march 6, 2012
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The student-run newspaper at the University of Arkansas Vol. 106, No. 83TRANSCRIPT
PAGE 1 TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012 Vol. 106, NO. 83 UATRAV.COM
TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012VOL. 106, NO. 838 PAGESUATRAV.COM
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!e UA Full Circle Food Pan-try will send a representative to the White House later this month a"er placing second in the na-tional College Campus Champi-ons of Change competition.
!e UA will send Julia Lyon, senior biology major and Full Circle Food Pantry chair, to the White House to present the pro-gram at a special event. Lyon will also be featured by mtvU and MTVAct and given the opportu-nity to host an episode of mtvU’s signature program, “!e Dean’s
List,” according to the competi-tion’s website.
“I am thrilled about this op-portunity,” Lyon said. “I am really excited to be going to Washing-ton D.C.”
Full Circle Food Pantry, a
by JANNEE SULLIVANStaff Writer
UA o#cials concluded the sorority extension process with the selection of Phi Mu and Alpha Chi Omega, which will both join Greek Life in fall 2012, o#cials said.
!e UA Panhellenic Coun-cil, which voted unanimous-ly to bring the two chapters to campus, chose from $ve sorori-ties that campaigned to Greek Life o#cials.
“Phi Mu was a part of our Greek system in 1995 and Al-pha Chi Omega was last here in 1977. It’s nice to have both of these chapters returning to our campus,” said Scott Flanagin, director of communications for Student A%airs.
Both chapters le" because of low membership numbers, Fla-nagin said.
!e sororities won’t acquire housing until 2013, said Parice Bowser, director of Greek Life.
“Beginning fall 2013, both groups will be provided hous-ing within Walton Hall. In ad-dition, each national organiza-tion will begin discussions with university administrators in the very near future about long term housing plans,” Bowser said.
Sorority houses on-campus accommodate around 90 to 100 women each.
But Flanagin said the new sororities might have to wait even longer.
“Housing will always hap-pen for sororities and fraterni-ties in order to make them vi-able. !ey all need a location that can host a core group of members and can be accessed on campus. However, it will take time to $nd space, make plans for and build the houses, so it will de$nitely be down the road for our two new chapters,” Flanagin said.
!e selection process for new sororities at UA began in November 2011 following rap-id growth in each of the cur-rent eight sororities. During the 2011 Panhellenic recruitment process, each sorority gained pledge classes of more than 130. Such large numbers of pledges have caused issues in soror-ity housing and sustainability, as well as programming prob-lems.
So far, Phi Mu and Al-pha Chi Omega have received a warm welcome, said Leah Nichols, Panhellenic president.
“!ere is excitement and a true sense of rejuvenation with-in the Panhellenic community right now,” Nichols said.
Phi Mu and Alpha Chi Omega Join UA Sororities
MIKE NORTON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERJulia Lyon, chair of the Full Circle Food Pantry, will be heading to the White House later this month to represent the university and Full Circle.
Student voting totals are less than half of the number of stu-dents that voted last year at the end of the $rst day of voting, the ASG advisor said.
“We’ve had about 1,400 stu-dents vote in the ASG executive elections thus far. !is time last year at the end of the $rst day of voting, we had about 2,900 students vote,” said Rudy Trejo, ASG advisor.
Students could begin vot-ing for ASG executive candi-dates Monday at vote.uark.edu. !e voting will end at 4 p.m., !ursday. !e results will be announced at 5 p.m., Friday af-ternoon on Old Main Lawn, ac-cording to the ASG website.
Two tickets, both includ-ing a president, vice president, treasurer and secretary are cam-paigning for executive positions within student government.
One president and vice pres-ident ticket include Tori Pohlner and Bobby Pennington.
!is ticket started their tradi-tional campaigning with a kick-o% party at Kappa Sigma, Pohl-ner said. !ey stood outside of Brough Commons to hand out stickers and to talk to students, she said. !ey also grilled at a baseball game and spoke with students.
Pohlner and Pennington started their website and social media including Facebook and Twitter, Pohlner said. Students can watch their video on You-tube to hear about di%erent as-pects of their platform, she said.
With the slogan “Experience to Lead, Passion to Achieve” their platform focuses on $ve major areas: outreach, commu-nication, campus life, university and governance.
“I am most excited about one program that I and LauRon [Smith, ASG Secretary candi-date] will work on together and
by SARAH DEROUENStaff Writer
by MANDY MCCLENDONStaff Writer
KRIS JOHNSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERStudents could begin voting for ASG executive candidates Monday at vote.uark.edu. The voting will end at 4 p.m., Thursday. The results will be announced at 5 p.m., Friday afternoon on Old Main Lawn, according to the ASG website.
Tucker, Pohlner Appeal to Voters’ Interests
ASG Voter Turnout Rate
Decreases
UA Food Pantry Finishes Second in National Contest, Sends Rep to Washington
see PANTRYon page 2
In This Issue:
UA Band Poised to Break Audition RecordsBand o!cials will o"er more scholar-ships to meet the demand.
Page 2
Relationships Can be Major Source of StressRelationship issues are the third-most common complaint behind anxiety and depression.
Page 3
Razorbacks Not Looking ForwardArkansas takes on LSU to begin the Southeastern Conference Tourna-ment #ursday, but a win would mean a rematch with No. 1 Kentucky.Page 7
New Fun. Album is Grandiose, BombasticSome Nights by Fun. is exactly what the band’s name suggests: a really good time.
Page 5
Midway Through LentFor many students, the 40-day and 40-night Lenten season is a time of sacri$ce.
Page 5
It’s Time: Razorbacks to Rock the VoteA Traveler columnist looks at what students should be mindful of during ASG voting week.
Page 4
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see VOTINGon page 2
Shopping Night
Out Page 5
NEWS
The women and men of the University of Arkansas Police Department, in partnership with the community, are committed to protecting the future of Arkansas by promot-ing a safe and secure environment.
The Transit and Parking office handles parking permits and passes and transit for students, including bus routes and GoLoco Ride Sharing. Students with parking violations can contact the office to appeal their citation.
NEED TICKETS? CALL 1-800-982-4647
NEED A RIDE AT NIGHT? CALL 575 - 7233
NEED EMERGENCY HELP? CALL UAPD 575-2222
HAVE A TICKET? CALL 575-7275 TO RESOLVE IT
Otherwise known as 575-SAFE, the mission of the Safe Ride program is to provide students with a safe means of transportation from any uncomfortable or inconvenient situation. Safe Ride brings you home safely.
Don’t forget to call early and reserve your student football tickets for the 2010-2011 season. The ticket office is located on Razorback Road next to Baum Stadium.
CAMPUS NUMBERS
TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012 PAGE 2
The Arkansas Traveler, the student newspaper of the University of Arkansas, is published every day during the fall and spring academic sessions except during exam periods and university holidays.
Opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily refl ect the opinion of The Traveler. The editor makes all fi nal content decisions.
One copy of The Arkansas Traveler is free to every member of the UA commu-nity. Additional copies can be purchased for 50 cents each. Mail subscriptions for delivery within the continental United States can be purchased for $125.00 per se-mester. Contact the Traveler Business Manager to arrange.
CONTACT
STAFF
The Arkansas Traveler strives for accuracy in its reporting and will correct all matters of fact. If you believe the paper has printed an error, please notify the editor at 575.8455 or at [email protected].
