Jan. 29:

• Student Elizabeth M. Campbell, 21, of Conway, was arrested for DWI and careless driving about 2:08 a.m. Police stopped Campbell at the corner of Moix Street and Donaghey Avenue for driving erratically and determined that she had been drinking.
• A Lexus belonging to student Bobby Earl Racy, 20, of Little Rock, was towed about 5 p.m. because it was parked in a reserved spot. The spot was reserved for the officer who requested the tow.

 Jan. 30:

• Karen Marie Kremer, 25, of Conway, was arrested for DWI about 1:09 a.m. at the intersection of Dave Ward Drive and Farris Road. An officer stopped Kremer after she failed to stop at a red light. She failed a field sobriety test and refused the breathalyzer test.
• Student Michael K. Stage reported at 3:39 p.m. that the passenger side window of his Toyota Matrix was broken while the car was parked in the lot next to the baseball field. Police said the baseball team was practicing at the time and several baseballs were in the parking lot.

Sketch of amphitheater

The Student Government Association (SGA) presented a sketch of the amphitheatre at last night's SGA meeting. The sketch shows the most expensive option for the project. It will cost about $268,000 to build and will seat approximately 200 people.

SGA Executive President Austin Hall said the design can be modified if the proposed project costs too much by removing the paneling or choosing a different brick. Hall said several members of the Board of Trustees have promised they will ensure that UCA receives the "nicest version possible." Hall said later that he "didn't want to see anything less than this design."

In other business:

• SGA questioned Aramark spokesman Jim Nabors about the company's pricing, meal equivalency plans, and why Aramark should be UCA's choice for food as opposed to other vendors. Nabors said that Aramark has a 35-year relationship with the university and has donated a lot of money and time to the school.
• The SGA Technology Improvement Committee discussed creating charging stations around campus where students can charge their laptop or cellphones. The program would provide secure areas where students can charge their electronics while they are in class.
• SGA announced that the campus shuttle service has been extended until 8 p.m.
• Senator Sho Umera resigned as senior class representative, citing time constraints. His position will not be filled because it is too late in the semester to fill his spot.
• Hall reminded seniors that applications for graduation are due Friday.

You can read the minutes of the meeting here.

The event features a performance by the University of International Business and Economics Students Art Troupe of Beijing, one of the leading university performance troupes in China. Their acts include music, dance, martial arts expositions, instrumental performances, operas and even a performance of "Little Bitty" by country music singer Alan Jackson.

The appearance is sponsored by the UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas and UIBE.

JingJing Li, deputy director of the Confucius Institute on campus said the audience can expect to experience a real Chinese performance.

"I think some of the people that will come, it will be their first time to see a performance like this," Li said.

The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, also known as Fiji, has set up a booth in the Student Center this week to recruit new members.

They will be here for the next six weeks looking for the "founding fathers" of the UCA chapter they plan to start.

“We’re doing a colonization, meaning we’re coming to campus for the first time,” said Wes Martin, the director of expansion for the fraternity.

“We’ll be going and speaking to student organizations on campus working with those organizations,” Martin said. “We’ll find founding fathers based off of recommendations or referrals.We’re looking for men who fit the Fiji values … men who are academically focused, were leaders in high school or are leaders on campus already, men who want to work together as a team and gentlemen who are well-behaved or well-rounded.”

Fiji will give a $1,000 scholarship to one of the men who joins. Everyone who joins will get a $250 scholarship if they make at least a 3.0 GPA this semester, Martin said.

UCA is where Fiji wants to grow next, he said.

“We want to be a contributing member to the community,” Martin said. "UCA is a great place and a growing university. It’s a place to have a strong group with good men to recruit. I’m excited about the opportunity to meet a lot of men and start off with a strong group.”

Not any more. You can have one of those bears for free today.

The Student Activities Board is sponsoring the "Bear Mill/Build-A-Bear" program and will provide free supplies for up to 400 students. It begins at 1 p.m. in the first floor lounge of the Student Center.

"Basically, this event is comprised of several different kinds of stuffed animal shells [and] skins," event coordinator Kendra Regehr said. 

You can build a giraffe, a lion, a tiger, a cat, a dog or several other animals. The toys are stuffed with items such as Xs and Os for hugs and kisses or wishing stars before they are sealed with Velcro.

"We usually go through 400 stuffed animals in a couple hours," Regehr said.  "Students are limited to one bear each."

You will have to move down a line of toys and stuffing materials to build your animal.

The event is funded through the student activity fee.

• Student Rhett D. Rogers, 19, of Conway, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance about 11:49 p.m. An officer walking on campus saw Rogers weighing marijuana while he was sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car. Police searched the car and found 1.65 ounces of marijuana.
• A 19-year-old student was taken to Conway Regional Medical Center by ambulance after police found him in a staircase in Conway Hall covered in blood and urine and smelling like alcohol. The student thought he was in the parking lot and that this year is 1998. Officers administered first aid to the student until the ambulance arrived. Police found alcohol in the student's room. The student and his roommate were charged with public intoxication and violation of campus alcohol restrictions.
• Student Thomas E. Gring Jr., 21, of Conway, was arrested for DWI at 12:56 a.m. on South Donaghey Avenue. An officer stopped Gring after he saw Gring strike the curb on Dave Ward Drive as he turned his Toyota 4-Runner onto Donaghey. Gring registered .18 on the breathalyzer test. He was released into the custody of his father.
• Student Nicole J. Baker, 19, of Conway, reported at 8:44 p.m. that she had lost her wallet. Baker said she left the wallet in her room about 1:50 p.m. and noticed that it was missing about 4:30 p.m. The wallet contained more than $300, a bank card and a Wal-Mart employee card.

