In this issue
Ruwende debuts winning art
Sixth annual winner presents art after contest name change
The College of Bible and Ministry announced the winner of their sixth annual art contest in chapel on Thursday, Sept. 4. The contest allows students from all majors and specialties to submit ideas for a series of pieces which center around a set theme. From there, winners are selected that then further develop and finish their final pieces over summer break. The theme for this year was “Trees in the Bible.”
The winner, Caledon Ruwende, a sophomore from Zimbabwe, submitted a set of unique pieces that combine charcoal, paint and wood sculpture. His series consists of three pieces that depict the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, an olive tree and the Tree of Life.
Ruwende came to Harding to join the track team last spring. After hearing about the contest in a chapel announcement and seeing the previous years winning pieces, he was immediately interested, but said he thought, “You know, maybe this is one of those things you just get initially excited about, but then you never do it.”
But at the prompting of a friend, he asked associate professor of art, architecture and design Tessa Davidson for more information. He began the creative process promptly, using paper and clay borrowed from Davidson.
“Initially, the models were made of clay, but clay had a lot of disadvantages,” Ruwende said. “So I had to improvise, and I ended up using wood. And of course, wood is the perfect material, because the artwork was trees in the Bible. So I had to learn woodcarving from YouTube.”
Over the summer, Ruwende painted the finished version of the 2D portion of the pieces at his home in Zimbabwe. But for shipping purposes, he had to complete the wood sculpture components once he got back to the States, with only two weeks to spare before the presentation.
When asked what drew her to the pieces specifically during the judging process, Davidson said, “I loved the presence that they had, their strong use of line and movement, particularly when you look at that center piece and how he shows the tree. It almost looks like it’s moving and evolving. The way he uses the charcoal and the values, the darks and the lights; they just have a sense of presence. All of that, combined with the sculptural elements that are popping into your space. They just invite the viewer to come in closer and to look, and when you do, it’s very rewarding because the pieces are loaded with all of this thoughtful, intentional symbolism that you can find. And it invites you to contemplate the meaning behind each piece as it relates to Scripture.”
The faculty of the College of Bible and Ministry is officially changing the name of the contest to “The Maggie Samples Art Contest” in honor of alumna Maggie Samples, who died in a car accident over summer break.
Samples was active in the College of Bible and Ministry, on the committee for the contest and contributed to the judging process and themes.
“Maggie really exemplified the spirit of the art contest well,” Dr. Mac Sandlin, associate professor of Bible and ministry and Samples’ cousin, said. “She was always pushing new ideas and any time we got an art piece that was more daring she was just drawn to it and would really try to advocate for it. She was just that way in everything she was, from the way she dressed to the way she had her hair dyed. She was a light to this community and her family wanted to honor that.”
Samples’s family is raising donations to provide a prize fund for contest winners.
The College of Bible and Ministry art contest has always aimed to beautify the McInteer Building and campus at large, and will continue in that goal while honoring the memory of Maggie Samples.
Campus Life hosts sold-out Avery Anna
On Saturday, Sept. 6, country-pop star Avery Anna delivered an unforgettable performance for Harding University students and local fans in a sold out show in the Anthony Wright Administration Auditorium seating 973. The night began with an energetic set by Deltona, a country rock group that got the crowd warmed up with covers of hits like
a memorable and moving experience for all in attendance.
Junior Chandler Donlin was impressed by the performance. “Avery Anna’s concert moved me in a way I didn’t expect,” Donlin said. “From the moment she stepped on stage, there was a sense of raw honesty in her voice that made it feel like she was singing to me, not just performing. There are many Avery Anna songs that I can apply to my life, and they especially hit hard when heard in person.”
The connection Anna created with the audience only continued to grow as the night went on. She sang hit songs like “Rainin”, “Grave” and “Indigo.”
Freshman Riley Prince appreciated the lyrical quality. “Her music is relatable,” Prince said. “Her lyrics are vulnerable to her personal experiences and make her listeners feel like they are not alone in their struggles.”
A very special moment followed after the concert had concluded. Anna stayed in the lobby to personally meet fans who wanted to greet her. Though it turned into a late night, she took photos, signed autographs and shared brief but meaningful conversations.
Junior Landry Earnest was elated by the meet-and-greet. “I was freaking out because I had
concert
listened to her music for so long and then I actually got to meet her and watch her show in the front row,” Earnest said. “She was so kind and so genuine and felt like a friend instantly. She was asking me questions about myself and just so easy to talk to.”
Anna’s willingness to connect offstage reflected the same authenticity and warmth she brought to her performance. Students left the performance feeling inspired and connected to Anna’s music.
ABBI CROCKER lifestyle editor
MICHAEL WRYE beat reporter
Sophomore Caledon Ruwende presents his winning “Trees in the Bible” art pieces. Ruwende crafted his artwork over the summer in his home country of Zimbabwe.
Photo by ELENA KALLENBACH
48 Hour Film Fest, 4B
McNair Fund Freeze, 2A
White County Fair, 2B
Country-pop star Avery Anna performs in the Anthony Wright Administration Auditorium Sept. 6. The sold out performance opened with a set by Deltona, a country-rock group that performed covers.
Photo by BRILEY KEMPER
Funding delay threatens McNair program
KENZIE JAMES news editor
The McNair Scholars Program at Harding is at risk of shutting down this month because the Department of Education withheld their funding.
The McNair program is a federal TRIO program for students who are first-generation, low-income or part of underrepresented groups.
Associate Director Kanembe Shanachilubwa said the program prepares these students for graduate school with workshops throughout the year and a summer research internship.
“The point of the program is to equip students with tools, resources and education on how to get into grad school and survive in that environment,” Shanachilubwa said.
Harding’s McNair program is currently in its fourth year of a five-year grant cycle.
President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1968 into law in March 2025, which ensured that full-year funding and appropriations would be disbursed to education programs. Director Lolia Meredith said the grant is usually disbursed in July, but despite the law, the programs did not receive funding and were not told why.
“There’s been absolutely no communication directly from the Department of Ed. to our program,” Meredith said. “Everything we’re getting comes through COE, which is the Council for Opportunity in Education. They are fighting for TRIO, they have since the ‘60s.”
COE organized the McNair Day of Action on Sept. 16 to bring the issue to Congress’s attention.The event encouraged students, faculty, alumni and friends to call their legislators to fight for the program. Meredith said the Day of Action was important for the community to show they care about what is happening.
“Everyone’s supposed to call … then follow up with emails and say, ‘Hey, why is the department not doing what Congress has said and delivering these funds?’” Meredith said.
Meredith said TRIO programs have faced struggles since the spring semester, but if the 2025-2026 grants are not released before Sept. 30 – the end of fiscal year 2025 – the McNair program will shut down.
“[Congress has] already appropriated the funds for all TRIO for 2026,” Meredith said.
“So the fact that this year is being held up is completely in disrespect of Congress and the appropriation. And from what I understand …
we have reasonable expectation that we would be able to finish out our grant cycle. That’s my biggest problem with this situation, is it’s just very unethical.”
A Louisiana TRIO director told Meredith that the delay – and why one of his programs was shut down – was because of the programs’ DEI policy. McNair programs have the option for up to one-third of their students to be from racial minorities, but this is not a program requirement.
