The Harding chapter of the Federalist Society hosted their first official meeting Oct. 8, cementing them as one of the myriad organizations on campus. In an event titled “Supreme Court Round-Up,” Arkansas Solicitor General Nicholas Brown spoke to a small group of students and faculty about several court cases that were recently tried before the Supreme Court.
Federalist Society president and junior Clara Kernodle said her vision for Harding’s chapter is to encourage open discussion of American law and politics. She said she wants the organization to be focused on events such as speakers and debates.
“I wanted to bring it to Harding and see if it would be beneficial to the Harding community,” Kernodle said. “Bringing in informational speakers or debates to foster the conversation and discussion over different aspects of the law and how we do the law and politics and culture in America.”
Kernodle said the club was for students who are interested in engaging with ideas
through civil debate. She said the club is not designed to increase political tension on campus, but rather be a space where people can come and learn about how law intersects with culture.
“We don’t attack people, we engage with ideas and we don’t uphold an ideology, but we’re willing to talk about many different facets of an issue and of an argument in a way that I haven’t really seen yet on campus,” Kernodle said.
More than 20 people attended the meeting. The biggest block for new chapters is membership; recruitment officer junior Madison Bell said she was pushing awareness on campus.
Bell was encouraged by speaker Nicholas Brown.
“It was very interesting to hear someone so knowledgeable speak about a variety of different things with minimal notes and just off the top of his head,” Bell said.
Executive vice president and junior Camille Bewley said the society is open to all majors.
“You could be a music student and come talk about law,” Bewley said. “The importance is to be knowledgeable in how America works,
and the Federalist Society is an opportunity to learn more about it.”
The Federalist Society brings together people who are interested in the law and politics of America.
“I’m a huge patriot, so I’m just like ‘America!’ all the time,” Bewley said. “This was a really good opportunity for me to not only be a part of a community, but start a community of people to be like, ‘hey, I know that America and politics and law are really tense, sensitive topics right now, but here is a non-partisan organization that is not going to be biased and is going to allow all opinions to meet and discuss America as a whole, from the perspective of we all love America, we just have different opinions on how we think things should be done.’”
Students interested in joining the Federalist Society can attend their next meeting Oct. 17 at Midnight Oil Coffeehouse to hear Lathan Watts of Alliance Defending Freedom speak.
Harding community mourns loss of senior Avery Martin
Senior Avery Martin died early Sunday morning in a car accident in Colorado. He was 21. Senior Bradley Cole, senior Lloyd Stenglein, and junior Ben Shappard were injured in the wreck. Shappard is in stable but critical condition, and he remained in the hospital as of Wednesday. Cole and Stenglein have minor injuries and were released from the hospital early this week.
“When tragedies of this magnitude come, there’s really only one path that leads to God,” President Mike Williams said in chapel Monday morning. “We fall on his throne this morning and remember his unending faithfulness.” Martin was a Bible and family ministry major from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He planned to be a youth minister.
Dean of the College of Bible and Ministry Monte Cox taught Martin in three Bible classes. He spoke of Martin’s life at Harding and the deep grief his death brings during Monday’s chapel. Cox said this tragedy is a “sobering reminder of our mortality, but also a reminder of the immortality that we’ve been promised.” Martin was also a member of TNT men’s social club. TNT president Will Ashmore spoke highly of Martin.
“Avery was one of the biggest driving forces for spiritual growth in our club,” Ashmore said. “He was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, and we all looked up to him as the example for how to carry ourselves.”
TNT sponsor Garrett Escue spoke highly of Martin and his faith.
“Avery was an impressive young man,” Escue said. “Within just a few minutes of speaking to [him], you would immediately sense that he was a very intentional and Christ-focused individual. He was never the loudest in the room nor did he seek any sort of spotlight for himself, but he was a leader.” Student Government Association (SGA) President and senior Adele Duncan said Martin would always make her and others
feel welcome. She said his character was one of “putting others first and being a calming presence.”
Martin’s roommate from the 2023-24 academic year Baylor Ward, a junior, honored Martin’s life.
“Avery was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” Ward said. “He never ceased to make others feel wanted and welcomed. He was the kind of guy that wanted to set an example even if no one was watching. He had a passion for ministry and leading others in truth and love.”
As a close friend and roommate, Ward knew Martin’s character well. He shared about Martin and prayed for Martin’s loved ones during Monday’s chapel. In a statement about Martin that Ward gave on Tuesday, he emphasized Martin’s humility.
“Through it all, he never wanted credit, he just wanted others to know and love Christ as he had,” Ward said.
During his time in college, Martin worked at Camp Barnabas and interned for multiple youth groups. He also led discipleship groups on campus. Martin attended Harding University in Australia (HUA) in the fall of 2023. During his time abroad, he led multiple chapels and devotionals.
Junior Emma Sansom attended HUA with Martin. She and her friends traveled with Martin while abroad, and she reminisced on group memories from HUA as well as Martin’s character there.
“Avery was a friend who was a constant servant and loved others deeply,” Sansom said. “He truly exemplified what it means to be a disciple of Christ.”
Students at Downtown Singing on Sunday night gathered in prayer to remember Martin and his family and friends. Monday’s chapel service was spent remembering his life and praying for his loved ones. TNT also hosted a night of worship and remembrance on Monday.
SGA held a candlelight service on Thursday night in Martin’s honor. A memorial service will be held at Memorial Drive Church of Christ at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. The service will be live-streamed on campus.
Escue also expressed the magnitude of the loss from the perspective of a social club sponsor.
“We will miss him, and we are excited for the day when we get to see him again,” Escue said.
Duncan was a friend of Martin, and she shared memories of his humor and kindness. Alongside these memories, she voiced her grief and her hope.
“I am deeply saddened by his loss, but so grateful I got to spend time with him, and I am comforted to know he is in heaven right now,” Duncan said.
Sansom spoke of Martin’s legacy and the role of faith in his life. She said that her grief is difficult, but she finds comfort in Martin’s future in eternity.
“I know Avery is with our father he loved and served so well, who welcomed him with open arms saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’” Sansom said.
Martin is survived by his parents, his two younger brothers and his fiancée, junior McKensey Davis.
Ward also expressed sympathy to Martin’s family.
