southern roots, with cute linens, Café is their dedication to bringmason jars with fresh flowers, ing Central Arkansans tasty very reminiscent of what you meals created from locally would think of your grandmothbought goods. Their website er’s house. The walls are covered boasts the slogan, “Building in eclectic decorations and it has Community through Local Food” a very down-home artsy feel. and that’s exactly what they do.

Also to be noted, nothing on the Most all of the ingredients used menu is over $8. at The Root Café come from the But back to the main attracLittle Rock area, with contribution—the food! I’ve always been tors such as Apple Jack Farm, known as a picky eater and on Bussey-Scott Urban Garden, and

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top of that I’ve been a vegetarian for five years now. Despite this I was able to immediately find something on the menu that piqued my interest. I ordered the egg and cheese biscuit (a homemade biscuit) with the local honey and a root parfait. The parfait was served in a mason jar and it was just so cute that I could not resist doing the “foodie thing” and taking a quick photo of the meal for Instagram. My meal was delicious. The egg was cooked to perfection and the biscuit was perfectly flaky and dense, topped with the honey... by the end of the meal I was licking my fingers!

My mother does not share my vegetarian ideals, and there were plenty of options for her to choose from as well. She wanted to go with something exclusive to The Root Café, so she chose The Root Benny, two poached eggs served over bed of seasonal greens with Falling Sky ham and topped with homemade hollandaise. She had

rave reviews for her choice. She described her meal as fresh, flavorful, and filling, everything one looks for!

I give this restaurant five stars,

the food is delicious, the ambiance is delightful, and their locavore dedication to Little Rock is obvious. Everyone should check this place out!

Courtesy of therootcafe.com

Paying homage to its Souern roots, the inside of The Root Café is chamingly quaint.

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Entertainment

ualr.edu/forum

Into the wild world of non-fiction Abigail Marshall Editor almarshall@ualr.edu

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Fastest Man Alive Illustration by Paige Mason

Tanner Newton like a seasoned pro. The Flash

also looks great. High production Staff Writer value is one of the shows many tgnewton@ualr.edu strengths. In the second episode the Flash fights a guy who can ull disclosure, I am not a fan create multiples of himself. It is a of The Flash comic books. fairly brief fight but it looked just In my life I have only read as awesome as the Avengers vs. about two issues of the comic. the Chitauri.

This show is a spinoff of Arrow, In my Doctor Who review, I a show that I have never seen a criticized the supporting cast. I single episode of. In the last edi- did the same with the supporting tion I wrote about how I find it cast of Gotham. The Flash doesn’t hard to enjoy Gotham due to all suffer this problem. Every memthe changes made to the source ber of the cast brought their material. I am completely igno- A-game. I particularly like the rant of the comic and parent two father figures on the show. show so I had no preconceived Jesse L. Martin plays Barry “The notions of how this show should Flash” Allen’s surrogate father, work. For all I know this show Detective Joe West. West is a could get the character horribly good cop in a crazy town and wrong. he is much more interesting But I don’t care because I love than Gotham’s Detective Gordon. this show. The Flash has every- Allen’s actual father, Henry, is thing I want in a TV show. It played by John Wesley Shipp. is fun without being corny and Shipp’s casting caused a lot of serious without being melodra- fan commotion because he previmatic. It walks that delicate line ously starred in a failed show in

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1990 called The Flash. This is not stunt casting. Both of these actors do a great job in this show.

But of course I must talk about the star of the show. Barry Allen is played by former Glee star Grant Gustin. Honestly I did not think I would like him in this role.

He didn’t look like a superhero to me. I am glad to say that he has completely blown me away.

I think he is so good that I am disappointed that DC hired Ezra Miller to play the character in their upcoming Justice League movie. I hated Man of Steel and since that movie’s director is returning for Justice League I am afraid that movie may disappoint too. Grant Gustin would have given me more confidence in the movie.

Plain and simple, this is fantastic television. I now want to watch Arrow and look up the classic comic books as well and you should too!

ormally, like the majority of college students I do not read non-fiction unless I have to. As an avid reader I have always stuck to the realm of fiction. However, reading Into the Wild changed all of that for me. This is the true story of the life of Christopher Johnson McCandless, and it is riveting.

