Mar. 30, 2011

PAGE 1 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 Vol. 105, NO. 25 UATRAV.COM

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011VOL. 105, NO. 25

UATRAV.COM

WEATHERFORE C AST

T O D AY T H U R S D AY F R I D AY S AT U R D AY S U N D AY M O N D AY T U E S D AY 59° 63° 70° 78° 58°53° 62°

Housing Struggles to Serve Disabled UA campus complies with Americans with DisabilitiesAct, but many residence halls remain o!-limits

Although residence halls at the UA are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, many that were built long be-fore ADA remain inaccessible to students with disabilities.

!e ADA is a federal law that recognizes and protects the civil rights of people with disabilities. It addresses access to the work-place, state and local government services, places of public accom-modation and commercial facili-ties and telecommunications.

“ADA covers a wide range of disability, from physical condi-tions a"ecting mobility, stamina, sight, hearing and speech to con-ditions such as emotional illness and learning disorders,” accord-ing to the ADA website.

!e law took e"ect in 1990 and does not apply to facilities built before the law.

“If we could make every room handicap accessible, we would,” said Reggie Houser, assistant di-rector of University Housing. “However, the decisions are never

solely in the hands of one depart-ment.”

Residence Halls such as Futrall, Gregson, Gibson, Bu-chanan-Droke and Gladson-Rip-ley have no elevators.

“Futrall Hall is an extra spe-cial challenge,” Houser said. “!e sha# for the elevator is built, but the elevator was cut out of the project.”

Housing has looked at the possibility of installing an eleva-tor in Futrall, however, even if an elevator was added, the residence hall would not be completely ac-cessible.

“It has a mezzanine level, which means there are three steps to get to the actual o$ce level, which means we’d have to also build a ramp,” he said.

Installing an elevator can cost anywhere from $250,000 to $260,000, he said.

University Housing is an aux-iliary and receives money through rent and resident dining fees.

“We feel that we need to be responsible to our students and when we consider renovations, we have to consider our resi-

dents,” he said.!e Associated Student Gov-

ernment and Residents’ Interhall Congress have both unanimously voted to pass a bill that supports handicap accessibility in Gibson, Gregson and Futrall Hall.

!e bill was co-authored by sophomore James Ardis, who lived in Futrall Hall his freshman year.

“I had a friend who had a chronic leg problem who was also living in the same dorm. At %rst it was okay, but as time went on, he couldn’t walk up the stairs,” Ardis said. “He had to leave all his friends and move out to the other side of campus.”

Ardis presumed that facili-ties was low on funds, which is why they were not working on in-stalling an elevator, but “housing renovated the entire basement of Futrall. !e common room got new wood &oors and they add-ed a new theater room,” he said. “A#er that I knew that funds were available, they were just not being used for handicap accessibility.”

Every student should have ac-cess to every facility on campus,

he said.Housing sta" may not have

done everything students would like with regard to ADA accessi-bility, but they have made some renovations to make residence halls accessible.

In the 1990s, they made $1.2 to $1.5 million renovations to Holcombe Hall.

“We modi%ed showers, wid-ened the doorways and %xed the elevator,” Houser said.

!e UA has approximate-ly 4,200 rooms for students, of which 62 are ADA accessible. !ese rooms provide 62 bed spac-es: 12 in Duncan C and E, four in Humphreys Hall, six in Maple East, 13 in Maple South, nine in

Maple West, 10 in the North West Quads, two in South Walton Hall and six in Yocum Hall.

“We provide these special ac-commodations in the halls where the terrain is not as challenging,” said Florence Johnson, interim

by SABA NASEEMStaff Writer

see ADAon page 2

COURTESY PHOTOSouthern Methodist University student Pablo Aguilar stays after class to talk with psychology professor Robert Hampson.

ASG Candidates Discuss Campaign Platforms

Kayln Williams and Afshar Sanati Michael Dodd and Lauren Waldrip

Emily Fitzgerald and Matthew BakkeAustin Reid and Sydney Dunn

President and Vice President President and Vice President

Treasurer and Secretary Treasurer and Secretary

Presidential Candidate: Kalyn Williams, junior

Hometown: Edmond, Okla.

Major: International Business and Economics

Current ASG Position: Chief of Staff

Vice-Presidential Candidate: Afshar Sanati, sophomore

Hometown: Little Rock, Ark.

Major: Business

Current ASG Position: Director of Athletic Relations

Treasury Candidate: Austin Reid, junior

Hometown: Broken Arrow, Okla.

Major: English

Current ASG Position: Assistant to the Treasurer

Secretarial Candidate: Sydney Dunn, junior

Hometown: Rogers, Ark.

Major: Marketing

Current ASG Position: Director of Campus Safety

Presidential Candidate: Michael Dodd, junior

Hometown: Leawood, Kan.

Major: Transportation and Logistics

Current ASG Position: Chair of Ethics

Vice-Presidential Candidate: Lauren Waldrip, junior

Hometown: Moro, Ark.

Major: Marketing and Advertising/Public Relations

Current ASG Position: Senator

Treasury Candidate: Matthew Bakke, sophomore

Hometown: Bentonville, Ark.

Major: Political Science and Business


Secretarial Candidate: Emily Fitzgerald, junior

Hometown: Colleyville, Texas

Major: Advertising/Public Relations


Platform Goals:

of UA faculty

Treasury Platform Goals:

-ing a semester in advance

Secretarial Platform Goals:

Platform Goals:

Treasury Platform Goals:

Secretarial Platform Goals:

Anderson Back Home page 10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 PAGE 2

The Arkansas Traveler, the student newspaper at the University of Arkansas, is published every Wednesday during the fall and spring academic sessions except dur-ing exam periods and university holidays.

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director of Housing. “Neither Buchanan-Droke nor Gladson-Ripley have any ADA bed spaces because these buildings are con-structed along the side of a steep hill. ! e terrain would not make ADA accommodations logical.”

! is summer, Housing is working on a $4.2 million reno-vation of the south end of Walton. ! ey will be adding three ADA accessible rooms, which will meet the new 2010 standards.

! e Department of Justice made revisions to Title II, which deals with public institutions and Title III, which deals with non-pro" t institutions that went into e# ect March 15, 2011 for all new-ly constructed and altered facili-ties. Full compliance with these new standards will be required one year later.

For facilities with at least 25 beds, these new regulations re-quire that at least " ve percent of rooms must have clear $ oor space to accommodate mobility impairments and at least two per-cent of rooms must be designed to accommodate communication impairments.

For facilities with at least 50 beds, if common bathing facilities are provided, at least one show-er with roll-in capabilities and a seat must be included, one for each gender if facilities are sepa-rate for men and women, kitch-ens in housing units or on $ oors containing accessible rooms must meet 2010 accessibility standards, and any housing unit with mul-tiple bedrooms, one or more of which includes mobility features, must have an accessible route throughout the unit, according to the 2010 revisions.

Hotz Hall might be reopened as a residence hall and if that is the case, then it will be renovated to " t ADA regulations, Johnson said.

All residences on campus have a uniqueness to them and all students on campus should be able to share and experience that, Ardis said.

“It’s not fair to say a certain number of dorms are handicap accessible and therefore ADA standards are met,” he said. “We are all part of the Razor-back community and should all have the same rights.”

ADAfrom page 1

PAGE 3 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011

US Treasury Secretary Visits NWA

GRACE GUDE Sta! PhotographerUnited States Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner visited the NanoMech Factory and Laboratory in Springdale on Friday, March 25. Following his tour of the facility, Geithner released a new report detailing the economic benefits of PresidentBarack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget proposal to expand and make the Research and Experimentation tax credit permanent. The credits will benefit innovative com-panies like NanoMech, whose cutting-edge technologies have applications in advanced manufacturing, next generation lubricants and the electronics, military and biomedical industries. Products can be found under trademark names such as Tufftek, NanoGlide, nGuard and ElementX.

State Amends NWACC Appropriations Act, Cuts Faculty and Counselor Positions

A March 18 article in North-west Arkansas Newspapers re-ported state agencies realigned 90 positions at NorthWest Ar-kansas Community College, however, documents obtained by the Traveler show 130 were realigned, which is more than 15 percent of the college’s allotted workforce.

! e NWACC director of public relations, Mark Scott, provided the amended House Bill 1364 for the 2012 " scal year when asked which positions had been realigned.

Scott said that 90 was an ap-proximation.

“We arrived at that number by taking the amended House Bill and comparing it with the original,” he said.

A# er an investigation of NWACC by the O$ ce of Per-sonnel Management sta% and a review by the Department of Higher Education sta% , the agencies worked with the college to realign positions, Scott said.

! e original version of HB1364, which appropriates positions, salaries and number of employees at NWACC for the 2011-2012 " scal year, had in-creased the number of academic advisers from last year’s number of eight to 10, but the amended

version of the bill reduced this amount back to eight. ! is bill was amended before the legisla-ture’s Personnel Subcommittee released it to the Joint Budget Committee.

! e amendments increased the number of top adminis-trative positions allotted to NWACC by 15, but diminished the " nancial impact of these new positions on the overall budget by reducing a number of posi-tions that directly serve students, such as faculty, counselors and career planning/placement sta% .

Although the amended bill reduced the number of admin-istrative positions by 15, from 92 to 77, the cumulative maxi-mum salary amount was nearly $100,000 higher than the origi-nal HB1364.

! e amendments decreased the number of full-time faculty positions from 214 in the origi-nal version to 207 and the num-ber of part-time faculty dipped from 544 to 513. ! e number of counselors decreased from 11 to " ve in the amended version.

! e original version of House Bill 1364 increased the total of the salaries for top non-classi-" ed administrators by $953,277 above last year’s appropriations act, taking it from $5,802,474 to $6,755,751.

! e amended version of HB1364, which has been re-

leased to the Joint Budget Committee by its Personnel Subcommittee, decreased the administrative salaries of the bill to a total of $5,894,997, an in-crease of $92,523 over the origi-nal appropriations act.

Comparisons of the original and amended HB also show that 19 top paying classi" ed positions were added, mostly in the infor-mation and systems technology area.

A review of position group analysis reports provided by NWACC shows that many of the state positions allotted to the col-lege by last year’s appropriations act were not aligned with the du-ties of the employees assigned to the positions.

! e state position of chief student a% airs o$ cer, which has the NWACC title of vice presi-dent for college relations, held by Adam Arroyos, is responsible for public relations, marketing, and projects for the president and board of trustees. His job description does not mention any processes related to student a% airs, such as admissions, en-rollment, " nancial aid or aca-demic records.

