All posts by The Arka Tech
A journey through depression
By Claudia Hall
According to the Archives of General Psychiatry, 14.8 million Americans struggle with major depressive disorder. This affects approximately 20 percent of the population. The possibility of being in a relationship with someone with depression is quite possible. You might not even realize that they battle with it.
There are many things to remember if you are with someone like this. First of all, it is not your fault, and it will never be your fault. You were not the cause of this illness. Depression can come in a variety of ways. Commonly, it comes when too many hardships pile on top of each other. There is a trigger and once it is pulled, there is no easy way to reverse it. It takes time, healing and reassurance.
It is not your responsibility to bring them out of their low. Putting that pressure on yourself will burden you until you snap. It may be possible to help them out of a low a few times, but you won’t always be the superhero. Some days, you should just be there. Sit with them. Don’t fill the deafening silence. Simply be there.
Remind them that they are loved. Tell them why you chose them. Yes, depression is a hard illness to deal with, but it doesn’t define the relationship. Remember why you began this journey and continue to remind them. Depression eats at your thoughts, twisting them into lies. Words of affirmation can help straighten their thoughts.
Patience is the most important element. There will be a time when they emerge from the darkness and begin to smile again. That one smile will give both of you courage to continue on your journey.
Tech alumna finishes strong at RussVegas
BY MELODY TABOR
Completing a half marathon is a challenge for any runner, but in just six weeks a local woman became the top female finisher in three half-marathon races.
Kaitlin Bounds, 2014 Tech alumna from Russellville, competed in the Little Rock, Hogeye and RussVegas half marathons this spring as part of her qualifying races for Road Racers Clubs of America.
The original plan was to run two half-marathons along with a few 5K and 10K races in between. Bounds later decided to run in the RussVegas Half Marathon to give back to Children’s Hospital.
“At RussVegas the proceeds went to Children’s, and Kaitlin gave her money back to the kids. She was a Children’s patient, and she decided to give it to the kids. Children’s saved her life,” said Kathy Bounds, Bounds’ mother.
Bounds was diagnosed with autism, asthma and lacks depth perception in both of her eyes, among other health problems. Despite this, she has been running competitively since she was in the ninth grade.
“I got inspired by my junior high school coach to run. I was reluctant at first because of my autism and asthma,” Bounds said.
She trains every day by running 10-12 miles and has always enjoyed longer races over shorter ones, her mother said.
Distance running is what she is best at and wasn’t a challenge of the RussVegas race; it was the pressure to win the top spot for the children and as the hometown girl, said Bounds.
Despite the pressure, the race felt homey, kid-friendly and community centered, said Bounds.
Bounds’ family has supported her throughout her running career; her father, Danny Bounds, has been to every single race.
After a friend died while running a marathon, he began biking next to Kaitlin in case she ever needed medical attention, said Bounds.
Bounds has yet to run a full-length marathon but hopes to run her first next year.
Bounds also has aspirations to make it to the marathon tryouts of the 2020 Olympics and potentially onto the Olympic marathon team one day.
The diverse role of Administrative Services
By Sam Hoisington
Tucked away in the bottom of Browning Hall is the Department of Administrative Services. The department consists of four full-time employees and one graduate assistant. The functions of the department are diverse and include managing inventory of assets and serving as the Tech administration liaison to Chartwells. Assisting international students with federal and state taxes also falls under the department’s umbrella of responsibilities.
Fred Clayton serves as the director of Administrative Services. His main responsibilities include managing foodservice and vending machine company relations and coordinating the activities of the department. Clayton has been employed by Tech for 34 years. A graduate of Tech himself, Clayton said he feels blessed to have been hired on to the Tech staff and cites his staff and the opportunity to help students as some of his favorite parts of the job.
“Any time that we can help the students out in any way…it’s a great feeling,” Clayton said.
Gary Brown has been with Administrative Services for about two years. Brown helps the university manage assets and oversees the organization of the approximately 10,000-square foot off-campus warehouse. Brown explained that he sees a wide variety of items come through the warehouse, and items of interest include wheelchairs, incubators and furniture that still bears the Arkansas Polytechnic College brand. Tech’s name was changed to Arkansas Tech University in 1976.
