The Bison - Vol. 90, No. 1

September 5, 2014

Vol. 90, No. 2

@HUStudentPubs

April 25, 2014

Facebook: The Link

Vol. 89, No. 18

Searcy, Ark., 72149

Searcy, Ark., 72149

Students reflect on time in China through art display

By Maeghen Carter Student Writer

When people return from overseas programs, they usually come back with souvenirs they purchased as a reminder of their time. For this past summer’s Global Outreach and China Now team, four students and one art professor returned with an art gallery.

HUG evaluates how ISIS effects travels

By Julie Anne White

Asst. Web Editor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel and Hamas agreed to a permanent truce after 50 days of conflict, according to a Lebanese newspaper called The Daily Star. Although both parties were reluctant to lay down their weapons, Netanyahu said Israel faces conflict at every border and must focus on more immediate threats, such as the growing power and religious persecution of the Islamic State of Iran and Syria (ISIS).

ISIS has become increasingly terroristic, capturing and murdering innocents as a bargaining tool. On Tuesday ISIS leaders released a video showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, and promised to continue the trend of murders if the U.S. does not cease bombing ISIS targets in Iraq.

Camden

ISIS has also made international headlines this month for presenting non-Muslims with an ultimatum: convert, pay a fine or die. After driving an estimated 50,000 members of the Yazidi population out of their homes and into the wilderness, ISIS threatened to murder

them if they refused to convert to Islam.

According to ABC News cargo planes brought supplies to the refugees sheltered in the mountains and were followed with a series of airstrikes by the U.S. military.

In light of these circumstances, Harding students who will study abroad in Greece this fall may encounter a few changes to their travel itineraries. Dean of International Programs Jeffery Hopper said as of yet, trips scheduled to Israel have not been canceled and the truce with Hamas seems promising. However, since the students’ safety is a top priority, there are several possible back up locations for the students to visit if Middle Eastern conflicts become too dangerous for visitors.

“We make changes to any and all of the programs based upon need, safety concerns and cataclysmic events,” Hopper said. “The situation in the Middle East is difficult because it is changing by the hour.”

Last year, Egypt was dropped from the program after tumultuous protests and elections created an unsafe environment. Over the summer, Israel was also removed and replaced with travel in Prague after

conflict between Israel and Hamas climaxed. Hopper said other alternative trips could include touring concentration camps in the Czech Republic or ancient Greek temples in Southern Italy.

“We always try to give students what they pay for,” Hopper said.

Harding University in Greece director Mike James said he is hopeful that students will still be able to experience a trip to Israel this semester.

“We received good news that a truce has been made, but these are sometimes short-lived,” James said. “Israel, we hope, will be clear by the time of our visit in mid-October.”

James said the majority of the HUG program is not affected by Middle Eastern conflicts, and there will still be plenty of experiences for the students to enjoy.

“We have the same terrific guides and visit about 80 percent of the same sites each semester,” James said.

Hopper said the final call about allowing the HUG group to visit Israel must be made closer to their departure.

“We don’t make changes lightly,” Hopper said.

Asst. Professor of Art Beverly Austin and sophomores Maggie Cox, Brandon Rickett, Hayden Rickett and Paige Martin spent four weeks in China teaching English to university students while developing their art skills; their work is now on display in the Stephens Art Gallery.

Austin and the four students spent three weeks teaching students at Yangtze University in Jingzhou, China.

The students taught conversational English by using the Bible, while Austin taught western art principles.

When the students were not teaching, they were busy working on their art. The four Harding students also took a drawing class from Austin while overseas.

Martin said she primarily worked with pen and ink, oil pastels and watercolors. Her

‘We went with the idea that, through our art, we could reach people that we could talk to about Jesus.’

- Beverly Austin, art professor

“Going to China was never in my travel plans, but God just spoke through Mrs.. Austin and all of us,” Martin said.

While art skills were being developed, Brandon Rickett said he learned the most about the cultural art of the area. The Chinese use more vertical art techniques while he was used to linear perspectives.

Brandon Rickett said he was most inspired by the mountainous regions and the landscapes.

Austin said that her goal for her students was that they would create art.

“We went with the idea that through our art, we would reach people that we could talk to about Jesus,” Austin said.

One of the main goals of their trip was to use art to show others the love of tunity to combine mission with art so that was really a unique experience,” Brandon

The “Art in China” exhibit is on display in the Stephens

was

at the derby pit, and it was two

This representation of White County has made the fair a unique

Fair admision is $8 and the fair begins Saturday, Sept. 6. Sunday, Sept. 7, admission and parking are free, and tickets for rides will cost $1 each. A full schedule of events and hours of operation can be found at www.whitecountyfairgrounds.org.

Phillips said the fair is recognized as the largest county fair in the state and one of the top-10 county fairs in the nation. It has also become special to Harding students.

“It’s just a lot of fun to walk around, to see all the rides,” said

County Fair of Searcy featured livestock exhibits, displays from organizations such as 4-H and the garden club and merchant stands for hardware and farm equipment stores.

The White County Fair was held sporadically over the next 48 years, in part because of World War I and the Great Depression.

In the early 1940s, the fair moved to a building on Moore Street that was built by the National Youth Administration, a government

where it had been a county farm that offered work and aid to the poor until the late 1940s.

Going into its 60th year at the White County Fair Grounds, the fair offers many attractions in addition to the traditional agriculture exhibits and carnival rides. In addition to the customary 4-H exhibits and quilt-making displays, this year’s White County Fair will feature a variety of events, from lawn mower races to an Elvis impersonator. According to board member Kim

different.”

Phillips, who has been to each of the 75 fairs held within the state of Arkansas, believes that the fair’s rodeo and derby events are a big reason that the White County Fair draws the diverse audience that separates it from the state’s other county fairs.

“There’s not anything that draws a crowd as much as the demolition derby,” Phillips said. “That crowd’s not really a fair crowd . . . I guess the only time we’ve ever had a fight

“You get to see an entire culture that you don’t see that often,” Gentry said. “It’s something that’s so close Phillips and Harrison agree that it is the diversity of the fair’s attractions and visitors that have allowed the fair to serve as a feature of White County.

“I think it’s a celebration of the prosperity we have had here,” Phillips said. “White County is a very diversified county.”

To Harrison, the audience reflects the county’s community.

“It’s a gathering place,” Harrison said. “You see people you don’t see but one or two times a year. A lot of communities will have their own little festivals. Ours is the fair.”

JEFF MONTGOMERY | Office of Public Relations

The Ancient Theater of Epidaurus is one of the locations the group visited last spring. Students in the spring 2014 semester at HUG had a different experience than those traveling this fall will enjoy.

50 years of debate, page 3B Elizabeth Smart coming to Searcy, page 2A

Smart, anti-child abuse activits, to share story with community.

Letter to the Editor, page 3A

One student shares her views on feminism.

Ty Powell in the NFL, page 2B

Graphic by JEWELYA WILLIAMS

Piece of German history finds home at Harding

Donated fragment of the Berlin Wall can be seen in American Studies Building

By Wesley Seaman Beat Reporter

“This is a piece of the Berlin Wall smashed by a common claw hammer in a wooded area near Glienicke Brucke, the ironically titled “Unity Bridge” and site of numerous well publicized spy exchanges.”

This quote inscribed upon a case containing a piece of the Berlin Wall hangs on the wall outside of the American Studies Institute office on the second floor of the David B. Burks American Heritage Building. The piece was donated on Jan. 1, 1990, by John Ogren, a student leader on campus and officer in the American Studies Distinguished Student Program at the time.

