The Bison Newspaper - Vol. 98, No. 15

@HUStudentPubs Facebook: Harding University Student Publications

Spring Sing 2023 promises to

Four Harding seniors are ready to take the stage in the Benson Auditorium for the final time in the 2023 Spring Sing show, “Stand Out.”

Montgomery, Morgan Wrigley and Meg Sinha will host the 49th annual Spring Sing show.

the first time Wrigley and Sinha have hosted the musical variety show. Patten and Montgomery hosted the show in 2022 with Lydia Black and Camille Overman.

Patten, an acting major from Searcy, Arkansas, is looking forward to his feature song in his second year of hosting. Patten will perform an original song he wrote, produced and choreographed in the last several months.

Patten said the message of the song is powerful and the idea to perform the original came two to three days before a host retreat.

“It’s a message that I need to say to myself, and it’s a message I want to say to everybody in the audience,” Patten said. “It’s just 100 percent of my mind.”

Montgomery, a theatre major from Nashville, Tennessee, said the ensemble and other hosts have improved his outlook while preparing for the show.

“It’s given me some good perspective about how hard everyone works,” Montgomery said.

“Then I get to see how they shine at the end.” Sinha, an integrated marketing and

communications major from Little Rock, Arkansas, was overcome with emotions when she was selected to host Spring Sing. Sinha found out she was hosting the show after receiving a text from her fellow hostess, Wrigley. Sinha said she has been looking forward to hosting the show with Wrigley for the last several years.

“It was kinda just pure excitement,” Sinha said. “It was something I’ve wanted for a long time.”

Wrigley, a multimedia journalism major from Blanchard, Oklahoma, is ready to be a part of a meaningful experience. Wrigley said she has grown as a person and leader while preparing for her role as a host.

“Even though you are in the spotlight as a host, it’s not about you,” Wrigley said. “It’s about being a good leader for the production. It’s about everyone. The clubs, the ensemble, the jazz band and everyone involved.”

The four hosts will take the stage in the Benson Auditorium for three more shows this weekend. Tonight’s performance will begin at 7 p.m. On Saturday, performances will be held at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

A closer look: Spring Sing by the numbers

Clubs: ROME, Iota Chi, Shantih and friends

Numbers: 46 participants

Clubs: Gamma Sigma Phi, Pi Theta Phi, Theta and friends

Numbers: 135 participants

Clubs: Delta Nu and friends

Numbers: 50 participants

Clubs: Chi Sigma Alpha, Regina, Sigma Phi Mu, Chi Omega Pi and friends

Numbers: 54 participants

Clubs: Delta Gamma Rho, Omega Phi, Phi Kappa Delta and friends

Numbers: 162 participants

Clubs: TNT, Zeta Rho and friends

Numbers: 169 participants

Clubs: Ju Go Ju, Ko Jo Kai, Sub-T 16, Titans and friends

Numbers: 119 participants

See “Stand Out” tonight at 7 p.m. or tomorrow at 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit hardingtickets.com.

NIC FRARACCIO student writer

Hostess Morgan Wrigley performs her solo with host Keller Montgomer (right) dancing in the ensemble during dress rehearsal on April 4. (Bottom left) Host Asher Patten sings his solo number that he wrote and produced himself. (Bottom right) Hostess Meg Sinha strikes a pose during her solo performance.

Photos by BALAZS BALASSA

Students aid in Little Rock tornado relief efforts

Harding students left for Little Rock and Wynne, Arkansas, yesterday to provide relief to families affected by the tornadoes that hit the state and surrounding states.

Assistant director of community connections Kyle Thompson said about 250 people from the Harding community signed up to help Thursday through the University’s VOMO app. Groups departed from the First Security Stadium parking lot around noon and 3 p.m. for either Pleasant Valley in Little Rock or Wynne. Harding has similar trips scheduled for Saturday, as well.

Threat of storms forced the University to reschedule the trip that was previously planned for April 5.

Director of the Mitchell Center for Leadership and Ministry Andrew Baker is helping lead the University’s relief efforts, coordinating with Pleasant Valley Church of Christ, city officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“The opportunity is just clean up,” Baker said. “I’ve always said one of the things college students are great at is being willing to do the tedious things that other people don’t want to do.”

Baker said the more people who come the better. Every hour volunteered gives the cities credit with FEMA, producing funds that can support infrastructure.

Students were encouraged to wear clothes sporting Harding logos to help people associate them with the Harding disaster relief group. Those wishing to take their own vehicles had to obtain a parking placard, available for pick up in the Office of Community Connection McInteer 168.

Additional Harding coordinated relief trips may become available, but those will become dependent on the city’s needs.

Thompson said there is power in students showing up to help, making a difference for those affected and even themselves.

“They go and witness, experience, serve, then they have to process it,” Thompson said. “What did they just experience? How did they make sense of this for their life? Because there will be times in the future that they’ll have opportunities to serve again, or they may be affected by a natural disaster.”

Freshman Emilyn Noel’s family resides in a neighborhood in Little Rock where a tornado struck. The twister was only 700 feet away from her house, where her parents and two younger sisters lived.

“My house was not impacted by it,” Noel said. “The most that happened was just no electricity, but a little further down the street

quite a few houses were pretty severely damaged. They weren’t leveled or anything, but there was a bit of damage to those houses.”

She and senior Nick Emlaw arrived in Little Rock last Saturday to offer help with the damage. They saw plenty of people already offering their services in the neighborhood, so there was not too much work for them to do. They returned to campus the following day.

Harding alumnus Jimmy Cone, a shepherd at the Pleasant Valley church in North Little Rock, said his congregation has strong ties to Harding. He said he had multiple people at the University contact him, saying they were willing to help.

“There’s a strong Harding interaction with our church,” Cone said. “I can already tell, they’re saying, ‘How can we help?’ All around the community, we have various bodies of believers willing to help.”

Theatre crew designs colorful Spring Sing set

stage is painted red, and the backboards behind are painted blue and yellow in a striped pattern.

The Benson Auditorium stage layout for the 2023 Spring Sing show, “Stand Out,” has been designed and constructed by the theatre building crew to represent Theatre Department Chair Steven Frye’s vision for the show and follow this year’s theme.

platforms with one on the left, one in the center

Assistant professor of theatre Benjamin Jones, who has been working with Frye on Spring Sing for the last 15 years, said they collaborate on the creative process behind designing the stage and the experience of putting their ideas into reality. Jones said since Frye was in charge of putting all the elements together and making sure they fit, they would discuss Frye’s vision for the show, and Jones would bring him ideas

Technical director of theatre Seth Fish said the mass construction size is always the biggest challenge in creating the set because it has to safely support hundreds of people.

“This is almost 50 feet wide, 30 feet deep, and we have hundreds of people running up it,” Fish said. “And doing the details, getting to the point where we can really patch it up and make it look seamless … is the fun part when we get to do that and the transformation that goes with painting.”