SABA NASEEMEditor [email protected]
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LAUREN LEATHERBYFeatures [email protected]
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ABOUT THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER
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119 Kimpel HallUniversity of ArkansasFayetteville, AR 72701Main: 479.575.3406 Fax: [email protected]
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A
Alcohol AwarenessEventA
Visit the Connections Lounge in the Arkansas Union on Tuesday, March 6 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. to learn about the dangers of driving drunk.
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.Connections LoungeArkansas Union
UA Concert Band and Wind SymphonyConcert
BAdmission is $10 for the general public, $5 for senior citizens and $1 for students.
7:30 p.m.Baum-Walker Concert HallWalton Arts Center
Je! LiebermanExhibitC
Je! Lieberman, who appears on Discovery Channel’s “Time Warps”, will have his photos on display in the Anne Kittrell Art Gallery from March 5 to March 28.
March 5 - March 28Anne Kittrell Art GalleryArkansas Union
Water Ski ClubInformational Meeting
Looking for new members for the Water Ski Club so we are holding an informationalmeeting about the club foranyone who would like to join. Everyone is welcome.
4:00 p.m.HPER
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IMAGERY AND MAP DATA © 2012 GOOGLE, DESIGN BY ERIK NORTHFELL
TODAY ON THE HILL
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that is the ‘Be a Part of It’ cam-paign,” Pohlner said.
“" e Be a Part of It” cam-paign will connect every fresh-man student with one organi-zation during orientation, she said.
" is campaign is important for students, “to feel like they
are a part of something,” Pohl-ner said.
" e other president and vice president ticket include Tim Tucker and Courtney Kleine.
“I think we make a really positive impression on many students,” said Matthew Seu-bert, who works with the Tuck-er and Kleine ticket.
" ey stood outside of the Union, tailgated and spoke
with students at the baseball game, he said.
" eir ticket, as well, un-veiled their social media, Seu-bert said.
" eir platform, “Stand-ing Together, Shaping Tomor-row” can be divided into two parts growth and advocating for students, Tucker said. " e growth aspect of their platform includes involving students to
deal with the transitional parts of growth to get student’s opin-ion about things like construc-tion and housing, Seubert said.
" e second part of their platform, student advocacy, will include creating a new ex-ecutive cabinet position who will a liaison between ASG and ROTC to get ASG more in-volved with veterans, Tucker said.
VOTINGfrom page 1
program created by the Volunteer Action Committee more than a year ago as a resource for students, faculty and sta! , earned 57,124 votes from the community. " e UA pantry trailed the # rst-place University of Massachusetts Amherst program by 2,723 votes, according to the Campus Champions of Change voting website.
Lyon attributes the pan-try’s strong # nish to a video released by UA Productions that encouraged students to vote for the Full Circle Food Pantry, in addition to an ad-dress by Chancellor G. David Gearhart.
Lyon also credited Syl-via Tran, the intern respon-sible for the social media and publicity aspects of the cam-paign, and the VAC, which was instrumental in creating Full Circle Food Pantry.
" e White House has not contacted Lyon with an itin-erary or any details concern-ing her presentation yet, but Lyon said she wants to high-light the VAC program.
“I think I want to push the idea of students helping stu-dents,” Lyon said. “" e pan-try is run by a lot of really good student volunteers.”
Full Circle Food Pantry has seen an increase in dona-tions and students interested in volunteering because of the publicity related to the competition.
“We on campus know the great work that the students at Full Circle have been do-ing,” Chancellor Gearhart said, “but this competition brings national attention to the issue of hunger in Amer-ica.
“We couldn’t be proud-er of the UA community for supporting the food pan-try, both with their gi$ s of food and their votes this past week. It is so encouraging to see the support that our community members have for each other,” Gearhart said.
PANTRYfrom page 1
UA Band o% cials will allo-cate more scholarships to meet the rising number of audition-ing students, o% cials said.
" e number of students au-ditioning for the UA band has increased since previous years. O% cials have conducted 60 au-ditions and and scheduled 57 more, said Connie Vick, band administrative support super-visor.
“We are currently on the right track of amount of audi-tions for this year. However, we are getting calls every day from prospective students,” Vick said.
" e 350-plus member Ra-zorback Marching Band is the largest UA student organiza-tion and is the cornerstone of the four UA Athletic Bands, according to the Razorback Marching Band website.
" e band will soon break a UA audition record if students contin-ue to show interest, she said.
“" e UA has a great music department with a lot of pro-spective music majors that want to continue their career in mu-sic through the university,” Vick said.
Prospective members have come from throughout the na-tion, including surrounding states like Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri, Vick said.
“I think an appeal of the UA band to prospective students is the publicity the marching band has gotten in the past few years through their a% liation with UA athletics,” Vick said.
Scholarships are awarded based on musical ability and are renewable for up to four years. Being awarded a music scholar-ship does not prevent a student from also accepting # nancial aid, according to the UA band scholarship website.
High school seniors, col-lege transfer students and cur-rent UA students who plan to pursue full-time studies in the Department of Music are eli-gible to apply for a scholarship.
Students not majoring in music may still be eligible for a schol-arship for ensemble participa-tion, according to the website.
Scholarships are awarded in various amounts by the de-partment on the basis of talent, musicianship, academic record and recommendations from previous teachers, according to the website.
Students interested in join-ing the UA band schedule an audition by contacting the band o% ce. All prospective music students must audition on cam-pus, according to the website.
Students pursuing a mu-sic degree must be admitted to both the UA and to the Music Department. Admission to the Music Department is by appli-cation and audition. Prospec-tive students should complete an application and mail it to the Music Department, according to the website.
Auditions for various in-struments can be found on the UA band admissions website.
UA Band Poised to Break Audition Record
CHAD ARNOLD STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERThe number of students auditioning for the UA marching band has increased since previous years. O! cials have conducted 60 auditions and and sched-uled 57 more, said Connie Vick, band administrative support supervisor.
by KAREN STIGARStaff Writer
NEWSPAGE 3 TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012
HEALTH & SAFETYSpecial Traveler Beat
HPER Extension Opens After Much Delay
CHAD WOODARD NEWS EDITORThe UREC satellite gym opened in the Union Monday. Few students had taken advantage of the satellite gym because “not many realized that it’s open,” said J.D. Anderson, junior, fitness center attendant.
Adherence to the Clean Air on Campus Act has been consistent since enact-ed at the UA in 2010.
! e act prohibits smok-ing on all higher education university campuses in the state of Arkansas. Each vi-olation results in a $100 to $500 penalty.
“! ough the UA enact-ed a tobacco-free policy on campus in 2008, the state law that went into e" ect in 2010 made the change that UA police o# cers can write tickets to anyone caught smoking on campus ground,” said Mary Alice Sera$ ni, Pat Walker Health Center director.
! e law applies to all people on campus, includ-
ing students, sta" , faculty and visitors.
All 33 public college and university campuses in the state of Arkansas are smoke-free with no exceptions, ac-cording to the American Nonsmoker’s Rights Foun-dation.
Approximately 20 per-cent of adults ages 18 to 24 smoke in the United States, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Con-vention. One out of every $ ve Americans dies from smoking related illness each year.
“Since the law was enact-ed, the Pat Walker Health Center has seen a steady pace in the number of peo-ple who walk in with smok-ing problems or those want-ing to quit smoking,” Sera$ -ni said.
! ere are a variety of methods in which the health center assists students and faculty who want help with their smoking habits, Se-ra$ ni said.
