Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

What we asked you Monday on asuherald.com: Hear something funny or interesting on campus? Tweet

it to @OverheardAtASU and you could see it printed in The Herald!

SportS, page 4NewS, page 6 CampuS CorNer, page 3

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Vol. 90 Issue 29

Of interest online

Informing Arkansas State University since 1921the herald

asuherald.com

Depression Awareness Week

Are you excited about the 2012 ASU football recruiting class?

Lady Red Wolves take down MonroeMiss ASU Preview

I don't care. 25%

Yes. 75%

No. 0%

Michelle Davis/Herald

Neal Kessler, lead campus planner, explained the university master plan to a student in the Student Union.

Committee discusses master planLindsey Blakely

News Editor

A collection of consul-tants from firms around the nation have come to-gether to plan the future of ASU’s campus.

After executive commit-tee meetings, campus tours and open campus meetings, the consultants for ASU Jonesboro’s campus mas-ter plan have narrowed the options down to three pos-sible outcomes.

The planning firm JJR, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was selected to lead the devel-

opment of the campus mas-ter plan through several interviews.

Elements of the master plan include campus space utilization and needs, safety and security system assessment and strategic safety and security plan. It also includes traffic cir-culation and parking and a land use plan.

Through several meet-ings on Tuesday, the last being a community meeting at the Craighead County Library, lead campus plan-ner and landscape archi-tect, Neal Kessler and Jon

Hoffman, another campus planner, showed exactly what ASU needed.

University planner Bill Hall introduced the pair and said that the com-munity’s input was very important in the planning process.

Hoffman began the meeting by explaining what they had discovered in the analysis they cre-ated of ASU’s campus.

“We’ve talked about what people liked and dis-liked on campus,” Hoffman said. “One thing we noticed people talking a lot about

was parking. But, it’s not that we don’t have enough parking, it’s that the park-ing we have isn’t ideal.”

Hoffman also said they did an analysis on the classroom utilization at ASU.

“The classrooms we have are not being used well enough right now, but we do need more,” Hoffman said. “In 30 years, the feel-ing is that we will have a surplus of classrooms and a lot more research space.”

Other than needing more classroom space, the

See PLAN, page 5

ATO opens LeadStrong to campus, community

Sara KrimmHerald Editor

The men of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity have opened up their weekly LeadStrong event to anyone on campus, inviting all students to come hear from speakers such as ASU rugby coach Matt Huckaby, KAIT anchor Kristina Hamilton and ASU head football coach Gus Malzahn.

“Of all the things I’m involved in this semester, this is what I’m most excited about,” said Eric Fiszer, ATO president, when presenting LeadStrong to the SGA dur-ing its last meeting.

Fiszer, a junior political science major from Brookland, said the weekly event is a great opportunity for anyone to develop their leadership skills and walk alongside others on campus who are wanting to grow as leaders.

ASU and ATO alum Ben Gallant started the program last semester for ATO, to give its men the opportunity to learn from leaders in the community.

“(Ben) realized it would be great to open it up for any-body that wanted to come,” Fiszer said. “Next thing you know, we had some of the football players dropping by, we had some police officers come to it, and an assortment of other people from campus and the community.”

Huckaby spoke at the first event of the semester last See LEAD, page 5

Discounts offeredto students whodonate jeans

Caleb HenningtonStaff Writer

A Jonesboro business is taking up a cause this year to help homeless and foster youth around Arkansas by supplying them with nec-essary clothing.

DoSomething.org has partnered with Aeropostale in a program called Teens for Jeans, a worldwide or-ganization dedicated to providing homeless youth with “gently worn” donat-ed jeans.

According to DoSome-thing.org, 1.6 million to 1.7 million people under 18 will experience homeless-ness each year; one out of every three people who are homeless are under the age of 18.

Jeaney Maxwell, man-ager of the Aeropostale store in the Mall at Turtle Creek, is partnered with the Teens for Jeans pro-gram in Jonesboro.

“Teens for Jeans is actu-ally a company-wide pro-gram for Aeropostale, with stores from all over the world participating,” Max-well said. “All of our em-ployees get involved with

the program as well.” The Aeropostale in the

Mall at Turtle Creek has received 290 donations since Jan. 16 to the cause. The jeans have come in from all over Northeast Ar-kansas.

“The jeans donated to our store aren’t sent out to other places. The donated jeans are actually sent out to the homeless in the state in which they are donated. Each state’s Aeropostale distributes the jeans to the state’s homeless and to fos-ter care,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell encourages col-lege students as well as high school students to get involved with the program, and Aeropostale even of-fers incentives for custom-ers who donate jeans.

“The incentives for stu-dents to donate to Teens for Jeans is a 25 percent discount on any new pair of jeans that they buy in the store,” Maxwell said.

Aeropostale doesn’t have a specific type or size of jean that they want donated; their only recommendation is to bring in clean, “gently worn” jeans.

See JEANS, page 5

Students share opinions on Depression Awareness

"I think it's a great idea because a lot of people won't think to get the help on their own..this shows that there is help out there and there's nothing wrong with seeking it."

-Marchelle Perkins West Memphis

"I feel that depression awareness week is a great way to get information out to students. It will allow the ones who are effected by depression know that they are not alone there is hope."

-Ellen Crumby Malvern

"I think that it is a good idea but a poor execution.

Many people who are depressed want help, but

they don't want to be rec-ognized by others for their

depression."

-Ben Eckerson Jr. Little Rock

"Depression week is a good opportunity for those that dont realize whats af-fecting them to identify the issue, so that, now, they can take steps to overcome this

obstacle."

-Kohl McConeMonticello

Alternatives suggested for utilization of campus space

Ashley Helliwell/HeraldASU rugby coach Matt Huckaby spoke at LeadStrong Wednesday night.

Photos by Chelsea Weaver/Herald

The Herald is a public forum. Its content is written by students, for students, faculty and staff of Arkansas State University. Student editors of The Herald have the authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval.OPINION

The Herald is located in Room 224 of the Communications Building.

The Herald is published twice weekly during the fall and spring semesters and is distributed around the Jonesboro campus. Its content is normally written by students. “Our View” represents the opinions of the editorial staff. Columns, letters to the editor, cartoons and other content on the opinion page are the views of the author.

Content does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Herald.Editorial Number Advertising Number(870) 972-3076 (870) 972-2961 asuherald.com

— Our View —

Plan aheadFor many of us, the first couple weeks of school

can be fairly easy. Exams, papers and research projects are often not due until later in the semester.

It is during this time we are most tempted to put off work that can be done ahead of time and simply enjoy the extra free time.