Test your news knowledge

ACROSS

Sing directors for women’s social club Ko Jo Kai and was in charge of choreographing their show, “S.O.S. (Save Our Shack!),” which is performed with women’s social club Ju Go Ju and men’s social clubs Sub-T 16 and Titans. Jarnagin said the unique structure of the stage this year made it difficult to choreograph dances around.

“For many of us who have been involved in Spring Sing for multiple years, it [is] unlike anything we [have] performed on before,” Jarnagin said. “From an audience perspective, I think it will be very complementary to each show. The platforms provide a good way to showcase different props and set pieces so that

1. Students majoring in graphic design, interior architecture and design, and integrated marketing and communication have teamed up to create projects around the theme of “Rebranding ______.”

4. Dr. Michael Claxton has been working with which website to build an online exhibition about female magicians?

6. Junior softball player Jordan Cabana said one of her walkup song choices was inspired by her home state of _____.

8. Social clubs Ju Go Ju, Sub-T 16, Ko Jo Kai and Titans are trying to raise money for the _____ School through their Spring Sing show this year.

9. Students volunteered to help members of _____ Valley Church of Christ after a tornado struck the Little Rock area last week.

10. What is the theme of Spring Sing this year?

DOWN

2. The Searcy City Council and A&P Commission have approved money to prepare for what event expected to happen in 2024?

3. Sprinter Dakarai Bush broke a 20-year-old Harding record during a meet at which Division I school?

5. Which Spring Sing host wrote and choreographed his own song for the show this year?

6. Harding women’s basketball player Sage Hawley set a school record with how many double-doubles this season?

7. Technical director of theatre Seth Fish said his crew had about how many weeks to build and install the stage for this year’s Spring Sing set?

TIANE DAVIS sports editor

EMMA JONES editor-in-chief

GABRIEL HUFF head copy editor

SOPHIE THIBODEAUX student writer

Fallen tree branches and leaves lie piled in a Little Rock neighborhood April 2. Students traveled Thursday, April 6, to Wynne, Arkansas, and Pleasant Valley in Little Rock to help those affected by the storm damage.

Photo by GABRIEL HUFF

Senior Keller Montgomery sings his feature song on the Benson Auditorium stage during a dress rehearsal April 4. Steven Frye, theatre department chair, came up with the vision for the set design, as he does each year.

Crossword by SOPHIE ROSSITTO

Guest Writer Alaina Abbott

Did you know there are over 8,500 children in foster care in the state of Tennessee (wbir.com “Around 8,500 children in foster care across Tennessee and around 450 up for adoption at any time” June 28, 2022)? That doesn’t include the thousands upon thousands of children and teens in the foster care system nationwide. The age range is newborn baby all the way to 18 years old — the older the teenager, the harder it is for them to be placed with a family.

My youngest brother was recently adopted into our family after a year and a half of living in our home as a foster child. My household consisted of me, my biological brother and our single mom (plus a few cats and dogs). Our mother sat us down one day and said she had felt a calling to become a foster parent for a while and she wanted our input before officially opening our home to another kid. My brother was skeptical at first, but I was immediately on board. My family had all the resources at our disposal to make someone else’s life better, so it felt like a no-brainer.

After a few more discussions with us and with our social worker, my mom was matched

Foster the people: literally!

with my little brother. At the time they first met, he was living in a group home in Memphis, Tennessee, four hours away from where he had grown up due to overpopulation in the foster system in the cities surrounding his childhood home. He was 13 years old at the time and had a very unlikely chance of being reunited with his biological mother. He had no other family, was in an unfamiliar place and just needed someone to advocate for him. The more time my family spent with him, the more we knew he was meant to be a part of our family. Months of paperwork, court dates and signed papers later, my brother became an Abbott in the eyes of the law.

I think foster care is a wonderful thing. If your family has considered becoming a foster family, pursue that goal. If you’ve considered it and aren’t sure it’s the best fit for your current household dynamic, partner with a family who is actively fostering. Be a helping hand, resource, prayer warrior, snack maker, babysitter or laundry folder. You don’t have to directly open your home to be an advocate for these children and teens; no gesture of love or encouragement is too small. Volunteering at group homes or

after-school programs or donating clothing and books can make the biggest difference for a kid who might just need a little extra push. Each of us needs love and support; our backgrounds shouldn’t determine how much of that love and support we get.

Because my mom listened to her heart, our little family is complete. My biological brother is now a middle child, my mom is a mother of three and I’m a double big sister. What’s stopping you from doing a little research and getting involved in the foster community? If you have a heart for this demographic, I encourage you with everything in me to listen to that stirring in your chest. If you asked me five years ago if I thought this is what my family would look like in the year 2023, I would’ve laughed — but now it seems impossible to imagine life before my little brother. If reading this interested or inspired you, let’s talk.

ALAINA ABBOTT is a guest writer for The Bison. She can be contacted at aabbott2@harding.edu.

Not all men

We’veall heard it before: A woman is telling a story about an uncomfortable or traumatizing encounter with a man, and some well-meaning individual responds with some variation of “I’m sorry that happened to you, but you know most men are nice guys.”

Maybe it’s in response to the familiar refrain that “men are trash” or something along those lines, but the phrase “not all men” is commonly used as a rebuttal by people who seek to defend the good men out there and prove they would never be anything like those horrible men in those stories all of their female friends have.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 50% of women have experienced physical sexual violence in their lifetime, and another study reported that 90% of the sexual violence committed against women was done by men. Obviously, these stats don’t mean every man is a perpetrator,

and that’s not the point I’m trying to make, but a question I think we need to ask ourselves is just how many are “not all men,” and what are they doing about it?

When looking at the realities of what women deal with in our society, I’m sure we would all agree that the majority of us reading this are not sexual predators, but is that really the ceiling we should be striving for? In a world where one in three women will most likely experience some form of sexual harassment, “not all men” isn’t good enough. It’s easy to sit back in outrage and point fingers at “those other men,” but if our moral superiority lies in simply not doing bad things to women, then maybe it’s time to take a look in the mirror.

Not harassing women is good, but being an ally to women means doing more than just the bare minimum. Rape culture can be more subtle than just physical violence and assault,

and it’s perpetuated by every man when we allow sexist comments and jokes to flow unchecked by the other men in our circles. When another guy makes a sexist comment or joke, will we sit there and tell ourselves that we would never say something so awful, or will we speak up and say something about it? The next time a woman shares her experiences, will we take that opportunity to invalidate her, or will we truly sit, listen and internalize in order to change?

The time of sitting around and patting ourselves on the back for being “good guys” is over. If we continue to watch and do nothing, our silence becomes violence and our good intentions meaningless. Not all men? It’s time to prove it.