“I know they were referring back to a document we all have to sign that we’re not going to discriminate,” Meredith said. “This has nothing to do with DEI … TRIO programs were created before the DEI push. It was about civil rights and people being able to have equal opportunities under the law.”
The McNair program is important for both participating scholars and the alumni. Shanachilubwa, also a McNair alumnus, said he could testify to the program’s merit because he continued to be involved with it during his graduate research. He is still involved in the program as Harding’s associate director and works with the 20 McNair scholars on campus.
Senior Arriona Davis completed her research
internship this summer and said her siblings were planning to apply for the program this year. If the program shuts down, current and prospective scholars – like Davis’s siblings –would not receive the training the program’s workshops offer.
“Honestly, it’s really sad, because it’s a great program to help underrepresented people to be able to know more about things they may not have heard of and experience research for themselves,” Davis said.
Student parking struggles continue around campus
KENZIE JAMES news editor
Students have faced difficulties with parking on campus this year with multiple construction projects blocking spaces.
The parking challenges began when the Grad Hall parking lot was closed in January
for the construction of the Harding School of Theology library expansion. The Lee parking lot was opened for overnight parking to help students, but the east side of campus still lost 10 student spaces. The Grad lot was still closed when students returned in August, and 30 spaces near the Rhodes-Reaves Field House and Allen Hall were also closed for construction. Armstrong Resident Assistant Luke Hollis, a junior, said students did not know the parking spots near Allen Hall would be closed until they arrived on campus.
“We’re still down 30 [spaces] because of the Rhodes roof being redone,” Department of Parking and Transportation deputy director Ed Daughety said. “Those are about to come back.”
Daughety conducted a parking lot survey and found that Harding has 4,284 student parking spots. One hundred nineteen of those are closed because of construction. He also said there are 2,856 student vehicles registered on campus.
“There’s a surplus of spaces,” Daughety said. “They’re just not where people want them to be. … Parking lot locations, that’s
where it’s difficult, and especially with dorms, I know that it’s not the best.”
In an effort to stay near the dorms, students started parking across the street near buildings with bigger parking lots.
“The GAC parking lot is where most of us park now, because there’s not much anywhere else,” Hollis said. “I’d say it’s only really bad whenever there’s club events or something like that going on at the GAC. Then both of those lots are full.”
One of the student parking lots used less frequently is at the Intramural Fields. Daughety said that lot has 267 student spaces, but students do not frequently park there to walk to their dorms.
This year’s increased enrollment also added to the challenge of students trying to park near their dorm.
“It’s been a lot trickier to find a parking spot,” junior Micah Idema said. “There have been multiple times where there’s not a single spot in [the Swaid] parking lot, and that never happened last year. There’s just cars driving around waiting for a spot, and there aren’t any.”
Idema said students suggested turning extra faculty parking spots in front of buildings into student spots. Daughety acknowledged the
idea but said part of the parking issue is that there are only 667 designated faculty spots.
“Harding has more employees than they have spaces for them,” Daughety said. “Which means they’ve got to find a place to park too, which means they’re parking in white [spaces] while they’re here during the day.”
Daughety said the University is discussing parking and is looking to add another lot, but he did not have details about the project. He said adding one parking lot would add about 110 parking spaces – enough to help the problem, but not enough to resolve it.
“Another big thing that you want … are green spaces,” Daughety said. “Some of the best locations are green spaces that they don’t want to lose. Whatever we get, I don’t think it will be close, just because everything close is already taken.”
Despite the daily parking challenges for students living on campus, both Hollis and Idema said their situation is better than student parking at other schools.
“It’s kind of frustrating, especially when you’re getting in close to curfew and need to get back in a timely manner,” Idema said. “But compare it to other state universities … We have it really good here.”
HUF experiences decreased attendance trend
KENZIE JAMES news editor
Harding students have recently developed a trend of studying abroad in Italy during the spring significantly more than in the fall or summer. Since summer 2021, the Harding University in Florence (HUF) summer and fall programs have recorded lower attendance than the spring trips. Former HUF director Robbie Shackelford said the trend of lower numbers in the fall has been noticeable for the past 10 years.
Most prominently, the fall 2024, summer 2025 and fall 2025 programs each had seven attendees. In contrast, the spring 2025 program was near capacity with 34 students.
International Programs Executive Director Audra Pleasant said the staff noticed this trend over time, but some years have a more stark difference than others.
“We have long suspected that the tradition of going to HUF in the spring is largely a self-
fulfilling prophecy, where then more people think that spring is the best semester to go,” Pleasant said. “We definitely have had years where it was not as stark, but we have always noticed that the spring semester is filled first.”
Each semester offers unique opportunities for students, but International Programs staff said the fall weather is better to travel in Europe compared to the colder spring months.
“[Fall] is my favorite time of the year in Italy with unique opportunities like the grape and olive harvest and special fall-only events in Scandicci and Florence,” Shackelford said.
The attendance records show that despite these opportunities, most students choose to travel in the spring. The choice, however, correlates more to what students leave behind in Searcy than what awaits them in Scandicci.
The Bison surveyed 21 HUF alumni about why they chose their study abroad semester. There were multiple patterns about what affected students’ decisions, but the most
consistent answer was that students did not want to miss Club Week.
Many Harding students choose to travel abroad their sophomore year, including junior Caroline McCullough. She studied on the spring 2025 program and said a big factor of her decision was that she wanted to connect with the new members of her social club during the club process.
“It was just kind of like weighing, ‘do I want to miss Club Week or do I want to miss Spring Sing?’” McCullough said. “I would just rather be at Club Week and go through that process … I did Spring Sing my freshman year and I loved it, but I guess I wanted to have the experience of going through the club process on the other side.”
McCullough’s statement is also reflected with the total number of participants for each event. More students participated in the club process than in Spring Sing. In fall 2024, approximately 1,400 students participated in
social clubs—not including freshmen and other potential new members. Comparatively, about 815 students participated in Spring Sing 2025.
The preference for Club Week over Spring Sing, while a contributing factor, is not the only reason HUF students choose spring over summer and fall. Pleasant suggested additional reasons why students might prefer studying abroad in the spring: classes, football season, tailgates or friends signing up for the spring semester.
Pleasant noted that HUF enrollment across the semesters is beginning to balance without any intervention from International Programs. While the trend remains, it will not be as drastic as this past year’s numbers.
“For next year, while spring is still definitely full at HUF, the fall semester is already more than half full, so it seems to kind of already be adapting,” Pleasant said. “This summer and next summer are filling faster than they have in the last few years.”
Pictured left to right, Madeline Stewart, Caroline Taylor, Haleigh Carter, Amanda Toye, Heather Wilson, Isaiah Boardman and Adrian Galyean pose for a photo at Harding’s villa property in Scandicci. These students attended the summer 2025 HUF program, one of the recent trips with low attendance.
Photo provided by HALEIGH CARTER
Graphic by TOBIN SELLERS
Graphic by CARYS BIRDWELL
Every Harding student is aware of the campus’s reputation for safety and comfort, especially in comparison to large public universities. My friends and I have left our backpacks sitting in the Heritage lobby while enjoying a meal elsewhere and always return to find them undisturbed.
