Issue 18, Volume 118 -- February 22, 2023

TODAY’S FORECAST

Campus Life:

Students learn to make zines with Students for the Arts

4 page 3

Sports:

Baseball: Bears win first game of season

4 page 5

Senator discusses bill with students, faculty

Sta Writer

North Korea tests missiles near Japan

North Korea fred two shortrange ballistic missiles Feb. 18 toward their eastern waters; this was its third weapon test in a three-day period. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missiles landed between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. This happened after the U.S. deployed B1-B bombers in separate training with South Korea and Japan. North Korea said it will take additional powerful steps in response to U.S. drills.

NATIONAL

Jimmy Carter enters hospice care at 98

After a series of hospital stays, former President Jimmy Carter, 98, entered hospice care in Georgia. The Carter Center in Atlanta said Carter chose to stop additional medical interventions to spend time with friends and family at home. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, have been married for 75 years.

Politicians like President Joe Biden and Sen. Raphael Warnock have paid homage to Carter via social media.

African penguins hatch at aquarium

The OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale, Arizona, said it had three endangered African penguins hatch Feb. 17. The aquarium’s Director of Animal Care and Education, Jess Peranteau, said African penguin populations declined by 23% in the past two years.

The hatchlings are genetically valuable to the efforts of zoos and conservatories to increase penguin populations. The aquarium has 40 African penguins and has recorded 13 successful hatchings.

Sanders requests Medicaid changes

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Arkansas will ask the federal government to allow the state to require Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer or go to school.

Sanders said non-complying recipients would be taken off private insurance and moved to the fee-for-service Medicaid program. Sanders said when able-bodied people don’t work or go to school, “they’re a burden to the taxpayer.” If the work requirement is approved, it could affect the 300,000 Arkansans.

Is UCA Downtown closing?

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, answered questions from students and faculty about his plans to change Arkansas’ FORUM Act, which dictates where, when and how people can exercise free speech on college campuses.

Students gathered in the Ronnie Williams Student Center ballroom Feb. 14 to ask Sullivan questions. He sponsored this year’s Senate Bill 125 but withdrew it after criticism from colleagues about its vague language.

Sullivan said he drafted the bill following an Arkansas State University lawsuit in which a student was prevented from promoting Turning Point USA, a nonprofit, conservative political organization, because of the university’s free speech zone policy.

“You cannot guarantee

free speech, but you have the right,” Sullivan said, explaining his bill’s origins.

He said the bill allows universities to set “reasonable guidelines to what classifies as disruptive behavior, on indoor and outdoor areas, to people legally allowed on campus.”

Before opening the floor to students’ comments, Sullivan said, “Students are kicked out for disagreeing with professors. Students ought to have the right to voice their disagreements. Minor disruptions are allowed … and that a professor was fired because he refused to use correct pronouns when addressing a student.”

The first concern levied to Sullivan was, “I don’t want to hear hate speech anywhere, it seems hate speech would lead to violence.”

Sullivan said, “You are allowed to use hate speech, but

Lifestyle:

Inside the mind of Conway muralist Jessica Jones

4 page 8

Students will see the highest percentage increase in room and board rates since 2019, following a 5% increase approved by the UCA Board of Trustees during its February meeting.

Based on a double-occupancy room with a total access meal plan, the room and board rate was raised from $8,250 to $8,663 — a 5% increase amounting to $413. Since a 5% increase in 2019, the board has increased the rate in smaller percentages.

• In 2019, the rate was raised from $6,854 to $7,198.

• In 2020, it was increased to $7,554, a 4.95% increase.

• In 2021, it was increased to $7,896, a 4.52% increase.

• In 2022, it was increased to $8,250, a 4.48% increase.

The February policy increases it to $8,663, a 5% increase.

Board Policy No. 632 explained the rise in rates. “These funds will be available to help cover the 5% increase in the Aramark contract and allow for necessary service enhancements and upgrades.”

BEAR LIFE

Prospective low-income students can look forward to a new resource coming to campus — the Bear Life Program — made possible by a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Nadia Eslinger, former director of the Office of Student Success, was chosen to lead the new program to increase student retention, academic performance and feelings of belonging in first-time, low-income and Pell Grant-eligible students.

About 40% of the annual student population will be eligible for the Bear Life program, according to UCA.

Julia Winden Fey, current director of the Office of Student Success explained the services the five-year program will provide.

“Services will include advising and counseling on the admissions process,

enrollment and registration, academic progress, financial literacy and major and career exploration,” Fey said. “The program will also provide support for family involvement in summer orientation and academic registration (SOAR) at UCA and training for faculty and staff on equity literacy.”

According to SOAR’s webpage, all incoming freshmen are required to attend SOAR to complete orientation and register for classes. The experience was previously optional.

In October 2022, the UCA Board of Trustees passed the First Year Fee, which includes SOAR costs in tuition and fees, rather than attending students paying out of pocket.

SGA president Courtney Clawson supported the fee on behalf of the student body.

“Every student that comes

See Bear Life - page 2

The rate increase policy says, “For the 20232024 academic year, Housing anticipates an annualized occupancy rate of approximately 95%.” In 2019, a 99% occupancy rate was predicted.

• In 2020, a 93% occupancy rate was predicted.

• In 2021 and 2022, none were given due to COVID-19.

Student Government Association President Courtney Clawson said, “Students cringe at any thought of an increase — no matter what it is — and try to push back when we frst hear about one.

“However, we recognize that the university and everyone involved did and still do everything they can to make sure these increases are as low as possible,” she said.

Clawson said, “We understand that this increase is necessary in order to keep UCA functioning the way that it needs to. We are very thankful for a university that keeps students and our wallets at the forefront for every decision.”

UCA’s unrestricted/unallocated cash dipped to pre-pandemic numbers, according to Terri Canino, interim vice president of fnance and administration.

Brain injury community empowers participants to develop with others

The Conway Brain Injury Community, a therapy and support group for people living in central Arkansas with brain injuries, continues to provide support for individuals with brain injuries in its second semester of operation.

Part of the UCA Department of Occupational Therapy, UCA alums Emily Wish and McKenzie Svebek established the program last fall for a capstone project.

The CBIC is one of the few resources in Arkansas that provides post-brain injury therapy and support, Wish said.

“I was looking at what Arkansas had to offer for people that had either recently had a traumatic brain injury, or had a brain injury years ago and were still in need of resources, and there just wasn’t a lot for that population in Arkansas,” Wish, now an occupational therapist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, said.

“I really just wanted to increase resources for people that have had a brain injury in Arkansas, and make it a program that was occupational therapy based but was also encompassing other resources that people living with a brain injury might need,” Wish said.

Initially established as a program for people recovering from strokes, the CBIC is open to people in Arkansas

with any kind of acquired brain injury, Wish said.

Senior Kassidy Thompson currently leads the program, with mentorship from UCA professors Lorrie George-Paschall and Duston Morris.

“The need for this program was found through some literature reviews done by Dr. Wish and Dr. Svebek with their capstone,” Thompson said. Wish and Svebek found that there was “a large population of individuals living with acquired brain injuries in Arkansas” that “were not receiving the long-term treatment or support they needed to be successful in their occupations or in their community,” Thompson said.

“There was this result of these individuals having higher incidences of feelings of isolation and loneliness, frustration, things of that nature,” Thompson said. “The program was really started to kind of be a resource to these individuals in their rehabilitation journey, regardless of what that might look like for that individual.”

Members of the CBIC program set their own goals and work with students in the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences to achieve them in group and individual settings, Thompson said.

“We have 16 College of Health and Behavioral Science students. Thirteen of those are occupational therapy students, and then three are health coaching students,” Thompson said.

cover Aramark contract costs

Evangelist harasses student about rape

Thomas Hernandez, 40, received a ban from campus Feb. 15 after students reported him for asking them, “If you entered a room and I was raping a baby, what would you do?” and “What would you do if I raped you?” After asking a student for an interview, Hernandez asked her the rape questions, to which she responded with, “I would call the police,” and made a report to Officer Lauren Hargus. Hargus approached Hernandez later that day to inform him about the harassment report, and Hernandez stated that he was an evangelist.