Kristin Coffman has been an employee at Tech for 10 years. Coffman was responsible for the implementation of Tech’s first surplus auctions in over 30 years. Auctions have brought in $58,636.50 in revenue since Coffman started them up again in September of 2013. The last auction had an estimated attendance of between 500-600 people.The next surplus auction will be held on May 28 in the parking lot directly north of the Witherspoon building. The auction will be open to Tech students, staff and members of the public and will feature a wide variety of furniture and other university assets.
Missy Hubbard has been with Tech for about four years and helps with a variety of administrative service functions. Among these, and among Hubbard’s favorite parts of her position, is helping international students with filing U.S. taxes. Hubbard uses Glacier tax prep computer software to help international students determine their tax obligations. Hubbard frequents the cafeteria and enjoys the student interaction there but said she likes seeing firsthand the impact she can make in international students’ lives.
“I feel like we have an obligation to help them. We tend to help them in any area we possibly can…I feel like we work hard to form those relationships with them and so they come back to us sometimes when they need something,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard’s strategy of building relationships pays off. Joseane Bazilio was one of the international students that Hubbard helped. Now, she serves as the department’s graduate assistant.
Recreation and parks administration to be offered in the fall
By Keshawn Moore
The Department of Parks, Recreation and Hospitality is made up of three separate programs under one umbrella but has recently made changes in its recreation and parks administration — adding a new degree option for the fall semester.
After combining two of its emphasis areas, turf management and recreation administration emphasis, recreation and parks administration developed recreational sports management. This degree option was designed to help students learn the basics of managing the maintenance of sporting environments and playing grounds.
Students would be responsible for keeping the fields of grass and turf sports properly maintained. It is a preparation for city-based parks and recreation programs.
“Its probably one of the fastest growing degree options in recreation and parks for a number of other universities,” said Cathi McMahan, head of Williamson Hall.
This is the first time Tech has offered this degree, and McMahan said she believes that it will give students a better chance at furthering themselves in recreation and parks.
It is also putting a “new twist on the department.”
“We looked at our emphasis areas and decided that we needed to make some changes in order to best prepare our students for their future and careers.”
Editorial: Leadership, grit, collaboration and social justice — words of a president
Arkansas Tech dedicated an entire week for the inauguration of President Bowen, a strong showing of support never before given at the university. Ten months after she became the first female president of a four-year Arkansas institution, her commemoration week featured events meant to build interest leading up to her formal inaugural speech at Tucker Coliseum on Friday.
During her speech, she said distributive leadership, grit, collaboration with the community and social justice were the four areas she wants to accentuate while president of the university. Each facet is a part of her plan of action she plans to implement with the help of faculty and students.
Concerning distributive leadership, Bowen highlighted the importance of professors in monitoring the day-to-day implications of ideas within the student body.
“You [the professors] are also the most knowledgeable regarding how we can better do things,” she said. “Good ideas come from across the university. The vision for and the future of our university needs your expertise, your knowledge.”
When Bowen talked of grit, she focused her attention on the individual student’s application of effort and how valuable this grit is in succeeding academically and professionally. She said students and professors are partners in the educational relationship, but it eventually boils down to the students’ willingness to dedicate themselves to their studies.
“Ultimately, the passion, the perseverance and the grit must be your own,” Bowen said to the students attending. “Most of our students do have grit, but we haven’t always challenged our students to apply that grit to their studies. We need to make sure you understand that your ability to learn is not fixed. It can and it does change with effort.”
Bowen thanked the community for its goodwill toward the university but said there is still much to be done to strengthen Russellville as a whole. She talked about the development of North El Paso Avenue, and her encouragement with the constructive progress makes her confident in the community’s ability to change “that corridor [into] a cultural center that can become our town’s version of Dickson Street.”
As for social justice, Bowen said mass inclusion would be key in extending the university’s definition of diversity.
