Volume 129, Issue 5: Oct. 29, 2020

VOLUME 129, ISSUE 5

the SPOOKY

SIGNAL A P U B L I CATI O N O F O U AC H I TA BA PTI S T U N I V E R S I T Y

OCTOBER 29, 2020

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cover story....................................3 news................................................4-5 arts/entertainment....................6 opinions...........................................7 Sports................................................8

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the

SIGNAL

Caity Hatchett

Elizabeth Steely

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SPORTS EDITOR

Sara Patterson

Matthew Branch

OSDN COORDINATOR

Katie Kemp

Hannah Smith

COPY EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

Langley Leverett ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT & OPINIONS EDITOR

Dr. Jeff Root Adviser

Caroline Derby AD COORDINATOR

PHOTO EDITOR

Abby Blankenship PHOTO EDITOR

Dr. Deborah Root Adviser

The Signal is the student newspaper of Ouachita Baptist University, and is published twice a month on Thursdays 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 Nashville Leader.

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 email to signal@obu.edu.

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On the cover: Junior Tehya Hinkson sports one of the designs for the Halloween shirts she and sophomore Jennie Davis designed. Hinkson and Davis sold their shirts on Instagram. On this page: Davis (left) and Hinkson (right) work on ironing the vinyl designs on their shirts in their dorm room in Maddox Hall. The duo produced 77 shirts over the course of a few weeks. (photos courtesy of Tehya Hinkson and Jennie Davis)

Scary business: Designing Halloween t-shirts

BY LANGLEY LEVERETT Arts/Entertainment and Opinions Editor

Peel. Stick. Iron. Repeat. Orange and black shirts are in boxes around the room, the iron press is steaming and there’s an overwhelming smell of adhesive in the air. While the girls labor over their project, their Maddox dorm room has turned into a mini shirt factory.

Although many celebrate Halloween by watching scary movies or going to pumpkin patches, some students are showing their festivity in the way of creativity and production. Junior art education major Teyha Hinkson and junior elementary education major Jennie Davis decided to

combine their interests of art and T-shirt printing in order to sell Halloween-themed shirts.

After creating several doodles, puns and color combinations, they decided on seven designs to sell.

They made shirts for themselves and their friends to model, had a photoshoot, created graphics and displayed them on Instagram.

They immediately began to receive orders from both the Ouachita community and other areas.

“The very first day, Monday, we sold like 30 shirts, maybe 40. And it was the first day. It was crazy.

My favorite part has definitely been the reaction we’ve gotten from it because we have definitely exceeded our expectations,” Hinkson said. “We were like, ‘Oh

yeah, we might sell 20 to 25,’ but we’ve literally sold 77 shirts, which is phenomenal because we’re two college students doing this in our dorm.”

Hinkson and Davis decided early on that they would complete weekly orders; at one point, they had over 50 orders to fulfill in seven days. Despite the time it takes to tailor, package and ship each item, Hinkson is content to be doing something that brings joy to both others and herself.

“I’m not seeing it as a burden. I’m not like ‘Man, I wish I hadn’t done this,’” Hinkson said. “I’m keeping that joy and that excitement from the very beginning to the end, even though it has been a process.

I’m doing it because it makes me

happy, but then getting to see other people get happiness from that is really awesome.”

Both Hinkson and Davis agree that they have complemented each other’s strengths throughout the process of completing this project.

Even though their schedules can be busy, they both wanted to make sure they could enjoy their time creating the shirts together.

“I really enjoyed working with Tehya because it brought both of our talents together,” Davis said.

“She got to do the designs and I got to bring them to life. She helped me a lot with the process of weeding and ironing the designs on the shirts.”

Davis created and sold shirts while she was in high school

and has continued this for nearly five years. Hinkson has pursued art professionally since starting college, but has enjoyed art as a hobbby since she was 13. By combining talents and sharing passions both have been able to grow individually.

“It was fun getting to do what I did back in high school. These shirts would not have been as popular without her amazing designs,” Davis said. “This whole process taught me how to work with others and explore different ideas that aren’t your own.”