This book is a page-turner filled with thrills, danger, law-breaking, love, and so much more.

The story begins in April of 1992 when a young man from a well-to-do family, Christopher McCandless, hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley.

Before his journey he had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his material possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself-the life of a wanderer. Sadly, four months later, his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters in the mountains of Alaska.

After graduating in 1991, McCandless had taken to the West and roamed the wilderness on a quest to find himself.

The first real step for him on his journey occurred in the Mojave Desert where he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all the cash he had. He reinvented himself-going by the name, Alexander Supertramp, and without any ties to the material world he began a life exploring nature.

Courtesy of Villard Books

With no maps, money, or real plans Alexander Supertramp vanished into the wild craving adventure and self-discovery.

Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer is the story of McCandless’ journey. With plenty of plot twists, and side stories Into the Wild takes the reader on the journey with McCandless and you can not put the book down.

I give this book five stars, it’s a great read any will keep you at the edge of your seat. Even though you know McCandless is headed for disaster, you can not help but root for him and want him to make it.

As surreal as it may seem this is all true, the story of Christopher McCandless, a.k.a Alexander Supertramp lives on in this book.

Entertainment

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November 5 - November 18, 2014

19

Wick-edly Fascinating Shashank Avvaru

Zach Martin

Staff Writer sxavvaru@ualr.edu

Staff Writer zrmartin@ualr.edu

he first time we saw this movie’s trailer, we knew we had to review it. Not because of the previews; they were nothing spectacular. John Wick came across as a regular revenge drama with a pretty boy lead. Heaven knows we have enough of those.

However, one little detail stood out. It crawled from underneath the mundane trailer and stuck in our heads. John Wick was going around town disposing of bodies like they were balloons hung in a shooting range... All because they killed a dog.

We knew, at that moment, we were either going to write the review of an amazingly original movie or a laughable insult to action movies. We are incredibly glad it’s the former.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves), a retired assassin, is mulling over the death of his wife in a lavish New York apartment. A knock on the door brings light into his abyss in the form of a beautiful dog left by his wife as a gift after her passing. Realizing life could get better after all he drives out with the dog in his rare ’69 Mustang. Evil eyes fall upon his drive on this short journey and when he refuses to sell it to a group of thugs he doesn’t know he is courting trouble.

The night brings a home invasion. The same group beats him to near death, kills his dog and rides away with his Mustang.

This ignites the old John Wick within the depressed John. The old John, a world class assassin who left it all for the love of his life, now resurrected and deter-

mined, decides to burn all those responsible to ashes.

This is not your regular action movie involving a Russian mob, organization of super assassins, and a beagle puppy. And we mean that. John Wick goes on to achieve more than its one big statement, “It was just a puppy”.

The writers reveal this statement in plain sight many times throughout the movie.

The most intriguing and innovative trait of this movie is the extremely different style of handto-hand combat displayed. Most action movies made prior to this release employed a Krav-maga style of hand-to-hand, whereas this movie has a more acrobatic and martial arts style of fighting. Wick is flailing his legs to gain leverage over the opponent and twisting around in midair to disarm him. This style difference is stark against the usual that we are so accustomed to seeing in every action movie. This adds such a unique feel to the movie and also keeps our hearts thumping from all the close calls and fast movement. This film keeps you on the edge of your seat and will stop at nothing to excite and awe each viewer.

John Wick on one layer is the movie of a man who is bent on revenge against the people that tore his life from him. On another subtle layer the movie is the story of a near-psychopathic assassin who is so demented, so twisted, so cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs he would kill hundreds ... Just because his dog was killed.

And that is what makes John Wick wickedly fascinating.