Two-timers

My freshman year when we had a combined Thanksgiving and Christmas break because of COVID-19, I took a seasonal job as a cashier at Walgreens. That wasn’t long after I’d finished “Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer for the first time, who introduced the idea to me that to be a Christian entails participating in the suffering of our savior. Hearing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” play every 30 minutes, it’s enough to make any retail worker hate it — when that retail worker is you, you hate it because it reminds you of everything grace is not. Celebration without suffering, forgiveness without repentance and hymns without devotion are all oxymorons.

I can never decide how I feel about nonbelievers celebrating Christmas and Easter. Should I be happy that despite their unbelief, they find a season to see others and be happy, or should I see their seasonal joy as phony? Should I give up what joy I have during these seasons even when others often have selfish reasons for celebrating and companies only chase after greed — or should I call what I see: religious appropriation? Should I get mad when people take lightly the incarnation and suffering of my savior, or should I turn the other cheek and be merry?

It’s easy to put up a segregating wall between us and the “two-timers” (Christmas and Easter service attenders). There are those of us who celebrate the deeper meaning of the holidays, while the general public only sees presents or Peeps marshmallows. I feel as if there are two problems here: first that we do not have the humility to remember that our recognition of deeper values does not make us better than others; secondly that we do not have the humility to realize difference is not a cause for segregation, but a cause to bridge the gap. These seasons that have been commercialized give us an opportunity to see the workings of the Holy Spirit who has been “poured out on all flesh” (Joel 2:28). It might be the time of year where those who usually view these seasons superficially can be invited into something deeper.

Guest Writer Courtney Eby

Perhaps you are reading this and thinking that your favorite thing to make for dinner is a reservation. If that is the case, you might want to sit down and stay awhile. While there is something to be said about dining under the culinary expertise of local chefs, I want you to know there is really no replacement for the little chef inside of you. If you are not convinced by a rat, maybe you’ll hear me out when I reiterate the reality that anyone can cook.

Premade meals and restaurant deals can satisfy, but there is so much more in store if you take the time to come into the kitchen. Every one of us is one recipe and a few Google searches away from preparing a meal to the caliber of British chef Gordon Ramsay. So often, my friends say they can’t cook. The real problem is not that they can’t, but that they don’t know how. The reality is we’ve all been there. That being said, there is hope for all of us. The only thing stopping you is yourself. Technique will come as you find what flavors you enjoy and allow your experience to build your confidence. If you like precision and artistry, try out baking. If you like experimentation and trying various methods, give cooking a try. Yes, some recipes are destined to fail, but that’s a necessary

Anyone can cook

part of the adventure. Chefs rarely get it on the first try, hence why we see them so often taste-testing everything in their kitchens. It’s all about trial and error.

I recognize some of us simply do not enjoy being in the kitchen, but even if that is you, there is so much more to cooking than what seems to bore you. With cooking comes countless opportunities. You get to decide how to make it fun. If that means listening to ‘80s songs on repeat as you dance to the stove, do it. If it means experimenting with new seasonings and spices, go for it. If it means making meals according to certain themes and cuisines, make it happen (and invite me too). Cooking is not only for nourishment but also for fun, fellowship and freedom.

And real talk: Food directly intersects with our faith. I am a firm believer that food is an integral way to glorify God each day. The way foods taste, the skills needed to prepare a dish, the fellowship at the table — all these things are created to point us back to God’s glory. Every bite we take and every meal we make is a direct reminder of God’s goodness, creativity and purpose. What a blessing it is that we can be fueled by such flavorful, fun foods like an

Acme smoked salmon tartine on seven-grain toast with triple cream brie, fresh chives, dill and pickled red onions. What’s even cooler is that every one of us has the power to prepare it. I believe preparing and sharing a meal is a discipline so close to the heart of God. He has given us the capacity not only to taste but to create and, in doing so, bless others with good fellowship and food.

It does not take a rocket scientist to read a recipe, nor does it take a culinary degree to search a YouTube video on “How to sauté chicken.” So don’t be the chicken; cook the chicken. It’s time to start thinking outside of the boxed brownies.

For those of you who do not know where to get started, I encourage you to fill your plate with foods from a few of my favorites: Half Baked Harvest, Gimme Some Oven, Life Love & Sugar, I Heart Naptime, Carl’s Bad Cravings, Live Well Bake Often, Pinch of Yum and The Recipe Critic. Bon Appetit!

COURTNEY EBY is a guest writer for The Bison. She may be contacted at ceby@harding.edu.

For those who do not experience the church, I think these seasons are the perfect opportunities for them to be introduced to the kind of familial love the Church offers. I think Easter especially reminds us that “He is making all things new” (Rev. 21:5). Easter and Christmas can be a time when the walls between Christians and others can be knocked down. When we understand these seasons as times of shared celebrations, then we can start there and point them to the reason why. They are times when all of God’s creation — those who recognize their father and those who don’t — can feel the effects of the creator. If you usually have an empty chair at your meal table at Easter time, do not scoff at those who eat Peeps marshmallows and show up to church once a year because you have not invited them into your home and life so they may learn of our savior who lies behind the bright colors and sales.

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

Alaina Abbott Spencer Aiello Caleb Chunn Courtney Eby Nic Fraraccio Sophie Thibodeaux Bailey Ridenour Michael Wester Morgan Wrigley

Guest Writer Michael Wester

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

Graphic by WAGNER VALDEZ

Graphic by COOPER TURMAN

Traditionally speaking

Sometimestradition is a good thing. Take social clubs for example. We have a lot of really old clubs on this campus with traditions for club week, queening or beauxing, or functions that have been around for quite a while.

The Harding community loves to make traditions. Some are silly, some are serious and some are just really weird. But from clubs, to study abroad groups, to organizations and even to the Front Lawn (three swings and a ring, anyone?), there are many different traditions to be found here on campus.

However, some of these traditions, in recent years, have been frowned upon or stopped entirely because the tradition was something harmful or mean-spirited or served no real purpose. Traditions are good ways of building purpose and relationships around clubs, but can also do more harm than good if carried out the wrong way or if they’re born from the wrong intentions.

One thing I love about Knights, the club I’m a queen for, is how our traditions seem to all hold meaning. No, I’m not going to spill any secrets about our club week (though I know you’re all dying to know), but just know that it is very thought out, and every tradition serves a different purpose of making new members form a bond with each other and to the club. Another tradition we do — or rather, purposely don’t do — is not participating in Spring Sing. Out of respect for Harrison Waldron, who directed the 2014 show that swept in every category and who was involved in a terrible accident not long after, we decided to never participate as a club in Spring Sing again. A timely example, but a tradition that I really respect. (But seriously, go watch “Show Heard Round the World” on YouTube. It will give you chills.)

Remember also to appreciate the significance of traditions that remind us of Christ’s resurrection.

– Emma Jones, editor-in-chief

Another example of good tradition versus bad tradition can be found in the church itself. This previous weekend, I attended the Palm Sunday service at Trinity Episcopal Church with my fiancé. I loved how the service balanced between the strict step-by-step liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church and the different week-by-week sermons of the Church of Christ and other similar Protestant branches. While the Church of Christ is mindful and intentional in the few traditions it holds tight to — say, weekly communion — and the Catholic Church has clung to some of its traditions a little too tightly, I think it may be beneficial for our brand of Protestantism to learn more and occasionally participate in Christian traditions we don’t utilize in our own services but have historical significance. By better understanding other traditions of the church, we can better recognize the worth of the traditions we have decided to keep.