Hinkson and Davis will work to produce Christmas-themed shirts in November. For more updates, follow @tehyaann and @jenniedavis00 on Instagram.

news

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Historic ghost stories haunt Ouachita’s campus

BY MADELINE MARTIN Staff Writer

A black and white picture hangs on the wall past the alumni office in Cone-Bottoms. In the photo, students, faculty and staff gather on the front steps following the building’s completion in 1923. However, a closer look at the photo shows something eerie, drawing attention away from the smiling group on the lawn.

In one of the second story windows, a male figure is clearly visible. It is hazy, but it is there. However, everyone was outside taking part in the photo. No one knows who—or what—the figure is.

This is just one of many ghost stories told around campus. Urban legends are bound to be created by students and faculty, especially at a school with as much history as Ouachita. Upperclassmen pass on these legends to freshmen to enlighten them on campus trivia.

While this is all in good fun, many students claim to have real experiences with the campus ghosts and many well-known buildings on campus serve as settings for these supernatural stories.

Cone-Bottoms houses a ghost besides the shadowy man in the photograph. The Lady in Black also calls this building home.

Built in 1923, Cone-Bottoms served as a female dormitory on Ouachita’s campus until the mid1980s. The building underwent renovation in 1993, and it has since housed the school’s administration offices.

The legend of the Lady in Black dates back to the late 1920s. A Ouachita girl named Jane dated a Henderson boy named Joshua, but things quickly turned sour. Joshua’s friends pressured him to break up with his Ouachita girlfriend, and he finally gave in and took another girl to the homecoming dance. Jane returned to her dorm in Cone-Bot-

toms, put on a black dress and veil and threw herself down the elevator shaft.

Now, her ghost haunts the building and roams the halls. It is said that she can be heard sobbing over her lost love.

Most people have not actually seen the infamous spirit, but many describe the feeling inside Cone-Bottoms as heavy and gloomy. This could be due to the building’s age, or maybe Jane actually haunts her former dorm. Either way, the story is a favorite among Ouachita faculty and students.

The Ouachita Theatre Department claims a different ghost haunts Verser Theatre. Aptly nicknamed the Verser Ghost, this spirit has been around for decades.

Earl E. Verser served on the Ouachita Board of Trustees for 12 years, and Ouachita named Verser Theatre in his honor following his $50,000 donation for the construction of the building. Verser was tragically murdered during a home invasion, and students and professors alike claim that his benevolent spirit now haunts his namesake theatre.

Students attribute strange happenings in the theatre to the Verser Ghost. If a light flickers or something goes missing, the Verser Ghost is usually to blame.

As part of theatre superstition, a ghost light sits on Verser’s stage.

Ghost lights are commonly used in theatres around the world. Typically, they are single-bulb floor lamps that sit onstage whenever the lights are off. Their purpose is to ward off ghosts and to keep them happy.

The theatre department keeps with this tradition, and the ghost light shines brightly in the dark theatre.

Aside from the tragic backstory and the superstitions, the Verser Ghost creates a way for the theatre students to bond. For every pro-

duction, the ghost leaves mysterious, encouraging notes for every cast and crew member. This tradition has been happening for a long time.

Elizabeth Dawson, senior musical theatre major from Little Rock, helps the Verser Ghost this year by delivering the notes on the opening night of shows.

“The purpose of the ghost notes is to make everyone feel appreciated because everyone has an important job,” Dawson said. “When I was a freshman and I got my first ghost note, I was very encouraged.

So I’m happy to help the Verser Ghost continue this tradition.”

Across the street from Verser Theatre, Francis-Crawford Hall contains its very own paranormal activity.

Built in the 1960s, the dormitory houses over 300 freshmen girls.

Over the years, many students claim to have experienced ghostly encounters or inexplicable events within Francie’s walls.

Unlike the ghosts of Cone-Bottoms and Verser Theatre, the “Francie Ghost” does not have a detailed backstory. The ghost story gained popularity from various encounters told by the building’s residents.

The Francie Ghost, despite not having a solid origin, still remains a common Ouachita legend.

Residents report hearing footsteps in their rooms, seeing shadowy figures at the foot of their beds and even getting grabbed by their ankles while sleeping.

While some of this could be attributed to loud neighbors or the age of the building, other things, like being touched by the Francie Ghost, are truly inexplicable.

Overall, these ghost stories bring some spooky fun to Ouachita’s campus and create community among students. These ghosts haunt campus buildings all year and serve as the perfect entertainment when Halloween rolls around.