While this may be fun for a short while, sooner or later the work hits, and we are left wondering how to go about completing our various assignments.

If this is your tendency, start making a plan to do your work in a timely, organized manner. Doing so will help relieve much stress that is sure to come later in the semester. You might be surprised how much you can accomplish.

Here at The Herald, news tips and information are received daily. If it were not for good organization and planning by the entire staff, there would be no way to transmit the information we receive to words on a page.

To manage this information, many of us simply write out the list of stories or events we have to cover or photos we need to shoot and plan our time accordingly. Those of us who are tech-savvy simply store the information we need on our phones and set alarms to remind us of deadlines.

On production night, many of us gather into the office and work on our different pages, putting together the articles and photos completed by our dedicated staff.

While it may be time consuming, managing one’s time and organizing work load always pays off in the end. Work is completed in a timely manner and usually completed well.

So do not let time slip away. Organize your tasks, then begin doing them.

“Our View” is written by the editorial staff. The opinions are not necessarily reflective of the student body, faculty or administration of Arkansas State University.

PAGE 2 Thursday, Feb. 2 The Herald

- Sara Krimm, editorsara.krimm@smail.astate.edu- Lindsey Blakely, news editorindsey.blakely@gmail.com- Jeff Davidson, opinion editorjeffrey.davidson@smail.astate.edu

- Abdullah Raslan, photo editorabdullah.raslan@smail.astate.edu- Haley Johnson, features editorhaley.johnson@smail.astate.edu- Daniel McFadin, Sports Editordaniel.mcfadin@smail.astate.edu

- Rachel Carner, online editorrachel.carner@smail.astate.edu- Rachel Meredith, ad managerrachel.meredith@smail.astate.edu Bonnie Thrasher, adviserbthrasher@astate.edu

Since the closing of Car-away road on campus over Christmas break, there has been a mix of feedback among students and fac-ulty alike.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks have been filled with complaints and remarks of traffic con-cerns and all around incon-venience getting to certain places on campus.

Some people have even uploaded photos of the “Caraway Road Closed to Through Traffic” sign near Arkansas Hall, putting various captions under-neath.

When talking to some friends and people in my classes about this issue, I got a variety of feedback, both positive and negative.

The good thing about the closure I heard most was from students walk-ing across the street to the nursing building.

They said drivers were becoming “more unaware” of pedestrians for a num-ber of reasons, including talking on the phone, be-ing in a hurry, or just sim-ply being distracted.

Since students had to wait for cars to pass before crossing the street, there were concerns of being late for class or being injured by a distracted driver.

Some of the ASU faculty members and administra-tion have remarked that the purpose of closing this part of the road was to make crossing the street safer.

Of course, there was far more negative feedback about the closing than pos-itive.

Many are irritated with being forced to drive a lon-ger route to get to the Red W.O.L.F. Center, parking garage, library, dorms and fraternity houses.

There is also a concern for parking at the post of-fice, since the parking lot is now inaccessible.

Social network posts have included “ASU, why are you so intent on clos-ing roads?” and “Hey ASU, the closing of the roads has affected the entire town of JB. –The person stuck in traffic.”

In a Herald article ear-lier this month, it was quoted that traffic hasn’t been a problem since the Marion Berry Parkway was finished. But students are still insisting to think otherwise.

People have also been wondering if our tuition dollars are going to the roadblocks, signs, and oth-er construction equipment blocking the road.

Chancellor Dan Howard sent out an email instruct-ing students where to di-rect their complaints, but it hasn’t seemed to stop the various emotions from sur-facing everywhere I look.

Personally, I have mixed emotions about the new

parkway. It is easier to get to town from where I live and vice versa, but I have the same opinions as the other students as far as the convenience of getting to other places on campus.

People who have com-plained to ASU authorities are not seeing any changes to the road closings, and I do not expect any changes will come anytime soon.

Since Caraway seems to be closed off for a long peri-od of time, I think the best thing we can do is embrace the new changes for what they are.

Our comments have been received, and there is a storm brewing on cam-pus about this issue.

Complaining about it is not making the old way we did things return any faster.

Maybe in time, there will be an answer to our problems. Believe me, ASU is listening.

Gorman is a junior pub-lic relations major of Hot Springs.

“Since Caraway seems to be closed off for a long period of time, I think the best thing we can do is embrace the new changes for

what they are.”

Hannah Gorman

Caraway closure: a blessing or a curse?

You know how guys get addicted to things like vid-eo games, sports message boards and fantasy foot-ball, and girls absolutely hate it? How could they possibly want to spend that much time staring at a TV or computer screen instead of us?

Well, now there’s a fe-male equivalent to all those things: Pinterest.

Guys can’t stand it. They don’t get it. It’s a world of fantasies for girls to dream about, and ultimately be disappointed when none of those things come to frui-tion.

The virtual pin-board is a hub for ideas galore — recipes, crafts, décor, party and event ideas and more.

The topic of Pinterest came up in my Social Me-dia in Strategic Commu-nications class last week, and instantly the room was split into a battle of the sexes on the issue.

One of the arguments was about girls who have “wedding boards” on Pin-terest. I recall one of my classmates saying, “It’s just a little ridiculous for a 15-year-old girl to have

a wedding board. Or any single girl, for that mat-ter. What are you planning for?”

To an extent, I abso-lutely agree with that. Obsessing over a wedding that doesn’t exist is a little weird.

I joined Pinterest last summer when I was bored and didn’t have anything else to do, and even being in a serious relationship at the time, I didn’t have a “wedding board” — some-thing just felt strange about that. I didn’t want to be “that girl.”

Two months ago, I would have said Pinterest is feeding an unrealistic perception of the picture-perfect wedding to girls ev-erywhere.

Then I got engaged.The day after being pro-

posed to, I was already overwhelmed with the long list of to-do’s I had been given by my mother, not to mention still in shock and (God forbid) trying to en-joy a day or two of engaged bliss before the stress set in.

What was the first thing one of my roommates asked me? “Sara, have you been pinning?”

So that’s what that was for.

All of a sudden there are all of these decisions to be made. Color schemes, cen-terpieces, dresses, decora-

tions, lighting, invitations — yikes. And did I mention I hate planning?

I was kicking myself for not being like all those girls who have their en-tire weddings planned be-fore they even meet prince charming. Because now it’s crunch time and I don’t even have time for Pinter-est.

What I’m getting at, ladies, is that I’ve gone from being a girls-with-wedding-boards-hater, to a huge advocate of “it’s never too early to start planning.” I’m encouraging your ad-diction.