Beat

RA calls UCAPD for smell of weed Vehicle vandalized, gas tank damaged

Bethany Briggs, Erin Birdwell and Hannah Crook received drug violations after a Carmichael Hall resident assistant, whose name was masked by UCAPD, reported the smell of marijuana Feb. 15. When Officer Skyler Cox approached them, the students admitted to smoking marijuana in the dorm and had 0.5 grams. Cox said he saw a towel tucked under the dorm door, but there was still a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the room. The students stated they did not have any paraphernalia in the room and were just smoking a blunt.

Speech:

4 Continued from page 1

no fighting words. When we fight, we go to court.”

Hypatia Meraviglia, a physics and linguistics double major and senior, interned at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Meraviglia, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, said, “You want to pass a bill that would drive highly talented transgender students out of the state, you don’t know where the line of harassment is … Will this cause economic damage to the state?”

Sullivan said, “Yes, the university cannot enforce use of proper pronouns. At some point, it becomes harassment. I don’t know if this will cause money to leave the state, I do think trans workers bring money into Arkansas, but don’t know if this bill will cause economic damage to Arkansas.”

Jacob Rodriguez, a sophomore, asked, “How will this bill affect Senate Bill 43 when it re-enters the senate?”

Sullivan said, “This bill protects drag performers, but does not allow for people to harass drag queens … You have the right to walk down the hall in whatever dress or identity you want or put up a poster promoting a drag show. This bill protects that free speech.”

While SB43 was changed to remove language about drag specifically, it would amend existing laws about location restrictions for adult-oriented performances, prohibiting public funds or property from being used on performances “intended to appeal to the prurient interest,” including

Student Mariah Manning found her car vandalized Feb. 15. She told Officer Anthony Tufu that when she left her car outside Arkansas Hall, she saw her windshield had a large tree branch on it, her doors were unlocked and her gas tank was open. She also reported $30 was missing from her console. Manning told Lieutenant Mike Shaw on Feb. 17 that she believed someone put marbles in her gas tank because her car made new noises. Manning said she has ongoing issues with two students and has given her car’s keypad code out to several people.

Students and faculty ask Sullivan questions

those that feature seminudity or “prosthetic genitalia or breasts.”

Sophomore Phoenix Vu said, “I find it uncomfortable that this bill cannot allow universities to be punished for purposefully misgendering students. This could be considered harassment.”

Sullivan said, “Some would consider that hate speech for not being respected and called their correct pronouns. If I am continually following you and making you mad, maybe three or four times at some point that would be considered harassment. I don’t know where that threshold is.”

Annabelle Van Asche, a senior, gave her thoughts on the meeting with the state senator. “I think it went well. Students were very respectful and asked good questions, but I wish that students voiced their support or opposition. I’m excited to see what he does with this meeting. He will have more universities to go to and see what they have to say, but UCA represented themselves well,” she said.

After meeting with students, Sullivan met with faculty in Student Center room 225 and explained the bill’s origins and purpose. He said he wanted indoor campus areas to become free speech zones.

The senator said, “Personally, I feel like administrations felt that students weren’t responsible enough to handle free speech inside.”

Political science professor Mark Elrod asked,

Bear Life:

4 Continued from page 1

through a SOAR session over the summer has to pay this fee anyway, or they have to pay out of pocket. By adding this fee, it would allow financial aid to cover these costs and prevent the financial burden that comes with families having to pay upfront.”

The fee replaced voluntary registration fees, in addition to funding “an early arrival extended orientation experience, Welcome Week programs, the UCA Family Network, including Family Day Events, and First-year targeted programming,” according to Board Policy No. 634.

Bear Life will aid students in SOAR by providing undergraduate guides with enrollment checklists for prospective students in their senior year of high school. Additionally, pre-advising will be given to Bear Life members ahead of their SOAR session to create an easier transition

Raise: President promises

4 Continued from page 1

In December: • FY20 reported $27,973,996 FY21 reported $31,861,501

• FY22 reported $31,649,946 FY23 reported $25,162,921

“As of December we’re at $25 million, and the previous two Decembers we were at $31 million. We received the HERF funding for the last two years — around $6.5 million each of those years — unfortunately, that’s over with.”

Additionally, Canino reported a total income for the University of $191,144,489 as of October. A $5.5 million increase to $196,671,823 is projected for June 30.

Canino reported no gains or losses as of the October revised budget, with expenses equaling income. In the June projection, a $5.9 million gain is predicted.

As for projected expenses, a $2.4 million gain was found in scholarships and fees, but a $2.2 million loss in purchases and utilities caused the two to “net each other out,” citing a nearly 38% increase in utility costs.

President Houston Davis announced that faculty and staff can expect a 2% cost-of-living adjustment in July.

“Last year we talked about the fact that we needed to respect that our students and their families were certainly dealing with infationary pressures, but guess what — our families are also dealing with infationary pressures. We want that [increase] to be the frst of three years in a row,” Davis said.

In other business, Academic Affairs will restructure following the expected retirement of Associate Provost Jonathan Glenn.

Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, Patricia Poulter, said Glenn “shared that he was probably going to be retiring in the next few years.”

UCA will not fll his position following his retirement.

The Board welcomed its newest trustee, Jim

Support:

4 Continued from page 1

2% cost-of-living

adjustment

Rankin, replacing Robert ‘Bunny’ Adcock. Rankin is the president of Trinity Development and was appointed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Vote Everywhere, also known as Bears at the Ballot, received the Bear C.L.A.W.S. award, which stands for celebrating the lofty achievements of our wonderful students. Senior Annabelle Van Asche accepted the award on behalf of the group. Three professors were awarded the title of Distinguished Emeritus: Emogene Fox, professor of health education; Kenneth Barnes, professor of history; and John Choinski, professor of biology. The board will next meet 10 a.m. May 25 in Wingo Hall.

“Should I allow a student to wear a shirt that says ‘F--- UCA or F--- the administration?”

Sullivan said, “Your administration is going to have a policy that defines narrower than this, whether it’s a disruptive policy. I think this issue has been litigated multiple times already and if you have your attorney —”

Elrod interrupted and said, “I don’t have an attorney.”

Sullivan said, “Yes you do, as a university employee, your college attorneys are bound to defend you in these cases.

“This bill cannot broaden or diminish your free speech rights, but what it can do is give guidance to what your policies are.”

Grant funds 20 micro-internships

from high school to college.

The grant provides funding for 50 students to take part in the Summer Start program, which “consists of summer bridge programs designed to help our new Bears transition from high school to a successful freshman year,” according to the Office of Student Success.

Later on in the student’s academic career, the Bear Life program will aid in internships. The grant provides funding for 20 micro-internships for sophomores whose interests align with the criteria set in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.

The Bear Life program will also provide career coaching, workshops on financial wellness and jobshadowing opportunities.

Housed under the Office of Student Success, Bear Life will use graduate assistants to provide coaching during first-year students’ freshman

year. An online community for support will also be available.

Nadia Eslinger said Bear Life will give determined students that final push into success.

“This program will provide an opportunity for UCA students to receive essential guidance that will positively impact their college career. Many students have the grit and determination to succeed at UCA, but this program will give them the agency they need to help them actualize their dreams of becoming college graduates,” Eslinger said.

More information about SOAR, the Office of Student Success and first-year experience resources can be found at uca.edu.

Students, alums help clients set goals

The CBIC also occasionally brings in students from other disciplines in the health college “on a one-time basis to provide resources” Thompson said.

“For example, last semester we had nutrition and dietetics come in and speak to members of our program, and then we had physical therapy come in and lead a session,” Thompson said.

The CBIC program “is based on the theory of occupational adaptation,” George-Paschall said.

“Basically, that theory says that we all grow and develop through the occupational activities we engage in, in our daily lives,” GeorgePaschall said. “It’s by those opportunities that our environment provides us with that we grow and develop.”

The CBIC provides members with such opportunities, like having them set goals for themselves as well as self-monitor and -assess their progress.

Besides occupational therapy, the CBIC also incorporates health coaching as part of the program, under the mentorship of Morris.

Morris and the health coaching students evaluate individuals in the CBIC to see where they are on the transtheoretical model, a theory that splits the process of health behavior change into several stages.

“We evaluate where a client might be in that behavior change model, and then coaches

really just explore that process with the client and they help facilitate the direction in which the client wants to go, as it relates to the goals that they’ve established for themselves,” Morris said. “And then they use various different coaching strategies that they learned through motivational interviewing to help facilitate that process of behavioral change.”

