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09.24.15 Vol. 124, Issue 4 www.obusignal.com
Maddie Brodell y The Signal
Tiger Tunes hosts, hostesses and directors perform during the final show during the 2014 Homecoming week. Tiger Tunes is one of the annual homecoming traditions at Ouachita. Other events include OcTiger Fest, GROW, Eta Alpha Omega Muggin’, Kappa Chi Cookout and Gold Tiger reunion. Ouachita will hold its 2015 Homecoming week September 28 through October 3.
Ouachita celebrates 2015 Homecoming Week By FAITH SINELE Staff Writer
Ouachita will celebrate the 2015 Homecoming Week from Sept. 28 through Oct. 3, bringing together once again alumni and current students as well as hopeful future tigers, and continuing the traditions that are so deeply rooted here on our campus. Homecoming Week is not to be seen as just one event, but rather a week full of many diverse events. One might imagine that there is a large amount of student involvement in the organization, success and overall fun
of this week. Students at Ouachita may all find themselves involved in Homecoming one way or another, whether that by being on the Homecoming court, cheering on our football team, hosting GROW students, participating in Tiger Tunes, and the list goes on. A student at Ouachita can hardly avoid Homecoming altogether. Campus organizations such as the alumni association, student senate, the admissions office and the social clubs are a huge part of all of the big events that happen throughout the week. Many things have changed this
year, but everyone is still as excited as ever to throw this week-long party in honor of Ouachita. John Merryman, director of Ouachita Alumni has been working hard with his coworkers on putting together the alumni office’s annual OcTiger Fest Reunion Lunch, which in years past has been held on the main campus from 9 to 11 a.m. This year, some changes have been made to the event. “Because of the televised football game, the event will be held at Cliff Harris stadium lot from 9 to 10:30 a.m., we’ll crown the Homecoming queen at 10:30 and the
game will start at 11. We’ll have an awesome brunch that morning instead of lunch,” said Merryman. Student Senate is also excited to share a part in this week by preparing for the crowning of the new Homecoming queen. The voting system for this year’s queen has been changed so as to narrow down the nominees before game day. This year there will be two voting days in order to have a top 20 to introduce on the field. “Homecoming is one of Student Senate’s favorite events to be a part of. We are hoping that the changes we’ve made will help things
be more efficient,” said student body president Josh Rubin. A few things that haven’t undergone much noticeable change are Tiger Tunes, GROW and some of the fun events put on by social clubs. This year’s Tiger Tunes is guaranteed to be another impressive show of song and dance, and of course a fun competition between the clubs and campus organizations. GROW is another event that is still the same as it has been throughout the years. It will be a time for prospective students to besee Homecoming z 3
G-60 business contest set for late October, students and locals plan for 60-second pitch By DIXON LAND Editor-in-Chief
The Hickingbotham School of Business will hold the first ever G60 Elevator Pitch Competition on October 30, at 5:00 p.m. in Young Auditorium. “We’ve always done the business plan competition and we love that thought, and we’ll continue to do that, but the business plan competition is a full blown out plan that takes hours and hours to do,” said Bryan McKinney, dean of the Hickingbotham School of Business. “This elevator pitch plan is just 60 seconds. You’re asking students to come up with a pitch that is a lot more conceptual in nature.” The event, which is open for submissions from the public, including Ouachita students, is designed as a part of the business school’s entrepreneurial
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opportunities offered each year. “The timing of this works perfectly with our business plan competition because this is due in late October and the business plan competitions aren’t due until November. The hope is that every student who participates in the business plan also does the elevator pitch,” McKinney added. The event can be used for a number of different things; however, the pitch structure is designed for those that may not have the time to do a full business plan. “You’re seeing less and less of a formal business plan and something like this, so that people don’t work a hundred hours working up a business plan and the one who would invest in it looks at it and says they didn’t like the idea. So this lets you sell the idea before you get
into the nuts and bolts of a plan,” McKinney said. G60, which is becoming one of the fastest growing entrepreneur pitch contests in the southern United States, is designed to promote start up ideas, improve communication skills and increase the opportunities for young and aspiring business professionals to get their ideas on the table. “I’d also love for perhaps students that say they may not have time to do the business plan decide to do an elevator pitch. They may have a great idea and want to see how it resonates with a crowd, so I say pitch it. There’s nothing to lose in it.” Many Ouachita students have already began working on their quick pitch, even incorporating business plan ideas into the mix. see G60 plan z 3
Tyler Rosenthal y Courtesy
Biology students make observations in Organic Chemistry last year. The new biomedical sciences program will incorporate classes such as this into the three-year program.
School of natural sciences launches new degree program By KATHERINE CARTER Editorial Editor
The biomedical scholars program, which was launched this semester, is a program that allows students who are interested in pursuing careers in the medical field to graduate within three years with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. “It’s a three year pro-
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y Rapid Fire: Courtney Kemp y What to do in Arkadoo: Arkadelphia Health Club y School Spotlight: What’s going on in the school of fine arts?
gram [for] students passionate about going to medical school,” Matt Savage, a sophomore biomedical sciences major, said. The biomedical scholars program was created exclusively for students majoring in biomedical sciences. In order to even qualify for the application process, one must have at least a 30 on the ACT test or a 1340 on the SAT CR+M, a 4.0 high see Biomedical z 2
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this Tweets weekzCALENDAR of the Week
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Danny Hays @Haysdanny 15 Apr I love my job. I get to study God’s word & then teach it to eager college students who love the Lord. It’s a great job. Even on Mondays.
REFUGE is tonight at 9 p.m. at TIGER FOOTBALL against Second Baptist Church. For more Northwest Oklahoma on Saturday information, contact James Taylor at at 7 p.m. at Cliff Harris Stadium. For taylorja@obu.edu more information, contact Kyle Parris at parrisk@obu.edu OBU @Ouachita 15 Apr JAMES ANDdoTHE GIANT So how you use socialPEACH media -- to affirm and encourage will show tomorrow, Sautrday VERITAS be September 28 at 9 or to tonight, attack and tear doen? “Be ye kind to one will another.” and Monday at 7 Hmmm... p.m. and Sunday at p.m. in Berry Chapel. Christa Black (Eph. 4:32). 2 p.m. For tickets or more information, will be speaking. All women on contact the Ouachita box office at campus are welcome to attend boxoffice@obu.edu Justin Young @JustinYoung072 16 Apr HOMECOMING The Harley Davidson leather vest must be the key to WEEK will be TIGER SERVE DAY will beBible. hosted by September 28 through October 2. memorizing the entire the Elrod Center this Saturday. Teams Events include homecoming chapel, will meet outside the Elrod Center SAS s’mores, GROW, Tiger Tunes, at 8 a.m. Breakfast and lunch will Kappa Chi Cookout, Eta Alpha Omega be served for participants. For more Muggin’ and the homecoming football information, contact Judy Duvall at game on Saturday. For a full schedule duvallj@obu.edu of events, visit obu.edu/calendar The Signal @obusignal 24 Sept. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for up-to-the-minute updates on everything going on around Ouachita Baptist. Twitter: @obusignal Facebook: facebook.com/obusignal Instagram: @obusignal
[from your perspective]
Top 5 things you shouldn’t say to your professor
5 4 3 2 1
“That was due today?” “Wait, what’s a syllabus?” “I didn’t check my email” “How do you use moodle again?” “I have tunes practice”
If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be?