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Illustration by Zachary Tallent

College Classic s

The Notebook

Grant Fox fondness of one another. In a piv- doned house on behalf of his son.

otal scene, they dance together in Staff Writer the street as he hums a beat. tgfox@ualr.edu From there the movie accelerates through the rest of the summer, introducing Noah’s father ove, heartbreak, drama, and Allie’s parents. The first hint romance, humor, grief, par- of things going awry is in the latent-child conflict, and mem- ter meeting, as it becomes clear orable dialogue; all of these and that the future and wealth are more are contained in the 2004 more important than a “summer hit: The Notebook. Ryan Gosling fling” that is sure to end. After a and Rachel McAdams take center late night rendezvous at an abanstage with the story of a young, doned house, the situation escawild and broke man that falls in lates and the couple breaks it off. love with a wealthy, driven young As Allie returns to her norwoman. Nicholas Sparks’ novel is mal life, Noah remains, his world turned into a capturing film that crushed. He writes her one letter has just about everything needed a day for an entire year before to be a part of the classic genre seemingly giving up hope and perfect for college students. joining the army aside his lifelong Noah (Gosling) meets Allie best friend. Allie meanwhile joins (McAdams) and for him it is love as a nurse during war time. There at first sight. She on the other she meets Lon Hammond (James hand, takes a bit more convinc- Marsden), a war hero, and shortly ing. After climbing a ferris wheel thereafter they are engaged. and being set up for a date by Meanwhile, Noah returns their mutual friends, Noah and home and finds that his father has Allie begin to build a more mutual purchased the deed to the aban-

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Noah, with some hint of insanity, begins to rebuild it just the way he had promised Allie, hoping it will bring her back. After completing the house, he refuses to sell and spends his nights with a mistress.

A few days before her wedding, Allie sees Noah’s picture in the paper and goes to see him.

The heat is turned up when they reunite and Allie’s mother shows up. Her mother reveals the letters and Allie realizes she must break off her engagement to spend her life with Noah.

This heart wrenching movie is told by an old man, who turns out to be Noah, reading his journal to his now wife, Allie, who is suffering from Alzheimers. The movie ends as they die in each other’s arms in a nursing home bed, in the very house he built her.

Whether it is date night or just a night for friends to get together and watch an emotional, yet fun movie, the Notebook answers the call.

Illustration by Zachary Tallent

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Winning streak continues after defeating Appalachian State Brian Gregory out to settle down his team. As set break, the third set began. point at a time,” Van Compton Staff Writer bjgregory@ualr.edu

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n Oct. 25, the Trojans volleyball team earned a dominating three set (25-16, 25-12, 25-14) over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers came to the Jack Stephens Center with a 17-6 record and looking to avenge an earlier three sets to one loss to the Trojans in Boone, N.C. The Trojans however did not allow that to happen as they extended the team’s record winning streak to fourteen matches.

They also extended the team’s record of most consecutive conference wins to start the season to thirteen. This season has been definitely one to remember for the team, but for the fans as well.

In the first set, the Trojans jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with Appalachian State coach Matt Ginipro calling a time-

the set progressed, the Trojans began imposing their will on the Mountaineers as they increased their lead to 21-13. The Trojans closed out the set 25-16.

Edina Begic, Carolee Dillard, and Sonja Milanovic each recorded three kills during the set and Megan Mathis had 11 of her game-high 34 assists in the first set as well.

The beginning of the second set turned out to be more competitive than the first set. Both teams matched each other’s competitive start to the first set, as they were tied 7-7 early in the set. However, from that point on the Trojans went on an 18-5 run to win the set 25-12.

“They overcame adversity and were resilient,” head coach Van Compton said.

Not even the timeouts called

by Ginipro could stop the bleeding. He also earned a yellow card for arguing a double hit ruling against his team.

After the ten-minute second

It was much more of the same domination for the Trojans. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the beginning of the set, highlighted by three straight service aces by junior Sonja Milanovic. The Mountaineers did not get any closer than five points in the rest of the set. The Trojans won this set 25-14.

Edina Begic had 14 kills during the match, and was one of six Trojans to record more than three kills during the match. She also had six digs. Edina Selimovic had six block assists, three digs, and six kills. Her performance in this game along with her performance against Texas State where she had 11 block assists and 15 kills led to her being named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week. This is the sixth week in a row where a Trojan Volleyball player has been named a conference player of the week. Coach Van Compton was “excited and elated” after the win.

