The Signal | Ouachita Baptist University, Homecoming Issue

10.13.16 Volume 125 Tyler Rosenthal y Courtesy

Issue 7

2 n Table of contents

In this issue:

y Homecoming history News Editor Katie Kemp explores the history of homecoming in general and Ouachita’s in particular, p. 4-5 y Personality profile Get to know Stephen Myers, the new technical director of the Jones Performing Arts Center, p. 7 y Host and hostesses Hear from a few of this year’s Tiger Tunes hosts and hostesses, p. 8 y Tiger Tunes directors Who are the 2016 Tunes directors? P. 9 y Intramural BOTR Ouachita’s girls and guys intramural flag football team faced off against Henderson, p. 10-11

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3 n Reflections

Ouachitonians reflect on past homecomings “Ouachita homecoming is certainly a time to remember past joys at Ouachita and to celebrate all the good things happening currently on campus. Also, for me, it’s a great time to reminisce on my 56 years of living in Arkadelphia and all the OBU Homecomings I’ve attended during those years. Great memories!”

– Dr. Wesley Kluck, Vice President of Student Development

“It is a time for me to see friends from years gone by and also to make new friends. It makes me feel more connected to Ouachita.

I have the opportunity to visit the beautiful campus and admire the improvements year by year. Since I graduated in 1964, each home-

“Ouachita homecoming is a special time of the year. A very exciting time with all the events, traditions and celebrations going on. I really love that I get to be a part of those traditions.”

– Katie Jo Henley, junior, Conway “HOMECOMING FOR me literally means a family coming home. It is a time when the OBU family

“Homecoming is about the family that Ouachita is. I love everything about

Homecoming

week. From the activities during the week, to Tiger Tunes, to playing in the football game, it brings the Ouachita community back together and gives students the chance con-

comes back to the place where they all met. It’s

nect with alumni. There

and more to me each

pretty awesome to see all the alumni reliving their

is nothing like Home-

year.”

OBU days and sharing their experiences with the

coming at Ouachita.”

coming means more

– David Blase, Nashville, Ark., Class of 1964

OBU community. Also, there are a lot of really little future tigers around and that’s just too cute!”

– Abby Root, senior, Arkadelphia

– Jordan Sharp, senior, Arkadelphia

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4 n Homecoming

Homecoming unites both past and present Tigers

By KATIE KEMP News Editor

Ouachita has invited alumni to return to campus for Homecoming festivities for more than 70 years now, and Homecoming week is lauded as one of the school’s most iconic traditions. This weekend, thousands of Tigers past and present will gather on campus for foot-

ball, OcTiger Fest, Tiger Tunes and more. But the tradition of welcoming alumni back home predates any of Ouachita’s festivities.

Football games centered on alumni began at the end of the 19th century, when multiple universities claim they held the first homecoming game. However, the official title of the first modern homecoming is credited to the University of Missouri.

Andy Henderson z Photo Lab THE WOMEN OF TRI CHI took first place at Tiger Tunes 2015 with their “MaTChes” show. Tiger Tunes takes place each year as a part of homecoming festivities.

Grace Finley z Photo Lab OUACHITA CHEERLEADERS perform at last year’s Purple Plaza Party. The annual homecoming celebration includes the presentation of the homecoming court and lunch on the lawn.

Missouri’s football coach at the time, Chester Brewer, asked alumni of the school to “come home” in the fall of 1911 to christen the school’s new football field as they played against the University of Kansas. Brewer helped prepare a weeklong celebration full of parties, pep rallies and parades, and more than 10,000 alumni of the University of Missouri attended the football game at the end of the week.

Though some homecoming festivities predate this one, the 1911 homecoming celebrations at the University of Missouri provided a model of what a week of festivities welcoming alumni back to campus could look like. The idea caught on and was commonplace on college and university campuses across the United States by the 1920s. Homecoming events typically followed the precedent Brewer and the University of Missouri had set—throughout the week

leading up to the football game, colleges and universities would hold pep rallies and spirit events and invite the community to participate by putting on parades.

Alumni would be invited to receptions reuniting them with classmates, and they would be encouraged to attend the game once the festivities ended. Schools often announced a homecoming queen and her court, typically voted as queen by the student body, before the football game.

Homecoming was established as a Ouachita tradition in 1935.

The Ouachita Homecoming we know today incorporates several traditional elements with new ones.