The health coaching students work closely with the occupational therapy students, Morris said.

“When the client goes back to the occupational therapy session, then we can share information with the occupational therapist about what the client has chosen to work on and things that they could do in those next sessions,” Morris said.

The interdisciplinary nature of the program gives the College of Health and Behavioral Science students valuable experience while also providing resources to people living with brain injuries.

“Not only are we serving the community, but it serves our students as well,” GeorgePaschall said.

If you, or someone you know, have had a brain injury of any kind and want to learn more about the CBIC or discuss joining, Thompson can be reached at kthompson20@cub.uca.edu or Wish can be reached at ewishotd@gmail. com.

TRANSPORTATION

SGA, UCA partner to purchase 75

bikes, locks

A motion to spend $40,071.25 on bikes, locks, and racks passed unanimously Feb. 15.

Senator Shelby Morris said, “I’m excited that UCA SGA approved to allocate $40,071.25 to the purchase of 50 Specialized Roll 2.0 Low Entry bicycles, 50 Kryptonite Keeper 790 Chain Locks and 50 rear utility racks under the stipulation that UCA campus recreation purchases 25 bikes, locks and racks of the same model.”

Senator Annabelle Van Asche said this motion is something that UCA Campus Outdoor Pursuits and Activities has been working on for a while.

“This is something that COPA brought to us last April, so we’re coming close to a year of working on this and talking stuff out,” Van Asche said.

Vice President J’Lun Herron said this purchase will be benefcial for students who don’t have access to other forms of transportation.

“My freshman year of college, I did not have a car, so the COPA was my main source to get to different places. So, it’s really important for SGA to fund bikes on campus,” Herron said.

Senator Phoenix Vu said

for student use

that SGA is typically fscally conservative but they should vote yes for the bikes.

“We have almost half a million dollars in our reserve, so it doesn’t cost us a lot of money and it’s a really good cause,” Vu said. “I know a lot of international students especially rely on this to get from place to place.”

Center for Writing and Communication tutor Cameron Steed requested funding to go to the South Central Writing Centers Association.

“I will be going with Dr. Katherine Bray, and we will be having roundtable discussions about diversity and inclusion in writing centers,” Steed said.

Steed said that she hopes to get feedback from other conference attendees on diversity in writing centers.

“We will be getting feedback from other teachers and professors about what they have done to help diversity in their centers, and then we can bring some of that information back and better our center,” Steed said.

The funding would cover the $75 conference fee and approximately $260 for two nights in a hotel.

President Courtney Clawson said SGA will let Steed know when they decide whether or not to fund the trip.

Associate philosophy professor and SGA advisor Taine Duncan presented the human library that will be hosted in the Torreyson Library in April.

“You walk into the event, and you check out a person instead of a book,” Duncan said. “You sit with them for usually fve minutes, sometimes longer, and some books are really talkative.”

Duncan said the human library is still being planned, but there are a lot of ways for students to be involved such as volunteering to be a book or participating by checking out a book.

Van Asche said the Bear Advocacy Group will be hosting voter registration Feb. 28 and is trying to establish CPR classes with UCAPD Offcer Billy Colvin.

“Offcer Colvin said he’d be willing to teach courses, and he said that they’d be approximately four hours each,” Van Asche said, adding they’ll hopefully start in the fall.

Senator McKenzi Bogan said this semester’s Food for Fines will be held March 14th from noon to 3 p.m.

Campus Life

Around Campus:

Life’s a mess come destress

From 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, BearX and Latino Student Association will hold a panel in the Ronnie Williams Student Center room 205B where students will discuss how important mental health is and what they did when they were struggling to balance school with life. Students will also create slime in an opportunity to destress.

Men’s basketball game: Mardi Gras

From 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, students will be celebrating Mardi Gras in the Farris Center while watching the Bears play against Jacksonville State.

Stay A oat Bear Cub

From 5-6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, students will work to create goals for the spring semester to help stay on track and create their own ice cream foats. The event will be in the Bear Hall kitchen.

Let’s Talk: Americorps

From 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 23, students can meet in the Oaks Community to discuss jobs moving forward after graduation or for plans during the summer. Students will have the opportunity to speak to Americorps and how to gain work experience while serving the community.

Women’s basketball game: Mardi Gras

From 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, students will be celebrating Mardi Gras in the Farris Center watching the Sugar Bears play against North Florida.

80s in Aspen

From 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 to 1 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Sigma Tau Gamma will have an 80s themed party at the Sigma Tau Gamma house with fake snow and a DJ. Women get in free and men will need to pay $15 in cash or Cashapp.

Singer/ Songwriter: King Chima

From 1:30-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, Student Activities Board invites students to the Student Center food court to watch King Chima perform his contemplative soul pop. Chima has shared the stage with many artists including Ludacris and Leon Bridges. Chima was also on the 2019 season of American Idol.

Students learn the art of zine making

Students for the Arts hosted an informative zine-making event focused on spreading awareness about the Arkansas art economy while also introducing those in participation to a zany medium.

Students showed their dedication to the arts with a foldable activity during the group’s Feb. 16 event.

Zines are small, folded booklets that are handcrafted often with the intention of spreading awareness. Zines are especially popular in activism and counterculture movements.

Students were supplied with paper, pens and Arkansas art statistics then were invited to let their creativity roam as they explored the theme of art advocacy.

Paige Hooten, a senior art major with an emphasis in graphic design, said that while she had made similar pieces in her graphic design classes, this was her first time making an actual zine.

Hooten, who took inspiration from some photos she had saved in her phone, drew an intricate floral design branching up the front of her cover that read “Let’s talk about art.”

Hooten said she thought that zines were a useful tool for art activism because of how quick people could pick them up and read through them.

While social media platforms and online resources have since surpassed zines as a quick informational outlet, Hooten said she thought that the medium still has the power to share culture and style.

“Especially since a lot of things have moved digitally, I’ve found myself actually appreciating physical things more just because it’s hard to find nowadays,” Hooten said.

Julia Wrinkle, a sophomore pursuing a bachelor of fine arts, also said she had never made or even heard of a zine prior to the event.

Wrinkle said that her main goal when making her zine was to get the information she had learned at the meeting out into the world because she had been shocked by the statistics that

were supplied to help make the zines.

The statistics, which were provided by arkansansforthearts.org, shared that 104,600 people in Arkansas are employed in the creative economy and that 8% of the total workforce in Arkansas is in the creative economy. Furthermore, the website shared that $2.9 billion of Arkansas’ GDP is generated annually by non-profit arts and culture organizations.

Wrinkle, who attended high school with an underfunded arts program, said she thought it was unfair to students to not have access to the arts because of inadequate funding.

Wrinkle shared that she thought zines were a useful tool for the art activism movement because they allowed readers to gain perspective and develop an opinion on art and art funding.

“Zines can really help people learn information and can reach younger generations than having to actively go on a website,” Wrinkle said.

President of Students for the Arts, Brynn Ward said that she plans to distribute all the zines that were made during the meeting at an event later in the year to help spread awareness for art advocacy.

The next students for the arts event will be held March 2.

Bears Adapt strives to create accessibility

Bears Adapt is a new recognized student organization that strives to create a campus environment where disabilities are included in the norm and foster adaptability.

Abigail Wells is a member of Bears Adapt and set up a booth in the Ronnie Williams Student Center Wednesday, Feb. 15, to help spread awareness to fellow students about the RSO’s goals.

“Arkansas is not really the most accessible and accommodating place so we hope that we can start on campus but spread our goals from here to the real world,” Wells said.

“So through Bears Adapt we are doing things in the HPER like recreational sports that are adaptive, like wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and also adaptive group exercise for people with or without disabilities. That’s a perfect place to start.”

Wells said her reason for starting Bears Adapt was personal.

“At the age of fourteen in the ninth grade, I was diagnosed with cancer and due to that I had to undergo amputation of my right leg, so after that, I was cancerfree, but life was so much different after my amputation,” Wells said. “When I graduated from high school and I went to UCA, that frst week I had just got my new leg, and I was having the hardest time with that on top of being at a new college.”

“I was like, ‘OK, there has to be some resources’ because I am an African American woman, there are resources for African Americans and there’s resources for women on campus, but I didn’t see any resources that were student-led or just beyond accommodations for students with disabilities.