“His death has deeply saddened me, and my heart breaks for his parents, his younger brothers, and his fiancée McKensey,” Ward said. Donations for the Martin family may be sent to the Office of Student Life.
HELEN STRICKLAND opinions editor
Senior Garrett Blankenship leads a prayer Oct. 7 in Cone Chapel in front of a crowd of students. Harding men’s social club TNT hosted a night of prayer to mourn and pray for Avery Martin, his family and those involved in the car accident.
Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery
Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL
ANDREW RENEAU asst. copy editor
Arkansas Solicitor General Nicholas Brown speaks to members of the Federalist Society Oct. 8 in the Holland-Waller building. The lecture was the first official meeting of the semester.
Debate team wins first place at sweepstakes
they did not get to go to Florida where the debate took place. Rogers enjoyed representing Harding.
Harding University’s debate team took first place in the team debate sweepstakes in the Sunshine State online debate tournament Sept. 27. The University of Central Florida and the University of West Florida hosted the tournament. Student debaters competed with one another via the Zoom platform. Freshman Elyse Rogers, from Springfield, Missouri, was Harding’s top competitor. She won the junior varsity competition with a 7-0 record. She also earned third place in speaker points. She said they had to complete this tournament through an online platform since
“It was nice to win, it was fun, it was good to be able to represent Harding and win first place in general,” Rogers said.
Senior Hengel Zelaya from Matagalpa, Nicaragua, is part of the debate team. He advanced to the quarterfinals in junior varsity debate. This was a great accomplishment for him since when one starts advancing to quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, one starts going against the best of the best. For Zelaya, being able to debate is hard, especially considering he has to think in his second
Campus reflects on presidental debate
Only one presidential debate has taken place between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. According to an Oct. 8 article from CNN, “CNN has publicly offered to host a debate in Atlanta on October 23. Harris has accepted the invitation and welcomed the chance to debate Trump again, but Trump has rejected her calls.”
Trump’s rejection to this debate has not has not had any noticeable impact on voters.
“I watched half of it mainly because I knew it would just frustrate me and give me such second-hand embarrassment,” senior Parker Acri said. Acri is minoring in political science. “I’m so against the current administration and their dealing with things that I was going to vote Republican. It’s just that I am already set on who I am going to vote for because of my opinions on the policies of the Republicans and it just feels like they’re not going to talk about their policies anyway. Even if there was a second debate, I don’t think it would do anything.”
Acri studied the policies of both the Democratic and Republican parties and decided that he falls more on the Republican side. Acri doesn’t feel like the debates have impacted his decision on who to vote for.
“There’s only been one debate and most people who observed it felt like Harris won the debate,” debate team coach Jared Dockery said. “It does look like there was a little bit of movement in the polls in her direction after that one debate but not much movement. I think for the most part people’s views are already pretty well baked in.”
Dockery has found himself deeply invested in politics for several years.
“As close as this election is, particularly in Pennsylvania, even moving the needle a couple tenths of one percent one way or another could have huge implications,” Dockery said.
Dockery shared his opinion on how the debate has impacted the election.
“I would actually argue that in the full sweep of presidential history since we’ve been having these televised debates, this year’s debate cycle has been the most influential simply because that first debate prompted Biden to drop out. We’ve never had that before,” Dockery said.
The commonly held belief is that most voters have already decided who they are supporting in this election cycle.
“Honestly I think people’s minds are pretty much made up.” English professor Katherine Dillion said. “I think that most people have either decided at this point or they’re not even going to be involved–they’re not going to listen. Because it is so polarized and it is so important right now. Sadly a lot of people just don’t follow things that are going on. I think that the Biden administration itself has done so many good things that are not recognized.”
Between the debate of Biden and Trump, Harris and Trump, and the two vice presidential candidates, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, voters only have three debates in total to draw from when making their decision on who to vote for.
“My honest opinion is that a second debate would have been favorable to Harris, since people haven’t had time to get to know her,” English professor Terry Engel said. “She’s in the unfortunate position of running on Biden’s presidential record, and she hasn’t had enough time to stake out her own agenda as fully as she would have if she had been in the race for longer. In the long run,though, I don’t think a second debate would have made that much overall difference, since most voters have probably already decided and nothing they hear will really change their minds.”
language. He has lots of experience now that he has participated in many debates, but when he started debating he felt it was a big challenge. Although he still thinks it is a big challenge, he is confident he can face it.
“It is always a challenge considering that English is not my native language, and debating in my second language can be challenging, although I am used to it,” Zelaya said.
Freshman Elijah Hawk from St. Louis, Missouri, is a member of the debate team. Because of his performance, he advanced to the semifinals in junior varsity. He finished the tournament with a 5-1 record, and earned fifth place in speaker points.
For Hawk, having many debates is essential since one learns something new from each one. There are some debates where people have a limited amount of time, so debaters have little time to prepare before facing their opponent. There are also some debates where they just give the debater the topics and they have to perform an impromptu debate.
“For this style of debate IPDA [International Public Debate Association], you get your topic 30 minutes before the round to prepare with whatever devices you have, internet, books or just your head knowledge, but that is a limited amount of time,” Hawk said.
Young Democrats return to campus
After a few years of low activity following the COVID-19 pandemic, Harding University Young Democrats (HUYD) is looking to become an active organization on campus again. HUYD has a long history on Harding’s campus, and they aim to revive their legacy of encouraging students to vote and be informed on politics during an election cycle.
HUYD hopes to continue hosting local politicians and taking student trips to campaign events and conferences. The organization hosted retired Col. Marcus Jones, the Democratic nominee for Arkansas’ Second Congressional District, at Midnight Oil Sept. 25 and is looking at attending events with the Young Democrats of Arkansas and White County Democrats. Organization sponsor and professor Kathy Dillion said one of her fondest memories of her time in HUYD as a student was visiting a 1976 campaign event for President Jimmy Carter in Hot Springs. Since becoming a sponsor in 2016, she has hoped that she can provide a safe space to help students become interested in voting and better understand American politics.
“For politics, it’s more about understanding how that affects your life,” Dillion said. “When you get out of the University, it’s going to affect your life. You know, when you’re having children, or who has more support for social programs, or what kind of things will happen with student loans. Will there be student loan forgiveness, and what kind of interest rates? You wouldn’t find very many people that would say, ‘I don’t care anything about interest rates or student loans or the cost of groceries.’”