Arguably the most anticipated homecoming event is one unique to Ouachita— Tiger Tunes. The musical show features Ouachita’s social clubs and student organizations picking a theme and creating a five-minute

show that changes the lyrics of popular songs to fit their theme. The Ouachita Student Foundation established Tiger Tunes in 1979 with the intent of using ticket sales to fund student scholarships.

OSF is now preparing to present its 38th annual Tiger Tunes, and the scholarship money raised by the show has allowed countless students to continue their Ouachita journey since its inception. In the years since it was started, the show has grown and is performed for four sold-out audiences over three nights.

Students are also encouraged to celebrate their Ouachita roots throughout homecoming week with events like homecoming chapel and the Purple Plaza Party. The Purple Plaza Party takes place on the Friday of homecoming week, and clubs and organizations from across campus are present to provide snacks, drinks and celebration. The home-

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5 n Homecoming

AT BAYLOR’S TRUETT SEMINARY,

Marissa Pilcher z Photo Lab THE MEN OF ETA ALPHA OMEGA host their “Muggin’” root beer party each year after the Saturday night Tiger Tunes performance.

Homecoming

z Continued from Page 4 coming court is presented here before the homecoming queen is crowned before Saturday’s football game.

Activities such as these serve several purposes in the homecoming traditions of colleges and universities – they lend themselves to heavy involvement from the existing student body and encourage alumni to return to campus.

As students become involved in the festivities at schools across the country, they create memories and connections with other students. After graduation there, is a desire to return to campus, recapture those memories and re-connect with fellow alumni.

“Ouachita is just such a special place—it’s like coming home,” said Nancy Hannon, a 1991 Ouachita graduate. “Coming back now,

there’s a lot of generational stuff. A lot of people that I went to school with now have kids here or have had kids here. One of the things that I’ve noticed is that there’s a lot more parents and grandparents coming back.”

Often when we think of homecoming, we think of a football game and a Homecoming Queen and her court.

As we can see, homecoming is much more than that. It is a time for students to grab hold of their college years and make lasting memories.

It is a time for the university to showcase its current student body and campus accomplishments. It is a time for alumni to return home, recall their college experience and share in the new experiences of their alma mater.

As senior offensive lineman Jordan Sharp put it, “There is nothing like homecoming at Ouachita.” n

students are equipped with both knowledge and experience to pursue God’s call to ministry. Students work in mentoring relationships alongside pastors, international missionaries and leaders of faith-based entities to gain a unique understanding of life in ministry and insight into the dayto-day operations of churches and organizations. Truett graduates are academically prepared and spiritually equipped to lead and to serve the Church and a world in need.

We are students and ministers.

We are Baylor’s Seminary.

Visit Truett Seminary: October 27-28

6 n Features

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Elrod biography book signing to be held Saturday

By TRENNIS HENDERSON OBU Vice President for Communications

Dr. Ben Elrod, who served as Ouachita’s 13th president from 1988 to 1998, recently was honored with the release of a biography titled “Giving Until It Feels Good – Ben M. Elrod: Arkansas Educator and Fundraiser.”

The 82-page biography, written by Rex Nelson and Ian Cosh, was published by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. A book signing by Dr. Elrod will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Ben M. Elrod Center for Family and Community in conjunction with Homecoming activities.

Dr. Elrod has served as OBU chancellor since his retirement in 1998. The Elrod Center, which is named in his honor, was established to challenge and equip the university community to live out its faith as servant leaders and community-minded citizens.

Among the Elrod Center’s signature events is the semi-annual Tiger Serve Day community service emphasis, which has compiled almost 80,000 volunteer hours over the past 20 years. He and his wife, Betty Lou, also were honored in 2009 with the dedication of Ben and Bet-

ty Elrod Boulevard, the main entrance to Ouachita’s campus.

The seven-chapter book, which features photographs from throughout Dr. Elrod’s life and career, focuses on his early years and education years as well as Elrod the president, the fundraiser, the economic developer and the passionate volunteer and a closing chapter titled “Final Thoughts.”

Co-authors Rex Nelson and Ian Cosh both are Ouachita alumni. Nelson, a 1982 Ouachita graduate, is senior vice president and director of corporate communications for Simmons First National Corporation and former president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. Cosh, a 1987 Ouachita graduate, is OBU’s vice president for community and international engagement and director of the Elrod Center.

The biography describes Dr. Elrod as “one of Arkansas’ most respected leaders in the 20th century” and emphasizes that “Ouachita and the state of Arkansas are better places because he walked among us.”