! e college’s organizational chart indicates that Arroyos supervises employees in the marketing and public relations departments, but does not show any supervisory relationships to

student a% airs employees.Arroyos was hired June 16 in

the state title of division chair-person/dean with an NWACC title of executive dean for strate-gic initiatives. Two weeks a# er his hire, NWACC changed his state title to chief student a% airs o$ cer, which has a higher line item maximum salary of nearly $7,000. His NWACC title is list-ed as vice president of college re-lations as of March 18, according to NWACC’s position analysis.

! e amended appropriations act shows the vice president of college relations as a new posi-tion for 2012.

Arroyos was hired at 21 per-cent over line item maximum, which schools are allowed to do if the candidate is exception-ally well-quali" ed, according to HB1414. Arroyos resume shows no higher education administra-tion experience.

“ADHE does have standards that ensure general positions at universities are in line with each other,” ADHE communications coordinator Brandi Hinkle said in a March 22 interview.

Institutions do have latitude to " ll their appropriated posi-tions as they choose, Hinkle wrote in a March 28 email re-garding the Arroyos position and hiring practices.

“We have to trust that the ad-ministration and trustees know

what is best for the school,” she said, adding that the board of trustees answers to the Gover-nor.

Similar alignment discrepan-cies exist within the counselor positions, according to the posi-tion analysis.

! e associate vice president for operations, James Hes-sler, has been assigned to one of the counselor positions by NWACC. His job duties in-clude directing and overseeing campus functions such as con-struction projects, maintenance and security, according to docu-ments retrieved from NWACC.

! e duties of a counselor are to serve as an academic advisor or personal counselor for stu-dents and oversee programs that respond to the needs of local communities.

Other positions NWACC is using as counselor are the as-sociate vice president for global business and development, the director of budget and analytical service and the executive direc-tor of community and govern-ment relations.

! e decrease in these key positions comes during a time when the college has seen signif-icant increases in student enroll-ment. ! e Joint Budget Com-mittee must approve HB1364 before it can move forward.

by DELCIE KINCAIDStaff Writer

ASG Exec Campaigns

Beginby JORDAIN CARNEY

Asst. NewsEditor

Increasing student involve-ment and representing indi-vidual students are just two of the many things mentioned in the platforms for ASG Executive elections.

O$ cial campaigning for ASG Executive Elections started at midnight Monday. Two people are running for each of the four positions: president, vice presi-dent, treasurer and secretary.

“Our platform is solely about serving the students and doing what is right,” said ASG Senator Michael Dodd, a candidate for president.

Dodd cares about each stu-dent as though they were his “best friend,” he said.

His strength as a leader comes from his ability to com-municate across diverse groups, he said.

Kayln Williams, also a candi-date for ASG president, said that she and vice-presidential candi-date Afshar Sanati, were trying to represent as many students as possible with their platform.

Sydney Dunn, a candidate for secretary, wants to be a “link between students and adminis-trators,” she said.

ASG should be a “study body that represents you,” said Emily Fitzgerald, an ASG senator and candidate for secretary.

Austin Reed, ASG’s assis-tant treasurer, and ASG Senator Mathew Backke, both candidates for treasurer, stressed being the voice of students on campus.

“! e real pulse of this cam-pus is the small events,” Reid said.

Voting for ASG executive elections is from April 4 through April 7; ASG election results will be announced Friday, April 8.


THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

EDITOR: Bailey Elise McBride MANAGING EDITOR: Mille Appleton

You can check outthe Traveler online at

uatrav.com or byscanning here:

! e Arkansas Traveler welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be at most 300 words and include your name, stu-dent classi! cation and major or title with the university and a day-time telephone number for veri! cation. Letters to the editor can be sent to [email protected]. Letters are edited for grammar and length, not content.

EDITORIAL BOARDEDITOR

MANAGING EDITOROPINION EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

Bailey Elise McBrideMille AppletonSamantha WilliamsNick DeMoss

Bakke, Fitzgerald Response To Traveler

Dodd,Waldrip Response To Traveler

FROM THE BOARD

The power of our Associated Student Government does not come from student votes or the constitu-tion; it comes from the ability of executives and senators to effectively negotiate with administra-tors. Because of their combined five years of experi-ence, clear dedication to students and the ground-work they have established for a successful admin-istration, the Traveler supports Kayln Williams for president and Afshar Sanati for vice president.

The Traveler editorial board believes that the pre-vious conversations between Williams, Sanati and administrators across campus will allow them to hit the ground running on their goals and initiatives.

Williams’ role as chief of staff during the 2010-2011 school year has given her the skills need-ed to communicate effectively between members of the administration, executive cabinet and students, and Sanati’s proven ability to negotiate with admin-istrators through his work with the athletic depart-ment in the last two years has been and will contin-ue to be an important asset to the student body.

Though Williams and Sanati have a range of excit-ing proposals on their platform, of particular inter-est to the Traveler Editorial Board were their MyEdu initiative and plans to increase the produc-tivity of the ASG senate.

MyEdu is a website that seems to be a more pro-fessional and wide-ranging version of Rate My Pro-fessor. At no cost to the university, the program would make available professor grade histories and student reviews to all students before they selected classes, and allow them to create a four-year plan of study.

After a year of minimal activity in the senate, Williams and Sanati’s plans to increase collabora-tion between senate members and executive cabinet members and suggestion of more opportunities for students to meet one-on-one with senators could also make for a more productive senate year.

More than just Williams and Sanati’s ideas on pa-per, however, the Traveler Editorial Board appreci-ated the professional demeanor and well-researched conversation that took place during our interview. Every time we asked how a given program would be implemented, the pair had a thorough answer, in-formed by administrator and student input, and this level of preparation left our editorial board confi-dent that Williams and Sanati will do the best job as ASG president and vice president.

Although Michael Dodd and Lauren Waldrip are highly involved across campus and have good ideas, their interview left us with some concerns. When asked about their best leadership quality, they both noted their extensive involvement. Though involve-ment is important, in the opinion of this board in-volvement does not equal strong leadership.

The board also felt that many of the items on Dodd and Waldrip’s campaign platform are not well researched, have already been done or are convolut-ed. Initiatives such as adding more bicycle stands and bringing Rolling with the Razorbacks to base-ball have already been accomplished this year under President Billy Fleming and Vice President Emily Evans. Other platform items, such as “Allow for a forum to consistently analyze how someone might be discriminated against and where we need to draw the line,” left us extremely confused as to their in-tentions.

If Dodd and Waldrip had been working with the administration and current ASG execs more exten-sively, they would have realized the discrepancies in their platform. These inconsistencies are concern-ing because they indicate a potentially underdevel-oped relationship with the administration. Because of their confidence, preparation and experience we must instead support Williams and Sanati.

Marcus Ferreira STAFF CARTOONIST

We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to share our passion for ASG and serving students.

We are fortunate to have a voice on campus like " e Trav-eler that cares so deeply about Student Government. It’s with this gratitude in mind that we would like to address the rea-sons given for not supporting our ticket. In the denial mes-sage from this paper you listed a lack of experience. " is may be true on a strictly ASG level, but we bring a wealth of outside

knowledge to our respective po-sitions from outside of ASG — a fact the student body has been relating to us that they appreci-ate. Emily’s experience as a new member educator in her sorori-ty, coupled with her background in advertising and PR makes her a prime candidate for the voice of ASG to the campus. She un-derstands how to communicate student governments activities to students- and wants to estab-lish full transparency by creating a full directory of campus ser-

vices for students on the ASG website.

Matt was the former man-ager of Cold Stone Creamery and catering business, managing hundreds of thousands of dol-lars in sales as well as an entire crew of employees.

" rough this experience he brings a deep background in planning and management to RSO Appropriations, a process he wants to revamp with an em-phasis on event planning with RSO’s by creating a planning

committee, to help RSO’s with every aspect of the event plan-ning process.

Having experience planning and executing events in his ca-tering business with more than 5,000 people for companies like Wal-Mart, Frito Lay, Kellogs, and more — he is uniquely qual-i! ed for that role.

It would be an honor to serve you,

MATT BAKKE AND EMILY

We are extremely disap-pointed that the Arkansas Trav-eler has chosen not to support the campaign of Michael Dodd and Lauren Waldrip, however, this has not deterred us from our goal.

It is our ! rm belief that these two students exemplify what is great about the University of Arkansas. It is misguided to say that they have been vague or anything less than on point. " ey have numerous goals that they have already begun to work toward accomplishing.

" ese candidates’ platform is solid and clearly answers their plans for ASG. We believe that these candidates will be able to work well with every facet of the administration. Look at experi-ence alone; you’ll be blown away. Michael Dodd has served two terms on the Inter-Fraternity

Executive Council and worked with ASG for two and half years. He has founded an RSO, grown organizations substantially and been successful as a leader in every one. He has been to Afri-ca on a mission trip, fundraised more than $15,000 during vari-ous events, and is always a big part of the blood drive promo-tion on this campus. He is a man worthy to be called your presi-dent and your greatest friend. His love for people and this cam-pus is second to none.

Lauren Waldrip has been a huge part of the Razorback family forever, truly embodying what school spirit and dignity stand for. She’s got the mind-set and the drive to make the event-planning tasks given to her overwhelmingly successful. She always has a servant’s heart and a joyful spirit. " ese candi-

dates have proven track records of advocacy for the students here at the university. Just this past se-mester alone, Michael presented legislation that was later passed regarding medical amnesty for students. " ese candidates have taken up the causes of the stu-dents and made them their own.

When looking for account-ability, one needs look no further than either of these individuals. " ey uphold the highest stan-dards that this campus promotes and stands for. From the begin-ning they stated that they want-ed this campaign to be about what the students want and need and not about the politics. As representatives of the students to the administration and the entirety of the state of Arkansas, they would promote us both in a positive light and build a foun-dation for the future. Moreover,

they have been leaders within our campus.

As Associated Student Gov-ernment president and vice president they would undoubt-edly do a superb job as their re-cords have shown and would be willing to do whatever is nec-essary to continue to meet the high standards that have been set forth by the students. What this university needs in leaders is more than just a politician. " at is why in this election we have placed our unyielding con-! dence in these two candidates and will continue to do so for the remainder of not only the cam-paign but for the remainder of our time here as a student.