“Students and faculty can schedule one-on-one meet-ings with workers from Health Promotion and Ed-ucation. Also, medical sta" assists in prescribing medi-cation to help stop smok-
ing,” Sera$ ni said. “Bro-chures with helpful infor-mation are always available as well.”
“We have a health educator hot line available to all on campus. Smoking cessation support is also available. With the employees’ health care plan, this service is essentially free,” Sera$ ni said.
UA Maintains Tobacco-Free Policyby BAILEY KESTNER
Staff Writer
Finding time for rela-tionships greatly contributes to student stress levels, UA health officials said.
Relationship issues are the third-most common com-plaint behind anxiety and de-pression, said Jonathan Perry, director of Counseling and Psychological Services in the Pat Walker Health Center.
That’s not to say relation-ships are all bad -- studies show that having healthy re-lationships is good for men-tal health. But what consti-tutes a healthy relationship?
“The main sign of a healthy relationship, whether intimate or not, is the abil-ity to address problems con-structively and proactively,” Perry said. “Inversely, the biggest give away of a non-healthy relationship would be the total lack of this ability.”
Other tell-tale signs of a bad relationship, including lack of respect and verbal or physical abuse, are rooted in that inability to interact con-structively, Perry said.
“Basically, I think that a healthy relationship is one that makes you happy,”
said Nick Boris, freshman. “I guess an unhealthy one would be all those that cause you worry or sadness.”
Relationships aren’t new to most UA students. Wheth-er it was in the first grade, holding hands when the teacher wasn’t looking, or go-ing on group dates in middle school, many have previous dating experience.
But college poses a chal-lenge in both creating and maintaining lasting and healthy relationships. For many, a collegiate relation-ship is the first time real work has to be put in to maintain-ing good communication with ones partner.
“When we were in high school, no matter what our schedules were, we were bound to see each other ev-ery day,” said freshman Dil-lon Thompson. “Now if I want to see her, we have to make plans to meet some-where, or else I wouldn’t get to see her at all.”
The CAPS clinic offers 24-hour assistance for men-tal health problems. CAPS counselors offer group and one-on-one sessions.
Relationships Can be Major Source of Stressby VICTOR MONTALVO
Staff Writer
JACKI FROST STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERSenior Garrett Beeler and junior Jessica Hyslop have been together since November. Hyslop believes that friendship is the key ingredient to a healthy relationship.
EDITOR: SABA NASEEM MANAGING EDITOR: MATTIE QUINN
Scan here to go tothe Opinion section
on uatrav.comTHE ARKANSAS TRAVELER
OPINIONPAGE 4 TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012
FROM THE BOARD
MARCUS FERREIRA Sta! Cartoonist
Expanded RazAlert System:A Help to Students
With rumors of a potential RazAlert expansion, we look for-ward to what our campus noti! cation system could bring. A communication expansion could bring more to the table for stu-dents than a once-a-semester call about the latest tornado watch in town, from instructor noti! cations to event reminders.
" ough weather and campus-wide announcements are useful for the student body, we are especially interested in the instruc-tor-to-student communication line and health center reminders that a future RazAlert system coould bring.
For the majority of us, our busy class and work schedules dur-ing the week don’t give us much time to book needed appoint-ments, such as health care during the allergy and cold-weather seasons. And when we do book them, there is always the time that we forget to check our planner until 15 minutes a# er the ap-pointment time.
Having RazAlert send a noti! cation would be an e$ ective way to keep students informed and reminded, as well as assisting the health center in booking and keeping appointment times. In real-ity, we need all the help we can get when it comes to our mid-se-mester schedules. In a season of midterms, preparation for ! nals and projects, RazAlert could greatly help a lot of students.
Another aspect that could greatly help students would be an increase in instructor-student communication. Who wouldn’t want a quick way to check whether class is in session for the day? While many of us keep our email up-to-date on our phones, sometimes we just don’t have internet access to check our email or blackboard accounts to check on a cancelled class. " ough the majority of our professors don’t cancel class on a regular basis, it would be much easier for students to check a text message than to trek onto campus only to ! nd out that class is cancelled.
RazAlert is already a helpful system for students to have, and one of the many luxuries on our campus. " ough we o# en ! nd it annoying during bad weather, it’s one UA service that many of us without television or internet access depend on. If RazAlert could implement these additional programs, it would only help the stu-dent and faculty bodies on campus, and make our lives even easi-er. And in the midst of the semester, who doesn’t want that?
Traveler Quote of the Day
UREC Facilities Give Students More Options
Having a free gym on our campus is something that many students across the nation don’t have access to. Not only do we have the HPER, which boasts a great facility complete with a gym, pool and group ! tness classes, but now we have the Union Fitness Center. Having two facilities on our campus will now not only ease the long wait for a HPER treadmill, but will also give students greater access to ! tness classes on campus.
In the new facility, which will later this year have a student technology center in addition to the ! tness center, students can work out on an individual or group basis. Classes o$ ered span from Power Yoga to Turbokick, o$ ering the same instruction as the HPER but with greater % exibility - who doesn’t love that?
With the opening of the Union Fitness Center, the 6 p.m. rush of students to grab a work out machine will de! nitely be eased, which means no more excuses for getting into shape before spring break in just a few weeks.
It’s time to get back to the gym – in the mid-semester rush of academic overload, working out is not only a stress-buster but also a great way to catch up with friends.
As one of the ! rst construction projects we will see ! nished on our campus, we should take advantage of the opportunity to use the new facility and take advantage of everything it o$ ers. So, grab a treadmill, a magazine or a friend and head to the Union for a brand new workout.
“We couldn’t be prouder of the UA community for supporting the food pantry, both with their
gi# s of food and their votes this past week. It is so encouraging to see the support that our commu-
nity members have for each other.”- David Gearhart, UA Chancellor, “UA Food Pantry Finishes Second in
National Content, Sends Rep to Washington,” page 1.
Rick Santorum is insane. He’s educated though, I’ll give him that. A man of three de-grees, Santorum is no stranger to higher education. Yet, the policies he has been outlining in his bid for the presidency do nothing but endanger the sys-tem that endowed him with the knowledge to be where he is today.
" e pivotal point of a Presi-dent Santorum administration would be creating certifying organizations to accredit con-servative professors, not un-like organizations that accredit universities. Under his plan, universities would have to “provide an equal number of conservative professors as lib-eral professors” to be eligible for federal funds.
" ere is no reason to ignore it. Yes, professors o# en tend to lean le# on the political spec-trum, but legitimizing politics in education, bringing gov-ernment ever deeper into the realm of our lives and shoving something as sacred as educa-tion into our tumultuous and troublesome political world is undoubtedly a limit to the
scope and breadth of Ameri-can education.
Under this system, profes-sors would be hired for their political ideologies to provide a necessary balance. Academia would no longer have com-plete freedom in teaching, out of fear of shi# ing their liberal or conservative rating.
And then there is the con-cern as to what de! nes “liber-al” and “conservative.” Would an environmental engineer’s views on global warming con-trol his ability to get hired? Would an anthropology pro-fessor be marked liberal for his or her teaching of evolution? Would they be inclined to dis-tort their research ! ndings to protect their job?
" ese scenarios are quite possible with a Santorum ad-ministration, and completely against the educational mis-sion to always expand and grow humanity’s grasp of the world around us.