Senior Zalen Robinson said he views HUYD as an important organization to help students on any end of the political spectrum to be more educated on politics and voting, especially as the majority of current college students around the country are less interested in politics in general. “I feel like it’s been about getting educated at base,” Robinson said. “Getting educated about the political environment, about the importance of voting, and the importance of the issues that are being voted on. A lot of us, especially the people my age and going down, we don’t really take politics as seriously as one might have taken it 50 years ago.”
Senior Ava Price, a new member of HUYD, was encouraged by the welcoming atmosphere of the organization, and hopes that membership will continue to grow among more liberal and moderate students on a largely conservative campus. Price is also excited about possible voter registration activities and possible volunteer opportunities that could happen in the organization’s future.
“One of the best things that the club can do right now is find a way to open up and let it be known that this place does exist for people who are interested,” Price said. “...I would really like it if they found a way to get more people, to bring more politicians here so that we can interact with them, and even just simply having a way to get access to people with the voting stuff such as registration or absentee ballot registration.”
HUYD is continuing their voter registration and political education push this semester, and those interested can find posters in the Student Center and around campus.
AIDEN EFAW guest writer
OSCAR ALDANA guest writer
AMANDA TOYE community editor
From left to right, freshmen Elyse Rogers and Hannah Fortin, junior Autumn Miller and sophomore Isa Landry, junior Jess Tishmacher, senior Hengel Zelaya and freshman Elijah Hawk. This team took first place at the Sunshine State online debate sweepstakes.
Photo provided by Jared Dockery
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS
TheLink.Harding.edu 3A OPINIONS
I have been part of Christian culture my whole life, and from a young age, I have been expected to cover my body out of respect for others. I have been expected to be physically modest. I have been expected to hide myself because I am too desirable otherwise. For much of my life, I have been told explicitly and implicitly that I am a temptation simply because I exist.
This experience of objectification by Christians is not unique to myself, nor is it unique to women. My friends, male and female alike, have been harmed by the pervasiveness and even glorification of slut-shaming in conservative Christian culture. (By conservative Christian culture I specifically refer to that subculture of Christianity that puts so much emphasis on escaping “worldliness.”)
I find it interesting that Christians are called to be counter-culture to the ways of the world, yet in this way we are much like the world — oversexualizing the human body, especially the female body — and in effect, many of our actions to fight against objectification have worsened the issue. It is around our Christian brothers and sisters that many of us have experienced the most sexualization.
It was in Harding’s dorm that my friend was told by an authority figure to check her salvation if she ever wore a crop top.
It is on Harding’s campus that I and my friends have been and continue to be catcalled from vehicles or from dorm windows.
It was in a church building that my friend’s shirt was adjusted by an older man so that her bra strap wouldn’t slip into view.
When I think back to my time at Harding, I cannot say anything that hasn’t already been said: It feels like two hours but also 20 years since I was living on campus as a student; people and the relationships are what stood the test of time and left a lasting impact. The time flying and the power of community are the cliches that ring true. It’s completely unoriginal, but maybe that’s the point.
I probably can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said because some experiences are universal — as they should be. So, when I think back to my life at Harding, time feels hazy and memories seem a little like dreams, because they only made sense in conjunction with other people. Waking up, walking all across campus, studying, not studying, laughing and crying were not something I experienced but something we experienced. My successes were not just my successes and my burdens weren’t simply my own because we had entered into this unspoken, communal experience.
My body is not the problem
Why, where we are required to be the most modest, have we been the most objectified? Why, rather than address the greater issue of lust and objectification by the perpetrators, non-conforming victims are instead requested to alter their way of existing?
What if our conservative Christian standards for “modesty” have exacerbated our subculture’s tendency to lust? What if our regulations for little girls’ swimsuits and short hems help normalize the perverted thoughts and actions of our leaders? What if our reprimands of crop tops or thin straps have conditioned men and women to see bodies (especially womens’ bodies) as things to be taken? What if our trained impulses to cover and conceal have added to the bodyshaming and slut-shaming that riddles our churches and schools?
Would lust be so rampant if little children were taught to see the body as beautiful rather than the flesh as weak? Perhaps if Christians did not objectify the body so much, men and women alike could simply exist. Men and women could simply live in their bodies, and others would note the beauty and craftsmanship of them without desiring to touch, to have, to take.
Physical modesty is a virtue of ultimate importance for many Christians. I truly believe that people should not flaunt their bodies for the purpose of causing distorted desire. I also believe people shouldn’t flaunt a big salary or high grades or knowledge of the Bible to stir up envy or resentment.
Bodies are not special in this way. Bodies are not evil. Bodies are not the problem.
Yes, physical modesty is a virtue, but just like any other virtue it can cause incredible damage if taken to either extreme — either of absence or of excess.
It’s already been said, but that’s the point
As editor of The Bison in 2020, there were particular challenges that existed. Some of them I remember clearly and others would take a nudge to help remember. Most people think of journalists as being the “tellers,” but what I still hold with me from creating newspapers every week was the practice of being a good listener.
It’s easy to approach a story with the lead and the conclusion already drafted, but what made the experience worthwhile was the opportunities it created to slow down and really listen.
Whether I was writing a news article or drafting my weekly column, I couldn’t do it without paying attention to the world around me. That doesn’t mean I interpreted everything correctly, but it kept me out of my own head and living into those communal rhythms.
Being editor in 2020 felt like the heaviest load, and every decision or word felt huge, but I now see clearly that it was one edition
of many. It never could have existed without the people who did it before me, and it would have disappeared without new groups of people taking it on.
So it is with the Bison and with experiencing college at Harding, it can’t continue without people who are committed to showing up and listening and merely joining the story that’s already unfolding. The time may pass quickly and some memories may fade, but the bigger picture won’t be lost.
MADISON SCOTT was the 2020-21 editor-in-chief for The Bison. She may be contacted at madison.scott405@gmail.com
We need more accountability for the men in our churches. I can tell story after story of girls who have been assaulted or abused by church members or church leaders. The girls are often the ones who get in trouble. The men tend to get a slap on the wrist at most.
