Weekly Lowdown: Welcome Back to NWA, Students!

Hey UA students, welcome back to Fayetteville. We at The Free Weekly are glad to have you back, but we lament the increased amount of street traffic and longer lines you will all cause at all the establishments about town. However, it’s likely a few of you will do something ridiculous that we’ll all hear about, and that will be pretty entertaining.

If for some absurd reason this is the first time you’ve ever picked up a Free Weekly before, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Nick Brothers, the editor of The Free Weekly. I graduated from the UofA in 2014 with a degree in English/journalism. I was the editor-in-chief of the student paper, The Arkansas Traveler, my senior year.

College was a lot of stress, freedom and fun for me and I hope it’s the same for you. As they say, nothing worth having comes easy.

So, I’m dedicating this week’s Weekly Lowdown to all you college students. Check this section out in the future for quick local news briefs and commentary on them. Otherwise, count on The Free Weekly as your alternative news source about the area you live in.

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

While you were away from Fayetteville sitting around at home, working odd summer jobs, finding parties to go to and making drunken mistakes in your hometowns, The City of Fayetteville has been doing some stuff.

– A new Civil Rights ordinance aimed for LGBT individuals was passed in June. The ordinance will go to a public vote on September 8. If passed, the ordinance will prohibit property and business owners from denying housing, and hiring or firing based solely on gender identity or expression. Currently, those who identify as LGBT have no legal recourse for housing or employment discrimination.

– A “Hammock city” was approved for construction in Wilson park. It will have room up for 12 hammocks once completed.

– Fayetteville was voted one of the “cutest” cities in America by purewow.com.

– Walton Arts Center closed for some really big renovations ($23 million worth) that are going to make it look extra fancy. This also means if you bank with Arvest, you no longer have access to the ATM that was located by the box office.

– Whataburger opened on Martin Luther King Blvd. People went nuts. They’re still going nuts. There was about a week-long time period where a line of cars waited in line for service all the way past the Burger King on Martin Luther King Blvd.

– Slide the City, the big-ass slip n’ slide attraction, is a-comin’ to Dickson St. Sunday, Aug. 30. Tickets can be bought at the company’s website, www.slidethecity.com, and they range from $25 to $60.

KEEP IT FRESH, FRESHMEN (OR ANYONE, REALLY)

Is this your first year in Fayetteville or college? Listen (read) closely.

At first, I hope you find Northwest Arkansas to be a pretty neat little region. It might not have an Anthropologie or an In-N-Out (we’ve all got our fingers crossed though). What we do have is a really cool arts and live music scene, a thriving community of people who really care, lots of unique food trucks, low crime, the Crystal Bridges museum in Bentonville and amazing natural escapes you can’t not go see. There’s much to do that you should do.

My biggest advice for college in general? You don’t have to work to impress anyone. That said, don’t worry too much about fitting in. Seek out what you like to do and gets you jazzed. There’s a good chance then you’ll find your people. That’s when college gets to be a good time.

Try to say yes to most opportunities, and don’t do something if it makes you uncomfortable. ‘Nuff said.