“We accept others regardless of gender, who they love and their relationship with a personal God,” she said. “We must move beyond tolerance to respect, and we must celebrate diversity in all its forms.”
It will take time to influence and alter the mindsets of those who remain hidebound to ideologies not accepting of “diversity in all its forms,” but Bowen promised to commit herself and her energies as president to take Tech to “the next level of excellence.”
The importance of the speech was marked by the audience, which included more than 1,000 people, two members of the U.S. Congress — Sen. John Boozman and Rep. Steve Womack — Russellville Mayor Randy Horton and Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson.
Now begins the actual application of her plan. Turning words into action is the only way the prospective growth Bowen seeks can happen.
A FORMAL INAUGURATION
By Ashley Pearson
Cleveland-Golden State NBA Finals pick affirmed
By Ryan Smith
In early March I predicted a Cleveland-Golden State NBA Finals, and seeing one game of Round 1 is all I need to reaffirm my admittedly chalk pick. But I also said I didn’t think Stephen Curry was then a shoe-in for MVP, and that’s a pick I’ll now renege on.
No. 1 seed Golden State beat No. 8 seed New Orleans 106-99 in Game 1, but the Warriors led by 25 in the third and the game wasn’t ever close. Curry dropped 34 and willed the win over Anthony Davis and the Pelicans with the help of a team field goal percentage of 45.7 and 47 team rebounds.
Davis, who leads the league in blocks, was locked down nearly the whole game by Draymond Green (15 points) and Andrew Bogut (12 points) underneath, but he managed to score 20 late in the fourth that made it seem more of a contest than it was.
With Curry shooting lights out and backed by the league’s best defense, nothing but a meltdown could obstruct the Warriors’ championship-bound path.
Golden State is 39-2 in Oakland this year and has won its last 19 home games, so the top seed should bolster its lights-out performances.
I’m sticking with the Cavs as my pick from the East as well. The No. 2 seed topped seventh seed Boston 113-100 in Cleveland’s first playoff game since Game 5 in 2010 when the Celtics ended LeBron’s shot at a hometown title run.
But James is back with a vengeance now, scoring 20 to accompany Kyrie Irving’s playoff-debut 30 points and Kevin Love’s 19 points and 12 rebounds. It’s not the “Big 3” Miami had, but 69 combined points to start the playoffs is a good omen.
Cleveland led by 20 late in the third and 15 going into the fourth. Boston’s point guard Isaiah Thomas had 22 points, though, his performance was overshadowed by the Cavs win.
LeBron has played in 158 postseason games, which is more than the Celtics’ entire roster put together. Experience and all-around better players will help the Cavs zoom through Round 1.
The Cavs and Warriors are the odds-on bets to make the Finals; however, I see the No. 1 seed Atlanta in the East and the No. 3 seed LA in the West testing both teams in the conference finals.
The Clippers are led by power forward Blake Griffin’s 21.9 points per game and point guard Chris Paul’s 10.2 assists per game. LA’s younger talent will wear out the Spurs in Round 1, and No. 1 seed Houston won’t have enough fire power to oust the Clips, who are second in the league in points and assists per game.
James Harden has scored or assisted on 42 percent of the Rockets’ points, but I can’t see him shouldering his team to the Finals with LA standing in the way.
So I’m calling the Round 2 upset in the West. But that’s as far as I’m letting the underdog go; The Golden Suns will put down LA in five.
The 1-2 matchup in the East shouldn’t disappoint, and I’ll take the Cavs over the Hawks in six.
Paul Millsap, who is coming off a shoulder injury for Atlanta, will be forced to man up on LeBron. Millsap leads his team with 7.8 rebounds a game, and the Hawks are 28th in the league in team rebounding.
Thus overmatched in the paint, the Cavs should bully the top seed out of the playoffs.
I had expected Curry to slow down at this point, but right now he’s built up a full head of steam that he’s looking to charge into the Finals with.
Although I’m putting all my eggs in the Curry-for-MVP basket, you still want the ball in LeBron’s hands during crunch time.
