OBU Signal - Nov. 15, 2012

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Volume 121, Issue 10

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Elrod Center brings Thanksgiving to those in need

By NOAH HUTCHINSON Staff Writer

stimulating but it will also be visually engaging for the audience. The scene is a haunted forest in Germany, employing the familiar fairy tale characters: Hansel, Gretel, Peter, Gertrude, the Sandman, the Dew Fairy and the Gingerbread Witch.

Joey Licklider, the technical director, along with the other directors and crew members, helped to make the props, which include dramatic backdrops shipped in from an out

Arriving at Walmart in time to watch the best Black Friday fistfights, standing idly by as out of place Christmas decorations slowly choke out the few surviving pumpkins and scarecrows like cheery little weeds or drifting away into a sweet, sweet food induced coma as a football game roars in the background. This is Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for some people it will just be another normal day. However, the Elrod Center for Family and Community aims to change that.

Ouachita students will be bringing baskets of food to those less fortunate just in time for Thanksgiving this year.

“We’ve been providing baskets of food to needy families in the area for seven years now,” said Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center. “Lighthouse Ministries supplies most of the names of individuals and families that will receive the baskets. They are very connected to the families in this community who need help. We also receive names from an elementary school counselor, the director of adult education in town and then the students who work with Big Brother/Big Sister.”

An endeavor like this

see OPERA z 2

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Tyler Rosenthal z The Signal Students in the cast of “Hansel and Gretel” perform on stage in an opera rendition of Englebert Humperdink’s original play. See backpage for additional photos from dress rehearsal.

Theater presents ‘Hansel and Gretel’ opera

By TAYLOR TOMLINSON Staff Writer

Ouachita‘s School of Fine Arts will present Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” as an opera on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and again on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Jones Preforming Arts Center.

The performance is a rendition of the Brothers Grimm fairytale with more elements than the original play. Meredith Martin, a junior music education major who plays the

part of Hansel in the Thursday and Saturday showings, says the play will incorporate three acts, all including the sounds of opera, and will be about an hour and a half long.

While the department puts on an opera production every fall, for some this genre may still be new and unfamiliar, making prospective audience members timid. According to Ashley Bundy, a junior vocal performance major who plays the part of the Dew Fairy in the Friday and Sunday productions, “some of the past

productions have even been in different languages, such as Italian.”

Even though this drama was originally written in German, all fears can be put to rest. Jon Secrest, musical director of the opera, wrote in the university press release, “Even for those who have never been to an opera, they will be able to experience an opera that isn’t beyond their reach, as it will be in English, easy to follow and fun to enjoy.”

The performance will be more than just musically

Refuge: Learning to lead worship

New fire station designed as source of pride for city

By MOLLY TURNER Staff Writer

Arkadelphia is in the process of a growing and changing to help bring new life to the community. Driving down Caddo Street, the casual observer will notice the newly renovated fire station.

Fire Chief Ricky Arnold, who has been working in Arkadelphia at the station since 1989 and was promoted to chief in 2004, said that the station was originally built in the 1950s and was a tight fit for the equipment and firefighters. Arnold said they began talk of this renovation in 2008 and the first plans were made in 2010.

“The board, along with everyone else, decided it was time [for a new station],” he said.

The city advertised for architectural firms for the designing of the new station and after scouting around, Twin Rivers Architecture was chosen. Twin Rivers is located on South 7th Street in Arkadelphia and has designed three other fire stations including those in Amity and Friendship, Ark. “The old one was outdated,” said Jerry Simmons, the

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

By RYLEIGH SALMON Special to the Signal

architect who designed the new station. “[It] had been added on to an older building that was originally a hospital. The new fire station has a modern design so all their equipment will fit inside: the new ladder truck, the emergency rescue equipment and their four fire trucks.”

After going over budget and having to rebid, plans were finally approved in 2011. Construction started in December of 2011 and was completed this fall, a little less than a year later.

Arnold said he is very happy with the end result of the architect’s design.

“It was scary how close he hit what I was looking for,” he said.

The new fire station not only is a safer and an easier place for the firefighters to maneuver. It is also more economically efficient. According to Arnold, the old station’s monthly utility bills were causing major problems. The new station hopes to cut down these bills with the new design, which incorporates updates such as a new heating and cooling system for the building.

Another feature of the new station is the heated floors in see FIRE STATION z 2

Every Thursday at 9 p.m., students from both Ouachita and Henderson gather at Second Baptist Church for Refuge, a worship service for students by students.

The band plays a few songs, the speaker talks for about 20 minutes and then a few more songs are played to round out the service. The whole thing only lasts about an hour. But there’s much more to it than singing and listening to a sermon. What most students don’t know is how much time and effort the band puts into Refuge to make each week possible.

The leader of the band this year is Noah James, a senior Christian studies and philosophy double major. For the record, Mitchell is his last name, not James. “My whole life everybody’s called me Noah James like it is one name,” he said. “It just has a better ring to it than Noah James Mitchell. It is my name, just my middle name.”

Since his freshman year, James has been flexing his musical muscles on- and offcampus. He co-led Refuge with Jarrett Davis, played numerous coffee houses, sung in chapel and recently played a

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show with Derek Webb in Little Rock. Last semester, after leading Refuge a few times, James Taylor, director of campus ministries, asked him to lead.

Refuge is “a lot more work that I thought it would be,” James said. “It’s really like a part-time job with the amount of time that goes into it. It’s like if you led a service at a church once a week.”

Before Thursday rehearsals take place, James has the re-

TIGERS OPEN HOME SEASONS

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New Yorker publishes Curlin poem in July issue

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Leader in training

shop will be serving a variety of pastries and juices. Officially called the Library Café, the old coffeehouse was referred to as Starbucks by the majority of students because of the brand of coffee they sold.

“The Starbucks connection

Haney attends Institute in D.C.,

FEATURES, P. 4 Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012

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Volume 121, Issue 5

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Staff Writer

There are many questions students face when entering college and even more as they begin the voyage into the “real world.” What am I doing, where am I going and how do I get there? Where do my priorities lie and what will happen if I can’t do it all? Before getting too bogged down, students can rest assured that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Career Services is available as a launching point for every Ouachita student, no matter their classification.

Whether you are an upperclassman preparing for your life ahead or a freshman that doesn’t know where to begin, you are not on this journey alone. Career Services is an organization at Ouachita whose main goal is equipping students with the answers, opportunities and connections needed to succeed both on campus and off. It’s never too early to start taking advantage of all that Career Services has to offer.

“I really hope that more people will get involved with Career Services as a freshman or a sophomore,” said Aly Smith, a sophomore Mass Communications major, “be-

Tiger Tunes 2012

Dr. Jack’s legacy inspires sense of school pride

By NOAH HUTCHINSON

JOEY LICKLIDER

By KATHLEEN SUIT

E

The fact that there is a new coffee shop on campus is old news. However, just reading the name or looking at the logo, the significance might

Volume 121, Issue 2

Career Services offers students variety of tools, resources

News Editor

Photo courtesy of Dr. Barbara Pemberton.