There was a time when I wasn’t overly wary of walking alone in the dark on campus. It came as a surprise when that time ended. In my experience, it isn’t even enough to walk down East Center Avenue accompanied. On the evening of Feb. 2, 2024, I was returning to my dorm escorted by my boyfriend when we noticed a pickup truck driving unusually close to the curb.
Before I knew what was happening, something heavy hit my arm—followed by the feeling of liquid seeping into my sweater sleeve.
At our feet lay a busted Sonic cup. Mercifully, this time it was water.
My boyfriend and I called Public Safety, but without a license plate or any other documentation, there was little that could be done. I half-expected to see one of the infamous “campus alert” emails about it the next morning, but this never came. I hung my sweater up to dry and made a few dumb memes about the incident before going to bed for the night.
I recalled a story at the start of that year of a fellow freshman girl being pelted with an egg in broad daylight. What immediately struck me about my “Sonic Cup Incident” was how my boyfriend was unaffected. He walked on the side closest to the road, but it seemed that the perpetrators had thrown around him to get to me.
As time passed, an unsavory pattern became clear to me, especially as these seemingly isolated incidents have escalated. What started with stories of eggs and Sonic drinks has taken a turn for the worse.
Since the start of 2025, I can list four major incidents that were reported to the student body. One involved a drive-by assailant spouting racial slurs at a girl on Center. Another occurred on Park Avenue by Cone Hall, in which a vehicle swerved onto the sidewalk at one of my friends. She later told me she heard them laughing as
Have you ever questioned your own salvation? Have thoughts of being good enough or having done enough to get into heaven ever plagued you?
Many Christians experience these doubts at some point or another during their lives.
The solution to these queries offered by some goes like this: “You are never good enough to earn heaven, and there isn’t anything or any number of good works you can do to earn your salvation. Good works don’t earn us our salvation—they flow out of us as a natural result of loving God and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit.”
In other words, this solution posits that good works are evidence of one’s salvation, not something they do to earn it.
However, this logically leads one to ask, what kinds of good works and how many of them provide sufficient “evidence” for one to be confident in their salvation? This, being another way of asking “How do I know I am doing enough to be saved,” leaves the doubter in the same place they began.
On the edge of the Harding bubble
they drove away. This assault was grounds for talking to local law enforcement. Further, if you received campus alerts due to summer enrollment, one deeply troubling report told of a man exposing himself to a female student as he drove by on Lott Tucker Drive.
Most recently, a campus alert I viewed through Pipeline recounted a report of three students who were harassed by a blue Dodge Charger which followed them onto campus. It was reported that “one of the individuals in the vehicle brandished a firearm at two different points.” What struck me as unusual about this incident was that the phrase “female student” was absent from this particular report.
These no longer appeared to me as isolated incidents, but part of a larger pattern in which the safety of female students on campus is
being called into question. When I told my mother about this in June, she questioned why there would be no security cameras on these areas of campus.
Perhaps this is the tip of the iceberg. If comparatively minor incidents like mine are not shared with the campus at large, how many “minor incidents” like mine have happened that didn’t warrant an email?
Since I have only two years at Harding under my belt, I assume that this type of harassment was ongoing before my time here. Whether or not it has escalated to the levels it has reached recently is a question I can’t answer. What I do know is that it’s hard to enjoy the Harding bubble when it can be burst by little more than walking home.
A field guide to spiritual confidence
Therefore, saying good works don’t earn our salvation but are a natural outpouring from it, while true, doesn’t adequately assure one who is wondering whether they’ve done enough to be saved. So, how does one who is wrestling with these questions arrive at peace concerning their eternal destination?
I propose using the sacraments. A sacrament is a physical mechanism through which God administers grace, and we receive grace. There has been debate over the number of sacraments, but generally we as Protestants accept these two: baptism and the Eucharist (also called the Lord’s Supper or Communion). The rest of this article will explore how baptism and the Eucharist are proper avenues of assuring your salvation and why Protestants should have an effective understanding of them. First, in baptism, we receive grace and promises of new birth, the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, the promise made to Abraham and being clothed with Christ.
It is easy to feel assured of your salvation immediately after baptism. However, as time goes on, and as we sin, doubt creeps in.
staff
Randi Tubbs
Abbi Crocker
Martin Luther allegedly combated his doubt by hanging a plaque in his room — it read, “When you wash your face, remember
your baptism.” The plaque reminded Luthor to look back to his baptism and remember the promises God imparted to him then. Often, reminding oneself of this can calm the conscience when it condemns us. One way we are reminded of and renew our baptismal vows is in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we receive Christ in a special way as we participate in his body and blood. In doing so we spiritually feast upon Christ. That is to say, we are conformed to his image, sanctified, and the spiritual life force within us is sustained, strengthened and nourished. We receive the intercessory effects of the atonement. With this in mind, it does not matter what sort of shortcomings, sin or failures we have endured in any particular week because when we come to the table, we receive Christ and his spiritual benefits and are once again renewed and restored.
The Eucharist is a tangible, weekly reminder of the forgiveness, rebirth, blessings and promises we have received in Christ—it cleanses you from soteriological angst. Thus, it is through the two sacraments that we receive the grace of our Lord, which provides the basis for confidence in our eternal destiny.
For this reason it is necessary that Protestants embrace an effective view of the sacraments as instruments through which God administers grace. This view provides assurance of our standing before God in a way vague explanations of faith and works or symbolic understandings of the sacraments cannot.
Time of writing: 1:31 a.m.
Run for your lives! Run, you men. Run, you women. Grab your backpack; grab your phone; grab your Labubu, cashmere scarf and slippers; you all need to run! I’m still shaking in my trousers; I was so scared, I could have cried. But I must be brave… if a guy can get on the Benson stage and lead a hymn three keys too high, I can tell my story.
I saw the devilishly saucy beast on my trek to the Reynold’s building a few days ago.
(Don’t worry about the late response time; the news is nothing if not late).
Do you know the little path leading from the library to the Reynolds? Darkened by the shade of trees? Captured by gloom?
I saw him there.
I saw the creature from a distance, across the long sidewalk. At first, I thought he was a normal student, with no malicious intent towards my gray matter.
He (if they can even be gendered) walked with a stutter that left one foot slightly dragging the pavement. His arms dangled loosely by his side; his backpack was dangerously close to slipping off his archaic joints, but it stayed, swaying and swiping the air in a slow pendulum. What he kept in his stained Jansport, I will never know. Probably brains, that evil creature.
His eyes, oh, his eyes. They gawked at me from his face, all dark, puffy and red. He stared at me with those horrid red dots. They bored into my face, examining what laid beneath my skull.
I watched as other students waved and greeted the undead monster, clearly not understanding the threat. They dapped and handshook, high-fived and hugged, all oblivious that the belated attempts at reciprocation were not friendly, but motivated by hunger.
I’ve never been in close proximity to the undead, so I followed the mindless creature. I had class, but I didn’t care. Science drove me onward, the potential for discovery worth any absence.
I stalked the zombie down the Reynolds sidewalk, past the Administration building, and down the front lawn. He settled in the line for Einstein’s Bros. Bagels. Why he hadn’t bitten anyone, I was clueless. The ever-increasing line was a perfect opportunity.
He approached the cashier, pale skin reflecting the gold light, and muttered one word: “khophy.”