DEREK MOORE, BAILEY MOLL, & GRAHAM TALLEY

Campaign Managers for Dodd/Waldrip

A# er reviewing the platforms for ASG secretary and treasurer candidates, the Traveler has chosen to support Sydney Dunn and Austin Reid. " eir platforms demonstrate a greater understanding of the functions of student government and the ways in which they can expand their roles as student leaders and improve the campus community.

Dunn, who is running for secretary, touts a broad range of experience from interning for a public relations ! rm in Washington D.C., and has worked directly with ASG as Director of Campus Safety. She has expressed a detailed plan that draws from universities like Texas A&M that will aid in “recruitment and cultivating knowledge of ASG and leadership involvement opportunities” for freshmen.

Additionally, she has put forth several fresh, new ideas that

could improve the visibility of ASG on campus. Dunn proposes a new Twitter account that would serve as a link between students and the administration. Students could directly contact ASG members in a more comfortable setting, and ideally receive timely responses to their questions and concerns.

" e UA has seen unprecedented growth in recent years — an issue Dunn believes will take time to address. Although she said adjusting to rapid growth is attainable, the challenges facing the university must be communicated to students.

While Dunn’s opponent, Emily Fitzgerald, shows a genuine desire to build upon her ASG career, we believe that Dunn is more quali! ed and has a better, more speci! c plan of action.

Although Fitzgerald claims her strongest attribute as a leader

is her outgoing personality, when asked why she did not submit any legislation in the past semester she revealed that she was too afraid to approach ASG President Billy Fleming for advice on writing a bill.

“I wasn’t just going to go up and ask Billy who knows the ins and outs of ASG,” she said. It is for this reason that we cannot support Fitzgerald for the position of secretary.

" e role of treasurer is speci! cally important to students because it controls the funding of their involvement on campus through Registered Student Organizations. Both Reid and Matt Bakke have impressive resumes and the enthusiasm necessary for such a position, but Reid’s previous role as ASG assistant treasurer and secretary-treasurer of the Residents’ Interhall Congress make him the more quali! ed candidate.

Reid has already begun speaking with various administrators such as Chancellor Gearhart and o$ cials from Florida State University to implement his plan for restructuring the funding process for RSO events.

Instead of having RSO’s submit a funding request a semester in advance, Reid proposes an event-by-event budget process that would allow RSO’s easier access to fund their events.

Bakke had several compelling ideas as well, but when pressed for speci! cs, he sometimes could not deliver. He advocates greater transparency but did not communicate how he would make the o$ ce of treasurer more transparent. Although Bakke and Fitzgerald do have a lot to o% er, based on ASG experience and readiness to jump in from day one, we support Dunn and Reid.

Dunn, Reid for Secretary/Treasurer

The Traveler editorial staff conducted 30-minute interviews with each ticket to determine who we be-lieve will best serve the campus in the next year. Af-ter a careful review of those interviews, the candi-date’s platforms and websites, we believe the ticket of Williams, Sanati, Dunn and Reid will best serve the campus in the next year.

Williams, Sanati For President/VP


Growing Disabled Population Finds Help at CEA! e UA is home to more

than 21,000 students of di" erent races, ethnicities, genders and physical or emotional capabili-ties.

Of those, there are 876 reg-istered students with disabili-ties, according to the Center for Educational Access’ Fall 2010 record.

! ey include 343 students with Attention De# cit Disorder, seven with Autism Spectrum Disorder, 25 with a hearing dis-ability, 141 with a learning dis-ability or disorder, 150 under the Medical/Chronic Health group, 28 with a mobility or orthopedic disorder, 95 with psychological or psychiatric conditions, six with traumatic brain injury, 21 with a visual disability and 60 with temporary conditions.

! ose numbers include just primary conditions, said Anne Jannarone, director of the Cen-ter for Educational Access.

! e number is expected to increase to approximately 1,100 by the end of spring semester, she said.

! e Center for Educational Access sta" help students with disabilities obtain the accom-modations they need for equal access to classroom activity.

“We hire note takers, we have people who convert text-books to Braille and we work with professors to make sure all accommodations with students are met,” Jannarone said.

! e center is doing “well above minimum” to help out students, she said. When fresh-men come on campus, they come to the center to register and employees make sure they get everything they need and more, she said.

Students with mobility, vi-sion or hearing handicap are usually not seen on student tours, said Matt Hargis, associ-ate director of the O$ ce of Ad-missions.

“I don’t think we’ve seen a person in a wheelchair come for a tour in years,” he said. “How-ever, we have had students come with parents in wheelchairs, and we usually just use a golf cart if that is the case to give them the best experience at the univer-sity.”

If a student with crutches were to come and wanted to go on the student tour, we would alter the tour routes to # t the needs of the student, he said.

As the number of handicap students continues to increase, so does the need for an acces-sible UA campus.

Associate Professor for Re-habilitation Education Brent Williams believes it is impor-tant that students realize that a disability has less to do with a person and more to do with the task, he said.

“Take, for example, Michael Phelps and Stephen Hawking,” he said. “When you ask them both to swim, Stephen Hawking will be the one with the disabil-ity. However, if you ask Michael Phelps to get in a Mini Cooper and drive it around, then he will be the one with the disability. We all face times when we are disabled from doing a certain task.”

Williams, who has a genetic condition called retinitis pig-mentosa that limits his vision, sometimes faces environmental barriers that limit where he can go and what he wants to do, he

said.Although many students

have identi# ed the UA campus as “not very handicap acces-sible,” they are very apprecia-tive of the accommodations by teachers, they said.

“All my professors are very understanding and do every-thing that is in my accommo-dations,” said Haley Scholes, a freshman business major. “! ey always have handouts or the work that we are doing ready for me in larger print if it is not online or on blackboard. ! e professors are very vocal so they always talk about the material and say what they are writing so that I can copy it.”

Scholes has retanopothy of prematurity and has no vision in her right eye and vision but no light perception in her le% eye.

“! e University of Arkan-sas is great in every area except being handicap accessible,” she said.

“None of the stairs or side-walks are marked, which I think is poor. ! ere are several cracks in the sidewalks where the con-crete is uneven and I have no depth perception, so I am con-

stantly running over the parts of uneven sidewalk.”

Facilities Management sta" is doing what they can to # x sidewalks that a" ect accessible routes, said Jay Huneycutt, di-rector of planning and capital programming at Facilities Man-agement. In a few cases a pres-sure grout has been used to li% the sidewalk if it has settled.

Scholes also wants to see im-provement in certain computer labs and computer programs, she said.

“! e math department labs are not so great. I don’t like the MyLabsPlus so% ware, not only because it is all online, but also because I have a very hard time seeing it. I have to stick my nose up to the screen to be able to read it,” Scholes said. “I wish that the math lab would buy a so% -ware called ZoomText.”

When Scholes # rst decided to come to the UA, she didn’t really consider all the aspects of accessibility.

“I had a choice between the UA and the community col-lege, and because I wanted to study business, I decided to come here,” she said. “Even to-

day, if I had known that I would encounter all these problems, I think I would still come be-cause the business school is very good.”

When she did arrive on cam-pus, she went through an orien-tation and mobility training and hired someone privately to help her.

“If I had known ahead of time that I would have di$ culty here, I would have set up a meet-ing with people to see how they would # x it,” she said. “Right now, I try to deal with issues as they come up. If I # nd the right person, they are pretty respon-sive, but the problem is actually # nding the right person.”

University sta" has im-proved over the years in handi-cap accessibility, but still has progress to make.

“There is nothing we can do to make northwest Ar-kansas flat, but we can use what resources we have to make it the most accessible we can,” Jannarone said. “Be-fore anything is designed or built, we can start by keeping a diverse group of people in mind.”


Students at the UA have come together to bring awareness to an issue that many have overlooked – students with disabilities and accessibility on campus.

“Sometimes people see a person with a disabil-ity and they just look the other way,” said James Ar-dis, a UA student involved in Disabilities Awareness Week. “The handicap com-munity is part of our fam-ily and everybody needs to be able to understand that.”

Disabilities Aware-ness Week will be April 18 to April 22.

There will be two dis-ability relays Tuesday and Wednesday that will fo-cus on the experience of being in a wheelchair and focus on visual impair-ment, said George Turn-er, coordinator of Dis-abilities Awareness Week.

Students will get a chance to experience what it’s like to have a cer-tain disability and this

will open up grounds for more understand-ing among them, he said.

The relays will be out-side the Union. Follow-ing the relays, is a Speak-ers and Education Fo-rum Thursday, for stu-dents to listen to people who experience disabili-ties everyday and for stu-dents to ask questions.

Turner wants to high-light the strength and ca-pabilities of students with disabilities, he said.

Walkways Trouble Disabled at UAAs Renisha Rivers was ap-

plying for graduate school more than two months ago, she en-countered an unforeseen prob-lem—steep slopes and drainage holes.

She was heading towards the Stone House South o" of Ar-kansas Avenue during her lunch break.

“When I got to the sidewalk, I was a bit worried because it was steep and didn’t seem to accessi-ble, but it was the only way to go, so I went ahead,” she said. “I was going pretty fast and there was a drainage with holes the same size as my tires.”

Her wheelchair tires got stuck in the drainage and she was thrown o" her wheelchair. She su" ered scrapes on her hands and elbows.

“! ankfully, there were two men there to help me back into the chair. When I went in the building and told them about what happened, the # rst com-ment I received was ‘Well, we have never had anybody in a wheelchair come here before’,” she said. “! at made me really mad.”

To this day, the sidewalk and stone grate obstacle remain the only way for a person in a wheel-chair to get inside the building, however, Rivers has received no-ti# cation that people are looking into the problem.

Rivers, a vocational rehabili-tation counselor, was in a car ac-cident her freshman year of col-lege. She su" ered a spinal chord injury and now uses a manual wheelchair for mobility.

Her experience at the UA is very limited, she said. Cracked sidewalks and ramps make it di$ cult for her to maneuver around, so she mostly stays in the Graduate Education building.

! e problem lies in people’s attitudes, said Brent Williams, associate professor and program coordinator for the Rehabilita-tion Education and Research Program.

“When people are planning buildings, there are people that think along the lines of ‘those people’ or the ‘others’ and they have a begrudging attitude that ADA compliance is something they have to do,” he said.

! e ADA is a federal law that recognizes and protects the civil rights of people with disabilities.

“If we look at campus from an aerial point of view, the # rst thing we will see is parking issues,” he said. “Accessible parking seems to be an a% erthought.”

! ere are 12,757 parking spots on campus, of which 290 are accessible parking spots, said Andy Gilbride, education and instruction specialist for Transit Parking.

