The Bison Newspaper - Vol. 98, No. 09

@HUStudentPubs Facebook: Harding University Student Publications

Administration enforces faculty reductions to rightsize University

The Harding administration implemented reduction measures affecting 35 faculty members at the end of the fall 2022 semester in order to reduce the budget for an anticipated financial deficit and to help control student tuition costs for the 2023-24 school year.

In October, President Mike Williams announced to faculty that administration would be reducing the number of faculty members to reflect the current size of the student body. Faculty were notified during Dead Week if their contracts were not being renewed or were being adjusted for next school year.

In an effort to cut down on faculty this time last year, then-interim President David Burks announced on Jan. 24, 2022, a voluntary faculty retirement incentive and said the University sought to reduce total faculty by 30 people over the next three years, according to an article published by The Bison on Jan. 28, 2022. Williams said that not as many faculty took advantage of that offer as was hoped, which led to the administration having to be more proactive in the reduction process.

Though the recent measures were not announced until last semester, Williams said this is a conversation that has been happening for several years as the budget has continued to tighten and one he was made aware of as he entered the transition to the presidency this school year.

“Cuts very quickly get to personnel in higher education, and that’s why this enrollment

decline nationally has been hard for higher education to resolve,” Williams said. Williams said the rationale behind the reduction decision was not only to reduce a financial deficit, but was done with the recognition that the University’s main source of funding is student tuition, the total of which has decreased as enrollment has declined.

The reductions were made based primarily on faculty to student ratios in each department, according to Williams.

“We’re going to cut into the programs that have had the greatest enrollment drop,” Williams said. “This was why this one was really painful: This was not a performance decision.”

According to University Provost Marty Spears, college deans and department chairs were responsible for providing information and recommendations to the administration during the reduction process.

“The dean and department chair know the department needs and how to cover them best,” Spears said.

The process led to 15 faculty members choosing to retire or resign from their positions, nine having reductions and/or adjustments in their assignments for next year, and 11 who will not receive a contract for next year, with a total of 35 faculty being affected, according to Spears.

Associate professor of communication Tim Hamilton had gone into this school year knowing that he would be retiring, but had not yet told his department chair before the reductions were brought up to the faculty. After the measures were announced, he

decided to announce his retirement to save someone else from the department from potentially being cut.

“I came in last fall knowing this would be my last year, then it was just the matter of when I let them know,” Hamilton said. “The question might be, did by [me] retiring, did that save [someone’s] spot?”

Most of the reductions were from the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of Sciences, which are colleges where enrollment has dropped significantly over the last several years, Spears said. Enrollment rates and the goal to have a more streamlined budget in these colleges contributed to the decision to combine them in the 2023-24 school year to create the College of Arts and Sciences, an announcement that was reported in the Dec. 2, 2022, issue of The Bison. Spears said the College of Education faced significant reductions as well.

Due to faculty reductions, some programs have ended up being cut completely. Spears confirmed that the special education and apparel merchandising undergraduate programs are two that will no longer exist after this year, but that the University will be working with students from affected programs to ensure they can still complete their degrees and graduate.

Junior Bailey Coffman was an apparel merchandising minor, but dropped the minor when she heard the program was being cut.

“I did like the minor, but I didn’t want to stay in a dying program,” Coffman said.

Williams said the University is facing about a $4.7 million shortfall in its budget

for next year, but had already cut out about $3.5 million worth of expenses with faculty reductions, organizational changes and reducing overhead costs in different areas.

Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance Tammy Hall said the University plans to balance the rest of the shortfall through a combination of revenue increases and expense reductions.

“Personnel costs are the largest category for any service industry, including higher education,” Hall said. “Therefore, part of the plan had to be a reduction of personnel costs.”

Operation budgets have also been cut by about 15% recently, according to Hall.

“Budget managers across campus were asked to review expense budgets and identify savings opportunities, while still maintaining a high service level in the education of our students,” Hall said.

A major reason the shortfall is so large for this year is because the University will no longer have funds from federal COVID-19 relief grants that were received in 2020.

“Harding was very responsible with the money … $2 million of it was used in this year,” Williams said. “Had that not been there, these cuts would have been forced to happen last year.”

Along with faculty reductions, Williams said staff positions are being reviewed for potential reduction, and that 55 staff positions have been eliminated in the past five years. “I don’t view this as a [financial] crisis,” Williams said. “But that doesn’t make it not a crisis for the faculty member that didn’t get renewed.”

Workers make progress on the new Holland-Waller Center on Jan. 17. The department of physical resources said it aims to have the

by August.

Construction continues across campus

Harding’s campus has been undergoing various changes over the course of the current school year, and there are still more projects in the works.

Progress has been made with the new Holland-Waller Center. Director of physical resources Danny DeRamus said his department is working hard to try to get it done by August. There have been issues with building materials being on backorder across the country, which has held up the timeline.

Ryan Carter, the construction manager for physical resources, said they have a double crew working right now, and they are getting things done faster than normal in recent weeks.

The Holland-Waller Center is being dedicated to Joella Waller and Sue Holland,

two women of faith who valued Christian education and made many sacrifices to ensure their children could attend Harding.

Freshman Hayley Waller, great-granddaughter of both Joella Waller and Sue Holland, said her family remembered how much of a Christian influence these women had on their lives, and they wanted to do something special to remember them by. Part of that influence was helping the family get a Christian education, said another great-granddaughter of Joella Waller, freshman Katie Yurcho.

“Joella saved all of her social security checks and put them into a fund for our grandparents so they were able to have a quality Christian education here at Harding,” Yurcho said.

Yurcho said her family has a legacy of many great women, but especially these two great women who were heavily involved in their churches and prioritized Christian education.

Another major project is the new track being laid next to the intramural fields. Carter said they are dependent on good weather in order for the stripes to be painted, but the track surfaces are in.

“We’re working on a building,” Carter said. “We have a little storage building and bathroom facility down there. Our plumbers have been doing the plumbing for that. [I] would imagine we’re gonna see a lot of action down there within the next couple weeks.”

Over the Christmas break, DeRamus said physical resources gutted the third floor of Kendall Hall, where the new architecture program will go, and work on this project will be continuing till August. He also said they are meeting with the architect and engineer this week “to nail down some things so we can get started.”

Physical resources will also be cutting across the walkway that runs from behind the Stephens Art Building to the Hammond Student Center in a continuation of what was done behind Benson Auditorium last semester.

“Oh we’re fixing to make your life difficult over behind the art building, we’re extending some piping,” DeRamus said.

Over the past weekend, road construction began on Dr. Jimmy Carr Drive. “Those aren’t our streets, so it’s all city stuff,” Carter said. But he said he is excited about the new roads.

As for parking on campus, DeRamus said they are almost ready to return the parking lot behind the Benson for student use. However, the lot behind the Holland-Waller Center is going to have to stay closed until construction ends later this year.