“We played this game one

said. There are seven games left until the conference tournament and Van Compton says they’re going to take their time.

“We are going to take this thing one point at a time, one set at a time, and one match at a time,” Van Compton said.

Sophomore Megan Mathis jumps to attack the ball against opponent Arkansas State.

Photo taken by Maggie Rogers

Milanovic earns title as offensive player of the week CJ Waters Staff Writer cwwaters@ualr.edu

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onja Milanovic, an outside hitter for the Lady Trojans, was named Offensive Player of the Week by the Sun Belt Conference on Monday, Oct. 20. This is her first career Player of the Week award.

She credits her fellow teammates for this award because they’re the ones that help motivate her to get better as a player.

“I won that because my teammates have been helping me a lot,” said Milanovic.

Recently, she has earned three double-double wins against Arkansas State (14 kills, 11 digs), Troy (18 kills, 17 digs), and South Alabama (17 kills, 15 digs). On Nov. 1, Milanovic earned her eleventh

double double against Troy. The UALR volleyball team also extended their winning streak to 16 after they defeated Troy.

This honor was motivation to Milanovic after recording those three straight double-doubles during the Trojans current winning streak.

“It motivated to work harder and push harder to show that I can do a lot better every time every game,” Milanovic said.

Milanovic currently holds an average of 3.41 kills and 3.45 digs per set this season. She is also ranked second on the team for having the most kills. Again, Milanovic says her teammates encourage her to be the absolute best she can be.

“That means I got the most kills out of anyone. I can do anything that my teammates to push me more and more harder,” Milanovic said.

With the support she’s receiving

from the team, Milanovic was also working hard for herself because she wanted to win of this award.

Clearly, her hard work has paid off in her favor.

“I did expect it. I mean I was working hard but when I got it, I was kind of surprised,” Milanovic said.

Milanovic has also earned other awards and honors while at UALR. In 2012, Milanovic was named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List for having a 3.5 GPA or better during that academic year. In 2013, she got placed on the Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll for having a GPA average of 3.0 to 3.49.

Last season, Milanovic finished second in conference and 45th in the nation with 3.98 kills per set. Milanovic and her teammate, Edina Begic, were an unstoppable pair for the Trojans, earning 9.09 kills per set. Milanovic was named

to an All-Tournament team at the three different tournaments in 2013.

When the Trojans played Southeast Missouri State on Aug. 30, 2013, she achieved 22 digs, which was one season best for Milanovic. She had ten double-doubles in the 2013 season.

Milanovic was born on Jan. 11, 1992. She is from Mrkonjic-Grad, Bosnia-Herzegovina. She went to high school at Vaso Pelagic Brcko.

Before she came to play at UALR, she played under Jusut Halilovid at her high school. Milanovic is a junior here at UALR and is undecided.

If you would like to see Milanovic in action along with the rest of the UALR volleyball team, they will have the home field advantage on Friday, Nov. 14 against Georgia Southern at the Jack Stephens Center at 7 p.m.

Photo Courtesy of UALR Athletics On Sunday, Nov. 16, they will face South Alabama at the Jack Stephens Sonja Milanovic was named Center at 12 p.m. the Sun Belt Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week.

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Vodacek paves way to finish line Maggie Rogers

Editor mjrogers1@ualr.edu

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Junior John Vodacek won the UALR Invitational with a time of 24:42.14.

Photo courtesy of UALR Athletics

isconsin native John Vodacek was the first man to cross the finish line during the men’s 8K at the UALR Invitational.

“It was pretty exciting, it doesn’t really hit you at first but it was very exciting,” Vodacek said.

“The biggest thing was knowing that I and we as a team have been improving, that was the biggest thing I took away from that.”

Vodacek started running in the spring of his 8th grade year in middle school with the support of his parents and friends.

“My parents were both runners so they encouraged but didn’t force me to go out for track,” Vodacek said. “My friends also thought I’d be very good at it.”