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On Jul. 30, 2012, Dr. Jay Curlin, professor of English, had a poem featured in The New Yorker. Curlin never submitted the poem, but after a remarkable set of circumstances, The New Yorker’s poetry editor, Paul Muldoon, contacted Curlin and asked him whether he might publish it in the magazine. The poem, entitled “Evidence of Things Not Seen,” was written in the fall of 2010 to feature

By Tanner Ward two words that appeared in the Editor-in-Chief Daily Word Game utilized by ight students and two professors got what will professors to enhance students’ probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in vocabulary. The words were May. They, along with a community member, were “Higgs-Boson,” the legendary granted an almost unheard of invitation to tour god particle and “hirsute,” a Saudi Arabia, a country typically closed to tourism outword meaning hairy. The poside of religious purposes. em’s title is a reference to the Dr. Barbara Pemberton, associate professor of Christian Bible verse Hebrews 11:1. missions and one of the professors who attended, said “After a couple of years of the trip was the result of years of talks between herself, playing the daily word games, a tour company in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Arabian [Jay] would put [them] in his Nicole McPhate z The Signal embassy in thethe United Theofcertainty of the trip was in the reading in poems he STUDENTS ENJOY newStates. features Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse recentlyquizzes renovated Evans Student Center. The first president’s unknown evenhelp to the last minute. wrote that he called lexical iconic mutton chops to reinforce the sense of school heritage among students.

Saudi Arabia, traditionally shy of tourism, invites student group for visit

PREPPING THE STAGE:

FEATURES, P. 4

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By Sam CuShman

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I will read the passage and pray and just hang out with my guitar for a while...trying to find songs that fit with the message and make sense together.

— Noah James

THIS WEEK AT OBUSIGNAL.COM O U A C H I T A

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Ryleigh Salmon z Courtesy REFUGE BAND members perform a live worship service every Thursday night, usually at Second Baptist Church in Arkadelphia.

son, vice president of communications. “He was elected president in 1886 at age 29 and was responsible for recruiting students, hiring faculty and developing the Arkadelphia campus.”

As Ouachita’s first presi-

is important to have a reminder of where the school came from and the people who had a hand in making OBU what it is today.”

Dr. Jack stands out as a symbol for Ouachita and is more

of it’s founding Hosts/Hostessesthanp. just 2 one • Tunes Effects on Clubs p. 3 • Tunescast 2012 p. 3 • Joey Licklider p. 4

The complete print edition in a new interactive format. Now compatible with iPhone/iPad.

sponsibility of choosing songs for the service.

“I talk with the speakers about the passages they’re preaching on,” James said. “I will read the passage and pray and just hang out with my guitar for a while. It’s a combination of me sitting down with a passage and trying to find songs that fit with the message and make sense together musically.”

Once James has sent his set see BAND z 3

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this week zCALENDAR HANSEL & GRETEL Opera opens tonight at 7:30 p.m. and will also have shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact: Jon Secrest at secrestj@obu.edu

OPERA

z Continued from Page 1 side company and other major set pieces.

According to Bundy, the costumes were professionally rented from a company in New York called The Costumer. She said they have used this company in the past, the main appeal being that, “it makes the performance more professional.”

The cast will be split into two separate groups: one for the Thursday and Saturday performance, and a separate cast for the Friday and Sunday showing.

In the press release, Dr. Glenda Secrest, stage director of the opera, said that “double casting is highly unusual and that working with two completely different casts has its

REFUGE will be held tonight at Second Baptist Church from 9-10 p.m. For more information, contact: James Taylor at taylorja@obu.edu.

THANKSGIVING BASKET delivery put on by the Elrod Center would like volunteers to help Monday, Nov. 19 from 1-7 p.m. For more information, contact: Judy Duvall at duvallj@obu. edu

CLIMBING TRIP for Outdoor Rec will be going to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch from Nov. 16-18. The cost of the trip is $20. For more information, Derek Campbell at cam50069@obu.edu

“NO TALENT SHOW” put on by Chi Rho Phi will be from 8- 10 p.m. at Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse on Monday, Nov. 19. For more information, contact: Grace Hevron at hev51335@obu.edu

challenges.” The advantage of double casting is that it allows more students the opportunity to gain experience and to participate and perform in the show.

The cast and crew have been preparing for the performance all school year. In fact, auditions for the opera began last May, and according to Secrest, “students learned their respective roles during the summer and came back to rehearsals this fall.”

The students involved in the opera also registered in a class, where they could work on perfecting the final product. The class meets from 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursdays. Once October began, the members added practice times, meeting every night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

The amount of time put into practicing and preparing for the shows has left cast and crew members excited for the upcoming weekend.

“This particular opera is my absolute favorite out of all the other shows we have done since my freshman year here at Ouachita. This show is just so much fun to perform and watch that I am sure everyone who comes to see it will thoroughly enjoy it!” said Victoria Mantooth, a junior vocal performance major who plays the part of Hansel in the Friday and Sunday showings.

Current Ouachita students can receive one free ticket with their student IDs; if you are not a Ouachita student, tickets can be purchased for $10 at the box office, or online at www. obu.edu/boxoffice. For more information about the opera, contact Jon Secrest. n

BASKETS

z Continued from Page 1 doesn’t just get off the ground by itself. The program relies on the efforts of volunteers around campus to get the job done.

“An email is sent out around campus asking students, faculty and staff to consider getting involved,” Duvall said. “Participants can buy food, assemble the baskets or bake bread or dessert items to be delivered to the recipients on the Monday before Thanksgiving.”

Any effort at all helps the cause. Those organizing the event, as well as the people re-

LIVE MUSIC at Dr. Jack’s will take place tomorrow afternoon at 12:15 p.m. For more information, contact: Tim Harrell at harrellt@obu.edu.

Lara Overman z The Signal DYLAN HANEY packs a Thanksgiving gift basket for a family in need.

ceiving the baskets, are grateful for any and all donations.

“A lot of students get involved by simply donating canned foods or helping assemble the baskets,” said Kate Collins, junior biology major

and cochair of this year’s effort. “Lots of social clubs and other organizations help out by volunteering to buy food items or just volunteering their time. In my case, I volunteered a few days last year and then

FIRE STATION the bays where the fire trucks are housed. The bays must stay a certain temperature to make sure the water in the trucks doesn’t freeze. Simmons said the heated floors will help maintain these temperatures at a lower cost.

The building of the new station was not only necessary to cut energy costs but also to create more adequate living conditions and a safer environment for the firefighters.

According to Arnold, the barracks are nicer and more centrally located, a fitness center was added in addition to a training facility for the volunteers. This will help the firefighters have a more professional atmosphere and a nicer facility to use for training pur-

poses.

Arnold said that there are many other simple updates that make this building a significant improvement.

The new lobby, secure doors throughout the building and the technological advances all serve to create a more efficient way of getting to fire emergencies quicker, he said.