Dixon C. Land Editor-in-Chief
Barrett Gay Lifestyle Editor
Caroline Poole News Editor
Katherine Carter Ed/Op Ed. Editor
Katie Kemp Copy Editor
I would love to eat dinner with F. Scott Fitzgerald for two reasons: (1) I have so many questions about Gatsby; and (2) he’d probably eat somewhere really fancy.
I’d love to have dinner with Ronald Reagan because he was a brilliant speaker, a great president and a kindhearted man
Dixon C. Land...obvi...
I would like to have dinner with Moses because he and I are both unsure of ourselves in the mission field.
Leslie Knope...because I know that we would want to both go get waffles and we’d probably be the best of friends.
Biomedical
z Continued from Page 1 school GPA and at least six hours of transferrable college credit. A maximum of 10 students are chosen per year from the applicants to participate in the program. Students involved in the program must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.6 and take at least 18 hours per semester in order to graduate within three years. “It’s just a fast track for people that know they want to be doctors,” Savage said. The program allows students to participate in numerous hands-on opportunities, such as studying abroad, internships and shadowing professionals in the medical field. Not only does the program allow students to graduate early, thereby sav-
ing money and time, but the program also allows students to gain real experience in the medical field even before they enter medical school. Students involved in the program sign up for a variety of courses geared specifically for their pre-medical studies, some of which include Business of Healthcare, Microbiology and Medicinal Chemistry. Along with taking the courses offered on campus, students will graduate with 120 hours of clinical shadowing, one faculty mentored research experience, two years of community service and one study abroad experience. There are a number of professors involved in the program, especially Dr. Lori Hensley, a professor of Biology in the J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences. “She’s our advisor. We call her Mom,” Savage said. As the program is brand
new, it was limited to incoming students only. All the students involved in the program are in their first year of college. It is the first program of its kind in the state of Arkansas. It allows students involved to learn more in the classroom and gain clinical experience in the fields of their choice. Due to the small number of students involved, each experience within the program can be entirely unique depending on what field each student in question wishes to pursue. “I want to become a surgeon,” Savage said. The program allows incoming and future students to study pre-med in an entirely different way then before. For future students interested in the biomedical scholars program, visit www. obu.edu/biology/biomed or contact Dr. Tim Knight at knightt@obu.edu. n
Tyler Rosenthal y The Signal
Drake Puryear, a junior, records observations during lab last semester in the Jones Science Center. Over 120 hours of clinical shadowing, including lab time will be required for biomedical sciences majors.
Drs. Jon and Glenda Secrest to host recital October 6 By MATTHEW ABLON News Bureau
Gloria Berry y The Signal
Drs. Jon and Glenda Secrest perform at the McBeth Recital Hall Gala on September 10. They will host and perform a recital on October 6. The recital will feature musical theater duets they researched during their Spring 2015 sabbatical.
Drs. Jon and Glenda Secrest, a husband-and-wife team of music professors, will host and perform in a free recital on October 6. The recital will feature duets from musical theater productions, including “Kiss Me Kate,” “Titanic” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Both of the doctors Secrest say the performance is a sort of culmination of their research from last semester. “We were on sabbatical last semester and did a project researching musical theatre duets,” said Dr. Glenda, a pro-
fessor of music. “We looked at over 500 duets.” Dr. Jon, the Addie Mae Maddox Professor of Music, said attendees should expect the duets to go through a variety of emotions while still remaining lighthearted. “We go through a lot of different moods and emotions in the recital,” said Dr. Jon. “Some are really positive and happy and others, maybe not so.” Dr. Glenda emphasized that the recital will be comedic, even with the seemingly unhappy songs. “We start off with a piece, then we move into our students saying goodbye to us before we leave on sab-
batical, and they’re all like ‘Please don’t go!’. Then we’re celebrating after that,” said Dr. Glenda. “We’ve got some great songs.” The Secrests also developed a small script with Fine Arts administrator and Box Office Manager Adam Wheat. They will also be accompanied by staff pianist Susan Monroe. The recital will be held on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the McBeth Recital Hall. Attendance is free and is also part of the Arts Engagement Series, meaning students can earn their arts credit. For more information, contact Jon Secrest at secrestj@obu.edu. n
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University launches online degree program By ANNA HURST News Bureau
In an effort to expand Ouachita borders to include non-residential online students, the university launched Ouachita Online courses in January 2015. The program has seen growth since its establishment, and the university’s online staff dedicated their summer to ensuring the program continues to grow. Ouachita Online offers both a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and an Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian studies. Courses are offered in eight-week terms with two terms each semester and one summer term. According to Ashlee Giles, director of online and concurrent enrollment programs, the goal of the program is “to be able to offer a Ouachita education to students who otherwise wouldn’t have been
G60 plan
z Continued from Page 1 “I’m super excited about it because it prepares us more for the governor’s cup because there’s a pitch in that as well,” said Barkley Legens, a senior business major. “It also gives the opportunity to come against other judges and give us perspective before we go into the actual business plan.” The event, which is cosponsored by the Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce and Startup Junkie
able to enroll as a residential student.” Ouachita Online Fall Term 1 for 2015 began in August with 18 students enrolled. Numbers are expected to continue to increase for Fall Term 2 which will begin Oct. 19. Dr. Rob Hewell, coordinator of online course development, said he anticipates having, “more courses ready to offer to an already increasing online student community and more faculty trained and growing as online course designers and instructors.” To become well versed in up-to-date online teaching techniques, Giles, Hewell and Marla Rigsby, instructional design and technology specialist for Ouachita Online, enrolled in an online course, sponsored by the Distance Education Professional Development program at the University of WisconsinMadison. “The idea is that we can better equip our online students with the tools necessary to succeed if we better
understand what it is like to be an online student,” Giles said. “Within the course, we are learning more about who our online students are, the role of the online instructor, planning course content and learning activities and how to manage the course.” Upon completion of the course, the three will each receive their “Fundamentals of Online Teaching Certificate.” “As with any specialized program like Ouachita Online, having faculty and staff who have achieved a level of professional development through a recognized training program strengthens the work of those persons,” Hewell said. “We hope to leverage the knowledge and experience gained through the Certificate Program to develop people who, as designers and instructors, create and teach courses that honor OBU’s tradition and reputation for excellent academic programs.” In addition to the certification course, the group trav-
Consulting (out of Fayetteville, Ark.), is designed to bring entrepreneurial ideas to the forefront from any local mind that might have them. “This G60 could be anybody. It could be an adult from Arkadelphia, it could be an Arkadelphia High School student,” said McKinney. “One of the hopes that we had when we started this entrepreneur front at Ouachita is that we would kind of see the spirit of entrepreneurship not just in this building, and not just on this campus but throughout
Arkadelphia, so I’m excited about this G60 plan.” The event will feature a live audience and multiple judges that will hear each pitch. Two winners from the event will be chosen with one of them coming away with a $1,000 prize voted on by the audience, and another $1,000 prize based on the judges’ vote. Deadline to enter in the contest is 4 p.m. on October 29. You can find any information, including the rules for pitching, on the website www.g60contest.com. n
Kelsey Bond y The Signal
Students enjoy a Friday night cookout, hosted by the men of Kappa Chi. Kappa Chi Cookout is an annual Homecoming week event.
