The Harding American Studies Institute hosted Jeff Glasbrenner in the first ASI Distinguished Lecture event of the semester on Tuesday in the Benson Auditorium to discuss “A Bad Day, Hope, and Opportunity.”
Glasbrenner is a Paralympic gold medalist, world champion, 25-time ironman athlete and a professional wheelchair basketball player.
Furthermore, the Wisconsin native became the first American amputee to summit Mount Everest in 2016.
Last spring, he was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
On July 30, 1980, Glasbrenner lost his right leg from the knee down following a farming accident.
After 13 operations and 47 days in the hospital, he knew his life had changed forever. Glasbrenner said his lecture not only applies to his own life, but the lives of others as well.
“I think you have to have all of it,” Glasbrenner said. “I think if you have a bad day, you learn to deal with adversity. The bad days are the ones that really matter because of how you respond.”
Throughout his athletic career, the amputee learned how “to prove his ability despite his disability.”
Whether he performed on the collegiate, professional or international level, Glasbrenner said he never looked back in his endeavors.
“Always put your best foot forward,” Glasbrenner said. “If you can continue to believe in God and continue to have good
people around you — then you really can accomplish anything.”
The event brought in members from the Harding and Searcy community. Sophomore Camden Helms, a member of the Harding track and field team, said it was inspiring to hear from an athletic perspective.
“It gives you a competitive edge on the field,” Helms said. “You get to learn how to overcome your own struggles in the sport, because he has done it already.”
Following the lecture, Harding President Mike Williams led a question and answer discussion. Williams encourages students to attend future lectures and take advantage of the “once in a lifetime” opportunity.
“It’s an inspiring message and it is something everyone needs to hear,” Williams said. “The things [Glasbrenner] talked about are universal themes that inspire us to persevere and maintain hope.”
So what’s next for the 51-year-old Paralympian?
Glasbrenner plans to complete the Explorers Grand Slam: a challenge to reach the North and South poles, and climb the tallest summit in each continent.
As the semester continues, Glasbrenner said he wants students to realize that “there is more in life out there.”
“Hopefully I can inspire and motivate the students to try for their own gold medal, or try for their own [Mount] Everest,” Glasbrenner said. “By going to this school, [students] discover their faith and discover new possibilities.”
Jeff Glasbrenner speaks to the crowd Sept. 17 in the Benson Auditorium. ASI hosted Glasbrenner as their first distinguished guest of the semester.
Credo hosts campus planning sessions with Harding students
Students were invited last week to join campus planning sessions with Credo, an organization that focuses on small private educational institutions.
Session leader Dean Rodehaver was in meetings with various groups at Harding to figure out the best plan for Harding’s future campus adaptations.
“What we’re trying to do with serious meetings with faculty, staff and students is to say, ‘Here’s what we’ve learned about you, here’s what we all agreed to… and here’s some data to support what we’ve put together as potential solutions to some of the challenges,’” Rodehaver said.
Rodehaver’s meeting with the University cabinet will present the options Harding has to update and grow its campus for both the immediate and future needs of students.
“Harding’s enrollment is expected to increase by as much as 41% by 2030,” Rodehaver said.
In preparation for these changes, Rodehaver has taken time to quiz faculty and students about the adaptations needed on campus.
Viewpoints of students on and off campus, freshman to graduate students, were heard. Nothing definite was decided through these talks, however they did reveal many topics Credo is considering.
Chief among these is considering where Harding has opportunity to grow, and what programs would benefit the most from it.
Credo may propose a new building for the health sciences that offers an “interprofessional experience” for the students in nursing, physician’s assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy programs, giving them a simulated environment to learn in.
The Benson Auditorium is also a candidate for expansion in its lobby and its backstage storage, which would remove the need for the cargo containers that accompany every Spring Sing. Smaller expansions were examined for the Reynolds, Stevens and the Pryor-England Science Center.
The Pryor-England Science Center in particular was a talking point, as it is already comprised of four sections connected together.
A second but more expensive option would be a new building for computer science, similar to the one being examined for health sciences.
Another factor while considering these choices is Harding’s mission to promote a close community.
“One of the things I like about Harding is that it almost gives a ‘big campus’ feel, but it’s a small student body,” freshman Tate Jones said. “It feels like the buildings are spread out in a way where it feels like you’re walking through this big campus but you still see the same faces.”
This feeling is influenced by the layout of campus and its various hubs and dividing points. Students widely agreed the front lawn is not accessible enough and would prefer more lawn seating and less fencing near the Heritage. Plans for this are mostly to clean up the corners of the front lawn; these are the entry points to the heart of campus. The Credo team is also considering removing parking in front of dorms Armstrong and Keller, and relocating that space to a bigger lot across the street, opening up that corner of campus and making it safer.
A similar change could be made to the front of Pryor-England Science Center. If the expansions go through, the parking lot would be taken out to make room, and
that street would be changed to expand the walkway flowing down from the Heritage and McInteer. This also gives room for another outdoor patio like the one outside the Hammond Student Center.
To replace this parking lot, Rodehaver’s suggested plan is to remove the Lee building and make a new street in its place, reconnecting the loop.
Another change that would be beneficial is an expanded library. Compared to Credo’s other projects, Harding’s library is small relative to its students, according to Rodehaver. An expansion could offer more for students in terms of community area. Whether it is more prudent to expand outwards or upwards remains to be seen.
Other projects students expressed interest in were accessibility for Harding park, oncampus club storage, new décor for the Heritage lobby and the idea of rooftop terraces.
One concept Rodehaver asked students about was to take the Harding bookstore to a different location and to use that space
for a hub that would make the Student Center more inviting to students than it is currently. Few students need the bookstore on a regular basis, and so it is a prime location for something new.
Finally, Rodehaver pitched the idea of a multipurpose gathering center for large clubs who have limited spaces on campus to accommodate such size. This is more relevant now that the Administration building policy has changed and students can no longer use its projection system.
“That has been a very big struggle with a lot of clubs,” freshman Athenn Stewart said. “We don’t have enough of those spaces, and then we’re having to do crazy hours for different things.”
While students enjoyed the chance to express their needs, none of these ideas have been decided upon yet. The final decision will be up to the Harding Cabinet.