Santorum’s proposal poses even more questions consid-ering the free market princi-ples of the Republican Party. Higher education in the Unit-ed States is a marketplace. For the most part, students have a choice to attend any university
they wish. In Arkansas, for instance,
we have Harding University and Hendrix College, which respectively lean conservative and liberal. If a student wants to attend a university that has a particular political leaning, they can. If there is an increase in demand for that type of ed-ucation, one would expect the university to grow and expand without the need of govern-ment intervention. " ey will hire the professors that best serve the needs of their stu-dents.
Even at the university level, students have a choice in se-lecting classes. If Dr. Libertar-ian lambasts President Obama as a communist set on destroy-ing America, you can steer clear of that class on ISIS. If Dr. Socialism makes a bowl of liberal Kool-Aid for the class three times a week, you can push the cup away when mak-ing your schedule.
In the instance of required classes, it seems childish to as-sume professors would speci! -cally tamper with a student’s grade based o$ of their politi-cal a& liation. And if they do, I would hope the administra-tion would catch that form of
prejudice just like any other one that may exist on a college campus.
Regardless, if we begin choosing courses o$ of the po-litical ideologies of our profes-sors, we are propagating the battle mentality of modern politics—us versus them, red versus blue. Education should be about expanding our hori-zons and seeing issues from multiple points of view, both of which are conducive to com-promise and could do our fed-eral government some good.
" is system creates an en-tirely new precedence in high-er education. Santorum’s ideas contradict the conservative principles of small govern-ment. " ey limit the explor-atory values that underscore higher education. " ey take the division and bickering of the D.C. politics and make it a mainstay in the classroom.
Do we really want to poi-son the well of education with what exudes from our capitol?
I think not. Let’s keep that mess out of our education.
Mike Norton is an agricul-tural economics major, and a Traveler columnist.
Santorum: A Danger to American Educationby MIKE NORTON
Traveler Columnist
We’ve all seen the campaigns, whether it be “rock the vote,” “vote or die,” or the plethora of tables set up outside the Union to register people to cast their bal-lots in November. America wants its youth to vote.
While voting in the general election is extremely important this year, we have another vote upon us that requires our atten-tion. ASG voting started yes-terday, and we have two strong campaigns asking for student support. Just like all elections, ev-ery vote counts, and students can log on to vote.uark.edu to cast their ballots until 4 p.m. " urs-day.
Before we vote, however, we need to remember why we’re voting and the implications of our vote.
" is isn’t a beauty contest. While both candidates’ cam-paigns have used strong strate-
gies such as handing out stickers, putting up yard signs, hosting cookouts and creating a positive student environment, we can’t let that cloud our vision.
" ose tactics aren’t bad, but all they show is strong com-mitment to getting elected, not strong leadership.
We’ve seen Mitt Romney ac-cused of similar things in the GOP primary races, with crit-ics painting him as a chameleon who will do anything to get votes.
Let me draw the line though, these candidates aren’t chame-leons, they are just trying hard. We ought to reward them for do-ing so, but before we jump in and do that, we have to make sure they deserve to get elected.
Before we cast our vote this week, we have to read the issues. Both campaigns have pledged to do di$ erent things, but we must ask ourselves what these ideas mean. We have to look past the bravado and ! nd the true sub-stance in the election rhetoric.
In a time when the uni-formed voter is surging in Amer-ica, we need to break the mold. Especially with how easy it is to ! nd information about the can-didates, whether it is looking on UA or campaign websites, read-ing about the candidates in the newspaper, or simply asking the candidates themselves, it’s easy.
Next, take the letters o$ . Block voting has long been a suc-cessful tactic in national, local,
and even our campus election.Once again, let me draw a
line. " ere isn’t anything inher-ently wrong with block voting, but there is a problem with vot-ing simply because your friends or fellow fraternity or sorority members are doing it.
" ere is a di$ erence. Two friends may share similar inter-ests and end up voting for the same campaign, but I challenge someone to ! nd an organization on campus where all members hold every similar belief.
Look past the banner. Just be-cause your organization on cam-pus endorsed someone, you are free to vote for whomever you wish.
While it’s in the best interest of a campaign for us to vote for all members in the group, it’s in the best interest of UA students to vote for the best candidate. So, while we may prefer one cam-paign to the other, forget about the ticket and cast ballots for each candidate separately. " is will ensure we have the best ASG executives this fall.
When we vote this week, re-member why we’re doing so - not to vote for the campaign with the coolest sticker, or our organiza-tion’s endorsement. We’re voting for the issues.
" is is important because there are implications to our vote. Razorbacks rallied behind candidates last year and elected a strong % eet of ASG executives,
and our votes must carry on that tradition if we wish to stay a top tier university. It sounds dra-matic, but ASG wields power on campus.
We’re not just voting for can-didates, we’re voting for people who will spend over hundreds of thousands of dollars. " is shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Now, much of this duty falls on the senators, but ASG is ulti-mately represented by its execu-tives, so we must ask ourselves if we trust who is spending our money.
Remember that our ASG president will represent UA for a year, not just to the students, but alumni as well. Michael Dodd re-cently recorded a video for UA’s “" ank a Donor Day,” thanking alumni and friends for commit-ted donations spent that not only support the existing campus, but also campus expansion.
We must elect a strong leader who will strongly represent the UA. “Who will represent us the best?” should be the question we’re asking ourselves.
Once again, we’ll be welcom-ing in the largest UA class in his-tory this fall, and it is our duty to elect strong representatives. " e only way we can do that is by be-ing an informed student voter.
Joe Kieklak is a Traveler columnist.
His column appears every Monday.
It’s Time: Razorbacks to Rock the Vote
byJOE KIEKLAKTraveler Columnist
" e Arkansas Traveler welcomes letters to the editor from all interested readers. Letters should be at most 300 words and should include your name, student classi! cation and major or title with the university and a day-time telephone number for veri! cation. Letters should be sent to [email protected].
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FEATURESFEATURES EDITOR: LAUREN LEATHERBY ASST. FEATURES EDITOR: KELSI FORD
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FEATURES EDITOR:FEATURES EDITOR:FEATURES EDITOR: LAUREN LEATHERBY ASST. FEATURES EDITOR: KELSI FORDKELSI FORDKELSI FORDPAGE 5 TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012
! e Christian tradition of Lent is a spiritual experience to some, and a groan-inducing family tradition for others. Ev-ery year, on the Wednesday ex-actly 40 days before Easter Sun-day, Christians vow to abstain from one or more of their hab-its, hobbies, or tendencies that they usually rely on.
Beginning in the Apostolic Era (the 110-year period a" er the death of Jesus), Lent has al-ways been a method for Chris-tians to spiritually prepare for Easter.
! e tradition stems from the belief that Jesus Christ walked in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights without food or water.
Brooks Rosson, a UA fresh-man, tries to sacri# ce some-thing important to him every year. “! is year I gave up soda,” he said. “It’s nothing huge, but I tend to drink it a lot the rest of the year. ! is way, I know I’m really helping myself out by avoiding it during Lent.”
Rosson also believes that abstaining from drinking soda builds character. “It’s good to sacri# ce things to show you’re grateful, but I also like it be-cause it lets me get stronger in a purely personal way,” he said.
For Roman Catholics, Fri-day is a day to avoid eating meat. ! is tradition arose from
the belief that Jesus sacri# ced his body for humanity, which in turn leads to Catholics ab-staining from eating the “body” of any animals.
In the case of UA sopho-more Alex Mardian, this tradi-tion tends to sneak up on him. “One I get a little more used to Lent every year, it starts to be easier to remember not to eat meat on Fridays,” he said. “! e # rst couple weeks though, I usually forget.”