The Berlin Wall forcibly fell in 1989 and began the process of combining East Germany and West Germany. Many large pieces of the wall now reside in museums around the world while smaller pieces have been collected by individuals.

Dr. Bob Reely, associate executive director of the American Studies Institute, commented on how big of an event the fall of the Berlin Wall was.

“For that to ever happen, I don’t think any of us in my generation or older ever thought that would ever happen in our lifetime,” Reely said. “For the wall to come down, it was really a big deal.”

Former Harding president Dr. George S. Benson was in the forefront of the anti-communist movement in the South.

“Benson was definitely in the lead on that ... his emphasis on capitalism and free enterprise, that was the pregenerator of the American Studies Program,” Reely said.

The story behind the Berlin Wall piece traces itself back to a time when Benson had his own radio program which, according to the ASI website, reached 25 million people a week.

Reely said that Harding

and the American Studies Program came from the “heritage of Benson, who did movies with Ronald Reagan that were very anticommunist.”

With the threat of mutually assured destruction from the Cold War and the spread of communism becoming real, Benson took a lead role early in the fight for the spread of

free-market thought. Benson, who took a mission trip to China, witnessed first hand the death of Christians under communist rule and warned Americans about the dangers

of communism. Putting not only German history on display, the Berlin Wall piece provides a deeper connection to Harding and its history.

Understanding the mystery of cyberspace

By Rebecca Neely Head Web Editor

Have you ever wondered about Harding’s cyberspace?

CIO/VP of Systems and Technology Keith Cronk shares some fun facts about Harding’s internet usage. He also describes what IS&T is and what it takes to make sure you are able to check Facebook, email and complete that Canvas quiz that is due at 11:59 p.m. tonight. IS&T stands for Information Systems and Technology. The Brackett Library, E-Learning and Classroom Technology and Information Technology services are all components of IS&T.

E-learning and Classroom

Technology gives faculty Canvas support and also enables faculty with ways to implement technology in their classroom for educational purposes.

“The Center for Learning with Technology is to primarily help faculty to include technology in the classroom, but primarily technology that adds value to learning, is the way we look at it,” Cronk said. The IS&T is broken into three departments. The systems and database department administers and maintains the server room as well as student records. The network division is responsible for the wireless networks, cabling, phones on campus, firewalls and student

m-drives, which provides one gigabyte of network storage to each student.

The app development team is responsible for Pipeline and Harding’s website.

DormNet is also part of IS&T and is made up of a team of 15 students who are there for your internet connection issues, advice on anti-virus software and other computer questions you may have. DormNet is not to be confused with a computer repair shop. In the first week of school, DormNet student employees work an average of 60 hours each, making sure all students are ready for the school year. Faculty and staff have a separate help desk known as “client support.”

101

-IS&T is offering students the opportunity to access Microsoft Office 365 for free. This is the online, cloud based version of Microsoft Office suite. You can also download Office suite for free. Pipeline>Student Tab>Link to Download on right hand side.

-There are 2,700 PC’s on campus for faculty and staff.

-17,295 devices are registered in the dorms to Harding’s internet.

-There are 157 terabytes of storage.

-Harding has around 477 miles of individual single mode fibers in the ground, which is the distance from Searcy to Houston, Texas.

-Harding has 1 gigabyte of connection to the internet, 95.5 percent of 1 gigabyte was used on Tuesday, Aug. 22, from 3-4 p.m. This is the highest recorded usage.

-The library has 77,808 unique databases available for students. These databases include e-journals and e-books. More than 400 students have already participated in the instructional sessions in the library.

-There are 11 public computer labs available for student use. These labs are managed by 55 student lab attendants. The most popular computer lab is Mabee 108. 14,500 pages were printed in the Mabee lab during the first week of school.

-In the spring 2014 semester, 14,685 exams were scheduled in the Testing Lab.

Elizabeth Smart to speak in Searcy on child safety

By Joshua Johnson News Editor

The White County Child Safety Center (WCCSC) will be hosting a “Celebration of Survival” in the Benson Auditorium on Sept. 16. The event will feature author and anti-child abuse activist Elizabeth Smart as the guest speaker.

Smart was abducted at 14. She was sexually and physically abused multiple times daily for nine months before being rescued by authorities.

In December 2013, 10 years

later, Smart released a book entitled “My Story,” in which she shares the details of her survival.

Robin Connell, executive director of the WCCSC, said Smart has a tremendous story of faith.

“I’m hoping we all come away from this event with hope that these horrible things are survivable,” Connell said. “Our subject matter is tough. It’s not a subject people like to think about. But children survive these crimes, and we

want to celebrate that fact.”

The WCCSC was founded in 2008 and helps more than 250 children a year.

“I want to reach out to those survivors and those victims (of child abuse),” Smart said in an interview with CNN on Oct. 8, 2013. “I want them to know that these things do happen, but that doesn’t mean that we have to be defined by it … You can move forward and you can be happy.”

Connell hopes to raise awareness for the situation

on the homefront.

“Everyone needs to recognize the seriousness of what’s happening in our own community,” Connell said. “We want the people to support our work so we can help these kids.”

Elizabeth Wilson, department chair of family and consumer sciences, wanted to help provide an opportunity for Smart to speak to the Harding students and faculty.

“We all have a vested interest in our children and our future,”

Our mission is to empower children, to tell their stories of abuse and help restore their hope.

-Robin Connell

Wilson said. “That interest is founded in how children are treated today. We need to be educated so we can become advocates to prevent the abuse and abduction of children.”

Tickets can be purchased at the CAB office or online at www. childsafetycenter.org. Connell said she hopes the event will become a tradition.

NEW ORLEANS — On

Sept. 3, U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman ruled that Louisiana’s gay marriage ban does not violate the U.S. Constitution, saying that the recognition of civil marriage resides within each state’s laws, according to Bloomberg.

The “Celebration of Survival” will take place Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is $10.

SALT LAKE CITY — Religious artifacts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be on display for the first time in the religion’s 185-year history, according to the Associated Press. The Book of Mormon and founder Joseph Smith’s journal, among other artifacts, will be available for the public to view at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City.

CUPERTINO, Calif.

Following the recent iCloud security breach, Apple stocks took a 4.2 percent plunge, according

“Our mission (at the WCCSC) is to empower children, to tell their stories of abuse and help restore their hope,” Connell said. “Restoring these children is much more important than putting people in jail. We want to give them a voice so they can tell their own stories, and then we want to help them heal.”

to USA Today. This lapse cost investors a projected $26.1 billion. Apple is considered the most valuable U.S. company, carrying a market value of more than $618 billion.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Brandy Allen, 31, was arrested on Sept. 1 for stealing $144 worth of makeup from an Ulta Beauty store, according to the Associated Press. She has been released from the Washington County Sheriff’s office on $830 bond with charges of shoplifting and disorderly conduct.

Senior Jeanie Linton admires a piece of the Berlin Wall located on the first floor of the American Studies Building. The fragment was donated to Harding in 1990 by John Ogren.

Arthur Shearin, retired professor of music, donates blood to the Red Cross.

The 72-hour blood drive began on Thursday, Aug. 25.

LINDA FERELLE | The Bison

JANAE CALLICOAT | The Bison

Harding Cyberspace

Graphic by Jewelya Williams

Blood drive

A letter to the EDITOR

Iam a feminist.This shouldn’t be shocking.

I don’t have to have “feminist” tattooed on my forehead as a warning to my peers. I’m not ostracized for my beliefs or shunned by anyone. However, it’s funny what people assume I mean when I say that I believe in feminism.