Dr. Elrod said the book’s central message “is a reflection of my love for Ouachita.” He added that “my story is primarily a story of Ouachita and would not be complete without emphasis on that

Diane Runyan y Courtesy

Dr. Ben Elrod with his wife, Betty Lou. Dr. Elrod’s tenure as Ouachita’s 13th president lasted 10 years, from 1988 to 1998.

lifetime, life-changing relationship.

“When I retired from the presidency of Ouachita after 10 years, I was very tired,” he recalled.

“The last thing I wanted to do was write a book, having endured the pain of that process writing two doctoral theses. Rex Nelson and Ian Cosh were most gracious in writing the book I didn’t want to write. I owe them my undying gratitude and I am pleased with how they handled my life’s story.

This book, along with the completion of the new Elrod Center, made the last two years very pleasant ones.”

Concerning the book’s significance, Dr. Elrod said, “The lighter side is that a few years from now when a student or faculty member asks, ‘Who in the world is Ben Elrod?’, he or she can be referred to the book. The more serious response is that I am pleased

to have my story recorded because I believe it to be a clear reflection of God’s grace and guidance.”

Cosh noted that Dr. Elrod “has been associated with Ouachita his entire life as a student, donor, trustee, vice president for development and president. As such, he is very much a part of the instructional fabric of the university, and his life story needed to be recorded for institutional as well as personal reasons. Rex and I are both pleased that our work will preserve, in written form, an overview of a life well lived.”

Nelson emphasized that “Ben Elrod is one of the men I respect most in life. When I was a boy, Dr. Elrod lived two houses down in the Ouachita Hills neighborhood. He was the vice president for development at Ouachita at the time. He was a quail hunting partner with my dad, a fishing partner and,

for a time, the interim pastor of our church, First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia. I was fortunate to grow up in a college town filled with men of great integrity and accomplishment who could serve as mentors for me. Ben Elrod is both a mentor and an inspiration.

“It’s important that we record the story of Ben Elrod for those who come later,” Nelson added. “He has been so important to Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia and Arkansas. His legacy will live on in this state for decades to come. I hope people will come away with this thought: ‘This is the kind of life I wish to live; a life of integrity with Jesus Christ and my family at the center of it all.’”

Copies of Giving Until It Feels Good are available for purchase at the Ouachita Campus Store, westbowpress.com and amazon.com.n

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7 n Features

Learning the ropes of JPAC

By ASHLYNN MORTON Staff Writer

Stephen Myers, a member of Ouachita’s 2006 graduating class, is now taking on a major role as the technical director of Tiger Tunes. Since this is Myers’ first year to participate in Tunes, he is facing the challenges of living up to the great expectations it has set year after year. Stephen discussed not only his journey to Ouachita, but also his hobbies and the challenges he has encountered getting ready for Tiger Tunes while simultaneously teaching class.

Myers began his journey at Ouachita as a freshman in 2002 and studied theater and mass communications.

Coming from Dallas, he experienced quite a change in scenery and activities.

He was no longer in the big city. After spending four years at Ouachita and graduating, he returned to Dallas to work at Hilton. After working there for a year, he was hired to work video production for Pine Cove camps, where he received the nickname “Snoop” for a reason unknown to him. (Nevertheless, it stuck.) He worked at Pine Cove for seven years and also taught part time at a high school, where he discovered his passion for

teaching. He then decided to make another move and attend graduate school at Indiana University’s media school, where he graduated with an M.S. in Media Management. After 10 years, he made his move back to Ouachita, where he was called to serve as the technical director and production manager of Jones Performing Arts Center and teach Media Management, along with other courses. He enjoys learning the ropes at Ouachita.

Outside of class and planning for major events happening in J P A C , Myers spends his time watchi n g movies, playing video games, playing board games, being outdoors and relaxing in Hot Springs. With his passion being in media production, he enjoys critiquing movies, and he appreciates how

they are created. He even hosted a movie club at one time. Ranking every movie he watches online, Myers is now up to 950 movies, and he plans on reaching 1000 by next year. Along with watching movies, he finds an outlet through video games and board games.

Not only does Myers love gaming, but he also enjoys biking and

swimming.

He

stated that he definitely takes advantage of the open swim times in the Sturgis Physical Education Center. On Sundays, he takes a trip to Hot Springs,

where he attends New Life Church. He likes to spend the rest of the day writing in a cafe or restaurant and taking it easy.

This being Myers’ first year as the technical director of Tiger Tunes, he is facing some challenges, including learning to work the lighting and mic systems set up years before.