“So, seeing that defcit I wanted to make sure that the next freshman that comes in will not be in the same position I was,” Wells said. Wells also explained how Bears Adapt can spread awareness of people with disabilities.

“We’re trying to spread awareness by providing the opportunity for people with disabilities to communicate and come together with other people and have a community. When you come together there’s most likely an issue, just someone has to voice it, so hopefully, there’s power with members.”

Wells thinks that there are places where UCA could do better when it comes to accessibility.

“One thing I always look at is that accessibility goes beyond ramps. So if there’s a specifc percentage of people on campus who are in wheelchairs, there’s another percentage of people who have all these other disabilities that aren’t really being addressed as much,” Wells said.

“In the HPER we could add some adaptive equipment. Even if there isn’t somebody now, there will always be someone later that could use it, so that would encourage students with disabilities to be able to come to UCA as an option.”

Wells explained what sort of events Bears Adapt will be putting on throughout the year. “This summer at the UCA track we are going to host an adaptive track and feld event. Arkansas is one of the few states that does not have adaptive sports. So this is kind of big. People who don’t have disabilities can volunteer to participate in the event so they can experience and they can understand,” Wells said.

“People with disabilities will be encouraged from these events that they can possibly go to the Paralympics, have dreams or join a sports team if you work hard for it, just like every other person has the option to do.”

Bears Adapt, according to Wells, is mainly about “just saying, ‘hey, we’re here.’

“The main thing is just letting people know that there’s an option now. So this is kind of like a celebration because now we have this option. Hopefully, there will be more events in the future that will serve as education to people without disabilities and also as a community and collaboration for people with disabilities,” Wells said.

Ebony Models throw retro fashion show

Ebony Models showcased

“The Evolution of Black Love” in a throwback fashion show with looks from the 60s, 70s, 80 and beyond.

The Feb. 13 show showcased seven different segments, including the 60s-2000s, the Story of O.J., and a Valentine’s Day theme.

Local businesses Back2Vida and Stewxvintage sponsored a few of the looks.

Between each segment, a model would inform the crowd about the decade and the famous African American designers during that period. Attendees not only got to see the fashion but also learn about Black history.

Freshman student Lyric Williams described the show as entertaining, vibrant and exciting.

The first segment featured the 60s, where the models paid tribute to the Black Panther movement and wore black leather and afros.

To transition to the 70s, the DJ played Michael Jackson’s music. The models took to the stage wearing plaid and bell-bottom pants. Other looks included pastel colors, platform heels and a vibrant pink afro.

Next was the 80s, when more of Jackson’s music was played. The first few models paid tribute to Jackson, mimicking a couple of his iconic looks. Other models wore saturated colors, cardigans and flashy skirts.

The 90s segment followed and was the crowd favorite, as the audience cheered and sang along to iconic 90s songs. The models strutted the runway wearing denim overalls, bucket hats and oversized jerseys.

In between the 90s and 2000s segments, freshman student Kuhreem

Shabazz sang “At Last” by Etta James. Following his performance was the 2000s segment. The DJ played popular 2000s hits, as the models made their way down the runway. The 2000s models wore low-rise jeans, crop tops, bamboo earrings and velour tracksuits.

Between segments, local artist and Hendrix student Adaja Cooper showcased 3 paintings from her senior capstone project. The paintings included a self-portrait and two others that reflected common African American experiences.

The next segment was “The Story of O.J.” This segment was reminiscent of Jay-Z’s song titled “The Story of

STUDENTS SAY:

O.J.” The song is about colorism and O.J. Simpson’s infamous quote, “I’m not black, I’m O.J.” The models wore looks inspired by the song’s music video. Before the last segment of the night, “Valentine’s Day,” R&B artist Qiuntelli performed. Qiuntelli, most commonly known for his appearance on Fox’s TV show “The Four: Battle for Stardom” is from Conway, Arkansas. He performed a cover of Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” and his original song, “Rent Free.” “It’s always good to come home and perform for the home crowd,” Qiuntelli said. “Especially since I left, there’s been so much growth in

my artistry. It felt good to show that I can rock a crowd and that I am a true artist.” After his performance was the Valentine’s Day segment with

different outfits all in red and pink hues. For details on upcoming events, follow UCA’s Ebony Models on Instagram at @ucaebonymodels.

Dancers United celebrates love through the arts

Dancers United explored loss, lust and love in a steamy Valentine’s Day soiree featuring local artists, a raffle and poetry.

The event was emceed by Shamari Johnson and was split into three sections: Loss, lust and love.

The performance told a story, Dancers United member Ashley Miller said.

“We wanted a girl and a guy to go to a club that were lost and trying to find love,” Miller said. The story goes on to when they meet and immediately decide not to kindle a relationship, but that doesn’t work out the way they think and in the end turns into love.

The first section, titled “Loss”, tells this story. The song “Take Me to Church” by Hozier was featured in a dance by Ilicia Figures and Latavia Banks.

Hozier’s song is about being attracted to someone so much that they don’t want anything to get in the way of that, not even the church.

This section also featured other dance numbers, including a group number from Dancers United.

The next section, “Lust”, got steamy and demonstrated the initial stages of attraction through a group dance to “W.E.T” by Paloma Ford.

Paradox, a poet, read aloud one of her pieces that focused on modern dating.

The end of the poem says, “I didn’t think I’d have to have this conversation with grown … men”.

The final section, “Love”, follows the pair who met in the club unexpectedly falling in love with each other. This was the shortest section in the entire performance and featured multiple soloists and a performance from Dancers United to various songs by Beyoncè. In between performances two raffles were held, with prizes including a helium balloon bouquet of flowers that Johnson said “will never die,” and a stuffed bear.

Dancers United’s next performance is at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at “A Night of Black Excellence” in the Ida Waldran Auditorium. This event is hosted by Students for the Propagation of Black Culture and Alpha Psi Omega.

“They need to try Riptide Redpool from Shadrachs, it’s back in my hometown and they just opened one in Conway. It’s pretty cool.”

“I would say Chicken Salad Chick, for their cookie that comes with every meal. That’s my favorite part.”

“Chick-Fil-A’s mac and cheese. It’s not underrated at all, but whatever.”

“I’d probably say the cookie bites from Sonic and the mozzarella sticks.”

“The orange juice from McDonald’s. I just really like orange juice and I just really like acidic things and it just tastes di erent at McDonald’s.”

and cheese from Popeye’s, it’s gas. It’s so good.”

“What’s one fast food item you think everyone should try?”

Sports

Upcoming Games

Men’s Basketball

7 p.m., Feb. 22 vs. Jacksonville State Women’s Basketball

7 p.m., Feb. 23 vs. University of North Florida Tennis

10 a.m., Feb. 24, vs. Quachita Baptist University

Track and Field

Feb. 24-25, at Liberty University

Softball

Feb. 24-25, Michelle Short Memorial Classic at UCA

Baseball

Feb. 24-26, at Missouri State University

Beach Volleyball

Feb. 25-26, tournament at Houston Christian University

Bears reign supreme in season opener against the Redhawks

The UCA baseball team (2-1) began its 2023 season sky-high following a 2-1 series win against Southeast Missouri (1-2).

The Bears began the series with a major loss on Friday, Southeast Missouri taking the win with a score of 11-3.

The Saturday game was stagnant for the majority of the nine innings, with UCA winning with a final score of 3-0.

The final game on Sunday displayed the Bears’ potential for the rest of the season, trouncing the Redhawks, 13-4.

One of the key attributes for UCA’s victory on Sunday was senior catcher/right-hand pitcher Noah Argenta.

Pitching for the first time since high school ball in 2018, Argenta stood on the mound for six innings, Southeast Missouri only chalking up one hit throughout. Along with the single hit, Argenta struck out three as well as walking three.

Coach Nick Harlan said, “He’s got the mental fortitude, and the stamina and the physicality to play both positions

and do it well. I’m very proud of him.”

Southeast Missouri began the Friday game with a promising start but felt flat at the top of the first. After landing two hits and loading all three bases, the Redhawks failed to make a run after junior utility player Ty Stauss fouled out.

UCA didn’t make any progress at the bottom of the first.

Southeast Missouri scored its first two runs at the top of the second and senior outfielder Kolby Johnson gave the Bears their first hit of the day. Neither team progressed in the third inning.