EMMA JONES editor-in-chief

building completed

Photo by BALAZS BALASSSA

STACY ROIBAL beat reporter

‘Larger than life’: Family, friends, co-workers remember Lindy Ingram

Family and friends mourned and celebrated the life of Lindy Ingram, 60, after she died unexpectedly on Dec. 31, 2022.

A Harding graduate, Ingram earned her bachelor’s degree in business systems analysis from the University in 1984, later obtaining a Master of Business Administration in 2015. She had served as a board of trustees member since 2019.

“Lindy brought a deep connection to, and love for, Harding in her service on the board,” board of trustees chairman Charles Ganus said. “She worked hard at being a strong, well-prepared board member. As with all members of the board, Lindy wanted Harding to be an outstanding Christian university.”

Born May 23, 1962, Ingram grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She worked as the co-owner, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Lone Star Behavioral Health, a psychiatric hospital in Texas.

She served as a certified medical compliance officer and certified nonviolent physical crisis intervention instructor. She was also involved in her community of Magnolia, Texas, and Woodland Oaks Church of Christ in Woodlands, Texas.

“She was extremely generous to people in need, people she loved and her family,” Cindi Ingram, assistant director of the Center for Professional Excellence and Lindy Ingram’s daughter-in-law, said. “If somebody had a need, she was the first person to give to it. … One of the common phrases that we’ve used is ‘larger than life.’ She just accomplished so much.”

Ingram had deep roots in Camp Wyldewood, a year-round Christian camp in Searcy, where she had been a camper, counselor and board

member, Wyldewood executive director Chad Hudelson said. Caleb Ingram, the second oldest of Ingram’s three children, serves on the camp’s board.

Hudelson remembered Ingram as a tough and fair business person, particularly recalling the time she and her husband bought the Wyldewood Retreat Center in 2019. Throughout the negotiation process, Ingram ensured the purchase was beneficial to the camp. The sale ended up helping the camp throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

“I think she was able in her business dealings, at least from the times I dealt with her, she was somebody who still carried her Christian faith with her in her business dealings,” Hudelson said.

Cindi Ingram, who is married to Ingram’s oldest son Logan, said her parents-in-law helped begin Woodland Oaks Church of Christ, where she first met their family as a child and witnessed the big heart Ingram possessed.

“One of my first memories of her: My family moved from California to Texas when I was 13, and we started going to the church that her and her husband, my father-in-law, had kind of helped start,” Cindi Ingram recalled. “So we were new to the area. We had just moved away from all of our family, and she invited us over for Christmas.”

Cindi Ingram said her mother-in-law made what could have been a difficult day a precious memory for her family.

Lindy Ingram is survived by her spouse, Nathan Ingram; her mother, Nancy Lunceford; her three children, Logan, Caleb and Carter; and nine grandchildren.

A visitation and celebration was held in her honor Jan. 6 at Woodland Oaks Church of Christ. In lieu of flowers, people can give to the University or Camp Wyldewood.

Student Health Services offers nurse practitioner

Director of Student Health Services

Mary Darden announced in an email Jan. 9 that students would have access to a board-certified family nurse practitioner on campus beginning this semester. Students can visit the clinic for treatment of minor illnesses and injuries.

Darden, who furthered her education at Vanderbilt University so she could have the qualifications to provide this service to students, said students can opt in at the beginning of each semester for a one-time fee of $40. Darden said she has been working on implementing those services since she became director in 2020.

“It just feels like such a great accomplishment for our whole staff,” Darden said. “It’s not just me working on it, it’s been our nurses and our front office staff too.”

Darden said students often pay more than $40 per visit to an off-campus clinic, so this new offering makes healthcare more accessible to students who may not have insurance or who come from out-of-state.

“We want easy, accessible healthcare for students,” Darden said. “We want timely access to cost-effective care and high-quality care, and I think our office really hones in on that and tries to do that for students.”

Emilee Jeffrey, a nurse in Student Health Services who has experience in urgent care, said she helped Darden with the basic structure and room setup so the students can treat their services more like a clinic.

“I was helping her brainstorm, how to organize it, how to best meet the needs of the students,” Jeffrey said.

“You want to look at who you’re going to be serving, and what are they going to be needing, and obviously

everyone needs healthcare, but everyone is coming at it from a different perspective.”

Jeffrey said she is excited that Student Health Services is expanding its offerings beyond the free nurse check-ups they originally offered students. Previously, Student Health Services had to refer students to off-campus health clinics in order for them to receive more specific treatment, but the introduction of a campus nurse practitioner reduces the number of referrals they have to send.

“We feel like we have something that the students need,” Jeffrey said. “We have a service we can give them that we weren’t able to do before. So much of the things

we were having to refer for, we can do right here on campus.”

Vice President of Student Life Zachary Neal, who assisted Darden in seeing the project through, said a lot of the groundwork for the project had been laid over the past couple of years until everything could be pieced together. He said Darden did the hardest parts of the work and that he helped her with details such as communication and timing.

“I’m thankful for Mary Darden and the team of nurses that work with her,” Neal said. “I never want us to take for granted the level of experience and education that we have within the professionals right here on campus, and I’m very thankful for that.”

Neal said this expansion of Student Health Services fits perfectly with the mission of the University.

“With this specific opportunity, I think it shows that the University is always going to offer the highest level of education,” Neal said. “Everything that the students have been used to will still remain. It’s just that now, there’s a higher opportunity to get some of the services taken care of just on campus.”

Cows cause campus chaos

EMMA JONES editor-in-chief

At least two cows that were spotted on campus on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 11, caused much excitement as many students tried to spot or chase them as they ran around the area.

Public Safety director Craig Russell said multiple cows escaped from a trailer that was headed to a cattle auction on the south side of town. The number of cows that made it onto campus can’t be confirmed, but there were at least two. Though seen walking together behind Cone Hall, the bovine duo seems to have eventually separated as multiple student eyewitnesses only claimed to have seen one cow. Kevin Davis, the assistant director of Public Safety, said several Public Safety officers were involved in trying to corral the cows while they were on campus, but the animals

ended up running off campus, where Searcy Police Department officers and Searcy Fire Department firefighters were involved in chasing them down.

That night, senior Claire Chesney received a text from a friend that there was a cow loose on campus and went with her roommate, senior Aiden Moore, in an attempt to drive around and find it. After following a police car down Beebe-Capps Expressway, Chesney and Moore saw three more police cars and a firetruck in front of Fellowship Bible Church, with officers looking for the cow in a ditch. Chesney said there were several other students driving around also looking for the cow. After continuing down to the Big Red gas station on the corner of BeebeCapps and Remington Street, Chesney said she finally got a glimpse of a cow.

“The first thing we did when we saw him was we rolled down our windows and started

mooing at him,” Chesney said. “I ended up calling the police to tell them we had eyes on the cow because we hadn’t seen any cops since we left Fellowship. We followed him along Gin Creek back behind the Swaid Building … After following him for about 20 minutes, we felt like we were just in the way of the cops, so we went home.”

Junior Elise Siklosi also saw the cow while it was near the Big Red gas station.