If I could go back and at least get even the slightest idea of what I wanted be-fore the craziness of being engaged began, I would.

That would save a lot of conversations involving my mom being frustrated with me when I respond with, “I don’t know.”

So pin on, ladies. You’ll be thanking yourself for it later.

And when your sig-nificant other gives you a hard time for it, tell him he will like you more later when you’re less stressed, because you already made decisions on all those things that probably don’t really matter.

Krimm is a senior news editorial journalism major of Nashville, Tenn.

For more comments overheard on campus, visit us on Twitter @OverheardAtASU.

‘Pin on, ladies: you’ll thank yourself later’

“What I’m getting at, ladies, is that I’ve gone from being a girls-with-wedding-boards-hat-er, to a huge advocate of ‘it’s never too early

to start planning.’”

Sara Krimm

The Herald welcomes letters to the editor inelectronic form and under 300 words.We reserve the right to edit for space.

Please email letters to:

jeffrey.davidson@smail.astate.edu sara.krimm@smail.astate.edu

– Letters to the editor –

“You uneducated gardening tool.”

“If you can wait 250 million years, you might get a cheap flight

to Europe.”

High food prices affect students

“This dramatic increase of food prices over the last couple years has caused major prob-

lems in the U.S. and around the world.”

Jeff Davidson

If you have been grocery shopping recently in Wal-mart or some other retail-er, you may have noticed a significant difference in food choices.

If you are looking just right, you might come to see the huge selection of generic brands on the shelves, alongside the reg-ular name brand products.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. As food prices have continued to increase, retail stores like Walmart have continued to offer more of their ge-neric brand of products.

According to a Forbes.com article, the Consumer Price Index for food rose 4.8 percent on average during 2011. Higher-priced products, such as beef, rose 11.5 percent in December

alone. This increase has ul-

timately left consumers with little choice but to buy the generic brands. As a result, major retail stores like Walmart have done well financially while ma-jor name brand producers have hit significant losses.

This dramatic increase of food prices over the last couple years has caused major problems in the U.S. and around the world.

Many have been forced to apply for food stamps or other public assistance programs to ease their fi-nancial strain.

Here at ASU, however, many of us have felt in-sulated from the inflating food prices, thanks in part to big food service compa-nies like Sodexo.

Their streamlined pro-cess of buying, preparing and distributing food has prevented us from having to pay extra for our meal plans.

While it is easy to com-plain over the food qual-ity in the cafeteria, there is no question that we are getting more bang for our buck.

Unfortunately however, many students without meal plans have been hit hard with these food price increases.

Many have complained over the price increase of essential grocery items, like bread, even among the generic brands. This only adds to the problem of already high school and transportation costs.

Hopefully this doesn’t last for too long. According to some experts, food pric-es may begin to stabilize in 2012 and drop to a more reasonable price level.

While this is certainly good news, it may be a while before we see these changes around us.

Davidson is a sophomore education major of Bryant.

Kayla PaineStaff Writer

Life is constantly changing—some changes are gradual and others are sud-den. Moving to a different country at the age of 18 to study in college fits into the sudden change category.

Ryutaro ‘Dragon’ Kinjo came to ASU from Okinawa, Japan to study econom-ics. Adjusting to American culture pre-sented its own set of struggles, but now two years in, he says it’s where he thinks he was always meant to be.

Learning English was his main pur-pose for coming to the U.S.

“I think I could learn the same subject in both countries, but I want to be dif-ferent than many people in Japan and learn in English,” he said.

Never visiting America before, Drag-on first noticed that everything was big, and said the people and the tall ceilings made him excited.

The language barrier was his biggest source of frustration at first.

“I couldn’t express myself, and I couldn’t understand what people were saying,” he said. “I was disappointed in myself.”

He worked hard in the English Sec-ond Language program at ASU.

“We had a presentation in ESL and he prepared and practiced a lot,” said close friend Yoshiyasu Abe, a sophomore po-litical science major from Oita, Japan. “He was very skilled and very funny; we were all very surprised.”

Not only does Dragon try to be diligent in his studies, but he strives to have a good attitude and work ethic in all areas of his life.

When someone threw trash at him from a moving vehicle while he was walk-ing on the sidewalk, he only regarded it as a new experience, something he likely would not have experienced in Japan as he sees it.

In his senior year of high school, Drag-on broke his left ankle. Not being able to run was difficult because he finds that

he can express himself through running, but now he feels comfortable enough to get back into it.

Joining the track team his sophomore year has shown many people how passion-ate he can be about something.

“He works really hard,” said Bailey Bu-nyan, a teammate and senior interdisci-plinary studies major from Cobden, Ill.

“He’s not getting a lot of recognition or praise for his running in competition quite yet, but he still goes out there every day and pushes through like everyone else.”

His college experience changed dramat-ically after becoming part of the team. Abe is on the rugby team and said both Dragon and he are very unique in the Japanese community at ASU because they are both involved in sports.

Their English has improved dramati-cally because of the constant necessity for it with their teammates.

Dragon values his teammates im-mensely. There have been many experi-ences they’ve shared, but he said they have bonded most by suffering in practice together.

Bunyan invited Dragon and other team-mates home one weekend to Illinois. While

driving through Missouri, they stopped and bought fireworks. They combined many of them at Bunyan’s home and set it off in the yard.

Dragon will tell people that they made a “little bomb” that weekend. Bunyan just says “oh gosh” and looks at the ground when he hears Dragon tell people that.

A common day for Dragon is filled with running, studying and eating. He says that every day is a “hungry day.” Salads that barely fit on the plate are one of his favorites, but his true love is for dessert.

Trying dessert in America was com-pletely new and exciting for him because American dessert is much sweeter than dessert in Japan.

He’s known for his album on Facebook of the gradual progression of him eating an entire cheesecake in one sitting.

One life goal is to try every single des-sert in the world. “I have so much stuff to eat that I haven’t yet,” he said.

Another discovery that Dragon en-countered during his time in school is his faith.

He was challenged to think about what he has lived his life for and decided to be-lieve in God and make that his purpose. His friends could tell that this was some-thing he truly cared about.

Mizuki Ueno, another close friend and junior marketing major from Tokyo said, “Thinking about God became natural in daily things for him.”

Becoming more independent and adapt-ing through observation to this culture has been an interesting adventure for Dragon.

Now fluently speaking English and run-ning with the team that he now considers family, he has accomplished a lot in the past two-and-a-half years.

“He is always strong and looking for-ward to the future with goals while being positive,” Abe said.

Not only have people impacted Dragon’s life, but he has impacted others.