“It is not enough,” Rivers said. “! ere have been days when I’ve had to miss class because I couldn’t # nd a parking spot. I would just have to sit around and wait for hours for a spot to clear.”

On top of parking, sidewalks, ramps and buildings are issues that need to be addressed, she said.

“! ere might be poles in the middle of sidewalks or cracks in the middle of ramps,” she said. “! ese cracks can be very dan-gerous for a person in a manual wheelchair.”

With all the snow, freezing temperatures and changes in weather, cracks are bound to ap-pear, said Jay Huneycutt, director of planning and capital program-ming at facilities management.

Sidewalks with cracks that af-fect accessible routes have been replaced. Although there are still de# ciencies in creating a com-pletely ADA accessible campus, facilities management has been working since the ADA went into e" ect in 1990.

“Fi% een years ago, we had a campus-wide ramp installation project and we went through # x-ing ramps in di" erent locations,” he said. “We also made bath-rooms handicap accessible in 15 buildings where there was not a handicap option previously.”

Campus Architect Larry Smith has devised a 10-year plan to make buildings on campus as accessible as possible, he said.

“Before I came to the univer-sity, there was a Campus Access Committee that went through all the buildings and reviewed them for de# ciencies,” he said. “I made a transition plan to correct those de# ciencies.”

He addressed many catego-ries of accessibility work includ-ing accessible routes, ramps, stairs, doors, elevators, handrails, detectable warnings, hardware, toilets, drinking fountains, sig-nage, visual alarms and assisted listening devices, he said.

“We’ve done millions of dol-lars worth of remodeling,” he said. “Not only have we been do-ing what is in the plans, but each time any building is remodeled, accessibility is met.”

However, not all buildings will be changed.

“! e Agriculture Annex and the Academic Support Build-ing are two buildings that are an accessible challenge because their entry levels are several steps above grade level and they have multiple & oor levels inside,” Smith said.

Not all existing buildings are required to be made accessible, but all services, programs and ac-tivities are so in the case of non-accessible buildings, the service, program or activity can be relo-cated to an accessible building to comply with requirements, he said.

Huneycutt and Smith are also in a group for a campus-wide ADA plan and are beginning the second phase.

! ey will be analyzing all the buildings, parking lots, side-walks, transit system, residence halls and athletics facilities.

Architects working on the 25-year master plan for the UA will design buildings in compli-ance with the 2010 ADA regula-tions.

“We have a tight budget and may not be able to do everything we want, but we will make sure that building are within regula-tions of ADA,” Huneycutt said.

However, even though new buildings are “within regulations of ADA”, they are not necessarily accessible, said Brent Williams, associate professor of Rehabilita-tion Education.

“Take a look at the new book-store. ! e elevator is located out-side the building, in the parking garage. So if a student in a wheel-chair wanted to shop for clothes on the # rst & oor and then go up to buy a textbook, he or she would have to go out of the store to access the elevator,” he said. “What has happened in the past is that students who did this have been stopped and accused of stealing, when they were actually just trying to get to the elevator.”

Williams was very upset this would be a problem in a new building, he said.

“! e elevators are in a cen-tralized location so they can be accessed by both people in the garage and the bookstore,” Huneycutt said. “It was a matter of trying to meet the require-ment and meet the budget.”

! e elevators are not the only problem that students have iden-ti# ed with the new bookstore.

Student Haley Scholes, who has a visual impairment condi-tion, “has a hard time getting up the stairs,” she said. “It is very poor that in a brand new build-ing, the stairs up to the second & oor have no contrast at all. I have a really hard time getting up and down the stairs because they are not marked and I wish it was not that way.”

Bookstore Director Ali Sa-deghi sees this as a problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible, he said.

“I have not been aware of the problem that shoppers had been accused of stealing or about the stairs,” he said.

Sadeghi has a daughter who was in an accident a few years ago and paralyzed from the neck down and is “very sensitive to this issue” and sees it as very im-portant, he said. He wants to talk to the students and walk the & oor with them and with campus planning, so that the problem can be # xed as soon as possible.

“We want to be problem solv-ers, not problem creators,” he said.


Disabilities Awareness Week is April 18 - 22



EDITOR: Lindsey Pruitt MANAGING EDITOR: Erin Robertson



Courtesy Photo

Neil Berg Shows O! 100 Years of Broadway

Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway cast will perform at the Walton Arts Center March 29 through April 2 Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m.

The third annual Fayetteville MS Walk is scheduled for April 16, and the pro-jected turnout appears to be the largest in the event’s history. The goal of the MS walk is to raise money for multiple scle-rosis research, a debilitating, progres-sive and currently uncured disease of the nervous system.

“Our goal this year is to make the walk as public as possible,” said sophomore Jordan Carr, president of Students Sup-porting Multiple Sclerosis Research. “In past years it has been successful, but not as big as we wanted it to be. We hope to change that.”

This year’s event will feature not only a one-mile walk, but a 5K race as well. The Razorback cross country team has volunteered to lead the way on the lat-ter event, Carr said. The walk route will wind through the University Gardens, while the 5K portion will encircle the UA campus and parts of downtown Fay-etteville.

“The more people know about multi-ple sclerosis, the better,” Carr said. “The ultimate goal is to find a cure for MS. Raising money and raising awareness are the only ways we can achieve that.”

UA graduate Shannon Blackwell will be participating in the MS walk for the third year in a row.

“I expect this one to be even better than the others,” she said. “That is how they have been every year, and I expect nothing different this year.”

Blackwell believes in the walk’s cause so much that she is commuting all the way from Tulsa to participate. “Regard-less of whether I am a student or not, I

will still be there,” she said.Carr, an Air Force ROTC cadet ma-

joring in criminal justice, has deeply personal reasons for taking the reins of this year’s walk. Wes Carr, Jordan’s older brother, held the first ever event in Fay-etteville in 2009 after their mother, Jan, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The diagnosis was particularly shocking to the family since Jan was a triathlete and a lifelong fitness enthusiast.

“Normal people have MS, and can get it, and do,” Carr said.

According to the National MS Society, the disease affects twice as many women as men. Caucasians of northern Europe-an ancestry are particularly prone to the disease, although it affects people of all ethnic backgrounds. About 2.5 million people worldwide have MS, and 400,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with it.

“Once you know one person with MS, you can immediately sympathize with anybody else who has it,” Carr said. !

The effects of MS are devastating, and can have rapid onset. According to the National MS Society, symptoms can include blurred vision, loss of bal-ance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentra-tion, paralysis and blindness.

MS is in no way a contagious disease, but scientists think it is genetically in-herited.

MS comes in two varieties: progressive and recessive. Progressive MS marches mercilessly through different parts of the brain and nervous system, methodi-cally damaging and disabling the pa-tient’s body with a linear regularity. Un-less prescribed medication – which can

reduce, but not reverse the effects of MS - the disease will continue to worsen. In rare cases, if left undiagnosed, the dis-ease can be fatal.

Recessive MS behaves differently, flaring up in short spurts of weeks or months and leaving the patient tempo-rarily very weak, sometimes helplessly so. Carr, who has been around many MS patients, said the effect of this type of MS was similar to that of “having a re-ally bad flu for an entire month.”

While treatments exist to treat MS and alleviate some of its immediate symp-toms, no cure exists that can reverse the effects of the disease or prevent its ac-quisition.

“It’s a hard thing to track down,” Carr said. “If we even knew the cause, it would be easier to find a cure.”

He said that seeing others who had to live with the reality of multiple sclero-sis was a very humbling experience. “It makes you sensitive to the fact that you take a lot of things for granted in your own life when you see them taken away from someone else,” Carr said.

The result was the creation of an event that, in the last two years, has raised more than $41,000 for the National MS Society. “You come to a choice,” Carr said. “You ask yourself, ‘Am I going to do something about this, or just hope that others will?’”

Registration for the walk can be com-pleted online through the Facebook fan page, “Walk MS/5K Fayetteville,” or at 9:00 a.m. in the HPER building on April 16. Participants can sign up as teams or as individual walkers. While there is no fee for registration, donations to the MS Walk are highly encouraged and appre-ciated.

Students Walking for ChangeStudents Raise Awareness and Money for Multiple Sclerosis

by ANDREW VAN GENDERENStaff Writer

Walkers raise awareness at a previous MS Walk. Registration for the Fayetteville MS Walk can be completed online through the Facebook fan page or at 9:00 a.m. in the HPER building on April 16. Participants can sign up as teams or as individual walkers. While there is no fee for registration, donations to the MS Walk are highly encouraged and appreciated.

Courtesy Photo

Grammy Award-winning country breakthrough artists from Zac Brown Band sold out George’s Majestic Lounge in 2009, but that was before a barrage of Grammy nomina-tions, and before their second major-record album, “You Get What You Give,” con-quered Billboard.

When they return to Arkan-sas Friday, April 15, they won’t be gracing George’s, where so many other country acts have boot-scu" ed its stage. # e venue can no longer hold the modern country stars, who will instead perform a special show at Mulberry Mountain.

Who could have guessed that Mulberry Mountain, a vast stretch of land outside Ozark, a town about an hour south of Fayetteville, would slowly become the state’s hot-test outdoor venue? For the past few years, festivals like Wakarusa and Yonder Moun-tain String Band’s Harvest Festival have brought thou-sands to an otherwise quiet river valley.

# e venue rarely hosts con-certs for a single artist – for Zac Brown Band, Mulberry made an exception.

# eir ascent was a swi$ one, (bandleader Zac Brown called it “a violent growth”) and it followed 13 years of bar band anonymity. Now the group is a high-dollar headliner, and Brown is the curator of a food and music festival in Clemson, S.C. – you’d be for-given for doubting him when he sings, “no, we don’t have a

lot of money,” in the 2010 hit, “Free.”

# e attention has certainly a" orded Zac Brown Band a slicker sound – the band’s trademark has always been its glorious harmonies (ZBB won Best Country Collaboration with Vocals this year for “As She’s Walking Away,” a mov-ing Alan Jackson duet) and, they sound even better on the decidedly hi-% “You Give What You Get.”

Every band claims their music is “unclassi% able,” as if their melodies and rhythms were channeled from some mystic beyond, as if their songs have no precedent. # e Zac Brown website makes the same claim, but actually quite the opposite is true. # e breadth of in& uences – south-ern rockabilly, folk, country and, sometimes, hints of reg-gae or metal – makes for the band’s delightfully nuanced sound.