Many students still practice the tradition when they move
away to college. Sophomore Joe Leonardo keeps the prac-tice going because of his fam-ily’s beliefs.
“I don’t really see it as a re-ligious experience every year, although that’s how I look at it in the big picture,” Leonardo said. “I almost do it out of hab-it, which is funny considering you’re supposed to break hab-its. ! e ones that you think are hindering you spiritually.”
Although many Christians see Lent as important in terms of gratitude and recognition, many students see it as a kind of late new years resolution.
Meghan Ruane uses Lent as an opportunity to extin-
guish her less-bene# cial habits. “I’m really working on cutting back on swearing this year,” she said. “I’ve been cursing way too much, and I like to use Lent as an opportunity to work on my resistance, but mainly to im-prove personally.”
Ruane never looks forward to Lent, although her family is a very traditional Catholic clan.
“It doesn’t exactly make sense to me, especially since most people use it to get rid of bad habits,” Ruane said. “It’s like new years, except you’re forced
to follow through with it for at least 40 days. I know a lot of people give up the things that mean the most to them, but if I truly did that then I wouldn’t be seeing my family or friends for weeks.”
At the end of 40 days of ab-stinence, Christians are allowed to feast on any foods they lay hands on, or partake in the ac-tivity they gave up during Lent. While some may resist the temptation to delve back into their old habits, others are less hesitant.
As Ruane states, for the lat-ter group, “Easter can’t come soon enough.”
Overall Score: 7With a band name like
Fun., the music had better be a hyped-up blast and a half to listen to or should end up be-ing an ironic joke. Regarding the album Some Nights by Fun., released Feb. 21 by Fu-eled by Ramen Records, the band de# nitely personi# es the former.
Fun. consists of the trio Nate Ruess (vocals), Jack An-tono$ (guitars, trumpet), and Andrew Dost (keyboards, drums, percussion). An indie-pop group out of New York, the group is distinct with their grandiose sound with an un-canny similarity to Queen at times. ! e sound of Ruess belting notes with his power-ful vocal chords is reminiscent of the late Freddie Mercury.
! eir music revolves around living in the it-crowd, with themes of youth, wild parties, struggles, regrets, and inspirational songs about get-ting through rough times. Overall, they have an eclectic sound that brings a # re to the indie-pop genre, and they’re comparable to One Republic and Maroon 5.
! e music is bombas-tic, and that’s putting it light-ly -- It’s a lot of fun to listen to. Oddly enough, the album sounds like the soundtrack to a musical in how the songs seem to follow a sung dialogue. ! e lyrics don’t always follow a structure, and at times there’s a lyric break where Ruess speaks or uses an unexpected curse word. It catches you o$ guard, but it’s kind of interesting.
Each track has its own unique sound, but overall # t an alternative-pop genre. ! e music can be so overwhelming it’s cheesy, but two tracks in particular, “It Gets Better” and “One Foot” break the barrier of what’s tolerable versus that which induces groans of an-noyance. ! at’s really only on the two songs; otherwise, it’s a decently cool album.
Some Nights starts out great like a new kid in town with a lot of unknown energy, but the album loses that tone
and kind of dwindles with some of the cheesier run-of-the-mill pop tracks. ! e mid-dle of the album is the next best part, and “Stars” isn’t that bad of an album closer.
! e music here is all catchy stu$ , but it’s all on the surface. ! ere isn’t much substance to the songs other than some catchy and upbeat hooks and melodies. It doesn’t pry at any true emotions or issues. How-ever, the album has true char-acter and energy though, and it’s worth a listen.
Standout Tracks: “Why Am I ! e One” is
de# nitely one of the best tracks -- with its build to one of the catchiest choruses on the al-bum and the bouncing cello bowing in the bridge make it a memorable song. “Some Nights (Intro)” and its full version are right up the alley of something sounding like Queen, and they’re the most driven and unique songs on the album. ! e intro is myste-rious, classy, and when it gets going, it ends with a punch, leading into the anthem-like “Some Nights.” “All Alright” is sort of the ideal pop song with its catchy drum beats, slight autotune uses, chiming piano keys, and a fun hook in the chorus.
Musicianship: 7.5! e production value here
is bombastic, but it isn’t dis-
appointing. ! ere’s a lot of over-the-top elements, like the pumped-up bass, catchy drum beats, choirs, full orchestras, and awkward autotune, all for an above-average pop album. Layered together, it’s fun to lis-ten to, and as cheesy as it can be, it’s likeable. Singer Nate Ruess brings the vocal fury in every track.
Originality: 7! ey mainly sound like
a One Republic-runo$ pop group, but they’re the cool kind of pop. ! ey rock the up-beat tracks with unbounded energy. “Some Nights (Intro)” is the most unique track of the album, with its arpeggio-ing choirs and swelling orchestral soundtracks. Also with the occasional lyric break when Ruess has an aside, it sounds like a high-production Broad-way musical.
Lyrics: 7! e lyrics are good, and the
occasional unexpected swear word and spoken verse make things interesting. At times, some of the lackluster lyrics stand out by themselves like, “tea parties and Twitter, I’ve never been so bitter,” or “Have you listened to me lately? Late-ly? I’ve been f***ing crazy.” Out of the whole production, the quality of the lyrics seem overlooked and direct, but the way Ruess expresses them makes them fun all the same.
Some Nights by Fun.is Grandiose, Bombastic
by NICK BROTHERSStaff Writer
by MIKE MAHARDYStaff Writer
COURTESY PHOTO
LAUREN HUSBAND STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERSophomore Whitney Masters gave up unhealthy sweets for Lent, so she chooses to snack on apples and peanut butter rather than donuts in order to satisfy her sweet tooth. The 40-day hiatus forces Masters to think more carefully about her everyday choices.
“It’s good to sacrifice things to show you’re grateful.”
- Brooks Rosson, UA Freshman
During a stagnant economy in 2009, many thought of fashion as a frivolous industry that was largely unnecessary during such trying times for most of the world. In an attempt to revive New York Fash-ion Week, Fashion Night Out was born. Starting in New York City, Fashion's Night Out is a "global initiative" that sought out to "cel-ebrate fashion, restore consumer con# dence and boost the indus-try's economy," according to Fash-ion's Night Out website. Fashion's Night Out was so successful that it has since been introduced to mul-tiple cities, such as London, Paris, Sydney and now, Fayetteville, Ark.
To kick o$ the inaugural NWA Fashion Week, "Shopping Night Out" was born, which was mod-eled a" er the event in New York City. Shopping Night Out aims to be a "big party" with "one night only specials" all over Northwest Arkansas at all of the local bou-tiques, according to the NWA Fashion Week website.
Belle Boutique, the UA's own campus boutique had snacks, 20 percent o$ the whole store as well as two $100 gi" card giveaways for the event, said Brittany Roberts, owner of Belle Boutique.
"It just really encourages shop-ping local. ! ere are no major re-tailers involved in NWA fashion week. Nothing against major re-tailers, but it is important to sup-port your local businesses," Rob-erts said.
! e sense of community was a major factor in Shopping Night Out, as well as for the entire week.
"Previously the local boutiques were always # ghting for sponsors since there were so many fashion shows at many di$ erent times of the year, so my boss (Jade Termi-nella, co-founder of NWA Fash-ion week,) thought we should just do one huge event," said Angela Strauss, manager of Lola Bou-tique. "It's nice to have all of this publicity, but our main goal is to give back to charity."