The fire station, in total a $1.1 million project, is another step in the revitalization of Arkadelphia. Simmons said it creates a positive statement on the city and was designed as something the city and community members could be proud of.

“Every time I pull up to 6th and Caddo street, I just smile,” Arnold said.

For more information about the fire station or other revitalization efforts, visist www. cityofarkadelphia.com. n

was asked to help organize it this year.”

Those involved in this effort to bring Thanksgiving surely get that warm, giving feeling out of the experience, but the driving force behind it is the people who will have food on the table because of it.

“The volunteers wait and call the families right before the baskets are delivered,” Duvall said. “The food is a surprise, and we often times get tears. A lot of them ask how we knew that they needed the food. I try to encourage the recipients by telling them that the food is a gift to help them through their hard time, and project hope by to help out another family in

return whenever they get back on their feet.”

Those who organize the event believe it is only right to share their abundance. Helping these people only reminds them to be that much more thankful for what they have.

“The basket of food is just one big meal for the family who receives it,” Duvall said. “It doesn’t come with the promise of a job or good health. However, this one big meal at a holiday does more than provide food. It’s a way to remind these families that they’re not forgotten and that there are people who care in this community. It brings joy and hope into their lives.” n

z Continued from Page 1

nation & world news n 3

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

NEWS BRIEFS n Thirty second recaps of the biggest stories of the week.

NATIONAL ― A petition to have

New Jersey secede from the United States had more than 10,000 supporters on the White House’s “We the People” website Tuesday afternoon. The White House promised when the site was created to provide responses to petitions that get at least 25,000 signatures during a 30-day period. The petition is one of more than a dozen to appear on the site after last week’s election, and does not give reasons beyond quoting the passage from the Declaration of Independence that says government derives its power from the consent of the governed, and the people have a right to “alter or abolish” a government that “becomes destructive of these ends.” That is the passage quoted on most other states’ petitions. The New Jersey petition appears to have been cut-and-pasted so quickly, however, the passage ends in the middle of the word “destructive.” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s office said he does not support secession. n

WORLD ― As deadly fighting con-

tinues in Syria, Arab and European leaders urge the newly united opposition to seek broader support after it was officially recognized by the Gulf Cooperation council. The leader of the opposition called on European leaders to recognize the opposition as the legitimate government of Syria and provide it with funds to buy the weapons and supplies it needs to overthrow the current president, Bashar al-Assad.

Britain and France set further conditions for rallying support inside Syria before they grant full recognition to the opposition. Like the United States, Europeans have been showing reluctance to arm rebel forces that include anti-Western Islamic militants. So far it has been estimated that the civil war in Syria has been the cause of the deaths of almost 50,000 people and according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, it has displaced around 2.5 million Syrian citizens as refugees. n

HEALTH ― Scott Routley, a Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able to communicate to scientists that he is not in any pain.

Routley was asked questions while having his brain activity scanned in an MRI machine. The results showed measured cognitive activity that demonstrated a relevant response to the questions. Routley’s parents say they always thought he was conscious and could communicate by lifting a thumb or moving his eyes. But medical staff have never accepted this. Routley’s neurologist says he was impressed and amazed that Routley showed cognitive responses. He said that Routley had the clinical picture of a vegetative patient and showed no spontaneous movements that looked meaningful.

This is the first time an uncommunicative, brain-injured patient was able to give clinically relevant answers. Routley’s doctor said medical textbooks would be rewritten.n

SCIENCE ― Scientists at Duke Uni-

versity’s Pratt School of Engineering have made a giant leap toward creating an invisibility cloak. By guiding light around a cylinder, they developed a new approach towards invisibility where others have failed before.

Although the materials required are expensive, inflexible and the only invisibility they achieve is partial to only one direction and at wavelengths not visible to the human eye, throwing a Harry Potter cloak out of the picture, the results of their research efforts constitutes a six year breakthrough.

Their cloaking concept involves bending light around an object so that what people see, in place of what is no longer seen, is actually a reflection of what lies behind that object. Much of their research has military and defense applications and focuses on the creation of platforms to make tanks, planes, helicopters and light tactical vehicles invisible on certain wavelengths such as infrared and radar. n

Compiled by Sam Cushman. voanews.com, khajeeltimes.com, ifrc.org, foxnews.com, bbc.co.uk, northjersey.com

Israel declares war on Hamas through Twitter

By SAM CUSHMAN News Editor

@SamuelCushman Shortly after Israeli forces killed the commander of the Hamas military wing in one of more than 20 precision airstrikes, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) took to social media to declare war on Hamas, according to Fox News.

“The IDF has begun a widespread campaign on terror sites and operatives in the #Gaza Strip, chief among them #Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets,” the IDF tweeted yesterday.

“The first target, hit minutes ago, was Ahmd Al-Jabari, head

of the #Hamas military wing,” the IDF tweeted further.

Normally, the commencement of military action was decided by diplomats and announced over radio or TV broadcast. In this world of social media, however, the IDF released the tweet about the attacks before any official press conference took place.

The air strikes were a part of their retaliation to ongoing and renewed rocketfire from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. According to the IDF spokesperson, since the beginning of 2012, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip have fired 768 rockets into Israel.

The airstrikes, he said, were just the beginning of an opera-

tion called “Pillar of Defense.”

They targeted more than 20 facilities that served as storage or launching sites for rockets that hit as far as 25 miles into Israel.

Benyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said that Israel cannot tolerate continued rocketfire against its citizens.

After Israel successfully assassinated Al-Jabar, Netanyahu said Israel is “prepared to extend the operation.”

As of yet, Israeli ground forces, which include tanks and infantry, are currently on standby.

“All options are on the table,” the IDF spokesperson said. “If necessary, the [Israeli military] is ready to initiate a

ground operation in Gaza.”

In the wake of the airstrike, Hamas responded with threats of retaliation. Gaza Health Minister Dr. Mafeed Mkhallalati said a total of 10 people were killed, including Jabari, and 45 wounded. Of those 45, 10 are in critical condition.

Hamas announced a state of emergency in the territory. All of its security buildings were evacuated.

The IDF also utilized Twitter to post a video of the targeted assassination of Hamas’ military head by missile strike, which was confirmed as genuine by leaders in Hamas.

The assassination threatened to further damage Israel's relations with Egypt, which is

governed by Hamas' ideological counterpart, the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel in the wake of the Israeli airstrikes.

In a statement read on state TV late yesterday, spokesman Yasser Ali said that President Mohammed Morsi recalled the ambassador and asked the Arab League's Secretary General to convene an emergency ministerial meeting in the wake of the Gaza violence.

Twitter now teems with reports of more airstrikes and casualties. The IDF has continued to tweet updates about the ongoing offensive, including that the Israeli navy has now joined in the action. n

NATS competition offers experience performing, auditioning

By KELSEY LAMB Staff Writer

The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) is a three day singing competition that took place from Nov. 8 – 10 in Baton Rouge, La. on the Louisiana State University campus .

"It is a vocal competition that can be in your region or just in your state,” said MaryLacey Thomson, a junior musical theater major. “There are two main divisions that you can compete in, one being in the musical theater category, the other in classical."