If the fame has brought the band a louder, more com-mercial sound, perhaps it’s strengthened their white-collar pride. Zac Brown Band revels in simplicity. “Toes” % nds the singer with a cold beer, his “toes in the water” and his “ass in the sand.” In “I Play the Road,” the band yearns to come home from a long tour. (# is song soundtracked a recent NAS-CAR commercial)

But unlike most modern country acts, Zac Brown nev-er swings from & eshly plea-sures to contrived sentimen-tality. Each song is a pocket of sunny gratitude, and this is their strength.

Zac Brown Band Expands from Bars

to Mountainsby BRADY TACKETT

Staff Writer

IF YOU GO:Zac Brown Band will perform at Mulberry Mountain on Friday, April 15. Tickets start at $39.50, and can

be purchased by calling 785-749-3434.

At 6:15 on Monday evenings, band members trickle into # e Perk on Wedington Drive. # ey come from all areas of the country and all di" erent back-grounds, ranging in age from as young as 15 to as old as 75. Most of them know the barista behind the counter by name and greet him with a warm hello.

Within % ve minutes, they have brought in ampli% ers, six microphones, a keyboard, three guitars, an electric bass and a banjo. What they do not have, however, is sheet music.

“I play the bass and the guitar, and I can sing,” said UA sopho-more Stephanie Petet, who has been a part of this jam group for two and a half years now. “Of course there are the regular people that always come, but sometimes there are new peo-ple, and it is great when you get to play with them.”

# e rules of the group are simple. First, show up with your own instrument. Second, be willing to play it with gusto. Skill here matters less than en-thusiasm and a willingness to try new things. # e purpose of

the group is to hold regular jam sessions as an outlet for a week’s worth of pent-up musical cre-ativity. # ey are not classically trained musicians, but they are musical purists nonetheless. # ey are innovators, improvis-ers, masters of the impromptu.

“It is a great place to learn,” Petet said. As she spoke, a man behind her struck a badly fret-ted chord, and discussed ways to correct it with the bass player, who o" ered advice.

Cory Hart, a former NWACC student who is now raising her teenage children, % nds time ev-ery week to play with the group. “Some people come in and they are shy, but the next thing you know they are playing on their own,” she said. “# ey have con-% dence now.”

Pat Hall, who studied at North Texas in his college years, heard of the group by word of mouth. He is now a regular gui-tarist in the band.

“I had a couple of bands that played here [in # e Perk], and I saw the & iers for this,” Hall said.

# e group is known to meet at various places around Fay-etteville, including the Pig-N-Whistle, but meets at # e Perk

Local RestaurantIntroduces

Musical Perksby ANDREW VAN GENDEREN

Staff Writer

see MUSICAL PERKSon page 8


With local artwork, one-of-a-kind home décor and vintage clothing and jewelry to creativity-loving custom-ers, Red Hill Gallery and Homewares is making its mark among art-inspired locals.

Decorative pillows, intri-cate jewelry and swirls of paint on large canvases dec-orate the walls of Red Hill Gallery. Located in a small strip mall on North College Avenue between Lafayette and Maple Street, Red Hill has been celebrated by shop-pers since its grand opening Nov. 18.

Owners Cari Humphry and Shannon Peters, both UA graduates, first opened the store to share their love of art with the public.

“Cari and I opened Red Hill mainly to have a place to showcase local origi-nal artwork, but also to sell things that we both love and think are things other peo-ple would love, but can’t find anywhere else,” Peters said.

“We sell original and re-production artwork from several local artists. Cari and I would much rather have an original piece or print from someone we know instead of going to a store and get-ting something that people

already have,” she said.The Red Hill owners not

only enjoy featuring local artists, but also try to make art affordable.

“A lot of people think that art is too expensive, and we try to make it affordable for people. Everything in our store is well priced,” Peters said.

With a steady stream of customers, Red Hill caters to everyone and greets up to 30 customers on a Saturday, a good number for a new gal-lery, she said.

As well as supporting lo-cal artists, Red Hill sells handcrafted pottery, jewelry, soaps and textiles. Embroi-

dered tea towels, vintage candles and other unique treasures entice guests to in-vestigate each piece for sale.

“We have fun vintage finds and some inventory that is just because we like it,” she said.

Items like quilts, remod-eled furniture and metal let-ters give the shop a uniquely vintage feel, setting it aside from other local home décor businesses.

“I love all the hand painted farm animals they have for sale. They are the perfect store for a farmhouse style.

Red Hill Gallery Opens Doorsto Fayetteville Art Lovers

by EMILY POTTSStaff Writer

Emily Potts STAFF WRITER

Red Hill Gallery and Homewares features original paintings and art work from local artists, antiques, repurposed housewares and stylish gifts.

see RED HILLon page 8

Brady Cox is a professor with Civil Engineering. He came to the UA almost ! ve years ago a" er ! n-ishing graduate school at the Uni-versity of Texas at Austin. One of the expert faculty on campus, Cox specializes in earthquake impact on engineered buildings.

Q: Why did you choose to

come to the UA?A: ! ey contacted me when

I was in graduate school about coming up here and applying for a position. I knew that there was an earthquake seismic zone in the state that was under-researched, so I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to come up here and work on some earth-quake research.

Q: ! e buildings in Japan

were built to withstand earth-quakes, so why is it such a disas-ter?

A: Many buildings in Japan were designed by the Japanese code. ! e codes in Japan and the codes in the United States are some of the best building codes in the world. ! at doesn’t mean, though, that everything will be just " ne and dandy when an earthquake happens, because sometimes things happen that surprise us. What’s going on with the nuclear power plant, for ex-ample, is a surprise, because nu-clear power plants in particular are very scrutinized when they are designed and constructed, es-pecially in seismic areas. ! ey go through the most rigorous seismic design that you could imagine. When one of those is damaged and something happens to a nu-clear power plant, then obviously something happened that wasn’t considered in the seismic design of that structure.

Q: What exactly happened

with the nuclear power plants in Japan?

A: What started the disaster in terms of what happened with the

nuclear power plants was not any-thing structural as far as anything collapsed when the ground shook. It was a direct result of the tsuna-mi that came in and knocked out the power to the power plant. ! ey couldn’t get power and their backup system failed for some reason. I’ve heard various reports of what happened, and I don’t know what’s true and what’s not true. ! e primary system failed; the secondary system failed. Af-ter that, then it led to this cascad-ing type of failure. We call those secondary e# ects. In earthquakes you have primary e# ects, which are strong ground shaking, which causes things to fall down, and then there are secondary e# ects, like tsunamis and landslides and other things, which are caused by the earthquake, and they do more damage.

Q: Did you research the

earthquake a few weeks ago that was in Arkansas?

A: A little bit. I usually don’t get involved until the earthquakes start to get pretty big, maybe over 6.0 or something like that. ! at’s usually because with earthquakes smaller than that, o$ en times you don’t see a lot of damage to engi-neered structures. Engineers usu-ally focus on earthquakes that cause damage. ! at earthquake did cause a little bit of damage, but it was what we call non-structur-al damage to some buildings that were right over the epicenter of the earthquake.

Q: What’s something you

" nd interesting concerning Ar-kansas and it’s proximity to the New Madrid Fault?

A: ! ere are areas of the state that [have high seismic activity.] We have bulls eye over the corner of the state and our design ground motions are every bit as high as the coast of California. We have a real seismic hazard in part of our state. ! ere are counties that have passed laws that say we don’t have to follow the building code, and I think that’s a very dangerous thing to do.

PROFILES FROM THE HILLA Conversation with Brady Cox

by KRISTEN CAPPOLAStaff Writer

PAGE 8 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011PAGE 8 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011

every Monday at 6:30 p.m. to play. All newcomers are wel-come and encouraged.

As the spring-like twilight sank deeper into purple hues, the band tuned up, tossed around ideas for a ! rst song and toyed with adjustments to their instruments.

“What kind of a sustained or-gan sound do you have on your keyboard?” one band member asked another.

A" er an hour of listening to the jam group, one patron in the restaurant struck up conversa-tion with Hall, and soon found himself being recruited to join the band. # e fact that he did not have his instrument with him did nothing to dissuade the beckoning band members.

“So go get that guitar of yours!” Hall said heartily. “We’re going to be here until nine; I don’t know what you’re waiting for. I mean, do you want one of us to play really badly so you feel like you can join in?”

from MUSICAL PERKSon page 6

Courtesy PhotoThe Perk, a coffee shop known for fresh ingredients and an indie vibe, hosts a vari-ety of local musical flavor every Monday night at 6:30 p.m.

With warm weather on the way and summer approach-ing, students will look to a variety of outdoor activi-ties for entertainment and relaxation. Paintball and target shooting are two hob-bies that have become more popular in the last few years due to an increase in gun en-thusiasm.

UA student Adam Bergan described paintball as an adrenaline rush.

“I think that the equip-ment involved and the way that you engage and mark other players really sets it apart from other sports,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed paintball as a team sport, and preferred to play tour-naments on speedball and air ball fields. That style of play for me specifically, and paintball as a whole, offers a non-stop tactical challenge.”

Paintball has been around since the early 1980s, and since then its popularity has grown steadily. Although it is classified as an “extreme” sport, it can still be a fun way to get out and enjoy the day with friends. The tools of the trade include a paintball

marker, safety mask, a tank of carbon dioxide or com-pressed air and, of course, paintballs. The objective is to expel a paintball at an average ve- locity of 280 feet per sec-ond to-wards the o p p o n e n t . It’s basically like a game of tag. Once you are hit with a paintball, you’re out of the game. The manner in which a round takes place is dependent upon the field or course of play. Some are dense with cover, while others have a lot of open areas.

For those interested in paintball, Wild World Paintball in Springdale is known as the only regula-tion x-ball field within 50 miles in any direc-tion, according to Wild World’s website. $

“It’s the only place to play paintball within an hour and a half drive north, south,

east or west,” said Ashton Cave, an employee from Wild World.

They offer seven differ-ent fields to play on, and are open Monday through Fri-day by appointment, Satur-

day from 10 a.m. until the last person leaves,

and Sunday from 1 p.m. until the last person leaves. They also rent safety equipment, markers and paintballs.Wondering how bad a

paintball hurts? “It’s about the equivalent

of a wet towel snap,” Cave said.

But don’t let that be a de-terrent. “Try something dif-

ferent, give it a shot. Ten-year-old kids play it and we get people that are always nervous their first time, but after the first round they come back and are like, ‘Oh well that was actually really fun,’” Cave said.