This weekend, appreciate the traditions you are a part of — like Spring Sing, a Harding tradition that’s been happening for 49 years now. But come Easter services on Sunday, remember also to appreciate the significance of traditions that remind us of Christ’s resurrection.

There. A Knights to Spring Sing to Church comparison. And the haters said I couldn’t do it.

Student Writer Spencer Aiello

As people may or may not know, some major rule changes have been implemented in the Major League Baseball for the 2023 season. These rule changes include bigger bases, a pitch clock and banning the shift in the infield. Another major change that might be coming to the MLB is a robotic umpire that would be calling balls and strikes. These rules aim to quicken the game pace and increase attendance rates. These changes, however, have not gone smoothly with fans. The MLB has faced major criticism from its fans and a call for a reversal of the rules.

I am with the fans calling for the reversal. As we have seen with the implementation of these changes inside of spring training and now after the first few opening days, they have already proven to cause problems.

The pitch clock has already claimed its first strikeout victim in MLB history. This came against Rafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox when he didn’t “engage” the pitcher within his time limit.

The rule states that “batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the eight second mark or else be charged with

Are the new MLB changes really that good?

an automatic strike.” This is what happened to Devers. He looked up when the clock read seven seconds and was given the strike resulting in a strikeout.

Another example of this rule ruining baseball is when Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets was called on a clock violation when his teammate Pete Alonso didn’t get to first base in enough time after walking. This resulted in a lot of confusion and explanations needing to be made, wasting more time rather than shortening it.

Seeing these changes as someone who has grown up with baseball for all of his life and played it for 15 years, it doesn’t feel like baseball. Baseball was the only game in sports that wasn’t restricted behind a clock until now. If I were to go to a baseball game in person, I don’t want it to be only for two hours. I want to be at the ballpark for as long as I can. I think this feeling is the same for many baseball fans. They would rather show up at the park at 11 a.m. and not leave until 4 p.m. It is about the experience. I feel like that gets lost shortening the games.

I do not like the shift ban either. Players are getting paid millions of dollars each

season to go hit a baseball. That means they have proven themselves to be the best of the best at hitting. With the shift, they shouldn’t have any problem laying down a bunt against the shift to get on base. But I wouldn’t be arguing this if it happened.

It’s why I think it was a form of punishment for players who couldn’t adjust and lay down a bunt. It was an easy out for the defense, and the hitter hit straight into it instead of getting on base. I do agree, however, the shift ban forces infielders to be more athletic and make great plays.

The other rule changes aren’t that bad. The bigger bases I am a fan of due to the closer plays and the lesser risk of injury. I feel like that change is good because it means fans will get to see more of their favorite players if they are not injured.

I think overall, the pitch clock and shift ban are moving the game backward instead of forward. It takes away a key part of the game that will not be there, and that’s why it doesn’t feel like baseball anymore. SPENCER AIELLO is a student writer for The Bison. He can be contacted at saiello@harding.edu.

Let’s chat about ChatGPT

Alexander Pope famously said, “Be not the first by whom the new are tried, nor the last to lay the old aside.” I confess I’m often guilty of the latter, but seldom of the former — though I was an early adopter of Zebra Cakes in the ’80s.

I want credit for that. Back then they were called Snak Cakes, and many feared the end of homemade desserts. Bakers were threatening a boycott. Congress was considering a nationwide ban. But I stood up. While frightened laggards were still coddling their Moon Pies, I took a bite for the future and never looked back.

Chances are you’ve heard at least one conversation during the last five months about ChatGPT. The new artificial intelligence chatbot launched last November and has set the world’s collective hair on fire.

ChatGPT does research. It organizes information. It can write papers. It can create annotated bibliographies. It can compose poems. It can write computer code. It can draft college application essays. High school students everywhere are asking, “Is this for real?” And their teachers are asking, “Are they still hiring at Wendy’s?”

I have been in several conversations on this subject, and I’m hearing everything from intellectual fascination to full-blown panic. Many academics have spent hours playing with the new AI, much the same way that as a kid I played with fireworks — riveted by the very things that would burn me.

Last week, hundreds of tech leaders signed a petition urging a pause in AI research. I understand why. You don’t have to make melodramatic predictions about a cyborg Armageddon to find ChatGPT troubling.

Yes, it can create an annotated bibliography, but it often makes up sources that do not exist. One colleague asked it to find and review a TED Talk, and the AI invented one. Of course, the whole point of research is to find out information that is, in fact, true.

“ChatGPT.5 will get better,” they say. That isn’t comforting.

It can write an essay that matches a requested skill level. Why offer that option except to help a B-level writer fool the teacher?

I’ve heard of students using it to write law-school application essays. Let’s think about that. Setting aside the ethical issue, the primary skill a lawyer needs is the ability to argue. The first case you as a would-be lawyer must win is to convince Yale to admit you. If you cannot even do that, how in the world will you get Mrs. McGillicuddy acquitted of grand larceny?

Will you ask Siri, “How do I get an acquittal for grand larceny?” And if Siri knows the answer, why does Mrs. McGillicuddy need you?

So far, ChatGPT has tell-tale flaws. It knows little of current or local events. It can only draw information from the internet, and there’s a ton of information in subscription databases that it does not have access to. Its language can be stilted. It stinks as a poet. If you give your girlfriend a ChatGTP poem, she will dump your lazy behind.

And that’s really the crux of the matter. As the tech apologists will tell you, ChatGPT is only a tool. It’s how you use it that matters. It will, they say, simplify tedious research and free us to do more important tasks. It will do for writing, they say, what the calculator did for math.

But you don’t start out in math with calculators. You first learn to work with numbers the hard way so you can develop basic skills and exercise your brain. Doing tedious research is how we learn — how we develop persistence and figure out what

to do the basics: Report accurate and relevant information, check our facts, and share them in a professional, timely manner. If you

staff, please email Emma Jones, the editor-in-chief, at ejones19@harding.edu. “The Bison (USPS 577-660)

Harding University. Periodicals postage paid at Searcy, Arkansas 72143. POSTMASTER: Send address

questions to ask, how we discover unexpected gems of data, how we learn to ask experts and grow from those conversations. Writing that awkward love poem shows you dare to be creative. Writing that application essay shows you have the courage to tell your own story. Figuring out commas and dangling modifiers and italics teaches you discipline and attention to detail. And doing your own homework reveals character.

