Signal
The
Since 1890
10.17.18 | Vol. 127, Issue 6 | www.obusignal.com
Campus Ministries hosts Global Focus Week By EMILY MCMASTER Staff writer Campus Ministries is sponsoring Global Focus Week on campus this week. The week started out on Monday with an International Tea Party and will end Friday with a guest speaker at Noon Day. The purpose of this event is to share about missions opportunities, global perspective and the work God is doing around the world. Teresa Workman, a junior elementary education major, is one of the leaders on the Campus Ministries’ Missions and Event Planning Team. Workman has contributed to the planning of an entire week based around a center mission. “Global Focus Week is full of events specifically about opportunities around the world and sharing how God has called us to the nations,” Workman said. “This year, the purpose is to share and make aware of different opportunities us college students have to go around the world. We have the privilege of having an International Mission Board representative and Nehemiah team representative on campus this week. Our verse for this week is
1 Chronicles 16:24.” Global Focus Week incorporates regular Campus Ministries activities, such as Noonday, and adds a few special events to the mix. Noon Day on Monday and today featured special speakers who recounted their international experiences and how the journeys impacted their lives. Noon Day on Friday will feature another international travel speaker. On Monday afternoon, Tea Time was set up on the bridge of Evans Student Center. Different people representing various countries were there along with students who had travelled abroad to visit with attendees about global opportunities and share experiences. International teas were set up for sampling at the event as well. On Tuesday, “End of the Spear” was shown in Walker Conference Center. The movie featured the story of Jim Elliot’s missionary life. Workman encourages students to come to the rest of the events including the Global Opportunities Festival on Thursday from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the Student Center. “I would encourage students to become as involved with the events this week as they are able to attend,” Workman said. “They can come to as many or few events
as possible and still gain insight into international perspective and opportunities offered. I would especially recommend students to attend the Global Opportunities Fair on Thursday for more information.” The director of Campus Ministries, James Taylor, will be sending out emails throughout the week to remind students of the different Global Focus Week events coming up. He encourages students to attend a time of worship and prayer in Berry Chapel on Thursday Night. “We won’t have Refuge this week because of the football game, but after the game we will have a time of worship and prayer for the nations in Berry Chapel,” Taylor said. “It should start around 9:30 p.m. with depending on when the game ends.” Although Global Focus Week highlights the events and missions Campus Ministries sponsors, students can be involved in the organization and partake in international missions throughout the year. Noon Day, a time of testimony and encouragement, takes place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Berry Chapel. Students can also participate in community
ministries such as Backyard Bible Club, Big Brother Big Sister and Monticello Children’s Home. Applications for the California and Poland mission trips are now open and will be due on Nov. 2.
For more information on Global Focus Week and how to become involved in Campus Ministries, visit www.obu.edu/campusministries or email campusministriesstaff@ obu.edu. n
Ouachita Alpha Chi chapter seeks to Students promote culture continue traditional book club this fall through coffeehouses By SARA PATTERSON Staff writer Alpha Chi, a nationally affiliated honor society at Ouachita, is hosting a book club open to all students, faculty and staff this month. Dr. Myra Houser, faculty sponsor of Alpha Chi, said the book club is a long-standing tradition in the society. The book club usually takes place in the fall, and anyone is welcome to join. Contrary to the traditional framework of most book clubs, this one is minimally time consuming for those involved. Those who join are encouraged to read the book on their own time and then attend a trivia and discussion event. “It’s really low commitment, just set aside that evening,” Houser said. The wrap-up event for the book will take place on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Ouachita President Dr. Ben Sells’ house. The event consists of snacks, a fun trivia game led by Alpha Chi officers and a “more serious discussion of the book and the themes it raises,” which will be led by Ouachita English Professor, Dr. Amy Sonheim, according to Houser. The book that Alpha Chi has chosen for this year’s book club is not a traditional novel by any means. The graphic memoir, titled “Dare to Disappoint,” is written by Turkish author Ozge Samanci and depicts her childhood and teen-
SCAN FOR AN ONLINE EDITION
age years growing up in Turkey, which she relates to her internal conflict and gradual discovery of her identity. The author grew up with an interest in art, but her parents always nudged her to pursue a more traditional and seemingly more fruitful career in engineering. The book deals with not only seeking the truth and acting on your own purpose and identity, but also dealing with that in relation to opposing external opinions, such as those of parents, mentors or even peers. “She writes about finding your identity and finding yourself really and having the courage and inner compass to know who you want to be and what you want to do,” Houser said. The book’s message is simultaneously personal to the author as well as applicable to a variety of readers, but especially college students. “It relates to all college students on a spiritual level,” said Rebekah Biles, Alpha Chi officer and junior at Ouachita. From reading the book herself, Biles learned many pieces of advice that are helpful to students in their personal educational journey. “It’s important to take initiative in your own academic pursuits. Don’t just solely rely on what the teacher gives you. Do something for your own edification,” Biles said.