Every semester Ouachita takes a group of music majors to this competition. This semester, a group of students that were taken to the competition ranged from vocal perfor-

REFUGE

z Continued from Page 1 list to the rest of the band, by Tuesday at the latest, they will practice throughout the week on their own.

“We definitely stress a lot on being prepared yourself before you show up on Thursday because we have such limited rehearsal time,” said Zach Zucha, drummer for the band and a senior business major.

For me, it’s been a huge training ground, to learn how to lead and to work with the band.

I can’t explain how much I’ve grown in leading through Refuge.

— Noah James

mance to musical theater majors. Their vocal teachers must attend the competition with them to be eligible to compete.

"During NATS, you basically have an audition every day.

You come to the competition with three songs prepared," sais Nicole Mattson, a junior musical theater major.

Each student worked to prepare his or her musical choices for the auditions. They collaborated with their vocal teachers and also practiced in front of their peers before going to the competition.

"I competed in the musical theater category, and sang ‘Not For the Life of Me’ from Thoroughly Modern Mille. The other selection that was chosen for me to sing was ‘I've Learned To Let Things Go’ from It's Only Life," said Thomson.

On the first day of NATS each contestant goes through their first round of auditions.

During this round, the contestant sings a song of their choice for the judges and then the judges choose one of the other two songs that they have prepared. Later that night, the contestant was notified if they were going to advance to the next level.

"My goal was to make it to semi-finals in the competition and I did. So I was pleased with how I performed," Mattson said.

On the second day, if the contestant made it to the next round, they would compete in the semi-finals. In the semifinals the contestant was only required to sing only one song for the judges. If you were to advance to the next round, you

auditioned the next morning.

"Afterwards, we were able to walk around the beautiful campus of LSU, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Baton Rouge," Thomson said.

The students did more than just compete while they were in Baton Rouge. They had the opportunity on Thursday night to go to a vocal recital that featured various teachers including our very own Margaret Garrett and Jon and Glenda Secrest. Also, on their down time, they were able to enjoy the amenities on the LSU campus and go eat at restaurants in downtown Baton Rouge.

"Not only was it a fun trip away from the normal routine I have at Ouachita, but it was a great performing and auditioning experience,” Thom-

“A lot of churches will have a Wednesday night rehearsal and another rehearsal Sunday morning before the service.

With us, it’s kind of a show-upand-do-it type deal.”

When Thursday arrives, the band gets to Second around 3 or 3:30 p.m. to begin setting up. They haul their own equipment and instruments with them, except for the speaker system. Once everything is in place, they do a sound check and rehearse from 5 to 8.

Before show time, the band meets in the little hallway beside the stage to pray. They pray for the service to go smoothly so there will be no distractions.

After a time of prayer “we all huddle up, put our hands in the middle, count to three and say whatever goofy thing one of us just came up with,” Zucha said. “So it goes from a serious prayer time to a bit of light-hearted fun right before we walk on stage.”

After Refuge is over, breakdown begins.

“We’re lucky if we’re done with the service at 10:30,” said Zucha. “It’s at least 11:15 or 11:30 by the time we’re done because we have to get everybody’s personal instruments out before we can start stage tear down.”

“It definitely consumes your Thursday,” Zucha added. “We all know that professors love to have tests on Friday and I come across that situation a lot. Sometimes that means late night studying Thursday. But I’m in a position where I feel called to serve through Refuge and it’s a sacrifice I have to make. Whatever I end up having to do, it’s definitely worth it.”

James also feels called to serve through Refuge.

“My goal for Refuge is just to lead people, train and grow musicians and grow myself,” he said. “We’re trying to create an environment where people are free to worship. From the sound guys to the slide person to the speakers to the people who attend, everyone is learn-

ing to grow and worship.”

For Zucha, leading in worship comes in a few different forms.

“A worship leader isn’t just someone who leads songs upfront. If you’re involved in a worship band, you’re a worship leader,” he said.

The band is in the process of adding new worship leaders.

“We’re bringing on new people and it will be awesome to see how they grow as players and worshippers,” James said.

“I just don’t want people to feel that Refuge and the band is this exclusive bunch of guys.

I would encourage anybody that feels like they want to be involved that they can. If you play an instrument, then audition on that sucker.

“For me, it’s been a huge training ground, to learn how to lead and to work with the band,” James added. “I can’t explain how much I’ve grown in leading through Refuge.”

After college, James will seek another opportunity to lead worship.

son said. “For the group as a whole, it was a great bonding time with peers in our similar majors. We are so fortunate to have such talented students at Ouachita, and typically our students always do well.”

Next year the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition will be held on Ouachita's campus. n

During NATS, you basically have an audition every day. You come to the competition with three songs prepared.

— Nicole Mattson “I want to pursue worship because I feel like that’s where the Lord is opening up opportunities right now,” he said. “I feel heavily called to pursue my own career, but there’s not much money in that either.”

However, his music career dreams are not entirely out of the picture.

“My primary goal is to tour with my original songs,” James added. “The originals I write are worshipful; they’re inspired from the Bible. The way we worship is changing and I think that’s cool because worship music, for a long time, has been behind the curve with actual music.” n

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4 n features Thursday, November 15, 2012

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#TowerPower Report by Emily Terry, Tanner Ward and Chelsea Byers.

Photos by Tyler Rosenthal.

#PrayForZack #ZT16 #TowerPower Chances are, if you are a Ouachita student and you use Twitter, you have seen one or a combination of these hashtags. You have been asked to pray for Zack. You might be one of the 2,511 people following @prayforzack on Twitter. Maybe you’re even one of the 15,093 to like “Prayers for Zack Towers” on Facebook.

O

n Thursday, Nov. 1, in Star City, tragedy struck.

It was the night that Zack Towers, brother of Ouachita quarterback Ty Towers, would be injured during his senior night high school football game, putting him into a coma that will have lasted almost 15 days by the time you are reading these words.

Ty Towers is a sophomore Business major from Star City.

Before the news of his brother’s injury this semester, he was making adjustments on the football field. Recently, Ty has been trying to change pace from playing wide receiver for the Tigers to helping to lead the field as second-string quarterback after injuries sustained

by Casey Cooper in game one and Benson Jordan in game four.

“In high school, I played quarterback for three years,” Ty said. “After Casey and Benson got hurt, we just didn’t have any other quarterbacks.

So I just kind of got thrown in there, but it’s nice being back in it.”

A little over a month after Jordan’s injury that would call Ty to the quarterback line of scrimmage, Ty would have another juggling ball thrown his way. He found out that his younger brother was unresponsive from a football injury during his senior night football game 89 miles away.

Almost overnight, through coverage from the media, social media and word of mouth, the popularity of Zack’s story skyrocketed.

“He has lots of friends. He’s a very likeable guy,” Ty said of Zack. “It being his senior year on senior night at a football game… It’s just a devastating

One of Zack’s doctors admitted, “there must be something to this prayer thing.” God is so good!!!