The Redhawks leaped forward with four runs and three hits at the top of the fourth, ahead of UCA 6-0.

The Bears countered with their first two runs of the game at the bottom of the fourth from junior outfielder Drew Sturgeon and junior infielder Mason King.

Scoring five runs at the top of the sixth, The Redhawks continued to dominate the game with a score of 11-2. UCA was left in the dust, not making any progress at the bottom of the sixth.

Southeast Missouri was

unsuccessful in the seventh inning, as UCA scored its final run of the game with a home run by senior outfielder Dylan Cyr. Neither team scored in the eighth or ninth inning, ending with a score of 11-3 in the Redhawks’ favor.

The second game on Saturday afternoon was relatively static, with Southeast Missouri never scoring any runs.

The Bears picked up a total of three runs, one in the third, fourth and fifth. Both teams started off with one hit each in the first inning on Sunday afternoon.

The Redhawks left empty-handed at the top of the second inning, the Bears landing another hit.

The Bears landed the first run of the day at the bottom of the third with a homer by Sturgeon, Southeast Missouri continued its losing streak as Argenta served up strategic pitches.

Junior center/infielder A.J. Mendolia and Cyr each added a run to the scoreboard for the Bears, UCA ahead with a score of 3-0.

At the bottom of the fifth, the Bears continued to improve, Cyr and Mendolia scoring another run each, as well as Johnson.

Argenta’s time at the mound

ended at the bottom of the sixth, the Bears giving their best performance yet with a total of four runs and four hits.

Southeast Missouri came back swinging at the top of the seventh with four runs after having bases loaded, the score 10-4. The Bears left the seventh inning without any runs or hits, the first time they haven’t scored since the second inning.

The Redhawks returned to their scoreless status in the top of the eighth, the Bears stretching the gap further with three runs at the bottom. Neither team scored in the final inning, the game ending 13-4 with a strikeout from freshman right-handed pitcher Lucas Greer.

“Everybody’s got a great attitude. The coaches were getting us fired up, ready to go and ready to play,” Argenta said. “We know what we’re capable of so just trusting in ourselves and executing everything well is how we play baseball. The energy is always high.”

The Bears’ next series will be against Missouri State from Friday, Feb. 24 to Saturday, Feb. 26. in Springfield, Missouri.

Sugar Bears prevail at Tiger Classic

The UCA softball team (7-2) kicked off the LSU Tiger Classic with two consecutive wins on Friday, Feb. 17, along with a win on Saturday, marking the best opening to a softball season in UCA history at 7-0.

The Sugar Bears faced off against Ohio University (2-6) in their first game of the tournament, securing a 2-0 shutout victory against the Bobcats.

Junior outfielder Jenna Wildeman led off for the Sugar Bears, getting on base with a first-pitch single, then advancing to second due to a throwing error from the Bobcats.

Madi Young, a junior infielder for the Sugar Bears, drove in Wildeman with a run batted in, driving in the first run of the tournament for UCA.

The Sugar Bears gained their second run in the fourth inning when freshman infielder McKayla Betts raced to home plate on account of a wild pitch.

The second game of the day was against the University of Utah (7-3) , and the Sugar Bears once again played shutdown defense, winning the contest 2-0.

UCA began the top of the first inning atbat, going three up, three down.

The bats were hot for the Utes, loading the bases with just one out, however, the Sugar Bears escaped the inning untouched, thanks to a double-play at second, escorting them out of the inning.

Central Arkansas registered their first hit of the game in the sixth inning, with sophomore infielder Kylie Griffin getting a first-pitch single.

Wildeman followed this up with a single of her own, and the two runners were moved into scoring position by a strategic sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder Tremere Harris.

Young thumped a single that scored both Griffin and Wildeman, making the score 2-0 Bears.

This proved to be all the offense needed for a UCA victory, as junior pitcher Kayla Beaver eliminated the final six batters for the Utes, marking her second shutout of the season.

On day two of the tournament, Central Arkansas softball history was rewritten, with Jenna Wildeman stealing her 103rd base of her college career, setting a new record for stolen bases at UCA.

The Bears continued their winning streak going into the first game of day two,

conquering Ohio University once again, this time 5-4.

Wildeman scored the first run of the game, getting on base with her first at-bat of the game, then bolting home on a sacrifice fly from Young.

The Sugar Bears jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the second inning, with freshman utility player Erin Michael and junior infielder Josie Willingham both scoring runs.

After a few scoreless innings, the offense started to heat back up for the Sugar Bears, adding two more runs in the fifth inning. Harris got walked on her turn at bat and then proceeded to steal second base, Young then stepped to the plate and belted a double to deliver Harris home.

The Bobcats had a sudden surge of offense in the final inning, scoring four runs, but it was too little, too late, UCA won the close game 5-4.

UCA’s second matchup on day two of the tournament was against the nationally ranked Louisiana State University (10-0), where the Tigers edged out a narrow victory over the Bears 1-0.

Senior pitcher Jordan Johnson was throwing heat for the Sugar Bears until the

fourth inning when LSU got on base with a single and managed to advance home due to a shaky gather by UCA.

The Sugar Bears had a few chances to mount a comeback in the sixth inning, Wildeman got on base with a single but was thrown out at second, and Young hit a single of her own, advancing Harris to second. However, no runs came of either runner on base and UCA’s historic undefeated streak came to an end.

The Sugar Bears faced off with the Tigers once more in the final game of the LSU Tiger Classic on Sunday, Feb. 19, losing 3-1 to the 18th-ranked team in the nation.

UCA drew first blood in the fourth inning, with freshman infielder McKayla Betts scoring the first run of the game thanks to an RBI from junior infielder Josie Willingham.

But LSU put up two runs in the bottom of the fourth, while adding one more in the sixth, and the Sugar Bears weren’t able to generate any offense in the final inning to mount the comeback.

The Sugar Bears will play a home game at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24 against Mississippi Valley State at Farris Field.

Despite consistent efforts in its defense, the UCA men’s basketball team (9-19, 4-11 ASUN) lost possession of its win against Eastern Kentucky (18-10, 11-4 ASUN), relinquishing the game 74-58 to the Colonels.

The Bears went paw-to-toe against the Colonels in their turf at Baptist Health Arena in Richmond, KY on Thursday, Feb. 16.

Coming off last week’s win against Austin Peay, the Bears returned from Kentucky with their 19th loss of the season, an outcome Interim Coach Brock Widders attributes to the team’s high turnover rate.

Widders said, “Our teamwork was just OK during the game, we turned the ball over at a very high rate.”

Collectively, the Bears totaled 23 turnovers at the hands of the Colonels. “Many times we were not on the same page. You simply cannot win games when you turn the ball over at that rate,” Widders said.

Widders was satisfied with the defense from the team, but wanted completion of the plays.

“The defense was good,” Widders said. “Finishing the play was not. Offense did not value the ball well enough. When we did good, things happened, but we have to value the ball more.”

Of the 58 points scored by the Bears, 14 belonged to senior guard/forward Eddy Kayouloud, which comes as no surprise to anyone keeping up with the Bear’s season thus far.

Following closely behind was junior guard Collin Cooper with 11 points and Camren Hunter, a sophomore guard, with nine.

Though he believes the team maintained its position in the game, Hunter recalled areas in which improvement could be made.

“The first half we turned it over a ton,” Hunter said. “Second half, we didn’t execute on things we wanted to change.”

“We have to team rebound, defend better and limit turnovers,” Hunter said. “I feel like we didn’t work effectively and it showed tonight. We got exposed in areas we thought we had worked on and filled holes in. We have a lot more work to do.”

While his opinion on team efficiency mirrored that of his Widders’, Hunter believed his personal game could have seen some improvement, as well.

“To be honest, I’m very disappointed in my play lately,” Hunter said. “It has been subpar. It’s been very frustrating, but I don’t have long to figure it out and try to make the tournament.”

Only three games remain in the conference season, with familiar faces on the horizon ahead of the ASUN conference tournament. The Bears anticipate games against Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State.

Widders remains positive about the remainder of the season. “Based on the results of the rest of the league, we are in a similar situation as we were before the game. There is still a window of opportunity, but we have to take advantage of that opportunity,” Widders said.

The games are available for streaming on ESPN+ and radio stations The Bear 91.3 and JACK FM 92.7.