When the average Joe pictures a feminist, what usually comes to mind is a manly woman with a short hair cut, a wardrobe that lumberjacks would be jealous of and a hatred of the opposite sex that could rival Wylie Coyote’s distaste for the roadrunner. Feminists have been painted as hairy monsters with crazy eyes who consume every man who dares enter their path. However, that just isn’t the case.

I am a feminist. I do not have short hair, nor am I hairy — well, unless I forget to shave. I do not hate men, nor do I hate women who take pride in being feminine.

I am simply a woman who wants the same rights as my fellow man. I want to have

my opinion be taken seriously and to be heard as loudly as the man’s standing next to me. I’m tired of the media’s image that women are the weaker sex and need a Prince Charming to save them. I’m shocked that the female body is constantly trying to be legislated — by men. There shouldn’t be a question as to whether I’m getting paid the same amount for the same job. I long for the day that my gender does not determine my worth in the eyes of society, men or employers. A feminist can look like anyone. It can be a girl who wears bright red lipstick and spends hours in front of the mirror perfecting her makeup. It can be the girl who wears more flannel than Smokey the Bear. It can also be your Bible professor or your dad. And I pray that it’s your significant other.

So why are so many women and men alike afraid to call themselves feminists?

It’s become a bad word in our society and frankly, I don’t understand why. Feminism doesn’t shackle anyone, it frees them. Feminism is a general admission show

with unlimited seating. Unfortunately, due to the negative connotation society has tacked onto the word “feminism,” it has become commonplace to dismiss the idea. Embracing the notion that women are human beings and deserve to be treated as such would honestly make the world a better place. A world without oppression is a world without restraint.

What everyone needs to believe about feminism are these two undeniable facts:

1. Women today, whether they accept it or not, have prospered from the groundwork that early feminists have laid and should be grateful.

2. Feminism is not, nor will it ever be a “bad” thing. Feminism is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” Do you believe that? Congratulations! You are a feminist.

I’m your biggest fan

The definition of fan-hood is a hot topic for me, primarily because I consider myself a fan of many things, and I don’t think what it means to be a fan has ever been set in stone. Let’s do that now.

There is a common misconception that being a fan of something means knowing as much as you can about it. Whether a singer, a show or a fictional universe, the more trivial knowledge you accumulate, the bigger fan you are. The problem with that is even if you know every single detail about Michael Jackson or “Friends” or “Harry Potter,” it doesn’t matter — you are no different than a Google results page. Any information you have about whoever or whatever you’re obsessed with I can also have within 10 seconds.

There’s a sense of shame that comes when a song plays on the radio and you say, “Oh, I love this band” and someone looks down their nose at you and asks what your favorite album is or how many times you’ve seen them perform live.

“Uh, none,” I say. “I’m not a Eurythmics scholar, I just know how to get down when “Sweet Dreams” comes on.”

This happens often if you’re new to an established fandom like “The Office.” Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know in which episode Jim and Pam get married — it’s season 6, episodes 1 and 2, by the way — or that actors from “Glee” and “American Horror Story” both make cameo appearances. Those are interesting fun facts, but they vastly underrepresent how much I love that show.

Spiritual gifts come in all shapes and sizes

At the beginning of the summer of 2013, I boarded a plane bound for Moscow with five other Harding interns. It was a bold adventure, a grand experiment. In a burst of spontaneity, I had chosen to devote my summer to the mission of God - for the first time not just timidly stepping but fully leaping from the safety of the boat and into the raging seas, certain that with God’s help I would stand above the waves. I had heard numerous reports from students who in the same spirit had sought to show the love of Christ to the world and had in return been filled with a boundless joy which they could only ascribe to God.

I arrived in Moscow nervous but hopeful, expecting to accomplish great things for the kingdom. The reality of my own ineptitude soon became all too clear. You see, I am an introvert. I love spending time with people, but it often leaves me feeling drained and exhausted. I had tested the limits of my endurance and came up short. While I have many fond memories of my time in Moscow,

I nonetheless returned to the States perplexed and disoriented. I became jaded instead of joyful, cynical instead of fulfilled. Confusion overshadowed my previous optimism, and I became doubtful and mistrusting of God. I had firmly believed that if I only surrendered myself in service to the gospel, then God would provide me with the chance to enact powerful good. I thought that if I would simply step out of the boat, taking that crucial leap of faith, then I could walk on water. It never occurred to me that I might be stepping out of the wrong boat.

God, of course, desired to use my gifts to advance his mission. Yet my gifts, I soon discovered, were not rooted in adventure. I had traveled over land and sea in search of Jesus only to discover he was with me all along. My quest, while admirable, had been largely unnecessary. God had equipped me with gifts which did not require me to get on a plane or travel to an unfamiliar place. The same may be true for you.

This is not a call to excuses or idleness. This is a call to action — the right kind of action. If you are like me and the thought of new places and people scares more than excites, consider that God has other plans for you. While changes in life are inevitable and should be met with confidence, your faith does not have to be an arduous journey from one exasperating

venture to the next. Getting out of one’s comfort zone for its own sake is more arbitrary than godly. I serve best in the quiet spaces: slowly and with time. It may be the same for many of you. While you may never carry the gospel to an unreached group of people, you can be a catalyst for change in any context. Serve as a unifying presence in a tense situation. Reconcile a fractured friendship. Model virtues like confession and forgiveness, which, though valued abstractly, remain sorely neglected. Be the sort of person whose patience and kindness will pave the way for a faith conversation down the road. If adventurous, extravagant service sounds like a recipe for personal disaster, then consider that perhaps God is calling you to serve him through some other avenue. This will require creative thinking. It will require missional imagination. Yet it is a task which you are ultimately equipped to fulfill. Cultivate a missional lifestyle that suits your innate, God-given abilities. You may be surprised at the number of opportunities which lie untapped all around you. So as you pursue Christ, do so with a spirit of discernment and with ears wide open to his call.

Knowledge does not make you a fan, passion does. The goose bumps you get when “Thriller” plays on your stereo, or the tears you cried in 2004 — the year “Friends” ended — or the countless hours of sleep you lost at the hands of midnight “Harry Potter” book releases and the binge-reading that ensued, those are the moments that solidify your status as a fan.

I’ll never forget when I was in the car with my mom four summers ago and “Running With the Devil” by Van Halen came on the radio. The second the music started playing, I watched her completely forget who, where and when she was. For a moment, she wasn’t carting her kids around in her mommobile; it was 1978 again and she was flooring it, singing every word to that song.

I’m sure she has no idea how many albums Van Halen has sold over the years or even the names of all the band members, but none of that matters because even 30 years later, she can feel the music the same way she felt it in 1978.

My friends think it’s fun to ask me questions about Lady Gaga because I know just about all there is to know — her parent’s names, what hospital she was born in, what all 16 of her tattoos are — everything. I’m usually met with, “Wow, you really are her biggest fan.”

I have to roll my eyes at this because fanhood transcends useless information. All of that is just a side effect of being a fan, which is really about the relationship you share with that artist, cast, author, political figure, athlete or fictional character.

Fan-hood is not a competition. You don’t have to prove that you love something the most, so let’s all just take a deep breath and listen to David Bowie forever.

At the Bison, it is our goal to serve the Harding University student body with integrity, truth and open ears. However, we believe that meeting that goal is a two-way street between our staff and the public it serves. We pledge to keep our eyes and ears open to what our community has to say and hope that, in return, that community will be an interactive audience, sharing its stories with us. We also pledge to do the basics: Report accurate and relevant information, check our facts, and share them in a professional, timely manner. If you have any story ideas, questions, comments or concerns for the Bison staff, please email Alexis Hosticka, the editor-in-chief, at ahostick@harding.edu. “ The Bison (USPS 577-660) is published weekly (except vacations, exams and summer sessions), 18 issues per year, by Harding University. Periodicals postage paid at Searcy, Arkansas 72143. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Bison, Harding University 11192, SEARCY, AR 72149-0001.” BYLINE POLICY: The Bison provides an opportunity for class writers to contribute work under the byline “guest writers.” Due to this arrangement, staff writers may rewrite a portion of the guest writers’ stories as they deem necessary, while still identifying the work as the guest writers’ own.