“Dragon is loved by everyone,” Ueno said. “He is thoughtful and loves every-one, and maybe that’s why they all love him back.”

PAGE 3 Thursday, Feb. 2 The Herald

Veronica HeatherlyStaff Writer

Annually, gorgeous and talented wom-en of ASU compete in the Miss ASU com-petition hosted by the Delta Theta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha.

This year, the event will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in Riceland Hall of the Fowler Center. The ASU com-munity is invited to attend.

Zach Morrison, vice president of Pi Kappa Alpha and Miss ASU Pageant ex-ecutive director, said he is pleased to in-vite the intelligent, ambitious and talent-ed young women of ASU.

All must have completed one semester at ASU-Jonesboro to enter the competi-tion.

Contestants will compete in Interview, Talent, Lifestyle and Fitness in swimsuit and Presence and Poise in evening gown.

During the competition, each contes-tant will also discuss her chosen platform, a social or community issue of concern to herself and the society at large.

Contestants for the title will be:

Ashley Williams, a freshman, is spon-sored by Serendipity Lane of Paragould. The daughter of Wade and Candy Wil-liams of Rector will be playing the drums.

Mollie Parker, a freshman, is sponsored by Chi Omega. The daughter of Michael and Donna Parker of Jonesboro will be dancing Ballet en Pointe to “Phantom of the Opera.”

Natalie Marcus, a second year junior, is sponsored by The Refinery. The daughter of Dr. Trent and Misty Marcus of Manila will be singing “Time to Say Goodbye.”

Chelsea Treadway, a senior, is spon-sored by Alpha Gamma Delta. The daugh-ter of Larry and Diane Treadway of Bates-ville will be singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

Breanne Blacklaw, a sophomore, is sponsored by Delta Zeta. The daughter of Greg and Jacquie Blacklaw of Benton will be performing a rifle routine to “We Found Love.”

Kallie Johnson, a sophomore, is spon-sored by Delta Zeta. The daughter of Duane and Lisa Johnson of Mt. Pleasant will be doing a XMA Demo Routine.

Scarlett Drake, a junior, is sponsored by Delta Zeta. The daughter of William and Lisa Drake of Forrest City will be tap dancing to “It’s a Wonderful Night” by Fat Boy Slim.

Stacey Spivey, a junior, is sponsored by Chi Omega. The daughter of Rick and Susan Spivey of Benton will be singing “Some Things Are Meant To Be” from Lit-tle Women Musical.

Carla Kemp, a sophomore, is sponsored by Kappa Alpha Order. The daughter of Ruth Light and Danny Kemp of West Ridge will be performing the flute “Can-Can.”

Danielle Hicks, a freshman, is spon-sored by Alpha Gamma Delta. The daugh-ter of Paul and Liz Hicks of Manila will be singing “Hound Dog.”

Maegan Inzer, a senior, the daughter of Wayne and Gale Inzer of White Hall will be singing “Out Here On My Own.”

Sarah Hamilton, a freshman, is spon-sored by Lambda Chi Alpha. The daugh-ter of Tim and Venus Hamilton of Para-gould will be singing “The Wizard and I” from Wicked.

Alex Barylske, a freshman, is sponsored by Stephens, Inc./Lambda Chi Alpha. The daughter of Benjamin and Bobbi Barylske of Jonesboro will be jazz dancing to “Ra-dioactive” by Kings of Leon.

Ashley Gage, a sophomore, is sponsored by Kappa Alpha Order. The daughter of Shannon and Angie Gage of Jonesboro will be singing a vocal performance.

“With the number of outstanding, tal-ented ASU women, it will be a challeng-ing task for the judges to choose the next Miss Arkansas State University,” Morri-son said.

The winners of the Miss ASU Com-petition will be awarded approximately $6,000 in ASU scholarships. In addition, they will receive other prizes and awards in preliminary competition.

“The scholarship organization provides opportunities for young women to achieve their personal and professional ambi-tions,” Kelsey Dow, 2011 Miss Arkansas State University said.

“Contestants also participate in commu-nity service activities that help them excel in their chosen career and life goals.”

Meredith ScottStaff Writer

In 1887, four men from Denver cre-ated an organization to fight their com-munity’s welfare problems. Today, there are nearly 1,300 of those organizations around the country, including one in Jonesboro.

This organization is known as United Way, and it serves communities that need health, income and educational help.

In the past, the Jonesboro chapter of United Way has teamed up with ASU to provide services to a wide range of peo-ple.

“ASU has contributed large numbers of volunteers for years,” Nanette Heard, Executive Director of United Way, said. “Its employees and students use many services of local non-profits that United Way provides support to. The Single Par-ent Scholarship provides scholarships to ASU students.”

Hunter Petrus, President of the Stu-dent Government Association, encourag-es students to get involved with United Way.

“United Way has done a great job in-volving ASU,” Petrus said. “It is a great philanthropy that I highly encourage the community and student body to get in-volved with, as it directly gives back to our community.”

On Friday, Feb. 4, United Way will work with ASU for their CA$H Event.

“We are providing volunteers for VITA at the St. Bernard’s Auditorium,” said Jodie Cherry, Coordinator of Student Services.“The event offers free tax filing for people who are low income, disabled or elderly.”

To learn more or get involved with United Way, visit their website at www.uwnea.org, or call the United Way office at (870) 935-3658.

“It’s important for people to give back to the community,” Heard said. “If ev-eryone does a little, we can do so much together.”

Miss ASU to be crowned Feb. 15

United Way joins ASU

‘Dragon’ adjusts to American culture

Alex Barylske Ashley Gage Ashley Williams Breanne Blacklaw Carla Kemp Chelsea Treadway Danielle Hicks

Kallie Johnson Maegan Inzer Mollie Parker Natalie Marcus Sarah Hamilton Scarlett Drake Stacey Spivey

Kim MyoungHyang/Herald

Campus Corner

Daniel McFadinSports Editor

When all was said and done, the 2012 National Signing Day was one for many firsts at Arkansas State.

The dust has settled on the 2012 recruiting sea-son and Arkansas State finished higher than ever among the nation’s recruit-ing classes at No. 78, the first time ASU has finished with the best class in the Sun Belt conference (Flor-ida International finished No. 82).

“A great signing class, about three and a half weeks of hard work to be able to bring this type of caliber athlete to Arkan-sas State,” head coach Gus Malzahn said during his press conference Wednes-day afternoon. “I really felt like we filled our needs. There were a couple of glar-ing areas we felt we had to address.”