James Dobson of Focus on the Family, a Christian organization, is just one example — a symptom of a bigger problem. He emphasized the idea of “tough love,” maintaining that abused women must be strong and seek reconciliation with their abusive husbands over safety.
Women are so often blamed for what is simply not their fault.
I wrote the piece below after an unnerving message I heard in early 2023. I hope and pray that the hurts of the women around us will be seen and heard in real ways.
Why is all that you are and all that you want to be on my shoulders?
I attended a conference a few months ago. It was interesting and constructive: talented, charismatic speakers with big messages.
One speaker decided to discuss boundaries.
Not boundaries for all of us — he spoke directly to the girls.
He said things such as:
“Someday, you will want the attention of a man.”
“He will ask you to give up certain things, to send certain pictures.”
“But you should not give up those pieces of yourself.”
“You are worth more than that.”
“Set a boundary with him — if he presses on, he is not worth it.”
“A real man will protect you.”
This man was instructing the thousands of young girls at the conference.
His passion sparked applause, cheers.
Thousands of young girls. So many clapped along.
No.
Girls should know boundaries, yes. They should respect themselves, yes. They deserve to know their worth. Men worth pursuing are men who will protect.
But I ask you this: what about the man?
Is man so blindly enslaved to his desires that a woman must be the one in control of them?
This rhetoric does not empower women. It pretends to while giving men a scapegoat–suddenly, their failures are not their own, but those of the women in their lives.
I will take responsibility for my actions. I will set the boundaries I need to set. That is for me. I am not responsible for who you are or who you fail to be.
I can be a friend. I can pick you up when you fall short. But I am not your scapegoat. Do not make me the shoulders on which you stand or the place where you scramble to stay afloat on that which I have formed.
All that I am, and all that I want to be, is on my shoulders. That is all.
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS Madison Scott Evelyn Filleman Addie Echols
Coombes
Aldana Wesley Hall
Aidan Efaw
Graphic by SYDNEY PALMER
CERRA CATHRYN ANDERSON is the features editor for The Bison. She may be contacted at canderson8@harding.edu
Features Editor Cerra Cathryn Anderson
Editor-in-chief,
Graphic by SYDNEY PALMER
Editor-in-chief
Disaster relief
Rest in peace Avery Martin — my thoughts and condolences go out to the Martin family and those involved in the tragic accident. May God be with you all.
I also want to offer prayers to anyone affected by recent storms in the Southeast United States.
In recent weeks, Helene and Milton stormed through many cities, including my hometown Brandon, Florida.
The preparation for a potential hurricane can be busy and tiring. Whether it’s boarding up windows or placing sandbags in front of doors, the process needs to be taken seriously for a powerful storm.
Have you turned on the news in recent weeks? It is scary to see the pain that people are going through — but there is something that viewers don’t get to see.
Over the summer, I interned with The Christian Chronicle newspaper in Edmond, Oklahoma. I wrote several stories during my time at The Chronicle, but there was one story that has always stuck with me.
On June 2, I traveled to Arkansas to cover the Southside Church of Christ following an EF-2 tornado in Rogers. I immediately noticed destruction when I arrived for the Sunday morning service. Trees lined the streets, and windows could not withstand the twister.
Along with the town, the Southside church building received partial damage. Notably, the baptistery was littered with broken stained glass.
However, the energy in the building was vibrant and lively. The smiles, hugs and conversations filled the room with joy.
It just felt like another Sunday for the Southside congregation. As lead minister Jared Mayes stepped up to the pulpit, the church-goers looked on in anticipation.
“When you stare in the face of tragedy, it’s tempting to go down and say, ‘There is nothing I can do,’” Mayes said.
The members did not go down following the tornado; they did the opposite. Members gathered together to chainsaw trees, check on neighbors and provide supplies for others. The church served as a beacon of light for the Rogers community.
I left the congregation with a sense of hope for those who struggle in the face of adversity. Why do I have hope? Because Christians can serve as some of the best change agents in the world.
When we gather together to help others, it might encourage those who don’t know Christ to do the same.
Am I concerned for my friends and family in Florida? Of course — but I know that God and fellow Christians are looking after them. Plus, my family does not worry too much when a hurricane is on the way.
My mom will probably be rewatching “Ted Lasso” for the 39th time.
What does the Bible say about helping others in need? Galatians 5:13 is a great example of servant leadership that we can use every single day:
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. My encouragement for you is to rally together during trials and tribulations. Like the Southside Church of Christ, a time of trouble can transform into a blessing. I hope you have an amazing day. Be blessed, and it is well.
NIC FRARACCIO is editor-in-chief for The Bison. He may be contacted at nfraraccio@harding.edu.
Statement of Ownership
Publication Title: The Bison. Publication No.: 577-660. Filing Date: 9/13/24. Issue Frequency: Semi-Monthly, except for vacations, final exams and summer sessions. No. of Issues Published Annually: 16. Annual Subscription Price: $10. Complete Mailing Address of Known Officer of Publication: The Bison. Harding University, Box 10812, Searcy, AR. 72149-0812. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or Business Office of Publisher: Student Publications, Box 10812, Searcy, AR 72149-0812. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, Managing Editor: Publisher: April Fatula, Harding University Box 10812, Searcy, White County, AR. 72149-0812; Editor: Nic Fraraccio, Harding University Box 10292, Searcy, White County, AR, 72149-0812; Managing Editor: Same as Editor. Owner: Harding University, 915 E. Market, Searcy, White County, AR. 721490001. Known Bondholders, Mortgages and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. Tax Status: The purpose, function and nonprofit status of this organization and the expected status for federal income tax purposes: has not changed during preceding 12 months.
Remembering Maggie Smith
When an elderly movie star passes away, what usually happens is that old people wax nostalgic, and young people shrug their shoulders. But that was not true when Dame Maggie Smith took her final bow last month at the age of 89. She is mourned by fans of all ages.
Once, she was asked on a TV talk show about her role as Professor McGonagall, the shape-shifting Hogwarts teacher in eight “Harry Potter” films. She smiled bemusedly and said that she was now recognized on the street by lots of very small people.
“One little boy asked me if I really turned into a cat,” she recalled. Never one to suffer foolishness — even from children — she looked down at the chap and said, “No. Now pull yourself together.”