“I was raised by a television”

cole mokry

Make your own decisions

Ihave a major sweet tooth. Give me a bag of chocolate or a pint of ice cream and I do not have the willpower to let it sit unopened for much longer than a few minutes. Growing up, my family didn’t buy junk food very often because if we had ice cream in the freezer one morning, it was gone by that night.

Granted there are 11 of us, so any food that we buy disappears pretty rapidly.

All that’s to say that one of the best methods of self-control is to not make something available. If it’s not in the house, I won’t eat it. If I don’t walk down the aisle at the store, I won’t buy it. If my mom tells me I can’t have it, I’ll wait until she goes to bed to steal it out of the freezer (sorry, Mom, Fudgsicles are my favorite).

Using what seems like a similar tactic, CVS Pharmacy has changed its name to CVS Health and is no longer selling any type of tobacco products. In an article from Buzzfeed, Dr. Troy Brennan, the chief medical officer and executive vice president of CVS, said, “We see ourselves as a health care company. There is nothing as bad for health as smoking, so selling a product in our store that’s causing people health problems didn’t make sense.”

The first thing I thought of after hearing about this major change for CVS was the attempt that former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg made to regulate the sales of soft drinks. According to the New York Times, Bloomberg wanted to “prohibit the sale of sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces.” Bloomberg’s attempt was shot down this summer.

In many ways, the CVS situation is different than the soft drinks: CVS made this decision entirely on its own as a single corporation; a decision that could be potentially detrimental to the company’s profits. The case about the 16-ounce sodas was a government regulation issue, two very different concepts.

However, I draw a similarity where a larger institution is attempting to take away unhealthy options in order to sway consumers to live better. It’s actually rather disappointing that our culture needs that kind of coaching to make healthy choices.

I admire what CVS is doing because it is really of no benefit (especially financially) to the company. There is the possibility that customers who are against tobacco usage will resolve to only shop at CVS, but to me it seems like a true effort to create a healthier consumer population.

At the same time, I have doubts that it will have any real effect on tobacco consumers. On every corner that doesn’t have a CVS Health, there’s likely a Walgreens, WalMart, gas station or some other convenience store that will still be selling an abundance of tobacco products. Rather than deterring tobacco users from buying tobacco, it seems that CVS will just deter tobacco users from shopping at their stores.

It was a bold move on the part of CVS. They are one of many companies that has chosen to stand up for something rather than work for profit. Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A are two other examples of companies that made what might not have been a smart business decision to promote their beliefs.

As admirable as that is, our culture needs to rely more on our own willpower rather than people making decisions (or strong suggestions) for us. As kids, all we wanted was the power to make our own decisions. If I could’ve had ice cream every night I would have. And I would’ve been a fat kid.

As young adults in a transition between living with our parents and being on our own, we college students have the chance to truly start relying on our own decisions.

Guidance and strong suggestions can be a wonderful tool, but do we really want companies to be making those suggestions for us?

ALEXIS HOSTICKA is the editor-in-chief for the Bison. She may be contacted at ahostick@harding.edu. Twitter: @alexis_hosticka

Don’t worry, be ‘Yonce

Modeling a pantless stained-glass number, Beyonce Knowles’ VMA performance on Aug. 24, sent a message to everyone from obsessive fans to haters. As her husband Jay-Z Carter and their daughter Blue Ivy joined her onstage, it became clear that Bey had only one thing she wanted everyone to know: this woman is solid.

Beyonce’s entire persona is a thrill of talent, prime female instinct and a humble confidence that very few women will ever achieve. From her days as a survivor in the group Destiny’s Child to her 2013 Super Bowl performance that quite literally shut down the game, she has been a consistent entertainer, role model and inspiration around the globe.

Putting aside my excessive fangirldom, I will attempt to give evidence that Beyonce Knowles is arguably the best female artist in the 21st century.

Item the first: Beyonce’s talent is spectacular. In 2003, her undying song “Crazy In Love” became the first single

to hold the top of the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. In 2004, she took home five Grammys in one night: the most any female artist has ever taken home at once. Somewhere in her house 10 Grammys are probably dusted and polished on the daily. After rumors that she had lipsynced several concerts, she sang every note of her 2013 Super Bowl performance, which was her largest concert ever and has been marked as one of the best live or broadcast performances of all time. Before the show, Bravo asked Twitter users, “Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?” Beyoncé won with 51 percent, leaving the 49ers and Ravens to split 49 percent. Considering that she stood perfectly still for several minutes of explosive applause before singing a single note and the lights wouldn’t turn back on when she was done, I think it is fair to say she did, in fact, win Super Bowl XLVII.

Item the second: She is dedicated. She won a writing award for her story, “Eat, Play, Love” in the July 2011 issue of Essence Magazine. When she tours, she watches film after each performance and takes notes for possible improvements to all aspects of the show. After rumors that she and husband Jay-Z were headed for a divorce, Beyonce brought them up on stage with her to tell the whole world that this family was nowhere near splitting and gave thanks to God for her success.

For the birds

For the past few years now I have occasionally shared my adventures in landscaping with the Bison readers. Since buying my first home in 2010 — one which happens to be located on a pretty well-manicured street — I have been trying to overcome a birth defect involving my thumbs. Thankfully they are bendable, and they are opposable. But alas, they are not green.

While my neighbors preside over lawns that would make some golf courses look like dumping grounds, I have presided for the last four years over an empire of dirt, weeds and dying shrubbery. For 48 months in a row, I have consistently failed to win “Yard of the Month” in my neighborhood. In fact, one month I lost to an untended vacant lot.

It’s bad enough that I have no control over the flora in my yard, but I am also under assault from the fauna. I’ve had moles tunneling under my lawn, frogs invading the sanctity of my house and ants massing near any available water supply. Not only have I failed to combat these plagues, but now a new front has opened up in my fight against the wild kingdom of Searcy.

Now the birds have me in their crosshairs, and they have focused all their firepower on my mailbox. Do you see what I’m up against? From the earth, the water, and now the sky, this siege of animals is threatening to bring my home to its knees.

michael claxton

This summer in particular, my stainless-steel mailbox has been the target of especially intense shelling. I realize that the white menace has been a problem for homeowners since the beginning of suburbia, and that everyone is a potential target. But any person taking a stroll through Live Oak Drive during July would have been struck by the disproportionate damage received by one letterbox in particular.

After many hours scrubbing up the mess, I tried consulting experts about this problem. My hairdresser suggested that I coat the mailbox with cooking spray. She felt that the glistening surface might be a deterrent, or that the slick metal would interfere with any air-to-surface landing. At the very least, she noted, a coat of Pam would make the box easier to clean afterwards. So I tried this. Unfortunately, it did not work. However, I’m happy to announce that I can now make a nice omelet on the surface of my mailbox.

Ever loyal to my experts, I went back to the hairdresser, who next proposed that I put up some fishing line around the general area. Apparently, birds are

Item the third: That woman has power. Beyonce is a mother, a professional, an author and a philanthropist. She and her mother started a cosmetology school at the Phoenix House Career Academy, a Brooklyn based women’s rehabilitation facility. She has been outspoken about her dedication to being a wife and mother and keeps her life in respectable privacy. As People Magazine’s Most Beautiful Woman of 2012, Beyonce admitted that her body and her health are a constant project. When H&M photoshopped her to perfection, she threw a fit until they were forced to use the original, unedited images.