After losing 24 seniors, ASU brings in 27 new players, including 22 high school signees, six junior college transfers and two FBS transfers in running back Michael Dyer (Au-burn) and offensive line-man Travis Bodenstein (Kansas).

The biggest priority for Malzahn and his staff was recruiting the talent avail-able at hand here in Arkan-

sas, where the Red Wolves received 12 commitments, including the signing of Dyer.

This was the first fact he noted Wednesday at the ASU football complex, flanked by a large board listing the 27 signees.

“We tried to start with the state of Arkansas. Then we tried to go with the connections our coach-es already had,” Malzahn said. “We tried to individ-ually carry on those rela-tionships.”

Those relationships helped ASU sign just the second Parade All-Ameri-can in school history, quar-ter back Fredi Knight-en out of Pulaski Acade-my, a JUCO All-Ameri-can in defensive end John Gandy (Blinn College) and flipped recruits from oth-er schools, like offensive lineman Bryce Giddens from Southern Mississippi and three-star cornerback Chris Humes from Arkan-sas.

Giddens, who attends Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Ga., was described by Malzahn as, “the best center I’ve seen on film since I’ve been coaching college.”

On defense, the “top guy signed,” for Malzahn is three-star linebacker Ed-die Porter, one of three de-fensive players that are coming from Blinn College

in Brenham, Texas. “You’re talking about

one of the best lineback-ers in the whole country,” Malzahn said. “This guy could have gone anywhere he wanted, and he’s here.”

Porter will be joined at ASU by Gandy and defen-sive end Ishmail Hayes. All three played at Blinn when former Auburn quarter-back Cam Newton played there in between his time at Florida and Auburn.

“Those three are very close. They’re outstanding football players,” Malzahn said. “All three of those guys can help immediate-ly. That kind of gave us a shot in the arm and gave us some momentum to fin-ish our class.”

More signees for the Red

Wolves on offense in addi-tion to Knighten include running backs Kendrick Daniels (Sulphur Springs, Texas) and Michael “Flash” Gordon.

“Kendrick Daniels, he’s got that McCalebb speed. Onterio McCalebb, who we had at Auburn and kind of the way we used Fe-lix Jones at Arkansas,” of-fensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “Then you got Michael Gordon, from down in Mississippi, he’s as talented as any back in the country.”

With these running backs, in addition to De-Keathen Williams and Dyer, Lashlee feels the Red Wolves have addressed the running back position well.

Daniels, who averaged 7.3 yards per rush and earned 920 yards and sev-en touchdowns in his senior year at Sulphur Springs, was ASU’s first commit last year under Hugh Freeze.

Daniels considered de-committing if running backs coach David Gunn would have also left, but did not think twice once Malzahn was hired and Gunn was retained.

“The whole coaching staff, I‘m just glad to be in their presence,” Dan-iels said in a phone inter-view. “No way am I going to leave.”

Gunn, the only remain-ing coach from the Freeze staff, believes the young backs will have a lot to learn from Dyer, a play-

er very familiar with the system Malzahn brings to ASU.

“You’ve got to have three [running backs] in college football. You want quality depth at that position and these three additions give us that,” Gunn said.

The 2012 recruiting class, the best ASU has ever had, is just another piece of the puzzle in the growth of not just the foot-ball program, but the fans that support it.

The recruiting round up held at Riceland Hall Wednesday night sold more than 700 tickets, prompt-ing ASU system president Chuck Welch to tweet, “At Red Wolves Recruiting Roundup. Best class ever? This is our time!”

The next step for Malzahn and his team will be spring practice, to be held sometime in March.

The Red Wolves will pro-ceed into it and the 2012 season with all of the piec-es they wanted.

“We have such good, talented kids that are coming here in this class, there were schools that were still trying to change their mind literally as they were walking out to sign their papers,” Lashlee said.

“Fortunately we didn’t lose any today. They stayed firm in their commitment to Arkansas State.

SPORTSPAGE 4 Thursday, Feb. 2 The Herald

Anthony ChildressStaff Writer

National signing day for high school football players to announce their college picks has come and gone.

Across the country, thousands of young men signed their names to scholarship offers from schools thirsting to quench the desire to not only win games but provide a solid, respectable face for the institution, its students, alumni and other supporters.

Watching the televised highlights from this campus and others around Arkansas and the country has been a tradition for me.

In part because I once aspired to be a sports writer (and worked as a sports reporter for this very newspaper in the late 1980s).

Seeing faces attached to names of individuals who could be the next all-everything for ASU still evokes more than a little adrenaline inside this fan.

Putting the emotions and eternal hopes aside

for a moment, it is very important to remember these are young people making deeply personal decisions about their immediate and long-term futures.

Not only that, but their every move will be analyzed and critiqued simply because they wear a uniform with their name and number on it.

I bring this point up to argue in favor of seeing college athletics in 2012 (and beyond) for what it truly is - an enterprise of sorts charged with winning, bringing in revenue for the university and through raising its profile via television appearances.

If I have heard the complaint that athletes are pampered and given much with little expected in return, I have heard it a hundred times.

Clearly, there are examples offering some proof of such a viewpoint and no one could legitimately defend the actions of this or that player.

However, it is also true that when a student-athlete winds up in some trouble and the information becomes public knowledge, the person faces judgment and questioning rarely experienced by his or her fellow students.

Is this fair? Well, if your vehicle’s console or glove compartment were filled with unpaid parking tickets or overdue library books, etc., would it be fair to highlight these matters in print, on the air or elsewhere?

I am not in favor of special or partial treatment for athletes.

The fact is the young men and women who obtain scholarships to attend college through athletics should be held to high standards of conduct because they ARE ambassadors for the rest of us.

But, is it not the same for student government leaders, Honors College enrollees, recruiters and the like? To me, the answer is no different.

If a freshman football player has a dream to play in the National Football League, what separates him from the classmate whose aim is to create new technology to innovate how juvenile diabetes is treated?

Or, the all-conference volleyball star with an eye on the Olympic games and the budding journalist who wants to be editor of a national magazine?

In a couple of months, new Red Wolves football coach Gus Malzahn and his staff will provide fans with a preview of next season at the annual spring game.

Come August, the players will be out in the stifling heat in order to be ready for their season-opening trip to Oregon.

In the meantime, they are responsible for class attendance, good grades, behaving according to high expectations and, of course, staying in top condition to hit the gridiron.

They are, after all is said and done, students who happen to be athletes.

The Pressures of Signing DayWhat the howl?

Red Wolves ink 28 in Malzahn’s first recruiting class

Beth Bright/HeraldHead football coach Gus Malzahn addresses the press and public at the ASU football complex as he

sums up the 2012 recruiting class, Malzahn’s first at ASU.