That sharp tongue — as nearly everyone has observed during the last few weeks — was the reason Maggie Smith stole every scene she was in during six seasons of the hit series “Downton Abbey.” As the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, she could stiffen her posture, rap her cane and deliver a oneliner like no one else.
In one episode, the aristocrat was asked about her plans for the weekend. “What is a weekend?” she asked, pointing out that for the fabulously wealthy, one day is just the same as any other. Yes, she played a traditionalist and a snob, but she had a soft side. “I’m no Romantic,” she told a friend in another episode, “but I do believe the heart exists for more than just pumping blood.”
Yet when her maid left to get married, she said, “How could she be so selfish?” I loved her comeback when someone exposed one of her faults. “Does it ever get cold on the moral high ground?” she asked.
Stinging repartee was her signature, and oh, could she dress down another character.
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When she played the mother to Ian McKellan’s murderous King Richard III in a 1995 film, she delivered a tongue-lashing that could have straightened his hunched back in a minute. “Thou toad!” she shouted, wishing to have prevented “all the slaughters, wretch, that thou hast done” by strangling him in her womb. The lines are Shakespeare’s, of course, but the delivery was pure Maggie.
Not even inanimate objects could escape her barbs. I fondly remember the moment in the sequel to “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” when she dismissed a weak cup of tea as “tepid nonsense.”
The range of her performances over seven decades in show business is astonishing. She played a firm Mother Superior twice in the “Sister Act” films, Desdemona to Sir Laurence Olivier’s Othello, a homeless woman who lived in a van for fifteen years in “The Lady in the Van,” an angry goddess in “Clash of the Titans,” a retired opera diva in “Quartet,” and an actress who frets over an Oscar nomination in “California Suite” (for which, naturally, she won an Oscar). She even voiced Lady Bluebury in the quirky animated film “Gnomeo and Juliet.”
She was in one of my favorite movies, “Murder by Death” in 1976. In the classic spoof of Hollywood detectives, the eccentric writer Truman Capote plays a millionaire recluse who invites a group of legendary sleuths to his home to solve a murder — his!
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While other actors play such iconic detectives as Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, and Miss Marple, Maggie Smith and David Niven parody the man-and-wife crime-solving team from the “Thin Man” movies, Nick and Nora Charles. The couple, noted for their witty banter and heavy social drinking, were a perfect fit for the poised Niven and his able sparring partner.
So many fun roles to choose from. In “Hook,” Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Peter Pan tale, Maggie Smith takes the role of an elderly Wendy. In “Ladies in Lavender,” she and fellow Dame Judi Dench play two spinster sisters who take in a stranger who washes up half dead on the shore in Cornwall, England. As the expected future mother-in-law to a young Jane Austen in the film “Becoming Jane,” she hears that the woman wants to be — of all things — a writer. Her response is classic. “Can anything be done about it?”
Then again, she could play the very kind of free spirit that her other characters would criticize. She earned her first Oscar in 1969 for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” where she dominated the screen as an unrestrained teacher in a 1930s girl’s school who flaunts the curriculum and introduces her pupils to the worlds of love, art, and politics. “Little girls,” she tells her students, “I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders . . . Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life.”
Generations of fans are hers forever, too.
MICHAEL CLAXTON is a narrative columnist for The Bison. He may be contacted at mclaxto1@harding.edu.
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Narrative Columnist
Michael Claxton
Illustration by KIT MOORE
Graphic by MAKAYLA MCDONALD
The Dugout Dispatch
The Clark Effect
Caitlin Clark is good at basketball. That’s honestly about as much I know about women’s basketball. I know that the Las Vegas Aces are really good and have one of the best allaround players in the WNBA on their team in A’ja Wilson. I know that the Liberty have a player named Sabrina Ionescu who has been in the league for a few years and had a 3-point contest against Stephen Curry. I have heard of names like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, and my hometown college has a statue of Jackie Stiles at the front of their arena. That’s about all I know. To some, that’s a lot, and to others, that’s a depressing lack of knowledge. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is really, really good at basketball.
What has been most interesting to listen to and read about over the past few years involving Clark has been how she has risen to the stardom that exploded during her first year in “The W.” People with far less knowledge of sports watch her purely based on astonishment and curiosity, and like me, lack most knowledge outside of a few names. Even in Iceland, where Clark’s games often start around midnight local time, a local pub found themselves full of curious wide-eyed viewers during a watch party as Clark dropped 35 points in an overtime victory last month. Clark is an international star, but back in the States, her rise has been tangled with politics, race discussions and an internet storm that hasn’t stopped since March 2023 when she led the Iowa Hawkeyes to a Final Four appearance.
So how did we get here? Well, it was that Final Four game between LSU where the race discussions exploded. Clark did John Cena’s “You can’t see me” hand gesture against opponents throughout the season and the March Madness tournament. So when Reese and LSU were on the cusp of taking down Iowa, Reese, an African-American athlete, made the gesture directly in Clark’s face. Suddenly, there were two set-in-stone camps. The uproar that Reese’s action caused brought up a lot of uncomfortable conversations, but when I reflect back on that particular moment, I realize that it was the worst of both sides who were speaking the loudest.
Their games against each other in the WNBA have turned into primetime games. And quickly, during the first of four games played against each other this season, things turned controversial once again.
After making a basket in the third quarter, Chennedy Carter of the Sky called Clark an obscenity from behind her and forcefully shoved her to the ground. Then, Reese jumps from her seat on the bench and begins clapping. Days later, Reese said that she would “take the bad guy role” of the WNBA, which only fueled more hate her way. No matter what happens in the end, nothing will change the fact that it would be nearly impossible to separate the two. For however long they play basketball, their names are forever intertwined.
Clark finished the year with the all-time season record in assists and was responsible for 45.2% of all Fever points during her rookie year, far out-pacing the entire WNBA. In the only comparison I’ll make to the NBA, this would be 2nd in the league only behind Luka Doncic. Her 122 threes made also led the league. All that to say, Clark was dominant for the Fever this year, and led them to a playoff appearance in her rookie season.