James is too good, and Cleveland needs this championship too much to roll over before claiming it.
Cavs over the Warriors in seven.
Men’s golf finishes third in GAC
By Laura Bean
The Wonder Boys pulled a third-place finish at the Great American Conference Championship Sunday through Tuesday at Hot Springs Country Club.
Brian Belz finished tied for second with a three-round score of 216, one stroke shy of medalist Drew Greenwood of Henderson State. Belz was honored with an All-Tournament Team selection.
Henderson State claimed the tournament title with a team score of 866. Southwestern Oklahoma State finished second with an 884, while Tech finished third with an 886 in the 10-team field.
Julio Arguelles finished tied for 11th place with 220, and Austin Smith finished tied for 24th place with 226. Alex Mahlik finished tied for 32nd with 229, and Jason Purdy finished tied for 35 with 230 in 55-player tournament.
Tech will enter the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament Championships ranked among the top 10 teams in the region.
The NCAA will announce the field at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Tech outscores Northwestern Oklahoma 34-5
By Ryan Smith
Arkansas Tech (27-17, 13-10 GAC) swept Northwestern Oklahoma State (17-27, 8-19 GAC) 3-0 in a Great American Conference series on Sunday and Monday at Tech Field.
The Wonder Boys combined offensively for 39 total hits and outscored the Rangers 34-5.
Tech started off the series on Sunday with a 15-1 win that ended the game in the seventh inning.
Senior catcher Kennan Jumper led offensively, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs. Junior shortstop Collin O’Neil (two RBIs) and senior center fielder Rafiel Johnson (four RBIs) both went 3-for-4 at the plate, while freshman third baseman Mark Vaughn and senior first baseman Patrick Castleberry each got two hits.
The Wonder Boys started hot and never slowed down, going ahead 4-0 in the second inning on a single from Jumper and a pair of RBIs from Johnson and Vaughn.
Castleberry hit a solo shot to start the third, and a two-run RBI single to center field from O’Neil pushed the lead to seven.
A two-run single to left field by Jumper in the fourth, followed by two unearned runs in the fifth, made it 11-0 before NWOSU got on the board with a solo homer in the top of the sixth. Tech scored four more runs in the bottom half on a bases-loaded walk, a two-run double and a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Trent Armstrong (5-1) finished off his full-game performance by retiring the side and forcing the run rule to come into play. Armstrong gave up five hits and one earned run while fanning five.
Tech again enforced the run rule in Monday’s opener, winning 16-2 and ending the game after seven innings. It was junior Cody Jones (7-2) who this time pitched a full game to earn the win. Jones allowed 10 hits but only two earned runs while fanning five.
Vaughn was 4-for-5 with four RBIs and senior right fielder Bryan Heward was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
A two-run RBI in the third by Castleberry was answered in the fourth with a RBI single from the Rangers. But in the bottom half, Vaughn drove in two runs on a double to right field and senior designated hitter Kris Ayers followed up with a three-run home run that brought the score to 7-1.
Vaughn and Castleberry added two RBIs a piece in the fifth, and though NWOSU managed to put up another run in the sixth, Tech squashed any hopes of a comeback with five runs in the bottom half, three of which came on a home run from Heward.
The evening game was the only contest of the series, as the Wonder Boys needed 10 innings and three pitchers to pull off the 3-2 win.
NWOSU earned its first lead of the series when it scored a run on a double in the second. Tech rallied back, scoring on a wild pitch in the third and an O’Neil single in the fourth. The Rangers leveled the score at 2-2 in the seventh on a single to center field.
Sophomore left fielder Marcus Wilson ended the game and clinched the series sweep with a walk-off single to left field.
Johnson handled the bulk of the action on the mound, pitching six innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs and fanning three. Junior Ryan Vruggink then saw three innings of work and allowed five hits and no runs scored. Senior Randy Vallejo earned his second win of the season after pitching one inning and allowing no hits or runs.
Tech will host its final conference series before the GAC tournament against Harding (26-19, 17-7 GAC) on Friday and Saturday.
The Arka Tech 