Don’t you yearn to have real skills? Finding fake TED Talks is hardly a marketable talent. Yet all around me, I hear people already throwing in the towel. “We must completely change the way we teach to deal with this new reality.” I have heard this refrain before. Once per year, it seems, Silicon Valley blares over the loudspeaker, “We have made something new. Please rearrange your lives around it.” “OK,” we drone in unison. My father worked at a printing company all his life. Among other things, he ran a manual paper cutter. He knew how to lift huge reams of paper without hurting his back and how to shift the gears that operate the knife without losing a hand. One day, the company purchased a new, digital paper cutter. My dad looked at it and said, “That’s my ticket out of here.” He retired soon after.

He was older then than I am now. Even if AI is my ticket, I am too young to punch it. I must fight. I defended Zebra Cakes, but this is different. I’m not ready to change everything I know to accommodate a technology that’s barely five months old.

“But it’s the future,” they say. Are we OK with technocrats dictating the future? Italy just banned ChatGPT. Give me that petition — I’ll sign it.

Searcy, Ark., 72149

Bush breaks 20-year school record

SOPHIE ROSSITTO community editor

Going into a big track meet, junior sprinter Dakarai Bush said his approach is to focus on the preparation he has done leading up to that point.

“My mindset is, I’ve put in all this work, so I’m just going to run my hardest,” Bush said.

The track star brought this attitude with him to the Ole Miss Classic in Oxford, Mississippi, March 24-25. Despite facing a field that included multiple Division I opponents, Bush said he did not let the level of competition faze him.

During the 400-meter race, the junior smashed a 20-year-old Harding record on his way to a first-place finish. Bush posted a time of 46.60 seconds, besting Tyler Kemmerer’s time of 47.20 seconds, set in 2003. Bush recorded the fastest time for the event so far this season in Division II.

The junior also earned first place in the 200 meters with a time of 21.33 seconds, a new personal best. In addition, Bush was part of the four-member team that finished second in the 4x100-meter relay.

Head track and field coach Don Hood said Bush has combined his natural talent with his high work ethic and character to find success on the track.

“Dak is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever been around, so it never surprises me when he wins because he is just driven internally to be the best he can possibly be,” Hood said.

The coach said that in practice, Bush has been working on becoming more efficient as a runner and getting rid of excess motion. Bush said he has also worked on keeping his arms straight and his feet in the right position.

Hood said Bush has developed a lot since he arrived on campus as a freshman. With the help of his strength and conditioning

coaches, Bush has transformed his tall, thin frame into a stronger, more muscular build.

“He’s a relentless worker, and so I think he’s just kind of sculpted himself into an ideal athlete through just hard work and persistence and just sheer determination, a will to win that a lot of guys don’t have,” Hood said.

Bush earned multiple first-team All-GAC awards in 2021 and 2022. He said his main

goal for this season is to win a national championship in the 400-meter event or hurdles, as well as become an All-American.

Bush said he also has aspirations for the track and field team to earn a national championship, following their Great American Conference title last spring.

“That’s really the main goal,” Bush said. “And conference champion would be good, too, again.”

Senior Krishaun Watson, who has competed with Bush in the 4x100 relay, said the junior sprinter always gives his best effort in practice and pushes everyone on the team to improve each day.

“He is a great teammate that will give you his all whether he is tired or feeling amazing,” Watson said. “He strives to improve not only at every meet but also every day in practice.”

Lady Bisons basketball team wraps up successful season

CIANNA JAY asst. copy editor

The Lady Bisons ended their basketball season with 25 wins, the third time in program history the team ended with that many victories. Though they lost their last game March 5 against Southern Nazarene University and could not advance to the NCAA tournament, the team placed second in the Great American Conference. Several players earned All-GAC tournament honors, including senior guard Jacie Evans, junior forward Sage Hawley and sophomore guard Rory Geer.

For Hawley, this has been a season full of accomplishments. She became the third Lady Bison to earn both First Team All-Central Region and Academic All-America honors and the second Lady Bison named Second Team All-America by the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association, an award voted on by Division II sports information directors. Hawley also set a school record with 20 double-doubles. A double-double is when a player accumulates 10 or more in at least two statistical categories — points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots — during a single game.

“It is a tribute to Sage and our team having a great season,” head women’s basketball coach Tim Kirby said about Hawley earning Second Team. “When an individual gets recognition

for their accomplishments, it also gives the team some recognition.”

Hawley said the team has pushed her to where she is now.

“This was my third year on the team, and I think everybody that’s come through has really pushed me to be a better person,” Hawley said. “Specifically, I think the coaches

really have high expectations for me, and I feel like this year I was able to meet a lot of them. And that’s always my goal. And then I think my teammates know more than me sometimes about, like where I can be and where I should be.”

Hawley noted the influence of Evans in particular in showing her what leadership

looks like. The two have been close friends since Hawley’s freshman year, according to Evans.

“She’s someone that can always make me smile,” Evans said. “I know when Sage is around, she is going to either be dancing or making us laugh.”

In the Lady Bisons’ last game, Evans led the team with 21 points. She was also named a 2023 Distinguished Scholar Athlete.

“This season was very successful in my eyes, and I know it was in my coaches’ eyes as well,” Evans said. “We won a lot of games and played hard consistently throughout our season. It’s disappointing we didn’t get a chance at the NCAA tournament. However, I am more than content with how our team played this year. It was my first time here at Harding to make it to the conference finals and, as a senior, that’s exactly where you want to be.”

Hawley said the team is currently focusing on off-season training and she’s excited for the season ahead.

“I want all the awards I get if I can, but really, the main thing is I want a GAC championship,” Hawley said. “I want that not only for myself and the senior class, but also just for the people that have pushed me to be this way. … Then I want to go as far as I can in the NCAA tournament.”

Softball, baseball players share favorite walkup songs

Athletes often have special traditions they follow to help them prepare for competition, and the softball and baseball teams use music as one of theirs. Each athlete typically picks three different songs to walk up to the plate to.

Senior infielder Hannah Garrett said the Lady Bisons get to pick one “girl power” song, one “throwback” and one “your choice.” They rotate themes every game. Garrett said her three songs are “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison, “Narco” by Blasterjaxx, and “Jump Around” by House of Pain.

“I think it’s important to have repetition, and having that routine when you’re going up to bat is a good reminder,” Garrett said. “It makes it fun, and you remember each song with each person when they play.”

Junior infielder Jordan Cabana, who

grew up in Texas, said her song choices help remind her of why she started playing softball at Harding.

“I picked ‘If You’re Going to Play in Texas’ for anytime we play in Texas because it reminds me of home and what I’m playing for,” Cabana said. “‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’ is another one of my picks because it is a song I grew up listening to.”

Cabana said everyone’s specific songs speak for each player’s attitude and personality.

“You can tell from everyone’s walkup songs that it represents who they are or what they love,” Cabana said.

Head softball coach Ashley Reeves, who played softball at Texas Tech University 2004-2007, said she had her own walkup songs when she played in college. She said players usually change their song picks from year to year, but a few keep the same ones all four years.