ELLIOTT COOMBES guest writer
A map of the Harding campus displayed in the Regions Room during the Credo campus planning session
12. The meeting, led by Dean Rodehaver, focused on various plans and designs for the University’s
Photo provided by Lexi Earnhart
Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery
Graphic by BEN EVANS
Baja team races into a new season
After spending months carefully crafting the perfect off-road vehicle, the Harding University’s Baja team is ready to put the wheels on dirt and get started for another season.
Baja is a collegiate event where teams from all over the world design, build and compete in a single 4-wheel-drive off-road vehicle.
Team captain and senior Lukas Rambo said they race against a variety of schools.
“We build a new car every academic year, and we race against other schools, big and small,” Rambo said. “Moving forward, we would like a larger marketing, sales and business team that we could integrate to gain publicity, support and sponsorships.”
This past weekend, the Baja team placed 17th out of the 86 total schools who participated
in the Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineering (SAE) event, placing higher than bigger schools like Oklahoma State University, the University of Tennessee, Michigan State University and many more.
Sophomore Dylan Lyon said he hopes to use his time spent with the Harding Baja team as an advantageous experience in his future career and life.
“What really got me interested in Baja is the amount of opportunities it provides from working as a team and becoming like family to getting an amazing head start on applying what I’ll be learning going forward,” Lyon said. “Even for non-engineers, the Baja team provides opportunities to learn what the business side looks like in the real world.”
The team is mostly made up of business and engineering majors. There are a variety of different roles one could have on the team.
Senior Creed Daniel said he appreciates the collaboration and teamwork the group shows during each stage of the competition season.
“I can’t put into words just how welcoming the team is; I showed up as a clueless freshman and just started asking questions, and they answered each one to a level I could understand and were super patient with me,” Daniel said. “Now that I’m older, there’s a huge amount of respect from the engineers and business majors as both collaborate together to earn the most amount of points possible for competitions.”
Senior Drew McGinness said one of his favorite memories with the team has been the rewarding feeling he gets at the end of his race.
“Being able to cross the finish line of the endurance race after so many service pits was a great feeling,” McGinness said.
“Countless late nights going into a car to race for four hours, and hearing ‘there’s the checkered flag’ over your friend’s radio was incredibly special.”
For more information, attend one of the team’s meetings on Tuesday and Thursday outside of the Ulrey Performing Arts Center from 7 to 9 p.m. Daniel said he encourages anyone who is interested to come to a meeting and the team would be able to answer any questions about Baja.
“Come out to the shop at least once,” Daniel said. “Ask questions and get to know about the personalities on the team. There are so many opportunities and experiences you couldn’t get otherwise.”
Ride-share program kicks off for international students
The ride-share program for the international students at Harding gives students rides to stores in Searcy such as Walmart and Searcy City Center every two weeks. Mary Ellen Brumley, director of International Student Services, has put together this program in order to make sure every student is well taken care of.
“The Walton Scholars do the ride-shares to Walmart, and I wanted to provide that to the international students,” Brumley said. “So, we basically combined the Waltons with the international students.We have a fleet of drivers, I think there’s like seven, eight of them, they’re all Waltons. They will take turns, some of them will group up in pairs, and it’s a volunteer position.”
Senior Walton Scholar Camila Ramos shared her experience with the ride-share program and her thoughts on the Walton Scholars program.
“The Walton Scholarship is really always asking what we need or things like that,” Ramos said. “I hear that other scholarships are not like that —their directors are not like that — and the students are just like, ‘What’s next? I need something, but I don’t know how to do it.’ We have a Facebook group and an Excel spreadsheet that lets us put down our names for the Walmart ride.”
Junior Pablo Cordova shared about his experience with the ride-share program.
“They used to do it only with Walton Scholars, but I’m glad now they changed that and expanded it for other international students because most of us don’t have access to transportation,” Cordova said.
“I believe that there are some international students who I don’t often see for the reason that we have different schedules, but when we go to Walmart, I get to chat more with them and get to know them a bit more,” Cordova said.
The ride-share program has served the international students by providing them with a safe and consistent way to get transportation to different stores around Searcy, as well as a way of connecting with other students.
In this week’s “Back in the Day,” we reflect on the history of the speakers brought in for the American Studies Institute (ASI).
In 2024, ASI hosts Jeff Glasbrenner, Paralympic gold medalist, world champion, 25-time ironman athlete and a professional wheelchair basketball player.
In 1998, ASI hosted Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
ELI DEAN sports editor
AMANDA TOYE community editor
An off-road vehicle used by the Baja team sits in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center Sept. 9. The Baja team placed 17th out of 86 total schools at a Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineering event last weekend.
Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS
TheLink.Harding.edu 3A OPINIONS
College football is the only collegiate sport that is a multi-billion dollar industry. Yes, you read that correctly. College football is one of the largest entertainment entities in the United States. What makes it such a high-grossing sport? Why is college football held in such high regard by most Americans that they avoid planning weddings from September through January? Why are collegiate student athletes that play 12 or more games treated like royalty when they succeed? The answer is simple: pride, passion and tradition.
Many are concerned that these cornerstone beliefs of college football are disappearing. Conference realignment; name, image and likeness (NIL) deals; TV markets; playoff expansion; and transfer portal…whew. Most of these terms became commonplace among college football experts and fans alike within the last couple of years, especially NIL and transfer portal.
Now brace yourself for the irony. Three things are guaranteed: death, taxes and the tradition of college football being an everchanging entity. The concept that the sport is always changing upsets fans and experts alike, and is a valid concern because the beauty of college football is the pageantry and tradition.
Consider the alternative to college football never changing. Players’ health would not be as large of a concern compared to modernday medical treatments and sideline care for the athletes. Certain rivalries would not exist. Major TV companies would cease to promote games, thus leaving most Americans in the dark regarding the sport. Then collegiate enrollment would decline, forcing some universities to shut their doors.
This would be the dark reality of college football not adapting to the times. “But surely someone is to blame for the current state of our sport!” the fans will say. Well, let’s follow that statement.
Let’s explore the concept of conference realignment. Entire athletic conferences have
I write to you today, from beyond the metaphorical grave of graduation, to bring you a message: Life doesn’t end after college.
Shocking! I know. “But what will I do without my structured routine, my scheduled time to see friends, my walkable community, my Chick-fil-A every morning after chapel?” you may ask. And the answer to that is: You will adapt. You will overcome. And you will get over it.
Welcome to adulthood! After graduation, you may get a job (or not). You may love it (or you may not). You may move somewhere entirely new and different (or you may move right back home). Everyone’s experience will be unique, and it will be a very exciting time in your life. Do not let yourself live in the past after graduation so that you miss the beginning of your future.