He added that he’s grateful for all of the encouragement he received because it helped him realize how much he loves this sport.

Vodacek attended high school

at Bloomer High School in Wisconsin. He is now a junior at UALR and is majoring in finance.

When he graduates, he wants to be involved with careers that handle investments.

Before Vodacek starts a race, he focuses on racing smart, staying relaxed, and he reminds himself that all of his training has led him to that particular moment.

Competitively running is no easy task, so one might assume that it’s hard to stay motivated throughout an entire race to keep going. Vodacek’s motivation is the training he puts in for upcoming competitions.

“I put all the miles into training before the race so you want to see your best performance,” Vodacek said. “It just pushes you a little further.”

One personal thing he focuses on is consistency, trying to get better each day. Vodacek says when he knows what to do to help him improve; it will help the team improve as well.

As a team, Vodacek says that they push each other to make each other better without trying to be one another’s competitor.

“We just work on being a team

that can run together and enjoy running together,” Vodacek said.

According to Vodacek, he doesn’t think the team has a certain weakness that needs to be worked on. He says that they have gotten closer and feels that they’re ready to peak at the right time.

“This is the best that I’ve felt about our team all year,” Vodacek said.

This is Vodacek’s third year with the Trojans, so he has a lot of memories involving his teammates and past competitions. Out of the many fond memories, there is one event that is his all-time favorite.

“The first thing that jumps to my mind is two years ago when we won conference as a team,” Vodacek said.

On Nov. 2, the UALR cross country teams competed at the Sun Belt Cross Country Championship in Mobile, Ala. In the men’s 8K run, Vodacek was the first UALR runner to finish the race, because of how well he ran he earned Third Team All-Sun Belt honors.

He finished in 12th place with a time of 25:14.4. As a team, they finished fifth.

Ilkuf records career high saves against Texas Brian Gregory Staff Writer bjgregory@ualr.edu

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re Ilkuf, a freshman goalie from Alberta, Canada had career-high saves in a 2-0 loss to the Texas Longhorns in a late non-conference matchup on Oct. 20, 2014. Of the 11 shots on goal she faced, nine were saved.

Not only did Ilkuf play a great game, but the team did as well.

“It was exhausting, especially having 17 goal kicks. I knew that I still had to remain focused and concentrate on competing for my team,” Ilkuf said. The Texas Longhorns are among one of the best teams in the country with an RPI (rating percentage index) that puts them 35th out of 300 schools. They are also in the Big 12 conference, one of the five major conferences in the NCAA.

Speaking of the UALR Trojans soccer team, they have performed very well this year. They finished their regular season with an 11-7-1 record and qualified for the Sun Belt Tournament down in Mobile, Ala. They began the season with a 9-0 record in conference play, which is a school record.

“We have a lot of players that are able to score a lot of goals which has led to our success.

Also our defense has been pretty spectacular this season as well,” Ilkuf said.

Ilkuf is one of two goalies that received playing time throughout the season. Ilkuf said her and sophomore Sara Cavanaugh try to motivate each other to keep improving.

“We push each other to get better, especially since we are on a pretty even level. The competition is great for both of us and I have a tremendous respect

for as she has the same for me,” Ilkuf said.

It is often said that playing the goalie position in soccer is one of the hardest and loneliest positions in all of sports. Ilkuf definitely agrees with this statement.

“Before games I try to listen to music and visualize what I am going to do in the game”, Ilkuf said.

She has to keep herself in it because it is sometimes easy to get disconnected from the game.

“I always have to keep talking, because if I don’t it is very easy as a goalie to be disconnected and out of sync with the game. This can lead to trouble if you’re not careful,” Ilkuf said.

Ilkuf and the Trojans will be playing number one seed South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week in Mobile, Ala. on Nov. 5, 2014.

Photo courtesy of UALR Athletics

Bre Ilkuf brings her leg back and gets ready to kick the ball down the field.

