Jeff Peebles, the new bike patrol officer on the UAM campus, is on a mission to keep UAM a safe place.  There has even been a rumor that he recently arrested one of America’s Most Wanted on the UAM campus.
     According to Peebles, this particular individual turned out not to be one of America’s Most Wanted, but he did have a U.S. Marshall federal warrant for his arrest that had been issued through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
    “One of my missions is to counter narcotics, and I will be involved in making arrests,” said Peebles.
    On Sunday, September 14, 2003, Officer Peebles received a call from a Resident Assistant (RA) at Royer Hall, a female dormitory at UAM, who detected an odor of marijuana coming from one of the rooms on the first floor.
    Once Officer Peebles was on the scene, the RA entered the room.  According to Peebles, there were two occupants in the room, one young woman who was identified by the RA as a resident of Royer and a young man. 
“The young man did not have any identification on him, but he gave me his name and date of birth.  I then called into the Monticello dispatch, and they ran his name and date of birth through the National Criminal Identification Center,” Peebles said. 
    Peebles was told to “approach with caution-considered armed and dangerous” by the Monticello dispatcher.  Peebles then backed off from the individual and called for additional officers. 
    Within half an hour of arriving on the scene, Peebles received a call from an ATF agent. 
“After I confirmed his identity, I arrested the male, took him downtown, and booked him in Monticello’s Criminal Detention Facility,” said Peebles. 
    The following morning, September 15, 2003, an ATF agent picked up the prisoner and escorted him to federal court in Arkansas.
 

     The start of the 2003-2004 school year at the University of Arkansas - Monticello marked a milestone in the school’s history, setting a new all-time high enrollment record.  Not only was this record set by the individual number of students enrolled at the university, but UAM recorded its largest ever freshman class in the school’s history.
      According to preliminary census figures from the Registrar’s Office, UAM’s enrollment jumped from 2,482 students in 2002 to 2,687 in 2003.  This indicates that UAM had a 9% increase in the number of students attending school this year. 
      In addition to the individual student count, UAM recorded its largest ever freshman class for the fall semester.  Last fall, UAM registered 547 freshman.  This year that number rose to 647, an almost 9% increase over last year’s freshman enrollment on the UAM campus. 
 
 

     The University of Arkansas - Monticello Student Ambassadors recently announced organization officer's for the 2003-2004 school year. The officers are: Matt Terry, President; Will Whiting, Vice President; Elizabeth Doss, Secretary.
     The UAM student ambassador's work in conjunction with the Office of Admissions to recruit new students to the university. In addition, they help plan special events on campus and provide campus tours to prospective students.  Ambassadors are required to volunteer one hour of their time per week to the Office of Admissions.  Sally Owen, a current ambassador, agrees that being a part of this distinct group is very rewarding.
     “Not only has being an ambassador taught me leadership and responsibility, but it has also allowed me to meet new people and give back to UAM.  It’s a great experience.  You become known on campus to other students and faculty.” 
 

     The University of Arkansas - Monticello’s Division of Public Safety is in full force watching for students who violate the no-alcohol policy on campus.  According to John Kidwell, Director of Public Safety, there has been an increase in the number of citations issued for students having alcohol on campus.
      “Our officers have taken numerous amounts of alcohol from students already this year.  If our officers see students with alcohol or have suspicion of it, they will conduct a search.”
     On Friday, September 5, 2003, one wall of the public safety office was lined with coolers, all of which were seized from UAM students.  According to Kidwell, the coolers were seized from various locations around campus, including residence halls and student vehicles.
 

      Over 250 students gathered in the University Center Gym on Wednesday, September 10, 2003, to compete or watch others compete in the fifth production of Just a Minute, a comedy game show, that is produced and sponsored by the UAM Student Activities Board (SAB).  Just A Minute is promoted as UAM's official game show because the entire production is done by the SAB. 

     According to Darren High, current UAM student, the show is designed to attract students with both the possibility to win great prizes and the opportunity to watch others compete in silly stunts.  The first person to complete the challenge within the sixty second time limit may choose from one of two prizes of different values.  The runner-up contestant recieves the other prize. 
                                               Just A Minute judges, shown above, 
                                                       were Yancy Long, Dr. Kate Stewart, and 
                                                      Dr. Richard Clubb.
 

     In January of 1992, the SAB produced their first show of Just A Minute as a back to school event for the spring semester.  Because the event was such a success, the SAB produced the show again in January of 1993 and 1994.  The SAB revived Just A Minute in April of 2003 as part of Student Appreciation Week.

Just A Minute hosts, shown on the left, were Sammy Jo Warren and Will Collins.