“I stop at the stop sign right next to Warehouse 4, and I look way ahead of me by Big Red, and I see this thing, this animal, and I’m like, ‘That’s a funny looking dog,’ and then I’m like, ‘That’s no dog, that’s a cow,’” Siklosi said.

Siklosi said at one point the cow ran into the middle of Beebe-Capps, and she corralled it with her car until it ran into the brush across the road so that it would not be hit by oncoming traffic.

Russell and Davis said, though it’s been a while, this is not the first time livestock have been loose on Harding’s campus. According to Russell, about 10 years ago, another cow was loose on campus after also escaping from a trailer on the way to the cattle auction. Davis said that in the late ‘90s, an ostrich escaped a nearby meat processing plant and found itself being chased around campus.

As for the cows from last week, Davis said they were loose for a day or two after they were seen on campus but have been recovered.

Russell said students should be cautious if they ever see animals such as a cow on campus because animals can cause extensive damage when spooked.

“Call 911, because if there’s a cow wandering around on campus, it’s not supposed to be there,” Russell said.

TIANE DAVIS sports editor

Graphic by COOPER TURMAN

GABRIEL HUFF head copy editor

Lindy Ingram pictured in her University headshot taken on Oct. 22, 2020. Ingram unexpectedly passed away last December after serving on Harding’s board of trustees since 2019.

Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery

State of the BSA

In a time where Christianity and people who claim to be Christian are the source of much hatred and divisiveness, America unites to celebrate someone who put Jesus at the center of the advocacy that he was ultimately killed for: Martin Luther King Jr. I know many shudder at the mention of social justice, as it is an affront to a privilege they don’t even want to acknowledge, or conjures images of their political enemies for reasons only explained by the one (maybe two) news outlets they consume. Furthermore, many of those who fear or even condemn social justice are Christian. How contradictory this is to the indisputable truth that the leader of one of the most recent and arguably one of the most significant social justice movements in the history of modern western civilization did so in the name of his Christianity, pointing consistently to Jesus.

In King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Speech,” he reveals that the core motivation for his role in the civil rights movement is simply to do God’s will. The will of God can seem like this elusive thing, difficult to discern. While I am unsure if and how

State of the SA

What do you want to be remembered for? The world is on track to run itself dry with the pace life is moving at today. I feel like every day there is more pressure to be more efficient, make more money and appear more successful to those around us. This begs the question: Are those really the things we want to be remembered for? While these things may seem significant at the moment, they are just things. Simple as that. Momentary. Evanescent.

But isn’t that the way life is, too? Isn’t life just a vapor? James 4:14 says, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be. For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” Life is just like that. A vapor. A second. A blink. A flash.

While it seems like you’re going to be stuck in that awful class for the rest of your life, or you feel you’ll never make it through the semester, your life is truly flying by without you even realizing it. With the eternity of heaven awaiting us just on the horizon, we

Reflecting on MLK day

the will of God can tell you where to go to graduate school, who to marry or even what to eat for lunch, the example and instruction in Scripture are clear about who we are to care for. In that same speech, King puts it best: “Let us develop a dangerous kind of unselfishness.” It is hard to dispute that God has a desire for justice and a desire to see his people take care of the marginalized or disenfranchised.

From the example of King, I find it abundantly clear that not only should Christians be at the forefront of social justice movements, but it may even be an affront to the will of God when we are not. Think of the proverbial good Samaritan and consider who in this life and this society is laying stranded on the side of the road. Social justice is being a good Samaritan on a societal or institutional level, using what you have or even risking your Western comfort in order to help a neighbor. You need not wonder which side of the picket line you would have stood on during the 1960s. Do you take steps to help people who are disenfranchised today? How do you talk about populations who do not

have the same rights and privileges that you do when you are behind closed doors?

King listened to the calling of Christians to take lead in social justice movements and did so with grace and humility. I can think of no better evangelism than to pour into your own community in a way that is radical and needed. As King eloquently puts it at the end of his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Speech,” it is worth it to stay on the path to the promised land: “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind … I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.”

HALLE MILLER is a guest writer for The Bison. She may be contacted at hmiller10@harding.edu.

What is a Christian’s legacy?

are only given the gift of life on this earth for but a moment that pales in comparison to the glory of eternity that awaits us.

What do you want to be remembered for? I find it easy to catch myself tangled up in what the world tells me I ought to be remembered for. What TikTok and the latest trends of today tell me is I should work tirelessly to be known for what I can do, not what makes me who I am. Our culture tells me I should pursue wholeness that is defined by their standards as enough money, enough success and enough titles. Is that really enough though? Is that really fulfilling the desires of our hearts?

“And I, I don’t want to leave a legacy

I don’t care if they remember me

Only Jesus”

- Casting Crowns

Now, don’t get me wrong. Pursuing Jesus in a social media and material obsessed world is not for the faint of heart. The things of this

Living for the weekends

Before classes started, and all the homework started to pile up, I christened myself determined to read at least one book for fun this semester. I wanted something that would help me take it easier this semester, have more grace with my friends and peers, and would give me a break from the feeling that to do well in school meant digging the graves of my social and spiritual lives, a feeling I knew all too well in the fall. I eventually settled on “The Sabbath” by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. I remember being a high schooler working at Steak N’ Shake, and of course, a junior in high school isn’t going to know all the labor laws off the top of his head. I often would work long nights and have no breaks, not because they were driving me to work, but because I felt like I didn’t need one. One day, I came home and my dad asked me what I did on my breaks, and I told him, “I don’t take them,” and he said something along the lines of, “No, you should probably take your breaks. You’re going to be able to work harder and better if you take a few minutes to recoup.” Recently, Heschel taught me that the way we think about rest is all wrong.

Guest Writer Kathy Dillion

Several years back we, as faculty, began to hear that students today seek to know their professors in a way previous generations did not. While there may be some truth to this in the number of students who do so, it is certainly not new at Harding. I was reminded of this recently as I stood at the bedside of a professor who would leave this world less than a day after my visit.

Jan. 14, 2023, I stood at the bedside of Fred Jewell, a man who had been my professor, my elder, my colleague and my friend, and I thought of the decades in which I had known and loved him. In the same hospital room stood his wife, Alice, who had been my World Literature I teacher, and Winfred Wright, who had been my second-year French teacher. I thought back to how I had come to Harding in the 1970s as a first-generation student who knew little about college life. A friend once asked me about my GPA, and I responded with, “What is a GPA?”

Though I may have been little prepared for college life, these professors both expected much from me and helped me to achieve it. Fred and Alice invited me to their home for a meal, and I was intimidated but went anyway. I have been

world change constantly, but God doesn’t. Isn’t that so good? How comforting to know that while the world continues to chase temporary things, the God of the universe never ceases to run after us. The people you find yourself surrounded by now in college will remember you for something. What do you want that to be? The coworkers you will see daily will remember you for the way you lived and how you loved. What do you want them to think about after you’re gone? Though it’s a difficult question to face, it is a crucial one to dwell on as followers of Christ.

Live your life in a way you would want to be remembered for. Leave behind a story for others to tell. I want to be remembered for the way I loved other people and showed them just a small piece of how glorious our God is. What about you?