Cone-Bottoms Hall is one of the most iconic and imposing buildings on campus. To many, it may also be one of the spookiest. (photo courtesy of Addy Goodman)

NEWS

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Third Floor Village ready to release debut EP

BY KENZIE BURKS Staff Writer

“Third Floor Village” band members pose for a photoshoot to promote their debut EP. Buck McKnight, Anderson Fulton and Parker Zucha have been working together for almost two years and are excited to release the EP. (photos by Abby Blankenship)

The band Third Floor Village will be releasing their new extended play (EP), featuring six songs, on Nov. 5.

The band consists of lead guitarist Buck McKnight, co-lead singer and guitarist Parker Zucha and colead singer and keys player Anderson Fulton.

All three are juniors who met during their freshman year at Ouachita. They are also all members of the men’s social club Beta Beta, but they did not come up with the idea of forming a band until the beginning of their sophomore year.

The three guys lived together on the third floor of Tollett Hall, and Fulton wanted to know why the trio was not making music together. McKnight and Zucha decided to give it a try, and the rest is history.

The three have been working on music together for almost two years now. But the “serious process,” as McKnight puts it, actually did not start until quarantine this summer.

Each song on the album tells a story about a breakup. The first five songs tell a similar story, each with different emotions, about moving on and being over a past relationship.

“There are different feels to every song,” Fulton said.

But the final song on the album contradicts the theme of the first five songs and was a chance for the band to be more vulnerable with their lyric choice. This last song speaks more to relationships that change people, leaving them with the feeling that they will never be the same again.

The majority of the songs on the EP were written last August, but there was one that was written during the recording process at the studio.

“While the songs were all written individually, I think they do, in order, tell a pretty great story,” McKnight said, “They do thematically intermingle with each other.”

The band did not want to highlight their past relationships in a negative way when writing their songs. They also did not want the album to come off like all they write or care about are girls from their past.

“We like to joke around and say we’re kind of the ‘Taylor Swift’ of alt. rock,” Zucha said.

The band tends to have more of an alternative rock vibe when they write music, but they each add a bit of their own style and draw from different sources.

“Our biggest influences are bands like The Band Camino, LANY, joan and Backseat Lovers,” Zucha said.

The band was able to pull their EP together over the summer because Zucha’s older brother has his own home recording studio in the Dallas area. At first, Zucha didn’t want to bother his brother with recording music for his college band, but his brother ended up being more than willing to help the band out by recording and playing drums and bass for their EP. “He [my brother] was like ‘Heck yeah, let’s do it,’” Zucha said.

“He’s pretty insane when it comes to music.”

Zucha is also glad that McKnight and Fulton took time out of their days during quarantine and over summer break to drive to the Dallas area and stay with him and his brother. They made about four or five trips to Zucha’s brother’s house to spread out the process, ensuring the best result.

All three feel fortunate to have had Zucha’s brother in their corner throughout their project. The quality of their EP is more professional sounding than many would expect

from a college band releasing their first album. The three all agree that the EP is “legit.”

“We’re working with people out of our league as far as our age and the amount of experience and resources we have,” McKnight said.

“We’re blessed to have such an incredible and professional team to work with.”

Zucha sings lead vocals for two of the songs on the EP, then Fulton sings lead vocals for two songs and they finish the album singing lead vocals together.

Fulton’s favorite song on the EP is the opening track “Never Seattle,” which was actually a song he started in his shower, and he describes it as “Camino-esque.”

McKnight compared choosing his favorite song on the EP to a parent choosing their favorite child.

However, he finally settled on the song “Over.”

“It communicates very clearly, but in a very creative way,” McKnight said.

Zucha’s favorite song is “The Well.” This song was actually close to being cut from the EP because it did not turn out the way the band originally wanted it to sound, but they ultimately decided to include it on the album.

According to Fulton, the band put a lot of thought into how they ordered the songs in the EP. The band suggests listening to the songs in order to get the full effect.

The EP will be available Nov. 5 on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, TikTok and anywhere else that music can be streamed.

The band’s main goal is to use their music to build a community. Sharing the EP and liking it on streaming services helps them do so.

For more details on the EP release and future music from Third Floor Village, be sure to follow their Instagram @thirdfloorvillage.