I still regret not intervening. The poor person manning the counter was terrified. It was all they could do to reach over and hand the zombie a cup for coffee, a desperate attempt at pacification.
But it worked.
The man couldn’t have known how close he was to death as the creature hobbled off towards the self-serve coffee station.
What I tell you next I cannot make up. It happened right before my eyes, as I live and breath before my Lord, Jesus Christ, and my General, Mike Williams.
The zombie stood staring at the coffee pot, pushed his knobbled fingers against the spout and spewed steaming joe into his cup. He lifted the yellow and black mug to his lips and slurped a long draft.
The zombie’s horrid skin began to shift and morph. His back straightened, his eyes lightened. What stood before me was no longer a zombie; the coffee clearly had metamorphic power over his complexion. The creature before me was no longer hideous, but a perfect replica of my roommate, Luke Gauntt.
In a moment of bravery, I walked up to the creature posing as my roommate. I had to know, was he my roommate posing as the undead, or a ninja zombie infiltrating our apartment.
Stomach curdling, I braced myself to meet the Lord, and walked up to Gauntt.
“Hey, how are you?”
“Good, just tired.”
Abby Barry
Cassidy
Melanie Guyette
Edgar Cardiel
Natalia Lago
Nona
Graphic by TOBIN SELLERS
Graphic by CARYS BIRDWELL
Guest writer Noah Keener
Opinions editor Andrew Reneau Asst. copy editor
Cassidy Tucker
NOAH KEENER is a guest writer for The Bison.
Cassidy Tucker is a guest writer for The Bison.
ANDREW RENEAU is the opinions editor for The Bison. He may be contacted at areneau@harding.edu.
Samples of gold
Editor-in-chief Randi Tubbs
Girl’s road trip!
Last weekend, I took a mighty road trip to Kentucky with two girls, Amelia and Jessica, to attend our friends’ wedding. To avoid night driving, we split up the eighthour drive there and back, meaning that instead we took four four-hour drives in three days. In theory, it sounded genius. In practice, while still genius, it was exhausting. Nonetheless, it was a girl’s night.
For those who don’t get my reference, “Girl’s night is a state of being, rather than a set of rules defining a space and time. Girl’s night can be on a Thursday afternoon. Girl’s night can become a girl breakfast at 7 a.m. on a Friday at Wild Sweet William’s. All that is required for girl’s night to exist is that there is a gathering of the girls and a good gab,” wrote Maggie Samples in her February 14, 2025 column, “Girl’s night!”
In my case, girl’s night was a road trip, a wedding and a reception.
“[Girl’s night] is sisterhood. It is girlhood. It is womanhood. It is that moment when you look around a room full of women you love and just have to smile, because you have built this space of love, care and laughter. It’s when you can say, we were girls together.”
– Maggie Samples, Spring 2025 editor-in-chied
During our road trip, we covered obvious topics, such as our love lives and our excitement for the upcoming meals. However, when you’re on your third round of four-hour drives, those conversations begin to lack satisfaction. Naturally, we began to dig deeper, covering topics of work ethic, purity culture and children. Whether we were on bridesmaid dresses or politics, each conversation was a sample of gold.
During my 20 years of being alive, I have spent a lot of time trying to define my relationship with my two older siblings. “Best friends” doesn’t quite cut it, “siblings” doesn’t explain the duality of our relationships, and “family” feels too broad.
The wedding, even though we didn’t have gab time, was our most intimate time together. Surrounded by smiling family members, the three of us wept. This truly happy weeping may have meant different things to each of us. Maybe we wept over watching the bride’s parents and thinking of our own, or hearing the groom’s vows, or maybe we just wept in delight for the union of our friends.
We gathered to share food during the reception. Gathering around food will always be my favorite occasion for a girl’s night, obviously. It is unique in that you’re able to be indulgent, but in a grateful way. I’ve never shared food with a group of girls before who didn’t go on and on about the incredible time they were having eating.
This weekend, Amelia, Jessica and I were girls together.
My brother, Joshua, is nine years older than me. When I was a child, (and honestly even still) I looked up to my brother more than anyone in the entire world. I thought that Joshua hung the moon. When I was 10, I took speech classes with the “Lads 2 Leaders” program at my church because he did too. When I was 12 I watched his favorite show, “Avatar the Last Airbender” so we would have something to talk about, and when I was 15, I read the “Hunger Games” series because I knew that would make him proud of me. I spent most of my adolescence modeling my behavior, my personality and my characteristics after my brother. I wanted nothing more than to be just like him.
I had a similar experience with my sister, Alyssa, except she’s only four years older than me. I considered myself to be attached at my sister’s hip–where she went, I went. My sister and I had our fighting phase, but, with the guidance of my brother, we became the absolute best of friends by the time I was 8 years old. In fact, I have never
Youngest sibling troubles
had a best friend like my sister, and I know that I never will.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that most of the assumptions about youngest siblings are true for me. I love to talk, I’m very outgoing, I didn’t have nearly as many rules in my teenage years as my siblings did, and I tend to be a rash decision maker. But, there’s a secret about being a youngest sibling that many people don’t talk about–there is so much mourning connected to this role.
I remember the day that my older brother left home to attend college here at Harding. I grew up in Searcy, so this really wasn’t a far move, but it was crushing nonetheless. When we dropped my brother off at college, I remember watching my mom’s face for a sign of how I was supposed to feel. And, just as I suspected, I was supposed to feel sad, and I did. My mother cried that day, and so did I.
And then, I cried again when my brother went to France with the FACE program, and again when he got engaged, again when he moved away, again when he got married, again when he had to miss the first Christmas day ever, and again when he bought his first house. Part of being the youngest sibling is feeling every single triumph and every single failure that your older siblings make in the
deepest parts of my heart.
When my sister went to college, I honestly think I was more of a mess than my mom was. I hid it well, but I was absolutely distraught. I could not, and did not, want to imagine a life where I didn’t see my sister on the daily. I could not fathom waking up and her not being in the kitchen making breakfast, or us riding home from school together, or us watching our tv show together every night.
But, then, Alyssa kept growing up, and I cried for every triumph she had in life too. Being the youngest sibling means I get to watch my older siblings succeed in life and grow into two of the most wonderful people I have ever known. I have gotten to see them both marry their best friends, move to new cities, and become their own, uniquely beautiful people. So, being the youngest has rewards, but the consequences are one that you must be strong in order to bear. Yes, I do think being the youngest is the hardest, but it’s also the best thing I’ve ever been blessed with. (And yes, I still am not sure how to define these relationships.)
Halloween in September
I got in line between a Klingon and an Oompa Loompa. A pink Power Ranger was not far ahead of us, while two Spidermen fist-bumped nearby.
Looking down at my usual sports jacket and tie, I felt under-dressed. Fortunately, a stranger came up and asked if I was supposed to be Ferris Bueller’s principal. With the mustache and blonde hair, I guess I do look a bit like Mr. Rooney. In case you haven’t guessed, I went to Comic Con last weekend.
It was my first time attending the massive pop culture bonanza, where thousands of people shamelessly reveal their inner geek. As I looked around and saw more lightsabers and pointed ears than I ever had before, it occurred to me that every single person at the State Convention Center in Little Rock had probably been pronounced by at least one relative as a hopeless case.