MEGAN SLEDGE is a guest writer for The Bison. She can be contacted at msledge@harding.edu.

Remembering Fred Jewell

in their home countless times since then, as they have become so dear to me. They taught at Harding University in England (HUE), along with the Wrights, and my daughter came back as a student from that program announcing to me that she would become an English major. She did so influenced by their high standards of scholarship and went on to become the HUE program director and now teaches English at Pepperdine University. The Jewells have had a far-reaching effect on my life as well as on the lives of my children. My daughter’s students will be blessed for generations to come, as well, because of the deep and beautiful influence these two professors had on me as a student so long ago.

While I was intimidated by Jewell as I sat in his Modern European History class so many years ago, I could never have imagined in 2023 holding his hand as he smiled meekly at me through his oxygen mask — faithful to the end as one who cared deeply about the ones who came through his classroom. I don’t know if I will hold the hand of a student as I lie on my deathbed, but the thought is not sad to me. With his last energies, Fred extended his hand

in friendship. I have taught many students through the years who still stay in touch with me and have maintained a close relationship through the years, and those relationships give me hope for a future that sometimes looks bleak. Though having a Ph.D. and teaching at Harding would have been unimaginable to that young student who didn’t know what a GPA was in 1974, the reality today has been possible because teachers nurtured me.

My story is just one of many, since the Jewells and other professors have extended their love and hospitality to so many. So when I hear that young people today seek to have relationships with their professors, I don’t question it, but I know that at Harding this is not new. Maybe the rest of the world is beginning to catch up to what the Jewells knew so many decades ago — that investing in students will pay great spiritual dividends, and their influence will reach so many, enriching the world and blessing the lives of people they never even met.

KATHY DILLION is a guest writer for The Bison. She can be contacted at kdillion@harding.edu.

We do not know how to rest because we do not know how to deal with time. We are spatial creatures. Religions for thousands of years have dedicated spaces as holy — mosques, sites, temples and cathedrals. Even religions before the modern era dedicated things as holy, like idols. This is where Judeo-Christianity is different: the tabernacle — a space — was one of the last things to be declared holy. Before the tabernacle, the people of Israel were called to be holy, and even before that, there was something else. The first thing to ever be called holy was a day, a slice of time: the Sabbath. In Heschel’s words, since creation, the Sabbath has been ordained as “a cathedral in time.”

We often view time as a resource, a currency, a thing of space. “Spending time,” “saving time,” “investing time.” Maybe we view time as a thing of space because we do not know how to confront time head-on. The idea of losing time is mortifying to us, but we forget that we are never not losing time. Thankfully, there is a cure to this. When we start truly believing in eternity, we suddenly realize that to lose time is of no loss to us, and the idea of giving up one-seventh of our time alive to sanctify a day is of no cost, because oneseventh of eternity is still eternity.

The Sabbath, both the book and the holiday, teach us what it means to live in “The Year of Our Lord.” To practice Sabbath, to have a day of prayer, feasting, praise, leisurely strolls and family, is to indulge in the paradise which was designed for us. The Sabbath was not made so humanity could have the energy to produce more than the other six days, but we were told to prepare enough during the six days so we might keep the seventh holy.

MALACHI BROWN is the opinions editor for The Bison. He may be contacted at mbrown33@harding.edu.

– Malachi Brown, opinions editor

When we start truly believing in eternity, we suddenly realize that to lose time is of no loss to us.

SA President Megan Sledge

Graphic by Cooper Turman

Ten Thousand Words

Editor-in-Chief Emma Jones

New year, new me?

There have been plenty of opinions expressed about New Year’s resolutions over the years — but love them or hate them, find them effective or not, you can’t deny that individuals in our society like making goals for ourselves to give us a sense of accomplishment. And the new year provides a perfect setting for this. This major shift as we progress another year forward often gives us the motivation to want to better ourselves.

A study done by BBC Worklife showed that 35% of people who made resolutions managed to stick to all their goals, and 50% of people managed to keep at least some of their resolutions. That’s a pretty good percentage of people who are working toward and achieving positive changes in their lives, even if they don’t meet all their goals. The BBC study also found that the way resolutions are framed could make an important difference on if they are achieved. When splitting the intentions into “avoidance goals,” which involve quitting something (like sweets or coffee or social media), and “approach goals,” which involve adopting a new habit, on average, approach goals were 25% more likely to be met than avoidance goals.

I’ve made lists of resolutions over the years for myself, but more often than not they are hung up somewhere in my room and then promptly forgotten about until December when I am attempting to recall what I accomplished that year.

I am looking at my resolutions for 2022 as I write this; I’ve accomplished four out of the eight goals I set for myself, which is not terrible, but certainly no passing grade if that sort of thing existed for resolutions.

Don’t let the time frame of the new year get in your way of making resolutions.

– Emma Jones, editor-in-chief

This year I set out to do my resolutions a little differently. I intentionally didn’t make a list of things that I will beat myself up over if I do not achieve: these so-called avoidance goals, things like “stop biting my nails this year” or “lose weight” or “make all A’s this semester.” I wanted to shoot for approach goals, things that will encourage and better me in the long run, like “read at least a book a month” or “develop a new creative hobby” or “learn how to cook better.”

Don’t let the time frame of the new year get in your way of making resolutions, however. Yes, this is a very symbolic time of new beginnings, which makes it inspirational to make changes, but if you want to see improvement in an area of your life, make that change whenever you want. It’s important that we are setting goals to strive and better ourselves every month of the year, not just in January.

EMMA JONES is editor-inchief for The Bison. She can be contacted at ejones19@harding.edu.

Surprised by a discordant note

An admired friend wrote a piece in The Bison on Oct. 28 promoting women preachers as “heroes of the faith.” I was surprised that the author, as a faculty member, sounded a discordant note when compared with Harding’s Spiritual Vision statement, which states in part:

“Though we live in a time of significant differences among our convictions, we are determined that Harding University will become captive to neither a rigid legalism on the right nor a formless liberalism on the left. ‘With gentleness and respect,’ we hold to such distinctive practices as the teaching of baptism for the remission of sins and a cappella music and male spiritual leadership in public worship.”

The spiritual vision emphasizes the Bible as “God breathed” and central to our spiritual formation. Yet the article’s case for women preachers offers no reference to the Scriptures. That would be difficult to do, given the roles defined in the Bible by precedent and instruction.

Jesus introduced the kingdom of God, which is not of this world. By the father’s initiative, he made sovereign choices, not culture’s choices. For his apostles, he chose 12 men (Mark 3:13-19). Worthy women became the first witnesses of his resurrection. They could have been appointed as official spokespersons, at least to other women. Yet, with the women present, the risen king appointed another man as the replacement apostle (Acts 1:12-26; 2:14). When women needed to be served, seven “males” were selected to be in charge (Acts 6:3). In early times, some females prophesied (Acts 2:17; 21:9; 1 Corinthians 11:5), but how publicly we are not told. Where details are clearly given, the king made men the leaders, continuing in the New Testament precedents set by God from Genesis. This long-established context makes consistent, understandable and authoritative passages such as 1 Timothy 2:8-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-38. The latter concludes firmly that “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized” (1 Corinthians 14:37-38).