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Frightful films: Ten must-see movies for spooky Halloween watch parties

Age-old tradition meets supernatural holiday

BY WYATT ASHLOCK

BY ASHLYN SEIBERT

Halloween has finally arrived and one of the best ways to celebrate safely is to put on a movie to watch with a few of your friends.

These are my top 10 selections for the best Halloween films, which are guaranteed to get you into the Halloween mood.

10. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (1966) It’s time to go back to Minnesota to see the whole Peanuts gang.

Charlie Brown goes trick or treating while Linus has convinced Charlie Brown’s sister Sally to stay up all night with him waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive.

9. “Unbreakable” (2000) David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is the lone survivor of a train wreck that killed 132 people. Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) offers answers that Dunn is seeking as to how he survived without a scratch, and these answers will change Dunn forever.

8. “Disturbia” (2007) This modern day “Rear Window,” starring Shia LaBeouf, is about a teenage guy on house arrest. Cabin fever begins to set in and he thinks that his next door neighbor might be a serial killer.

When no one believes him, he must get proof before someone else dies, all without leaving his house.

7. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” (2019) On Halloween night in 1968 in the small town of Hill Valley, a group of teens sneak into a house that is supposedly haunted. All they find is a book full of stories, but this film shows what happens when the scary stories we tell around the campfire come true.

6. “Split” (2016) M. Night Shyamalan’s sequel

Halloween is a favorite holiday among many young Americans, but the history of the holiday is not quite as common knowledge as you might expect.

Many Western holidays, such as Easter, Christmas and even Halloween, result from blending pagan traditions and Christian ideologies. While Easter and Christmas are recognized as primarily Christian holidays, Halloween is seen as more secular.

Many of the Halloween traditions that we are familiar with originated from the Celtic festival Samhain, which was celebrated to commemorate the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. However, the date became associated with Christianity when Pope Gregory III moved the celebration of All Saints’ Day from May to October.

Trick-or-treating is a prime example of a Halloween tradition that demonstrates the holiday’s syncretic origins. Trick-or-treating seems to have a combination of influences from Christian traditions as well as pagan Celtic traditions.

The Christian influence is in the practice of sharing soul cakes, or souling, which dates back to 16th century Britain. The tradition consisted of groups of people (or soulers) going around a village asking for soul cakes, which is very similar to today’s trick-or-treating.

Partaking in similar activities while in costume was known as “guising,” which was likely tied to the belief of spirits being active during the night. Wearing a mask or costume was a way to ward off evil spirits and it eventually developed into the activity we know today.

In the past, children would have

Staff Writter

Staff Writer

to “Unbreakable” focuses on a man whose 23 personalities have kidnapped three girls. These girls must escape before a 24th personality, who is supposedly worse than the others, threatens them. This sequel is a must-watch thriller for Halloween fans.

5. “Poltergeist” (1982) The Freelings are an average California family until ghosts communicate with them through their television one night. At first the ghosts seem friendly, but they turn menacing when they take the Freelings’ 5-year-old daughter.The family’s only hope to get her back is to turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist to help save their daughter. This classic horror film created by Stephen Speilberg is a great spooky watch.

4. “The Sixth Sense” (1999) Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is an average kid except for one thing: he can talk to ghosts. The only one who can help him is child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis). While Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the truth behind Sear’s abilities, an awakening happens to both of them. This classic film by M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most thrilling movies to watch on Halloween.

3. “A Quiet Place” (2018) In a post-apocalyptic world, everyone must live in silence to avoid creatures that hunt by sound. Even the slightest noise can bring death, so Evelynn (Emily Blunt) and Lee (John Krasinski) will do whatever it takes to keep their children safe.

Written and directed by Kransinski, this is an exceptional film that tells a story without using words.

2. “Ghostbusters” (1984) After a team of scientists lose their jobs at a university in New York City, they must use their skills to save their town from ghosts. While ghost hunting, they find a doorway to another dimension that will destroy the world.

These ghostbusters have to save the world from total destruction.

1. “Hocus Pocus” (1993) After moving to Salem, Max Dennison (Omri Katz) accidentally frees the Sanderson Sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) from exile.

He must capture them once again before the three witches put a spell on the whole town. This film is a cult classic that continues to grow in popularity throughout the years.

All of these films are excellent Halloween watches and many are available on streaming services.

to perform some sort of “trick,” like singing a song or telling a joke, before receiving anything in return. This practice eventually developed into the saying “trickor-treat.”