— Ty Towers

@__Towers7

injury. “ Ty says he and his family are extremely thankful for all of the encouragement and prayers that have already come their way.

“It’s made it easier. Obviously it’s tough still,” he said. “But I just want to say thank you to everyone. And just keep praying until he’s out of that bed.

I believe that’s what’s making him get better is all of the prayers.”

Ty recalls the overwhelming sight of walking into Ty’s room at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock with a sense of amazement and a trace of disbelief.

“There’s posters and cards and stuff everywhere. He has two big walls of windows and the windows are just covered in posters and blankets and footballs that other high schools have signed and brought up there,” Ty said. “It’s just crazy how much love he is getting, especially from some of our biggest rival teams. Even they have come up there and seen him. It’s pretty cool.”

In addition to being supported by rival teams and covered by news outlets across the country, Zach’s story has made its way to Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive tackle, Cedric Thornton, a Star City native.

“He said he was going to play for Zach and he wrote “ZT16” on his gloves and he asked his entire team to pray,” Ty said.

Taking it one step further, the entire Ouachita football team played for Zack at last weekend’s Battle of the Ravine game at Henderson State University, sporting Zack’s jersey number, 16, on all the player’s helmets.

The team’s measures of going above and beyond to support Zack were a surprise to Ty when he arrived at the locker room on game day.

“I asked if I could wear Zack’s jersey number, 16, instead of my number, which is seven. I had no idea they were going to put his name on the back or that we were all going to wear his number on the side of our helmets. That was a total surprise,” he said. “I don’t know how to describe it.

I was just honored that our en-

TY TOWERS.

tire team was going to play for him. They didn’t even know him until this happened. So for my entire team to come together and play for him… That was cool.”

Zack’s story of hope has brought more than just the Ouachita football team together. Ty’s parents say that friends and family that haven’t talked in years are talking to each other again because of everything that is happening.

“My dad says this is bigger than us. He says God is using Zack,” Ty said.

One of the most incredible ways God is using Zack is to bring others to Himself.

“There have been numerous people that have said they have been saved because of this,” Ty said. “He’s just impacted so many lives.”

In addition to impacting the lives of total strangers, these past two weeks have affected the way Ty values his day-today life and relationships.

“We hardly ever talked because he’s playing football, I’m playing football and we’re both going to school. We would text every now and then, but I hadn’t seen him in two months and now I’m thinking about how we haven’t talked,” Ty said. “It just teaches you that if you love someone, you need to tell them. That’s what it’s really shown me: to not take anything for granted.”

The Towers family is learning this lesson daily as they look for ways to constantly give praise back to God for every improvement Zack has made thus far.

“He was supposed to die the next night and he’s still here and it’s been two weeks,” Ty said. “My parents just called me and said he’s been taken off the ventilator and said he’s breathing on his own. That’s a huge deal. That, in and of itself, is a miracle. We’re just

seeing the power of God.” Over these past two weeks, Ty has been committed to spending time with Zack and his family at ACH. “I go up there at least every other day. Mom says I need to chill because I’m using a whole bunch of gas,” he said with a smile.

With football season over, Ty has been able to make more time to focus on Zack and his family.

“Doctors pretty much have given us no hope whatsoever, so it’s all strictly a God and a prayer thing right now,” he said. “Day by day, we are giving praise for every improvement he does make.”

Lucky for the Towers family, Zack has an excellent track record when it comes to making improvements in the face of serious medical turmoil. At just four months of age, Zack looked death in the eye and through the grace of God, lived to tell the tale.

“He has already beaten this type of thing once,” Ty said nonchalantly.

When he was just four months old, fluid mysteriously came onto Zack’s brain. After his grandma came for a visit and pointed out Zack’s head looked larger than normal, he was taken to the doctor and had a CAT scan.

After finding the large amount of fluid in his brain, a shunt was put in, but it wasn’t working properly. After trying to keep the shunt from getting clogged multiple times, the doctors told Zack’s parents there was nothing else they could do.

“My parents just took him home because they said he would either be a vegetable by the age of three or dead, pretty much,” Ty said. “A couple days after they brought him home, the fluid was gone, and it hasn’t come back since.”

ZACK TOWERS.

Ty says this is the reason his parents are so confident about Zack’s situation.

“They said they have already heard doctors telling us that he is going to die and there’s no hope. So, now they don’t put any worry into what the doctors say because they’ve already heard it once before,” he said.

Although doctors aren’t necessarily giving hope, they are beginning to realize something is different about Zack, and Ty believes they are seeing a higher power working through him.

“I think everyone just wants to see him win,” Ty said.

Zack’s neurologist told his mom of his minor improvements in motion and brain function, “It may be a one percent improvement, but if he improves one percent for 100 days, then that’s one hundred percent.”

Though Zack’s story and the fight by him and his supporters has already proved miraculous, Ty believes the effect of his brother has only just scratched the surface.

“It’s going to be a heck of a testimony,” he said, with a look of confidence in his eyes and an air of comfort and peace about him. With more than 17,000 supporters and countless prayers to date, he knows that God is in control. n

opinions n 5

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Consider the person before ‘throwing’ them out KATHLEEN SUIT Staff Writer

It is hard to imagine, when you find yourself lost in the crowd, that all the people around you are individuals. And as much as it appears to be, they are not just a horde of carbon copy droids fresh out of the cookie cutter. Take any one individual out of a crowd of millions and they become transformed from “the people” to a person; a person with a story. You find a person with a heart, dreams and uniqueness that only they could comprise.

I am reminded of the old story I was told as a child of a young man walking along a secluded ocean coastline early one summer morning. As he was peacefully strolling along, he happened upon a large black duffle bag full of rocks. Not thinking much of it, the young man picked up the bag of rocks and took it with him.

As many a young man would, he wanted to see how far into the ocean his arm could throw the rocks. So, he continued on his long walk and stopping here and there, he would pitch some of them as far as he could into the waves. Later in the day, the sandy scenery

began to turn rocky and the young man came to a spot with a large cliff that broke the water with every pounding wave. He pulled out one of the few stones he had left and chucked it onto the sharp boulders.

With the impact, his rock bust open into many pieces.

He saw that, though he could not tell from the outside, on the inside of the rock it was filled with rubies!

Surprised, and eager to see if the other rocks were the same, he bust the last of his stones as well. Sure enough, they were all filled with different kinds of rare, precious jewels. The young man became very excited at his finding, but as soon as the feeling came, it was gone.

The sound of a large wave crashing across the cliff made him realize what he had done. He turned and looked at the ocean and regretfully remembered that, not understanding their value, he had been tossing the rocks all day into the ocean. He could have taken home hundreds of precious stones, but instead, he had thrown them away.

Just like the young man, we encounter people every day without realizing the special qualities they have inside of them. We go through life and, whether consciously intending to or not, just throw people aside.

We may not mean to, we just don’t take the time to see the talents and uniqueness about them. And when we realize these things, we are surprised. Doris Lessing said, “Any human anywhere will blossom in a hun-

dred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.”