“I think the walkup songs help set the tone for each girl,” Reeves said. “Music always makes things more fun, and it just kind of gets you set. It gets your mind going and ready to roll.”

The baseball team sets up their walkup songs a little differently. They often pick a different theme for each year, and their theme this season is “instrumental.”

Junior outfielder Sawyer Price said the guys are usually a little more serious and want to be almost over-focused during their games.

“I personally use a song that is more something that I enjoy and that will help me relax,” Price said. “I definitely think that people’s personalities will show if you pay attention to those.”

Price, who was in charge of setting up the team’s warm up playlist this year, said he loves the song “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles and that he thinks it should be on the playlist every year.

Senior outfielder Cody Smith said players sometimes choose songs to encourage crowd participation. He said senior pitcher Joey Longhorn likes to play “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus because it gets the team and the crowd involved.

“Others will do music that will hype them up and get them ready to play,” Smith said. “I usually will choose music that has meaningful lyrics to me, so I’ll have a song that I can go through the lyrics in my head before I hit, and it will calm me down.”

Smith said they usually do not get to play their walkup songs at away games, but none of the players are too affected by that.

“It’s more of just an added home team advantage,” Smith said. “When we’re on the road, we all know we’re doing the same thing, and our music doesn’t really affect how we play. It’s just a fun thing that we do.”

Photo by MACY COX

Photo by MACY COX

Graphics by COOPER TURMAN

TIANE DAVIS sports editor

Senior Dakarai Bush runs in the 4x100-meter relay at the Harding outdoor track meet March 18. Bush broke the 400-meter Harding record by just under one second.

Junior Sage Hawley shows off her awards in women’s basketball in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House April 2. The Lady Bison basketball team finished their season 25-7.

‘Willing to serve’ Spring Sing shows seek deeper involvement with charities

Sunshine School

GABRIEL HUFF head copy editor

Charities began playing a role in Spring Sing in 2006. At the conclusion of each show, thousands who flocked to Searcy would watch social clubs support a local charity of their choice by presenting a check.

This year Dr. Steven Frye, chair of the theatre department and director of Spring Sing, didn’t just want clubs dispensing checks. He sought to go further by challenging the seven different Spring Sing shows to engage in one service project with their chosen charities.

“We wanted to have more involvement with the clubs with the charities they were supporting,” Frye said. “I mean it’s really nice to be able to hand a check to a charity and say, ‘Hey, this is to help you do your work,’ but it’s something else again when

EMMA JONES editor-in-chief

you give your time and heart to those same charities.”

Since 2006, Spring Sing has raised over $100,000 for local charities, donating $7,000-8,000 a year, Frye said.

Social clubs select their charities in the fall semester, either from a pre-approved list or by obtaining approval to support a different organization.

Sophomore James Stone, one of the Spring Sing directors for the show consisting of men’s social club Gamma Sigma Phi, men’s social club Theta and women’s social club Pi Theta Phi, helped coordinate service efforts with his show’s chosen charity: Sparrow’s Promise, an organization that provides foster care, supervised visitation and a space for children to receive immediate care.

For their service project, the clubs bought clothing from The Sharing Shoppe,

a thrift store that gives its proceeds to Sparrow’s Promise. The members then wore the purchased outfits to a Spring Sing rehearsal. Stone said he liked seeing the difference the service project makes in supporting his charity.

“To me, it added a lot more connectedness with the charity itself and really feel that we developed a bit more of a relationship with them,” Stone said. “We know them a little bit more, [it’s] just a more intimate way to give back to the community when we’re involved like this.”

The Sunshine School, a non-profit K-12 school for students with special needs that also has pre-K and adult education programs, is receiving donations from women’s social clubs Ju Go Ju and Ko Jo Kai and men’s social clubs Sub-T 16 and Titans this year.

Director Sally Paine, who has been teaching at Sunshine School for more than 40 years, said she believes clubs have been supporting the school through Spring Sing since 2006. Costs for the school continue to rise, so every donation is beneficial, she said.

“It helps us to be able to continue to provide the services for our students that they need,” Paine said.

For their service project this semester, members of the clubs supporting the school visited to play a variety of games and present part of their Spring Sing show, Paine said.

Frye was happy with the results of the Spring Sing service projects as clubs jumped to meet the challenge. He now plans to make those projects an annual tradition.

“Our students are some of the most altruistic people I’ve ever met,” Frye said. “They’re willing to serve.”

Searcy prepares for 2024 eclipse

and that he attended a few of the meetings last year as a community member but has

into place regarding the eclipse. “We are still working out the details,

The Searcy City Council and the Advertising and Tourism Promotion (A&P) Commission both approved two separate $70,000 funding requests for event planning, marketing and promotion for the solar eclipse set to take place April 8, 2024.

The city council approved the request from the city’s eclipse planning committee at the March City Council meeting held March 14. The A&P Commission approved a separate request from the committee March 28.

Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner said one of the top priorities the funds are going toward is hiring a city eclipse coordinator.

“Any funds not used toward the coordinator fees could be used toward other expenses related to the event such as signage, communications, promotions and materials,” Faulkner said. “Once the executive committee is formalized and a coordinator hired, then a working budget

is expecting the eclipse to be the largest tourism event in history for the state. White County will be in the path of totality during the eclipse.

“The [eclipse] committee will be making preparations on how local businesses may be able to accommodate an increase in customers,” Faulkner said. “We are taking into account the need for lodging, increased traffic and sanitation needs. Our goal is to prepare and promote Searcy through this unique opportunity.”

Dr. Will Waldron, assistant professor of engineering and physics, said he is pleased both Searcy and Harding are making preparations in advance for the eclipse.

“Many towns were caught off guard by the influx of people during the 2017 solar eclipse,” Waldron said. “I hope, by preparing early, we can maximize people’s experience rather than detract from it.”

Waldron also said it’s very significant that Searcy, and by extension, Harding, gets to host visitors for such an exciting astronomical event.

“For those of us of faith, the eclipse is simultaneously a humble reminder of how magnificent our God is,” Waldron said. “From the perspective of a scientist, it’s also really awesome that so many people get to experience a rare natural phenomenon.”

Classes until the end of your semester.

What if you moved your body, not to change the way it looks but because of how it makes you feel?

Graphic by WAGNER VALDEZ

Graphics provided by Spring Sing charities

Stevens Memorial Art Building hosts art exhibit, branding project

CALEB CHUNN student writer

In addition to all the Spring Sing festivities being held this weekend, both of the galleries in the Stevens Memorial Art Building will be full of art and design with two separate shows.

For Braydon Letsinger, the next few weeks will serve as the time period for his senior show to be on display for all visitors in Gallery 2 of the art building.

Letsinger’s show, titled “Staring At Strangers: Becoming acquainted with the self through portraits of others,” has been on display since March 27 and will continue to be shown through April 8.