In all, “Dare to Disappoint” uses vivid graphics to share a story that inspires readers to have “the courage and inner compass to know who you want to be and what you want to do,” Houser said. This book club is one of the many service opportunities that Alpha Chi does every year. Many of the society’s other services are off-campus and focused on serving in the local public education system. Alpha Chi members help with art projects at elementary schools, dissections at middle schools and tutoring sessions at the local public library. Alpha Chi students also have an opportunity to conduct and present research, either individually or with a group of peers, and can present their finding at the national annual collaborative research convention. The opportunity for group research gives students a unique chance to explore topics with interdisciplinary skills according to the students’ various majors. Alpha Chi is a prestigious honor society that gives student members opportunities to serve, learn and grow academically in a community of like-minded and motivated peers. For more information on becoming a member of Alpha Chi or getting involved in the upcoming book club, contact Dr. Myra Houser at houserm@obu.edu. n
By RANDALL EARNEST Staff writer A special celebration was held at Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse in Evans Student Center on Sunday, Oct. 14. It was in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which ended the Monday after the event at Dr. Jack’s. The event was requested and planned by Ouachita students Jacob Asher and Gabriela Fabian. Tim Harrell, director of Student Life at Ouachita was more than happy to receive the request for this event. “When we had a group of students who wanted to do something, we said ‘Yes. We absolutely need to do something like this. This would be great,’”Harrell said. After requesting the event, Asher and Fabian did most of the planning. “They knew what needed to happen,” Harrell said. “We just needed to provide a space for that.” At the coffeehouse, several students played music on stage, and afterwards, a poetry reading was held to demonstrate the culture of some of the students and professors here at Ouachita. According to Harrell, any student can request an event and the request will be received and processed by the Student Life office. However, they do have to look at several things about the events planned before signing off on it.
THIS WEEK AT OBUSIGNAL.COM
y Barn Bash recap y Halloween Tips for a college student y Top 10 Halloween Flicks
These criteria include: what spaces are available, what times and days are available, what the event is about, the cost of the event, how hard it will be for the students involved to plan the event and what the requesting students will learn from setting up the event they want to host. “We want it to be a learning process. It’s two-fold, there’s a learning process for the student wanting to organize it, and it’s going to be an event that people are going to go to,” Harrell said. The faculty and staff also help students to learn how to do things like this. “They have hopes and dreams, they want to do it all,” Harrell said. “And we want to help them realize if that’s possible, and how they can get to that spot. Sometimes it might not look exactly like what they have in mind at the end, but we can get them somewhere close.” The coffeehouse events are a large part of student life at Ouachita and reflect on the various cultures and interests of the students on campus. By giving more opportunities to professors students, Student Life and the student body can teach others about the world around us. For more information on how to get involved in activities provided by Student Life and Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse events, contact Tim Harrell in the Student Life office at harrellt@obu.edu. n
CONNECT WITH THE SIGNAL