01/21/14 issue
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HSU OracleTRANSCRIPT
The small parking lot behind the Day Gym at Garrison Hall will be closed until July of 2014.
The area is reserved for contractors’ equipment and materials needed for the next phase of renovation done to the Garrison Hall.
The Day Gym and Memorial Ar-mory are to be converted into a ban-quet and conference hall.
The renovation project “will provide a first class banquet/conference center for all students and faculty meetings or special events.
In the near future both hallways, downstairs and upstairs, are to have the walls and floors redone,” Bobby Jones, vice president for finance and adminis-tration at Henderson, wrote. The “ap-proximate cost is $1,250,000, and the project is funded with general improve-ment fund money,” Jones added.
The exterior of Garrison Hall will not be affected by the renovation.
“There are no additions planned for the exterior of the Garrison Hall,” Steve Fellers, media relations coordina-tor, said.
The ROTC program will not be af-fected by the renovation. Long ago, the ROTC was moved to the Caplinger Air-way Science Center.
“What is in place now is a memorial
to the Henderson ROTC graduates that have served our country,” Major Kyle Schultz of the Henderson ROTC said.
The project, which ends in July, is keeping up to schedule.
“I don’t see why it won’t be done in time,” Ken Lucy, job foreman of Dollar Sheet Metal, said.
Students and faculty are well accus-tomed to the construction going on at Garrison Hall. The construction is rare-ly even noticed.
“That’s nothing new,” Tim Blaylok, junior physics major, said. “We all know about the renovation at Garrison Hall.” Blaylok added that the renovations to
Garrison’s hallways would be a nice ad-dition.
Henderson has brought in Starbucks and Chick-fil-A to make a more mod-ernized central point on the campus. The bookstore, radio station and the Oracle can be found in the Garrison. It is one of the first places all freshman students visit when arriving at Hender-son.
Once the new conference/banquet room has been added to the amenities of the building, the floors and walls in the hallways are getting a face lift, which will be welcomed improvements to the building.
WASHINGTON America needs to do more to help
low-income young people succeed in college, President Barack Obama told a gathering at the White House on Thursday of educational, business and philanthropic leaders, who pledged to take on extra efforts to help more stu-dents reap the benefits of a college de-gree.
“There is this huge cohort of talent we’re not tapping,” Obama said, citing research that shows that only 30 per-cent of low-income students enroll in college after high school and, by their mid-20s, only 9 percent earn a bach-elor’s degree.
With officials from 80 colleges and 40 businesses and philanthropies in at-tendance, the president said he talks about education from personal experi-ence.
“I grew up with a single mom,” he said. “She had me when she was 18 years old. There are a lot of circum-stances where that might have waylaid her education for good. But there were structures in place that allowed her then to go on and get a Ph.D.”
To bolster his point, he said of first lady Michelle Obama, who also attend-ed the conference: “Michelle’s dad was a shift worker at the city water plant. (Her) mom worked as a secretary. They didn’t go to college. But there were structures in place that allowed Mi-chelle to take advantage of those op-portunities.”
The commitments the White House
received from schools and foundations fill an 89-page document.
They include efforts to help high-achieving, low-income students get into schools that are a good match and extend them support until they get a degree.
They also hope to increase the pool of students getting ready for college and to help low-income students pre-pare for the SAT and ACT tests.
Initiatives include a plan by the Col-lege Board to offer four college admis-sions fee waivers to low-income stu-dents who take its SAT test.
There’s a $65 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and $30 million from the Helmsley Chari-table Trust to help more students com-plete degrees in science, technology, engineering or math.
Another effort calls on schools to hold summer enrichment programs, ex-pand financial aid and take other steps to recruit low-income students.
“Despite education’s ability to level the playing field, there is, simply put, great inequality in our nation’s schools today,” said College Board president David Coleman.
He said a recent study showed that at the 193 most selective colleges and universities, 66 percent of students were from the top 25 percent in income and only 6 percent were from the bot-tom 25 percent.
“That is not because there is not great talent” in every income group, he said.
One large grant announced Thurs-day was $10 million to the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based College Advising Corps from the John M. Belk Endowment, a private family foundation in Charlotte,
N.C. The funds will be used to increase the numbers of young college advisers in rural high schools in the state.