People are fascinating. One of my favorite parts about coming to Ouachita was the number of times we played the “Tell us something interesting about yourself” game (and it was a lot). I would have never guessed that one guy had 15 minutes of fame being on MTV’s “Made” or that one girl was a black belt in karate. By looking at that other guy, I would have never thought he was a rapper or ever that that other girl is a wicked awesome violinist.

No one person is exactly alike with all of the same gifts and qualities, and thank you, Lord, for that; for creating us in His image, but distinctively so. Unfortunately, a lot of the times when a person isn’t able to do what we need them to, we throw them out to the sea.

We don’t take the effort to figure out what it is that makes them special before we complete the disposal.

I don’t want to look back over my life with the regret of not looking to the core of people; of only noticing the surface of who they are and carelessly dismissing them.

Every one of us is born with talent, born with desires and born with some passion that burns in our heart. There is a light, a beauty, a precious jewel that shines within every person. Sometimes, we just haven’t found out what it is yet. n

Be a proper bro: how to attain ‘brotegrity’ NOAH HUTCHINSON Staff Writer

The Command BROst This weekend, my roommate wanted me to drive him out to a party, the location of which was nestled at the end of a dirt road. Considering I have a four wheel drive and he has the equivalent of a street legal go-cart, this made sense.

However, the sweet call of a big bed, delicious food and a high speed Internet connection got the better of me. I went home instead. I left my fellow man to scrape up a ride to the party from the nameless rabble that would be in attendance. I left my bro hanging.

I’m sure everybody has had one of these moments.

You can’t finish your half of the 33 inch pizza in the local food challenge, you die just before you get to the safe house in an intense game of “Left 4 Dead.” We’re only human, it’s bound to happen sometime, right?

One man, in the golden age of our species when the word man really meant something, surpassed this human standard. He even surpassed wookie standards for that matter, achieving a level of bro-

Ouachita Baptist University Office: Evans Student Center E-Mail: signal@obu.edu Phone: 870.245.5210 Tanner Ward z EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sam Cushman z NEWS EDITOR

Emily Terry

z FEATURES/SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Tarah Elliott

z OPINIONS EDITOR

Chelsea Byers z SPORTS EDITOR

Daniel Aylett z ONLINE EDITOR

Nicole McPhate z PHOTO EDITOR

Abbey Fowler

z ADVERTISING MANAGER

Dr. Jeff Root z ADVISER

Dr. Deborah Root z ADVISER

Ms. Tiffany Eurich z ONLINE ADVISER

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 are encouraged and accepted, unless libelous, irresponsible or obscene. Letters should be typed and include a signature and contact phone number. Letters 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.

take their place if they were wounded too badly to continue. Any guy that volunteered to be a second in a duel obviously had to be a loyal friend.

However, the first and second place for greatest best friend of all time go to the seconds participating in this particular duel. If their buddy was too slow or literally couldn’t shoot to save his life, they’d plummet to their death when their ballon got shot down.

I’d gladly take either of these guys to back me up in a duel if I were ever teleported back into the late 1800’s, but the title of Grand Bro-verlord goes to the guy who literally stuck it out with his buddy to the bitter end.

One of those guys stepped into a hot air ballon, loaded up a blunderbuss, handed it to their idiot friend and then sat there with him as their balloon got shot down and they met a relatively pointless demise.

His only motivation was friendship, and as sappy as that is, we could all learn something from it.

Next weekend, when your roommate asks if he can grab your last Hot Pocket when he doesn’t have time to make it to the caf, think of Sir Dropkick LaIronpecs (we can only assume that that was his name) before you scarf the carb-y tube of filth down for yourself.

If a Frenchman can die for the sake of having his bro’s back no matter the situation, you certainly have room for improvement. n

Freedom of speech not pertaining to voices of younger generation

would be turned away and there would be disciplinary actions taken. Shouldn’t we, as humans, have a right to say how we feel MATTIE BOGOSLAVSKY about our educators?

Staff Writer Another simple form can be found in censorship of books in schools. True, adult books should not be available in the library of any school teaching kids under Ever since the beginning of mankind, the age of 18. But taking away books such every young human has had an opinion. as “The Color Purple” from a high school It has also always been a major contro- campus is taking away a student’s opversial topic. If one minor feels a certain portunity to gain a perspective that they way about something, another “adult” is may not have had before. In my opinion, bound to be his or her polar opposite. every person building up to get a degree But, amongst all the clashing caused by in a certain area should be exposed to as young humans having opinions, the fact many perspectives as possible on as many that it could be taken away altogether topics as possible. “The Color Purple” had doesn’t really come to the forefront of the a profound effect on me, and someone else mind. We all just assume that it’s a right missed out on that because someone highto have an opinion on er up in the food anything we wish. Now, chain decided it this may be true, but But what the generations was unfit for our our right to speak our generation. opinion is slowly being before us have not real At one point taken away from us. ized yet is that the harder in time, even the The simplest example Harry Potter seof this can be found in they fight us, the harder ries was banned any common public we are going to fight from schools. or private classroom.

This was a horIf a child in elemen- back. rible injustice to tary school questions — Mattie Bogoslavsky kids everywhere. a teacher’s motives, or The pure depth “throws a temper tanof imagination trum,” they will more than likely be sent in that series portrayed by J.K. Rowling to the principal’s office. This is complete- should never be deprived from anyone ly understandable and considered good willing to read it. “parenting” (using the concept of en loco The most important right of all being parentis). Children need to learn respect taken away from us as youth is the right for their elders. to speak our mind. So many of the older However, if a child in high school were generations view our generation as still to, for example, write a well-informed ar- ignorant and child-like. To be fair, there ticle for the newspaper on how a teacher is definitely a large amount of ignorance or the principal isn’t living up to the stan- being spawned these days. Nonetheless, dards they should be in their workplace, it there is also a large amount of well-eduwould be considered defiance. The article cated youth who are interested in learning

“

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theSignal

tegrity higher than even that of Chewbaka himself.

Back in the day, when people solved their problems with flintlock pistols and insults that physically cannot be uttered while not wearing a top hat, two Frenchmen happened to be dating the same woman.

Completely ignoring the fact that she was already married and that neither of them was her husband, her two boy toys decided to fight to the death in order to decide who her heart truly belonged to.

Being Frenchmen, they decided that the only reasonable way to hold their duel would be to shoot at each other from hot air balloons floating over Paris, to show that they were “above the common man.”

On top of that, they wouldn’t be using run of the mill flintlock pistols.

Their weapon of choice would be the blunderbuss, the muzzle loaded grandaddy of all shotguns that could puncture steel plate armor and had a spread wide enough to kill anything within 180 degrees of where it was pointed.

This was supposed to leave things up to the law of the quick and the dead, being that they were trying to shoot down a balloon the size of a small house with one of the worlds biggest shotguns.

Neither of these men are the bro of all bros though.

The standard guidelines of dueling said that each combatant had to have a second, a person to back them up if the other party decided to cheat and to

all they can and becoming all that they can be.

