Local band Thisness performed at the outdoor amphitheater April 15 to celebrate students who won awards for exemplary academic performance in gender studies, religious studies and philosophy.
Associate professor Taine Duncan, chair of the UCA department of philosophy and religion, gave out the Outstanding Student in Gender Studies award to senior Caroline Kelley. Duncan, director of the program, said the program is an interdisciplinary minor housed in the department.
“Our winner this year really exemplifies that notion of interdisciplinary. I cannot think of someone who is more dedicated to so many different fields of study,” Duncan said about the biology major.
Then, Duncan handed the microphone to associate professor James Deitrick, who presented the Outstanding Student in Religious Studies award to junior Cameron Steed.
“She’s always just does the most excellent work. There’s never anything to criticize at all, and I hear that she has like a 4.0 GPA at this point in time as well,” Deitrick said. “We have the best students and so we’ve got the outstanding of the outstanding coming up here tonight and receiving awards for the work they’ve done.”
Steed said she was shocked and honored when she received the award.
“I love the religious studies program on campus. My classes have really helped me grow in my critical thinking skills and increased my love of learning. I’m so glad I’m part of this program,” Steed said.
Duncan gave the last award for philosophy to senior Dalton Orsborn, who secured two offers for law school funding.
“It’s nearly impossible to get funding opportunities, and he has a full funding at one opportunity, and then a huge stipend at Pepperdine, in California on the beach, which is of course where he has elected to go,” Duncan said.
“I was fortunate with my [Law School Admission Test] score, which, props to philosophy majors because they have the highest LSAT scores,” Orsborn said. He said studying philosophy also helped him with writing admissions essays.
Osborn praised Thisness, who played after the awards were distributed.
Orsborn said, “They were awesome. Top-notch. Some of the best UCA’s ever had, maybe better than AJR.”
The amphitheater’s stage, covered in music equipment and looping pedals, faced an audience full of local university faculty and students.
Three of Thisness’s members work as philosophy professors at different universities.
UCA’s Jesse Butler played guitar and was joined by Hendrix College’s James Dow, who performed on vocals and rhythm guitar. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Michael Norton played bass. Alex Bush played drums.
“I planned the event because Dr. Dow was actually the keynote presenter for the Quoined Corner, the conference that we just hosted through the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and he’s a friend of mine,” Duncan said.
“At Hendrix, we do some exchange and so I kind of knew both what he does in terms of research, and also this band, and I thought it would be a really nice way to celebrate and actually have a fun event to be able to give the awards at,” Duncan said.
Thisness’s next performance is at 7 p.m. April 30 at Vino’s Brew Pub in Little Rock, Arkansas.