Homecoming z Continued from Page 1
come immersed into the college world, and more specifically the Ouachita bubble. Current students will host these hopefuls in their dorms, and while Ouachita students will continue life as usual, these high school students will get to tour the campus as well as sit in on some Ouachita classes. There are events sets up for the “GROW-ers” to help them meet each other, and to keep them engaged while they are visiting. One major event that the GROW students get to attend is Tiger Tunes, the glue that holds Homecoming Week together. Along with performing in Tiger Tunes, several of the social clubs get to be a part of Homecoming by putting together things like photo booths, and Tiger Tunes after parties. The Women of Tri
Chi will set up a photo booth on the lawn Friday afternoon for anyone who walks by to take part in creating pictures to add to their Homecoming week photo albums and Instagram posts. Another social club event to be excited about is the Men of Eta Alpha Omega’s 16th annual Muggin’. Muggin’ is the Saturday night Tiger Tunes after party where people from all social clubs, and even those not in social clubs will gather together to celebrate the great memories that are made during the week of Homecoming. “We can’t wait to share IBC Root Beer and have a good time with everyone on campus after the last Tiger Tunes performance Saturday night. We love getting to serve the campus in this way,” said Jacob Moreno, president of Eta Alpha Omega. The Men of Kappa Chi are also excited to host their
eled to Madison, Wis., in August to attend the “Distance Teaching & Learning Conference.” The conference, also sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, celebrated its 31st year of bringing together distance education professionals to learn about the latest trends, techniques and research in the field. “The conference immersed us in the distance teaching and learning conversation with professionals and learners alike,” Hewell explained. “We were both challenged and encouraged. Challenged because we began to catch a vision of where we need to be headed with Ouachita Online for a productive and successful future. We were encouraged because even in this first year of offering courses through Ouachita Online, we’re doing quite a few things right. We’re on the right path and gaining momentum.” Giles added that the group was “so grateful for the op-
portunity to be able to attend the conference” due to the insight gained concerning the needs, challenges and expectations of online students today, along with helpful tools and technology that professors can apply to create a more interactive, energetic and fruitful classroom experience. “What the research shows is the ‘read and quiz, read and quiz, read and quiz’ method is not effective in online learning and it doesn’t help with retention,” Giles said. Noting that online students “want more,” she added. “Ouachita Online strives to offer our online community the ‘more’ they are seeking – with professors who care, support services at their fingertips and courses that will engage and motivate them to complete their degrees.” For more information or to enroll in Ouachita Online, visit www.obu.edu/online or contact Ashlee Giles at gilesa@obu.edu or 870-2455200.n
PHOTO OF THE WEEK:
Trip the Tiger hitchikes outside the student center on Tuesday afternoon. Trip was looking for a ride following a photoshoot with Dr. Wesley Kluck. Early sources report that Trip will be able to catch a ride to the football game this weekend against Northwestern Oklahoma at 7:00 p.m. in Cliff Harris Stadium.
Tyler Rosenthal y The Signal
Anna Sikes, a senior Christian studies major from Conway, Ark., was crowned Ouachita’s 2014 homecoming queen at the pre-game ceremony. Sikes will return to crown the 2015 Homecoming queen.
cookout after the Friday night Tiger Tunes show. “The Men of Kappa Chi are looking forward to homecoming, the busiest time of the year for Ouachita. We are excited about our cookout Friday night after Tunes, which is open to the public,” said senior Josh Reaper, vice president of Kappa Chi and Searcy native. Homecoming Week is a great display of how everyone at Ouachita loves to come together to make a fantastic event that reaches out to students, staff, alumni and even the community of Arkadelphia. Those involved in the organization and production of all the various facets of homecoming week are excited to debut the changes that have been made and to continue with the long standing traditions. For a full schedule of homecoming week events, visit the Ouachita calendar at www.obu.edu/calendar. n
Grace Finley y The Signal
Friday afternoon includes the Purple Plaza Party in the center of campus. Clubs and organizations set up booths for students and guests to explore as they prepare for the other Homecoming week events.
Op Ed
Thursday, September 24, 2015 u page 4
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Pope Francis: a different kind of pope By Katherine Carter Ed/Op Ed Editor
Pope Francis, since his ascension to papacy in 2013, has made his first trip ever to the U.S., arriving at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday where he was greeted by the President Obama, Vice President Biden and their families. The pope came to the U.S. to discuss several issues, the top issues being climate change, the refugee situation, and rising income gaps between the rich and poor. I don’t know a lot about Pope Francis, mostly because I’m not Catholic, but according to some of my family members who are, he seems to be different than the popes of the past. Pope Francis, upon his ascension to papacy, has been dubbed by many as “the people’s pope,” and has a high approval rating among American Catholics compared to former popes. The question is: what is so different about Pope Francis? Pope Francis has devoted a lot of his time to improving the conditions of the poor and preventing climate change. Those are two of the
top three issues that he’s discussing in particular during his stay in the U.S., with the refugee situation being another issue at the top of his list. What’s surprised a lot of people, particularly conservative Catholics, is his lack of focus on issues such as abortion, marriage and sexuality, which are hot topics discussed by numerous other nations and organizations. He’s chosen instead to keep the majority of the church’s focus on poverty, income inequality and climate change. Not to say Pope Francis doesn’t have opinions about these issues; he just wants the church to focus on issues he thinks are the direst. I actually admire Pope Francis and what he’s doing in the Catholic Church. Though I don’t agree with everything he says, I will say that he is a breath of fresh air in the midst of this grimy world. He stresses loving the Lord and loving others. He wants the Catholic Church to be more pastoral versus doctrinal. He’s shifting the focus more onto the people than onto the rules. I don’t mind loving the people as long as we don’t ignore the scrip-
tures. Pope Francis has been getting a lot of flack about his seemingly “relaxed” stances on sexuality, marriage, and abortion, but I don’t think a lot of people are listening clearly to what he’s saying. While I’m hesitant to wholeheartedly agree with him on several issues, his call to love others despite their “sins” is a good one; it’s the call that Jesus gave to us. We are to love others even if they live lifestyles or do things that don’t align with the Christian teachings. We shouldn’t ignore the scriptures and dismiss a sinful lifestyle, but neither should we declare our hatred for those who do have these lifestyles. We are called to love, not to judge, and lead others to Christ. Now about the issues that Pope Francis came to talk about: climate change and poverty. Pope Francis has an unprecedented focus on climate change, putting it as one of the top issues of the church. He believes that we, humankind, are at fault for neglecting to care for the earth. He’s even issued a 184page encyclical, which is a letter from the pope sent to
all Roman Catholic bishops, on the topic. Safe to say, Pope Francis loves the environment. While environmental issues don’t get as much publicity in the U.S. as other places, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that we do hurt the environment. Pope Francis does have a point. We literally treat the earth as our landfill, and we excuse filling the air with pollutants as a consequence for our capitalist ventures. It is important to take care of the earth; however, I don’t like how he seems to be putting more focus on the environment than eradicating poverty. I don’t mind doing things to help out the earth, but given the choice of helping a person or a tree, I’m going to choose the person any day. Poverty is an issue that should take precedence over most others, and Pope Francis has stressed the importance of helping the poor. He believes capitalism to be the main culprit, which has earned him more than a few glares from proud Americans. Capitalism is a problem, you say? Come on, Pope Francis, how do you think we got to be the greatest country