Fortunately, he has a team of work-study students who have been a big help, since most of them have assisted in setting up Tiger Tunes before. He indicated that the group dynamic of his team is not your typical boss-employee relationship, as Myers’ work study students have been able to teach him as well.

Something Myers brings to the table is seeing the bigger picture and coordinating the system as a whole rather than in individual parts. He plans to experience a year of Tiger Tunes before introducing new ideas that may assist the show in running more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Along with setting up for Tiger Tunes, Myers is still teaching class and scheduling other events in the future for JPAC. He said he enjoys class, as

teaching is his passion. He spends his nights reading and grading papers, and mornings and days working on Tiger Tunes.

Identifying himself as a “busybody,” he enjoys the thrill of switching gears and having many projects at once. He stated that balancing teaching alongside planning Tiger Tunes has not been a struggle at all; in fact, he is glad to have that outlet.

In addition to teaching, Myers is still scheduling future events. Jones Performing Arts Center has become a popular place in Arkadelphia for events such as high school band concerts.

Tiger Tunes draws sellout crowds every year, which is part of the excitement for Myers and his crew. Open to new ideas, a veteran at forming teams and impressively tech savvy, Myers is ready for the challenges of Tunes. He can appreciate the traditions of Ouachita while encouraging change. He has the ability to remain remarkably calm while facing the pressure of pulling off one of Ouachita’s staple traditions. Ouachita’s Tunes veterans know that while watching the show, they shouldn’t forget the hard work and countless hours that go in to making it such an amazing production.

As Myers said, “It’s going to be a great show.”n

8 n Hosts and Hostesses

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Melodies and harmonies, hosts and hostesses

Andy Henderson z Photo Lab FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Alec Edmonds, Phoebe O’Connor, Layten Moseley, Zach Myers, Jacob Hemsath, Libby Villegas, Lauren Hutcheson and Cody Walls, the 2016 Tiger Tunes Hosts and Hostesses.

“Tunes was actually the one thing that sold me on Ouachita in the first place. I remember telling my mom when we came to see Tunes at GROW that I wanted to be a host.”

“I’m just so excited to perform

--Lauren Hutcheson, hostess

--Cody Walls, host

with this group of people because there’s so much talent, and I feel really blessed to be a part of the group.”

9 n Directors

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Meet the 2016 Tiger Tunes directors Kappa Chi “Kappa Express” Left to right: Drake Puryear, Aaden Jones

Chi Mu “Clocks” Left to right: Joy Biebighauser, Olivia Witcher

Campus Ministries “Stars” Left to right: Suzanna Rieves, Kinzie Schmidt

Chi Delta “Make It Rain” Left to right: Mallory Lester, MK Freeman and Katharine Kirby

Tri Chi “Tumbleweeds” Left to right: Brittany Beaver, Haley Brown and Jodie Webb

EEE “Toy Soldiers” Left to right: Taylor Dooly, Julie Feimster and Alyson Cole

Eta Alpha Omega “Olympics” Left to right: Will Hanna, Evan Wheatley and Ben Patterson

Student Life “Supercenter” Left to right: Kimberley Attaway, Ashley Sharpe and Bethany Lenards

Beta Beta “Astronauts” Left to right: Caleb Terry, Brady Thompson and Jonathan Dixon

10 n BOTR Intramurals

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A grEEEat defense is the best offense

By IAN CRAFT Sports Editor

Bekah Davis y Courtesy

Bekah Davis y Courtesy

Bekah Davis y Courtesy

In a battle of the best teams from across Arkadelphia, the EEEs represented Ouachita on the other side of the street, taking on the Alpha Z’s to see who would claim the Battle of the Ravine flag football trophy.

“We always love to come together as sisters and have fun! We love spending the time together and being competitive. We love to win, but we also really love getting to know each other better,” said Emily Long, a senior business major from Hot Springs.

Both teams boasted strong offenses but especially tough defenses.

The Henderson team was originally a co-ed group that slimmed down to only female players for the game. Since they were a co-ed team, the game was played with a guy’s intramural ball instead of the size the girls had used for the whole year.

The women of EEE featured a strong defense, holding Henderson’s “Alpha Z’s” to 0 at half. Unfortunately, the Z’s managed a touchdown and ultimately won 6-0.