Instead of clear biblical examples of women preachers, the Oct. 28 article drew two examples from obscurity: Abigail Roberts and Nancy Towle of the 1800s. The latter, were she alive, might even “speak from the Benson stage at Lectureship.” Is such a vision laying groundwork for Harding’s Lectureship to follow in the steps of schools that cave to societal pressures? I would rather follow in Jesus’ steps. There is a Christ culture, and it is counter to popular cultures. They are shifting sands. He and his teachings are the rock that never changes. For a balanced survey of roles in the Bible, a study that encourages your own conclusions, please write requesting my free course, “Roles in the Family of God.”

The lighter side of chapel — part one

Since I did not attend a Christian college, chapel was new to me when I came to Harding in 2003. I remember being deeply moved by the singing and the devo, and marveling at the chance — rare on college campuses — for the whole community to share in the same experience.

After serving 15 years on the chapel committee and planning a few of the 150 programs per year, I came to appreciate even more the rich potential of this moment. When 3,000 people praise God together, or celebrate achievements together, or mourn together, it can be a powerful thing. I still love coming each week.

Most of the time, chapel is serious — as it should be. But Scripture says that “there is a time to laugh,” and there have been many delightful moments over the years when the Benson Auditorium rang with mirth. Some of them were planned. Many of the best ones weren’t. Some of them may not seem that funny now that the moment is gone, but humor is like that. How often have you been reduced to hysteria by things that in no other context would amuse a living soul? You just had to be there. Still, it’s worth sharing stories of the lighter side of chapel.

Did you know we once had a faculty dog show? One year, the Harding faculty decided to showcase its professorial pets in chapel. An emcee in a tuxedo narrated the poodle parade in the style of John O’Hurley, as various teachers walked their dogs across the platform. Not all the canines cooperated, and let’s just say the stage had to be mopped afterward. But the audience loved it.

Announcements have been a ripe source for comedy in chapel. Dr. Joe Pryor was the academic dean for years and was known for his scholarly manner. One year the campus

was covered in ice during a storm, but classes and chapel met as usual. Anyone else making announcements would have simply warned students to be careful on the sidewalks. But the beloved chemistry professor said this instead: “Remember, folks, the coefficient of friction is zero!”

Another time, Pryor made a slight blunder when reading the promo for a new dining option on campus that sold nachos. Not being familiar with that particular delicacy, he said, “Nockos are now on sale in the Student Center!”

For other epic mispronunciations from chapel, see YouTube.

Announcement duos have been a thing. Some years ago, Craig Jones and Mickey Pounders teamed up for a series of comic skits. Next came the “Grumpy Old Men,” as students Pete Vann and Marcus Neely imitated Lemmon and Matthau from the 1993 film and complained about everything, blaming Harding’s president for anything they didn’t like. In the 2010s, a couple of guys named “Cliff and Clax” hit the announcement circuit. I recently asked Dr. Clifton Ganus if he thought they’d ask us back. He said, “I doubt it. I think they are trying to improve chapel.”

And while you know Logan Light for his hard work as the assistant dean for chapel, the announcements he made as a student were epic.

Some speakers really had a gift for cracking us up. Craig Jones was always a hit in chapel

with his impressions of Harding icons. Don Diffine dished out one-liners as “Nerdly Greenback” for years. And B. Chris Simpson could turn five minutes of screamingly funny comedy into a moment of spiritual insight that left you stunned. His chicken biscuit devo is the stuff of legend.

Homecoming chapels have provided some hysterical moments. On the day we previewed “The Wizard of Oz,” Dr. David Burks at first seemed nowhere to be found to make announcements. Suddenly, that familiar voice said, “Good morning to each one of you,” as he was lowered from the rafters on a floating ring that would later hold Glinda the Good Witch. The audience went wild, as they did another year right after Dr. Bruce McLarty finished making announcements before the musical preview. The stagehands cleared the stage, carrying off the chairs and podium. Then they lifted McLarty and carried him into the wings, too.

Or there was the alumni chapel when Dr. David Smith (class of ’67) was sharing stories of his college days until his wife Linda bounded onstage to describe how things really were.

To summarize her experience as a woman on campus surrounded by desperate Bible majors, she quoted Psalm 56: “Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me.”

And then there was the year of “Pirates,” where the cast got to check something off their bucket list after the musical preview in chapel. At the end, the pirates got to send the audience away with “You arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre dismissed!”

Groan if you must. That won’t stop me from sharing more stories soon.

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

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At The Bison, it is our goal to serve the Harding University student body with integrity, truth and open ears. However, we believe that meeting that goal is a two-way street between our staff and the public it serves. We pledge to keep our eyes and ears open to what our community has to say and hope that, in return, that community will be an interactive audience, sharing its stories with us. We also pledge to do the basics: Report accurate and relevant information, check our facts, and share them in

John Reese is expressing his personal views and is not writing on behalf of Harding’s Board of which he is a Trustee. He can be contacted at john@worldbibleschool.net.

Narrative Columnist

Michael Claxton

Graphic by Cooper Turman

Guest Writer John Reese

Players Only

“Players Only” is a special column written by Harding athletes. In this week’s issue, Bison freshman cross-country runner Noah Haileab describes the emotions a runner feels at a race.

I believe in the shoe’s sole. The shoe’s sole is beneath you following your every move. It is with you at your lowest and highest moments. It is with you when you fall and get back up. It is with you stride for stride. And most importantly, it gives you an extra push when you need it most.

In the distance, I saw the storm pass by. I felt the wind blowing as it whistled among the trees. I heard the uproar as it began to ripple across the crowd. The tension in the atmosphere transformed into one of unease as I anticipated my performance for the race. A feeling of worriedness along with doubt started to crawl into my mind. But I could not reveal to my opponents my true feelings. Instead, I had to show them my strength. My strength was the belief that I would succeed, and the shoe’s sole was with me every step I took.

As the race approached, time was steady. I meditated right before to ease my tensions, breathing in and out, reminding myself that it takes guts to even step on the line. When the gun went off, I was a free man, as if I had been trapped and suddenly had the strength to break free. For the first mile, I felt the wind pushing me like a sailboat floating swiftly across the ocean. My legs felt like chicken legs, and my arms were aching while the other runners ran past me. The shoe’s sole started to feel uncomfortable, as if it was as rough as concrete.

I felt like I screwed myself over for running too fast in the beginning. I quickly changed the game plan and let myself remember that this race was for my family, my coaches, my teammates and the fans supporting me back home.

I was in 12th place when I was reminding myself of the importance of this race, but my goal was a top 10 finish to receive a fat state medal. Therefore, I started to accelerate gradually in the last mile of the race. I finally found myself in seventh place. All I needed to do at that point was to finish the race, which was tougher than it sounds. Turning into the last straightaway toward the finish line, I could see one runner ahead of me starting to lose pace. There was my motivation to go even faster and catch him before he crossed the finish line.