in the world? Honestly, poverty is something that will never be eradicated as long as we live in an imperfect world, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. Greed is a huge problem, and can result from any capitalistic venture, good or bad. Maybe forgoing the newest iPhone in favor of donating money to provide the bare essentials for the poor in your city wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Besides, Apple comes out with a new iPhone every year; you’re never going to have the “new” one anyway. Even though I’m not Catholic, I still believe that the pope has an important role in today’s world. There are approximately 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, and for the rest of the world, the pope is the face of Christianity. In other words, he’s a pretty important guy even if we don’t see his immediate impact on our daily lives. While I don’t agree with everything he says, I know that Pope Francis has a lot of good ideas for making the world a better place. All I can say is welcome to America, Pope Francis. I hope you enjoy your stay. n
Why You Should Want to Write Well By DR. ROBERT PAUL KOLT Special to The Signal
This is the second in a bimonthly series from professors. Each week, different professors will weigh in on what they see as important to the Ouachita community. With the beginning of the 2014 academic year, OBU faculty initiated a new curriculum that reduced the number of credit hours required to complete most degree programs. A major challenge we faced was how to reduce the overall course load yet maintain the high academic standards for which OBU is nationally recognized, a process that involved years of creative thinking and hard work on the part of the university’s administrators and faculty during the course of innumerable discussion groups and countless com-
mittee meetings. Because of this diligence and concern for the future welfare of our students, an amazing feature of the new curriculum emerged called “Writing Across the Curriculum,” which not only reduces the number of credit hours in degree programs, but strengthens one of the most crucial skills a well-educated person must possess if she is to succeed and thrive in our rapidly increasing technical and competitive society: the ability to write well. The new writing curriculum better serves the needs of OBU students by preparing graduates for the challenges they will encounter upon entering the professional world or graduate school. While Composition 1 (Core 1043) is still required in all of our degree programs, Composition II could be placed in specific courses within the individu-
al degree programs, with the addition of a writing requirement in a second upper-division course, thereby reducing the number of required Core credits while increasing the overall amount of writing students are expected to do and, therefore, better preparing our students for their futures in their respective professions. Obviously, every professional must effectively communicate in written form with other professionals but, equally as obvious, no two professions achieve those requirements in the same manner. For instance, an attorney preparing a lengthy and complicated legal brief for submission to a court must utilize the language and writing methodologies expected in the legal profession in order to produce a document that all other attorneys can understand because
of their commonly-shared legal training and education. But such methods of writing would serve rather poorly for engineers preparing a technical manual for distribution to their colleagues. And the same holds true for those of us who work within the academic world. Although certain basic principles of good writing are held in common regardless of academic discipline, a professor of musicology (such as myself) who writes an article for a journal devoted to music history goes about the writing process in a manner much different than those in other disciplines. Scholars attain the knowledge and training needed to understand the requirements of good writing through many years of intense training specific to our fields of endeavor. We need such individualized training in mastering sound writing methods to succeed in our chosen professions. The need for effective writing skills, therefore, is not an abstract concept dreamed up by stodgy college professors who have nothing better to do than think of ways to torture their already overworked, stressed-to-the-max students. Rather, we who live and work in the academic world understand how effective writing skills can help insure that the students to whom
we dedicate our professional lives will have the best opportunities for future success. In those courses which contain these new university writing standards, you will discover that good writing does not “just happen.” As with any skill, you will discover that effective writing requires much work and practice. Hopefully, as your skills increase, you will come to find that taking the time and effort to write well can be an enjoyable, creative endeavor that can aid in your future professional activities and from which you may also derive pleasure. Therefore, as you navigate your way through the course work in your specific major and come upon those courses in which your professors ask you to do research papers and demand that you write them using good academic English, understand that we are not doing so for our benefit, but because we have, through great effort, devised an innovative writing curriculum that will help you achieve good grades in college, earn the respect of your colleagues, and advance your future career and earning potential. In short, good writing will go a long way towards insuring that you enjoy a successful, productive, happy life, and that is why you should want to write well. n
TUNESCAST 2015 obusignal.com
Editorial
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Thursday, September 24, 2015 u page 5
The Race for the White House starts to heat up By: Robert DeSoto Guest Writer As the race for the White House continues, guest writers will be weighing in on candidates they like, ones they don’t like and who they see as their favorite going into November, 2016. As the race to the White House heats up, Republican candidates try their hardest to out-conservative one another. Among those on the far Right seeking to win the Republican nomination is Tea Party poster boy, Senator Ted Cruz. The Texas senator was the first candidate to announce his run for President in March 2015. While Cruz has many views close to the hearts of conservatives, he may prove to be too radical to win the Republican nomination. His own ideas of Constitutional supremacy and religious liberty form the backbone of his campaign, yet they are veils for his attitudes of Christian dominionism, xenophobia and anti-intellectualism. The son of a Cuban exile, Ted Cruz—formerly known as Felito—became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005 after emigrating from his birthplace of Canada. If you’re expecting the presidential candidate’s policies on issues like health care to resemble those of Canada or even Cuba, you’d be mistaken. Cruz is famous for his opposition to the Affordable Care Act. He proved to be a key player in the government shutdown of 2013 after he spoke during the 21-hour filibuster, a Republican effort to kill Obamacare by refusing to renew the federal budget. Cruz was instrumental in the shutdown, yet he still claims President Obama is to blame. Many Republicans expressed opposition to Cruz’s filibuster; some even argued that it was used as a scheme to attract attention. Cruz, now after the shutdown, is a Republican presidential candidate. In terms of healthcare, he offers very little other than repealing every word of Obamacare and stripping millions of Americans of their coverage. Despite his heritage, Cruz lacks a great deal in terms of Latino appeal. Although a Canadian emigrant with a Cuban exile as a father, Cruz’s stance on immigration is virtually identical to that of Donald Trump. Cruz opposes a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S. and opposes
