University of Arkansas Fayetteville - Razorback Yearbook (Fayetteville, AR)

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Motorcycle enthusiasts crowd the Dickson District each fall for one unforgettable ride Carolyn Finnie ♦ Laura Haynie ♦ Bikes revving down Dickson. Live music blaring from the ampli ' fiers. Ribs basking in the afternoon sun. Once a year, UA students shared their domain and wel¬ comed hikers and bahes to gather on the Hill. Each fall, thousands of motor¬ cycle enthusiasts traveled from all across the nation, lining Dickson Street to see motorcycles, hear music and eat barbeque. The 5th Annual Bikes, Blues and BBQ Festival was held the weekend of Sept. 28, 2004 in Fay¬ etteville. The 620-mile ride started in Huntsville, Ala., continued to Memphis, Tenn. and ran through Branson, Mo. before groups finally arrived in Fayetteville on the last day of the event. Other motorcyclists began roll¬ ing into town on Wednesday to participate in the numerous events associated with the festival. The brightly shimmering hikes and leather-clad riders were not the typical sights among the week¬ end college crowd. These elements sent UA students swarming the Dickson area for quality entertain¬ ment of a different sort. U A students attempted to some¬ how fit in with the festival’s crowd as a means of gaining respect from the tough-looking visitors. Wom¬ en searched frantically for leather mini-skirts, while men tied hand¬ kerchiefs around their heads. If visitors were unable to find apparel before the weekend, there was no need to worry. On every corner, vendors set up shop, sell¬ ing everything from Harley David¬ son T-shirts to leather chaps and jackets. This year, special attractions Emily Milholen included stunt riders in the Globe of Death, and the Dyno Tester, a simulated track which measures a bike’s horsepower and other per¬ formance features. Other activities for bikers in¬ cluded the Poker Run, a parade from the Northwest Arkansas Mall to Dickson Street, as well as countless bike shows, contests and a ride to Arkansas’ wine region. Portions of the festival were even televised nationally, as The Discovery Channel’s program “Biker Build-off,” used the event to film the season’s last episode. Each builder was allotted ten days to assemble a custom motorcycle. The Bikes, Blues and BBQ fans were then given the task of voting for their favorite custom bike. The free festival grew from about 700 bikers in the first year to 25,000 this year, not to men¬ tion the 125,000 non-hikers that attended the festival. The size of the crowd was un¬ imaginable, considering the size of the Dickson area. As bikes lined the main streets closest to the events, spectators were forced to park what seemed like miles away. Without doubt, Bikes, Blues and BBQ offered something for every¬ one. Young or old, rich or poor, Harley, Chopper or moped, the festival bridged the gaps between generations and lifestyles. Dickson Street, the striking set¬ ting for the festival was surely one of the driving forces behind the event’s success. And although Dickson was al¬ ways a colorful place for UA stu¬ dents to roam, Bikes, Blues and BBQ brought extra flavor that everyone looked forward to each fall. Easy Rider 19

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A student closely examines a motorcycle in front of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house on Arkansas Avenue. Because Dickson Street was so crowd¬ ed, many bikers lined up along other streets on campus. Photo courtesy of the Arkansas Traveler A student grills a rack of ribs in an afternoon barbeque con¬ test. The delicious barbeque lured many UA students to Dickson Street over the week¬ end in search of a change from the everday selections in Brough or the Union. Photo courtesy of the Arkansas Traveler 18 Student Life

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Northwest Quad opens, marking the completion of the first new residence hall since the 1960s Carolyn Finnie ♦ Laura Haynie ♦ Emily Milholen All 600 beds that accompanied the Northwest Quadrant housing complex were reserved within six hours on the first day of housing reservations. If nothing else, this fact told exactly how high the de¬ mand was to snatch a spot in the new dorm. The Northwest Quad was a multi-use suite-style facility con¬ sisting of four residence halls, a computer lab, faculty and staff apartments, classrooms, meeting rooms, lounges and a dining hall. The Quad, the first suite-style hall ever built at the UA, was also the first new residence hall to be constructed on the UA campus since Pomfret Hall was built in the late 1960s. Students had the option of liv¬ ing in two, three- or four-bedroom suites. And all students who lived in the Quad enjoyed many ameni¬ ties not typically found in on-cam- pus housing, some not even found off-campus. The complex also housed the new 380-seat dining hall, which featured market-style dining. But living the life of luxury al¬ ways came at a high price. Liv¬ ing costs for one year in the Quad totaled $4,865, ranking the new complex number one in living ex¬ penses on-campus, almost $1,700 more than what it cost to live in the second highest dorm, Greg- son. Even students who received Chancellor’s Scholarships were forced to pay out of their pockets if they wanted to live in style. However, for many students, the high price tag was worth the numerous features the dorm had to offer. “Living in the Quad is so conve¬ nient,” sophomore Clark Watson said. “It’s so nice to have a com¬ puter lab, a cafeteria and still be near the center of campus.” Living on-campus for the sec¬ ond year in a row, the Quad had everything Watson was looking for. luxuriousliving “It was either the Quad or off-cam¬ pus,” he The dorm featured private, said. locked bedrooms and closets, car¬ peted bedrooms and common ar¬ eas, telephone and ethernet con¬ nections in each room, and premier cable plans, including HBO. The three and four-bedroom suites even offered two bathrooms per unit. Another appeal was the fact that the building remained open all year, even during academic breaks, when the majority of other dorms were closed. The state-of-the-art facility was dedicated during a public ceremo¬ ny and ribbon cutting on Nov. 12, 2004. Despite the fuss over the loss of parking spaces during the con¬ struction process, the highly-an¬ ticipated completion of the Quad provided a stylish, architecturally pleasing addition to campus, and a new home for students wishing to remain on-campus. 20 Student Life