“In a time and culture of increasing division and intolerance, I ultimately want to break down some of these barriers that people have through the way I paint these ‘strangers’ that the viewer looks upon,” Letsinger said. “We are all incredibly complicated, colorful and interesting, but we share many complex experiences and conflicts unique to our human nature. Given that every subject painted is someone I know, in a sense, it’s also the viewers who are the strangers being stared at, which highlights the duality of our perspective and interaction with other people that I find so fascinating.”

Letsinger said he spent around 700 hours on his show, between painting, putting the show together and writing his artist statements.

Just around the corner from Letsinger’s show, the student branding project show is located in Gallery 1. This show is a group project by students representing three majors:

interior architecture and design (IAD), integrated marketing and communication (IMC) and graphic design.

Students from the three majors work in teams toward a common theme that is unique to each year. This year’s theme is “Rebranding Searcy.” The teams gave a presentation to a group of locals including Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Parsons and Amy Burton from Main Street Searcy on Wednesday, April 5, and an open reception will be held Saturday, April 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Junior IAD major Jacey Pfiffner said each team began their projects by meeting with influential people within the Searcy community to establish the real-life needs of the city.

“Meeting Mayor Faulkner was a great experience, and it was just so nice to see that they are ready to push forward and they are ready to get Searcy where it needs to be,” Pfiffner said. “Just being able to meet with them and actually being able to sit with real people and discuss what the city truly needs and not just being handed a piece of paper is amazing.”

Senior IMC major Charli Turner said that she worked on developing brand and social media strategies for her group’s project.

“I really grew to appreciate the local focus of the project because most of my time spent in Searcy revolves around school, but this project allowed me to know the town more deeply and appreciate all that it has to offer,” Turner said.

Both galleries will be open to the public during Spring Sing weekend.

‘A Magical Constellation’

Professor to publish online exhibition celebrating female magicians

Dr. Michael Claxton is a professor of English, a narrative columnist for The Bison, a published author and a self-proclaimed terrible magician. He has had a fascination with performance magic as an art form since he was a kid, but since discovering he was no good, he has done a lifetime of influential research and writing on the lives of these performers.

More specifically, Claxton has had an interest in telling the stories of female magicians.

“When you think of a magician, you usually think of a man, and when you think of the woman in the magic show — you think of this person who gets sawn in half or otherwise mistreated in an illusionary way, or the lady handing the doves to the magician or looking pretty on stage,” Claxton said.

As it turns out, there are quite a few women who have been the star of their own magic show, but their stories are not always preserved or told. Because

of this, Claxton said it’s been part of his life’s work to recapture some of these stories.

Since he was 14, Claxton has been building up an impressive collection of various props, books, posters, photos, scrapbooks and letters of magicians. The majority of his collection is arranged in his home, which is lovingly referred to as his museum.

It all began with a collection of things from a vintage store that belonged to a family of Black magicians from the Carolinas named the Armstrongs.

When Mr. Armstrong passed away, his daughter Ellen Armstrong took over their magic show, and for many years she was the only female Black magician in the United States. Claxton recently filmed a few interviews for a documentary on the Armstrong family and gave the directors access to all the material he has collected on the family.

Claxton hosted a movie screening at his home on March 17, which was attended by students and professors primarily from the English Department. He conducted

tours of his home museum for those in attendance.

Sophomore Magdalene Pruitt was there and said that she hadn’t realized the novelty of a female magician until Claxton began telling them all about the lives and journeys of these women.

“I learned more about the plight of magicians in that half an hour than I have in 20 years of being alive,” Pruitt said.

Claxton is currently working with the website Magicana to create an online exhibition about women in magic. Magicana is an arts organization devoted to explorating and advancing magic as a performing art.

“For over two decades, Magicana has been steadily building a body of work aiming to forward the art of magic,” the website reads. “Our mission: Sharing Wonder.”

Claxton’s work has been featured on the site a number of times over the years. The foundation for this exhibition goes back to 2006 when Claxton began publishing a monthly series of articles for the journal of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The collection was called

“Women in Magic A-Z” and contained 26 articles on female magicians whose last names corresponded with the letters of the alphabet.

Claxton said his series got a lot of positive feedback, and a few years later he was approached by a friend who works for Magicana about turning the series into an online exhibition. The goal was to create something that could be interactive, a place for people to go online and find information on these female performers.

The exhibition is titled “A Magical Constellation,” as it is about the different stars of the performing universe. Claxton is currently working on updating the 26 articles and adding a list of every American female magician, both past and present, under their respective letters.

Claxton sees all this as an opportunity to rescue some stories that could otherwise be lost and to celebrate the contributions that women have made to this particular art form. The exhibition is not live yet, but Claxton hopes to have it completed by the end of the year.

Graphic by COOPER TURMAN

Students choreograph host, hostess and ensemble, direct shows

Two students took on a challenge this Spring Sing season as they collaborated both with others to lead their club shows and with each other to help choreograph the hosts, hostesses and ensemble numbers.

Sophomore Emma McDaris is a director for “Living Colors” featuring women’s social clubs Delta Gamma Rho and Phi Kappa Delta and men’s club Omega Phi. Junior Violet Brentham is a director for “Steeling the Show” featuring men’s clubs Gamma Sigma Phi and Theta and women’s club Pi Theta Phi. They worked with Spring Sing director and assistant professor of theatre Dottie Frye to choreograph the ensemble numbers.

“We would meet every Monday afternoon, and we work in [my office], talking about flavor and style and costumes,” Frye said. “Then we go across the hall in the rehearsal hall, and we work for another couple of hours.”

Frye said Brentham and McDaris complemented each other.

“When the two got together, it was very fun to watch them find out their similarities and their differences and their strengths,” Frye said.

Brentham said the two had different dance backgrounds that brought a variety of ideas to the table.

“I love working with Emma,” Brentham said. “Both of us have very different styles of dance, and we come from very different dance backgrounds, but whenever we come

together, we both bring such different ideas to the table, and so it’s been really cool to see how our styles come together.”

Brentham and McDaris both said while their schedules were hectic, the best part was

having the opportunity to collaborate with many different people.

“Performing and creating something is a totally different process,” McDaris said, “I think the most challenging and learning and

rewarding part is finding out how you can collaborate with people in many different ways.”

Brentham said the people she was working with made it easier to transition between the two groups.

“Time management for sure has been hard,” Brentham said. “But I have a really good support system that I’ve been working with, and it made it very easy to transition back and forth between different rehearsals.”

McDaris said one of the main parts of transitioning from ensemble rehearsals to club rehearsals was a change of mindset.

“Ensemble is definitely a more professional mindset,” McDaris said. “I know that this group has auditioned, and they normally will have experience. And we’ve kind of already established that these will be practices where we just ‘learn, learn, learn,’ ‘go, go, go.’ Transitioning to the club show is taking into account just the fun of it … and the community in it … and knowing that some people might not be dancers, but they love to perform and love Spring Sing.”

McDaris is a member of the Spring Sing ensemble, while Brentham is in her club show.