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ualr.edu/forum

And it's the international club with shut out win Maggie Rogers either missed the goal, went over game, Kappa Sigma really played

the goal, or the Kappa Sigma goalEditor ie prevented his opponent from mjrogers1@ualr.edu increasing their lead. After three goal attempts and one that was t the University of Arkansas blocked, the International Club at Little Rock, the men’s were on the scoreboard with a intramural soccer league is score of one, while Kappa Sigma in full-fledged action with play- remained scoreless.

All of the players on the field offs right around the corner. The teams compete at the Coleman for Kappa Sigma hustled hard Sports and Recreation Complex to keep up with their seemingly and play on the same field the dominating opponent, but the UALR soccer team plays on. On ball seemed to end up going the Oct. 28, the International Club and other way when the International Kappa Sigma faced off to see who Club defenders got a hold of it and would be on top after it all was kicked it to one of the midfieldsaid and done. When the final ers. The game was a physical one, buzzer went off, the International with members of each team at Club were the crowned victors some point throughout the game with a shutout win three to zero. lying on the pitch. When the playThroughout the game, the for- ers had a moment to take a little wards for the International Club breather, the audience could see gave the Kappa Sigma goalie a their breath out because of how run for his money. Right from the chilly it was on that October night.

At halftime, the International beginning, shots were fired from all angles. The goal attempts from Club led the game by two while the International Club players Kappa Sigma still had zero.

During the second half of the

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to win and they always got close to a scoring opportunity. Some of the players were able to take the ball away from an International Club player and headed towards the goal. But with all of their effort, they weren’t able to stop the International Club from scoring another goal that increased their lead to three. Players for Kappa Sigma weren’t able to score a goal, so at the end of the game the International Club won three to zero.

Kappa Sigma has a record of 2-2-2, meaning they have two wins, two losses, and two ties.

They have 16 players on the team. They’re ranked third overall, scoring 1.33 points per game according to the imleagues website. They’re ranked fourth in points against compared to the other teams in the league, with 1.67 points. The team captain for Kappa Sigma is Luis Cabanellas.

In past games, Slater Corbin and Miguel Valderrama have been

Photo taken by Maggie Rogers

Kappa Sigma and International Club players faced off against each other on Oct. 28 awarded as MVP (most valuable player) for the team.

The International Club has a record of 2-3-1, meaning they have two wins, three losses, and one tie. They are ranked fourth overall in the league. They are ranked second overall with points

per game, with 1.67 points. This team has 18 players, the maximum amount a team was allowed to have. Team captain for the International Club is Roko Miocic.

The untold stories of intramural officials Grant Fox Staff Writer tgfox@ualr.edu

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Illustration by Brady Jackson

lmost every student on a college campus has heard of intramural sports.

Fewer, but still a sizable, amount have participated in the events.

Far fewer are aware of the people behind the scenes. UALR officials are not just picked up randomly and thrown into sports. They are trained and required to apply for open positions.

Grant Watts, coordinator of intramural sports, said there are 16 different sports/events per school year. Among these are flag football, volleyball and basketball.

Officials are trained during weekly meetings that address the currently offered sport.

“We utilize video and other

means of technology for our training purposes,” Watts said.

“The week before a new sport begins we hold another day of training on top of our regularly scheduled meeting. We provide live training once the sport begins.”

The officials, on top of knowing the rules, must also be trained in how to appropriately handle situations that may arise while officiating. Angry situations and flaring tempers are just part of what comes with the territory.

“The difficulties of being an official is knowing every single rule, being level headed, and being authoritative. This is very hard for student officials, that may have never officiated before in their life. You are dealing with your peers which make it even harder to be an official,” Watts said.

Watts went on to explain that one of the differences between professional officials versus

intramural officials is that bias and peer pressure way in to the job. These officials don’t get to just go home and not see the athletes again. Instead, these people may be in their classes or see others on campus. People involved in sports often take things personally, and the pressure of not making a mistake or an unpopular decision can be difficult.

In order to sign up to be an official, a student must check in with Campus Recreation near the end of each semester to try and find a spot. As with pretty much any other job on campus, application forms must be completed. After that, it’s just a waiting process to see if they are hired or not.

Intramural officials don’t just throw on a striped black and white jersey and grab a whistle.