After having Blue Ivy, she said to www.Biography.com, “I felt like God was giving me a chance to assist in a miracle. There is something so relieving about life taking over you like that. You’re playing a part in a much bigger show. And that’s what life is. It’s the greatest show on earth.”

It is this wisdom that makes her the woman who can do it all. While keeping her cool, Beyonce has helped girls feel they run the world, and that girl power feels pretty miraculous when “Single Ladies” comes on and makes the whole car dance. Long live the queen.

CHLOE SAVAGE is a guest writer for the Bison.

She may be contacted at csavage1@harding.edu.

frightened by its shimmering reflection and do not approach it. While I wondered what bizarre past experience had engendered this phobia, I was getting desperate and was willing to try anything. So I bought some fishing line and set out to rig an intricate system of wires from my mailbox to the grass. When I finished wrapping line around the top of the box and securing it to the ground with nails, the whole thing now resembled those laser tripwires that you always see in jewelry heist movies. In fact, it might have been easier just to hide behind the mailbox and stick my foot out when a bird flew past.

The next day, I went outside to find the box more befouled than ever, with a note attached to the fishing line that said, “nice try.” On top of that, someone had hung a pair of blue jeans out to dry.

Whenever I travel home to Georgia, there are certain rest stops that I always visit on the way. So, I guess my mailbox is just located on a convenient migratory off-ramp, and I’ll just have to get used to the summer traffic. But it’s exhausting to clean up after these feathered tourists. This whole thing is starting to wear me down. In fact, I’m down-right pooped.

MICHAEL CLAXTON is a guest writer for the Bison. He may be contacted at mclaxto1@harding.edu.

guest writer

chloe savage

alexis hosticka

Shane Schock

Schock Talk

More than a game

People watch sports for a number of reasons: excitement, suspense, competition and any other word you feel describes your passion for sports. My guess would be victory is the reason we watch sports. That’s why there is a record, a scoreboard, a winner and a loser. Victory is a goal, a foundation on which you lay your thoughts, feelings, personal ambition and beliefs.

You may be asking, “Where is he going with this?” Well, I’m taking the goal of victory to a different level, to a step above the game where not everything is about the results on the scoreboard, but rather the ones on and off the field.

Take Harding teams for example; their victories are in Christ well before each game.

The Bison football team prays before, during and after their games no matter the score or whether it’s followed by a victory or a defeat.

Sports are not just to show off whatever athletic ability you may or may not have, it creates something unique within a group of individuals that lasts forever. Athletes are people the community looks to for not only their performances on the field, but as role models off it.

Working with the football staff the last three years, I have come to realize the message coach Huckabe is trying to tell his players. He wants his players to be gentlemen, sit in the front of the class, take school seriously and, most importantly, to act like men. His list of priorities is in order: God, family, school and football, which differs from a lot of other universities lists.

This idea of putting God, family and school before football is what this group collectively calls the brotherhood. This brotherhood is a special bond and a special connection only you and the guy next to you have in common.

That is what I love about sports. It’s a tool for connections, ones you live and die for and would go to extreme to protect. We use sports to influence so much in this world, and we need to use this influence to teach lessons that involve more than just a game. We need to preach about life lessons and use sports as tools to shape and create discipline in our lives.

Harding football was awarded the NCAA student-athlete sportsmanship award for the way they handled the injury to Henderson State wide receiver Robert Jordan after he was seriously injured in last years matchup. They acted this way because of the way they were coached, which is to love others more than yourself. I believe universities can learn a lot from the way the Harding Bisons approach the game.

Don’t forget to tweet me @Shane_M_Schock with the #SchockTalk to ask questions about your favorite Bison team! #ThatsASchocker

SHANE SCHOCK is sports editor for the 20142015 Bison. He may be contacted at sschock@harding.edu. Twitter: @Shane_M_Schock

Bisons ready for redemption against SWOSU

By Shane Schock Sports editor

The Bisons open up the 2014 season this weekend against Southwestern Oklahoma State University. This will be the second year in a row these two teams face off on opening night.

The Bisons finished second in the preseason poll predictions for the Great American Conference, four spots higher than SWOSU who finished in the middle of the pack.

As excitement builds for the Bisons home opener, head coach Ronnie Huckeba feels a certain anticipation when it’s time for football.

“I’ve been in organized sports since 1967, and every fall the same thing happens,” Huckeba said. “You start hearing the sounds, the smell of the smells and all of those things that bring back memories.”

The Bisons started last season with a loss, falling short in a close game to the Southwestern Bulldogs.

Rugby looks for change

By Hunter Beck Beat reporter

The Harding rugby team is looking for change this year. Having lost their game field to the new softball stadium, the rugby team was unable to host home games during the 2013-2014 season. The team is set to play on a new home field located past the flag football fields.

Since its conception, the team has been led and coached entirely by players. While the most experienced player would serve as a player-coach, other experienced players would serve as officers and captains.

“Anyone who had experience gave me pointers on the side constantly, which helped me develop into a better player,” senior James Morgan said. “There was a lot of cooperation.”

The team operated this way until last year, when former player Hayden Dorsett took the reigns as coach.

“I saw how it changed from a group of people choosing to follow one person to feeling like they had to,” Morgan says.

“Anytime a teammate ends up being the ultimate authority, it is particularly difficult for those who played with him.”

According to Junior Jacob Baldwin, the change was noticeable in games, as well.

This year they have an opportunity to redeem themselves at the start of the new season.

“I’m hoping we can get our option game established, and do the things we do out of our run game,” Huckeba said. “I’m looking for us to play great defense like we always do and get the job done.”

Huckeba said he just wants his men to compete and have fun on the field. He said that if they are prepared and not overthinking the game, the team will be able to go out there and fast and loose.

In the last meeting between the two teams, Harding’s offense was without their starting quarterback, senior Keenan Kellett, who was replaced by junior Jacob Moore. This year the Harding offense returns nine senior players and seems to have the experience that could help them moving forward.

“Our expectations are to win games and win conference,” senior

“It was different because he wasn’t on the field yelling at us,” Baldwin said. “He was on the sideline kind of trying to direct us, but when you’re on the field, you don’t really notice anyone that’s on the sideline.”

The tension was noticeable to new players.

“When you have this laid back attitude, and then you switch to being so organized, just doing drills and that sort of thing, it’s hard to stay focused,” sophomore Spenser McGuiggan said.

The team’s performance last year reflected the change, as they failed to secure the division’s No. 1 seed for the first time since competing as an official team with the USA Rugby organization.

Considering his new role as team president, Baldwin desires to return to the collaborative approach that the team has taken in the past.

“I’m willing to take any advice anyone has to offer. If it’s genuinely going to help us, I’m willing to let anyone teach us any drill or show us any kind of style,” Baldwin said. “I feel the team is more open to players to show what they’ve got and help us grow as a team.”

Having decided to quit playing rugby after last season in order to focus on academics and theatre, Morgan said he is excited to see the team develop this year.

“I think the team is moving in a good direction,” he said. “They are all great guys and hard workers.”

offensive lineman Patrick Bingham said. “We know we have to take it one game at a time and it starts with SWOSU.”

Bingham is one of the five senior offensive linemen, a group that was recruited for the first year of the triple option offense. The offensive line has the most seniors of any group on the team.

“We have to be leaders on the field, we know it starts with the line,” Bingham said. “We are the most experienced group on the offense and it’s up to us. There are no excuses.”