Iowa’s first women’s basketball game last year was Oct. 15. When the Fever’s season started in May, Clark had nine days between playing in the national championship and being drafted, and a little under a month before she played her first preseason game. With her rookie year over, Clark has been playing basketball for close to a full calendar year, yet everything around her has not been about the basketball she’s played on the court. I should be spending my time giving you all of the amazing Caitlin Clark stats, how her first year in the league helped blossom TV ratings league-wide and more importantly the positive exposure to women’s sports. Unfortunately, there’s been too much behind the scenes that it has become the main stage, and without some sort of mindset change going into Clark’s sophomore year in “The W.” Whatever that change is or what that change means, we all need to appreciate what we have, because there might not be another Caitlin Clark again, and if the WNBA wants to capitalize on that fact, and in doing so survive as a league, they simply must do better to protect their league from the constant controversial news cycle that this past season was.
ELI DEAN is the sports editor for The Bison. He may be contacted at edean3@harding.edu.
Bisons stay focused amid streak
Williams also talked about the goal he and the rest of the offensive line have set for themselves.
From setting new rushing records to winning multiple awards, the Bisons football team has continued their championship reign this season. The team’s most recent accomplishment is setting the record for most consecutive wins in Arkansas collegiate football with 23. How has the team continued this streak? The answer is simple: Keep the first things first.
Sophomore center Cobe Williams said it makes the offense want to play better when they see how well the defense is doing.
“They’re incredible,” Williams said. “The way they just go out there and set the tone for us. Without them, we would be nothing because they are perfect every time and it’s a motivator for us to want to do our job even better because you know they are going to do theirs.”
“We don’t have any, like numerical goals or anything,” Williams said. “Our real goal is just to be the best we can every week and get better and regardless of who we play and improve and not play down to their level.”
Senior running back Blake Delacruz said staying disciplined has been a factor to the team’s success. Delacruz said another building block is having an unselfish attitude.
“We have a team mindset first,” Delacruz said. “Then it’s your own goals and personal needs which everybody does a really good job of.”
Delacruz said the Bisons’ defense focuses on the good of the whole team.
“It’s full of team-first mindset guys,” Delacruz said. “They rotate guys that go in there, guys that go to play and you know they
don’t care about any type of stats they just care about what’s best for the team.”
Junior defensive back Ty Dugger said having a winning mentality keeps him and the rest of the team motivated.
“The goal is to win the next thing,” Dugger said. “Whether it’s the next workout, the next practice — it’s always just being in the moment and dominating whatever is in front of us.”
Dugger also said the defense has strong leadership.
“Just a lot of leaders out there have a lot of experience,” Dugger said. “They’ve been doing the right things for a long time, and I think it’s really starting to pay off for them. I think it comes down to strong leadership, a lot of leaders.”
Tennis celebrates individual success at ITA
The team is competing on an individual level before competing as a group in February. Redding said it allows him to figure out where best to put players in the fall.
The Harding men’s tennis teams competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regional Tournament in Topeka, Kansas Sept. 20-22, which kicked off their individual season.
The team had four players reach the quarterfinals in singles, with senior Cas de Ruiter reaching the semifinals. He is the third Harding tennis player to go that far in the tournament. He will also be participating in the ITA national championships in Rome, GA. in singles and doubles this week from Oct. 10-13. De Ruiter said that he was impressed by the rest of the team and their readiness.
“I think we did a very good job as a team during the Regional Tournament,” de Ruiter said. “We are looking good as a team mentally and physically.”
Head coach David Redding said Harding has a lot of different players that can make an impact now and in the spring when their team season starts.
“The depth of our singles lineup was very encouraging and bodes well for our spring season dual matches,” Redding said.
“The fall season gives me an opportunity to evaluate where each player is technically, physically, mentally and competitively,” Redding said. “It will be crucial for us to maintain our physical conditioning, match toughness and grit during the off-season after our final tournament of the fall, the GAC Individual Championships, which we will be hosting Oct. 18-19.”
Success at the ITA regionals gives the team
greater confidence moving forward. Senior Hunter DeMunbrun said a big takeaway from the tournament was that the team can compete within the region.
“With the results that we had, we know that we have what it takes to beat anyone,” DeMunbrun said. “It is always nice to see who other teams have brought in as well as
show off our own players. Now it is a matter of getting back to the small things to allow that to happen.”
During the time off from Oct. - Feb., DeMunbrun stressed the importance of staying focused on the season ahead.
“It is incredibly important for the team to stay focused during the offseason,” DeMunbrun said. “The fall season allows for individuals to shine, but the purpose of the spring season is to represent what Harding stands for as a whole team. The offseason is going to be full of preparation for our spring season so we can ensure we have the best possible chances of going where we believe we can.”
The team represents a variety of cultures. Redding said the team has quickly bonded and is excited for their future.
“Considering we have players from all over the world, this team has gelled very quickly with each other and has formed a very strong team bond,” Redding said. “It will be exciting to see how far that takes us.”
The team will compete this weekend starting today in Searcy during the Four Team Scramble exhibition at 8 a.m. They will also host the Great American Conference Individual Championships starting Oct. 18 at 8 a.m.
Sports Editor Eli Dean
WESLEY HALL guest writer
Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery
Junior Brayden Jay scores a touchdown during the Bison’s 66-0 victory over Henderson State University Sept. 28. Jay rushed for 162 yards and scored three touchdowns, including one for 69 yards on the first offensive play.
ELI DEAN sports editor
Graphic by SYDNEY PALMER
Graphic by BEN EVANS
Local church hosts Food Festival
communities, such as the Hispanic and African communities, has grown significantly in Searcy.
St. James Catholic Church hosted their 15th annual International Food Festival Oct. 5, a beloved tradition for church members and the surrounding Searcy community.
The event showcased an array of traditional cuisines from more than 15 countries including Nigeria, Ukraine, Indonesia, Mexico and many others spanning five continents.
This festival began as an effort to raise money for the church as they sought to expand their building to accommodate the growing diverse population of Searcy.
Catherine Willems, a member of St. James Catholic Church and the head coordinator of the event, said the population of diverse
Many members of this diverse population are Catholic.
“We came up with the idea of hosting an International Food Festival so that we could pay for our church,” Willems said.
“Through the years of hosting this event, we have eventually paid off the church building.”
Over the years, this festival has seen remarkable growth.
“This was our 15th year hosting the International Food Festival,” Willems said.
“Our first year, the event took place in our main dining hall, but it has expanded so much since then.” This year, several of the church’s classrooms, along with the courtyard and
backyard area, were used to provide space for the booths and seating areas.