Zach LottStaff Writer

On the strength of dou-ble figures from four play-ers, the Arkansas State Lady Red Wolves basket-ball team downed Louisi-ana-Monroe 76-61 Wednes-day night at the Convoca-tion Center.

Sophomore forward Jane Morrill frustrated ULM standout center Lar-rie Williams on her way to a team-leading 21 points, while Nene Hurst, Ashley Olvera, and Quinishia Mc-Dowell all posted double digits for ASU and were a key part of the attack that kept ULM in a half-court offense for most of the night.

ASU (9-14, 3-7) played a complete game, disrupt-ing ULM offensively while pushing the tempo to give themselves opportunities early on to penetrate the Lady Warhawk defense.

“Our team was just working together in all as-pects of the game – on de-fense and offense – and I thought we made shots when we needed to and made stops when we need-ed to,” said Morrill.

The Lady Red Wolves led by 12 points at half-time, and exhibited an ag-gressiveness at the begin-ning of the second half that head coach Brian Boyer said had been lack-ing this season.

“There’s no doubt that the players realize, ‘We have really struggled with that this year.’ You know, that we’ve come out and had some flat stretches in the second half,” Boyer

said. “I thought that was huge for us. It just gave us a lot of confidence.”

Arkansas State began the half with an 8-0 run, giving the team a twen-ty-point lead that allowed them to withstand a bar-rage from the Lady War-hawks later in the game. ASU never relinquished their first-half advantage.

“Even though they made a push there, by that time we had such a margin that it was just a matter of hanging on,” Boyer said.

The victory, just ASU’s second in six games, avenges an 83-57 loss to

ULM in Monroe on New Year’s Eve, which Boyer believes to have motivated the team’s second-half per-formance.

“The biggest motivation is we’re tired of losing, re-gardless of who we were playing tonight,” Boyer said. “I think that [earlier game against Monroe] had a lot to do with the ener-gy we came out with in the second half,” he said.

ASU will look to build on its performance as they take the next week to rest and prepare for a Feb. 8 showdown with South Al-abama in Mobile.

Travis Sharp/HeraldJane Morrill attempts a shot Wednesday against Louisiana Monroe

at the Convocation Center. Morrill led the Lady Red Wolves with 21 points

Lady Red Wolves take down MonroeJane Morrill leads with 21 points in 76-61 victory

Information about National Signing Day for the Arkansas State women’s soccer team can be found at www.asuherald.com

NEWSPAGE 5 Thursday, Feb. 2 The Herald

BriefsThe Volunteer Center at ASU is seeking 12 volunteers to serve as a Girl Scouts Community

Program Facilitator for a 6 week duration. Volunteers must be available at least one day a week, Monday – Thursday, for 2 -3 hours. Volunteers will be working one on one with elementary and middle school aged girls. There will be a mandatory training for volunteers on Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer please contact jcherry@astate.edu, or call the Leadership Center at 870-972-2055. The deadline to sign up to volunteer is Friday, Feb. 10.

The Student Government Association is sponsoring a campus wide vote in response to a resolution approved at the Jan. 24 Senate Meeting. The resolution creation of two additional Graduate Senator Seats was approved by the Senate by unanimous vote. Log on to https://webapps.astate.edu/survasu/admin/ to cast your vote to support this Constitution amendment. For more information, contact the SGA office at sga@smail.astate.edu or 972-2050.

The Volunteer Center at ASU is seeking volunteers to assist with the Girl Scouts Cookie Drop on Feb. 17. This event will take place at the Armory, and students, faculty, or staff wishing to serve can sign up for a shift between 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. For more information, or to sign up to volunteer contact jcherry@astate.edu, or call the Leadership Center at 870-972-2055.

The English as a Second Language (ESL) program of The International Center for English (TICE) in the Office of International Programs seeks native English speaking ASU students, faculty members, and staff to serve as conversation partners for international students learning English. To sign-up to be a volunteer or for more information, please contact Rani Cooksey at rcooksey@astate.edu or Merjournie Muskin at conversationpartner1@gmail.com.

Phi Beta Lambda is selling Cheesecakes for a fundraiser. They are $20 each, and pre-cut. Please place your order no later than Tuesday, February 7 at 3:00 p.m. They will be delivered on Monday, Feb. 13 in time for Valentine’s Day. Orders can be made by emailing Dr. Philip Tew at ptew@astate.edu.

ASU Student Weight Watchers Meetings will soon be held in the Red W.O.L.F. Center. Join us for a free information session about the program on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 4:30 p.m. in the Red W.O.L.F. Center Conference Room. Questions? Contact Emily Devereux at edevereux@astate.edu or Kelly Tuttle at kjtuttle@astate.edu.

The Counseling Center is offering Relaxation and Biofeedback sessions on Mondays from 1-1:30 in Room 3020, Student Union, 3rd Floor. Different breathing and stress management techniques will be used throughout the semester. Basic biofeedback will be offered through the use of biodots or emWave PSR. Sessions are open to students, faculty and staff. Students who participated in the past reported significantly better stress management. For more information contact the ASU Counseling Center, 972-2318 or email Pat Glascock at pglascoc@astate.edu.

The Leadership Center is partnering with United Way to provide volunteers for the Volunteer Tax Assistant Program. Volunteers are needed to help work the registration table and help file taxes. This event will occur at the St. Bernard s Auditorium on Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you would like to volunteer please contact jcherry@astate.edu, or call the Leadership Center at 870-972-2055.

The Selection Committee for the Distinguished Student Awards and R. E. Lee Wilson Citizenship Award is now accepting applications. The application deadline is Feb. 24. Since 1934, the award has been given to the most outstanding graduate at Arkansas State University based on: 1) Character 2) Determination 3) Involvement and 4) Academic Achievement. Any graduating senior this academic year (August 2011, December 2011, or May 2012) is eligible to apply.

PLAN, CONTINUED

Jessica RainwaterNews Reporting Student

Jonesboro’s Pregnan-cy Resource Center has moved to South Main Street after outgrowing the Caraway Road loca-tion.

The Pregnancy Re-source Center, which has been open since 1980, was called Pregnancy Problem Center until 2001.

Volunteers and staff strive to help each person as much as possible. The center had 1,300 client visits during 2011.

ASUJ student Barb Barnett started out as a center volunteer and is now an employee.

She had a crisis preg-nancy, and went to the center to explore her op-tions, because it was con-fidential.

Barnett said, “I loved

the women that were there, and it made me think someday I want to help other girls.”

The center wants wom-en to know they are not alone in what can be a very scary time.