the DREAM Act, which is designed to help undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children. He has also said that President Obama’s executive orders, which were designed to help undocumented immigrants already here, are comparable to the actions of oppressive dictators that immigrants seek to evade. This statement is laughable considering that the number of executive orders under President Reagan outnumbers those under President Obama. Also, Reagan provided amnesty to millions of immigrants, yet he is the president most venerated by conservatives. Cruz is also in favor of repealing the 14th Amendment, but he was never open about this idea until Donald Trump became outspoken about it. His anti-immigrant ideas explain why Cruz doesn’t appeal to many Latino voters. Canadian-born Cruz is also in favor of sending President Obama “back to Kenya.” This comment is interesting when you consider that more Republicans believe Ted Cruz was born in the U.S. compared to the number of Republicans that think President Obama was born in the U.S. On other social issues, Cruz is very outspoken. On the day of the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize marriage equality, Cruz spoke with Fox News’ living Ken doll, Sean Hannity. “This has to be some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history,” Cruz said, to which Hannity solemnly agreed. Cruz’s powerful words from that day echo his stance on LGBT issues, as well his perspective on U.S. history. Consider the Trail of Tears, Antietam, Gettysburg, Wounded Knee, the 1929 stock market crash, Japanese internment, the deaths of Emmett Till, President Lincoln, President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., Columbine, Hurricane Katrina, September 11, 2001, and Sandy Hook. The fact that Ted Cruz can equate any of these dark days in our history with marriage equality is very telling about his character. Cruz’s stance on LGBT
rights is not the only issue in which Cruz stands boldly in opposition. Despite having served as the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, Cruz is a fervent denier of climate change. “Global warming alarmists don’t look at data,” Cruz said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. In the same interview, Cruz compared those that believe in the human effects of climate change to those that believe the Earth is flat. He even likened himself to Galileo, defending the truth against the scientists who won’t look at the evidence. In trying to appeal to young voters, Ted Cruz released a lame, Buzzfeed-imitation tutorial video about cooking bacon by wrapping it around the barrel of machine gun. This video is a strong statement about his view of Second Amendment, coupled with the knowledge that Cruz has consistently voted against restricting the proliferation of firearms, including assault rifles. Cruz’s message is ultimately that guns in the U.S. should remain as commonplace and deregulated as a George Foreman grill. Cruz’s solutions for the Islamic State are also vague, apart from his desire to “bomb them back to the Stone
Age.” He has stated that it is “not our job to be social workers in Iraq and put them all on Medicaid.” In terms of defeating ISIS, Cruz’s plan is to involve heavy bombings and strong military intervention. He offers little about how he will rebuild after such bombings and how he will stop the spread of radical Islam, which he frequently blasts. In addition to his bold statements about ISIS and his lack of effective solutions, Ted Cruz frames the conflict in the Middle East in religious, apocalyptic terms. I believe this is a ploy to keep the idea of Christian persecution alive so that it is a convenient weapon for conservatives in the U.S. Furthering this false religious narrative is Cruz’s stance on Israel. Attendees of a dinner hosted by Christian advocacy group In Defense of Christians booed Ted Cruz offstage as he addressed the threat of ISIS and his favorite state in the Union: Israel. “Those who hate Israel hate America,” Cruz said, adding, “Those who hate Jews hate Christians.” His remarks prompted a strong negative reaction from the crowd. Ted Cruz makes the mistake of equating Israel with the United States, and Christianity with Judaism. Each is unique in its own respect, yet
to far-Right politicians like Ted Cruz, the idea that they’re all the same fits his narrative that “Judeo-Christianity” is being attacked from Muslims in the Middle East and liberals in the United States. As Ted Cruz calmly told a terrified, three-year-old at one of his speeches, “The world’s on fire. Yes, your world is on fire.” Cruz’s anti-intellectual ideas and his Christian dominionist stances on domestic issues and foreign policy demonstrate why Cruz lacks any appeal to Democrats, Independents or moderate conservatives. Even while Cruz still has the support of oil executives and super PACs, members of his own party still snub him. Notably, John McCain has referred to him as a “wacko bird,” and one of Mike Huckabee’s aids acted like a bouncer in keeping Cruz from his recent rally in support of Kim Davis. While Ted Cruz manipulates Republican fears and Tea Party desires for the future, I predict that his radical, Christian dominionist ideas ultimately will not play well with voters. While some political players try to make their mark on the 2016 race, and others drop out, Ted Cruz’s appeals to far-Right voters won’t get him very far with the American public. n
Having fun while on a budget:
Why money matters and budgeting effectively can make all the difference in your college experience “Making Money Matter” By: Josh Reaper I want to start out with a recap of my previous two articles for those of you reading this for the first time. My first article talked about how God wants us to be successful. This means “successful” in fulfilling his will. Since he blesses us with jobs and other sources of income, it only makes sense that we are responsible with them. Last week, I talked about establishing a budget. It is important that you have a “save first, spend later” mentality. This means allotting around 15 percent towards savings and 10 percent towards tithing. After this, you
should next take into account your “necessary expenses,” those expenses you have to pay every month. The leftover money goes towards your “discretionary income,” the most important part of the budget. Having fun while on a budget relies on how you allot your discretionary income. I think it’s safe to assume that you probably want to budget some money for having fun. So, once you’ve factored your “fun money” into your budget, it can be daunting to figure out how you are going to spend it. The best approach, in my
opinion, is to view everything as an “opportunity cost.” Opportunity costs are essentially what you give up in exchange for what you spend your money on. For example, if I have $10 and I spend it on a movie, I may be giving up the chance to grab a meal at El Parian. The giving up of an El P meal for the sake of being able to go the movies is my opportunity cost. Looking at transactions this way will help you out when it comes to having more “fun money.” You may really want to buy that t-shirt at Walmart that has “100” Emojis all over it, but that may mean you have to give up a late night Waffle House run. After thinking about it, you may realize that the tshirt is not worth the opportunity cost.
Beyond weighing opportunities, it is also important to find out more ways you can have fun for free. For example, at OBU, you can rent a pet from the animal shelter for a day. You can play outside with a dog that just wants someone to show it love. Another great idea is to keep up with your OBU emails. You might find opportunities to be involved here at Ouachita, whether it be through Campus Ministries, Campus Activities, a Fine Arts event, an athletic event, a social club function, and anything else. Lastly, try to find a hobby that entertains you for little to no cost. For example, you might start reading more (we do have a library on campus, after all), take up running, visiting the Outdoor Rec
rock-climbing wall, re-playing old video games, creating a Reddit account, or playing sports with your friends. It’s also important to keep saving money while in college. You might get a piggy bank and put your loose change in there. Another method I read about online is saving a $5 bill every time you have on. So if you get change and there’s a $5 bill in there, put it aside for a rainy day fund. If you’re really desperate, offer to clean other people’s dorm rooms for $10 and set it aside (plenty of people would take you up on that, especially right before room checks). Next week, I want to switch gears and explore what personalized plans actually look like. As I’ve said before, the key to financial success is great financial planning. n
Lifestyle
Thursday, September 24, 2015 u page 6
McKenzie Cranford y Courtesy
McKenzie Cranford and Chelsea Byers take a picture with Alex Kendrick after the premier of “War Room.” This is Kenderick’s fifth film, which Byers and Cranford, along with Nick Burt, interned with in the summer of 2014.
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Nick Burt y Courtesy
Nick Burt takes a picture at the premier of “War Room,” with the Kendrick brothers. Burt served as a production assistant on the Kendrick’s fifth film, “War Room.”