The tradition of carving jacko’-lanterns originated with the Irish tradition of carving faces on vegetables, traditionally turnips, scooping out the insides so they could be used as lanterns. This was also supposed to help frighten off evil spirits, which were believed to be most active around the time that Halloween is celebrated.

“In the past, children would have to perform some sort of ‘trick,’ like singing a song or telling a joke, before receiving anything in return.”

The jack-o’-lantern got its name from folklore, after the mischievous bog light spirits of the same name, also known as Will o’ the Wisps. There is also a story that is tied to the name about a drunkard named Jack who has multiple encounters with the devil.

Each time, Jack tricks the devil.

When Jack finally dies, he is not allowed to enter heaven because of his evildoing. However, the devil refuses to accept him into hell because of their history with each other. As a result, Jack is forced to roam the earth with a turnip lit by a coal from hell to guide him.

Treats and spirits aside, Halloween is a very popular holiday. From required tricks to an unfortunate drunkard, Halloween is as spooky and haunted as ever.

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Halloween staples enchant non-believer into holiday’s spirit

BY RACHEL SANSANO Staff Writer

Growing up, I never really celebrated Halloween. I mean, to me, it was more of a milestone than a holiday. It meant that Thanksgiving was soon and Christmas was right on its heels. Halloween meant that it was almost time for a break from school.

I know it’s not this way with everyone, but for me, Halloween tends to slip through the cracks.

My excitement for Thanksgiving and Christmas drowns Halloween.

But that is slowly changing.

Over the last few years, I have started to appreciate this spooky holiday. I’ve decided that Halloween has three main staples: costumes, candy corn and jack-o’lanterns. I love each of these things for different reasons, which means I’m more of a Halloween fan that I thought I was.

Halloween gives us a chance to make our dreams come true. So many people claim that if they were just a few inches taller or just a few seconds faster they could have been a professional athlete.

Not to worry. Halloween gives you a second chance. Always wanted to be in the NBA? Now you can be Steph Curry for the night.

Halloween gives you the chance to change your identity for a day. And I love that.

While becoming a professional athlete is cool, my favorite costumes are the try-hard ones. You know what I mean: the costumes that try too hard to be funny. Of the ones I’ve seen, my favorite is a funny variation on a serial killer. A person wears a box of cereal, and

then stabs a knife through its heart.

Voila. A cereal killer. Of course, the knife is just a prop.

Next up is the ever-controversial candy corn. There is no middle ground when it comes to this.

The way I see it, candy corn is the Halloween version of eggnog. You either love it or hate it. No man’s land does not exist when it comes to this sweet.

Fans say that candy corn is a Halloween must-have. I mean, it’s a classic after all! The orange, yellow and white colors are a fall staple.

But critics call candy corn the equivalent of edible wax. While I don’t agree with this bold statement, they make a good point.

Regardless of your stance on the issue, you may lose a few friends over this debate.

Like I said earlier, Halloween was never a big holiday in my house. However, carving pumpkins into cool jack-o’-lanterns was a always a hit with my family.

Pumpkin carving is my personal favorite because you end up with cute pumpkin decorations. Some might look a little wonky, but it just adds personality.

But, as with anything we do, my family always turns pumpkin carving into a competition.

After all of our pumpkins are transformed into works of art, we hold an anonymous judging. The winner earns bragging rights until the next fall.

So this Halloween, whether you munch on candy corn, carve up a pumpkin or become a pro athlete, keep the best part about this holiday in the back of your mind: it means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner for us.

Pumpkin spice: Defending fall’s most controversial flavor combo

BY SARA PATTERSON News Editor

What’s the first flavor you think of when you hear the word “fall?”

I know you thought pumpkin spice. This controversial flavor has become a cultural icon for fall in the last few years, and rightly so.

From my personal experience, I remember pumpkin spice reaching its peak popularity in the late 2010s. For current college students, this was around the time we were middle school preteens. What was everyone discovering in middle school? Coffee.

It’s no secret that Starbucks made specialty coffee popular. Their seasonal drinks like the Peppermint Mocha, the Caramel Brulee Latte and the Pumpkin Spice Latte particularly skyrocketed among the tween population, which was us.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes, notoriously abbreviated PSL, were the drink with the most buzz.