In authoritarian households, or a household with a strict parenting style, high expectations from the parents and little communication between child and parent, a child’s opinion could never be taken into consideration. This utter lack of ability to exercise his or her rights could lead to psychological as well as social problems. This concept is also true outside of a household. If a child feels restricted in their right to speak their mind in a safe setting, such as school, they could continue to feel that way their entire life, especially in a stressful work setting.

It’s slightly different in college. Professors, parents, and adults in general are usually interested in hearing our side of the story. But in high school, I definitely felt as if my words were going in one ear and out the other.

For example, I wrote a persuasive essay on the legalization of medicinal marijuana my senior year for my oral communications class. I spent hours researching my topic and even longer trying to form my words in such a way that wouldn’t offend and would get my point across cleanly. I made many well-supported points and most of the class sided with my opinion.

However, the three teachers in the class at the time (all with completely differing personalities, I might add), put it aside as teen angst and found it necessary to tell me so.

“You are not entitled to your opinion.

You are entitled to your informed opinion,” said Harlan Ellison.

Sadly, he may eventually be right. Slowly but surely, our generation and generations who come after us are becoming more and more restricted. But what the generations before us have not realized yet is that the harder they fight us, the harder we are going to fight back. n

6 n sports

Thursday, November 15, 2012

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Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy OUACHITA TIGERS watch as their fellow teammates tear up the court against Champion Baptist University. The Tigers claimed a 108-43 victory in the decisive win on Monday.

Tigers start out strong in rankings and in play

By SAMANTHA GUERRA Staff Writer

With the Ouachita Tigers men’s basketball team ranked fourth out of nine teams in the pre-season Great American Conference poll, they seem to be gaining respect from coaches around the conference.

The season kicked off with their first exhibition game this past Thursday night. The Tigers took care of the Panthers of Philander-Smith College with a score of 114-101.

Trailing 54-53 at halftime the Tigers came back strong the second half putting up 61 points to take the win.

Ouachita’s Austin Mitchell led the Tigers offense scoring 32 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the floor. He also added on three assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Another player who came up big for the Tigers was Michael Morris, ending the game with a double-double 22 points and 15 rebounds and added four assists.

Other top performers for the Tigers Nigel Ramsey who had 16 points and five assists in the game.

Colt Fason, Micah Delph and Julian LaDay also contributed double digit scores with 10, 10, and 13 points a piece. The Tigers shot an overall 53.4 percent as a team.

In the Tiger’s second and final exhibition game on Tuesday, October 30th, the team traveled to Missouri to take on OBU Head Coach Dennis Nutt’s brother Coach Dickey

Nutt of the Southeast Missouri Redhawks.

The Tigers only trailed by two at halftime, but the Redhawks proved to be too much to handle taking the win 71-60.

Nigel Ramsey led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points and adding two assists and three rebounds.

Also in double digits was Michael Morris with 10 points and a game-high of four steals.

The Tiger’s defense had a strong showing by forcing 18 turnovers in the game and only having 12 themselves. Ouachita shot a solid 44 percent as a team from the floor in the game.

The Tigers opened up regular season play on November 9th against LaTourneau at home.

One word can be used to describe the Tiger’s performance, dominating.

Ouachita soundly beat the Yellowjackets of LeTourneau University by a score of 84-56.

The Tigers never trailed in the game after taking an early lead. Michael Morris had 19 of the Tigers 46 points after only 20 minutes of play.

Four players were in double digits for the Tigers with Michael Morris leading the way with 24. Micah Delph had a good performance with 16 points and four assists.

Other players in double digits for the Tigers were Austin Mitchell and Nigel Ramsey who put up 11 and 14 points.

The Tigers also dominated in rebounding, racking up 37 total boards in comparison to LeTourneau’s 25. n

Lady Tigers ready for another season

By TORI ABELLERA Staff Writer

Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy JOHN KORNET sinks a basket to gain another Ouachita point. The Tigers performed well against Champion Baptist University, with a decisive victory of 108-43.

Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy MONICA WILLIAMS shoots the ball for two more points. Williams scored 19 points in the Texas Women’s University game.

OBU Tigers Basketball Schedule

Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy OUACHITA LADY Tigers put up a fight against Texas Women’s, having only a one-point separation in the final score of 59-60.

The team of dedicated and talented young women is truly one to get excited about supporting.

The OBU Women’s Basketball team started their season on Nov. 13 in a game against Texas Women’s University in which the score was 59-60.

Every person in the crowd sat at the edge of their seat as Texas Women’s University scored in the last seconds of the game giving them just a one-point victory against the fierce Lady Tigers.

Junior Elise Holman, who scored 12 points for her team in the first game of the season, believes that while they are a “young” team, they have great potential to be successful this season.

“I think our focus and cohesiveness as a team will be vital to our success this year,” said Holman. “We have been working hard and the season is just starting. If we maintain that work ethic and desire for improvement, along with our current sense of camaraderie, I think we will be successful.”

The OBU Women’s Basketball team consists of 15 skilled players who have been learning that team chemistry will help them rise to the top.

The Lady Tigers have also realized that success comes from working hard on and off of the court. They have pushed toward their goal of being thoroughly prepared for this season.

“Every single practice has intensity and enthusiasm.

In our practices, we see improvement every single day,” said junior Nashia James.

The Lady Tigers are ready to show their strengths and leave it all on the court to represent their university. n

Women’s Basketball Schedule 11/19 Union University

Jessieville

5:00 PM

6:00 PM

11/24 Stillma

Cleveland

3:00 PM

OBU

7:30 PM

Southeastern Oklahoma St.

OBU

4:00 PM

11/29 East Central

OBU

5:30 PM

12/6/2012

Southern Arkansas

Magnolia, AR

7:30 PM

12/1 SE Ok. St.

OBU

2:00 PM

12/8/2012

Arkansas-Monticello

Monticello, AR

4:00 PM

12/18/2012 Texas A&M-Commerce

OBU

7:00 PM

12/29/2012 Tarleton State

Stephenville, TX

11/20/2012 Texas A&M-Commerce

Commerce, TX

7:00 PM

11/24/2012 Midwestern St.

OBU

11/29/2012 East Central 12/1/2012

12/6 Southern Arkansas Magnolia

5:30 PM

12/8 Ark-Monticello

2:00 PM

Monticello

12/1 TAMU-Commerce OBU

3:00 PM

sports n 7

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Dr. Wesley Kluck z Courtesy OUACHITA WRESTLERS pose for a team picture, proudly sporting their uniforms in their new facility. The wrestling team consists of twenty-eight talented athletes and their coaches.

Wrestling team sees growth and improvement in young program

By LAUREN SNOW Staff Writer

Jason Pullano z The Signal OUACHITA TIGERSHARKS began their season with a meet against school rival, Henderson State University. They were able to claim some first place victories, but could not fend off the Reddies for a win.