You will find that you have more time for hobbies, what with the lack of homework (unless you are continuing through graduate school, in which case, I wish you the best of luck. Read this again in two years or
College Football: The everchanging tradition
realigned simply based off of football. Most will point to the current realignment of Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as the starting point of the modern conference formations, and rightfully so. Their departure from the Big 12 to the SEC opened the figurative floodgates of realignment. The most notable conference realignment amidst the turmoil was the death of the Pac 12. Now the Power 5 (P5) conferences are now the Power 4 (P4) conferences.
These two go hand-in-hand, in the sense that NIL can be used to attract players into the transfer portal to “lure” them to a different school or bring them out of the transfer portal to a different school.
The fans among us will say the transfer portal is a good thing. To a certain degree, they are correct. The transfer portal helps coaches fill roster needs and gives players an opportunity to leave a school if the head coach retires or is fired.
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS
Social media? Nah
Yet conferences have been realigning
since the dawn of the sport. Some notable realignments would be the deaths of the Southwest Conference, Big 8 conference and Big East conference. As one can see, conference realignment is nothing new to the sport. This is why casual fans are, for the most part, opposed to the modern realignment of conferences.
The other two main concerns that fans have with the new era of college football, NIL and the transfer portal, somewhat overlap each other. NIL deals have created the opportunity for all NCAA athletes to receive endorsements, deals and gifts legally. The transfer portal allows college football players to go to different schools and play for a different team in the following season without having to sit out for a year or more to qualify as eligible.
The downside to the transfer portal is glaring: roster instability. In the modern Ccollege footballera, coaches can’t build rosters and expect 90% of their roster to remain the same. They now have to fight to keep their own programs from being purged by other teams on top of recruiting high school players.
NIL creates its own issues too. Who determined that a quarterback makes millions while his offensive lineman, the guys who make sure he gets hurt, never see a dime of profit? It seems more and more commonplace in the modern era that players are committing to places based on what NIL deals they can get.
“There is a lack of loyalty to one’s school,” the fans cry. They seem to forget that money being given to players to get them to commit to schools has been going on for a long time.
After having shown you, the reader, a tour of the current landscape of college football, do you find yourself realizing that the entity remains the same, just with a new face?
Whatever you feel, hopefully we can agree that weddings should never take place in the fall and that college football is a beautiful sport that reaches across generations to unite us for the common beliefs of pride, passion and tradition.
WESLEY HALL is a guest writer for The Bison. He may be contacted at whall6@harding.edu.
Ten thousand more words
whenever you’re done.) As for myself, I’ve actually had the time and energy to read for fun again — not having any required reading does a body good. I’ve enjoyed painting and creating, something I haven’t let myself do since high school. I’ve found that exercise can be motivating and enjoyable, unlike in college, when I felt like I never had the time or effort for it. Yes, you will miss college, but there are many positives to life beyond it that you will become grateful for.
Though I am grateful for my life beyond college, I am also grateful that I had such a wonderful experience in college to miss. I miss seeing friends after chapel; I miss Knights meetings; I miss sitting on the Midnight Oil porch in the fall; and I especially miss working for The Bison. The Bison was the first organization I was a part of at Harding. I started as a lowly assistant sports editor, a position that doesn’t even exist anymore (thank goodness). My first ever opinion piece in The Bison, which ran Nov. 1, 2019, was titled, “Life as a Hogs fan,” in which I wrote of the
unending disappointment that came with being a fan of the Razorbacks. Some things never change. I also worked for The Bison as news editor, layout editor, online editor and editor-in-chief, and wrote more articles and opinion pieces than I would want to count. Working for The Bison was difficult, but so rewarding. Being able to inform campus of issues people cared about was motivating, and gave me a passion for journalism and writing that I would not have found through just my classwork.
So, before you graduate, before you have to worry about life after college, embrace what you are able to embrace now. Get involved with something on campus that you care about. Go to sporting events and tailgates. Put off your homework a little longer to do something fun with your friends. You will miss these days, yes, but only if you give yourself something to miss.
And afterwards, when you are starting life in the real world, you will find it can be just as fun and just as rewarding. I won’t lie to you — it does take more effort. But what comes with that effort is worth it. It’s friendships built on intentionality, not just proximity. It’s free time in the evenings that can be filled with experiences, not homework. It’s finding your faith through adversity and fellowship, not through 8 a.m. Bible class. I’m here on the other side, and I can tell you that it’s worth it.
EMMA JONES MILNES was the 2022-23 editor-in-chief for The Bison. She may be contacted at ejones@nwaonline.com.
I do not have Instagram. I do not have Snapchat. I do not have TikTok. I do not have BeReal. My friend Randi and I deleted our Instagram accounts last September. After one year without it, I’ve done a lot of reflection, and I’ve come to a few conclusions about social media.
My confidence stabilized massively in the last year. Maybe this would have happened if I still had Instagram; maybe it wouldn’t have. What I do know, though, is I am comparing myself to random people far less. I still have Facebook, and when I am on Facebook more, I find myself comparing more. My confidence falls, and I feel like I am not enough.
My friendships have not faltered. The closest people in my life did not like me less or treat me differently because I was not on their feed. True friendship goes far beyond the bounds of a like or a username. If anything, I feel more intentionally connected to my friends because I do not perceive my friendships through the filter of how often they post photos with me.
My perspective on pride has changed. I still think about myself too often — I guess we all do. However, I do firmly believe social media’s roots are in pride. We always want to be perceived, and we always want to control how we are perceived. Social media magnifies and realizes our desire for perception and turns it into an addiction. When I had Instagram, I found myself constantly checking who had liked my posts or stories or who had commented on my posts. I wanted to be cool and effortless and kind and beautiful and intelligent and…everything positive. My mental “perfection checklist” scanned every photo I took simply for its value to my Instagram.
I am significantly more productive than I was when I had Instagram. It is dangerously easy to spend hours on it. That’s the whole point, the whole reason for the app’s success. Instagram was only an obstacle to my homework, and amidst our busy lives, the last thing we need is a new distraction to evade. I could explain more benefits to deleting social media, too: increased attention span, less political stress, etc. You get the point. I could go on and on, but my point here is that to delete social media is to regain many helpful facets of our lives. I have grown exponentially without the weight of it on my life.