Growing up, I was always told I could not do certain things to or with my body if I wanted to be taken seriously.

I was told I could not have unnaturally colored hair because it’s distracting.

If I ever got tattoos, I would never get a job and facial piercings were simply unprofessional.

None of these things should affect how I am perceived in a professional realm and that having tattoos or colored hair does not determine what I am capable of.

When I was on my high school’s forensics team, I was not able to have dyed hair or facial piercings, and I was heavily encouraged to wear makeup to tournaments and had a strict professional dress code.

This always bothered me because I like the idea of self-expression through appearance, and I thought it was unfair that my teammates and I had such strict rules — whereas other coaches allowed their students to have colored hair and piercings and more leniency in how they could dress.

The funniest part about it is the competitors who were able to express themselves still did well in the tournament and often placed in their events.

The idea that you had to look a certain way to win a trophy was almost always proven wrong.

If you want your competitors to be confdent in their performance, they should be able to present themselves in a way they feel most comfortable — not stripped of all individuality and put into a boring black pantsuit.

What made a successful competitor at these tournaments was the time and effort they put into their performances, not their appearance.

There is a big difference between being a person who is self-interested and being a person who is selfsh.

Being selfsh is only caring about yourself and doing whatever you feel is necessary to get what you want, even if that means at the expense of another person. Not cool.

Being self-interested is looking out for your own personal beneft but also at the effect that it would have on others. Totally cool.

Looking at the impact of your decisions on another person is a big deal, but a huge part of being self-interested ties into self-care and really loving yourself.

Without taking proper care of yourself, you cannot possibly try to consider the care of others.

Having your own thoughts put frst is healthy and it really is OK.

Being a people pleaser myself, I often feel that I have to put others’ needs before my own. This isn’t the case.

People say it all the time, but you simply cannot pour from an empty cup. You have to fll your own to the top frst. Allowing yourself to care for your own individual needs is the priority.

This self-interest is what allows you to worry about other people’s individual concerns.

I have spent a lot of time alongside other people worrying about their situations and how a problem will be resolved.

Then, I faced the consequence of not knowing what to do in my own situation with a lack of time and/or resources to deal with it.

By placing them before myself, I am limiting my

The Voice Dan Sullivan’s new bill may foster bigotry

Sen. Dan Sullivan’s Senate Bill 125 seeks to make indoor spaces on college campuses count as public forums, yet this may blur the boundaries between bigotry and free speech. Although he withdrew the bill Feb. 1 after it received bipartisan backlash for its vague language, there are some inherent issues Sullivan should consider before reintroducing it.

For one, SB125 is built on a shaky premise, considering the U.S. Supreme Court decided that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate” in the landmark case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District in 1969.

Obviously, issues like this go way beyond high school scenarios; people often face workplace discrimination for their physical appearance. It is not uncommon for employees to receive comments on their appearance from co-workers, bosses

I have been told if I chose to alter the way I look, I have to deal with others’ preconceived notions, as if it’s part of a package. This thought process does not make any sense and it condones bullying and rude

A lot of the criticism I receive is from a religious or generational perspective — these people hold strong beliefs and think that by projecting them onto me, they’re doing me a favor or ‘saving me.’ If they’re going to spend so much time fretting about how I am going to hell due to the tiny tattoo on my forearm, they can keep it to themselves — I do not care.

I do not understand why some people genuinely believe that because I dyed part of my hair pink, I automatically deserve demeaning comments from strangers.

I consistently receive comments from older men about how dyeing my hair “ruined the way I look” or “was a waste of time” because my natural hair was “more beautiful.”

People need to mind their business because my appearance has no effect on them.

Overall, people need to be less concerned about other people’s appearances and more concerned about the damaging prejudices they hold toward hair dye, ink and jewelry.

A person’s external appearance does not demonstrate nor limit their abilities. Rather, it serves as a way of selfexpression, which everyone should be entitled to.

own ability to problem solve, ultimately causing my own problems later on. Don’t allow yourself to do that.

You are your own responsibility and that includes your own issues. Of course, it is OK to ask for help if you are

However, it is not OK for that other person to completely absorb themselves in your issues. This isn’t what you should want them to do, or something that you would want to do if the roles were reversed.

Allowing yourself to be self-interested sparks the possibility for positive growth.

Being self-interested allows you to create goals for yourself and create a positive space for yourself that will help you accomplish many goals. By setting yourself up for success, you are more likely to achieve it. Become the go-getter that you need to become. It may seem like it, but I promise it isn’t selfsh to really put yourself out there for your needs. You are valuable and you deserve to do what you believe is helpful toward your end goal. Go out there and get yourself a plan for what you need to do.

Go ask for the job, fgure out what you want to do for a career in life, fgure out what groups of people you want to be around or what types of things you want to associate yourself with.

Make the to-do list. Big or small, these goals really will help you.

In a world where many people compete for survival in all aspects of life, it is in your best interest to look at how you can increase your chances of survival and success.

The bill also struggles to differentiate between “expressive behavior” and “disruptive behavior,” the latter of which the bill says universities cannot tolerate. According to arkansasadovcate.com, during a debate among Senate Education Committee members on Feb. 1, Sullivan said “that each university administration would have to decide what’s considered a disruption at their institution.”

Classrooms are meant to be productive, where students are safe from outside distractions, such as protesting, speeches and the circulation of petitions. However, SB125 wishes to reform the 2019 Forming Open and Robust University Minds Act, which initially made universities’ outdoor spaces designated public forums for campus community members.

Essentially, the bill intends to protect students’ First Amendment rights beyond the outdoors. However, there is a looming problem that both Republicans and Democrats have noted — the bill’s potential to foster harassment and unruly classroom environments.

The bill would ensure that “all people legally present on campus” have access to the campus’ outdoor and indoor areas as public forums. Realistically, since almost all universities are open to the public, a stranger could walk into a building and spew hateful rhetoric, so long as the university doesn’t deem it “disruptive.”

This opens the door in the foreseeable future for people to harass or bully others under the guise that it is protected under SB125, since the bill states it is not the proper role of a university to “shield individuals from speech that individuals may fnd unwelcome, uncollegial, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.”

As students, exercising the right to free speech is crucial. However, ensuring classrooms and campus buildings are productive is also crucial. There is no room inside a college campus for activities that should take place outside, where it would be more appropriate to express potentially “disruptive” behavior.

According to Sullivan, the bill would also prohibit universities from banning certain words and behaviors. The bill even addresses pronouns by stating that universities shall “not mandate the use of specifc words, including without limitation pronouns.”

According to Sullivan, this means that higher education institutions would not be allowed to implement a policy that states someone cannot misgender another person. However, college campuses should absolutely prioritize carving out spaces for marginalized groups to feel comfortable. While there should be no underestimating the power of freedom of expression, especially on a college campus, protection from harassment and hate speech is equally important.

The problem is that it appears Sullivan hopes to create more controversy and spread a harmful narrative about transgender people, the very people he insists the bill would protect. If Sullivan’s goal is to minimize political divisiveness in universities, he is severely misguided.

The bill’s language doesn’t clarify enough of its components to work; it only muddles the lines between what is and what isn’t distracting on a college campus, despite the fact that this line has already been drawn clearly enough.

SB125 is a reactionary bill meant to stir more unnecessary debate, discrimination and disruption inside and outside college campuses.

New This Week

Movies

Feb. 22—Cocaine Bear (R) Directed by Elizabeth Banks. Starring Ray Liotta, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Brooklynn Prince. Theatrical release.

Netflix’s ‘Dear David’ is bumbling, delusory attempt at teen love story

The Netfix original flm “Dear David” is a bizarre approach to teenage romance that seems to take personal pleasure in being uncomfortable and diffcult to tolerate.

Feb. 22—We Have a Ghost (R)

Directed by Christopher Landon. Starring David Harbour, Anthony Mackie, Jennifer Coolidge. Netfix.

Feb. 22—Jesus Revolution (PG13) Directed by Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle. Starring Joel Courtney, Kelsey Grammer, Jonathan Roumie. Theatrical release.

