Eight students represented the University of Central Arkansas at the 49th ACTAA Student Congress on Human Relations, sponsored by the Arkansas Communication and Theater Arts Association. The delegation competed against teams from Hendrix College, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The UCA delegation consisted of seniors Alexander Denker, Jean Piere Leon, and Johnathan Long; junior Chay McDaniel; sophomore Kiara Chambers and Elaina Taylor; and freshmen Cristian Mendez and Anna Stroud. They were assisted by senior Ciara Devine. Recent UCA alumna Sarah Gentry, who represented UCA at Student Congress the previous two years, acted as assistant coach.
Mendez received the Mary Richardson award for being one of the Senators with the highest point total in the competition. He, along with Long, were also recognized as the authors of the Senate’s “Best Bill.” Their proposal was to eliminate all sales taxes (including local sales taxes) on groceries in the state of Arkansas.
Denker was elected to Senate Clerk. He also received superior ratings for his performance in caucus and parliamentary procedure and excellent in committee.
Other accolades include:
- For caucus, Chambers, McDaniel, and Long receive excellent ratings; Denker, Mendez, and Stroud received superior ratings;
- For committee, Denker received an excellent rating; Long and Mendez received superior ratings;
- For floor debate, Long, Mendez, Stroud, and Taylor received excellent ratings; and
- For parliamentary procedure, Long received an excellent rating, and Denker received a superior rating.