Graduates of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have par-ticipated in the advising program but now North Carolina State University and Davidson College are joining the effort to expand the advising to 60 rural high schools in the state.
Nicole Hurd, founder and CEO of the National College Advising Corps, said that the average student to coun-selor ratio was 471-to-1.
The new grant will help expand the advising by recent college graduates who are assigned to high schools to en-courage and advise.
Michelle Obama told the confer-ence that she’d make education her fo-cus for the three remaining years of her husband’s term and beyond.
Both she and her husband attended elite private universities.
The first lady, who graduated from Princeton University, said the school had programs that helped her succeed and that then, as now, advising, men-toring and other efforts all are “simple steps that can determine whether these kids give up and drop out, or step up and thrive.”
“The truth is that if Princeton hadn’t found my brother as a basket-ball recruit, and if I hadn’t seen that he could succeed on a campus like that, it never would have occurred to me to apply to that school, never,” she said. “And I know that there are so many kids out there just like me, kids who have a world of potential, but maybe their parents never went to college, or maybe they’ve never been encouraged to believe they could succeed there.”
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014 HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY VOLUME 15, ISSUE 16
INDEX Opinions: page 2 | Diversions: page 3 | Sports: page 4
Renovation gives Garrison a facelift
*Photo courtesy of Bobby Jones
Kenison HolmesStaff Writer
HSU Saysgoodbye to for-mer basketball starHenderson State University is mourning the loss of legendary basketball great Danny Davis who passed away Tuesday.
>Page 4
In The Fold
Disconnect between mi-norities and majorities Macklemore can’t write a song supporting gay rights or sexual-ity because he is himself a straight male (though ar-guably metrosex-ual). A straight, white male can-not need femi-nism, and if he does, the issues he chooses to tackle are not important issues that should be discussed in the women’s rights movement.
>Page 2
64 27
Monday
45 19
Tuesday
50 27
Wednesday
41 14
Thursday
41 19
Friday
59 28
Saturday
63 27
Sunday
BIGGER AND BRIGHTER The Day Gym in the Garrison is in the process of being renovated from the gymnasium to the banquet style pictured above.
Sports
Opinions
Find more news and information online at WWW.HSUORACLE.COM
MiSSiLELong days bring low times.
>Page 3
Obama’s kick off push to make college more accessible
Renee SchoofMcClatchy News
Calamities of Nature The life of an artist is one big contradiction.
>Page 3
Diversions
*Illustration by Brett Little
Macklemore can’t write a song supporting gay rights or sexuality
because he is, himself, a straight man (though arguably metrosexual). A straight, white male cannot need feminism, and if he admits that he does, the issues he chooses to tackle (such as, perhaps, his inability to en-joy his girlfriend’s strap-on without shame due to the gender stereo-types our society is bound by) are not important issues that should be discussed in the women’s rights movement, or at least, they pale in comparison to the real issues at hand (like rape, reproductive justice, trans-rights, etc..) A white person cannot possibly empathize with any aspect of a person-of-color’s life, and if they try and make a mistake, Hell will rise above the ground and swallow them
into the Earth’s core, where they will burn forever and ever, amen.
These are the exclusionary poli-tics of social activism, especially those found on the Internet. Social networking sites, such as Twitter and Tumblr, have perfected the art of counter-Othering. Social activism and civil justice were born of “Oth-ering,” which is, according to Michel Foucault, “strongly connected with power and knowledge,” as written by Sara Rismyhr Engelund, student of anthropology at the University of Oslo.
The new form of social exclusion does not take into account that those willing to try to play a supporting role in a community are doing so to the best of their ability, with all their own flawed human understanding, but with a willingness to learn. There are those who say that they should learn on their own.
They say, “It’s not my place to tell them. That’s what Google is for.”
The truth is that the majority of people against gay rights are only swayed when they find that they
know someone who is gay, accord-ing to a lecture by John Corvino, the self-proclaimed gay moralist. If this information is true, statistically speaking, then it might be fair to say that the most common way to change someone’s mind about any particular group of people suffer-ing from social exclusion is to learn about that group from an individual within it.