Maybe I sound like a broken record. We young people have been fed so many statistics about the mental damages of social media in the last few years– we’ve practically become immune to every warning we see. I get it. Maybe I am being annoying. After seeing my personal transformation, though, I truly believe that social media has a net negative impact on each of us. There are benefits, but there are more harms — far more.
You do not have to delete your social media to be a good person. But I plead that you consider — really consider — why you post what you do, when you do. Is your social media account making you into the best version of yourself?
HELEN STRICKLAND is the opinions editor for The Bison. She may be contacted at hstrickland@harding.edu.
Jackson Trahant
Amelia Slater Evelyn Filleman Addie Echols
Coombes
Aidan Efaw
Emma Jones Editor-in-chief, 2022-23
Graphic by SYDNEY PALMER
Guest Writer Wesley Hall
Emma Jones Milnes
Graphic by MAKAYLA MCDONALD
Editor-in-chief Nic Fraraccio
Stress relief
I want to begin by offering my thoughts and prayers to Austin Corn, one of my best friends I mentioned in my previous column. Keep your head held high, and I look forward to seeing you soon brother.
I thought about publishing this column right before dead week. However, this topic has pricked my heart in recent days.
Here is a question for you: What is your main source of stress relief? It could be reading, singing or playing video games — everyone has a form of stress relief that they use. Some of you might be trying to guess mine right now. Let me guess, you probably think my answer is watching sports. Are you kidding me? I watch the Tampa Bay Rays and Chelsea Football Club daily. Unfortunately, both teams are struggling to play well at the moment.
However, my form of stress relief does involve the world’s game. After high school, I would ride my bike down to the local soccer field. Most of the time, I would go kick the ball around by myself.
I never brought a routine or schema to the pitch when I was stressed out. It was just myself, the ball and a goal with a ripped net. I took free kicks and penalties, juggled the ball or practiced dribbling. It changed almost every single time I visited the field. Unfortunately, your form of stress relief does not always help during times of trouble. I did not feel the same when I went to play soccer in 2020. Even if I was doing well, I felt numb when I spent time playing the sport I love.
I do not think anyone ruined it for me; I just was not confident in myself at the time. We all find ourselves in this situation at some point in our lives. Guess what? Even if your source of peace is not working, it will always be well with your soul.
I find joy in Matthew 11:28-30 when I am filled with anxiety:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Thankfully, I have found peace in the game again. I love supporting my friends on the Harding soccer teams. (By the way, the women’s team plays at home tomorrow at 11 a.m. Go out and support the Lady Bisons at the Stephens Soccer Complex.)
I know some people who are currently stressed about things that normally bring them joy or relaxation. If you are stuck in a rut, I have some simple, yet powerful advice for you.
As the semester progresses, take your burdens to God and pray for peace. Prayer is the most powerful form of stress relief. Also, do not let someone ruin your goals and passions. I am not saying that it is easy — I am reminding you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep on striving to get better in whatever you do.
I will leave you with a song from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel. The title, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” is a meaningful message for those who are feeling stressed or alone. If you are a fan of Liverpool Football Club, this song is very familiar to you. Here are some of the lyrics:
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
For your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone.
I hope you have a great day. Be blessed, and it is well.
NIC FRARACCIO is editor-in-chief for The Bison. He may be contacted at nfraraccio@harding.edu.
I know math has hurt you. She has brought us all to tears at the kitchen table late on a school night trying to figure out how to complete the square. She has made you feel dumb in class and exhausted you with her constant problems. What does this pain amount to?
For anyone pursuing a non-STEM major, possibly nothing. Arithmetic is useful in an obvious way, but anything beyond that seems frivolous. We have calculators for a reason. But what if learning math for the sake of math was worth something? What if that graphing calculator from high school could do more than solve the quadratic formula? What if we valued foundational math like we did foundational English?
If your high school was anything like mine, your class begrudgingly read Jane Eyre in 9th grade. Everyone struggled with the prose and length of the book, but at the end you enjoy the gothic twist. By senior year, the skills you gained from reading the classics now translate into high-level comprehension and writing skills. Your morals also tend to mature because you have witnessed fictional
It was 2009. I was in London with the HUE program, enjoying one of the greatest semesters of my career. As a teacher of British Lit, I was living the dream, visiting sites I had read about for years. From watching the guards at Buckingham Palace to staring down Dr. Moriarty at the Sherlock Holmes Museum; from gazing up at the dome of St. Paul’s to standing in the houses of Dickens, Keats, and Handel — every day was an adventure with my name on it.
London is a wonderful city for theatre. While the highlight was seeing “As You Like It” at the Globe — it was simply magical — I also caught the long-running play “The Mousetrap” and was enchanted by the oneman show of famous Italian quick-change artist Arturo Brachetti. Many of our students saw the big musicals like “Wicked” or “Les Mis,” but my show-biz splurge was to get tickets for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
This groundbreaking adaptation of the Tennessee Williams classic was directed by Debbie Allen and featured an all-Black cast. Big Mamma was played by Phylicia Rashad, who I had grown up watching on “The Cosby Show,” years before we knew about the dark side of her co-star. But an even bigger draw for me was to see Big Daddy played by another of my childhood heroes: James Earl Jones.
The powerhouse actor — who died last week at the age of 93 — has been known for nearly 50 years as the voice of Darth Vader. It would be hard to put into words how important he was in my youth. I was 5 years old when “Star Wars” burst on the scene and changed pop culture forever. It was the first film to market a massive toy line, and I vividly remember walking into a Ben Franklin department store in my hometown and seeing a box taller than I was filled with “Star Wars” action figures. I nearly dropped to my knees.
I don’t know a single male in 1977 who didn’t try to do the Vader voice. That deep,
A defense for math
characters wrestle with life choices and difficult themes. Later in college, these skills you obtained now allow you to read longer novels and have intellectual discussions about philosophy. Math should follow the same format. You take algebra and geometry and struggle to find x and understand cosines. Then you come to college and discover that trigonometry and algebra are a core concept in every class you take. You move on to calculus and differential equations and find the derivation of equations you have used for years; you get to see the infinite capabilities of graphs and integrals. Struggling through the classics lets you learn the concepts that change your worldview. Imagine learning to read but never picking up a book again. That is what happens when you take high school algebra and never push yourself in math. Or, picture someone reading Animal Farm or The Crucible with no historical context. You would tell them that there is an entire dimension to the book that they are missing. Taking algebra but not calculus is missing the entire fourth dimension of math (literally:
resonant, sinister voice. It seemed to come from way down inside a well. Picture a 5-year-old, squeaky-sounding kid trying to imitate those heavy tones. Once when our dog got out of the back yard, I summoned my inner dark side and announced, “Escape is not his plan — I will deal with him . . . alone.” Yet it’s hard to pull off evil gravitas when you’re four feet tall and wearing a Sesame Street t-shirt.