But that didn’t stop the fans from showing out. Some came in full Renaissance gear to promote the Hot Springs Ren Fest. The Central Arkansas Ghostbusters had a booth—“No haunting too daunting” is their slogan. Stormtroopers of every stripe were out in force, though I appreciated the more obscure costumes, too. One guy had on a t-shirt that said “Kenobi’s High Ground Coffee Co.”
My favorite pun of the event, though, was the “Cos-Medic” station, where free emergency costume repair was provided, just in time for the contests.
Despite my bland attire, I felt like one of the crowd. Believe me, I’ve had my official nerd card punched plenty. Star Wars was my entire life from age five to twelve. I played Pac Man in the arcade, watched every episode of the Muppets and even had a Dungeons & Dragons character. I collect vintage Rocky and Bullwinkle toys
and know every line from “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.”
Granted, I was a bit lost in the manga aisle, and I had to ask around quietly to find out what “cosplay” meant. And forgive me, I had to look up who the guy in the red tuxedo tails and television head was supposed to be. It can be hard to keep up with the culture.
Still, I had a fine time. The merchandise area had everything from homemade lip balm to lovable dolls from “The Exorcist.”
I think I’ve now seen every Funko Pop in existence, not to mention some interesting fashion options for sale, from steampunk kilts to a Jason Vorhees Hawaiian shirt. No Comic-Con is complete without celebrity guests. The line to meet Tom Kenny—the voice of SpongeBob—was two hours long at one point, as was the wait for Jodi Benson, whose performance of Ariel’s “Part of Your World” during the Q & A was worth the price of admission.
Others lined up to meet the inconceivable Wallace Shawn of “Princess Bride” and “Toy Story” fame, or Bonnie Wright—Ginny from “Harry Potter.”
It’s true that the prices for photo-ops and autographs are something of a racket. For one celebrity, a person might pay $125 to pose next to the guy and get a glossy printed photo. To have that photo signed was an extra $100, and to make it all legit, specialists were on hand to charge another
$12 to authenticate the John Hancock you just watched the dude sign. You see and hear the oddest things at Comic-Con. In the exhibit hall, I listened to two kids debate over whether dragon fairies are or are not real. Later I saw the Joker standing next to a sign for Free Overdose Prevention kits. While the crowd waited for the next Q & A in the main ballroom, music played in the background, and I noticed three rows behind me that Leatherface—chainsaw in hand—was bopping his head to “Billy Jean is not my lover.”
I stayed for three fan sessions, and it was a treat to hear Randy Quaid reminisce about playing Cousin Eddie in the “National Lampoon” movies and sing his villainous song from “Home on the Range.” Or to listen to Priscilla Presley talk about her marriage to Elvis and her memories of cracking up on the set of “The Naked Gun” with Leslie Nielsen. Or to learn that Jodi Benson got the part of “The Little Mermaid” because she was in a Broadway show that folded early and was therefore free to audition, beating out 500 other actresses. There’s something special about a community of eccentrics who are all into different things but who are unafraid to celebrate their fandom in public. As I stood in the concession line behind a guy dressed as Pikachu, waiting for a cold $8 hotdog in my Mr. Rooney outfit, I decided to embrace the insanity. Next year, I’m definitely wearing a muddy left shoe.
MICHAEL CLAXTON is a narrative columnist for The Bison. He can be contacted at
Narrative columnist Michael Claxton
RANDI TUBBS is editor-in-chief for The Bison. She can be contacted at
Comic by GRACE BROWN
Graphic by MELANIE GUYETTE
Graphic by MELANIE GUYETTE
Guest writer Amanda Toye
AMANDA TOYE is a guest writer for The Bison.
The Dugout Dispatch
Eli Dean
Watch Like a Pirate
Ahoy, mateys! Today is a very special day, as it’s Sept. 19, or better known as International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This is by far my favorite holiday every year. I actually interviewed the two friends who created the holiday during my senior year of high school over Zoom, and they gave me all the tips and tricks of being a pirate for one day. So if you don’t happen to see me in an eye patch at some point today, consider that a failure on my part.
Lately, though, the legends of the 15th and 16th centuries (or even the 21st, thanks to Captain Jack Sparrow) are simply stories. Pirates, in the way we think of them with the skull and the crossbones, don’t exist today. But instead of sailing the seven seas in search of buried treasure, today’s pirates are swashbuckling on the internet in search of free movies, TV and sports.
Internet piracy isn’t new. Downloading music from the internet started as early as the 1990s, and while streaming has made things like movies and TV shows more accessible to everyone at any time, there are still people out there who are willing to find a website online to avoid paying the monthly cost of streaming services. But among all of the types of internet piracy, illegal sports streaming is the most costly to the corporations which stand to lose several billions of dollars combined, and most beneficial to the person who likely won’t sweat out getting on a website with a 90-second-delay instead of paying hundreds, and possibly thousands, of dollars to watch the sports they love.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment estimates that over $28 billion is lost every year because of illegal sports streaming between the major sports organizations like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and more. It’s a number that’s severely alarming and shows just how large the problem is, which is why many of the main sports organizations are fighting harder than ever to stop the wave of illegal sports streaming.
On Sept. 4, The Athletic reported that the Egyptian government, alongside the ACE, sent the world’s largest illegal sports streaming website, Streameast, to Davy Jones’ locker and shut it down in a sting right before the NFL season began. Streameast garners 136 million monthly viewers, which is well over a one billion viewer pace for a year. What was next? Well, just as Peter Pan saved Wendy from walking the plank at the last second before she hit the water, someone was able to get access to the site and transfer it to a different domain, making the ACE’s attempts to preserve sports streaming integrity a moot point.
To watch every game during the NFL season throughout all of the streaming services that have rights, which include Christmas games on Netflix, ESPN’s Monday Night Football games, Peacock’s exclusive Friday night opener last season, Amazon’s Thursday Night games and everything in between, runs your average consumer about $750 a season. To watch your favorite NBA team, it might run you close to $900. It’s why last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver responded to a question about the price by saying that the NBA is “very much a highlights-based sport,” which basically spells out to consumers, “Just watch our sport with YouTube highlights, you’ll be fine.” Silver walked back some of those comments, but the point still stands. The leaders of the sports you watch aren’t all that concerned about the rising costs, because as long as the demand is there, that’s all the reason for them to continue down the current path.
The price to watch sports is climbing. I know I pay too much money to stream all of MLB’s games on their official website every year, but what’s the alternative to paying the high costs? Go on some shady website and hope your computer doesn’t get a virus? I will admit, it’s tempting. But are the risks worth it to save a few hundred bucks every year? I guess that is for each person to decide if they want to watch sports like a pirate. As for me? I think I’m best suited with my fake pirate tricorne and my plastic hook during International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which was created by two friends after one of them got hurt during a racquetball game. Beyond that, that’s all the piracy I need in my life.
Harding football rolls past SWOSU in home debut
ELI DEAN sports editor
The Harding Bisons football team has plenty of new faces this year taking center stage, and it showed in a big way during the team’s home opener win against Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
Following the departure of a few key names in the running back room from last year’s team, there were opportunities for more players to make an immediate impact.
Outside of junior Andrew Miller and senior Braden Jay, the rest of the Bison running backs are getting their first real chance at playing time, and it resulted in five different players scoring touchdowns in the 55-0 win, which kept the season theme going after six different players scored in the season opener against Northwestern Oklahoma State on the road.