The second rule of rhetoric, according to contemporary theo-rist Lloyd Bitzer, is to identify the speaker’s audience in order to next call them to action or persuade them to change, something the social ac-tivism of the Internet fails at. Their audience happens to be those who are on the opposing side, and so rhetoric that continues to push them away and alienate them, even when their opinions have been swayed, is counter-productive to the cause. Whether the issue at hand is sexual-ity, women’s rights, or race, there are those within each faction who would exclude allies on the basis of human misunderstanding.
A hatred has been born amongst such people. I used to be one of these people, until that hatred became ut-terly exhausting. So, what is the solu-tion to this predicament? How can such a poisonous hatred within ac-tivist communities be swayed to love and acceptance?
It may be easier said than done for groups who have been margin-alized for eons, but allies should be celebrated rather than alienated, and they should be taught rather than expected to self-educate, because no way of learning is more affective than that of experience. Within ac-tivist communities, there should be an allowance for human error and kind hearts to counter the hatred and vitriol of the opposing side’s views.
It is easy to forget the human side of things when on the Internet, and even easier to make a statement be-hind the protective screen of a com-puter without facing repercussions. I leave you with a quote in honor of Martin Luther King’s legacy: “Love is the only force capable of trans-forming an enemy into friend.”
January 21, 2014
PAGE 2
The Oracle StaffEditor-in-Chief
Morgan [email protected]
Faculty AdviserMike Taylor
Copy EditorAshley Loftin
News EditorStephanie Hartman
Sports EditorKaitlyn Kitchens
Photo EditorRyan Klare
Editorial CartoonistHouston Fryer
Graphics DesignerBrett Little
Web DesignerIzhar Buendia
Business ManagerJames T. Allen
Distribution ManagerMoe Skinner
Generation Why? Who’s the real enemy?
L E T T E R ST O T H E E D I T O R
Have an opinion on a contro-versial issue or response to this week’s column? Write the Oracle at [email protected] to have your voice heard. Opin-ions should be between 400 and 600 words and emailed as a word document. Include your preferred name. No anonymous submissions, please.
OPINIONSAshley LoftinCopy Editor
DIVERSIONS Janurary 21, 2014
PAGE 3
At the start of the 2013 season, few outside of Orlando knew much about Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles.
Bortles has lost his anonymity. Af-ter leading the 10th-ranked Knights to the best season in program history, a 12-1 campaign capped by a 52-42 win over Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl, Bortles could provide another stun-ning first in the 34-year history of the University of Central Florida football program: In early May, Bortles could be the top overall pick in the NFL draft.
It’s not outside the realm of possi-bility for the Oviedo, Fla., native, who opted to forgo his final year of eligi-bility to enter the professional ranks.
Bortles is one of the hottest names in draft circles, shooting up projec-tion charts during the season thanks to his numerous clutch performances and NFL-prototype size.
The highest-drafted player in UCF history is quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who was selected No. 11 overall in 1999.
While the hot trend from the scouting world seems to be pulling the reins back on Bortles’ draft hype, a quick glance at teams selecting play-ers early in the draft shows he may very well be a top-five pick.
Of the top five teams, four likely
rank quarterback as their top need going into the draft: Houston Texans (No. 1), Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 3), Cleveland Browns (No. 4) and Oak-land Raiders (No. 5).
Many have noted there is a strong connection between Houston’s staff and UCF coach George O’Leary.
Former Penn State coach Bill O’Brien was recently hired as the Tex-ans’ head coach.
O’Brien rose from graduate assis-tant to offensive coordinator under O’Leary at Georgia Tech from 1995-2001.
The two coaches remain close, and connections between the staffs could give Houston a much greater picture of Bortles as a prospect and a person.
O’Brien also got a first-hand look at Bortles when the Nittany Lions faced UCF earlier this season.
Bortles was a big reason the Knights earned a 34-31 win at Penn State.
He was 20-of-27 passing for 288 yards, three touchdowns and one in-terception.
O’Brien was very complimentary of the quarterback both before and after the game.