If someone thinks they are pregnant, they urge them to come in for a free medical quality pregnancy test.

The center is entirely free and confidential. Ser-vices offered are pregnan-cy tests, ultrasounds and counseling for women who have had abortions.

Information about pregnancy and fetal de-velopment, abortion pro-cedures, adoption and medical referrals are also available.

Funding for the cen-ter’s operational expenses comes from contributions donated by about 20 area

churches and several pri-vate citizens.

Evelyn Moser, mother of a one-year-old girl and an ASU student, said, “I didn’t even know there was such a place when I was pregnant, but it’s a good idea. However their hours aren’t really long enough for college students. The hours would make it hard for a student to get there while they’re open.”

The center ‘s online web address is www.jonesboro-prc.com.

The website includes information about preg-nancy symptoms, options, fetal development, abor-tion education, post abor-tion recovery, a virtual tour of the center, and tips for men on how to cope.

The center is open Mon-day through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4p.m. The contact num-ber is 870-932-6644.

Pregnancy resource center outgrows old location

“We’ve received dona-tions from places as far away as Wynne,” Maxwell said.

Many of the surround-ing high schools in the Jonesboro area, such as Valley View High School, are contributing to the cause, with promotions and jean drives for the cause.

“This is our fifth year to do this,” Maxwell said.

The drive has seen a lot of support since its incep-tion back in 2008. Accord-ing to the DoSomething.org website, the cause has

collected and donated more than 1.5 million pairs of jeans to the homeless and needy.

The DoSomething.org Corp. and Aeropostale have also partnered to give out prizes for the schools that collect the most pairs of jeans.

The grand prize is $5,000 to the winning school, plus a free pair of Aeropostale jeans for every student in the school, and a party for the entire school.

The total number of schools currently involved

with the Teens for Jeans program nationally is 10,119 and growing.

Every school that signs up to be a part of the pro-gram will also receive a free Teens of Jeans banner to hang in their school.

“If you come by Aero-postale, we have a lot of fly-ers available to hang up in the Student Union, along with some boxes to donate your jeans” Maxwell said.

The Teens for Jeans drive goes through Feb. 12.

planners also mentioned the need of more childcare space, more area for UPD, more athletic space and more residence life space.

Kessler then began to speak about the three al-ternative plans they have for ASU, all of which in-cluded UPD space, resi-dence halls, athletic space and childcare.

Another area that was mentioned was a new busi-ness building, more re-search space and another parking garage.

“None of these alterna-tives are final answers,” Kessler said. “We’d like to make popular decisions on where we want to go.”

Kessler said when his group came to campus for the first time, there were a lot of great things about it. But, there are many things that need work.

“We want to narrow Aggie and try to create a better pedestrian campus,” Kessler said, talking about the first option. “We want to create another drop off loop and remove the art annex building.”

Other plans included in the first alternative are a freshman village and rec-reation areas next to the residence halls. There is also a need for additional apartments and a field house for athletics.

In the second alternative plan, the planners would like to renovate the armory and put another freshman hall between Kays and University Halls.

“We also want to add a sub station to UPD and put one in the center of cam-pus,” Kessler said. “Right now UPD is on an end of campus, and they need an-other center to be able to get better access to other parts of the campus.”

In the third alternative they wanted to put anoth-er police station near the armory.

In all three of the alter-native plans, a new busi-ness building was needed and more retail space.

“We want retailers to be closer to campus,” Kessler said. “I want to see a con-nection between downtown Jonesboro and ASU.”

Kessler also pointed out that none of the three plans would be the final plan for ASU.

“We aren’t saying ‘you must’ do this,” Kessler said. “We want everyone’s feedback so we can success-fully create a final plan for the campus through com-bining the three.”

Kessler said he wants the plan to be flexible.

“None of these ideas will happen for the next 20 years,” he said. “We have to be flexible because something will come up and we have to be able to change the plan because of those.”

The planning firms have asked the community to go to the website of the master plan, www.astate.edu/masterplan and leave feedback for the three al-ternatives so they can get a better idea of what the campus wants.

According the planners, the first draft of the pre-liminary master plan will be finished in March and a final draft done in Septem-ber.

JEANS, CONTINUED

“A college campus is a diverse place. For each field of study, there is some way that the government is affecting what you can and can’t do. I want to bring more awareness to how politics and government are relatable to us as college students.”

-Kayla Paine

politicalhowl@gmail.com

@PoliticalHowl

PoliticalHowl

Follow journalism student Kayla Paine’s blog at asuherald.com

night, kicking off what the organization’s website calls “Seven weeks of dy-namic leaders.” He talked about what leadership is and why it’s important.

Fiszer said he hopes LeadStrong will be a place that students can come to not only have fun and learn new leadership skills, but bring those things back to their respective organiza-tions throughout campus.

“It has potential to be not only a place where people can make friends and learn leadership skills, but also to be an organization that can uni-fy people for other goals

like philanthropy,” Fiszer said.

The men of ATO will be setting up a table every week at the event, where people who attend will have the opportunity to donate to a philanthropy as they arrive.

“In return for that we will pass out stuff like LeadStrong wristbands and pens,” Fiszer said.

The LeadStrong logo closely resembles that of Lance Armstrong’s Live Strong foundation, which the organization’s web-site says is not by coinci-dence.

ATO will be donating

any money raised through this event to the Live Strong Lance Armstrong foundation.

LeadStrong will take place every Wednesday until March 14 at 8:30 p.m. in the Cache River Room on the third floor of the Student Union.

Other speakers not previously mentioned in-clude congressman Rick Crawford, Central Baptist pastor Archie Mason and Jonesboro police chief Mi-chael Yates.

For more information on the event visit www.leadstrong.net.

LEAD, CONTINUED

Robert HoltNews Reporting Student

Many Northeast Arkan-sas residents are familiar with the former Indian Mall, completed in 1968, that was the main shop-ping hub for the region of the state for decades.

Nearly 40 years after the opening of Indian Mall, shopping and entertain-ment focuses changed to The Mall at Turtle Creek, which was completed in March of 2006.

With the new mall lo-cated just a few blocks away on Stadium Boule-vard, the once growing In-dian Mall was eventually abandoned except for the

one remaining major re-tailer, Sears.

Shortly after the clos-ing of Indian Mall, many rumors flooded the NEA area including some that called for a new mall, res-taurants, and even a new movie theater.

A Jonesboro business development company, MBC Holdings, is the cre-ative mind behind the de-velopment of a new project proposal for the former In-dian Mall.

The members of MBC were also the developers of the Mall at Turtle Creek.