“It is very rewarding, getting to see and feel when my fellow classmates nail it and getting to know that I made things that I knew would accentuate my friends,” McDaris said. “It is very rewarding to get to feel that with the cast. And to get to know that when I’m creating it, I’m not only creating it for the cast, I’m also getting creative for myself.”

STACY ROIBAL beat reporter

Photo by MACY COX

Senior Braydon Letsinger stands by his work in Gallery 2 of the Stevens Memorial Art Building April 4. Gallery 1 displays the work of interior architecture and design majors, IMC majors, and graphic design majors in a branding project focused on Searcy.

Junior Violet Brentham and sophomore Emma McDaris stand in the Benson Auditorium before dress rehearsal April 4. They worked with Spring Sing director Dottie Frye to choreograph host, hostess and ensemble numbers.

MORGAN WRIGLEY student writer

Photo by BALAZS BALASSA

Looking back at Spring Sing

This year’s Spring Sing show, “Stand Out,” marks the 49th year of Spring Sing at Harding. With such a long and creative history, each of those years has had a unique impact on the student body. Theatre Department chair and Spring Sing director Steven Frye said the distinctiveness of each Spring Sing show comes from the unique set of 1,000 people who gather to make each show — and each year’s show is special to those people.

“Nobody gets to take that away from you; that’s your year,” Frye said. “I have students that were from the 1990s who say, ‘You know, my year, that was so amazing. It was so good,’ and it was, for them, then. Those that were in 2006, it was an amazing year for them, then.”

Spring Sing has only grown since its beginning in 1974, moving from songs on risers to massive choreographed productions. Technology has been a huge part of that as well, as lasers, pyrotechnics and LED walls have become an integral part of the production. Frye, who is in his 28th year as Spring Sing director, said other changes have involved how the show is run.

“We have minimized the ‘competitive with each other’ aspect of the show … we started doing money to charities — to external charities — and we’ve added service projects this year, too,” Frye said. “It’s just a much bigger show than it used to be, and we thought it was big then.”

Other changes have come regarding the music produced during the show. Harding Academy teacher Craig Jones has worked with the hosts and hostesses and clubs for

Spring Market returns

with my identity and connected me with others on campus. I am also really excited to talk to those who visit our booth this weekend and share my passion for crochet with them as well.”

over 15 years and said shows have improved both in the arrangement of their music and in the backing tracks to project sound into the Benson.

“There’s an effort by the Fryes and Cindee Stockstill to be sure that it’s good quality singing, as best as the students can do,” Jones said.

Despite all of the changes in format and technology, the challenges club directors face to create something new remain. Frye said it’s always a matter of finding a new and fresh approach.

“When a club wins one year, everyone wants to imitate what they did the next year, and that doesn’t work,” Frye said. “It’s a different set of people doing the shows, and it’s different judges each year, so what really impressed the judges last year — it’s a whole different set this year, so you might as well

ignore that and say, ‘What are we going to create? What are we going to do?’”

Another challenge is having a cohesive vision, said theatre assistant technical director and set designer Seth Fish. He said clubs often get in their own way when they try too hard to win or have too many directors with equal say.

“The clubs that do well are the ones that come with one director with a vision,” Fish said. “If you ever want to see a project die, assign a committee.”

The long history and the challenges of being different do not take away from this year’s theme, however.

“This one is unique,” Frye said. “It’s the 49th show, and it’s a chance to show off, to stand out — what makes us unique, what makes us different — and that’s always very special.”

Spring Sing weekend schedule

vs. Ouachita Baptist University, softball complex

7 p.m. — Spring Sing 2023: “Stand Out,” Benson Auditorium

Saturday, April 8

a.m. - 4 p.m. — ROTC “Super Bowl,” Reynolds Center parking lot

- 3 p.m. — Student branding project exhibit with a reception beginning at 11 a.m., Stevens Art Gallery 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. — Solo art exhibition, Braydon Letsinger, Art Gallery 10

- 2 p.m. — Spring Sing Art Fair, front lawn outside the Stevens Art Center

Every year at Harding, Spring Sing takes over campus for one weekend with exciting performances and activities. Among those activities is the Spring Market, an opportunity hosted by the Waldron Center for Entrepreneurship for student businesses to showcase their work.

The market will contain all types of student businesses, including clothing thrift shops, crochet stores, woodburned goods and boba tea. This year the market is expecting at least 19 student businesses, including Little Women’s Crochet Club, Saddle Creek Jewels and Arkansas Underground Market.

Little Women’s Crochet Club is made up of freshmen Amelia Slater and Randi Tubbs and sophomore Jiana Manglicmot. They started their business over the bond of having a niche hobby and love for crocheting.

“It has been rewarding to be so encouraged whenever I would wear a crochet piece or mention our upcoming booth,” Slater said. “Everyone is so supportive and excited to see our work displayed. People are constantly sending me photos of cool crochet projects because now I am so associated with crochet, and I love that so much. A little side hobby that I did for fun has now become associated

Despite being run through the Waldron Center, this event is not just for students that are working toward business degrees.

Ashlyn Mullins, owner of Saddle Creek Jewels, is earning a nursing degree but started her business in 2022 to help women find accessories that bring a smile to their faces.

“As a nursing major trying to also run a small business, I have learned the skill of managing my time well,” Mullins said. “By participating in pop-up shops and other events I have learned how to better communicate with others, which is a lifelong needed skill. I have also learned how important it is to have a hobby outside of classes and your career.

Arkansas Underground Market is a thrifted clothing business run by sophomores Claire Morrow and Cole Shoemaker. This will be their second year participating in the Spring Market.

“We usually have mostly repeat customers at our pop-ups, but Spring Sing always brings in a whole new crowd of people that we don’t usually have the opportunity to sell to,” Morrow said.

The Spring Market will be held on the Front Lawn Saturday, April 9, from 11 a.m. to 4

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. — Harding History House open, 205 Lott Tucker Dr.

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. — Zeta Rho reunion, Bell Presentation Room

10 a.m. — Harding Chorus concert, Anthony and Wright Administration Building Auditorium

10 a.m. — English Department Reception, American Studies Building 314

11 a.m. — Pied Pipers, Benson Auditorium steps

11 a.m. - 4 p.m. — Spring Market, front lawn

11 a.m.

(Top) Members of men’s social club Knights perform their Spring Sing 2014 show, “Show Heard Round the World.” (Right) Hostess Jeanetta Walker sings “That Boogie Rhythm” during her Spring Sing 1985 solo performance.

(Bottom) Members from men’s social club Chi Sigma Alpha and women’s social clubs Regina and Sigma Phi Mu perform their Spring Sing 2016 show, “Things One and Twosical - The Musical.”

SARA HOOK features editor

Photo courtesy of 2015 Petit Jean Yearbook

Photo courtesy of 1986 Petit Jean Yearbook

Photo courtesy of 2017 Petit Jean Yearbook

Graphic by WAGNER VALDEZ

BAILEY RIDENOUR student writer