Leading the team in scoring was junior Josh Strickland Jr., who scored twice on six carries. Strickland spent the past two years with the Bisons in a minimal role, only averaging 22.32 yards a game. But this season, now that he’s been in line for a bigger role, that number has boomed to 51.5 yards per game. Strickland said that when the team is successful in all three phases, it helps him become a better player on the field.
“It’s really not me,” Strickland said. “It’s a whole team effort, from the offensive line to the receivers; it takes everybody.
Strickland credited the offensive line to his success and said that they make his job easier.
“They will not let your brother down,” Strickland said. “They play for each other and just give it their all.”
Sophomore Bo Simpson set a career high in rushing after ripping off a 15 yard run midway through the fourth quarter. After a year redshirting, Simpson said that it was
nice to be out on the field and making a difference with the rest of the team.
“The most exciting part of going out on the field Thursday would have to be knowing who all I am going out there with,” Simpson said. “After getting so close with a lot of these guys, it was finally time to go out and play on the same field as them is an awesome feeling.”
Bisons head coach Paul Simmons said that the beauty of his flexbone offense is that it allows for a lot more players to be involved in a game.
“They can’t take away everything,” Simmons said. “And so we’re just trying to take what they give us, and we don’t have one guy that we hang our hat on.”
Even though the Bulldogs might have had chances to score, the Bisons defense held strong. Through two games, the defense has yet to give up a point, and the #1 scoring offense in DII is currently outscoring opponents 104-7. Simmons said that he was pleased with the performance on both sides of the ball, and he’s seeing steady improvement that will pay dividends as the season goes on.
“We’re getting better,” Simmons said. “Our defense gave up more yards than we wanted to, but certainly the goal is to keep them out of the end zone and they did that.”
Men’s club volleyball looks to keep strong program going
SAVANNAH GINGERICH guest writer
Harding University’s men’s club volleyball team recently entered its busy season with tryouts on Sept. 4. New and returning team members are in for more than just athletic camaraderie.
Captain Joshua Schmidtlein, senior, has big goals for his last year on the team. When asked about his plans for the season, his answers had an overarching theme: “Push the Biblical standard for what it means to be a Christian on the court,” Schmidtlein said.
The mindset is improving athletes’ performance; last season ended with an astounding win/loss record of 14 to one. Maintaining a sense of team unity in the midst of change, however, presents a unique set of challenges. With an ever-evolving group of players, as senior members graduate and freshmen fill their place, it can be difficult to maintain the team’s closeness.
With six new freshmen players this year, Schmidtlein and coach Matthew Schmitz are working hard to promote team bonding and encourage players, “by building a team of chemistry…where it’s something they love to do,” as Schmidtlein said, hoping to keep up the team’s sweeping success streak. Their efforts have not been in vain. Freshman Henry Yi said the team welcomed him with open arms.
“I’ve had a great time getting to know them,” Yi said.
Additionally, the importance of spirituality in athletics goes beyond the team itself. The team’s practice of praying before every game has been noticed by others in the league, as the pregame tradition is surprisingly rare.
“When you go to a sporting event, you don’t think you’re going to see [prayer],” Schmitz said. Another example of spirituality’s importance can be seen in the team’s faith in God’s provision. They travel frequently for games and conference tournaments, including destinations such as St. Louis, Mo., Aurora, Ill. and Oklahoma City, Okla. at the University of Oklahoma.
Because of this, costs can easily add up. Players are often responsible for finding donors to raise travel funds, a practice that has thus far been successful, thanks to generous contributors. Travel takes up a majority of the team’s expenses, especially due to the recent popularity boom for the sport.
“It’s starting to grow all over,” Schmitz said. The men’s club volleyball team remains a symbol of sportsmanship and spirituality as it enters another exciting season. To anyone interested in going out for the team next year, junior Isaac Braswell has some advice for prospective players: “Be coachable, be ready to learn, and come out ready to play.”
Softball to play University of Arkansas in fall scrimmage
LORELAI CURTIS
community editor
The Harding University Lady Bisons softball team is set to play the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in a scrimmage at their home field on Sept. 20.
Since this game is being played during the off-season, the game does not count towards any win/loss records or statistics. The softball championship season does not begin until the spring. The purpose of the game is to provide a positive learning experience by playing in a higher division.
“At the end of the day, they are a good team,” senior Kate Pierce said. “But we want to be competitive with them.”
The Bisons are not backing down from this challenge of playing an SEC team. When asked if training for the upcoming game was any different, knowing their competitor, Pierce stated, “I don’t think that there’s been much of a change, but just keeping it in the back of our minds who we are about to play.”
Because the University of Arkansas and Harding are within separate NCAA division
rankings, such a scrimmage is a unique opportunity for the Lady Bisons to play on a more competitive level for the improvement of their own game.
“In Harding’s history, when it comes to team sports, we have played against
Division I teams,” Director of Athletics Jeff Morgan said. “But we have never played an SEC team before.”
The game holds a lot of magnitude, but the Lady Bisons are not letting anything hold them back from performing at their best.
“Since the girls have this great opportunity, they need to keep control of their excitement and their nerves,” Lady Bisons head coach Ashley Reeves said. “The spring will look different because of this moment, and we are going out there to make it simple, make it fun, make it exciting.”
Some of the goals for the Lady Bisons are to improve their game, develop as a team and cultivate team morale and culture.
“We are having the mindset that we are going to go out there and give it our best,” sophomore Alexis Boswell said. “We can only gain from this, whether it is knowing more about our team, just life lessons, or gaining experience.”
As part of team morale, the players make sure that they are honoring and glorifying Christ in all that they do.
“Our team motto is, ‘Playing for her, but praising him,’” Boswell said. “A big thing within our team is the culture. It’s important.”
The Lady Bisons are ready to take on the Razorbacks in a historic game and to do it all in His name.
Senior Christian Franklin pulls away from a Southwestern Oklahoma State University defender during the 55-0 win for the Bisons Sept. 11.
Sports Editor
DEAN is the sports editor for
Photo provided by REESE MALLETT
Graphic by GRACE BROWN
Senior Joshua Schmidtlein puts up a practice set during a men’s club volleyball practice. Last season, the team went 14-1 and hopes to get stronger.
Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL
White County Fair opens for a week of fun
The Annual White County Fair opened last week and remained open until last Saturday night, bringing to Searcy the smell of fried Oreos and fair-going traffic wrapped around Berryhill Park. The fair dates back to 1935 and consists of a multitude of rides, food trucks and events such as the rodeo, demolition derbies and livestock shows.
President of the White County Fair, Clayton Edward, explained the preparation that goes into planning the fair for it to be better each year.
“We’ll spend the entire year getting ready,” Edward said. “As a matter of fact, even now, while this fair is going on, we’re getting ready for next year’s fair. So we’re contacting people about contracts and different ideas, different activities, and that usually takes us throughout the whole year to get it all cinched up and nice and tidy.”
Residents of Searcy and surrounding areas look forward to the White County Fair’s famous livestock shows, which include rodeos, cattle shows, petting farms, bronco riding, barrel racing and livestock shows.