However, there is an overwhelmingly large coalition

of pumpkin spice haters that has grown in recent years. We all know that haters are motivators, so the smack-talk really just helps to create buzz and boost sales as more people grow curious and decide to try a PSL or other pumpkin spiceflavored item.

In September of last year, CNBC reported that 424 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes were sold. An article

by SmartBrief found that 66% of Americans say they have one to three pumpkin spice products per week in the fall. Statistically speaking, we pumpkin spice lovers cannot get enough of this stuff.

We posted a poll on our Instagram, and around 57% of participants think pumpkin spice is overrated. I understand the frustration these people have, but I think they are taking it out on the wrong victim.

While it’s nearly impossible for me, being the pumpkin spice enthusiast that I am, to understand their opinion, I have come to the conclusion that it isn’t the pumpkin

spice flavor or even the concept that these haters despise.

It’s the hype. But I don’t think it’s fair to despise the hype and then draw the conclusion that pumpkin spice is overrated.

This delicious combination of spices never asked for the hype.

The immaculate autumnal flavor did not ask every snack company in the world to choose it for their next promotion. It’s not pumpkin spice’s fault!

Pumpkin spice has saturated the edible market because people find it comforting. If something as simple and harmless as a spice blend makes someone feel a little more at ease, I say let ‘em have it.

We could all use a little bit more of the warmth that pumpkin spice offers, and maybe that’s what the haters are missing.

Pumpkin spice is one of those special flavors that brings us back to fond fall memories when we taste it. Both its culinary and commercial success and personal sentimentality are undeniable.

sports

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Ouachita athletes find comfort in superstitions

BY MACKENZIE HALL Staff Writer

Jud Arrington (top) and Michael Soisson (bottom) have played on different teams during baseball’s Fall World Series. Both are freshmen, and both have superstitions that they believe make them successful baseball players. (photos by Caity Hatchett)

Superstition is a noun defined by Oxford Languages dictionary as “a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief.” However, there is something to superstitions. They bring a sense of control and comfort.

Superstitions are often associated with athletes. Their pre-game rituals can range from wearing their socks inside out to rubbing dirt on their hands to even drinking their own urine, as supposedly done by mixed martial arts fighter Lyoto Machida.

Freshman baseball player Jud Arrington says his game day starts by wearing the same sliding shorts and never listening to artist Lil Uzi. This ritual started back in high school during a playoff game.

However, Arrington does not think his superstitions contribute to his performance.

“I’m a creature of habit type of guy,” Arrington said. “I like to feel good when I play so that I am comfortable on the field. Every time I do my ritual, I feel more comfortable.”

His teammate, freshman pitcher Michael Soisson, feels differently about his own ritual. Soisson has to wear the same undershirt and underwear for every game. Unlike Arringotn, he attributes the success of his team to his pre-game ritual.

“I think I have these superstitions because I play better and then the team plays better,” Soisson said. “The times I don’t wear them, we lose.”

Sophomore softball player Heather Brown also believes her

rituals work. Before a game, Brown never steps on the chalk. Right before she steps up to the plate to take her first swing, she draws a cross in the dirt to remind herself to lead by example.

“If one way works out for me over a period of time, then I stick to that routine and it will become my comfort zone,” Brown said. “If something happens where I can’t follow my routine, then I feel unrelaxed and anxious, and that normally causes me to do badly. We have superstitions because they are our comfort zones.”

Bethany LaTurno, sophomore volleyball player, always bounces the ball three times before she serves. This superstition started when she was playing club volleyball. LaTurno says this represents the “I’m Third” lifestyle.

“Living ‘I’m Third’ means putting God first, others second and myself third,” LaTurno said.

“Bouncing the ball three times is more of a reminder to live like that and refocus why I play volleyball.”

LaTurno believes her ritual does work and points to her statistics as proof. Her ritual has also led to more than a few crazy wins for her teams.

“I served a whole set once, winning 25-0,” LaTurno said. “Not once did I miss a serve or lose my streak during that set.”

Could it just be luck or do these rituals actually contribute to the success of Ouachita athletes?

Some of these rituals are linked to superstitons regarding the athletes’s performances. Some are just regular habits that make these athletes more confident in their sport.

Regardless, these rituals make Ouachita athletes feel comfortable and help clear their minds, allowing for a successful performance.