Television

Feb. 24—Party Down Season 3 (Starz)

Feb. 24—Oddballs Season 2 (Netfix)

Feb. 24—Liaison (Apple TV+)

March 1—The Mandalorian Season 3 (Disney+)

Music

Feb. 24—Gorillaz—Cracker Island [Parlophone]

Feb. 24—Shame—Food for Worms [Dead Oceans]

Feb. 24—Logic—College Park [Independent Release]

Feb. 24—Adam Lambert—High Drama [Sony BMG]

Feb. 24—Algiers—Shook [Matador]

Video Games

Feb. 24—Kerbal Space Program 2 [Take Two] PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC

Feb. 24—Octopath Traveler 2 [Square Enix] PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch

Feb . 24—Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe [Nintendo] Nintendo

Switch

Top 5 Brands of Gummy Bears

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ lacks spirit, heart of original two films

Pulling heavy inspiration from the space-opera franchise “Star Wars,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” brings a wacky new favor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe while sacrifcing the unique spirit of the frst two installments.

Stalled by mediocre CGI and a poor screenplay, what could have been a new starting point for the small-scale heroes fails to take fight.

After fnding himself trapped in the microscopic world called the quantum realm for over fve years, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) returns to San Francisco, looking to reconnect with his now 18-year-old daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton).

Cassie proves to be a handful for Scott, as her impulsive acts of heroism often lead her into unsafe situations.

When Cassie builds a molecular transmitter with the help of scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Scott — along with his family — is returned to the quantum realm.

Upon realizing that the only way to escape will be to work with a mysterious time traveler named Kang (Johnathan Majors), Scott and Cassie fnd their lives, powers and relationships put to the test.

Until the release of the third flm, the “Ant-Man” flms have always been seen as a palette cleanser.

Both “Ant-Man,” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” were released only three months after an Avengers flm, arguably the biggest flms in the Marvel franchise.

Each of those ficks is lighthearted, comedy-flled adventures that, while not having huge stakes, feature emotionally resonant stories focused on parenthood.

When you have an overarching universe featuring world-dominating aliens and allpowerful gods, the “Ant-Man” flms reminded you of the people these heroes protect.

Sadly, director Peyton Reed immediately doomed the franchise’s third outing when he demanded that his next flm be on the scale of an “Avengers” movie.

The fick features a story and world that oozes with potential, almost as if it came straight from the mind of George Lucas.

But even with such a wonderful setup and set to explore, the mere existence of Ant-Man squanders the potential of this flm.

Scott Lang is one of Marvel’s best characters, but this was never a tale meant for him.

The DNA of the “Ant-Man” flms is completely thrown in the garbage chute.

Gone are the hilarious jokes, fun action set pieces and emotional bonds.

In their place is a beyond poorly written screenplay, toned-down humor, and ugly, uninteresting action.

Whether or not you enjoyed the small-scale stories, the “Ant-

1. Lily’s

These were my favorite because they had the best texture out of them all and had the best favors. They are a tad on the expensive side, though, as they are lowsugar gummy bears. My only complaint is that they have a slightly powdery taste to them at frst . Once you get past that, they are amazing. There were only four favors, but they were the most natural tasting. The best way to describe these is that they have the texture and taste of fruit leather but as a gummy bear.

Man” flms always featured exciting action, such as fghting on a model “Thomas the Train” set.

What does the third flm offer? Grow huge and punch people.

Besides the gnarly fnal fght between Kang and Scott, not a single action scene features memorable moments.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”’s script is a strange bag of corny dialogue, sci-f exploration, and generic emotional ties.

In nearly every scene the characters have to explain what’s happening.

The overreliance on exposition dumps becomes monotonous and insulting, as if the viewers can’t see what is unfolding on screen.

Similar to the “Star Wars” franchise, the third “Ant-Man” flm features many different alien creatures and locations, trying to send the viewers on a space-age adventure.

Although, unlike “Star Wars,” the quantum realm doesn’t feel original in the slightest.

Crafting locations and aliens nearly identical to “Star Wars,” the flm lacks a truthful sense of creativity.

Besides the indoor scenes, almost every scene of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” feels painfully slapped onto a greenscreen, with many characters looking laughably unrealistic.

Even with its mountain of problems, the flm isn’t completely void of some positives.

Similar to their past appearances, every returning star brings fun, lovable performances that help alleviate the poor writing.

Even if it lacks an emotional core as strong as the previous installments, without the chemistry between Scott and Cassie the entire flm would fall apart.

Whether it be the uncanny resemblance between the actors or the charm that both bring to the table, Rudd and Newton deliver an airtight father-daughter bond.

By far the biggest stand out of the flm would be Majors’ outstanding performance as Kang.

Even with some lackluster dialogue, Majors battles against the odds and presents himself as an intimidating villain.

Both muscular and calculative, Kang is a great addition to the flm and one of the only aspects that will leave viewers glued to the screen.

Although the sci-f epic features strong performances and believable chemistry, it isn’t enough to save the flm from being a lackluster trilogy capper in nearly every other aspect.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” released on Feb. 17 and is now in theaters.

2. Albanese

These were a close second. The only reason they weren’t number one was because some favors were a little off-putting. Blue raspberry, pink grapefruit, green apple and mango had a very weird fake favor to them. Pink grapefruit was probably the worst one. Outside of that, these were a hit. My favorite favor was cherry. Cherry usually tastes like cough medicine in other brands, but I was pleasantly surprised that this one didn’t taste like a cough drop. This brand also had the biggest variety of favors of the ones I tried.

Released Feb. 9, it stars Laras, played by 24-year-old Shenina Cinnamon, as a high school student that may be more sexually frustrated than her equally hormonal peers.

Besides her schooling, Laras spends ample time updating a personal blog that details her smutty fantasies about classmate David (Emir Mahira).

David is both a school soccer star and the owner of a weak mustache. He possesses a blind love for female classmate Dilla (Caitlin North Lewis).

Dilla is the former best friend of Laras who is wrongly viewed as promiscuous and overtly sexual, facing ridicule from girls, harassment from boys and threats from the school’s administration over her “pornographic” social media posts.

Driven by spite against Dilla, Laras updates her blog during school — but fails to properly log out of her account.

What follows is the development of a school-wide cult following for David, who knows instantly that Laras is responsible. She ultimately agrees to help David court Dilla, granted David keeps Laras’ role as the blog’s creator a secret.

A major selling point for American viewers is Netfix providing an English dub for this Indonesian fick. Unfortunately, Netfix opts

to cast obviously older voice actors to play teenagers. It makes the viewer feel as though they’d rather be immersed in the subtitles and the flm’s native tongue than stomach post-puberty drivel.

It’s hard to listen to it when coming from the girls, and even harder when coming from the boys.

This flm also might be a bit intimidating to viewers that opt for quick entertainment during a personal movie night, as “Dear David” clocks in at a near two hours. With 35 minutes remaining, you begin to wonder “what’s keeping the credits from rolling in?”

As in flms like Lady Bird (2017), this picture tries to cater to the more intimate side of adolescence that comes with growing into sexual maturity. Though viewers may shy away from a teen girl writing domestic fanfction about her peers, the topic rings true for many young people that get swept up in today’s stan culture. Students in this flm even begin circulating selfmade edits of David.

While the movie is incredibly slow-paced, it tries

to be deeper where it can. Does it work? No, not really.

But you can’t blame director Lucky Kuswandi for trying.

Struggles between friends and romantic partners have unrealistic triggers, and their resolutions aren’t much better. One thing to note is that an odd religious aspect is pervasive throughout the flm, often feeling unneeded in most situations.

Kuswandi makes shallow attempts to put sexual shame under a biblical microscope, falling incredibly short. Beyond that, the flm tries to touch on themes of anxiety and academic pressure which fall fat too.

Though two hours could fully accommodate multiple diffcult teen topics, Kuswandi can’t seem to make up his mind — leaving the flm to suffer because of it.

There are plenty of coming-of-age movies that do the genre well. This flm is not one of them.

You can see “Dear David” and its downfalls for yourself, streaming exclusively on Netfix.

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ just doesn’t jive

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a dry conglomeration of failed chemistry, one-dimensional characters and strip teases that last uncomfortably long.

The movie is stripped raw of any crumb of charisma its predecessors “Magic Mike” (2012) and “Magic Mike XXL” (2015) had.

Former male stripper Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) takes on bartending after his furniture business died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a series of events that unfold like self-serving fan fction, Mike crosses paths with recently divorced British socialite Maxandra “Max” Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault) during a fundraising event hosted by her.

