The Fountain

Taco Bell on Campus? It’s Possible

Aramark, the company that provides food service on campus, has been doing an in-depth survey of what our students want to eat and one preference has been clear - Taco Bell. There are no current plans to add the fast-food favorite to the campus fare but Aramark says it is listening. Aramark wants to give us what we want, according to Jim Nabors, senior food service director. Aramark has been interviewing...

What Parking Problem?

We’ve all done it, cruising around from parking lot to parking lot trying to find an empty space. Some days, it seems there are too many cars and not enough parking spots. But, that’s not the case, according to Velton Daves, assistant director of the Physical Plant. There are 6,486 parking spaces on campus and at any given time there are between 200-400 empty spots. Most of the student...

Who Makes What at UCA?

Ever wonder what that person standing in front of the class is being paid to lecture you? How about the guy who runs this place? We found the answers in the UCA 2009-10 Budget Book in Torreyson Library. The people in Human Resources tell us it is the most current and reliable source of this information. However, the amounts are budgeted and may not always be the actual amount being paid. Obviously,...

The Semester of Construction

The sidewalk construction we’ve been dodging all semester is only a small part of the construction around campus.   The university is spending about $4.7 million on construction and renovation this semester. It’s all money from federal stimulus programs and has to be spent by summer. The sidewalks account for only about $500,000 of that amount.   Most of the money, about $3 million,...

Free Carnival on Campus Today

There’s a carnival on campus today. Really. It’s in the parking lot east of the HPER Center. Just look for the rides spread across the parking lot. It is open from noon until 7 p.m. today. It includes carnival rides, water games, basketball shooting, rock wall climbing and a Nascar simulator. For the less adventurous, the carnival offers street sign design, caricatures, body art, balloon...

Stars Gather for The Oxford American

Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman and acclaimed author Charles Portis will be in Little Rock tonight to receive awards from the The Oxford American at the magazine’s inaugural “Best Of the South Gala” at the Capital Hotel. Freeman, who was born in Memphis and spent much of his life in Mississippi, will receive the award for Outstanding Contributions to Southern Culture. Portis,...

Archivist: UCA Built on Graveyard

Remember that story about the tunnels under campus a couple of weeks ago? Well, it seems that there is even more under our feet than we knew.  Yesterday, Jimmy Bryant, director of UCA’s archives and our campus historian, released a YouTube video revealing that UCA is built on top of an unmarked Civil War graveyard. Bryant said he had kept the secret as long as he could bear it.  “This...

Cafeteria to Serve Only Sushi

Christian Cafeteria has changed its menu to sushi and only sushi. Jim Nabors, senior food service director and former actor, said he made the change after visiting Japan during Spring Break. “Golly, those people live a long time,” Nabors said. “It must be the raw fish. I mean, what else could it be?” Nabors, probably best known for his role as Gomer in the Andy Griffith show,...

Lu Hardin Buys Naming Rights

Former UCA President Lu Hardin bought the naming rights to the new College of Business building yesterday and had his name added to the front sometime last night. “Looks good, don’t it?” Hardin said this morning. “I am living the dream now, baby.” Hardin said he bought the naming rights with the money he was paid to leave UCA and the state almost two years ago. “It...

More Greeks, Less Parking

Parking will become a bit more tedious next semester because of the administration’s plans to remove two of our largest parking lots. The parking lot between the tennis courts and the Physical Plant will be transformed into an authentic outdoor Greek amphitheater during the summer break. The amphitheater will be used only as a gathering place for the Greek organizations on campus, according...