Ouachita Tigersharks dive into a new season

By HUNTER SOPER Staff Writer

The Ouachita Tigersharks season officially started October 19th when the swim team traveled across the ravine to take on the Red Wave of Henderson State.

OBU swam well and took first place in a few crucial races but it was not enough to win the overall meet.

Although they could not get the win it is still very early in the season and it is only a matter of time until they get into a rhythm.

Last Friday (Oct. 9-10) the Tigersharks made a trip to Bryant to take part in a two-day swim meet hosted by Henderson State University.

Both the men and women’s teams swam and competed well against swimmers from schools including UALR and Rhodes College.

The first OBU victory of the meet went to Freshman Rachel Ewart in the 400 Yard Individual Medley, when she out touched her nearest competitor by just 0.4 seconds, recording a time of 4:45.34.

The women continued to swim well, especially in the 200 Freestyle where Jennifer Steele, Elizabeth

Willis and Rebecca Zandstra left no room for the competition as they took first, second and third in that specific race.

The men also left their mark on that event with Senior Marcus Schlesinger taking first, putting together an impressive time of 1:43.04.

The rest of day one was filled with more OBU victories, including a one-two 50-yard butterfly finish

by Carl Thomas and Kenton Scott. Also, Ouachita claimed first place finishes in the 50-yard breaststroke for both Svitlana Smirnova and Jason Pullano.

The next and final day of the meet yielded similar and successful results for the Tigersharks which consisted of numerous first place finishes by both the men and the women.

Head Coach Ryan Killackey was pleased and encouraged with his teams overall performance and shared that, “while we came to compete like always, it was good to mix things up.”

OBU’s next meet will be at home, November 17th, against the Statesmen of Delta State, in which they hope to capitalize on the positives from their last meet. n

Tigersharks Swim Schedule 11/17 Delta State Arkadelphia

1:00 PM

11/29 UALR

TBA

Little Rock, AR

12/31 W Training Arkadelphia, AR

TBA

1/12 Delta State Cleveland, MS

1:00 PM

1/18 Okla. Baptist Shawnee, OK

5:00 PM

1/25 HSU

6:00 PM

Arkadelphia

OBU Wrestling Schedule

11/17 Lindenwood Open St. Charles, MO All Day 11/24 Oklahoma Open

Okla. City

All Day

11/27 Central Baptist

OBU

6:00 PM

12/1 Maryville Open

St. Louis, MO All Day

12/9 Jet Invitational

Wichita, KS

All Day

A continuous circle of improvements within the Ouachita Baptist Wrestling team began in 2010.

Starting off with a brand new program, the team had twenty-one freshmen and two transfer athletes.

Today they have grown to be a strong team of twentyeight men who are willing to work hard and strive to be one percent better every single day.

With the help of their new facilities and motivation to do well, the OBU wrestling team is definitely a growing organization to be proud of.

The growth of this program stems from the beautiful new Hatcher Complex that the wrestling team was generously awarded just last year. The main donor for this new complex was Greg Hatcher.

The team and Coach Ward are thrilled and thankful for the wonderful complex they have received.

Head Coach, Kevin Ward excitedly shares, “For us to have a very young program with the nicest facilities in the country is not lost on me.”

Sophomore Taylor Poe feels the new complex benefits the team and helps them grow as athletes.

“With all of the new equipment we have, it helps us take out a bunch of unnecessary running around and allows us to focus our time solely on getting better,” said Poe. Troy Mercer agrees that with the new facility, they can spend more time focusing on training.

Also for him, “The new wrestling complex benefits the team because we have state of the art equipment and other very convenient facilities.”

Clearly this organization is appreciative of their new resources and feels privileged to have the equipment, facilities, and space they are provided with.

“We are grateful for the generosity of Greg Hatcher, Dr. Horn, and David Sharp for their willingness to see our program flourish,” said Ward.

The wrestling team has only been at Ouachita for a short three years now, and with a new program, this team is starting to make traditions for themselves.

Mercer states that being a part of a new team has many perks but for him “getting to

partake in building traditions with his teammates” is just one example he is looking forward to.

For the team, this season will be the first year to actually see a senior come from the mat and graduate with three years of OBU wrestling experience behind him.

With a team of fairly young men and a program that is starting to get in the swing of things there are multiple benefits that are to be seen.

As the program ages, so do the athletes. Both the new wrestling team overall and members are advancing.

Having what some would call little experience and time would be discouraging

It makes us hungry to prove a point that we may be young, but we are as good as anybody else in the nation.

— Taylor Poe to some.

However, to the OBU wrestling team this stereotype of a new program is one of their major motivations.

“It makes us hungry to prove a point that we may be young, but we are as good as anybody else in the nation,” Poe firmly states.

Benefitting this young program is the amount of time to mature. With this, the team has shown already that they are ready to step up to the challenge even though they haven’t had as much time as their fellow competitors.

This shows great character from this group of guys to stand up and put all they have into this wrestling program.

Since the team is still growing there was a need for a rise in leadership when beginning. Overtime, there has been and continues to be many that have risen to this occasion.

Wrestling coach, Kevin Ward, feels even though they are still young there are a few men who are helping this team reach their goals.

“Now that there is some solid leadership amongst the team, I see them all motivating each other to do better for themselves and

the team as a whole,” Ward said.

When asked about his feelings towards being on a new team, Taylor Poe the 285 lbs. wrestler states, “We are young with the newer recruits but in a sense, to us returners, we don’t feel young, but we feel like the veterans of the teams who have to set the example for our younger teammates.”

With this, it proves the point of Ward’s exciting statement.

Although they may be new, they are still a wellrecognized team. “I think it’s an awesome credit to our hard work, but we are always striving to be better,” Poe exclaimed.

This year is an exciting season for this program because of their outside accomplishments. They have never had this level added to their plate.

Having the appreciation from the outside can be intimidating specially when starting off. But for these guys, each member is waiting for their chance to prove that they are the ones to watch on the mat.

With age being nothing but a number this team may have some new faces hit the mat.

“I don’t think age makes a difference in other people’s eyes except for the fact that they will be seeing a lot of familiar faces who wrestle hard for four years.”

Being well recognized this early and being “put on the map” as Mercer would say “is encouraging and motivating to our team and makes us strive to prove that even though we are starting up, we are a force to be reckoned with.”

It is not a common fact to see new programs, no matter the sport, do as well as this particular team. With barely any experience, the wrestling team constantly proves themselves day in and day out.

This team puts in numerous hours of work outs and not to mention the struggle and ability they have to cut down their weight and diet for their specific weight classes.

The Ouachita Baptist wrestling team has proven themselves that age is just a number. Although they may be a new program, that is not holding them back one bit from their competition.

They are going to begin their season on November 17th in St. Charles, MO. n

8 n backpage Thursday, November 15, 2012

www.obusignal.com

JOHN TNEOH

Hansel Photos andby TylGretel er Rosenthal.

DECARL JONES

HANNAH GARNER

VICTORIA MANTOOTH

SETH RUSSELL

JILLIAN TURNER AND RACHEL HARRIS

BEKAH ANTHONY