Searcy resident Cali Elam and her family prepared all year for the animal shows, anticipating their first time showcasing their animals at this year’s fair. Elam explained, however, that there are often factors that are out of animal handlers’ control, despite many preparations.
“I think the most challenging part is that animals are unpredictable,” Elam said. “So, like yesterday, my cow started going crazy, and I have worked with her every day, but they’re just animals, so you never know what’s going to happen.”
The shows bring the community together and allow handlers to show the city what they have been working on all year. This allows the entire community to come together and celebrate one another’s accomplishments.
Sophomore Molly Fantauzzo attended the White County Fair for the first time this year. She grew up going to her hometown
fair in Fort Collins, Col., before moving to Rochester, New York, at the age of 13. Fantauzzo explained how much she values the community aspect of local fairs.
“It brings joy to the citizens of White County and brings everyone together,” Fantauzzo said. “It gives college students something to look forward to, and it’s just a fun event where everyone can come together.” White County Fair has closed for this year, but will be open again next September. Locals add it to their calendars and are sure not to miss this chance to get some fried Oreos, ride some fun rides and check out the rodeo.
Berryhill Park construction begins this fall
Berryhill Park construction has begun, implementing many renovations as part of the #MySearcy initiative. The project broke ground in June as part of a 20-year master plan designed around resident feedback. The foundation for the project was laid several years ago when the city partnered with Little Rock-based firm Crafton Tull to conduct extensive community engagement.
“We did focus groups with community members, we did surveys,” Michelle Pugh of Pugh Communications said. “They took all of that data and they analyzed it, and they wrote a master plan for our community. Berryhill was amongst some of those top priorities. Two of those major things were the splash pad that’s going at Berryhill and the all-inclusive playground.”
The splash pad and all-inclusive playground are commitments that will allow children of all abilities to play together. Beyond recreation, the renovations are seen as an investment in the city and its growth.
“What we learned from a lot of our planning is that businesses look for areas
that invest in themselves, and they look for areas where their people would want to live,” Pugh said. “By having these amenities, we’re able to attract new businesses and create jobs
for the community.”
The goal of the upgrades is to improve the Searcy community’s quality of life helping businesses attract and retain customers.The
full renovation will not be completed until next year, but the first phase is on track to be completed before Holiday of Lights, a Searcy tradition.
Pugh states that the annual event will continue as planned amid the construction. Although the project highlights Searcy’s future, it does not ignore or erase the traditions of the past.
While the main playground area remains closed during this construction phase, the pickleball and tennis courts have remained open. Juniors Jonah Richardson and Aidan Dycus both play pickleball at the park once or twice a month. They expressed excitement about the expanded parking, for when the park gets busy. For Richardson, the park helps with a sense of community.
“The Searcy community loves pickleball and loves being outside in nature together,” Richardson said. “The renovations create more opportunities for us to be in community together.”
As the work continues towards completion, the project emphasizes the investment in the community and making Berryhill Park a place for memories to grow.
TUCKER ALLEN guest writer
NATALIA LAGO beat reporter
Construction is underway at Berryhill Park as part of a planned improvement project. The project aims to enhance the recreational spaces.
Guest of the White County Fair enjoy their time walking around, riding rides, playing games and eating snacks. The White County Fair opened its gates for the season Sept. 8-13.
Photos by BRILEY KEMPER
Photo by ELENA KALLENBACH
Harding alumnus lands federal clerkship
Michael Krupka, a 2020 alumnus and Student Government Association president of the 2019-2020 school year, has recently secured a clerkship with the newly appointed Judge Whitney Hermandorfer of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Krupka graduated from Harding in 2020, earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 2024 and clerked for Harding alumnus Judge Jeremy Kernodle during the 2024-2025 rotation.
“God made me to be an attorney,” Krupka said. “I feel very confident that this is the type of work I’m supposed to be doing, and I feel like my experience in law school really helped enforce that idea.”
Krupka has a strong passion for people and engaging with others. His work often involves representing others through reading and writing.
“I love being able to serve other people through the talents God gave me,” Krupka said. “This includes being able to make a point, speak on someone’s behalf or read on someone’s behalf.”
Krupka explained that his faith deepened significantly and became his own during his time at Harding. He credits Bible classes and faculty mentorship with helping him understand both the Bible and God’s plan for his life.
“My faith informs everything about how I interact as an employee, as an attorney, and as a citizen,” Krupka stated. “It has shaped me outside of the law, but also for the law.”
While at Harding, Krupka pursued a double major in political science and Spanish. His aspiration to attend law school began even before his time at Harding. To make this a reality, he attended LSAT practices held by one of his mentors, Dr. Steven Breezeel.
“Michael is a really positive guy and was always very engaged in classes,” Breezeel said. “He was good at a lot of things, and you
can see that through his double major and the fact that he ran for SGA president. He’s extroverted, he gets along with people, and he was involved in activities all over campus.”
Following his clerkship with Kernodle, Krupka currently serves as a general litigation associate at Baker Donelson Law Firm in Nashville, Tennessee. In August 2026, he
will begin his clerkship with Judge Whitney Hermandorfer.
“He’s a person of the highest character,” Kernodle said. “I got to know him as a lawyer and a person. He has a terrific attitude and his work was excellent.”
His success exemplifies Harding’s impact on students’ future achievements.
“It’s great for Harding to have their alumni out there doing the kind of things that he’s doing,” Kernodle said. “Whenever Judge Hermandorfer gets another person down the road with those same credentials, she’s going to think of Michael. He’s been a terrific ambassador for the University. ”
Dr. Keck inspires through scholarship and service
Dr. Russell Keck is a familiar face for many in the English Department, but across campus his work is not as frequently recognized.
A 2006 alumnus, Keck received his Ph.D. in English at Purdue University, with a focus in Renaissance and medieval literature. He began teaching at Harding in 2014 and has been an Honors College Faculty Fellow since fall 2023.
English Department chair Jon Singleton described Keck as “an inspiring teacher and colleague … He enjoys talking about ideas that matter. I see this in his enthusiasm with his students and also in our hallway conversations.”
Keck is teaching a total of five classes this semester, including an independent study in Latin and a senior-level Honors seminar on “The Divine Comedy” and “Paradise Lost.” He serves as the director for the English Department’s literary magazine “Shapes
and Names,” directs the Office of Fellowship Advising for students applying to graduate and law schools, serves as chair of the Harding University Research Conference and teaches at Honors Symposium during the summer. His life is not exclusively academic, however.
“I am a sponsor for TNT men’s social club – hark – and a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s club volleyball team,” Keck said. Furthermore, Keck enjoys a robust family life with his wife and two young daughters.
“Finding a healthy balance between all of my responsibilities at Harding and as a husband and father can be challenging,” Keck said. “I have certainly felt my share of burnout in the past.”
He takes it one task at a time, keeping a strict schedule but making time for sleep and exercise. “I often involve my family with many of the things I do on campus,” Keck said. “You’ll often see me around campus with my daughters in tow. What’s more, I have a very supportive and encouraging wife,
Sunnie, who reminds me and our daughters that we ought to and can do hard things.”
“He is devoted to the life of the mind,” Singleton said. “He is a warm friend, a good colleague. He encourages all of us towards scholarly excellence.”