Lola Boutique also hosted 20 percent o$ the entire store, as well as free champagne, $1,000 gi"
card giveaway and tickets to Fri-day night's fashion show.
"I think it's so great that some-thing like this is happening in Northwest Arkansas," said Payton Bridewell, fashion blogger. "I am a girl who loves fashion and I love to blog about items that I # nd in the local boutiques, so I think hav-ing a Shopping Night Out here is so fun."
Other stores that took part in Shopping Night Out include Sav-ior-Faire, Ri$ ra$ , Masons, Maude and Chic Boutique.
For more information about NWA Fashion Week, visit nwafw.com.
by MATTIE QUINNManaging Editor
LAUREN HUSBAND STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERRiffraff gave away free cookies, champagne and manicures for Shopping Night out. The boutique even provided a DJ for customer entertainment.
LAUREN HUSBAND STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERMaude off of College provided cupcakes, wine and sales for customers during this year’s Shopping Night Out.
CROSSWORD
SUDOKU
TODAY’S SOLUTION
SOLUTION
ACROSS1 Big band wind2 Gets along in years3 Place to take 27-Down4 Turnpike roller5 Oater joint6 Lament7 More than just eye-catching, clotheswise8 Good tennis returns9 Where to start playing a round10 Guide11 Team with a lot of pull?12 Blind section13 Directors’ milieus18 Exclaimed21 Range in seven countries23 DNA shape24 Singular25 Silly26 A conductor sets it27 See 3-Down28 Firth or ! ord29 Proclamation30 Subtle qualities31 Not too hot32 What houses may be built on36 Valley37 Like the lenses on somegranny glasses38 Considerably40 Courtroom cover-up41 Book with drawings43 Tender touch44 Test-taking tip?45 Prom dress48 Tavern measure49 Senior Smurf50 Chorus line51 Bread concern52 49-Down’s partner53 __ the " nish54 “J’accuse” author55 City west of Tulsa57 Sass58 Writing on an urn
DOWN
Crossword provided by MCT Campus
1 President known as “Big Bill”5 Beat it10 Shady growth14 Jamaican tangelo15 Stag16 Wheelset piece17 Fine print in Yogi’s con-tract?19 “Swell!”20 Body in a belt21 Abby and Martha, to Mor-timer, in “Arsenic and Old Lace”22 Exempt attachment?23 Tab, for one25 Court allegations requiring consideration?32 Clip33 A lot of nothing34 Many a ‘50s-’60s pop act35 Fine cotton36 Moving aid38 Douglas and Fraser39 Medium power?40 Show enthusiasm41 Hershey’s raw material42 Product liability problems for Willy Wonka?46 Biblical middle child47 Jamaican spirits48 # in51 Get the most out of56 America’s " rst martyred spy57 Vague religious law?59 Elects60 Sat rocking, say61 Ivory Coast neighbor62 New Mexico resort63 Spanish " lmmaker Al-modóvar64 Hardly at all
Di! culty:
PAGE 6 TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012 Comics, Games, & Much Much More!
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER
DOWNTIMELAUGH IT UP
THAT MONKEY TUNE Michael A. Kandalaft
BREWSTER ROCKIT Tim Rickard CALAMITIES OF NATURE Tony Piro
WELCOME TO FALLING ROCK Josh Shalek BLISS Harry Bliss
Q: What insect is good at math?
A: An account-ant.
Q: What’s purple and goes slam slam slam slam?
A: A four-door grape.
Q: If two collars had a race, how would it end?
A: In a tie.
Q: Why did the scientist install a knocker on his door?
A: He wanted to win the no bell prize!
Q: What does a cat sleep on?
A: A catterpillow.
SPORTS EDITOR: JIMMY CARTER ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: ZACH TURNER
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SPORTSPAGE 7 TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012
BASKETBALL
COMMENTARY
Hogs Have Spots Up for Grabs in Spring
For a team that finished the 2011 season ranked No. 5 and will likely be a top-10 team in the preseason, Ar-kansas has to fill some big holes on both sides of the ball.
The Razorbacks gradu-ated five defensive start-ers, two starting offensive linemen and three receivers who all had career yardage ranked in the top seven in school history.
For the Hogs to still be
projected as a contender in the SEC West shows the re-spect analysts around the na-tion have for Bobby Petrino.
Still, Arkansas has some question marks that need to be answered. The Razor-backs host Alabama on Sept. 15 and there’s a pretty good chance Nick Saban will have his personnel issues figured out.
The Hogs start spring practice March 14. The 15 practices will be key to iden-tify which players will step up and contribute in Sep-tember.
Not all position battles will be settled in the spring –– several freshmen could compete to contribute at the starting strongside lineback-er spot. The pecking order at several positions, including the five positions listed be-low, will begin to take shape this spring, though.
Middle Linebacker
Replacing Jerry Franklin, who finished second on the UA career list with 382 tack-les, won’t be easy.
Petrino doesn’t want to move senior weakside back-er Alonzo Highsmith to the middle, a move that he made with Franklin in 2008. High-smith was Arkansas’ best tackler and played fast at the will spot, something the Ra-zorbacks want to keep the same.
In order for Highsmith to stay on the outside, some-one will have to emerge in-side. Senior Terrell Williams, redshirt freshman Brock Ha-man and junior Robert Atiga all have size and athleticism, but one of them will have to show they grasp the system.
My bet: WilliamsThough the defense will
have to learn new coordi-nator Paul Haynes’ system, Williams easily has the most game experience of the trio.
The 6-foot-3, 232-pounder has size and has played well in big games before, includ-ing wins against Mississippi State and LSU in 2010.
Strongside TackleBrey Cook and Chris
Stringer are the two leading candidates to replace gradu-ate Grant Freeman.
Both players have size and length, but will need to bring physicality to the table for an offensive line that struggled against Alabama and LSU last season.
My bet: CookOne of two five star play-
ers (senior cornerback Dar-ius Winston) on the roster, Cook has the skill set and size to be a solid player.
He was moved to guard after struggling to adjust to the speed of the game at tackle last spring, but should be a different player af-ter spending time in the weight room during the
season and offseason.SafetyEric Bennett can play ei-
ther safety position and will likely line up at free safety this spring, the spot Tramain Thomas played last season.
Ross Rasner will work at safety in the spring af-ter coming on strong late in 2011 and stealing some play-ing time from Jerico Nelson at the hybrid safety-line-backer position, a spot that might be phased out under Haynes.
Redshirt freshman Rohan Gaines, junior Jerry Mitchell and sophomore Daunte Carr will all compete for time, too. Mitchell is sliding over from cornerback, while Carr has the best size of the trio.
My bet: RasnerHe covered receivers in
the slot last year working as a nickel defender, so he isn’t incapable of playing the pass. If he can adjust to the posi-
tion, he would give Arkansas a solid tackler and seasoned veteran at the back of the de-fense.
4. No. 2 ReceiverCobi Hamilton should
have a big senior season with the graduation of Ja-rius Wright, Joe Adams and Greg Childs. One of the keys for Arkansas could be who steps up to take the pressure off Hamilton and tight end Chris Gragg.
The Razorbacks have a host of receivers that have been solid and promising. Now it’s their time to turn into consistent contribu-tors and playmakers, some-thing everyone has seeming-ly assumed they will do since they’ve shown potential and will play in Petrino’s offense.
Marquel Wade could make a convincing Adams
Extra Points
JIMMY [email protected]
Arkansas could have the chance to do something only one other team in college bas-ketball has done this season, but ! rst the Razorbacks must get past LSU.