Left top: Senior Bekah Davis takes a selfie with the EEE team Left center: Two EEE teammates pose for a photo Lower left: Bekah Davis and Emily Long Lower right: The EEE intramural flag football team

Although they had to adjust to this, both teams marched down field efficiently.

This is where the tough defense came into play. Several times the Henderson team made it into the red zone, but the EEEs didn’t allow them to move an inch once there.

Featuring the top players from both of the EEE teams, this team was made to be tough.

Quarterback Brittany McElroy showed off an incredibly strong arm and guided the team down field over and over during the game, but the much larger Henderson team stopped them from scoring every time.

At halftime, the score was 0-0, and the trend of strong defenses continued.

Much like the current presidential campaigns, this game featured two tough groups pushing back and forth without giving up much ground.

In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, the score

was still 0-0. As the game dwindled down into the last seconds, the Alpha Z’s ran it in for a touchdown to take the lead and win 6-0.

The EEEs may have lost the game, but they realized they played a very tough team close all the way till the end, and they had fun doing it.

“This season of football was my favorite because I finally was on a team that made it to the championship,” said Bekah Davis, a senior mass communications major from Benton. “Going into the championship, we were playing HSU’s team, which is typically co-ed; they play with a boy-sized football, and it was their home turf. We played our hearts out, got some turf burns and ultimately came up short in the last seconds of the game. But I’m proud of our team, and to me, we won because we go to OBU! I would encourage every girl to go play! You’ll regret it if you don’t.”n

Bekah Davis y Courtesy

11 n BOTR Intramurals

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Betas run out of time in Ravine battle

By MARCELLUS HILL Sports Writer

Ouachita versus Henderson State. Just about everyone from this area knows about the intense rivalry that has been around for decades.

When you hear “Battle of the Ravine,” you know there is going to be a highly competitive match between Ouachita and Henderson State, regardless of the sport. For the men’s intramural flag football version of “Battle of the Ravine,” it was no different.

The respective flag football champions from Ouachita and Henderson State battled it out last Thursday to see who was the king of Arkadelphia.

Henderson had homefield advantage.

It was your typical Battle of the Ravine game: highly competitive. The teams were determined

not to lose to their arch nemesis. Some trash talking took place here and there, as well as some pushing and shoving. Everything you’d expect in a rivalry came into play.

Henderson started the game with momentum, scoring on its opening possession.

Ouachita couldn’t get anything going on their first series, and the Reddies then scored again on their next possession, jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead.

Ouachita fought back, scoring its next possession, making it 14-7. In the end, the gap was just too big for Ouachita to overcome, and Henderson defeated the Tigers by a final score of 19-13.

Zachary Street, a sophomore biology major from Nacogdoches, Texas, was one of the players in the championship game. He discussed what it was like being able to represent his

Caden Flint y Photo Lab

school in the championship game.

“I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. It definitely was the best of the best.

We had competition with them just like at OBU, but you could tell they were definitely the best of the best. They got the ball first and scored on us, then we threw an interception and they ran it back for a pick six, so it didn’t start off great. Then after halftime we scored first, so we thought we could get in it. We stopped them, then thought we could score and came close but didn’t make it. At the end I felt like we were coming back, I mean, 13-19 is pretty close, so if we had one score, we would have been there. If we only had more time,” Street said.

Though the Tigers didn't snag the title this year, the ongoing Battle of the Ravine--in various sports--will continue.n Beta Black, the men’s intramural team representing Ouachita in the 2016 men’s BOTR Intramural Flag Football Championship, faced a team with the home-field advantage.

Though they kept the score close throughout, Henderson’s team won 19-13 in the end.

Right top photo: Jackson Kennedy Right center: Caleb Terry Lower right: Austin Connolly and Cody Thompson Lower left: Evan McKinnon

Caden Flint y Photo Lab

Caden Flint y Photo Lab

Caden Flint y Photo Lab

Eta Alpha Omega “Olympics”

Kappa Chi “Kappa Express”

Nate Wallace y The Signal Tri Chi “Tumbleweeds”

Danielle Droste y Photo Lab Chi Delta “Make it Rain”

Beta Beta “Astronauts”

Campus Ministries “Stars”

Nate Wallace y The Signal Student Life “Supercenter”

Nate Wallace y The Signal

Nate Wallace y The Signal

EEE “Toy Soldiers”

Danielle Droste y Photo Lab

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Chi Mu “Clocks”

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Ouachita Baptist University Office: Evans Student Center E-Mail: signal@obu.edu Phone: 870.245.5210 z ADVISER z ADVISER

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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.

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