- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/national-night-out/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Fri, 28 Sep 2018 16:12:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 University District to host National Night Out celebration Oct. 2 /news-archive/2018/09/28/university-district-national-night-out/ Fri, 28 Sep 2018 16:12:07 +0000 /news/?p=72014 ... University District to host National Night Out celebration Oct. 2]]> The University District Neighborhood Association will host its annual National Night Out celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 2.聽 National Night Out will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at Saint Mark Baptist Church, 5722 W. 12th St., Little Rock. National Night Out is a community-building initiative that promotes safety through neighborhood camaraderie and police-community partnerships. The National Association of Town Watch, a nonprofit crime prevention organization, started the campaign. The goal of the event is to enhance the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available, and local musicians will provide entertainment. An awards ceremony will be held to honor local law enforcement officers and first responders from the Little Rock Police Department, Little Rock Fire Department, and MEMS. In the upper right photo, children enjoy some food during the 2015 National Night Out observance on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock campus.]]> University District honors Marilyn Thompson as police officer of the year /news-archive/2016/10/18/marilyn-thompson/ Tue, 18 Oct 2016 13:25:42 +0000 /news/?p=65492 ... University District honors Marilyn Thompson as police officer of the year]]> 糖心Vlog传媒LR Police Department as its 糖心Vlog传媒LR Police Officer of the Year. Sgt. Marilyn Thompson received the award for her dedicated community-oriented policing on and around the campus. 鈥淏eing a police officer is a rewarding job, and it is something that I love because I am a people person. I have not met a stranger at all. I can talk to you for five minutes and it鈥檚 like I鈥檝e known you all my life,鈥 Thompson said. Thompson graduated from 糖心Vlog传媒LR in 1989 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. She graduated from the Little Rock Police Academy in 1990. She began her career as a patrol officer with the Little Rock Police Department. In 1994, Thompson joined the 糖心Vlog传媒LR Police Department. Thompson has led community workshops on women in law enforcement and active shooter training. She has also been honored for her participation in the Drug Enforcement Agency鈥檚 National Prescription Drug Take Back program. The award ceremony was part of the district鈥檚 National Night Out celebration on Oct. 4, which honored the emergency responders who serve the neighborhoods that surround 糖心Vlog传媒LR.聽 National Night Out is a community-building initiative that promotes safety through neighborhood camaraderie and police-community partnerships. The 聽National Association of Town Watch, a nonprofit crime prevention organization, started the campaign. 聽
The firefighters of Little Rock Fire Station No. 3, who were honored as the University District Firefighters of the Year. Photos by Larry Rhodes.

The firefighters of Little Rock Fire Station No. 3, who were honored as the University District Firefighters of the Year. Photos by Larry Rhodes.