" e Southeastern Confer-ence Tournament is up next for Arkansas, which is the No. 9 seed, as the Hogs will take on LSU on " ursday in New Or-leans. " e two teams split their conference games, with each winning at home.
Although the Razorbacks (18-13, 6-10 SEC) have lost in the ! rst round the last three seasons, a win would pro-vide Arkansas with a rematch against No. 1 Kentucky (30-1, 16-0).
“No, not at all,” freshman guard BJ Young said about looking ahead. “I am actually just looking forward to the LSU game since last game against
them I didn’t perform well. " at was one of those games that I just want to come out now and make up for last time.”
In Arkansas’ 71-65 loss to the Tigers on Feb. 4, Young fouled out of the game a# er scoring just three points and pulling down three rebounds to go along with four turn-overs.
Young was more produc-tive a# er the loss and leads the team with 15.3 points per game. He averaged 19.5 over the Hogs last eight games, in-cluding a career-high 31-point outburst in the loss to Florida.
“Ever since that game I have said I wanted to perform a lot better and take my season to a whole other level,” Young said. “I think I did that a# er that game.”
Young has started just sev-en games during his freshman season, but has still managed to lead the team in scoring com-ing o$ the bench, something that coach Mike Anderson said
has impressed him.“For a young guy coming in
and being your leading scorer o$ the bench, he has been an e% cient player,” Anderson said. “He comes in as a guy that can score and he has shown that. " ere are some areas he has to get better at, but I just thought that from the start to where he is at now, he is much improved.
“When you can score at the clip he is scoring and shoot over 50 percent that is pretty remarkable.”
A# er the last matchup be-tween Arkansas and LSU, the two teams went in opposite directions as the Razorbacks lost six of their last eight, in-cluding the only three home losses of the season, while LSU split their last eight games go-ing 4-4.
“Now it is the rubber match,” Anderson said. “In this tournament format it is survive and advance. " e ! rst game is always the most important game and obviously you want
your kids to come out and play with the right mindset, with a sense of urgency. " at is how I want to see our guys play.”
Arkansas could feature a di$ erent starting lineup against LSU with starting point guard Julysses Nobles being hobbled with a sprained right ankle. Nobles is second on the team in minutes played, averaging 28.5 and has started 27 games including both games against the Tigers.
“It is coming along,” Nobles said. “I will be ready to play by " ursday for sure.”
Nobles played just 12 min-utes and missed the second half in the Hogs’ regular sea-son ! nale loss to Mississippi State 79-59. If Nobles’ time on the court is limited, sophomore guard Mardracus Wade said others will have to step up.
“To me that doesn’t mean anything except others have to come in and pick it up,” Wade
Razorbacks Not Looking AheadRYAN MILLER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Arkansas freshman BJ Young had his worst conference game against LSU the last time the two teams met. Young had just three points and three rebounds before fouling out after 24 minutes. Since the 71-65 loss to the Tigers, Young has averaged 19.5 points over the Hogs last eight games.
see BASKEBALLon page 8
by ZACH TURNERAsst. Sports Editor
TENNIS
LOGAN WEBSTER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Arkansas senior Matt Walters leads the Razorbacks with 13 singles wins but started South-eastern Conference play 0-2 over the weekend with losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
Not Missing a BeatDoubles tennis partners
Matt Walters and Hall Fess have already had plenty of suc-cess this season.
" e only two members of the team from Arkansas –– Walters is from Jonesboro and Fess is from Little Rock –– the duo was friends before they began playing tennis for the Razorbacks. On the court, the two are quickly making a strong presence in doubles matches.
“Since we’re both from Arkansas, we’ve been good friends for a long time,” Wal-ters said. “I know what he’s go-
ing to do on the court and he knows what I’m going to do so it’s good to mesh that chemis-try. We balance each other o$ really well with him serving and my return.
“I think it’s a great relation-ship with each other. Hopeful-ly we can keep the wins going.”
Walters and Hess each had di$ erent doubles partners last year, but that doesn’t seem to be a$ ecting them at all this season –– the duo is 16-3.
“We’ve done well,” Fess said. “We’ve been friends for awhile so the chemistry is there. It just works out.”
" e two have won nine of
BASEBALL
Wise Beyond His YearsSophomore catcher Jake
Wise claimed the starting job behind the plate just days before the season began and hasn’t looked back.
In Arkansas’ first 13 games, Wise is hitting .343 with seven RBIs and one home run. He’s also impact-ed defensively.
“The throw he made Sun-day, you had to be there to see,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “Texas In the first inning had a hit and run. It was a breaking ball in the dirt. Batter swings and misses, Jake fields the ball, picks it out of the dirt and throws from his knees, right on the bag, and he’s out.
“Once the lights came on
and he realized he can do it and he’s the guy, you don’t notice him. That’s a good thing.”
Freshman John Reeves has also worked behind the plate this season. He played in all three games in the sea-son opening series against Villanova, including starting the second game he against the Wildcats.
“He has come in a cou-ple of games and he’s done a great job,” Van Horn said. “He’s right there and that’s a good thing. (Catching) was a major concern for us and it’s looking good so far.”
Starting pitching a plusSophomore right-hand-
er Ryne Stanek (3-0) had a
Wal t e r s , F e s s hav i ng successby MONICA CHAPMAN
Staff Writer
seeTENNISon page 8
see COMMENTARYon page 8
see BASEBALLon page 8
by MARTHA SWEARINGENStaff Writer
Arkansas not looking ahead to potential rematch with Kentucky
SPORTS TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012 PAGE 8
said. “Rickey Scott, myself, BJ Young, Ky Madden and ev-erybody have to pick it up. It is tournament time and ev-erybody has to play a little bit above the radar right now.”
A! er beating LSU 69-60 on Jan. 14 in the " rst matchup at Bud Walton Arena, Arkansas allowed Tiger starting forwards Justin Hamilton and Johnny
O’Bryant to combine for 21 points and 22 rebounds in the LSU’s home win.
“# eir strength is they have size,” Anderson said. “# ey have the 7-footer in Hamil-ton and Johnny O’Bryant who they have gotten back. We have to somehow neutralize those two big guys and make them become a perimeter shooting team where we are contesting shots.”
Arkansas ended the regu-
lar season as the SEC’s worst rebounding team and was out-rebounded in 21 of its 31 games so far this season.
“We have to play a better brand of defense,” Anderson said. “We have to be able to re-bound the basketball. We have to be able to do that and hope-fully create some tempo.”
Arkansas is 2-1 against LSU in the SEC Tournament with the last meeting being a 85-56 win over the Tigers in 2003.
clone if he traded his No. 1 for Adams’ 3. Julian Horton and Javontee Herndon have both shown promise and will have an opportunity to have big junior seasons.
Keante Minor was high-ly-touted as a high school recruit and has the size, strength and speed to con-tribute as a sophomore. Quinta Funderburk was too skinny and dropped too many passes last spring, but has the frame to be a match-up problem if he was diligent in the weight room.
My bet: WadeHe will provide an under-
neath target that Tyler Wil-son can dump the ball to and watch him make big plays af-ter the catch.
It really doesn’t mat-
ter who the No. 2 receiver is, though, because Petrino utilizes five or six. It will be interesting to watch who breaks into the rotation and shows signs of becoming a consistent playmaker in the spring.