According to the Jonesboro Sun, plans were released last Friday for a completely new shopping

center titled Caraland Crossing, referencing the location on Caraway Road and Highland Street.

Bruce Burrow of MBC Holdings said that the for-mer mall property would take on a completely new and contemporary look and feeling.

Caraland Crossing would feature spacious spots for several retail stores and a number of restaurants as well.

Burrow also mentioned a new look for the outside of the two current Sears buildings, adding to the new and revamped look for the future of Caraway road, which is still a major vein in the city.

Caraland Crossing to replace Indian Mall

Have a news tip?We want to hear about it.

Email your tips to:

Sara Krimmsara.krimm@smail.astate.edu

Lindsey Blakelylindsey.blakely@smail.astate.edu

NEWSPAGE 6 Thursday, Feb. 2 The Herald

Depression Awareness Week

Andrea Cox/Herald Photographer

Staci Vandagriff/Herald Photographer

The counseling center at ASU noticed Depression and Grief Awareness week.

Activities of the week were focused on educating students, staff and faculty on the dangerous effects depression can take on a person.

(Pictured bottom corner) Pat Glascock, assistant director at the counseling center talked about the lessons we learned about grief and losing someone in the movie the

“Lion King” Monday at the Cache river room.

(Bottom and right) students and members of the positive psychology club drummed away their stress in a circle outside the Acansa dinning hall. An information booth has been setup for the rest of the week with informational pamphlet for anyone to take.

A “De-stress don’t re-press” workout session will take place in the Cache river room of the Student Union at3 p.m.

Attendees will benefit from working out with a fitness instructor to breathe away their stress.

Michelle Davis/Herald Photographer

Abdullah RaslanPhoto Editor

The combination of perfect smiles, beautiful dresses and joy when the winner of the crown is announced can only equal one thing; pageants. Supporters and viewers of pageants only see the competition on the stage, but there is a long preparation process before the women get on stage.

At ASU, there are a number of organizations that sponsor pageants. The Miss Black and Gold pageant, sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, was the most recent one on Jan. 26.

Kearius Jackson, a freshman science and mathematics major from Marion, won the crown and will move on to compete in the Arkansas Miss Black and Gold pageant this weekend.

Miss Arkansas State University pageant, sponsored by Pi Kappa

Alpha Fraternity will take place Feb. 15. This year is the pageant’s 30th anniversary. The winner will be eligible for the Miss Arkansas pageant in July.

Setting and following deadlines is essential to planning an event such as a pageant. Behind the scenes workers plan extensively, publicize like crazy and have to be effective at managing people.

Zach Morrison, a junior public relations major from Bay, is the director of the Miss ASU pageant this year.

“Getting everybody on the same page is a challenge,” he said.

The men in the fraternities sponsoring the various pageants gain a lot from the experience of being involved in the planning stages.

“It’s a big responsibility and one of the bigger things we do in my fraternity. The experience helped me mature in a way,” said Ray-Mond Jackson, a junior

exercise science major from Nashville and 2012 director of the Miss Black and Gold pageant.

Not only does the event require a lot of planning, but the women competing put a lot of work into

preparing. Who can forget Sandra Bullock in “Miss Congeniality” and the preparation she had to endure?

Many women participate in pageants to gain confidence and to work with philanthropies and the community. Being involved in pageants in college also means balancing schoolwork, scheduled practice and the time to perfect their talent, consequently improving time management skills.

For 10 years, Sara Dupuy, a senior marketing major from Warren, has been participating in pageants. Her highest title is America’s Homecoming Queen 2008. The crowning was at Disneyland in California.

For a pageant she participated in last year, she spent five months, twice a day in the gym, went to dress fittings and raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“When preparing for a pageant I have a goal and I am at my best,” she said.

Now, she helps coach girls in pageants, helping with wardrobe, head shots, hair and makeup.

Latasha Moore, a sophomore communication studies major from Falcon, was crowned Miss Essence in the pageant sponsored by the Black Student Association and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity on Nov. 9.

Going to scheduled practices and preparing for the six categories for the competition on her own time, while working as a resident assistant in University Hall was difficult at times, but knew it was all worth it when she got on stage.

“The most unforgettable thing about the experience was the friends, coworkers and family that came to support me,” she said. “I haven’t felt so much love since I graduated from high school.”

Staci Vandagriff/Herald PhotographerKearius Jackson, a freshman math major of West Memphis was crowned the new Miss Black and Gold 2012.

Pageants: What you don’t seeAn insider’s look at the world of pageants and behind the scenes information

Recreational tennis players at ASU have been homeless for years.

That is, in regards to having courts to play on.

The once usable, but more recently dilapidated tennis courts that stood near the HPESS building were removed for the opening of the new Marion Berry Parkway on the south side of campus.

This is not only a problem for students wishing to play.

The women’s tennis team has also been heavily affected.

Marina Engelbrecht, head coach for the women’s tennis team, said they have been playing most of their home matches at Allen Park Community Center since 2005.

There have been 43 home matches since 2005 and 38 of those matches were played at Allen Park, while the other five were played at the Jonesboro Country Club, Three Oaks Racquet Club, and Ridgepointe.

Upon completing the new tennis facilities on Oct. 14 a problem was discovered with the court surface.

According to the executive summary of the Board of Trustees on Dec. 2, three of the six courts exhibit cracked surfaces “unacceptable for safe competitive play.”

Many students are unaware of the places in Jonesboro that offer public tennis facilities and some off-campus courts require a fee to play.

At Allen Park, an hour and a half of court time for Jonesboro residents costs $2 per person until 5 p.m., and $3 per person after 5 p.m.

For non-residents the cost is $3 before 5 p.m., and $4 after.

The tennis complex is open 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Rachael Brodell, a sophomore nutrition and dietetics major of Poplar Bluff, said she has “spent many days wandering about Jonesboro trying to find a decent court or even just a backboard [to hit against].”

Brodell has been playing recreational tennis for eight years.

Jacob Hoskins, a second-year physical education major of Forrest City, said, “It would be great to be able to play tennis with other students instead of finding people to play with off campus.”

Brodell added that she would be more involved with tennis if there were on-campus courts available to the public.

She said she can be found in the racquetball rooms until the on-campus tennis facility is complete.

The expected completion date and additional repair costs are unknown; however, Engelbrecht said the issue is “closer than ever” on being resolved.

ASU tennis courts under construction, close to being finished

Kayla PaineStaff Writer

Leah McDanielStaff Writer

Chelsea Weaver/Herald PhotographerIoana Teu, a sophomore of Auckland, plays doubles on the tennis court.