The atmosphere was lively — filled with music and vivid colors of cultural garb and the enticing aromas of international cuisine.
Freshman Angel Martinez, a long-time attendee of the International Food Festival, helped run one of the booths that served food made by his family.
“It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet,” Martinez said. “They have all sorts of different foods from different countries. Why not give everything a try?”
Senior Hengel Zelaya is also a returning attendee of the festival.
“Last year, I cooked Nicaraguan food like gallo pinto and tacos with queso, crema and aguacate,” Zelaya said. “This year I only
had time to attend and help with the day of the event, I love to see how these kinds of activities bring people together. Sharing our culture is a way of becoming closer to each other.”
The festival has served as a fundraiser for the church and as a cultural celebration, fostering community among the events’ attendees. The event highlights the church’s commitment to inclusivity and shared faith among diverse populations. St. James Catholic Church looks forward to continuing this beloved tradition next year and hopes to continue bringing more cultures and their cuisines to the festival.
Harding hosts Stoa homeschool debate tournament
During fall break, Harding University hosted the first tournament of the season for Stoa, a national Christian homeschool speech and debate organization. Speak Out Arkansas (SOAR), a local chapter of Stoa based in Little Rock, conducted this tournament. This marks the third consecutive year that Harding has hosted the Kickoff Challenge tournament for Stoa’s season.
Samantha Millard, who runs SOAR, said Harding first got involved in hosting Stoa through Mark Pruitt, the associate director of admissions and homeschool specialist.
“Pruitt hosts us here on campus which allows us to have a very nice place to host a tournament,” Millard said. “It exposes our students to your campus so they can see what you’re about and what you have to offer.”
In addition to hosting this tournament, Harding University is also a sponsor for Stoa.
“It gives your people a chance to interact with our people and hopefully start a relationship,” Millard said. “We value our relationship with Harding and the way that y’all pour into our students and we give back to y’all as well.”
“I oversee all of the operations across the nations,” Childress said. “We’re in 33 states and we have clubs in those various states as well as about 1,300 homeschool families that participate in competitive speech and debate.”
Out of the 2,100 students who comprise Stoa from all across the nation, Harding hosted 74 of them from seven different states.
“We are focused on raising up and elevating the name of Christ,” Childress said. “Our mission is speaking boldly and changing the world for Christ, so everything we do we’re striving to enable and equip the students to be able to go out and speak to change the world.”
This weekend’s tournament consisted of four impromptu speaking events and three debate events. The speaking events included impromptu, where students have two minutes of preparation to make a five-minute speech, extemporaneous, where students have half an hour of preparation, apologetics and Mars Hill, where according to Millard students “take a piece from popular culture and relate it to a Christian principle.”
The debate events included parliamentary and team policy, both of which are two-ontwo events, and Lincoln-Douglass, which is solo. While Stoa maintains an overarching Christian emphasis in everything it does, the events themselves are not structured around explicitly Christian content “because we would not want to put someone on the side of the debate where they’re having to deny their faith in any way,” Childress said.
Stoa alumna Charis Baker served as a coach for her younger sister as well as a judge throughout the tournament.
“I really loved the public speaking aspect of it,” Baker said. “I would say ultimately as I’ve competed, the biggest skill it’s offered me is an increased ability to communicate with others and defend my faith.”
Harding University students are encouraged to serve and assist as judges for the tournament each year.
In this week’s “Back in the Day,” we reminisce about the increased involvement between students and children in the surrounding community.
The Student Association (now The Student Government Association), planned a fall fest for children in Kensett. This event allowed Harding students to go hang out with the kids and be a buddy to them during their time at the fall fest.
JIANA MANGLICMOT lifestyle editor
JACOB BRANSON beat reporter
People enjoy food provided at the International Food Festival fundraiser and cultural celebration Oct. 5. This festival has became an annual occurence for the past 15 years and allows members of the community to enjoy different cuisine.
Graphic by MAKAYLA MCDONALD
Photo by JIANA MANGLICMOT
Harding shifts daily Bible class times
EVELYN FILLEMAN guest writer
Freshman Bible classes are an integral part of the first-year experience. The courses give students an opportunity to lay a firm foundation for the rest of their time at Harding. However, these classes meet daily, which causes conflict in some students’ schedules.
“The main schedule change that we made system-wide is for classes that meet five days a week,” Dr. Jesse Robertson, associate dean of the College of Bible and Ministry said. “Classes at 11 and 2 are moved on Tuesdays and Thursdays to 11:30 and 2:30, respectively, so that they do not interrupt class periods at those hours when classes normally run 1011:15 and 1-2:15. It’s not really flexible so much as it is resetting the schedule to cause fewer conflicts. Students are still required to be in class at the scheduled time, but it is staggered 30 minutes later on Tuesday and Thursday at these two times of the day.”
Faculty members in the college are finding this change helpful. Associate professor Lee Edwards implemented the schedule change for some of his classes this year.
“I teach freshman and transfer classes,” Edwards said. “The move is a game changer for at least a few students. Almost half of my 2 o’clock class benefits from the flexibility as they take 1 to 2:15 [Tuesday and Thursday] classes. It allows them to have a more suitable schedule, especially if they would like to be done with classes prior to 3:50. I have a volleyball player in my 2 o’clock, and without this move, she would have had to take a 3 o’clock Bible, which would have kept her from practice.”
with all of my professors. Professors like Edwards help with my transition in being a Harding student.”
“He really cares about us and helps make it so that we can pass the class,” Farley said.
“He also gives a lot of grace to those students who are balancing complicated schedules. My professors have really helped me adjust; I went from a very big school to a smaller one, and I feel like I’ve made a very good connection
Assistant professor Jason Darden and instructor Patrick Bowman have also applied this change to their schedules. These changes have impacted students’ perceptions of Harding’s professors. Freshman Kirston Farley is enrolled in one of Edwards’ freshmen Bible sections and sees the intentionality behind the work the College of Bible does.
Little changes such as moving class times illustrate the faculty’s careful consideration for students.