Several locations around Fayetteville sup-ply paintball equip-

ment. B&E Paintball Sup-plies is a local shop dedicated to paintball gear, equipment and supplies. They’ve re-cently relocated to the cor-

ner of Wedington Street and Rupple Road. Other loca-tions that offer paintball equipment are Walmart and Academy Sports.

For those that prefer shooting a real gun, there are several shooting ranges that teach how to safely use

a firearm. “I think the ability

to safely and effec-tively use firearms is important for all

individuals,” said UA student and gun enthusiast

Nathan Del Rio. “Shooting is like many other skills, con-tinual practice is necessary for maintaining and improv-ing.”

The safe use of firearms is always stressed, but students can also enjoy it as a sport.

“It is a great way to get out and relax,” Del

Rio said.O z a r k

Gun Shop in S p r i n g d a l e

offers more than 1000 new

and used firearms in stock for sale or

trade. They also carry ammunition, supplies, gear and accessories. A few other suggested gun shops include Ozark Sportsman’s Supply in

Springdale and Strum’s In-door Gun Range.

Whether you are marking your friends with a paint-ball, or penetrating targets at the firing range, there is no shortage of recreation lo-cally.

“The right to bare arms is a right Americans should not take for granted,” Del Rio said.

Fayetteville Well-Equipped for Target Shooting and Paintballby ALEKSANDR HALLContributing Writer

Bella Vista Property Owners Association

Highlands Gun RangeFeatures a 100 yard rifl e range, and a 50 yard pistol rangeAbout 40 miles from campus

Hobbs State ParkConservation Area

Shooting RangeFeatures 25, 50, 75, 100 yard target stand with covered shooting benchesAbout 34 miles from campus

Sturm’s Indoor Gun RangeFeatures a 25 yard pistol range$10 lane rental$5 fi rearms rentalsAbout 12 miles from campus

A few shooting ranges to consider are...

Photo Illustration by: Leah Young

Lots of gorgeous vintage finds like wire baskets and adorable artwork. The own-ers are as sweet as can be too,” said Erika Dotson, a lo-cal photographer.

The gallery offers up a little bit of everything, from items that are known to sell to finds that the owners like and want to feature.

“Red Hill has the perfect mix of local handmade and

found vintage items. There is always something new when I visit, and the owners Cari and Shannon are great,” said customer Laurie Mar-shall.

Created by locals for lo-cals, Peters and Humphry feel that their store is “a little bit eclectic, homey and a fresh take on a lot of vintage stuff.”

Pursuing a love of art and design while changing the often-overlooked fun of visiting the art showroom,

both owners strive to make gallery shopping less for-mal and more interesting. For many, art galleries can be unapproachable because of high costs and an upper-class customer base.

“Galleries in general can be intimidating, but our shop is not like that. $The artwork is really fun stuff, and the store is affordable and accessible. The other inventory is just not what you’ll find in most stores. It’s a fun place,” Pe-ters said.

from RED HILLon page 7

PAGE 9 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 Comics, Games, & Much Much More!


WORD SEARCH

CROSSWORD

THAT MONKEY TUNE Michael A. Kandalaft

BREWSTER ROCKIT Tim Rickard

WONDERMARK David Malki!

MondayTuesday

WednesdayThursday

FridaySaturdaySunday

LAUGH IT UP

THEME: DAYS OF THE WEEK

SUDOKU



THIS WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

SOLUTION

S A C D Y A D S R U H T N S A

R R A S A R I U O S A D E S H

U T Y A D N U S H T F C S S T

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Y N Y I E D Y D W M U W S U D

E I N A N A Y F U Y A R T W T

Y A U A D R S A R T A D I O M

N U W R E R D D D I U D F Y A

Y N D N W D U M O N D A Y R H

A S N F Y C Y T Y A A A E T U

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I Y N W R H D H A S Y T N O H

A E Y Y Y T Y Y E W D I Y I D

R A R A D R R U S A M H D Y U

U C H R I S T D U O Y O C A M

Q: What’s brown and sounds like a bell?A: Dung.

Q: What’s yellow and can’t swim?A: A bulldozer.

CALAMITIES OF NATURE Tony Piro

ACROSS1 Lambasted2 Put to work again3 Titillating4 Singer with the Mel-Tones5 Brick baker6 George W.’s ! rst press secretary7 Attacked with clubs and such8 In the future9 Glum10 Liar’s undoing11 Fact-! nding process12 Understanding between na-tions13 Method18 It stretches from Maine to Florida22 Make better, as cheddar25 Lord’s laborer26 Falling object’s direction27 __ Spiegel: German magazine30 Stumblebum33 Roadside rest stop34 Clairvoyance, brie" y36 Like many a slick road37 Passé38 Lash " ash?39 Su# x with cord40 Scale fourths41 Fictional Arabic woodcutter45 Wall St. hedger46 Ares or Mars48 Stimulate49 Uncle __: Berle nickname50 Western dry lakes52 How to turn something into nothing?53 E$ ect’s partner55 Go by bike58 Youngest to reach 500 HRs59 Auto club o$ ering60 What mad people see?62 Pint contents

DOWN

Crossword by MCT Campus

1 Poker Flat chronicler Harte5 Syrup brand9 Scatter14 Plane opening?15 Farsi-speaking republic16 Sports venue17 Where sea meets sand19 Like most attics20 Mob enforcer21 Gp. concerned with " uoride safety23 Links elevator?24 Old Great Lakes natives25 Behind-the-scenes worker28 Christmas mo.29 Water temperature gauge?31 Pro vote32 USPS carrier’s assignment33 Words of sympathy35 Potato cutter37 Light controller—either of its ! rst two words can precede either part of 17-, 25-, 51- and 61-Across40 Flora eaters, perhaps42 Brief and forceful43 Pilot’s no.44 Toothed tool47 Unused48 Rock guitarist’s aid51 Distract54 Spring time56 Place for a pint57 Place for a cup58 Anatomical ring59 Steppes native61 Sentry’s job63 Carrying a lot of weight64 Cold capital?65 Largest continent66 Used hip boots67 Feat68 Winemaking waste

Di! culty:

Di! culty:

! e odds of Mike Anderson returning to coach at Arkansas seemed slimmer nine years ago than a 2011 VCU Final Four run.

Anyone who put money on either thing occurring is having an awesome week.

Anderson is back at a place he calls home, a place he spent 17 years at while winning a national title and going to three Final Fours as Nolan Richardson’s head assis-tant.

He was clearly happy to be back. He called it coming home and talked about it being a dream.

Home was one of the buzz words at his introductory press conference Saturday. ! e other was winning.

“I’m used to seeing every seat (in Bud Walton Arena) " lled,” An-derson said. “I’m used to seeing of-" cials have to cover their ears be-cause it’s so loud in here. I’m used to winning. How about that?”

Anderson plans on winning with his up-tempo brand of bas-ketball dubbed the “Fastest 40 Minutes In Basketball.” He called it a fun, exciting, style of play that picks opponents up “when they get o# the damn bus.”

“More importantly, we’re going to play winning basketball,” An-derson said.

He won at Missouri and UAB with that style.

Anderson then started talking about the style of players he want-ed. He mentioned the importance of character, something Hog fans should value a$ er the o# -court is-sues in the John Pelphrey era.

! e next thing on his recruit-ing checklist wasn’t surprising.

“In recruiting, we want to get the best guys that " t our system,” Anderson said. “I like winners.

Arkansas is in its second week of spring practice and there are position battles ongo-ing on the o# ensive line, in the secondary and at quarterback.

In addition to the position battles, questions surround-ing the leadership on the team haven’t been answered. Inju-ries have a# ected several 2010 starters and backups are get-ting more reps.

Here are " ve things to watch in the " nal three weeks of spring practice.

Battle for Playing Time on the O! ensive Line

! e Razorbacks lost three starters on the o# ensive front from last season. With sev-eral o# ensive lineman in this year’s recruiting class already on campus and several key reserves returning, rebuild-ing the O-Line is a major focal point of spring practice.

True freshman and ear-ly enrollee Brey Cook is one of the top candidates to take over one of the o# ensive tack-

le positions le$ by seniors Ray Dominguez and DeMar-cus Love. Cook, a 6-foot-7, 320-pound Springdale native has worked with the " rst team during the early portion of spring practice.

“Very talented,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said of Cook. “He was well coached out of high school and I think that helps a lot. To come in a do the things he has done physically in the weight room and in all our testing, he is physically ready to go.”

Competing with Cook at strong tackle is Jason Peacock, a junior college transfer from Citrus Community College in California.

On the opposite side of the line at the other tackle spot, Grant Freeman and Anthony Oden have both been receiv-ing time in the spring. Free-

man played sparingly last year, while Oden missed the fall se-mester with mononucleosis af-ter starting one game as a true freshman.

Secondary Shu" e

Last season ended with Isaac Madison and Darius Winston as the starting cornerbacks on defense.

Winston saw his playing

time increase a$ er an ankle injury caused senior Ramon Broadway to miss the remain-der of the season.

Madison and Winston are competing against one anoth-er for what Petrino calls the “shutdown corner,” position this spring. Winston and Madi-


PAGE 10 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 SPORTS EDITOR: Jimmy Carter ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: Zach Turner



BASKETBALL

Long Journey Leads Anderson Home

JONATHAN GIBSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Anderson returns to Arkansas after leading Missouri to a 111-56 record in five seasons, including a 31-7 record and Elite Eight appearance in 2009.

New Arkansas head basket-ball coach Mike Anderson took an unexpected route to getting his dream job.

Most coaches wouldn’t want to return to a school where their mentor and boss was " red. Most coaches wouldn’t have the oppor-tunity.

“I think it says in the good book that sometimes one window closes and another opens up,” An-derson said.

Anderson was former Ar-kansas coach Nolan Richardson’s head assistant for 17 seasons, helping lead the Razorbacks dur-ing the most successful stretch in school history. ! e Hogs went to three Final Fours, won the 1994 national championship and were the winningest program in college

basketball from 1990-95.Arkansas was one of the most

feared programs in the nation, pressuring opponents with its trademark “40 Minutes of Hell” system.

! e success tapered o# in the late 90s and early last decade, until Richardson famously said the uni-versity could pay him his money and he would leave a$ er a 71-58 loss at Kentucky. Less than one

week later, Richardson was " red. Anderson went 1-1 as the in-

terim coach to " nish the season. He interviewed for the job, but wasn’t seriously considered, lead-ing him to take the Alabama-Bir-mingham head coaching job in his hometown.