If I couldn’t quite muster the voice, there was always the breathing. That perpetual gas mask wheezing, best accomplished by cupping both hands around your mouth. Nobody could breathe quite so ominously as Darth Vader. He was played by the 6-anda-half-foot British actor David Prowse, but the vocal talents of James Earl Jones are what fans remember.
He was, of course, the voice of Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and he charmed baseball fans in “Field of Dreams,” as well as in “The Sandlot” as the old blind man with the scary dog. Equally at ease on stage, screen, or television, he was one of few performers to earn the EGOT: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. He was much in demand for voice-overs. “This is CNN,” he said nightly.
Not everyone knew that the Mississippiborn actor had a terrible stutter. From the beginning, his voice was awkward and shaky. Acting and reciting poetry saved him, he claimed. Becoming a character was all he needed to do, and the stutter would disappear.
He was fantastic as Bi g Daddy, the domineering patriarch of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” After the show, I headed outside to the
time is the fourth dimension). Take a calculus class. If not for a requirement to graduate, take it to make yourself a better person, to learn about the beauty of the invisible world around you, or to humble yourself severely (as I was when I took calculus). If you cannot commit to a math class, I would prescribe a dosage of 3Blue1Brown videos to see the curiosity and joy of math or any book by Matt Parker. Don’t let yourself be math illiterate. Become the parent who can understand your kids’ math homework and inspire them to have a better relationship with math.
AMELIA SLATER is a guest writer for The Bison. She may be contacted at aslater1@harding.edu.
rear of the theatre, hoping to catch a closer glimpse of The Voice of my childhood. A few others stood with me, pens and programs in hand. Phylicia Rashad and her entourage walked right past us, perhaps in a hurry to be somewhere.
There was a limousine waiting for James Earl Jones, but when the 78-year-old former Shakespearean actor saw the small group of fans, he sat in the back seat of his car and motioned us over. One by one he greeted us and signed autographs. He was pleased with the audience that night. “I think they knew the play,” he said, in a voice much softer than I expected. Of course, he had been booming on stage for two hours.
It took every ounce of resolve for me not to ask him to do Darth Vader. I was not going to be that person. And it’s true: hearing “Escape is not his plan” from the back of that limo would have sent me into orbit, into a galaxy far, far away. May the force be with you, Mr. Jones.
CLAXTON is a narrative columnist for The Bison. He may be contacted at mclaxto1@harding.edu.
MICHAEL
Meeting Darth Vader
Narrative Columnist
Michael Claxton
Guest Writer Amelia Slater
Graphicby SYDNEY PALMER
Graphic by MAKAYLA MCDONALD
Bobby Reeves, who have a long history of working together.
As the Harding softball team is gearing up for another season, some of the members attribute their success to the community found in the team.
“What drew me to Harding originally was the Christian aspect, and I love that we incorporate that in the team,” former outfielder Jordan Cabana said. “A core value we have on the team is family. Having a group of 20 best friends is really special…and that’s what I think makes us so successful.”
The Lady Bisons’ familial atmosphere stems directly from their coaches: head coach Ashley Reeves and assistant coach
Cross country continues strong start during home meet “Mr. Coach” helps softball team succeed
The Harding cross country program boosted a strong start at home as they hosted the Steve Guymon Invitational last Friday night.
The men’s team won their second straight meet to start the season, while the Lady Bisons took second place, only passed by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The teams battled uncertainty due to weather early Friday, however it cleared mostly before the meet.
For the men’s team, all five of their scoring runners finished in the top 12, with another two runners following in the top 15. Freshman Josphat Meli finished first in his Bison debut, and senior Luke Walling finished just a minute behind him in second place. Walling is hopeful for a big season, and believes this team has the ability to break through to the NCAA Championships in November.
“It’s all just building on each other, brick by brick kind of, you know,” Walling said.
“Our head coach, Coach Reeves, played for [Mr. Reeves] at Texas Tech; he was her coach,” senior Brooke Johnson said. “Then she ended up marrying his son. When she took the position here, she asked him to come be the assistant coach.”
Mr. Reeves is known by the group as “Mr. Coach.”
“When [Mr. Reeves] joined the team, we didn’t know what to call him,” Johnson said. “It would get really confusing if we just called them both ‘coach.’ The nickname stemmed from this YouTuber Domingo Ayala. [Ayala] plays this character and uses the phrase ‘Mr. Coach,’ and when we heard about it it just stuck.”
“You just want to be able to push yourself and let people know, ‘Hey, we’re real this year.’”
For the women’s team, the familiar environment and support from peers and professors pushed the Lady Bisons to another top three finish, coming in second after securing third place the previous weekend at UT-Tyler.
Junior Josie Parks finished second overall in last weekend’s meet, securing a personal best 5k time at 18:11.9, her second straight race finishing top three overall and first on the team. Parks gave credit to younger members of the team for staying positive and pushing the team as they have dealt with injuries to a few top runners.
“We have a lot of younger girls this year, and I think they’ve had really great, positive attitudes towards everything, which is all you can ask for as an upperclassman,” Parks said. “They just come in and they’re ready to work, and it’s just made it a really good atmosphere.”
Head cross country and track coach Don Hood said he was proud of both teams’
“Mr. Coach” is an important part of the team’s morale. Team members say he works hard to make every player feel seen and heard.
“Mr. Coach talks a lot about visualization and the mental side of the game,” Johnson said. “He makes sure we’re all doing okay mentally before he critiques us physically. Both coaches always tell us. ‘If you’re having a bad day, come let us know. You still have to do the work, it’s not an excuse, but we want to know what’s going on in your life.’”
Additionally, “Mr. Coach” and head coach Ashley Reeves do their best to welcome their players into their family.
“The coaches will set up dinners and holiday parties at their homes,” junior Kate Pierce said. “This helps the team to have fellowship outside of practices and get closer
performances at the home meet, as they practiced in and prepared for the rain that never showed up for the race.