“As a professor of over 200 freshmen this semester, I do my best to keep [students] informed of all events on campus, and in general, help them acclimate,” Edwards said. “We talk a lot about how the campus functions, the HU vernacular, locations, the testing lab, social clubs, etc. I know that freshman Bible is a great place to make our new students feel welcome, and hopefully they can find a second home here.”
Crossroads band keeps the Titans club tradition alive
A new band has formed at the University after a recent performance at a men’s club mixer. Led by junior singer Jaden Keller, Crossroads has quickly gained popularity after gaining new members within the Harding community.
Over the last several years, bands have been an integral part of Titans men’s social club. Former Harding band Steelbirds performed at the 2024 Toga event in the spring semester. With multiple members graduating, Keller said he realized the need for a new group on campus.
“I was thinking, ‘well, who’s going to perform at Toga next year?’” Keller said. “I spent a couple days in the dorm trying to figure out who to recruit.”
Throughout the semester, Keller gathered a group consisting of singers, guitarists, drummers and a pianist. Within weeks, the band began practicing and preparing for future shows.
Junior singer Corinne Scott said the group shared a “passion for music” before the formation of Crossroads.
we were done, we all mentioned how ready we are to perform again. We are so excited for the gigs coming up.”
Keller said the mixer was a success for both the band and Titans social club.
“It provided a unique way for students to talk and get to know each other,” Keller said. “It was an awesome experience for us.”
The group has potential performances at the University of Central Arkansas and Arkansas State University. The band also plans to perform for Titans social club at the 2025 Toga event.
Furthermore, members have expressed interest in hosting spontaneous concerts in local parking lots. Keller said the exposure has been a boost for their goals and confidence.
“With more and more practice, I really think we can go far,” Keller said. “With the dedication we have as a group, I feel like we are just going to keep moving forward.”
Senior guitarist and Titans president Zane Frost said Crossroads will continue to push the legacy of bands in the Harding community.
“It is a long-standing tradition of something we love to do,” Frost said. “It has been amazing to watch what these guys have done for us.”
“It would always come up every couple conversations we had together,” Scott said. “We talked about how we love music, and how we would love to be a part of something where we could showcase our talents.”
round mixer. Scott said the performance was enjoyable for the band and crowd of students.
On Sept. 24, Crossroads performed on Midnight Oil’s stage at the Titans second
“All the nerves kinda went away as we performed on stage,” Scott said. “As soon as
Harding offers various mental health services to students
The University continues to offer multiple outlets for students to receive free counseling, both in person and virtually through TimelyCare.
Students have the opportunity to sign up for free, professional counseling at the Center for Marriage and Family Counseling in the McInteer building room 313. The University also offers virtual counseling through TimelyCare which is available to students 24/7.
Director of the Counseling Center Justin Moore is also one of six full-time counselors employed at the Counseling Center. Depending on need, other counselors are also hired part-time.
“We’re here to serve the emotional and social needs of the students,” Moore said. “That’s our fundamental approach to professional standards you would have anywhere, but our belief system is anchored in the Christian worldview.”
Moore said he considers himself and his fellow counselors to be servants of the community.
“This is our little place that we serve,” Moore said. “I think there are so many other people that are in the faculty and staff, people that are in positions of serving as well. We just do it in a professional setting.”
Moore said TimelyCare is a complementary service on campus and helps to fill in gaps that cannot be filled by the Counseling Center.
”It addresses, I think, some really needed areas of student life, some of which are after
Photo provided by Zane Frost
Jason Darden, a faculty member of Harding’s College of Bible and Ministry teaches Freshman in their daily Bible class Oct. 7. He and other Bible faculty have adjusted their class times to better suit student schedules.
NIC FRARACCIO editor-in-chief
MAGGIE SAMPLES news editor
Photo by JOSEY MYERS
Photo by JOSEY MYERS
Sophomore Carson D’Sidocky and senior Zane Frost play in the Crossroads band at Midnight Oil Sept. 24. Crossroads has been one of a legacy of bands in the men’s social club Titans.
Students stand in the hallway near Harding’s Counseling Center. The University offers a variety of mental health resources to students, including six full-time counselors and direct access to the 24/7 mental health line, TimelyCare.
Theatre department hosts joint tryouts
The Harding University Theatre Department held Sept. 30 joint auditions for two shows, Taming of the Shrew and Peter and the Star-Catcher.
Directors Steve Frye and Britton Lynn combined the auditions to use their little amount of time before the Homecoming Musical, Tuck Everlasting, more efficiently. Despite all his responsibilities as the department chair, Frye still managed to make time to talk about theatre, telling students to “come and play.”
During upcoming performances, directors have to switch mindsets, as the Homecoming
musical and the Ulrey shows have drastically different genres, stages and times to prepare.
However, Frye sees this as a gift and a piece of his work that keeps him on his toes.
“We love it,” Frye said. “I think that, not only the variety of stages but the variety of directors that our students are exposed to gives them a better taste of what real world work will be.”
The department held these auditions earlier than normal, not to mention the castings for two different shows.
The hope was that by creating a more convenient audition process that consumed less time, more students would be able to participate. Over 50 students showed up to try out for either or both casts.
“We wanted to do joint auditions to maximize people’s involvement in these shows without burning them out, so we’re getting the ball rolling early,” Frye said.
Burnout is a concern in the theatre world, as directors and students must move immediately from one show to the next.
Frye said he thanks the full time production staff for their assistance.
“People think that theatre people are very right-brained, just dancing around,” Frye said. “But we have to be very structured, even as we play.”
Junior theatre majors Kessler Baker and Campbell Gilreath auditioned for the shows, with Gilreath getting the main part in Peter and the Star-Catcher. For him, the audition
process isn’t daunting, but a place where he expresses himself.
“Auditions at Harding are really fun,” Gilreath said. “I think it’s really good for the casual performer who may not be involved in the department.”
For Baker, passion for the craft keeps him going.
“It’s a difficult balance, and there’s a lot of sacrifice,” Baker said. “After doing this for a while, you get some pretty good work habits.”
After months of hard work, Taming of the Shrew will open Dec. 5-7, and Peter and the Star-Catcher will be performed next semester, Feb. 27-March 1.
Graphic by ANNA CLAIRE CURTIS
JACKSON TRAHANT beat reporter
Across: Peter, Food, Debate, SOAR, Carlos, Clark Down: Vote, Care, Titans, Break, Tuck