The Bisons finished first statistically in overall defense and scoring defense at the end of the 2013 season. Harding will have the chance to see if they still have the best defense in conference against Southwestern this weekend.

Senior captain Romas Roberson said redemption plays a role in this upcoming game after last year’s 23-

27 loss to Southwestern.

“We need to play sound assignment football and start off on the right foot this year,” Roberson said. “Key is to again, play assignment football.”

Southwestern is returning a large number of their offensive line, the same line that carved up the Bisons on the ground rushing for 150 yards in the opener last year.

“Their offensive line is back, and we weren’t ready last time,” Roberson said. “This time we will be up for the task.”

Roberson said his job is to play hard when he is on the field and be an encourager when he’s off of it.

The Bisons play this Saturday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. against Southwestern Oklahoma State University at First Security Stadium for the home opener.

“We have to have explosive plays on offensive and limit them on defense,” Huckeba said. “If you win in those areas, you most likely can win the football game.”

Social clubs play ball

By David Salley Asst. Sports Editor

Social club sports are about to take off. Men’s and women’s softball started Tuesday, Aug. 26, and have already had hotly contested games, packed bleachers and a fireworks show courtesy of Knights, who won their first softball game in 21 tries last Tuesday.

If you’re new to Harding, this means everything is business as usual. However, there are some changes to club sports this year. Men’s Intramural Director Jim Gowen, who is heading into his 19th year as director of club sports at Harding, has taken over both men’s and women’s club responsibilities, while Tom Ritchie, who had been in charge of women’s club sports, will now direct all intramural sports. For Gowen said the change helps make the job more cohesive.

“What I’m finding is that with scheduling, it makes things a lot easier (directing both the men and the women),” Gowen said. “With open house for instance, I was able to schedule the ladies for later and the guys earlier in the evening, so it worked out great for both.”

The biggest change this year, however, will take place in the spring. For the first time, soccer will be played as a club sport for the men after it was voted to take the place of spring softball

by club athletic directors last year.

“I don’t know that we’ve ever had organized club soccer,” Gowen said. “But we won’t play full squad. We’ll play 40-minute games, with reduced fields, seven-on-seven, substitute as much as you want on the fly, so there will be differences (between club and regular soccer). As far as intramurals are concerned, everyone has really seemed to like it, so I’m looking forward to the year.”

For the women, Ko Jo Kai returns as the defending A-team champions after a solid effort across the board in 2014, which saw them capture five second-place finishes in route to the overall title.

“We’re very excited to start back up again,” junior Ko Jo Kai athletic director Tory Mote said. “Club sports is something we take a lot of pride in, and we love being able to represent our club

through athletics. We’re really hoping to defend our championship again this year.”

For the men, TNT will be defending the title after a 2014 showing that included championships in flag football and spring softball, as well as second-place finishes in basketball and track. They will face stiff competition from Sub T-16.

“We’re ready to get going,” junior TNT athletic director Zach Abney said. “We were very consistent last year which was the reason we were able to be successful, so our main goal is just to continue being competitive in every sport we play.”

The softball championship expected to begin the week of Sept. 14, and flag football is scheduled to begin the last week of September. With all the action getting set to take place, make sure to come out and support the clubs. You might just see some fireworks. Literally.

GRANT SCHOL | The Bison

Senior Alapeti Magalei runs the ball at practice Tuesday, Aug. 26. The Bisons ran scout team for the defense in preparation for Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

LINDA FERELLE | The Bison Junior Emily Brown shows sportsmanship at club softball Tuesday, Sept. 2.

September 5, 2014

2B | Friday, September 5, 2014

Q & A With Ty Powell

Q: What is your favorite stadium you've played in so far?

Q: How has switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 been challenging?

A: It has actually not been challenging. The 3-4 scheme is a more complex system than a 4-3.

Losing is actually good for you

A: Seattle because the fans are passionate about their team and loud! It makes it tough for you to hear what the person next to you is saying.

Q: Best athlete you've played against so far?

Q: Give one word to describe the NFL?

A: Spectacular!

Q: What HU tradition have you carried with you to the NFL?

A: Playing the game by honoring God.

4A | Friday, September 5, 2014

A: Percy Harvin. I haven't played in game against him, but I practiced against him in Seattle. Harvin is an unbelievable athlete who is just on a different level than others, even at this level.

Q: Worst injury so far in the NFL?

Q: Have you ever been star struck by a player?

A: Haven't been star struck by a player. The player I'd be star struck by is Ray Lewis, but unfortunately he is no longer playing.

Q: What is it like playing in front of an NFL crowd?

Friday, September 5, 2014 | 3B

A: Most athletes, pro or not, do not like talking about injuries, but the worst one was a deep thigh bruise. I literally had no control of my thigh for three days, main reason being that I was playing through the first bruise and got hit again in the same spot. The doctor said if it was any deeper to my femur, they would have had to cut my thigh open and drain the blood. Knocking on wood since the words "so far" was used in the question.

A: It’s awesome playing in front of thousands of fans. At other opponents’ stadiums, they can really be a factor in the game if you let them.

Q: What's the hardest part about being a pro-athlete?

Friday, September 5, 2014| 3A 4B | Friday, September 5, 2014

A: I don't find anything about being a pro-athlete hard at all. It only gets hard for players when they get caught up in money and fame. That can be great for a player, but can destroy him and his morals also.

Q: Favorite thing about Buffalo?

A: The fans of Buffalo. They really love their Bills.

Q: What do you miss most about playing for the Bisons?

A: Playing with a band of brothers who are at war fighting for the men next to him.

The following questions were submitted @HUStudentPubs.

@RileyHawkins44: Will you do the vista if you sack Johnny Manziel?

A: That goes without saying. I'll definitely do the vista!

@Ewreck10: Who is the weirdest guy on your team?

A: Most people haven't seen weird until they have met me.

@dcholliman8: Which quarterback do you particularly want to sack this season?

A: Every single quarterback is on my list!

@wdjdguitar: How does game the speed compare to college?

A: The game is a lot faster, but the biggest difference is how much faster the linemen move. They make you move faster because you don't want those big boys getting both their hands on you.

@Bonejw: What has been the biggest transition from college to the NFL?

A: The size of the linemen and how athletic those big fellas are.

Lady Bisons defeat Lyon College 3-1

Taylor Gleaves Asst. Web Editor

The Lady Bisons’ volleyball team began the march to another great season Tuesday, as they defeated Lyon College 3-1 on Harding soil. The Rhodes Field House will be home to another season powered with determination from the Lady Bisons, as they look to avenge last year’s defeat in the Great American Conference tournament title game—their only conference loss of the season.

Senior middle blocker Liv Savage said that they were

able to play all the freshmen in Tuesday’s game, which serves as a good indicator to both the depth and resolve of the team.

“I’m really proud of our freshmen because they did very well, and I’m really happy about that,” Savage said.

The Lady Bisons had their best point percentage in the third game, which helped give them a big 2-1 lead and momentum that ultimately carried through into the match-clinching final game.

The team itself this year is very tight- knit. They practice

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every day for two hours, and at these practices, Savage said they have formed a great bond.

“I love the people I play with, that’s an important thing because we have extremely good team chemistry,” Savage said. “I feel really blessed to have that privilege.”

Savage said she arrived at Harding with a scholarship and has been playing volleyball for last eight years.

Sophomore defensive specialist Bianca Trevino said that games would continue to get smoother for the Lady Bisons as the season wears on

and they to focus on talking and building up relationships with one another, which is an important aspect of a team.

“It was our first actual game,” Trevino said. “We were just super excited and we knew how to get together and play together no matter who was on the court.”