On the contrary, through training in both the rules and how to handle strenuous situations, intramural officials do their jobs as a part of the UALR community.

Sports

ualr.edu/forum

November 5 - November 18, 2014

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Reaching high keeps lady Trojans on their toes CJ Waters finishing as the Lady Trojan’s high in assists with 65 last sea-

fourth leading scorer with 9.7 Staff Writer points per game. She also fincwwaters@ualr.edu ished second in rebounds for the team with 6.2 per game.

Gault lead offensively for the aylor Gault and Kiera Clark, seniors on the UALR bas- Lady Trojans in the past three ketball team, earned pre- seasons to hold a career average season honors from the Sun Belt of 15.1 points per game. In her freshmen season, she averaged Conference on Oct. 22.

Gault was picked All-Sun Belt 16 points per game before going first team while teammate Kiera into her sophomore season to was given the second team hon- score 13.9 points per game. Her career-high game came on Nov. ors.

“It just means that we have 12, 2012 against Tulsa when she a lot of proving to do to make scored 33 points for the Lady it up,” said Gault, senior guard Trojans in a 73-64 win in the season opener. from Conway, Ark. “As far as working hard startGault returns as the team’s ing with practice, that’s where it leading scorer after finishing the 2013-14 season with 15.2 points starts, then carrying it over to the per game. Along with Gault, games,” Gault said.

For Clark, she set a careerClark returns to the team after

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Seniors Taylor Gault and Kiera Clark are on the All-Sun Belt preseason teams.

Gault earned a spot on the first team and Clark is on the second team.

son. She also started in 28 of 30 games averaging 32.7 minutes a game.

This was Clark’s first time being honored as a Sun Belt Conference member.

“I expect to be number one in the conference,” Clark said. “It’s going to take some time right now. Once we get it together, I think that we are going to be pretty good.”

She also said that she expects the Lady Trojans to win conference and go to the NCAA tournament.

Clark came a long way in the past three seasons. As a freshman, she averaged 4.1 points per game and 2.2 rebounds before her breakout season as a sophomore. Her averages

rose up to 8.2 points per game and 5.1 boards. She scored a career-high 20 points on Jan. 12, 2013 in a loss against Western Kentucky. She earned a careerhigh of 17 rebounds in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game against Middle Tennessee.

Her 17 rebounds were known as the most rebounds by a Trojan in a single game.

Taylor and Kiera are two of the three returning seniors from last season’s squad after completing the season 18-12. Ka’Nesheia Cobbins, a senior guard, returns to the team after missing the entire 2013-14 season to a torn ACL. She averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in the 2012-13 season.

Along with Gault and Clark receiving the All-Sun Belt

Conference honors, the UALR Lady Trojans basketball team was picked to finish second place in the league by the coaches’ poll. The team finished third and went to the semifinals of the conference tournament last season.

The Lady Trojans will also bring back six other returning players including junior forward Shanity James, who finished with 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, and three newcomers from last year’s signing class.

“We figured that we got picked for a reason,” Gault said. “We got to come out and show why we got chosen and what we can do.”

The UALR women’s basketball team will play their season opening game at Baton Rouge, La. to face LSU on Friday, Nov. 14 at 11:30 a.m.

Photo courtesy of UALR Athletics

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Across Sports league for students and UALR organizations New club on campus that hasn't been active since the 1980s (3 Words) New Assistant Head Coach of the UALR Men's Basketball Team (2 Words) She broke the school record in the 6k at Rhodes Invitational (2 Words) Head coach of the UALR Men's Golf Team (2 Words) Where the Trojans play basketball and volleyball (3 Words) Head coach of the UALR Women's Basketball Team (2 Words) Director of UALR Track & Field/Cross Country (2 Words) Head coach of the UALR Women's Golf Team (2 Words) First man to cross the finish line at the UALR Invitational (2 Words) Former UALR Basketball player and current NBA Head Coach (2 Words) Where the Trojans play baseball (3 Words) Head coach of the UALR Swimming & Diving Team (2 Words)

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