O UAC H I TA
B A P T I S T
U N I V E R S I T Y
SINCE 1890
the
SIGNAL
04.27.18
Vol. 126, Issue 22
FEATURES | 3
A WEEKEND AT CAMP Backyard Bible Club’s Camp Wamp ministry
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Carl Goodson Honors Program presents Scholars Day By ANNI WILLIAMS
Staff writer The Carl Goodson Honors Program hosted the annual Scholars Day event in venues across campus last Wednesday, April 25. Students of all disciplines showcased their research and academic work to fellow students and faculty through their presentations throughout the day. “It celebrates academic achievement in every discipline,” said Honors director Dr. Barbara Pemberton. Scholars Day gives students the opportunity to see what their friends have been doing all year, and gives professors the opportunity to see what their students and colleagues have been researching, according to Pemberton. Scholars Day also gives students an opportunity to practice presenting their work before they do it in a professional setting. “This is just like a professional setting, this is good practice for them,” Pemberton said. The students presented their research in many different locations across campus. Science posters were presented in Walker Conference Center. The theatre arts showcase was held in Verser
A STUDENT at Scholars Day presents her research poster. Students from every school and many areas of study presented research projects or theses during Scholars Day.
Theater. The art exhibit and two art presentations were held in Moses Provine. Honors theses were presented in Walker, Young Auditorium and Hickingbotham Hall. Presentations were held in McClellan, including several group presentations and a poster exhibit in the McClellan Rotunda. Presenting an Honors theses is also a requirement to graduate from the Honors program. “The theses must be presented at Scholars Day and so it’s a huge milestone for our seniors,” Pemberton said. “We are very proud to
have had 38 theses presented this year, more than we have ever had in the program. We even had two that were Skyped from students who are off campus now.” “Not only did over 270 students participate, of the 270 that participated, many of those are members of the Carl Goodson Honors Program, who were in charge of setting up, hosting and moderating the various rooms,” Pemberton said. “(Scholars Day) is the big event that Honors puts on.” “All the presentations were recommended by professors,
and that says a lot,” Pemberton said. “Much of it has already been award winning at other venues. So, there is absolutely excellent work.” Many across the OBU campus came together to help with the event. The refreshments for the day were furnished by the president’s office. Professors also helped with the event. Above all, the Honors program’s officers were the ones who pulled the day’s events together. “Really it was the leadership of the Honors program that helped,” Pemberton said. “They deserve
much credit.” In particular, Pemberton recognized the efforts of Mary Grace Hill, who “worked above and beyond on every part of it, from the program to the setting up. She’s an officer of the program and has really stepped up above and beyond her position as leader.” Scholars Day was an excellent display of the academic success at Ouachita across all disciplines. Pemberton echoed the sentiment of many as she said, “I could not be more proud of our whole OBU campus.” n
Theatre Department to Bands to stage PRISM concert in present One Act Plays Jones Performing Arts Center By MALLORY MORRIS Staff writer
Ouachita’s Theatre Department will present One Acts May 3-4 on the Verser Theatre stage. Everyone who would like to attend is welcomed by the theatre department. “One Acts are spread across two nights, and three directors present their shows each night,” explained Anna Darr, a senior musical theatre major who will be directing one of this year’s shows. Seniors are given the opportunity to direct a show as a part of their final for the Directing class. Directing a One Act enables students to showcase their own sense of creativity as well as gain important leadership skills. The students directing this year’s One Acts include Darr, Hannah Hines, Mackenzie Holtsclaw, Cody Walls and Michael Pere. “I really enjoyed being able to create a fun new world that my show lives in,” said Darr. “Trying to find the pieces that the playwright left within their writing allows for the directors to make their own choices in those moments. It is very exciting, it’s like putting together a sort of elaborate puzzle.” A good deal of thought and preparation goes into creating the ideas for a One Act. Then, once the layout for a play is determined, rehearsals begin.
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“My cast meets three to four hours a week for rehearsals,” Darr said. “Outside of rehearsals, they are expected to memorize their lines, which can take weeks. The directors are expected to do a lot of prep work for each of the rehearsal times. We’re all part of the Directing class that meets twice a week to discuss how to be a good director, directing techniques and how to get feedback from our peers.” Darr enthusiastically explained her own show, saying, ”it is a story about a boy and a girl, who represent all humans that have ever been in a relationship. It brings attention to how mechanical and arbitrary the courting process can be, while also showing how magical and personal each relationship is.” Hannah Earls, who will be starring in Darr’s show, described her favorite aspect of the One Acts, saying, “I like that the show is so small. You can goof off and have fun, but you are still able to get things done at the same time.” One Acts help their student directors to gain practical experience, but they are also beneficial for those outside the department. “It’s a great opportunity to get the whole campus involved in a different form of theatre,” Darr said. “We often get nontheatre majors who get cast in roles, and they seem to walk see One Acts z 2
By VICTORIA ANDERSON Staff writer The combined band and steel bands will perform PRISM in the Jones Performing Arts Center on Monday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. PRISM is a free concert that surrounds the audience and uses lighting as an integral part of the performance. “The reason it is called PRISM is that as light passes through a prism it produces different colors, so we will use light cues to show the different ‘colors’ of our instrumental program,” said Dr. Craig Hamilton, director of bands. “It is a wonderful way of showcasing our instrumental ensembles and our wonderfully talented students and faculty.” PRISM is different from other concerts in that it does not break between songs for applause. As soon as one ensemble completes a piece, the light shifts to illuminate a different ensemble that immediately starts performing the next piece. The directors of the ensembles include Hamilton, Mrs. Kristin Grant, Dr. Caroline Taylor, Dr. Heather Thayer, Mr. Geoff Durbin, Mr. Adam Davis and Mr. Nevada Mills. Ensembles have been rehearsing for most of the semester, both during and outside of class times. Abby Tipps, a senior percussion performance major from Sulphur Springs, Texas, is
OUACHITA’S WIND Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Craig Hamilton, stands for applause at a concert earlier in the semester. They will perform in Monday’s PRISM concert.
performing with the Wind Ensemble, Combined Bands, Saxophone Ensemble, Saxophone Quartet and Flute Choir and has practiced 10 hours a week for the past month. Ensembles will perform a variety of pieces, so there will be a song for each member of the audience to enjoy. “My favorite piece that I’m performing in has to be ‘Blue Burn’ with the Percussion Ensemble,” said Jonathan Miles, a sophomore physics major with a double minor in music and math from Arkadelphia. “It’s an exciting, diverse piece that really shows the dimensions of what percussion is, from quiet shakers, to fast rhythms on bongos and bass drums.” There will also be an ar-
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rangement of “Hymn of Axiom” for the saxophone ensemble. “It’s not the typical style of music you expect to hear from a large saxophone group. It leaves the listener wanting more,” said Sierra Westberg, a junior instrumental music education major from Arkadelphia. Sarah Coles, a senior accounting and finance double major from Van Buren, has two pieces she is looking forward to performing. “One is ‘Dance of the New World’ by Dana Wilson and will be performed by the Wind Ensemble,” Coles said. “It is very challenging and is different than what the Wind Ensemble usually plays. My other favorite piece is see PRISM z 2
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