White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed in a press conference that the student loan pause will expire on February 1st. The pause is part of the CARES Act passed back in March and was initially slated to end on September 30th. An extension of the pause was announced from Colbert JonAugust 6th until January 31st. While details are still being developed as the omicron variant remains under watch, a transition into repayment seems imminent. “A smooth transition into repay

Local Filmmaker, Jason Pitts, held a private screening for his horror movie, Masquerade , which premieres December 19th, at the Ozark Talent Bank in downtown Rogers. Masquerade is one of several films Pitts has written and directed. The film stars Alivea Disney who Pitts said helped conceptualize her character, Sylvia Darnell. “She talked about what her dream role would be…. we came up with that character together and then we decided what a theme for that character would

A lawsuit contesting that Oxford Community Schools downplayed or ignored the threat Ethan Crumbley posed to the school was filed Thursday. Southfield, Michigan attorney Geoffrey Fieger announced the lawsuits in a press conference. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Oxford students and siblings Riley Franz, 17, and Bella Franz, 14, who were both injured in the shooting. Fieger stressed the importance of holding everyone responsible, not just the Crumbleys. “It’s not enough

The parents of the teen suspected to be responsible for the shooting at Oxford High School have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Jennifer and James Crumbley have pleaded not guilty to the charges after an eventful arraignment. Their son, Ethan Crumbley, is to be tried as an adult for first-degree murder, terrorism, as well as other charges. These charges have come as more disturbing details of the days leading up to the shooting, including a text bet

The University of Arkansas- Fort Smith recently announced that they will begin offering a new Diversity Studies minor option for students starting in the spring. Students interested in taking the minor will have the ability to integrate to classes from several other majors and/or minors to count toward the course requirements. Required classes for the minor will include Introduction to Diversity and Cultural Anthropology, so that students can gain a general knowledge of what

On Saturday December 4th, the tallest mountain on Indonesia’s most populated island, Javo erupted during a thunderstorm, forcing over 1,700 residents to evacuate their homes and seek shelter. Towns and villages nearby lay covered in ash and debris. Thousands of homes and educational institutions have been damaged or destroyed. Rescuers scramble to find missing villagers in areas that are covered in volcanic ash. Mount Seneru erupted again on Monday morning, suspending the sea

I’m sure you’ve seen it. No, not the new COVID Variant , but something far more dangerous: Elon Musk’s new haircut. Image via Twitter At a recent appearance in Miami, the Tesla founder and CEO was spotted rocking what can only be described as a “Macklemore-lite” chop job. As a recent divorcee (trust me, we’ve all been there), it’s important to rethink your style and how you present yourself. But I’m not quite sure what this is. Coming from the man who’s known for sleeping on

UAFS’ new Center for Economic Development is close to opening, the college announced on November 30th. The center will be located within Fort Smith’s Bakery District, a pavilion for businesses and events just across from the Fort Smith Convention Center and the Sebastian County Courthouse. The center will soon become home to the already established UAFS Center for Business and Professional Development, Family Enterprise Center, and Fort Smith’s Arkansas Small Business and Tec

The New Omicron There has been a confirmed new variant of Coronavirus called the Omicron variant. The Covid-19 pandemic has been around for over two years at this point. Coronavirus is a very serious issue in the world today. As of December 1st, 2021, there are currently 5,891 active covid-19 cases in the state of Arkansas. There has been a total of 529,768 covid-19 cases in Arkansas in the past two years, and there has been a total of 8,687 covid-19 related deaths in Arkansa

As concert goers arrived to see Travis Scott, Bad Bunny, SZA, and other headliners, what they got instead was a tragedy. Astroworld, one of the most famous music festivals that fans are willing to do whatever it takes to go see rapper Travis Scott. Unfortunately, on November 5th, 2021 Astroworld turned into a tragedy with nine people dead, hundreds injured, and many people traumatized. The incident started 30 minutes before Travis Scott took the stage, as the time got close

Facebook Changes its Name to Meta At the end of October, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will be rebranding Facebook as Meta, effective...

The 1940’s Radio Hour by Walton Jones opens December 3rd at Breedlove Auditorium. The production, directed by Dr. Kevin Jones, is a collaboration between the UAFS theater and music programs. This is the first live play produced by Theatre@UAFS since February 2020. The play takes place December 21st, 1942 as a radio company prepares to go on the air in the midst of World War II. The ensemble cast of singers, musicians, and more performs live music from the 1940s and comed

Last Friday Sōl Studios held an open house for University of Arkansas-Fort Smith students at their downtown location. University students, faculty, and alumni were in attendance, hosted by Grant Thomas and Anton Rasmussen, owner and head engineer of Sōl Studios, respectively. The Sōl Studios team invited UAFS music, theater, and media communication students to their open house in hopes of fostering a relationship with the university. Thomas and Rasmussen interacted with tho

Vista College, a trade school in Fort Smith, unexpectedly closed their doors on Friday, October 8, 2021. According to several sources, students were aware that Vista would be closing in the near future, but not until the students that were currently enrolled finished their programs. The closing was a shock and a disappointment to all of Vista’s students. When Vista closed their doors, 354 students were enrolled with an additional 69 students enrolled in their online programs.