Recent Ouachita graduates intern on box office hit By EVAN WHEATLEY Staff Writer
A
s the lights dim and the big screen comes to life, viewers realize that they are in for more than an exciting night at the movies. As the credits roll, the applause returns with full force. Some audiences give the movie a standing ovation. Some pray over each other before leaving the theater. God is using “War Room” to start revival across this nation. As Chelsea Byers, McKenzie Cranford and Nick Burt read these stories on Facebook, they sit back in amazement, knowing they have contributed to something eternal, and that it all started on Ouachita’s campus with a skype call in Lile hall, room 230. During the spring 2014 semester, the Ouachita graduates took the Christian Communications course led by Trennis Henderson, vice president of communications at OBU. Henderson provided the class the unique opportunity to Skype with Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick (director of “Fireproof” and “Courageous”). At the end of the conversation, Kendrick hinted that he and his brother Stephen had a fifth film in the works, and were seeking to hire several college interns to be part of the project. Being heavily involved in video production, the chance to work on a Kendrick Brothers movie had been a desire of Nick Burt’s for a long time. “When I was a freshman at Ouachita, I emailed the Kendrick brothers after seeing ‘Courageous,’ and asked them if they ever had interns work on their movies,” Burt said. “At that point, they only hired within their church, so my dream did not work out at the time.” The only three in the class to take advantage of the opportunity, Nick, Chelsea and McKenzie sent in their applications and resumes to Stephen Kendrick, and waited for a response. While Nick received his
confirmation email from Stephen during the weekend of Tiger Traks, Chelsea and McKenzie continued to hold their breath. Finally, during the last week of the semester, their patience was rewarded. “I was walking through the Maddox hallway and I got a call from Stephen asking me to work on the film,” McKenzie said. “He warned me that working on a film is not glamorous, but I told him I was up for the adventure and accepted the internship on the spot.” Chelsea was on a picnic with her little sister for Ouachita’s Big Brother/ Sister program when her exciting news arrived. “He [Stephen] was super excited about it; I was super excited about it. I called McKenzie right after and we were freaking out,” Byers said. “It was a very exciting moment for me because it had been so long since we submitted our applications. We thought we may have not gotten the internship, so the call was unexpected.” Embarking on the summer of a lifetime, the three traveled to Concord, N.C. in June to begin production on what they could only refer to as “film number five.” Working as a Set Production Assistant under Alex Kendrick, Nick’s freshman fantasy had become a reality. His responsibilities during the 30-day shoot ranged from grunt work, to keeping the set quiet. Whether it was intense commotion or the slightest whisper, there could be no extraneous sound while the camera was rolling. Nick was also the extras coordinator. “It was my job to place people evenly across the set. I would cue the extras to walk at the correct time, which made the scene feel real. If we were shooting in an office, you wanted to make it look and feel like you were in an actual office,” Burt said. The cast and crew worked long, 12-hour days in the scorch-
ing North Carolina heat. “On a movie you can’t have any noise, period. So we had the air conditioning off while filming,” said Nick. “The indoor shoots were just as hot if not hotter than the outdoor shoots.” The production team started working at 10 a.m. and did not finish until 4 a.m. the next day, with only two 30-minute breaks to eat. “The most valuable knowledge I gained was learning how films are made and how they work,” said Nick. “Pretty much all of my video experience had been with television shoots at Ouachita or at my high school. All of the terms they used, how a set worked, it was all new to me.” While Nick worked on set with Alex, Chelsea and McKenzie had the chance to tag-team under Stephen as Production Office Assistants. The day-to-day activities of the cast and crew would not have been possible without Chelsea and McKenzie’s efforts behind the scenes. Their shared obligations included general paperwork, driving into Charlotte to run errands for various departments and picking up/ dropping off cast members at the airport. Their most important task involved printing out “dailies” for the cast. These were scripts for specific scenes that the cast would be shooting on a given day. “There would be script changes once or twice a week,” Chelsea said. “The crew would make edits and email us the revised scripts. We took the scripts from all the cast members, took out the old pages and replaced them with the edited, colored pages. Each script change had its own color. It was a very tedious process.” While Chelsea managed the paperwork organization, McKenzie was in charge of coordinating the meals for the crew. A professional caterer served breakfast and lunch during the day, and on most nights, local churches would volunteer to provide dinner. Once a church was scheduled by the volunteer coordinator, McKenzie would make sure that the church knew when and where to bring the meal, and at what time. “I learned how to work
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with a wide variety of people. There were over 100 cast and crew members, and they were all different, with different personalities. I had to learn how to work alongside them, even the ones that were difficult to work with,” Byers said. While the experience was anything but relaxing, the three interns had a blast working with the Kendrick brothers, and learned a thing or two in the process. “He (Stephen) would come by with coffee and ice cream and tell us stories, talk about relationships and answer our questions,” Byers said. Nick’s feelings on working with Alex carried the same beats: “It was kind of like stardom at first. Here’s this guy I’ve seen in all these movies, and here I am meeting him. I could tell from day one that he was 100 percent sincere. He’s not in it for the money. He’s all in for telling the story and spreading the Gospel.” “War Room” is a gripping reminder of the importance of prayer in our walk with Christ. Emphasis on prayer during the film’s production penetrated the hearts of the three interns, and was as valuable as the experience itself. “I grew in prayer, ironically, because the film is about prayer…I started to more fully understand the power of prayer. That was something that the Kendrick brothers emphasized on the set of every movie they’ve ever made,” Byers said. “There would be many times that we needed something, or something would go wrong, and we would get together as a group and pray, and God would take care of the need. Before this internship, I hadn’t been putting much importance and emphasis on prayer in my own life. After, I had an entirely new view on the power and effect of earnest, faithful prayer.” Before they worked on Labor Day weekend’s number one movie in America, Chelsea, McKenzie and Nick shined in Ouachita’s communications department. Chelsea was awarded Television Producer/Director of the Year at the 2014 Arkansas College Media Association convention for The Rundown, a student-led sports
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broadcast that she created. She also received ACMA recognition for her work as Sports Editor for The Signal. “With Communications, definitely use personal initiative to your advantage. There are a lot of people that want the same job as you. Find that thing that sets you apart and take advantage of it,” Chelsea said. McKenzie was integral in restarting the International Association of Business Communicators at Ouachita with Chelsea Whelpley, and represented the group well as vice president. She wrote for the OBU News Bureau, served as the media director for OBU Enactus her senior year and interned with the Arkadelphia public schools communications office. “Don’t limit yourself to what you think you want to do because the communications industry is so diverse,” said McKenzie. “For example, I had zero film experience before working on the movie, and it turned out to be one of my favorite experiences ever. Also, send out as many resumes as you can and don’t give up if you keep getting negative responses because eventually you will land a job.” Nick produced numerous videos for the university during his time as the Ouachita Video Editor. He also shot video for Gov. Mike Huckabee during three trips to Israel. His on-screen credit in “War Room” helped him to land a two-day job with ESPN Films as a Set PA. He is currently doing freelance videography, and feels called to serve in church media. “Never think any job is too big for you,” said Nick. “While I was at Ouachita, I thought that I would score a few local gigs, maybe work for a local news station. Never in a million years did I think I would work for a big box office hit. You never know where the Ouachita Circle will take you.” Chelsea, McKenzie and Nick are living proof that God is raising up a generation of difference makers at Ouachita, an army of believers from every academic discipline that will take light into this world generation by generation. n
The Signal is the student newspaper of Ouachita Baptist University, and is published every Thursday during the fall and spring semesters when school is in session. The newspaper is distributed free of charge; 1,200 copies are placed in more than 20 locations across campus. Opinions expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the newspaper staff or university. The Signal is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press and is printed by the Hope Star.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Letters to the editor are encouraged and accepted, unless libelous, irresponsible or obscene. Letters should be typed and include a signature and contact phone number, and must be less than 500 words. The Signal reserves the right to edit letters for space and style. Letters should be sent via campus mail to Box 3761 or via e-mail to signal@obu.edu.