“Sometimes journeys take on a mind of their own,” Anderson said Saturday in his introductory press conference. “I don’t think

it’s me, I think it’s just the good Lord working in me. In 2002, you all know the date and what took place. ! e University (of Arkan-sas) did what it had to do and Mike Anderson did what he had to do.”

! e relationship between the coaching sta# and univer-sity seemed irreparably severed, though. Richardson " led a lawsuit against Arkansas, which was dis-

missed. ! e Razorbacks strug-

gled through the Stan Heath and John Pelphrey coaching tenures, making just three NCAA Tournament appearances and winning no SEC West titles in nine years.

Meanwhile, Anderson turned around a struggling UAB pro-

by JIMMY CARTERSports Editor

Anderson: Signees on Board with HireNew Arkansas head basket-

ball coach Mike Anderson didn’t have the luxury of soaking in the moment of his return to the school where he was an assistant

for 17 years.He had to get to work on re-

taining the highly-touted recruit-ing class former coach John Pel-phrey inked in November.

! e class, ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation by Scout.com, is comprised of " ve signees. An-

derson contacted each of the re-cruits in person or on the phone and said he was con" dent they would remain committed to the Razorbacks.

“Oh, absolutely,” Anderson said when asked if he thought he would retain all " ve signees.

“Without a doubt. ! ey’re ex-cited about what’s taking place. I got here and hit the ground run-ning. I had to go out and see the guys we’re recruiting. I’ve had a chance to visit with those re-

by JIMMY CARTERSports Editor

see ANDERSONon page 11

see SIGNEESon page 12

Hire ProvidesHope for Fans

Extra Points

JIMMY [email protected]

FOOTBALLBASEBALL

Hogs Struggle in Conference PlayNo. 13 Arkansas has

dominated nonconference opponents this season, go-ing 14-2 and winning by a margin of 67 runs.

Early Southeastern Conference play has been a different story.

The Diamond Hogs have won the first game in both SEC series, but that’s it. The Razorbacks(19-5, 2-4 SEC) lost three-game series to Auburn and Vanderbilt.

After the series-open-ing win against Vanderbilt, Arkansas’ bats went cold. The Razorbacks were able to bat in only four runs in three games.

The Hogs stranded run-ners in scoring positiong multiple times throughout both SEC series. In the two losses to Vandy, the Hogs converted only two runs on nine hits.

“We had runners in scoring position and we didn’t do a very good job,” Van Horn said. “If you get one pitch with bases load-ed, one out, you’re down 2-0, you better hit it, don’t foul it off. And you can’t chase, I thought we chased.

“Instead of umpiring, I’d rather have them swing. I felt like our guys tried to umpire.”

The Razorbacks are lacking in production in the middle of the batting order, Van Horn said.

“The middle of the or-der has been nonexistent,”

Van Horn said. “That’s four games in a row that we have no middle of the batting order. The end of the order chips away and gets on a little bit and the top of the order is getting on base, but the middle

has been where the prob-lem is.”

The Commodores were hitting better than .315 en-tering the series, but the Hogs’ pitching staff al-lowed only seven runs. Randall Fant suffered the loss Sunday, but allowed only one run. The Razor-backs problems were on the offensive end.

“I’m proud of Randall Fant,” Van Horn said. “He made a mistake with one pitch, it left the yard. So what? That’s OK, but the offense, that was pretty rough this weekend. Right now, we have to get it going on the offensive side.”

The Razorbacks have a youthful roster, but inex-perience isn’t to blame.

“It’s the older guys,” Van Horn said. “What are

by PATRICK GRINNANStaff Writer

see BASEBALLon page 13

UPCOMING GAMESFriday — AT Alabama, 6:35 p.m.Sewell-Thomas Field, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Saturday — AT Alabama, 2:05 p.m.Sewell-Thomas Field, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Sunday — AT Alabama, 1 p.m.Sewell-Thomas Field, Tuscaloosa, Ala. REMAINING SPRING

PRACTICE DATESWednesday, March 30Friday, April 1Saturday, April 2Tuesday, April 5Wednesday, April 6Friday, April 8Saturday, April 9Tuesday, April 12Wednesday, April 13Friday, April 15Saturday, April 16 — Spring Game, 2 p.m., ESPN

* ALL PRACTICES OPEN TO PUBLIC

Five Things to Watch in Spring Practice

GARETH PATTERSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER !"#$%&'"(()&*+,-./"&.0+/,.1&+0&-+$+.2+-&3"+&40#56&#6&"/+&"7&,%+&8"96:&;+#0<ers this spring.

see FOOTBALLon page 13

see HOPEon page 11

Old-Fashioned 3-point Play

ZACH [email protected]


CHECK US OUTONLINE @ uatrav.comTo advertise, contact Cannon McNair

at 479.575.3839


! rst.”He’s not satis! ed with being

home. He wants to match the suc-cess he had his ! rst stint at Arkan-sas.

Razorback fans were more than ready for the homecom-ing. Around 7,000 fans showed up to Anderson’s introductory press conference, more than many games this season in John Pel-phrey’s ! nal year and de! nitely louder than most games.

" ey’re getting their identity as a program back.

Under Richardson and Ander-son, the Hogs were feared in the early 90s, winning more games from 1990-95 than any other pro-gram in the nation with their “40

Minutes of Hell” wreaking havoc on opponents.

Arkansas won’t be back in the Final Four overnight, but Ander-son showed he can turn a strug-gling program around quickly at UAB and Missouri.

" ere is always a Hog Call at introductory press conferences af-ter new coaches are hired.

Most coaches seem confused and taken back by it – under-standable because it’s an unnatu-ral cheer. Bobby Petrino grinned through it with arms half-raised, but was clearly out of his element.

Dana Altman didn’t look too cozy either. He was probably al-ready thinking about leaving.

Anderson walked onto the po-dium and led the cheer, arms fully raised. You could hear him yelling ‘Wooo’ on the microphone and he

started another Hog Call once he ! nished talking.

He recalled that his favor-ite part of the games was when the band played the William Tell Overture with the lights o# before the team took the $ oor.

He understands the culture. He helped build it.

His rebuilding process will be expedited by a recruiting class ranked as high as No. 4 in the na-tion, a group of ! ve signees that all appear to be onboard with the coaching change.

Add the class to a solid core re-turning group led by Marshawn Powell and the Hogs are sudden-ly transformed into one of the frontrunners in the SEC West. " e 2012 recruiting class could be huge for Arkansas, too.

" e expectations will be sky-

high by October, but Anderson didn’t shy away from them.

“My quest is to win a nation-al championship,” Anderson said. “I won a national championship here as an associate head coach. Now I want to do it as a head coach.”

Comments like that by coach-es at introductory press confer-ences can sometimes be dismissed as rah-rah statements.

You can’t discount that state-ment, though.

He can win championships at Arkansas.

He’s got banners hanging from the ra% ers at his home to prove it.

Jimmy Carter is the sports edi-tor for ! e Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every other Wednesday. Follow him on Twitter @jicartersports.

from HOPEon page 10

gram, leading the Blazers to three NCAA Tournaments in four sea-sons, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2004.

" e UAB job was about more than wins and losses for Ander-son, though.

“" ink about this, I had to go to UAB and coach in Birming-ham, where my mother had the chance to see me be a head coach,” Anderson said. “" e second year, we go to the Sweet Sixteen and at the height of my coaching career, she passed away in October, but she had a chance to watch her son be a head coach.”

Missouri hired Anderson in 2006 and he was tasked with turn-ing around another struggling program, one riddled with NCAA sanctions from Quin Synder’s ten-ure.

Anderson went 111-56 in ! ve seasons as the Tigers head coach, leading Missouri to three NCAA Tournaments, including a 31-7 re-cord and Elite Eight appearance in 2008.

His team was set to return all ! ve starters next season. He was in the running to sign two top-50 recruits.

Following a 78-63 loss to Cin-cinnati in the ! rst round of the NCAA Tournament, Anderson told media he planned to retire at Missouri, a sincere statement at the time.

“I was at Missouri for ! ve years

we had tremendous success, then here recently it seemed like the call of the Hogs kept calling,” Ander-son said. “I never thought I’d be back here.”

Fayetteville had a special place in Anderson’s heart.

“" is is home to Mike An-derson,” Anderson said. “My kids were raised here. My daughter, Yvonne, was born here. I’ve got roots here.”

Anderson’s former players at Arkansas reached out to him, en-couraging him to return.

“As former players we got to-gether and we would talk about how special it would be if coach Anderson could one day come back and be the coach here and lead us back to being the program that we once were,” said Pat Brad-ley, Arkansas’ all-time 3-point leader, a letterman from 1996-99. “You kind of never really thought it was going to happen.

“Now, all of a sudden, it’s hap-pening and it’s just like a dream. A really, really great dream that you don’t ever want to wake up from. It’s almost too good to be true.”

" e players also aided Arkan-sas Vice Chancellor and Direc-tor of Athletics Je# Long in his decision-making process. He met with a group of eight former Ra-zorbacks, including Lee Mayber-ry, Ron Brewer and Scotty " ur-man, to discuss the Hogs’ past and future.

“I really have to give Je# Long a lot of credit and respect for seek-ing out the input of the former

players and really listening to what we had to say,” said Charles Balentine, an Arkansas letterman from 1982-85 and part of Long’s meeting with former players. “He wasn’t just doing it for show. He really listened to what we had to say and wanted to get a feel for the tradition and what helped the pro-gram have success back then.

“We now have the right coach at the right time and I think the program will just take back o# .”

Anderson accepted the Ar-kansas job March 23, agreeing to a lo% y seven-year contract worth $2.2 million per year.

He’ll bring his version of Rich-ardson’s system, “" e Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball” to Bud Walton Arena.

“Certainly, Mike has had his own success,” Long said. “Some-times we pay tribute to the past, but Mike Anderson’s hire is about the future of Razorback basket-ball. " ere is no doubt to those that know him that Mike Ander-son is his own man and is going to bring his own style of basketball to Bud Walton Arena.”

Anderson’s return has already sparked a fan base starved for suc-cess. An estimated 7-8,000 fans showed up to his introductory press conference Saturday, nearly matching the average attendance this season in the 19,200-seat are-na built in 1993 during the peak of Richardson and Anderson’s ten-ure.

Arkansas averaged 18,259 fans at Bud Walton during Anderson

and Richardson’s tenure. Atten-dance slipped throughout the last decade, bottoming out with an es-timated actual attendance of just 8,568 fans per contest this season.

“" e fans will come back and be excited again,” said Lee May-berry, an All-American letterman from 1989-92. “He’ll get it back to how it used to be.”