“You know, they’re troopers,” Hood said. “This morning, we got up, and we ran in the rain. They don’t care, they’re gonna get it done no matter what. They are so focused on attaining this prize and becoming the best team they can, be it rain, shine, or cold, doesn’t matter to them, they’re gonna get it done.”
Coach Hood and the cross country teams have high hopes for this season, as they both look to compete in the Great American Conference, and break on to the national stage.
with one another…They also have a lot of fun together and are able to joke around with each other as well.”
The team’s relationship dynamic is centered on family, high standards and capacity for success. Through everything they do, they try to focus on God and one another while working together as a team to achieve their goals.
“We have a lot of new girls this year with a ton of talent,” Pierce said. “We have set some high goals, and I believe that we have the capability to achieve them. The year has been great so far, everyone has meshed really well. I am looking forward to a successful season.”
Harding esports team looks to expand ahead of season
JACOB BRANSON
beat reporter
The Harding esports team, entering its third year, competes in several video gaming competitions yearly. Coach Paiton Vanwinkle has worked at Harding for seven years and was enthusiastic about cultivating a competitive gaming experience for students.
“I’ve been a gamer my entire life, and I knew that there was a market for it,” Vanwinkle said. “It was important to offer something additional to more kids who also had that interest.”
In addition to the current roster of games in which they compete, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Vanwinkle is looking to open up Valorant this semester, as well as considering Call of Duty, Halo and Rainbow Six Siege.
“I’m trying to spread [the team] as much as possible,” Vanwinkle said. “Anybody that wants to play has always had the opportunity to play... I don’t turn anybody away.”
Last semester, the Rocket League team “went undefeated and won the Grand Finals, beating LSU,” Vanwinkle said. “We started that LSU game a man down, so we actually played that first game 2v3 [which] they won 10-4.”
Following their success in the grand finals, Vanwinkle has pushed for the team to enter larger-scale tournament brackets, and have now joined the Great American Conference. Each team has scheduled practices in GAC 153. Senior Ibrahim Blake, a former member of the Overwatch team, describes the room as “a pretty simple computer lab, but it’s been outfitted with new desktops with high-end graphics cards and CPUs, as well as all the peripherals like high resolution monitors and keyboards and mice.”
Vanwinkle said a “push to get a dedicated space” is “our next big move,” a sentiment shared by Blake, who said, “The equipment is what it needs to be, but what could help is more space.”
“I decided to join because I’ve been playing the game since it came out and
thought it would be fun to be on the team,”
sophomore Colton Ward, a current member of the Overwatch team, said. “I like our team because we can be fun and goof off, but also be serious when it comes down to it. We are currently in our off season, so practice is a bit spotty, however on a normal basis we usually practice together once or twice a week, along with individual practice.”
Blake said a typical practice usually consists of “running some games or rewatching matches from previous games to analyze what we could do better.”
Unlike other travel teams at Harding which need to travel, “we just need a stable internet connection,” Vanwinkle said. “We’ve historically played schools on the West Coast, schools on the East Coast, we’ve played a few international teams.”
Ward said the team is looking to rebuild its numbers after many team members graduated. Currently,
the team has a few scholarships to hand out to its participants. “The main thing we need is more members,” Ward said. “I know last year there were a couple freshmen who got scholarships. Everyone is welcome to join, they simply need to reach out.”
EVELYN FILLEMAN guest writer
AIDAN EFAW guest writer
Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery
Assistant coach Bobby Reeves talks over the game plan with head coach and daughter-in-law Ashley Reeves during a practice this fall. Bobby coached
Ashley while they were both at Texas Tech University, and now is helping his former player as an assistant at Harding.
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS
New public library opens in Searcy
A grand opening for the new location of the Searcy public library was held the morning of Sept. 18. It celebrated the collaborative effort of many donors to build the Janett and Larry Crain Memorial Library, which contains a coffee shop, a passport office and a computer lab.
The $8.6 million project was composed of 51% donations. The project was completed without requiring any additional tax for funding.
Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner thanked the donors for their contributions.
”What makes this project truly special is because of the collaboration and contributions of so many to create this hub of education, imagination, inspiration, access to technology and community connection,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner said that he was excited about the library’s proximity to Yancey Park and the opportunities the space will offer the community.
”This facility is a lighthouse within the White County Library System,” Faulkner said.
At the ceremony, Faulkner presented a key to the city to library director Darla Ino, for her dedication to the creation of the library.
Ino emphasized that the library serves all of White County, not just Searcy residents.
“What has been accomplished here will be a blessing to this community for many, many
years to come,” Ino said. “As a public library, we serve all ages, representing all walks of life and every socioeconomic background.”
Larry Crain Jr. said he was honored by the large turnout at the opening.
“My mom used to take me and [my brother] to the old library,” Crain said. “To see the change to go from a very small library to the best one in the state of Arkansas, I’m excited for the entire community.”
Bald Knob Bookmobile reaches children, families
CERRA CATHRYN ANDERSON features editor
Bald Knob, a neighboring town to Searcy, has developed a bookmobile through its public school systems to service children and families in the district. The bus stops at different locations across the district each week during the summer. Children and families who visit the bookmobile can check out books through a physical card system with a name and phone number, and they return the book when they next visit. Lisa Moore, the previous director of federal and special programs at Bald Knob, got the idea started.
“I went somewhere and saw the Beebe one, and it just kind of inspired me that we could do that with one of our old buses,” Moore said. “At the time we had a lot of money that we had for literacy, and so I presented [the idea] to the superintendent, and then the board approved for us to do it, and so we got busy.”
The bookmobile was developed in 2020, just as COVID-19 was hitting the community. The bus was originally funded and continues to be maintained through federal and state categorial money, specifically the money earmarked for literacy. The school renovated a decommissioned bus, removing seats to lay flooring and build shelves, and covering the windows with metal paneling. School librarians ordered hundreds of books to fill the shelves.
Moore said they were allowed to give food to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, but current regulations have eliminated that service. Moore appreciates the faithful visitors of the bookmobile.
“We don’t have as big of crowds as I would love to have with it, but we have a lot of kids that are faithful to use it, and they love it—the kids that come, they love it, and they wait on it every week,” Moore said.
Marcy Dugger, the current director of federal and special programs at Bald Knob, inherited the project from Moore and has
Bald Knob Bookmobile sits and waits for students to check out books Sept. 5. The Bookmobile is a summer program that allows both children and parents to check out books to read.
worked to promote the bookmobile idea throughout the state.