“Anytime you have a quarterback like (Bortles), who is accurate, has a strong arm, is big and can stand in the pocket and can run, it is a difficult challenge,” O’Brien said in the post-game press conference. “He played a great game tonight and all the credit to him. I think he is a heck of a player. I didn’t get a chance to meet him or say hello to him, but I think he is a
heck of a player.” Listed at 6-foot-4, 230-pounds,
Bortles name has been bounced
around draft projections ranging from the top quarterback available to an over-hyped prospect with a lot of fundamental flaws.
While Peter King of Sports Il-lustrated said some NFL teams have Bortles atop their draft boards and ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have lauded the UCF quarterback, other recent scouting re-ports have been more critical of the UCF junior.
“Right now, I would take (Teddy) Bridgewater, (Johnny) Manziel, (A.J.) McCarron, Derek Carr, David Fales and Brett Smith before I would take Bortles,” wrote Greg Gabriel, a for-mer director of college scouting for the Chicago Bears. “I feel all of them are better passers and better prepared to play in the NFL.”
The NFL combine will be a huge opportunity for Bortles, giving him a chance to display his strengths and dispel some concerns about his weak-nesses.
If he falters during the biggest job interview of his life, Bortles’ draft stock surely would tumble.
Come May, the odds are in Bortles’ favor to emerge on the more optimis-tic side of any early reports.
That his name could be called first overall is a stunning rise for a player given little consideration before this season.
Henderson State University is mourning the loss of legend-ary basketball great Danny Davis who passed away at the age of 64 on Tuesday in Benton, Ark.
Davis was a 1971 graduate of Henderson State, where he played basketball for the legendary coach Don Dyer.
Davis was Henderson’s first play-er to earn All-American honors three
straight years, earning NAIA All-American in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
He also was a three-time All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference selection, NAIA All-District 17 pick and was selected to the NAIA All-Tournament Team in 1969.
While at Henderson, Davis to-taled 2,075 points in his basketball career, averaging 18 points per game which ranks second all-time in HSU history.
Davis also totaled 974 rebounds during his illustrious career, which is
third-best all-time at HSU. During his senior season, Davis
ranked in the top 10 nationally in shooting percentage connecting on 61 percent of his shots from the field.
In the summer of 1969, Davis was one of 12 players selected to tour Africa and Europe on behalf of the USA, and in 1971 he was selected as the Senior Student-Athlete of the Year at Henderson.
Davis was a seventh round draft pick by the New York Knicks of the NBA.
In 1998, Davis was inducted into Henderson’s Hall of Honor, and on Jan 29, 2005, his HSU jersey was re-tired and continues to hang from the gym at the Duke Wells Center.
Following his days at Henderson, Davis was a coach, teacher and school administrator for area schools in Ar-kansas, where he impacted the lives of many young people.
Davis was born on March 14, 1949, in Hopper and is the son of William Caleb Davis and Sarah Price Davis.
He married Marta Papkin on Jan. 1, 1979. He was preceded in death by his parents and three sisters, Jean Da-vis Coleman, Mary Ellen Davis and Gloria Davis.
Davis is survived by his lov-ing wife Marta; his daughter, Lauren Clow, and her husband Degen, and grandson Davis of Little Rock; his siblings Helen Robinson of Okla-homa, Wilburn Davis of San Marcos, Texas, Faye George of Spring, Texas, Bonnie Reid of Sugarland, Texas, Nelda Walker of Giddings, Texas, James and Karen Davis of Midwest City, Okla. and Frank and Judy Davis of Edmondson, Okla.
A celebration of Danny’s life will take place at 1p.m., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, in the Davis-Smith Funeral Home Chapel in Glenwood, Ark., with Frank Davis and James Davis officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in memory of Danny to the Hopper Cemetery Fund, c/o Mary Hollifield, 45 Hollifield Lane, Caddo Gap, Ark., 71935.
SPORTSJanuary 21, 2014
PAGE 4
Former Henderson and NBA basketballer passes
DAVIS
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH Quarterback Blake Bortles of Central Florida makes a throw against Houston in the first half at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013.
Could Blake Bortles go from unknown to No. 1 in NFL draft?
Troy MitchellSports Information
Paul TenorioOrlando Sentinel
*Photo courtesy of Steven M. Dowell/ Orlando Sentinel