The Lady Bisons next games take place this weekend on Sept. 5 and 6, when they play back-to-back double headers at the Christian Brothers tournament in Memphis, Tenn. Their next home game will be on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

Just hold on, everyone who knows me, this is going to make sense. This title is so out of my character that I really can’t even believe I’m writing this and you probably can’t either but just trust me on this one. First, take a trip down memory lane with me.

For most of my life, the South Carolina Gamecocks (my beloved team of destiny, not choice) were bad. I don’t mean “6-6” bad either. I mean “1-10 followed by 0-11” bad. Arkansas fans think they know what bad is. Tennessee fans think they know what bad is. Nobody really knows what bad is until you tear down the goalposts after beating New Mexico State. That’s not a joke. That really happened.

Needless to say, we had very little to hang our hats on in South Carolina. Clemson beat us regularly, we had only won three bowl games ever, and our “tradition” was basically built around being great fans for a bad team. We were starving for a winner. We wanted our team to be competitive more than anything in the world; 8-4 might as well have been 12-0 in our eyes. Then, as if sent from above, something incredible happened: Steve Spurrier showed up. Suddenly we had hope, and slowly, but surely, we got better, and better and better.

Fast forward to now: we’ve been a consistent top 10 team for several years, we’re respected by everyone, and we’ve had three straight 11-win seasons. This is the best period in the history of our program. Expectations have been risen to an almost laughable level considering our very limited history. So as I sat in the Village last Thursday night and angrily watched us get pummeled by Texas A&M, it suddenly hit me:

I’ve gotten spoiled. 8-4 is no longer good enough. If we lose to good teams I’m still angry, because I feel like we should have won. On the one hand, these expectations are a good thing they’re a sign you’ve tasted greatness and they drive you to be better. But on the other hand, consider what just a little bit of success did to my head. I expect wins. I am devastated by losses.

Wins over Florida, Georgia and Tennessee don’t feel quite as good as they used to. Losses to those same teams hurt 10 times worse than they used to. My entire psyche of fanhood was distorted by a few good years. And during the second half of that Texas A&M game (nightmare), it finally hit me: I needed this to happen. I needed to be brought back to reality. I needed us to lose a little bit. It hurts, but at the end of the day, my fandom will benefit from it. I don’t ever want to be one of those fans who only cheers when his team is good. I despise those people. Sadly, that’s exactly the road I was heading down. Once it finally hit me in that second half that I needed to accept what we are this year, I felt a calm come over me. We aren’t Alabama or Oregon or Ohio State. We are South Carolina and I’m proud of that.

So to all you fans out there, hear these words: your team will lose at some point. Accept it and love your team that much more because of it.

Don’t be a bandwagon fan. Sometimes it takes dealing with defeat to find the true depths of your allegiance. …Losing still sucks though.

Dennis Buckner pushed my hairline back about an inch freshman year.

You only get what you give.

Gainesville.

I once had a mohawk with my dreads. Riff Raff.

In middle school, the barber took too much off the top. I had to go bald.

Live like no one is watching. Nicki Minaj.

Love many and always stay positive.

Chicago. Dallas! Home sweet home, baby.

My grandpa, who passed away before I was born.

The “Lloyd Christmas” when I was 10.

Love God, love people. Scott Avett.

New York City or Rogers, Ark.

I’m third lifestyle: Jesus, Others, Yourself.

Two words: Go Cubs.

Junior year I came home with a mohawk and had to buzz it all off. The baddest man of all time: John Wayne.

Former Harding University defensive end Ty Powell now plays linebacker for the Buffalo Bills.

Compiled by Shane Schock | Graphic by Cina Catteau

David Salley guest space

Daylan Skidmore Linebacker Ahmad Scott Running back Corey Bassett Defensive back Jason Oller Running back Park Parish Quarterback

DAVID SALLEY is assistant sports editor for the 20142015 Bison. He may be contacted at dsalley@harding.edu

Global Outreach interns get taste of missions work and lifestyle

By Rachel Brackins Editorial Asst.

Summer is the perfect time to binge-watch Netflix, sleep until 2 p.m. and mindlessly scroll through social media while hanging upside down off of the couch. Summer is also the perfect time to travel across the globe, experience new cultures and live with missionaries while learning about different worldviews.

Global Outreach (GO!), a summer internship program housed in the Center for World Missions, provides opportunities for students to learn about and experience long-term mission work first hand.

“The purpose of the Global Outreach internship is to give students more than just the short term,” Danita Jackson, a coordinator for GO!, said. “The internship gives them an opportunity to have a little more of a taste of what it’s like to live in a different culture long-term.”

Forty-eight students went to 18 different sites this past summer.

One of those 48 was junior Jessica Markwood, who lived in Mtwara, Tanzania. Markwood said she was interested in learning how the missionaries lived, worked and shared Christ appropriately in a largely Muslim culture.

“The internship is a little different from a mission trip,” Markwood said. “A mission trip is more activities oriented, and the internship is basically following the missionaries around and doing whatever they do. A lot of days were just going to the market and making everything from scratch. We had a lot of days where we would do Bible studies with people, and once we went on a hippo tour as means of tourism development in the area.”

Markwood said that as she followed the missionaries through their everyday lives, she learned the importance of living simply and building genuine relationships with the

people of Mtwara.

“(The missionaries) go out of their way to build relationships and not just view people as a project,” Markwood said.

“They have genuine friendships that hopefully will lead people to Christ, but the focus isn’t all about changing them. It’s about learning from them and working alongside them.”

Senior Gehrig Haberstock also chose to spend his summer on a GO! internship and lived in Zurich, Switzerland. Haberstock said he was sitting in chapel one day when he heard an announcement about summer internships and decided to go check it out.

Along with experiencing the day-to-day lives of the missionaries, Haberstock and his fellow intern were in charge of helping the church establish a youth group.

“We never had really big turnouts to the events, which was challenging because you want more people to come, but since it started small you can form relationships with those people,” Haberstock said. “So in it being a challenge it was also a blessing.”

As the summer progressed Haberstock built strong bonds with the missionaries he lived with.

“There was one guy named Stefan and he had the biggest impact on me while I was there,” Haberstock said. “He doesn’t claim to have great Bible knowledge, but the things he has done for his faith were the most impactful for me. Like, he quit his job because of the poisonous environment. He did tangible things for his faith. Very clear, evident things that everybody could see, but I don’t know if everyone realized it. I want to be like that when I grow up.”

Students who are interested in participating in a GO! summer internship are encouraged to make an appointment with Jackson to get more information. Online registration will begin Sept. 17 and will close Oct. 31.

Students surf summer away in Hawaii and LA

By Matt Ryan Features Editor

While some students spent the summer in an office chair, behind a register or in a cabin, freshmen Felix Key and Jacob McCall and sophomore Andrew White spent their summers on surfboards.

“I started surfing my sophomore year of high school,” McCall said. “I’m an adrenaline junky — I snowboard, mountain bike, scuba dive — and I wanted to go surfing all my life. Eventually I got to go to Hawaii, where I learned how to do it. When I got back I was able to keep going all the time, since I’m in California. I found a buddy of mine to go surfing with there, and now we go about three to five times a week when I’m home.”

White and Key said they also learned to surf in Hawaii. Key said the two of them eventually began making annual trips to Hawaii together about four years ago, when White’s sister and brother-in-law moved to Hawaii for a job.

“I just started surfing a few years ago when Andrew and I first went to Hawaii,” Key said. “His sister’s

husband got a job at Verizon Wireless in Hawaii, so every summer for the last few years, we’ve gone and hung out with them and surfed. They have two surfboards, so we go out early in the mornings and surf. I already skated before we started going, and I guess there’s kind of a trifecta between skating, snowboarding and surfing, so I think the skills kind of transferred over quickly.”