I succeeded in my goal by finishing in sixth place at the 2020 University Interscholastic League 6A Cross-Country State Meet. Therefore, I believe in conquering a goal you must first put your mind to it. I believe in the shoe’s sole.

Hawley energizes Lady Bison basketball

Athletes interested in writing a “PLAYERS ONLY” column may contact The Bison’s sports editor at cdavis27@harding.edu.

Junior forward Sage Hawley has continued to lead the way on and off the court for the Harding women’s basketball team. Hawley’s skill and leadership have helped the Lady Bisons head coach Tim Kirby throughout the season.

“She’s a total positive,” Kirby said. “She buys into everything that we do.”

Kirby and many other college coaches knew that Hawley was a special talent when recruiting her from Harding Academy in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kirby stated that “the sky’s the limit” in regard to the projections that coaches had given Hawley coming out of high school.

Hawley has continued to earn awards for her consistent performances as a Lady Bison. In 2021, Hawley was named Great American Conference (GAC) Freshman of the Year. The following season, Hawley was named to the All-GAC first team.

Kirby said Hawley has not wasted any time since joining the Lady Bisons in 2020.

“You’ve seen some that have wasted that talent, and I don’t think she’s wasted anything,” Kirby said.

This season, Hawley has averaged a doubledouble with 20.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Hawley’s big moment so far this season came against the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders when she scored a school-record 43 points to lead the Lady Bisons to a 105-103 overtime victory on Dec. 3. Hawley’s 43-point performance surpassed her previous career-high of 29 points.

Hawley said the locker room environment after the game was great. Players were banging on lockers and pushing Hawley around following her career-high performance.

“I didn’t even know how much I had scored,” Hawley said.

Despite the big performance, Hawley recognized that her teammates also played a major part in the overtime victory.

“Yeah I scored 43, but what doesn’t get talked about is the other 42 points that came from both Rory and Jacie combined, which we couldn’t have won without,” Hawley said.

Senior Jacie Evans and sophomore Rory Geer both scored 21 points for the Lady Bisons against Southern Arkansas.

Another player who made a big impact against the Muleriders was sophomore guard Kendrick Bailey. Bailey hit a game-tying

three-pointer with 8.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime. Bailey compared the victory and Hawley’s performance to the Cinderella stories on TV.

Bailey’s friendship with Hawley has continued to grow on and off the court. Bailey explained that the two love to make TikTok videos together, and they don’t like the locker room to be a quiet environment. Bailey also described Hawley as energetic, enthusiastic and selfless.

“Anytime that we are together, we always have fun,” Bailey said. “It’s never a dull moment.”

Hawley is not only active with Harding athletics, but with Harding social life, as well. She is a member of women’s social club Delta Gamma Rho (DGR). Hawley said the women in DGR have helped her escape the “sports mindset” when needed.

While the Lady Bisons continue to fight for a conference title, Hawley knows that the fans will continue to help her and the rest of the team.

“We have the best fans in the whole GAC,” Hawley said. “I truly believe that.”

Bison basketball teams drive season further

The men’s and women’s basketball teams came back from winter break last week and began preparing for the second half of what some have called the proving point in the season as they get ready to make their push toward playoffs.

The women’s basketball team played two games over the break on the road, winning one against East Central University on Thursday, Jan. 5, and losing a close one to Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Saturday, Jan. 7, moving their record to 9-4.

The men’s basketball team also played two games over the break on the road, losing to East Central on Jan. 5 and winning their first game in conference play against Southeastern Oklahoma on Jan. 7, making their record 5-7.

Following their win against Southeastern Oklahoma, men’s team head coach Jeff Morgan said getting their first win in conference play was big for the team.

“I was really excited for our guys to get that win on the road,” Morgan said. “So that was good.”

Since then, both teams have come back to school to begin the new semester and start preparing for the second half of the season and making their playoff pushes.

But the two teams wouldn’t have an easy start to the new semester, with both teams playing Jan. 12 against Oklahoma Baptist University, whose women’s team would come into that game undefeated in conference play. However, the Lady Bisons won with a score of 63-49, while the men’s team lost by a close margin with a score of 62-64. A Jan. 14 matchup against Southern Nazarene University also saw a win for

the women’s team and another loss for the men. Both teams played again last night at Ouachita Baptist University.

Senior Collin Slatton, a long-time fan of Harding Sports and the famous “Rhodes Rowdies,” said he wishes to see change in both the student section and crowd size at games.

“I feel like the support hasn’t been great,” Slatton said. “I feel like we need more fans in the stands because that would boost the team’s morale.”

Slatton also said he wishes to see change from the men’s team moving forward into the second half of the season.

Redshirt freshman Keyln McBride was able to give a little insight on how he not only feels heading into the rest of the season, but how the rest of the team feels going forward.

“I think we’re improving every day, and that’s all we can ask for,” McBride said. McBride also shared his optimism about his team and what the rest of the season could look like for the men’s team.

“I feel like if we just keep progressing and keep working, it’ll all pan out in the end,” McBride said.

NIC FRARACCIO student writer

SPENCER AIELLO student writer

Junior Sage Hawley poses in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House on Jan. 8. Hawley received GAC player of the week for the eighth time of the season last week.

Freshman Rylie Marshall sinks a basket in a game against Oklahoma Baptist University on Jan. 12 in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The Bisons were defeated 62-64.

Photo by MACY COX

Photo by MACY COX

Graphic by COOPER TURMAN

Freshman cross-country Noah Haileab

Graphicby COOPER TURMAN

Police investigate apartment shootings in Searcy

SOPHIE ROSSITTO news editor

Police last week were investigating two of three nighttime shootings that took place Jan. 3 in Searcy, including one at an apartment complex near campus.

No one was injured in the shootings at the Dogwood Manor Apartments, less than half a mile west of Legacy Park, and The Ridge Apartments, about two miles from the first complex, according to a Jan. 4 report from television station KARK 4 News. The first shooting started at about 8 p.m., and the second occurred around 30 minutes later. A Facebook statement from the Searcy Police Department on Jan. 4 said investigators were looking to speak with a person of interest, Aaron Warren III, who was not a suspect. “If anyone knows his location, we ask that you contact the Searcy Police Department’s

Criminal Investigation Division (501-2791038),” the statement said.

The third shooting was a murder-suicide in the McDonald’s parking lot on East Race Avenue, according to an article from The Daily Citizen.

Public safety director Craig Russell said his team received a few phone calls from people about the shootings on Jan. 3. Assistant director Kevin Davis emailed a campus alert to students at 10:38 p.m., copying and pasting a Facebook statement from the police department.

“We stay in close contact with Searcy police to make sure that there’s no threat to the immediate campus,” Russell said. “And then any time we do have information, we do our best to try to pass that along to campus quickly.”