In addition to Thompson, University District officials honored:
  • Little Rock Police Department Officer Shawn Bakr, who was named the University District Police Officer of the Year for his actions in stopping an armed robbery in January. Bakr was shot in the shoulder while responding to three individuals who tried to rob Red Lobster.
  • Little Rock Police Department Officers Jarred Gitz, Christopher Henderson, and Irving Jackman III, who were honored for saving the life of a University District resident. On April 17, 2016, the officers gave life-saving first aid to a resident while responding to a call on West 23rd Street.
  • The firefighters of Little Rock Fire Station No. 3, who were honored as the University District Firefighters of the Year.
  • Paramedic Cody Hughes and Emergency Medical Technician Brad Barnett, who received the MEMS (Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services) Award and were named University District Paramedics of the Year for saving the life of a University District resident in cardiac arrest.
]]> 糖心Vlog传媒LR community invited to 2016 National Night Out /news-archive/2016/10/03/ualr-community-invited-to-2016-national-night-out/ Mon, 03 Oct 2016 17:20:05 +0000 /news/?p=65345 ... 糖心Vlog传媒LR community invited to 2016 National Night Out]]> 糖心Vlog传媒LR students, faculty and staff and residents of the University District are encouraged to enjoy food and drinks from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University District building, near University Plaza on the south side of campus. The Little Rock Catholic High School pep band will provide entertainment, and door prizes will be drawn throughout the evening. During the celebration, the University District Neighborhoods Association will again honor the emergency responders who serve the neighborhoods that surround 糖心Vlog传媒LR. At 6 p.m., the association will give awards to a Little Rock police officer, a Little Rock firefighter, a MEMS 聽(Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services) paramedic and a 糖心Vlog传媒LR police officer. Various service providers and businesses also will distribute information about their organizations during the event. is a community-building campaign that promotes safety through neighborhood camaraderie and police-community partnerships. It鈥檚 a campaign through the National Association of Town Watch, a nonprofit crime prevention organization. 聽]]> 糖心Vlog传媒LR Institute on Race and Ethnicity helps bring unity to Camden /news-archive/2016/07/26/ualr-institute-on-race-and-ethnicity-helps-bring-unity-to-camden/ Tue, 26 Jul 2016 20:33:21 +0000 /news/?p=64788 ... 糖心Vlog传媒LR Institute on Race and Ethnicity helps bring unity to Camden]]> An Arkansas town has embraced an open dialogue about race and ethnicity that participants hope can serve as a strong example to the rest of the nation. On Tuesday, Aug. 2, the residents of Camden, Arkansas, celebrated the results of a five-year partnership between the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Joel E. Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity and Camden鈥檚 Unity in the Community Committee (UIC) aimed at improving race and ethnic relations in the community. 鈥淚n the Delta and the southeast and southcentral part of Arkansas, there is little dialogue on race relations in general,鈥 said John Kirk, director of the 糖心Vlog传媒LR Institute on Race and Ethnicity. 鈥淭here are even fewer forums and a greater need for a dialogue in these smaller rural communities.鈥 Providing open forums where residents can discuss these issues developed a community that is more understanding to race and ethnicity, Kirk said. The staple of the Camden campaign is the annual celebration, a community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie with live music, food, and games.聽This year鈥檚 Camden event was held from 6-8 p.m., Aug. 2, in Camden鈥檚 Carnes Park. Camden hosted its first National Night Out in 2014 with more than 300 people. The event grew to over 500 people in 2015, and this year鈥檚 goal is to host more than 1,000. To the people of Camden, a picturesque town of 12,000 residents that lies along the shores of the Ouachita River two hours south of Little Rock, this event provides a place where neighbors can get to know one another and build the trust necessary to keep a community strong. 聽 鈥淥nce you meet somebody, and you have someone looking out for your best interests, it develops relationships,鈥 said Matt Stone, a business owner who is celebrating his 30th anniversary of moving to Camden. 鈥淲hen people know each other, they can develop a rapport and trust and help each other. You are less likely to jump to conclusions with someone you know.鈥

Forming a partnership for Camden

When the news of riots in Ferguson, Missouri, reached Camden, the members of the Unity in Community Committee realized they were on the right track, Stone said.
Matt Stone (left) and Janice White (right) serve as co-chairs of Camden's Unity in the Community Committee.

Matt Stone (left) and Janice White (right) serve as co-chairs of Camden’s Unity in the Community Committee.