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Former Ouachita student wows judges on “The Voice” season premiere By BARRETT GAY Staff Writer Four chairs turn within ten seconds of each other. Four music megastars vie for one former Ouachita student to be on their team. The last act of the season 9 premiere of the Voice, Barrett Baber sang a version of “Angel Eyes” by the Jeff Healey band that enthralled judges Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. “I feel like I’m watching Garth Brooks in concert right now,” Shelton said. “I can tell by your vocals that you love all styles and that’s why you’re one of my favorites, my favorites, Barrett,” Levine said. The son of a Southern Baptist preacher in Arkansas, Baber was saturated in church music from an early age. He sang in his high school choir and at church, but it wasn’t until he came to Ouachita’s campus in 1998 that he began to fully develop his passion. “Really when I got to Ouachita is when my journey began as a songwriter and as a performer,” Baber said. “That’s where I really learned how to sing and how to control my voice.” Baber received a vocal scholarship and earned a spot on the Ouachita Singers his freshman year, a rarity. He enjoyed learning and growing with his teammates under the guidance of Dr. Charles Fuller in the music department, but he didn’t know how much he would need them until a tragic close call. In 1999, on a flight home from a Singers tour, Baber’s plane skidded and crashed on the runway. Twenty-three of the 25 in Ouachita’s group survived, and he attributes much of his emotional healing to music and his friendship with the other survivors. “There have been a lot of occasions in my life in which music really saved
me,” Baber said. “I wasn’t going to let that one day define the rest of my life, and I think a lot of that has to do with music and certainly the music that I was making with Dr. Fuller and the Ouachita Singers. More importantly, the relationships that were forged in that moment with those other people still exist today.” After studying four years at OBU, Baber decided to pursue a contact he had in Nashville and stayed there for a year apprenticing under him. In that time, he even auditioned for season 2 of American Idol and made it to the top 48. He then returned to Arkansas to finish his undergraduate career at UCA with a degree in communications. From there, Baber worked a few years at a radio station in Little Rock and then a TV station in Northwest Arkansas selling advertisements. Meanwhile, Baber was cultivating his music career: writing songs, making records and performing at various venues. “It gave me a really solid work ethic and really taught me how to do marketing… which became super valuable to me in marketing myself as an artist and branding myself as an artist,” Baber said of his advertising experience. He then earned his teaching license and took a job at Fayetteville High School as the debate and forensics coach. Baber always had a full schedule balancing his family, work and music life. It was worth it, though, when a friend who had made it to the top eight on season 7 of the Voice offered to submit a clip of Baber to the casting director. Baber hadn’t originally planned to go the reality singing show route, but when the casting director invited him to a private audition, it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. After the preliminary process, Baber began deciding what song he
Amanda Scarlett y Courtesy Barrett Baber closed out the show at the season 9 premiere of NBC’s The Voice. All four celebrity judges turned their chairs and sought to be his coach. Baber chose country star Blake Shelton due to their shared country style.
would perform for the blind audition. He devoted serious thought to his song choice. Baber’s fresh style consisted of country and soul, and he was deliberate with how he arranged “Angel Eyes.” “For me, this is a huge branding opportunity,” Baber said. “I had a distinct plan for how I wanted to perform it, how I wanted it to sound, what instruments we used in it.” Baber said his audition on the Voice came at the opportune time in his life. He felt prepared for it because of all the years he’d spent performing and songwriting. And the praise from the judges affirmed the effort he had invested in his skill. “Not only is it a humbling experience, more than anything it’s a validation of a lot of years of grinding away and honing a craft,” Baber said. Despite the pleading from pop icon Adam Levine, Baber chose country star Blake Shelton as his coach. “I definitely would
like to work with a guy who’s a monster in the industry I’m trying to break into,” Barrett said. “It makes total sense for me to work with someone on the show that is making the kind of music I want to make.” The next phase for Baber is the Battle Round, where Shelton will pair him with another member from their team. There, Baber and his opponent will perform a dueling duet, and Shelton will choose the winner. The loser of the battle round will go home unless another team’s coach steals them. Music is not just a hobby or side interest for Baber. He hopes that even if he does not ultimately win The Voice, he can take what he’s learned and grow as a musician. “My goal is to get better and to be better at what I do at the end of this process,” Baber said. “I’m actually trying to be an artist for the rest of my life and a songwriter for the rest of my life and provide
for my family that way.” By his side through this entire process, Baber’s wife, Sarah—along with their two tots, Brooks and Elliott—has been a constant source of encouragement. “I’m really fortunate to be married to a person that is super supportive of this dream, and has been from day one,” Baber said. Baber also extended gratitude to his home state for their confidence in him. “That’s as humbling as anything you can experience as an artist, to know that there are lots of people—hundreds of thousands of people—that are pulling for you,” Baber said. Finally, Baber reflected on the influence that Ouachita—and folks like Dr. Fuller in the music department—had on his life and character. “I wouldn’t be who I am as an adult, and as a father, and as a husband, and just as a person…if it wasn’t for the time that I spent at Ouachita,” Baber said. n
“I wouldn’t be who I am as an adult, and as a father, and as a husband, and just as a person...if it wasn’t for the time that I spent at Ouachita.” Amanda Scarlett y Courtesy BARRETT BABER and his family take a picture. Baber closed out the season 9 premiere of “The Voice” last night, as all four celebrity judges turned around in their chair.
—Barrett Baber
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Thursday, September 24, 2015 u page 8
Lady tigers move to 2-0 after sweep of SAU By BRANDON SMITH Sports Information @MrBS11
Kyle Parris y Courtesy
Stephanie Pollnow volleys the ball to other side of the net in a game earlier this season against UAM. On Tuesday evening, the Lady Tigers defeated SAU in three sets, 25-22, 25-16 and 25-23.