In the first shooting, a person damaged two apartments and two vehicles at the Dogwood

Manor Apartments on South Charles Street, according to an article from The Daily Citizen published on Jan. 6. In the second incident, a person shot three apartments and a vehicle at The Ridge Apartments, and witnesses noted a white car leaving both crime scenes, according to KARK.

At approximately the same time as the second incident, two men were involved in a murder-suicide at the McDonald’s parking lot on 3515 E. Race Ave., according to The Daily Citizen article. Police Chief Steve Hernandez said 24-year-old Cody Benton fired several shots at 31-year-old Josh Acevedo and then shot himself after the two men had a verbal argument that night. Both individuals were taken to the Unity Health White County Medical Center, where they later succumbed to their injuries.

Russell said it was very unusual for more than one shooting to occur on the same night

in Searcy. He said although the incidents were unrelated to Harding, he advised students to contact Public Safety and call 911 if they notice any suspicious activity. He said Public Safety patrols campus 24/7, year-round.

Legacy Park residents Richard and Sandra Carter, who moved into their home about four years ago, said they did not hear the shots go off at the Dogwood Manor Apartments on Jan. 3, and they were surprised when they first learned about the event.

“It’s a little too close to home, naturally,” Sandra Carter said.

Richard Carter said he felt reassured by the fact that Public Safety has been patrolling Legacy Park regularly.

“We feel safe here,” he said.

New shopping opportunities come to Searcy

The Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce announced during the Dec. 13 Searcy City Council meeting about tentative plans for new developments within the county that included familiar chains, such as Texas Roadhouse, Whataburger and Old Navy.

Whataburger will be located on 3900 E. Race Ave., according to Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Buck Layne in a Daily Citizen article published on Dec. 21. The exact address for Texas Roadhouse has not yet been determined according to the article.

Dalrymple Real Estate was the company behind the new Searcy City Center that broke ground in October 2017, adding big names like TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby and Five Below. As Searcy grew, Dalrymple worked to add to its plans at the shopping center with Old Navy.

“Well, Searcy is the biggest city in White County, so I think it is only going to continue to boost [business interest],” Jose Colunga, a broker at Dalrymple Real Estate, said. “When they’re [big names such as Hobby Lobby] starting to invest in Searcy and see Searcy growing, that’s generally a good trajectory for the city and keeps people coming back.”

An Old Navy — that has yet to open — has been built next to Five Below in the Searcy City Center. Colunga also said there may be more expansion of the Searcy City Center past these chains, but negotiations were still underway.

It was no surprise that Searcy locals and Harding students were ecstatic at the possibility of new restaurants and shopping opportunities.

“I’m gonna lose all my money at Old Navy,” senior Hayden Bailey, who grew up in Searcy, said. “I think it’s really cool how Searcy is growing. It’s something I’ve thought about, like moving away and coming back to visit in I don’t know how long. It’s going to be a lot different, bigger and nice, [but] it doesn’t feel like it’s moving out of the small town vibes, which I like.”

Warren Spillman, a Harding alumnus who works as an admissions counselor, also focused on the growth that Searcy has seen in his years living here, as well as what it could mean for future Harding students.

“I think that growth is a good thing, it’s an encouraging thing, both for those who call Searcy home and also for students who may not be permanent long-term residents,” Spillman said. “All of us here at Harding understand the community aspect of it. That’s really what we love about this place, is the tight-knit community relationships we have. But, obviously, someone who isn’t here yet and is maybe looking at Harding and Searcy as a potential home, any additional things we can add whether businesses, restaurants, shopping, I think it’s a positive thing.”

There are no official opening days released for the developments, but announcements are to be expected as Searcy officials receive more information and confirmations.

BAILEY RIDENOUR student writer

Photo by MACY COX

The new Old Navy still in construction in the Searcy City Center right beside Five Below on Jan. 15. This construction highlights the growth Searcy is experiencing.

Remembering the legacy of Dr. King

SOPHIE THIBODEAUX student writer EMMA JONES editor-in-chief

Students at Harding had Monday, Jan. 16, off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The break provided a rest from classes and an opportunity to reflect on the legacy and cultural impact of King and his dream of racial equality for African Americans.

On the holiday, the Office of Diversity Services took a group of about 20 students, including many from the Black Student Association (BSA), to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Tiffany Byers, the director of the Office of Diversity Services, said the atmosphere and the entertainment at the museum on Martin Luther King Jr. Day made the trip that much more significant.

“It was really a celebration of the dream and the mission of Dr. King and it gives people from everywhere an opportunity to come and celebrate, so that’s why we wanted to go and do it that day,” Byers said.

Senior Janae Bradshaw, secretary of the BSA, was one student who went on the trip.

“It meant a lot that we took that trip on MLK Day,” Bradshaw said. “I feel like a lot of times MLK Day becomes this day we get off from school, and we don’t really do anything to celebrate who MLK was and what he stood for …

I don’t want to forget all that he did because it has impacted my life so significantly.”

Byers said the Office of Diversity Services plans to take another trip to the Central High School Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, this February for Black History Month. For a considerable amount of time, the University did not close its campus for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. It was not until the 2008 Student Association president Charlie Walker led a campaign for it that the University began to close on this day.

Assistant Dean of Students Marcus Thomas discussed the importance of

remembering King and why the struggle against racial inequality was not just human, but of a Christian nature, as well.

“I think remembering that it’s not an usand-them, it’s a struggle for all of us,” Thomas said. “Especially those of us who believe in Christ. This is our struggle. This is our history. This is not just Black history. This is our history as a country. The division starts when we start separating between us and them. You’re an ally because this is our history.”

Thomas also emphasized the importance of listening to others.

“When you have a group of people that are in the majority, it’s easy to not pay attention to things that are going on,” Thomas said. “It’s not that they don’t care about or have opinions. Maybe it just doesn’t impact you the way it impacts everybody else. Being willing to listen, being willing to be open and having those conversations is a good thing.”

Graphic by WAGNER VALDEZ

break.

‘A masterclass in people movements in the Middle East’

Honors College offers study abroad trip for the first time in nearly 10 years

MORGAN WRIGLEY student writer

The Honors College embarked on a study abroad trip for the first time in about a decade to Greece with 43 students over the Christmas break.

Dr. Jim Miller, associate professor of communication and one of three faculty members who led the group, said this trip, held Dec. 27 to Jan. 7, was the first of its kind for the Honors College in 10 or 15 years, and it won’t be the last.

“We’re wanting to provide our students with opportunities to travel abroad, to study abroad, that maybe they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Miller said. “... We’re planning to make this an annual excursion and annual study abroad experience just for honors students.”

Students who went on the trip said the opportunity to visit a new country and learn about different cultures gave them new perspectives.

“The classes that were given by Dr. Miller and other speakers were really meant to be thought-provoking and made you critically think about how people move and the effects of migration and whatnot,” senior AJ Hudkins said.

The specific theme of the program, Miller said, was “a masterclass in people movements in the Middle East.”

“That’s sort of our goal with a program like this, is to make it sort of a masterclass situation, where we’re digging really deep into a certain theme,” Miller said. “We’re bringing in experts who can help us dive deeper and kind of have a broader, more

holistic and also a deeper and richer study of some specific topic while we’re studying abroad.”