By 2014, the committee had already been meeting for three years. With images of communities such as fresh in their minds, Camden citizens wondered what might happen to their town if underlying issues of racial tensions were not addressed. 鈥淲e wanted to be proactive in promoting racial healing in Camden,鈥 Stone said. 鈥淲hen you look at what happened in Ferguson, Missouri, we knew we were headed in the right direction by creating a forum where problems could be addressed through the legal system instead of spilling into the streets.鈥 With help from the Institute on Race and Ethnicity, Camden residents banded together to make sure their town is not torn apart by the racial divides that have rocked other communities. Camden鈥檚 Unity in the Community Committee is made up of community members and civic leaders who want to heal racial division and foster unity among the citizens of Camden. More than five years ago, Stone heard former 糖心Vlog传媒LR Chancellor Dr. Joel Anderson, who retired on June 30, speak about the efforts of the Institute on Race and Ethnicity. 鈥淭he institute hoped to come into a community and help people heal and grow. I asked what would be involved in getting Camden to be the first community that the institute helped,鈥 Stone said. So Stone called former Camden Mayor Chris Claybaker, Bishop Chester Thompson, and Dr. Larry Braden to see if they were interested in exploring the opportunity. The Institute on Race and Ethnicity has been working with Camden residents since 2011. Under the leadership of Dr. John Miller, a member of the Chancellor鈥檚 Committee on Race and Ethnicity, a forerunner of the institute, Camden formed a committee to organize the effort. Members held focus groups and analyzed the results, organized town hall meetings where issues of race and ethnicity could be discussed openly, and helped residents form goals for unity. The institute facilitated the original town hall meetings in Camden and trained the committee members to set objectives and handle the dialogue during the meetings. 鈥淒r. John Miller was an inspiration to the whole group, and then Dr. John Kirk has been great to work with. The whole experience has been positive,鈥 Stone said.
Camden will hold its National Night Our from 6-8 p.m., Aug. 2, in Camden鈥檚 Carnes Park.

Camden will hold its National Night Out event from 6-8 p.m., Aug. 2, in Camden鈥檚 Carnes Park.

Facing the issues

Some of the challenges the institute discovered were that people in Camden avoided discussing issues of race and also felt divided along poverty lines. 鈥淐amden faces the same issues as a lot of rural towns 鈥 depopulation, a history of strained race relations, a lack of employment. If you don鈥檛 have a forum for dialogue and a place to talk about those things, those small communities can be fairly isolated,鈥 Kirk said. 鈥淭hey can break up into different racial areas and enclaves, and it can be difficult to facilitate conversation across those lines. It is important to break those barriers to open up conversations to handle those more pressing community issues,鈥 Kirk said. Members of the Camden committee confronted these deep-seated issues with an awareness campaign. As part of the campaign, they hosted community meetings where these topics could be discussed openly and honestly. They also held community events to foster resident relationships. 鈥淲e had to bring these issues to the forefront for awareness,鈥 said Janice White, a fourth-grade teacher and co-chair of the community committee. 鈥淧eople were not aware that these personal feelings were actually there. Whether racism or the division actually existed was one thing, but how people felt about it was another. Perception is so important. We were trying to close the gaps for the feelings of the people.鈥

Coming together as a community

One of the largest gaps committee members faced was the perception of Camden between black people and white people.
Janice White (right) and a police officer prepare for the 2015 National Night Out event.

Janice White (right) and a police officer prepare for the 2015 National Night Out event.

鈥淲hen we talked to white people, we asked them how was Camden? How have things changed for the betterment of Camden since the 1970s?鈥 White said. 鈥淪ome white people would say it鈥檚 an 8 or 9. When we posed that same question to black people, they would say 4, 5, or 6. So right there we knew the perception was different for blacks than whites. That is when we started having dialogue. What can we do to change that?鈥 聽 Camden residents responded that the people did not spend enough time together as a community. 鈥淧eople said we don鈥檛 do anything together. We work together, our children play sports together, but there was not any coming together outside the few interracial churches we have. For the most part, Camden鈥檚 churches are still divided. Our goal is to continue to hold more events that will bring people together to socialize and communicate. We want to break down some stereotypes that cause division,鈥 White said. In addition to National Night Out, the committee holds monthly meetings where members discuss ongoing issues. Committee members also speak with church congregations to raise awareness about issues of diversity and how to unify the community. To the members of the committee, the changes since the Institute on Race and Ethnicity first visited Camden are abundant. 鈥淏efore, these issues were like the elephant in the room that no one wanted to recognize or acknowledge,鈥 White said. 鈥淣ow, people in Camden can openly talk about these issues and bring resolutions without feeling threatened.鈥]]>