“I presented last year at the Federal Coordinators Conference,” Dugger said. “I presented our bus, and like, I’ve had several people from around the state say, okay can you give us some more information on that, so it is picking up and becoming a pretty neat thing—just a community outreach, parent outreach for the schools.”
Dugger said parents have also checked out books.
“The parents that come, like I said, to me a lot of them, they want to check out a book too, so it gives them the opportunity to read,
not just their kids, and then their kids to see them reading,” Dugger said.
Both Moore and Dugger advocate for various literacy initiatives in their school district, such as book vending machines where children can earn tokens and receive book rewards to build their own libraries.
Jennifer Byrd, a sixth grade math teacher in Bald Knob, is a frequent visitor of the bookmobile with her two children.
“Right after COVID time is when the public library shut down, and they were having to bag books and put them for curbside pickup, so we started using the book mobile,” Byrd said.
Byrd references the social media posts to know where and when the bookmobile will be stopping, and noted that the locations are strategically chosen–parks, church lots and even the public library serve as landing spots for visitors. She said she likened the bookmobile to an ice-cream truck.
“It’s fun, it really is,” Byrd said.
Moore shared her perspective on how the Bald
school district utilizes their resources to impact the community in unique projects and initiatives like the bookmobile.
“We may not be a big school, but the things that we like to do are the things that kind of make us unique,”
said.
MAGGIE SAMPLES news editor
The opening created excitement for a variety of Searcy citizens. “I am excited for story time,” 4-year-old Emaline Haugh said.
Knob
Moore
Photo provided by Lisa Moore
Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL
Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL
Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner speaks at the Janett and Larry Crain Memorial Library grand opening on Sept. 18. The library is here to serve and outreach to all socioeconomic members of the community.
Searcy citizens celebrate the opening of the new public library, Janett and Larry Crain Memorial Library, Sept. 18. The library is located on Beebe Capps in Searcy and carries DVDs, books of all genres, magazines, music and more.
TheLink.Harding.edu FEATURES
Tessa Davidson presents art project
Tessa Davidson was commissioned in the spring of 2022 to create a painting of the Old Testament. It took her over two years to complete. She presented her first Old Testament painting Sept. 12 in Cone Chapel. This is the first time that the College of Bible and Ministry has commissioned a professional painter to capture the Old and New Testaments. Davidson is an assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design. A few years ago, Davidson held a
painting exhibit at the University. Dr. Mac Sandlin and Dr. Monte Cox, both Bible professors, admired her work. After the exhibit, Davidson was invited to a meeting with Cox and Sandlin. They asked her if she wanted to do a professional painting for the College of Bible and Ministry; she said yes.
“Dr. Cox and Dr. Sandlin said to me, ‘We want to commission you to do some art work for the dean suite office of the College of Bible and Ministry,’” Davidson said.
Sandlin, associate professor of theology and ethics and the chairman of the McInteer Aesthetics Committee, said the committee
has existed for three years. As a committee they also do commission work, so they commissioned professor Davidson to paint two large paintings representing the Old Testament and the New Testament.
“The first one is already done and was presented already, and the second one will be done in about one year,” Sandlin said.
Sandlin said he went to the Swaid and saw beautiful art and started thinking about how they could have the same in their building. He started fundraising and commissioned Davidson to do some art for them. Edwin Hendrix, a Harding alumnus who majored
in business administration and missions, said she did a good job when she presented the painting in Cone Chapel. Hendrix attended the unveiling event, and said he was not surprised to see the great work that Davidson did.
“I was invited by Tessa since we are special friends, she sent me an email,” Hendrix said. They were part of a church group that went on a mission trip to Casa de la Esperanza in Chihuahua, Mexico, where she has done artwork for the children’s home.
Rosita the pig stars as Tri Sigma Delta’s unofficial mascot
Last year, seniors Emma Curry and Macy Ham, former and current presidents of women’s social club Tri Sigma Delta, were searching for a mascot to represent the club during club week. Little did they know the small, noisy surprise they would procure. Rosita, lovingly denoted as the “Tri Sig Pig,” is a small farm pig, barely a year old, owned by former softball assistant coach Chris Wiman. Rosita came to the family as a birthday present, and has become a constant source of joy and excitement in the Wimans’ daily routines.
“I have wanted a pig for years and strongly believe that every family needs a pig living inside their home to keep everyone on their toes,” Wiman said.
However, Rosita wasn’t born the Tri Sig Pig; when the club and their hunt for a mascot first began, Curry and Ham, along with their friend Alix Miller, had settled on a small pig plushie.
“So when it started, we had a stuffed animal, a little pig,” Curry said. “Alix thought it would be a cool idea that when we had our meetings, or when we had a game, whoever wins got the Tri Sig Pig.”
However, the women of Tri Sigma Delta knew they needed something more. So, leading up to club week in 2023, Ham reached out to Wiman to make Rosita, the real life pig, a part of the club.
“I had the bright idea during club week, we have a family friend that lives in Searcy that actually owns a pig, so I was like, ‘What if we bring her to all-club?’” Ham said.
And bring her to all-club they did, where Rosita became an instant hit. In the year since her first appearance, Rosita has become a huge recruiting tool for the club, representing the women’s fun and energy.
The women took a big risk, however, being the first club in recent years to bring a live animal to the yearly event.
“So we brought her the first night, and Emma held her,” Ham said. “We were kinda scared; we asked ourselves, ‘Can we even bring her in here?’”
Curry chimed in and mentioned they had not run this idea by Dean Logan Light, who was at the time in charge of social clubs. Luckily, Light loved little Rosita, and she now has an open invite at all Tri Sigma Delta events. The little piglet who started as a joke has now turned into a core piece of Tri Sigma Delta’s identity, and an icon of the hilarity and community of social clubs.
Men’s water polo nights create community, unite strangers
Water polo has been a popular recreational sport at Harding for both men and women. Harding students have begun organizing water polo games during the Ganus Activities Complex (GAC) recreational swim time.
On Thursday nights, a group of men meet to play water polo; all are invited. Mainly run by men’s social club Omega Phi, the group has nicknamed themselves “Hefty.”
Junior Andrew Williamson said the Hefty group allows him to strengthen his friendships with the other men who play.
“Going to water polo has helped me not only grow closer to the people in my club, but also make new friends with people that I would not have met otherwise,” Williamson said.