Freshman Phenom By Dixon C. Land Editor-in-Chief
Kris “KO” Oliver, has always been a big football fan. Even from his early elementary years, Oliver was practicing his skills, running around his two cousins— both of which were threeyear starters at Arkadelphia High School, where Oliver played high school football. “I was around football all the time. My cousins were three year starters at Arkadelphia,” Oliver said. “I just kept growing and following them throughout their careers. I’ve been around football my entire life and I guess that’s why I love it so much.” Oliver said that growing up around a family that loves football so much certainly has it’s advantages, although his mother finds Oliver, who was a three-sport athlete in high school, as a better basketball player than football player. “My dad loves that I chose football. My mom tells me that I’m a lot better at basketball, but my dad loves football, so he always wanted me to play football,” Oliver said. Early on in his sophomore year in high school, Oliver switched from c o r n e r -
back to running back. Before he became a Landers Award finalist, he struggled with size. “I almost quit my freshman year because I was only about four-foot-ten. My cousins encouraged me to continue working because he knew that I would get bigger,” Oliver said. Oliver did get bigger, and faster—so much so, that he set numerous Arkadelphia High School rushing records and finished as a three-time All-State Selection. But, bigger challenges faced Oliver as he graduated high school. “I wasn’t eligible to play last year, so I had to sit out a year to be eligible to play. It was rough because every school knew about it and I guess Coach [Jay] Derby and Coach [Todd] Knight stuck with me until I was eligible to play,” Oliver said. This year, Oliver stood in the backfield receiving snaps from a high school rival— quarterback Austin Warford. “My junior year against Malvern, we squared up against Austin. I still like to joke with him about that and tell him how weird it is to be taking handoffs from him,” Oliver joked. He even added that most of his teammates played in Arkansas, with many of those playing for opposing teams. “There’s some guys from Warren that we played against in the playoffs and they knocked us out and they always tell me to get over it when I bring it up,” he added, jokingly. During the start of fall camp, Oliver began splitting snaps with junior Brandon Marks—a player that recorded six yardsper-carry last season. Oliver earned more and more snaps and by the end of fall camp solidified his role in a dual-running back offense that featured him and Marks. “We’re roommates and we really get along well. We love to play videogames and hang out when we have time to,” Oliver said. In his first game as a Tiger, Oliver finished for 100 yards on 22 carries, scoring three touchdowns, including his first one when he busted through the line for a fiveyard score. In his first game at Cliff Harris Stadium at Ouachita,
he scored three more touchdowns and recorded 92 yards including a 43-yard touchdown run to start the game. “There’s always pressure going out there and playing,” Oliver said. “You never want to let anyone down and you know that everyone is watching you. But, once I get out there, the nerves go down and I just focus on getting the job done.” For Oliver, focusing on holding on to the ball has been a priority this season. “I think my main goal is working on not fumbling. I’ve only lost one fumble all season and that was on a punt return, so I want to keep focusing on holding on to the ball every time I get a carry,” Oliver said. For Oliver, though, he knows that above any personal goals that he might have come second to the main goal: “I want to win above anything else. Whether that’s 42-0 or 42-41, I want us to win another GAC championship,” Oliver added. Oliver comes back from suffering a minor concussion in last week’s loss against Southwestern. He will be expected to play as well as he did in the first two wins against Eastern Central and Southeastern Okla. So as Oliver continues to do exactly as he has always done—namely, love playing football—he’ll know how blessed he is by the opportunity to play college football. “I tell my mom every night how unreal this feels that I’m getting to play college football,” Oliver concluded. “I just know that it’s a blessing from God and I’m thankful that I can get up and get better every single day that I’m here at Ouachita.”
“I want to win above anything else. Whether that’s 42-0 or 42-41, I want us to win another GAC championship”
—Kris Oliver
The Ouachita Tigers moved to 2-0 in the Great American Conference on Tuesday, defeating the Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders 3-0. The Tigers (7-3, 2-0 GAC) jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set, but Southern Arkansas eventually took a 17-15 lead. A 7-1 run by Ouachita, lead by Stephanie Pollnow's one kill and 1.5 blocks, put the Tigers ahead 22-18 to force an SAU timeout. With the score 24-22, Jayme Shell won the Tigers the set with a kill on an assist from Stormi Leonard. In the second set, the Tigers dominated offensively and defensively. Southern Arkansas was held to a .000 attack percentage, and the Lady Muleriders committed 11 attack errors. Ouachita committed only two errors to
finish the set with a .312 attack percentage. The third set was a backand-forth contest throughout, until Abby Pickett, the GAC leader in kills and attack percentage, gave the Tigers the 25-23 win with a kill from Leonard. Ouachita recorded a match-high 17 kills in the set. The Tigers finished with 45 kills and only 12 errors, while the Lady Muleriders recorded 40 kills and 23 errors. Ouachita also outscored Southern Arkansas in aces (5-3), blocks (6-4) and assists (44-39). Pickett led all players with 16 kills, followed by Kori Bullard with 12. Leonard had a match-high 42 assists, while adding seven digs. Ashley Wake led everyone with 15 digs. The Tigers will be back in action on Thursday, Sept. 24, when they host Arkansas Tech University. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Sturgis Physical Education Center. n
Andrew Luck:
Where does the Indianapolis quarterback stack up against other starting NFL quarterbacks? By ZACH PARKER Staff Writer
Andrew Luck came into the NFL in 2012 as arguably the most hyped up quarterback prospect in league history. While he has certainly become a more than capable starting quarterback, I still don’t believe that Luck will ever be in the same category as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers. Now before everyone freaks out, I’m not saying that Luck is not a good player. I think he’s fantastic, probably top 10 at his position. I just don’t agree with the “once in a generation talent,” title that has been bestowed upon him. Even the most casual sports fans will tell you that winning championships is what separates the good players from the great ones, particularly at the most important position on the field, quarterback. Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson are typically the names that get included with Luck when discussing best quarterbacks in the league. However, each of these players boasts something that Luck so far cannot, at least one Super Bowl ring. Luck has led the Colts to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, but has yet to claim a conference championship. In 6 career playoff games, Luck has thrown for 9 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, with a 3-3 record. By comparison, Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Alex Smith has thrown for 9 touchdowns with zero interceptions in just three career playoff games and Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown for 9 touchdowns and seven
interceptions in five career playoff games. Yet no one would dare say that Smith or Ryan is in the same caliber as Luck. Alright, so maybe you’re not one of those people who think that postseason success is a fair way to determine the best quarterback. Perhaps you’d rather focus on an entire body of work rather than just a handful of games played at the end of the season. For his career, Luck has thrown for 89 touchdowns and 48 interceptions, which is certainly nothing to scoff at. One could safely assume that because of the recognition that Luck receives in the media, a quarterback with similar statistics would also be considered an elite talent. Since 2012, the year Luck entered the NFL, Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton has thrown for 84 touchdowns and 53 interceptions, yet no NFL expert would be caught dead muttering Dalton and Luck in the same breath. In the same timeframe, Luck has accumulated 13,450 passing yards compared to 14,589 by Ryan and 14,406 by Detroit Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford. At the end of the day, as I stated earlier, I’m not saying that Luck is a bad starting quarterback, but rather asking that we be careful when referring to him as a once in a generation talent or the best quarterback to enter the league since John Elway. The potential is certainly there, but perhaps my pointing out these statistics and comparisons with other quarterbacks will allow you to be more accurate in your assessment of the former first overall pick. n