The movie is obsessed with the idea that Mike is irresistible to every woman he comes across.

For a movie that tries embarrassingly hard to push a feminist message about permission and female desire, it sure is funny how Mike can make every single woman crumble with longing.

Anyway, Max requests a private conversation with Mike at the event.

Alone together in her bedroom, she asks one twoword question: “How much?”

After a brief back and forth

3. Target Favorite Day

These were right in the middle. They weren’t my favorite but they also weren’t horrible. I loved the texture of them, as well as the variety of favors. My biggest issue is that they all tasted pretty strange to me. Yet again, the grapefruit favor disappoints. Grapefruit is honestly not that good across the board. The texture was good just like the top two. This brand doesn’t tell you what the favors are, so it was a guessing game. Some were more in your face than others as to what they were, like the pink grapefruit, but others were harder to tell.

that feels like forever due to its excruciating awkwardness, Max’s intentions are revealed — and the plot sinks even further. He gives her a lap dance that’s so good she is willing to give him sixty grand to go to London with her and work on a top-secret project because, according to the movie’s logic, Mike really is made of magic.

are super annoying.

Mike’s only “faws” are that he’s too sexy and selfess for his own good, and Max is plain rude and interrupts everyone. The movie genuinely could have made something of itself if it had at least tried to provide these men with some personalities, which is partly why people seem to enjoy the frst two movies so much. They gave life to characters besides Mike and his love interest.

Truthfully, most of Magic Mike’s audience is not seeing it for the immersive plot and cinematography. They want to see shirtless men dance. There’s certainly enough of that throughout the movie, yet it also feels incredibly bleak.

The movie does a poor job of establishing chemistry, so the audience is left to sit there and blink at soft-core porn.

Mike winds up training a posse of male dancers to strip for a stage play Max wants to produce to get back at her exhusband. As one does.

Now, the second and worst problem of the movie is introduced.

Despite the male dancers being the central part of Max’s project, the audience learns absolutely nothing about these men. Anything to round out these characters more is glossed over. They exist only as Mike’s minions, solely because the movie wants to pay more attention to Mike and Max, who

4. Haribo

I know these are a favorite among many people, but my biggest reason for not liking these is how hard they are to chew. If they weren’t as hard to chew, I would probably switch them with the Target brand. Other than how hard they are to chew, the favors are all right. They had the second lowest amount of favors with only fve favors. A couple of them had little to no favor like the strawberry and the raspberry, but all the favors were pretty OK. They weren’t my favorite favors around, but they weren’t as bad as the ones in ffth place.

Again, the only people the movie wants you to care about are Mike and Max. The excessive lap dancing carries no fun because you don’t even know who is whom.

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” attempts to trick its audience into thinking it’s more than what it really is: shiny garbage.

Magic Mike is also a prime example of movies suffering from trilogy syndrome. If you can’t make a good fnal installment, maybe you should’ve stopped at two.

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is available for viewing in theaters.

5. Black Forest Organic

These were -2/10. All the favors were gross. I expected better from this brand. They all had an overwhelming fake-favoring taste to them. They reminded me of what I imagine soap would taste like. For being organic, these were underwhelming. The texture was the only thing I liked about it. This brand had 6 favors, and the worst one of all was apple. The best was orange, and it still wasn’t that good. These were also one of the more expensive brands, so I wouldn’t waste your money on them. Stick to their fruit snacks if you want something good.

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” attempts to trick its audience into thinking it’s more than it really is

‘Wild Women’ trek for friendship, activ

I was able to take a journey to Pinnacle Mountain and meet the socalled Wild Women Feb. 15.

Every Wednesday, these women come together – from all parts of central Arkansas – to enjoy the beauty of Pinnacle Mountain and its many wonders.

Pinnacle State park opened around the mid70s, offering the central Arkansas area one of its most famous state

Pinnacle Mountain contains over 22 miles of hiking trails and includes 14 miles of biking trails.

The Wild Women started 10 years ago, by a group of women searching for a way to get outdoors in a safe way.

With the help of Marian Stansbury, one of the park’s female park interpreters, the Wild Women was resurrected, creating a safe environment for any lady in central Arkansas.

Every hike taken includes an interpreter, who stays with the ladies to answer questions, aid in an

emergency or even catch a snake.

The hike this particular Wednesday, was on a trail called the Dynamite Trail.

I spent most of the drive worried about the word dynamite, contemplating its connotation.

When we arrived at the Visitor Center, we were greeted by some of the friendliest women.

Most were in retirement, and they were the frst ones on the trail.

“The biggest thing is the camaraderie–the camaraderie of the ladies … that’s really what it is for us … The camaraderie and

Honestly, we welcome people to come out,” Jill Winchell said. Their determination was encouraging and nonstop, and they never stopped cracking jokes along the way.

“It doesn’t matter how you walk or hike. Everybody will encourage you along the way,” Winchell said.

Winchell was one of the frst ladies to start hiking in this group, and on our hike, she explained the importance of the group — to get active and have fun, making this experience an exciting workout and easy socialization.

The experience was surreal, and it was amazing to fnd out interesting facts about Pinnacle.

The Dynamite trail runs by some of the quarries in the park where businesses sought raw materials. Some of the

Jessica Jones strives for accessible art

Jessica Jones describes herself as a woman who loves — and lives — to create.

You’ve probably seen her work before, even if you’ve never heard her name. Her artwork is abundant around downtown Conway and Little Rock, and you don’t even have to go to an art gallery to see it.

Jones is a muralist. Instead of creating art on a conventional canvas, she creates artwork in seemingly unlikely places: the sides of buildings, storefronts and alleyways.

“Being a public artist really allows me to immerse myself in the community on the streets,” Jones said. “I travel all over the country to various cities and get to meet so many vibrant communities. I see the good that is in the world through the people I encounter in those places.”

Jones said street art differs from traditional art in that it’s not meant to last forever.

“Street art is temporal in nature. While I use high quality paints that withstand years of weather, often building tenants may change and that opens the opportunity for the murals to be painted over,” Jones said. “You have to, as an artist, hold them with a loose

grasp.”

Jones says that although street art is temporary, it is meaningful. Because street art is created outside in public areas, it is accessible to those who may not be able to afford buying a piece of artwork or visiting a gallery.

“Street art is viewed by everyone equally, regardless of their socioeconomic status,” Jones said. “Murals being in public and not in a gallery really brings art to the people. Art is for everyone.” The process to create a mural for a business can often take months, depending on when the budget and design is approved by the client and is relatively simple, although a lot of love and effort goes into it.

“Typically, I create a design digitally and mock it up on a photo of the wall. Once the design is approved then I begin working on the wall,” Jones said. “Sometimes the wall needs some prep and a base coat. Then I transfer the design to the wall using many various techniques depending on what the design and location allows, then I paint it all in.”

Jones says some of her favorite murals she’s created are ones she painted for a festival in Memphis.

“I will always be really proud of the murals that I have painted at the street art festival ‘Paint Memphis’ as I have had complete creative freedom, my most recent one being a tiger I painted in honor of the year of the tiger.”

Jones has been interested in creating art since she was a child.

“I have always enjoyed being creative for as long as I can remember. I started painting very young

but didn’t really pursue it with intention for a long time, just more of a cathartic thing,” Jones said.

A chance encounter at an art walk led Jones into the world of murals.

“About eight years ago I had a booth set up at an art walk and someone approached me about painting a mural. I decided to give it a shot and realized that I really enjoyed it,” Jones said. “This led to more gigs and the whole thing snowballed into what is now a full-time career.”

Jones says her career as an artist has changed how she perceives her artwork and the art industry throughout the years.

“As I have gained experience using art as a means to make a living, that passion has changed forms in many ways. I hope to allow for more opportunities for other artists, to set an example for artists to not undervalue their work, and to cultivate an environment of communal support rather than competition.”

The most important thing for aspiring artists to remember, Jones said, is to never undervalue yourself or your work.

“It can feel defeating at frst and giving up is easier than pushing through. The line of success and failure is drawn between those who give up and those who keep on even when it’s hard, of this I am convinced,” Jones said. “Never do work for free, this hurts not only yourself but other artists trying to make it, exposure is a bold face lie. Don’t compare yourself with others, I know, easier said than done, we all have something unique to offer and the world needs to see it.”