5. Weakside GuardMitch Smothers moved
inside after starting the first four games at weakside tack-le last season. He will com-pete with sophomore Luke Charpentier to replace Wade Grayson, the player Char-pentier backed up last sea-son.
Adding physicality to this position and the rest of the offensive line will be key and a point likely stressed by Petrino and line coach Chris Klenakis.
My bet: SmothersI feel least sure about
this pick. I could see either
player winning the job, but I went with Smothers because he has some starting experi-ence, even if it led to a posi-tion change.
Whoever wins the start-ing job at guard or any of the other positions listed will be new starters trying to learn the role and fit with their teammates. That’s different than the last year, when the majority of the roles were defined.
The development of who-ever wins these position bat-tles could be the difference between a 10-win season or an SEC championship.
Makes spring practice seem a little more critical this year, huh?
Jimmy Carter is the sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Tuesday. Follow him on Twitter @jicartersports.
from COMMENTARYon page 7
SARAH CHAMPAGNE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Arkansas starting pitcher Ryne Stanek is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three starts so far this season. Stanek struck out seven batters while giving up six hits in his last outing against Texas Tech, a 3-1 Arkansas win.
SARAH CHAMPAGNE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Arkansas sophomore catcher Jake Wise is hitting .343 and has seven RBIs and has started 10 of the Razorbacks 13 games to start the season.
No Adjustment NecessaryArkansas so! ball is o$ to a
16-2 with a freshman leading the way at the plate.
Le! " elder Devon Wallace has a team-best .409 batting av-erage and has two home runs and 14 RBIs while hitting lead-o$ for coach Mike Larabee.
“# e thing that really amaz-es me about her is her plate dis-cipline,” Larabee said. “Her on base percentage is crazy.”
Wallace has a .586 on-base percentage, which ranks fourth in the Southeastern Confer-ence.
“We do a lot of individual hitting which really helps me focus,” Wallace said. “I like watching " lms from previous games to see how I can improve my swing.”
Wallace and the Razorbacks’ other eight true freshman have integrated into the roster with the holdovers quickly.
“As a team I think our team chemistry is amazing,” Wallace said. “Everyone gets along real-ly well and knows how to pick each other up. We have a lot of
heart and we have come from behind and pulled victories from it and that shows that we never give up.
“We like to keep things pos-itive and fun … # e coaching sta$ has done an amazing job of keeping everything positive and helping improve our team chemistry. Everyone gets along and does a really good job of encouraging each other.”
Wallace quickly earned the trust of her older team-mates.
“Her relationship with the team is outstanding,” Larabee said. “The chemistry amongst the coaching staff and the players is great. I’ve recruit-ed her for a couple of years so
we’ve built a really good rela-tionship.”
Wallace hit .535 and earned all-area honors from the Dallas Morning News while starring at Marcus High in Double Oak, Texas. She had to go through an initial phase of adjustment to college so! ball, but, evi-denced by her numbers, grew acclimated quickly.
“It’s a lot more competitive and a lot more work goes into it,” Wallace said. “I can honest-ly say that I have never worked this hard at so! ball before.”
She quickly established her-self as an option to bat early in the order and worked as the leado$ while alternating be-tween le! " eld and stints as the designated hitter.
“Her strengths that she brings to this team is her ability to drive the ball and get on base,” Larabee said. “She’s a good leader and a very hard worker that has improved tremendously. Very few kids can get out of their beds in pajamas and grab a bat and hit the ball out of the ball park and she’s one of them.
“She is really special.”
their last 11 matches while playing No. 1 doubles for a Ra-zorbacks team that has started the season 9-3.
“Matt and Hall Fess have are just exceeded our expecta-tions,” Arkansas coach Robert Cox said. “# ey’ve just done so well at number one dou-bles. We couldn’t have imag-ined that these guys would be as competitive as they are. In saying that, they’ve really im-proved and they deserve all the wins that they have.”
Arkansas started out South-eastern Conference play with a win last week against No. 48 Vanderbilt.
Although Walters and Fess came up short Sunday against No. 9 Kentucky, they duo
gained valuable experience against one of the top doubles teams in the nation.
“SEC No. 1 double teams are very good,” Walters said. “Most of them are ranked. Most of them are in the top 30 in the country. Today we lost 8-6, but we had our shots. It was a learning experience for today.
“We’re going to bounce back at Auburn next week and I think we’ll have some good results for the rest of the year.”
Walters and Fess have both had success in singles play, too.
Walters was named captain at the beginning of this season, which has helped him elevate his game.
“It’s an honor, it really is,” Walters said. “I think it shows that coach respects me a lot. I think my teammates respect
me. I like the role of a captain.”In singles matches, he has
gone 13-5, leading the team in wins.
“I like being a leader be-cause I’m a very vocal person on the court and o$ of it,” Wal-ters said. “I think makes me want to step even more.”
Fess has had a pretty even singles season with an 8-9 re-cord so far. # e two together, though, form a dynamic duo on the court.
With the SEC play just be-ginning, the duo will need to continue to lead the Razor-backs.
“I think that if they keep on playing well obviously they’re going to get a few wins in num-ber one doubles,” Cox said. “Hopefully their ranking will start to show up in the second half of the season.”
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career-high performance against Texas Tech on Friday at the Houston College Clas-sic and was selected to the all-tournament team.
He had a career-high sev-en strikeouts and allowed just one run in seven innings of a 3-1 win against the Red Raiders.
“He threw his best game of the year on Friday,” Van Horn said. “He was lights out. He just threw strike af-ter strike.”
Preseason All-American junior DJ Baxendale picked up his fourth win of the sea-son after starting in the 7-3 win against Texas. His six-game winning streak dates back to the 2011 season.
“He’s got an ERA of right around 2 and he’s just done a tremendous job for us,” Van Horn said. “I think our start-ing pitching has been out-
standing. When you’ve got that kind of stuff that those two guys have, you’re going to be in the game.”
The Razorbacks have also gotten solid efforts from middle relievers early in the season, including sopho-more right-handers Bran-don Moore and Colby Sug-gs, freshman right-handers Chris Oliver and Greg Mil-horn and junior left-hander Cade Lynch.
“I think they’ve all done a great job for us, just hold-ing down what we’ve already established in the game,” Van Horn said. “It’s a luxury for us. We don’t have to leave a guy in too long. That’s a good situation.”
Hogs get a breakAfter completing a stretch
of 13 games in 17 days to start the season, Arkansas gets a break with no mid-week games this week.
“This week we don’t have any games and honest-
ly, that’s a good thing,” Van Horn said. “We get a little time off as far as just orga-nize some full team practices where the guys can catch up on academics, kind of get it going in the weight room a little bit and build up a lit-tle bit of strength. Then we’ll practice again as a team on Wednesday.”
The Hogs will resume play on Friday at 3:05 p.m. in Baum Stadium with a week-end series against Bingham-ton.
“It’ll be back to back at it again here in a couple of days, but this a good little break for us.”
Including Binghamton, the Razorbacks’ upcoming 10-game home stretch will consist of Gonzaga, Ala-bama and Nevada in Fay-etteville before traveling to Starkville, Miss., for con-ference play against Missis-sippi State on Friday, March 23.
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LOGAN WEBSTER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Arkansas senior Matt Walters (left) and Hal Fess are the Razorbacks most successful doubles partners this season with a record of 16-3. As Arkansas’ No. 1 doubles pair, Walters and Fess have won nine of 11.
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DEVON WALLACE
Wallace leading Razorbacks at the plate as a freshmanby CATIE WALKER
Contributing Writer