Junior Brady Verett said he shares a similar sentiment.
“I learned about Hefty through a friend named George Garner, who is very involved
and loves the sport,” Verett said. “I’ve been playing for about a year now since last fall.
Hefty helped me through meeting new people, experiencing one of my first Harding community events, and forming a brotherhood with these men that I wouldn’t change for the world. Most of these men will be at my future wedding.”
Sophomore Kaeden Cory said the game promotes teamwork and vigorous exercise.
“I have gotten to know many people through the water polo nights,” Cory said. “Playing such a physical game requires a balance of teamwork and aggression that the average student doesn’t get to use often. I have seen water polo be a great place for a bunch of guys to roughhouse and grow closer with each other.”
Sophomore Ethan Dove said his involvement with water polo helped him meet people when he was a freshman.
“I was looking to get involved with clubs and saw Hefty as an opportunity to meet
new people,” Dove said. “I played a similar game called animal ball at my summer camp growing up but we used cones as the goals. I was relieved when I came here and heard that they played water polo. The chemistry you create with your teammates during the game enhances the friendship and bond you have outside of water polo.”
For male students interested in joining the Hefty water polo group, they meet on Thursdays from 10 to 11 p.m. at the GAC pool.
WESLEY HALL guest writer
Photo provided by Macy Ham
Graphic by BEN EVANS
JACKSON TRAHANT beat reporter
Photo by ABIGAIL CALLICOAT
Assistant professor Tessa Davidson poses beside her commissioned art piece following her presentation in Cone Chapel Sept. 12. Davidson’s art piece is the first of two pieces in an Old Testament, New Testament series for the College of Bible and Ministry.
Rosita poses for the camera at Harding’s first tailgate Sept. 5. Rosita has become the unofficial mascot for the Tri Sigma Delta women’s club.
OSCAR ALDANA guest writer
CPE promotes Meet the Firms event
ADDIE ECHOLS guest writer
Meet the Firms happens once a year, the first Thursday after Labor Day; business students may meet future employers and hand out their resumes.Through Meet the Firms, many students have gotten successful internships and some even receive job offers for after graduation.
Brian Harrington, executive director for the Center for Professional Excellence (CPE), promotes Meet the Firms to students and prepares them by reviewing resumes, taking headshots and holding mock interviews.
“There’s really good opportunities for students to find internships,” Harrington said. “I would say out of all the fairs we host the biggest success rate is going to be Meet the Firms because accounting hiring is different from the rest of campus. Accounting firms hire a year in advance compared to other employers.”
Companies such as Walmart, Forvis and JB Hunt come yearly to find potential interns. Many of the recruiters are Harding alumni hoping to find interns similar to themselves, further improving Harding’s relationship with these companies. Tucker Steed, senior accounting major, recently finished a summer internship at Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas.
“My experience with Meet the Firms, it was definitely intimidating at first, but the CPE does a great job of kind of preparing you with information sessions and all the organizational stuff with getting your resume for employers on the back end and name tags and things like that,” Steed said. “So it made it easy to walk into there and feel at least
somewhat prepared for your conversations with those employers.”
Senior accounting and accelerated masters of information systems major Ann Clayton Fox completed her summer internship at HoganTaylor in Little Rock, Arkansas. Last
fall, Fox applied before Meet the Firms and later met the employer face-to-face, leading to her internship offer and a job offer after graduation. Fox and Steed were both recently on a panel where they discussed their internships to other students who may be interested.
“We talked about why we were looking for what we were looking for, how Meet the Firms benefited us, and for me, Meet the Firms benefited me from getting face-time with my future employer,” Fox said.
New food provider shifts students’ healthy food habits
ANDREW RENEAU assistant copy editor
Harding replaced food provider Chartwells with Aramark in May 2024 after a surge of negative feedback from student feedback and focus groups. Aramark’s re-entry has changed Harding’s food environment.
One change, the switch from counting swipes to monitoring meal times, has allowed an outlier result to sneak into student schedules: the potential to eat at fast food restaurants, such as Chick-fil-A, outside of the cafeteria multiple times per day. Instead of allotting students a certain number of meal swipes, each day is divided into three meal periods. Students can now use one meal swipe per meal period at the cafeteria or a fast food option on campus.
Sophomore Tom Hardy said while he prefers to eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods, changes to the meal system and additions such as the Grubhub app make it convenient to order food in class and pick it up between breaks.
“It’s really convenient,” Hardy said. “I’ll be in class and then rather than waiting 15 minutes for my food, I’ll just go pick it up and leave.”
don’t take our health more seriously, because
wants to avoid enforcing a no-food policy,
Hardy said he would like to see a fastfood-style restaurant that “primarily served healthy food.”
“I appreciate Chick-fil-A having a fruit cup, but that’s one option out of 10 different options out of all the different meal exchanges,” Hardy said. “It’s a shame that these restaurants
variety as well. Chick-fil-A doesn’t have their whole menu, obviously.”
More students eating at restaurants outside the cafeteria has impacted class time, said a Harding faculty member who asked to remain anonymous to protect his relationships with students. While this faculty member said he
Chick-fil-A.”
General
Manager for Bison Hospitality Jason Lucas said through email that “the nutritional value of the food served on campus is a top priority.”
“While we offer healthy choices, we also consider student preferences, incorporating
their favorite dishes into our offerings,” Lucas said. “Healthy choices are defined as nutritious, balanced food options that support overall well-being, and we ensure these options are available in all dining venues.”
Associate Professor of Kinesiology and director of Harding HEAL program Dr. Britney Finley, said while expanded access to food options means Harding students have a fresh opportunity to take control over what they eat, whether they will take this opportunity depends on their inner motivations and past experiences with food.
“...A senior who is ready to take responsibility and leave completely on their own, they might be more receptive to health information on diet and exercise [than a freshman],” Finley said.
Finley said students will keep eating what they want, regardless of the adjusted food types and frequencies. The students who desire burgers will eat burgers.
“If they’re swiping into the cafeteria, they’re not going to choose the fruit and the salad and the vegetables, they’re going to choose the hamburgers and the french fries,” Finley said. “So it doesn’t matter where they’re swiping in because they are going to make that choice anyway.”
Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery
Students connect with future employers at Meet the Firms event in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House Sept. 5. The Center for Professional Excellence has worked to prepare students for future employment opportunities.