White said that on most days, he and Key would wake up around 4 a.m. to go surfing and watch the sunrise. Afterwards they usually went back for breakfast and spent most of the day hiking, exploring the islands or just hanging out with people.

While their days were mostly relaxing and uneventful, White said, surfing can still be risky, and wild and scary situations did occasionally arise.

“One day, just after we went out and surfed, I was getting out of the water when I saw a floating board, which is bad,” White said. “You don’t want to see a board floating out there. So everybody was freaking out, looking for whose board it was,

and next thing we know, this dude pops up with his leg bitten off. It was all over the news. It was scary to just be at the beach surfing when someone else just got attacked by a shark. Nobody knew what to do, and we were all just sitting there on the beach until the ambulance came. But then, like an hour later we got back out there. I guess that’s just the Hawaii mentality: to just get back out there.”

While surfing does have its risks, White said the experience that comes with surfing outweighs whatever dangers one might face. He said that for him, surfing is often a time for meditation and time with God.

“The reason why I surf is that when you get out in the ocean, it’s just you, your board and nature,” White said. “It’s less about actually surfing, to a lot of the people in Hawaii. For me, it’s just me and God out there. Usually, me and Felix go out early in the morning, and we go out there and surf and watch the sunrise. It’s a good time to pray, and when you’re out there you don’t have any worries. It’s a great way to start and spend the day.”

Celebrating 50 years of debate involvement

By Amber Houston

Student Writer

When it comes to public speaking people can be terrified, but imagine doing it for 50 years.

Speech professor Pat Garner has been debating for 50 years of his life. He was a participant of debate teams for seven years and has been a debate coach for 43

years. However, his relationship with the art of debate was not love at first sight.

“I had all of my high school courses planned out, and I wasn’t

going to go into debate. I wasn’t interested in it, I wasn’t interested in speech at all,” Garner said.

His dislike for debate gradually changed when he joined the campaign for presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964.

“He inspired me to get up in front of people and talk because that’s not something I do naturally or even wanted to do,” Garner said.

After his campaign for Goldwater, a teacher asked Garner to join the debate team and the rest is history.

Garner now coaches Harding’s debate team and his students appreciate the encouragement whether they win or lose.

“He quickly teaches from the very beginning to not concern yourself with winning, but concern yourself with making yourself a better debater,” junior Grayson Piershale, a member of the debate team, said.

One of the values Garner instills in his students is good sportsmanship and etiquette.

“Sometimes debates can be a little snickety and people can step on each other’s toes and be very sarcastic, but he just loves wit, and humor, and he’s very clever so he teaches us to be very clever without being rude,” sophomore

Ryann Money said.

One of the aspects Garner appreciates about debating is how it teaches the participant to view different perspectives.

“It’s a way of seeing the world and analyzing thoughts and things of that nature,” Garner said.

He said the debate team is like a small family that comes together to do what they love most, which is to debate and learn from each other.

“My teammates are the best and I’ve learned a great deal about friendship through them, as corny as that sounds, and a great deal about how people from all over campus can come together and have a really good time,” Money said.

Graduate student Kalvin Graham, who is also an assistant in the communications department and an adjunct in debate, said the debate team plans to celebrate Garner’s 50th year by winning more trophies and by doing what they love.

“I think we’re going to try to win a little bit more,” Graham said. “He got us plenty of trophies during his time as a debater and more as his time as a coach but we’ve got shelf space left in the debate room so we’re going to try to fill that up.”

GRANT SCHOL | The Bison

Dr. Pat Garner critiques arguments of members of the debate team during its first meeting on Tuesday. Garner has coached debate for the last 43 years.

Courtesy of JACOB MCCALL

Freshman Jacob McCall rides waves off the coast of Los Angeles this summer, capturing moments with the help of his GoPro camera. McCall, an electronic media production major, said he hopes to use his degree to produce media for surfing publications and productions.

COOKIE basket

Cookie Basket opens new location, same healthy choices

By Cole Mokry Opinions Editor

The Cookie Basket opened a second location, The Cookie Basket Two, at the River Oaks Golf Course Clubhouse on Aug. 26.

The Cookie Basket Two features a distilled version of The Cookie Basket’s menu, offering soup, sandwiches and of course, cookies. The original location in downtown Searcy is still open and thriving; The Cookie Basket Two functions primarily to serve people on the east side of town.

When I visited earlier this week, I was met with a quaint, casual dining experience. My friend and I got there before the lunch rush, seated ourselves and perused the menu. I ordered the chicken salad sandwich and a grilled cheese sandwich — on separate occasions, so stop judging — and I highly recommend both. The chicken salad was light but satisfying and the grilled cheese was warm and crispy.

Even with a drink, you won’t spend more

than $10 on a meal. The restaurant takes cash and cards. For people like me who want to eat healthier but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg, The Cookie Basket Two is a great compromise of healthy food for a realistic price. It also serves as a much-needed break from the seemingly endless stream of fast food inevitably consumed during college.

As far as what really matters — cookies, they have chocolate chip, peanut butter, snicker doodle and lemon-iced to choose from for your meal.

They also have a seasonal strawberry-iced cookie in the spring and summer. You can buy them by the dozen, which I also highly recommend, because once you have one, you will want at least 11 more.

With fast service and generous portion sizes, I was fed and full in 20 minutes. If you’re in an even bigger hurry, they do to go orders as well. The Cookie Basket Two is located at 1 Golf Course Drive and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

By Zach Hailey Asst. Copy Editor

Platinum-selling artist

Andy Grammer will make his way to campus on Friday, Sept. 12 starting at 8 p.m. A long way from his humble, street-performing roots, Grammer has sold more than 100,000 albums since 2011.

Logan Light is the Director of Campus Life in the Campus Activity Board department.

“Andy Grammer has been on my radar since the release and success of his first album,” Light said. “I knew that he had a great sound that would appeal to a lot of Harding students, but finding the right time to bring him to campus was tough. Last spring he announced the release of his sophomore album, “Magazines or Novels” and the accompanying tour. I thought this was great timing and that he would be a great start to the fall semester. His music is positive, fun and will make for a great live experience.”

Grammer has played several sold-out shows nationwide and performed on stage with artists such as Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat and Train.

“I appreciate the opportunity to get in and move things around in people,” Grammer said according to a press release. “The best gigs take place when you can see the whole room has moved somewhere together.”

Grammer started piecing together his performing skills at a very young age. By the

Social Club

time he turned 9, Grammer had already begun learning to play his dad’s guitar, and eventually performed his song “Doorstep” at a local battle of the bands competition just three years later. In 1998, Grammer heard the Grammy wining album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and said it “shifted things inside of him.”

Grammer gives credit to artists Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Coldplay for being his musical inspirations.

From upbeat songs such as “Keep Your Head Up” to deeper tracks such as “Miss Me,” Grammer says writing songs with relatable lyrics is one of the most powerful ways to touch peoples lives.

He wrote his single “Keep Your Head Up”as an encourage-

ment to himself to stay positive during the less succesful times in his career. The release of the song’s interactive music video won an MTV Award for Most Innovative. Since then, the song has been used in several TV shows and movies including “Pitch Perfect.”

Grammer released his newest album “Magazines or Novels” on Aug. 5.

“‘Back Home’ is about those friends, specific places and vivid memories that remind us of who we are,” Grammer said.

The song was released as number eight on Spotify’s Top 50 Viral streaming songs. For more information about the concert, visit www. HardingCab.com. Tickets are on sale starting at $10 or free with the CAB pass.

graphic by Cina Catteau