Miller said the group explored the story of the Exodus and archaeological evidence of that story while making applications to today.

“We looked at people movements in ancient times, and why people were moving in ancient times and how they did, and how communities and cultures were settled in ancient times,” Miller said. “But then also today, we’re still obviously seeing people movements and immigration, and so we looked at that topic holistically in Greece.”

The program connected with an organization that works with refugees in Greece. Students were divided into three groups to allow each to have dinner with a refugee family from Afghanistan on different nights.

“They told incredible stories about their journey from Afghanistan, and why they fled, and how they ultimately wound up in Greece, and just the harrowing stories of their journey to create a better life for themselves,” Miller said.

Junior Grace Bing said the trip gave her new perspectives, both from experiencing a new culture and from the opportunity to build relationships with new people.

“It was just being in an environment with a lot of like-minded honors students from all sorts of majors and disciplines and being able to experience these things together, build these memories and to discuss and bounce ideas off each other,” Bing said. “... It was just really fun because I don’t ever get to see a lot of those people.”

Departments offer new classes across campus

Harding introduced three new courses to campus this semester, aiming to help students expand their skills and knowledge.

The Department of History and Political Science is offering GEOG 3800: Intro: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), taught by Melanie Gallagher, associate professor of political science.

Gallagher said that in GIS, students learn about the software required to use, store and manipulate spatial data. Additionally, they will learn to make maps in the class from data.

“One of the ways that Harding’s GIS class is different from a regular GIS class is we are also using drones,” Gallagher said.

Students will receive their Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) unmanned pilots license to operate the drones.

“It is applicable for our majors, but also a whole host of other majors,” Gallagher said. “Anybody interested in photography, or business, or communications or anything that might use drone software in the future could benefit from the license that you get, but also the background in the GIS knowledge.”

The Department of English is offering two new classes including ENG 2400: Readings in J. R. R. Tolkien and ENG 4110: Nature Writing and American Tradition.

Professor of English Larry Hunt is teaching the class based on the readings of J. R. R. Tolkien. The class this semester holds 17 students, and the plan is to offer this class every spring semester in upcoming years.

“I want it to be fun and informative,” Hunt said. “I am gonna try to give them all they want to know about Tolkien in the class.”

Hunt said the students will be doing weekly readings on “The Silmarillion,” “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Hunt said he has always admired and enjoyed the work of Tolkien.

“I can’t believe I am actually teaching a class on him,” Hunt said.

Associate professor of English Amy Qualls teaches the Nature Writing and American Tradition class, specifically created for students within the Honors College and only offered this spring. This class covers Transcendentalist authors. Qualls said some of her favorite writings come from the Transcendentalists, including Ralph

“I always wanted to teach a class where I can really highlight them,” Qualls said.“What I am hoping to do is think about the sacredness of the natural world and then trace that back to the writers who really emphasized that.”

Photo by GABRIEL HUFF

Honors students listen to tour guide James Nikolopoulos in Corinth, Greece, on Dec. 30. The group visited multiple historic sites in Greece during Christmas

CAMILLE WHITE student writer

Professor of English Larry Hunt teaches one of his classes in the American Studies Building on Jan. 18. New classes are being offered in different departments around campus.

Photo by BALAZS BALASSSA Emerson and Henry Thoreau.

Qualls said the class will emphasize the connection between humans and the natural world and how that connection has changed throughout history.

Student Association hosts first birthday bash

The Student Association (SA) kicked off the spring semester with a birthday bash Jan. 12 for students whose birthdays were over the winter break and who were not able to celebrate with their friends from Harding. The birthday bash was held at the on-campus Starbucks, where the SA used a corner of the restaurant to set up decorations to celebrate the students’ birthdays.

Junior SA treasurer Grant Moore talked about what this event meant to him and the Harding community.

CALEB CHUNN student writer

“I think it’s just a nice way to show that we care,” Moore said. “Even if you weren’t here for your birthday, there are still people who care.”

At the bash, there was a blank cake with multiple icing options. The students decorated the cake with their own names so everyone could see whose birthdays were being celebrated.

One of the students’ whose birthday was over the break was sophomore Kalei Davis, a new transfer to Harding. Her birthday was Dec. 29. She came to the birthday bash to celebrate with the Harding community.

“I think it’s really sweet,” Davis said. “I know a lot of people really wish they could celebrate their birthday with their friends from school, and so I understand. I personally have never really done anything like a big blow out for birthdays, so I love that it’s offered to everybody so that it’s like you kind of get the spotlight, but you don’t at the same time. It’s just a fun time to celebrate together.”

The event started in the late afternoon. Students slowly trickled into the bash where the SA was waiting to start celebrations and everyone hung out together and ate cake. People whose birthdays were over the

winter break also brought their friends along to the event.

Senior SA president Megan Sledge said she hopes the next SA committee hosts another birthday bash in the future. “And hopefully something they can do next year like for the next SA group, maybe having one in August for all the summer birthdays,” Sledge said. “And I think it’ll be something fun that we can start, so I’m excited to see if they do it again in the future.”

Fresh new menu introduced at Tacker’s

Harding University in Australasia.

The Tacker’s Shake Shack location in the Student Center announced Jan. 9 the addition of several new items to their menu for the spring semester, and students across campus are excited to get a bite.

Expanding on their already diverse selection, bone-in wings, chicken tenders, chicken fries, pizza sticks, onion rings and several other new items have made their way to the menu.

“We wanted to give students a better option that’s more cost effective,” lead chef Mark Tacker said.

Tacker has been working at the main branch of the restaurant in Marion, Arkansas, since he was 16 years old, and he now helps run the restaurant with his father. Tacker himself is responsible for some of the recent menu changes.

“It took me like two weeks to perfect the wing recipe,” Tacker said. “I smoked some wings, I baked some wings, fried and grilled them all these different ways.”

Several Harding students have begun

“All the new menu items, I think, are going to be really exciting and innovative for the students to try,” Grubb said. “There are a lot of low-budget options too that we’ve added that makes it a little bit more accessible for some students if they run out of dining dollars,” Grubb said.

With so many more options, the students on campus are beginning to notice the big changes, as well. Freshman Avery Neal said she is excited about all the new menu items.

“I think it’s awesome,” Neal said. “The variety is good. I’m excited to try the chicken wings and the pizza sticks.”

The new additions not only bring a fresh new menu to Tacker’s Shake Shack, but they’re the only ones like it at either location.

“This is the only location serving these items at the moment,” Tacker said. “This was kind of a test to see the system work at a small capacity so that we can perfect it and then go bigger.”

There may be a few more items to come to the menu in the future.

“We do have other items on the ‘maybe’ list,” Tacker said. “Once the year progresses and we see if everybody’s liking the new items,

Junior Faith Snyder gets a slice of cake while celebrating at the Student Association birthday bash at Starbucks. The bash was for Harding students that had their birthdays over Winter break.

Photo by MACY COX

MATTIE POWERS student writer