" e fans ! lled the upper and lower deck on the south side of Bud Walton Saturday, cheering enthusiastically throughout the press conference and calling the Hogs with Anderson.

“We’ve got this side ! lled,” An-derson said, gesturing to the fans. “Now we’re ! xing to ! ll this whole thing up in here. As I was talk-ing to some of the former play-ers, that’s how we do it here at Ar-kansas. You better get your tickets now because once it’s all said and done, there won’t be many le% .”

Expectations will be high. An-derson acknowledged Saturday a lot of work needed to be done.

He was mainly just happy to be back home, though.

“" ey always that you can’t come home twice, but just think about it,” Anderson said. “I went back to Birmingham twice and I’m here at the University of Ar-kansas twice. I’m at home. As long as they want me, I’m at home.

“Trust me, we will get it done. I can promise and guarantee you this here, no one will outwork Mike Anderson and his sta# . We will get this program back to the top.”

from ANDERSONon page 10


What ! ey’re Saying About...

Mike Anderson

to visit with those recruits. It was very positive.”

Anderson didn’t heavily recruit the highest-rated player in the class, St. Louis point guard B.J. Young, while he was the head coach at Missouri, leading some to speculate keeping Young in the fold might be an issue.

“I don’t like stockpiling guys,” Anderson said. “I want to bring people in that have an opportuni-ty to play, especially in-state guys. Now, with what has taken place now, I think it’s ideal. He doesn’t have to have that pressure of being at home.

“He’s going to be a dynamite player. I’m excited for him. He’s re-ally excited.”

Young didn’t fault Anderson for not recruiting him.

“I could see where coach An-derson was coming from with not recruiting me as hard as he could,” Young said. “Maybe he didn’t know if I would be eligible. ! ey started to recruit me, then they cancelled my open gym at my school, but he was always good to me every time I’ve got a chance to talk to him.”

Young is a consensus " ve-star prospect, rated as high as the No. 18 player in the nation by Rivals.com. ! e 6-foot-3, 170-pounder recently led his McCluer North squad to the Missouri 5A state title.

“I like coach Anderson,” Young said. “! ey like to get up and down, play fast. I think that’s what I do best. ! ey use full-court pres-sure defense, get turnovers and get the other team in a frenzy. I know coach Anderson likes to play like that. I do, too.

“Everything is good. We’re

Arkansas-bound.”! ree of the signees are in-

state recruits. Lepanto guard Ra-shad Madden, Jonesboro forward Hunter Mickelson and Little Rock forward Aaron Ross are consensus top-100 players.

! e " nal member of the class is Dallas forward Devonta Abron.

“I had a chance to sit down and visit with (the recruits) and it was very positive,” Anderson said. “I think when I le# , they were very excited about what is going to take place.”

! e class is ranked No. 5 by Rivals.com and No. 7 by ESPN.

“You’re talking about a " ve-man recruiting class,” Anderson said. “You’ve got di$ erent guys for di$ erent positions.”

Anderson was recruiting two top-50 prospects – St. Louis guard Ben McLemore and Virginia forward Otto Porter – at Missouri. If the current roster stays in place

and all " ve signees qualify as ex-pected, the Razorbacks have 14 players for 13 scholarships.

Some speculated several Mis-souri players might follow Ander-son to Arkansas. Anderson was coaching his college roommate Paul Pressey’s two kids, Phil and Matt, at Missouri.

“I won’t even comment on that,” Anderson said. “! at’s speculation. ! ose guys are at the University of Missouri at this point in time. I’m sure right now they’re looking forward to seeing who their new coach is.”

Current Roster Receptive to Change

One of Anderson’s other most pressing areas of business was meeting with the current Arkansas players.

Most of the roster was on spring break when Anderson was hired last week, but he did get to meet with forward Marshawn Powell.

“I’ve talked to a couple of guys and it’s been very positive,” Ander-son said Saturday. “I had a chance to talk to Marshawn quite a bit yes-terday and it was positive. We had a good meeting.”

Powell tweeted “Well I’m back… Who don’t wanna play for Mike Anderson!!” shortly a# er the hire was announced.

Guard Rotnei Clarke requested a release so he could transfer a# er Pelphrey was " red, according to the Tulsa World . ! e story said Clarke was told to wait until a new coach was hired by Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Je$ Long.

Anderson talked to Clarke and his parents a# er Clarke returned from spring break, he said while on the “Shawn and Wally” radio show Monday a# ernoon. ! e meeting

went well, Anderson said.

Anderson Bringing Sta! from Missouri

Anderson will bring all three members of his coaching sta$ at Missouri with him, he said.

Melvin Watkins, Matt Zimmer-man and T.J. Cleveland comprised Anderson’s sta$ at Missouri. Cleve-land played is Anderson’s nephew and played for him at Arkansas.

“If it ain’t broke don’t " x it,” An-derson said.

Due to contract, the assistants have to remain at Missouri until April 1.

Former Razorback Scotty ! urman served as Director of Stu-dent-Athlete Development last sea-son and Anderson said he will re-main with the program.

from SIGNEESon page 10

2011 Arkansas Basketball SigneesPlayer Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown B.J. Young G 6-3 170 St. Louis — Five-star, No. 18 player in the nation (Rivals.com)Rashad Madden G 6-5 195 Lepanto— Four-star, No. 27 player in the nation (Rivals.com)Aaron Ross F 6-8 230 Little Rock— Four-star, No. 97 player in the nation (ESPN)Hunter Mickelson F 6-10 220 Jonesboro— Four-star, No. 48 player in the nation (Scout.com)Devonta Abron F 6-8 233 Dallas— Three-star, No. 106 player in the nation (Rivals.com), third-team Parade AA

JONATHAN GIBSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

“I’m very excited with the announce-ment and hiring of coach Anderson. It’s a start to a new era that will be exciting and up tempo, that will warrant the support of the fans and bring back Arkansas basket-ball to the prominence where it belongs.”

— Ronnie Brewer, Arkansas letterman 2004-06, fi rst-round NBA Draft pick, current Chicago Bulls player

“I am very excited about coach Anderson returning to the University of Arkansas. He will bring great kids and exciting basketball. He will be great for the program on and o$ the court.”

— Lee Mayberry, Arkansas letterman1989-92, first-round NBA Draft pick, current NBA scout for the Golden State Warriors

“Coach Anderson is the perfect " t for Arkansas. ! is hire symbolizes what the U of A tradition means to him, our adminis-tration, fans, current and former players.

— Scotty Thurman, Arkansas letterman 1993-95, current Director of Student Ath-lete Development

“I have watched Coach Anderson’s progression as a head coach with much admiration. He has been a mentor to me as my coach and now as a colleague. ! e University of Arkansas is blessed to have this man , who holds Razorback Basketball close his heart, as its new head coach. In his pursuit of excellence, Coach An-derson will reshape and rede" ne the culture of Arkansas Basketball. Wow, this is great day. Welcome home Coach A.”

— Corliss Williamson, Arkansas letterman 1993-95, first-round NBA Draft pick, current head coach at the University of Central Arkansas

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 PAGE 13 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 PAGE 13

the older guys doing? Not much. They’re depending on the younger guys. Until the older guys get it going, they’re the ones that have to win games for us. I’m talking the juniors and se-niors, who have been in the

program and even sopho-mores who played last year as freshmen.

“What’s the issue? You don’t forget how to play. It’s about going out and getting it done, and stay-ing focused. I think that’s what I’m seeing, some old-er guys worried about may-be staying in the lineup and

they’re not getting it done.”With the SEC schedule

in full swing, the Razor-backs will need to find a way to drive in runs againt tough competition. Four of the nation’s top 10 teams are from the SEC – No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 6 South Carolina and No. 10 LSU.

from BASEBALLon page 10

son are competing against one another for what Petrino calls the shutdown corner position this spring.

“We want to ! nd out who the best ! eld corner is going to be among those two young-sters,” defensive coordinator Wil-ly Robinson said. “If everything plays out the way it should, there is no reason why we shouldn’t have those guys at both sides.”

Arkansas boasted the No. 6 passing defense in the Southeast-ern Conferences last season.

Quarterback Competition

" e face of last year’s team was undoubtedly quarterback Ryan Mallett. As no shock to most, the 6-foot-6 Texarkana, Tex. native declared for the 2011 NFL Dra# , leaving a void at the most important position on the ! eld.

Junior Tyler Wilson showed $ ashes of brilliance last season in relief of Mallett against Auburn and Ole Miss. He got ! rst-team reps last spring while Mallett was sidelined with a broken foot and would be the starter if the season started today.

However, versatile quarter-back Brandon Mitchell has seen his fair share of reps with the ! rst team as Arkansas is experiment-ing with packages that ! t his du-al-threat ability.

“" e good thing about our quarterbacks is that they get a lot of reps,” Petrino said. “We have a lot of reps in practice between our 7-on-7, how fast we can and the reps in scrimmages.”

Looking for Leaders

Arkansas has a lot of return-

ing talent on o% ense, but the Ra-zorbacks have to replace leaders Ryan Mallett and D.J. Williams.

Petrino said he and his sta% have picked up on potential lead-ers, but there are still questions.

“O% ensively, our receiving core led by Jarius Wright and Joe Adams have really done a nice job,” Petrino said. “I don’t feel like anyone has taken over the O-line yet and maybe that is because there are so many questions, but I would like to see more from Travis Swanson and Alvin Bai-ley, guys that have played a lot of football around here.”

Key Hogs Recovering from Injuries

Last season the spring prac-tice injury list was led by Ryan Mallett and his broken foot.

Another big-name Hog is missing spring practice this year, with senior receiver Greg Childs recovering from a torn ACL su% ered during the Vanderbilt game.

“We do have some injury is-sues in the spring, most nota-ble Greg Childs,” Petrino said. “He will not be in spring ball for the most part. He is doing real well, running full-speed straight ahead and changing directions.”

Starting defensive tackle Bry-an Jones is recovering from ankle surgery he had a# er the Sugar Bowl.

With Childs and Jones out of spring practice, sophomore re-ceivers Julian Horton and Mau-drecus Humphrey will get more reps, while junior college transfer Robert " omas and Jared Green will have an opportunity to earn playing time at defensive tackle .

Zach Turner is the assistant sports editor for " e Arkansas Traveler. His column appears ev-ery other Wednesday.

from FOOTBALLon page 10

Dave Van HornJoe Adams

Tyler Wilson


Mar. 30, 2011

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