The UCA Circle K Club is selling gourmet lollip0ps from 11 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. tomorrow in the Student Center. They will continue the sale through Thursday. They cost $1 each and you can add a personal message to your sweetheart for another dollar.

The club will use the money they raise to pay the cost of attending a district  convention in March.

The Circle K Club has been a part of the UCA community since 1997. Affiliated with the local Kiwanis and Key clubs, Circle K emphasizes the importance of community service and leadership. This year the club has 31 members that lend helping hands to local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Community Connections, and Soaring Wings Ranch.

If you want to join Circle K Club, you can contact members on the group's Facebook page,which contains updates about club activities and service projects.

This year's program includes a performance by actors Danny Glover and Felix Justice Thursday night in Reynolds Performance Hall. Justice will portray Martin Luther King Jr. and Glover will portray the poet Langston Hughes in their touring production of "An Evening with Martin and Langston."

Afeni Shakur-Davis, a former Black Panther and mother of slain hip-hop performer Tupak Shakur, will speak in Reynolds on Feb. 13 and Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist and former presidential candidate, will speak Feb. 23.

Some of these events are the creation of the UNITY Council, a collaboration among the NAACP, Griot Society, Keep-A-Child-Alive, National Association of Black Men United, Omega Psi Phi fraternity and Students for the Propagation of Black Culture. This is the council's first time to participate in the program but members say they plan to work together again next year.

The Reynolds Performance Hall Series and RSOs planned the remaining events.

A few events were last week. You can read our story about one of them here.

Here is a list of the remaining events:

• Feb. 7 - Jabberwock Week Begins- Delta Sigma Theta
• Feb. 9 - "Higher Learning" program - X-period - Student Center Courtyard
• Feb. 9 - "An Evening with Martin and Langston" - 7 :30 p.m. - Reynolds Performance Hall
• Feb. 13 - "The Road to Peace and Empowerment" - Afeni Shakur-Davis - 7:30 p.m. - Reynolds Performance Hall
• Feb. 17 - Black and Gold Ball - 7 p.m. - Student Center Ballroom - Alpha Phi Alpha
• Feb. 21 - "Family Feud" program - X-period - Student Center
• Feb. 23 - Susan Eisenhower - 11 a.m. - College of Business Auditorium
• Feb. 23 - Film Screening and Panel Discussion - 2 p.m. - College of Business Auditorium
• Feb. 23 - Jesse Jackson - 7:30 p.m. - Reynolds Performance Hall
• Feb. 24 - Miss Essence Scholarship Pageant - Reynolds Performance Hall
• Feb. 27 - Film Screening and Discussion - 6 p.m. - Student Center Ballroom
• Feb. 29 - Poetry Slam - 7 p.m. - Student Center Ballroom

You can find more information here.

Jan. 26:

• A 33-year-old student was taken to Conway Regional Medical Center by ambulance about 1:08 p.m. after she had a seizure outside Reynolds Performance Hall. Police said the woman called for help before the seizure started but it began as she sat in the police car waiting on medical help.
• Students Adam L. Griffis, 19, Tyler S. Baily, 19, Brittany A. Parker, 18, Robert C. Harrington, 19, Devin G. Williams, 20, Destiny B. Rodriguez, 20, and Ryan A. Bewley, 19, were given verbal warnings for alcohol violations about 9:50 p.m. Police were called to New Hall because of a complaint about loud noise in one of the rooms. Officers searched the room and found alcohol. The students were ordered to pour it out.

Jan. 27:

• A 2005 Nissan Altima belonging to Nelson Kinyaha was towed about 4:05 a.m. because it was parked in a reserved space in the Bear Village parking lot.

It was a high-energy night of dance, rhythm, singing, drumming and language. Children and old folks alike joined in the interactive performances led by the Birmingham, Ala.-based dance company and its founder and choreographer, Johannes “Jomo” Xulu.

Umdabu dancers performing

Asha Xulu, Jomo Xulu’s wife and Umdabu’s executive director, introduced the group.

“You all are about to go to South Africa,” she told the audience. And go to South Africa we did.

The audience joined in from the beginning as Xulu herself played the drums. Almost every set of hands was clapping to the beat as the four men entered the stage, dressed in traditional South African clothing made of sheepskin and cowhide.

During the dance, Jomo Xulu spoke of the energy in the room and the unity between the different races represented.

“[There is] no more white, no more black … just us,” he said.

The night got more interesting when he taught the audience some of his native language. He taught them to say “hello,” “how are you,” “I’m fine,” and also how to pronounce the letters ‘x,’ ‘c,’ and ‘q’ with clicks of the tongue.

Arguably the most entertaining part of the night was when the men donned workers’ outfits and boots and did a dance that originated in Johannesburg, South Africa. It included making amusing facial expressions.

However, there was much more meaning to this dance than tapping boots and funny faces.

The workers’ dance originated in the days when men and boys from many different African countries were forced to work in diamond mines under harsh conditions. Because the workers spoke many different languages, they used dance as a form of communication and competition.

This dance, Asha Xulu said, would “take [you] back to where the rhythm began.”

In addition to the performances, Asha Xulu spoke with the audience about the various cultures represented on campus and encouraged minority students to remember their heritage.

“Don’t let your culture die,” she said. “Your culture is beautiful, [something] to be proud of.”

The last dance of the night, like the others, did not disappoint. Nearly every person in the room participated.

“You convinced me that you can dance,” Jomo Xulu said.

The night was a truly authentic South African experience. Among many other things, Jomo Xulu left the audience with a powerful sense of unity.

“We are all brothers and sisters of the universe," he said.

Here's a video we shot of one of the performances.