Countless students across campus appreciate Keck’s work and encouragement. Senior history major Max DeLoach is taking the independent study in Latin with Keck this semester in preparation for his senior thesis on medieval kingship.
“My second favorite thing about Dr. Keck is his willingness to help a student; he is a selfless man,” DeLoach said. “My first favorite thing is that he’s really funny. I love hanging out with him.”
For students wanting to show their appreciation, Keck’s favorite order from Midnight Oil is a large dark roast mocha with a chocolate croissant. His office is on the third floor of the American Studies Building.
Waldron Center empowers student entrepreneurs
The Waldron Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Business is a resource on campus that provides students with assistance for creating and supporting small businesses.
The Waldron Center is located on the second floor of the Mabee Business Building. The center is not just for business students, but for every major on campus.The resources the center provides can assist anyone who wants to start a small business in brainstorming ideas on how to make a vision reality.
“For students who have their own business already, we help them promote their products,” Waldron Center Director Heather Harrell said. “We help them in developing a website, defining their customers and teaching them how to make the next step in their businesses.”
Not only does the center provide resources, but it also offers many opportunities for small business focused competitions.These contests offer prize money in the tens of thousands of dollars.
“The first competition is a pitch competition that has prize money on the line, which is held in September. The second is the Bison Shark Tank with a prize of $15,000,” Harrell said. “The final and biggest competition is the Governor’s Cup that takes place in Little Rock in April.The prize is $20,000 per team.”
Sophomore Britton Cone started making leather goods about a year ago in his dorm room. He has benefited directly from the opportunities the center offers.
“I heard Heather talking about the Waldron Center during Stampede, and I knew I needed to check it out,” Cone said. “I went straight to the center, and she started telling me all they have to offer, and it was awesome and I have been there every day since.”
Cone has a display of his products in the Waldron Center for all to see.
“Heather wants students to display their work to encourage and empower them to get the exposure they need to thrive, succeed and to gain profit from their creations,” Cone said.
Junior Cole Moss and freshman Savannah Moss are siblings who make candles together. They started their small business when they were in high school, but it has become bigger and better thanks to the Waldon Center.
When asked about the resources that the Moss’s have utilized,one stood out to them the most.
“The connections have been a game changer,” Savannah said. “We are putting some of our candles in the bookstore because of Heather’s connections there.”
Even if one does not have a full plan for a business or has fears about starting one, the center is a great place to start.
“If you have a business, take advantage of being able to go up there,” Cole said. “There are so many more opportunities that come from getting connected.”
The Waldron Center is a place where students can cultivate their creativity and build something to be proud of. The center offers many resources that are beneficial to projects that students are participating in all over campus.
LORELAI CURTIS community editor
CLARA KERNODLE assistant copy editor
SIDNEY DAVIES beat reporter
Director Heather Harrell poses in the Waldron Center. The Waldron Center has provided many resources for entrepreneurial students across campus.
Colin Hickl, Michael Krupka, Judge Jeremy Kernodle and Miranda Cassidy pose for a photo in Pasadena, California. The group traveled to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in March 2025.
Dr. Russell Keck teaches, leads, coaches and sponsors a club on campus.
Photo provided by MICHAEL KRUPKA
Photo provided by JEFF MONTGOMERY
Photo by BRILEY KEMPER
Students participate in 48-hour film festival
Filmmakers across Harding University were called to trade sleep for cinema on Sept. 12-14 as the Third Annual 48-Hour Film Fest kicked off. At around 6 p.m. Friday, the competing teams were given three things: a randomly assigned genre, a prop and a required line of dialogue. After being given their requirements, teams raced the clock for the next 48 hours, writing a script, filming and editing the entirety of their project within the allotted time.
With the festival being in its third year, it has become a highlight of the fall semester for many.
“You learn maybe 20% of film in the classroom, but 80% of it comes from being on set,” senior film major Caleb Hartzell said. “Every opportunity we try to take, because whether you’re directing or just in the same room watching everyone work, you get something out of it.”
This year’s festival marks the third consecutive year that Hartzell has participated in the challenge, but he says that he has learned more each year that he competes.
“Honestly, it comes down to communication—making sure everyone knows what’s going on,” Hartzell said. “And also learning to trust people with their roles. You don’t have to do it all yourself. When you let people shine with their gifts, it makes the project stronger.”
He knows that it takes a village to make a good film in such a limited time, but he says that the hardest thing about the weekend isn’t the writing, shooting or editing, but the lack of sleep.
Senior media production major Gavin Corbin is new to the festival as a sound expert.
For Corbin, the surprise of the theme is what he is looking forward to the most. “Normally, on a film set, you have at least a couple of days to shoot and a couple of weeks to edit,” Corbin said. “Here, everything has to be done by sundown on Sunday. That rush is what I’m excited about.”
Senior Jake Garms, who played an extra on last year’s winning team, said his favorite part of the weekend was the group of friends that he got to do it with.
“It was really fun, and most of the shooting was hanging out with our friends because we had such a good group,” Garms said. “It took me probably around four hours of filming, and I was pretty happy to see how the project turned out.”
The 48-Hour Film Festival ran from 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, through 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14. Screenings of the completed films will be announced following the weekend, Sept. 27-28.
History department hosts movie marathon
NONA NIELSON beat reporter
On Sept. 6, the History and Political Science Department held a “Pride and Prejudice” viewing marathon from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and watched both the BBC’s extended television series and the 2005 film starring Kiera Knightly. The viewing was an all-day event with breaks in between for periodaccurate snacks.
The idea for the marathon came from three connected “Pride and Prejudice” anniversaries. It is the year of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, the 30th anniversary of the BBC version and the 20th anniversary of the 2005 version.
These anniversaries inspired Kimberly Laing, the Ganus chair of the History department, to put together the screening. Laing’s job as the Ganus Chair is to find new and creative ways to inspire an interest in young people for history.
“I really just want students to see that history can be serious and fun,” Laing said.
“Like, we can learn a lot of important lessons, but we can also just enjoy that it has great stories.”
Laing explained that “Pride and Prejudice” was a fun and relevant way to learn about the history of Jane Austen and the time in which she lived.
Associate Professor of Political Science
Melanie Gallagher worked alongside Laing.
“I think when we do events like these, at least my goal is always to help her make history come alive for people,” Gallagher said. “And so we wanted to make an opportunity
for students who either were or weren’t a fan to come and learn more about Jane Austen through her work.”
Gallagher said this was accomplished through talking about the differences in clothing in each film, and taking a closer look at the time period.
Senior Camille Bewley attended the event and stayed for over three hours. She said that because of “Pride and Prejudice’s” nature as “semi-historical storyline” that it is a great example of learning more about a social environment of a time period through something that is not only educational, but entertaining.
“As a lover of history, I enjoy watching historical-adjacent films because I think it’s important to have an understanding of the past,” Bewley said. “Even if a movie or novel is fiction, it represents aspects of the time in which it was written, or filmed to represent.”
The history department plans on hosting more events like this in the future in order to continue nurturing a love for history and its many relevant stories.
Seniors Ethan Rickett and Joshua Wesley meticulously check and prepare the equipment before the start of filming Sept. 12. The film festival lasted from Sept. 12-14.
Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL
TOBIN SELLERS
Comic by TOBIN SELLERS
TUCKER ALLEN guest writer