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| Vol. 86 No. 10 | February 11, 2011 | thelink.harding.edu |
HUG students feel effects of Egyptian conflict by JESS ARDREY opinions editor
photo by ASHEL PARSONS | Petit Jean Students gleefully exit chapel Wednesday morning after being dismissed from classes for the day.
SNOW DAY LIFTS SPIRITS
HU cancels Wednesday, Thursday classes for Southern ‘Snowpocalypse’ by BISON STAFF To the roar of student cheers, President David Burks canceled classes during chapel Wednesday due to extreme weather conditions students labeled as the “Snowpocalypse” that morning. At about 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to Weather Underground, “snow freezing fog” began to fall rapidly in Searcy, covering the roads, sidewalks and Harding’s campus. Thursday’s classes were also canceled. The snowstorm hit multiple Southern states, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. Much to the delight of the Harding student body, the snow day gave a break from the stress of classes, work and tests. “I’m glad we’re having [the snow day] because I don’t have to go to class, and I get more days to study and catch up on everything I don’t get to do during the week,” sophomore Jordan Bissonnette said. Bissonnette said she used the day to sleep, send notecards, study and, of course, participate in the campuswide snowball
I get more days to study and catch up on everything I don’t get to do during the week. -Jordan Bissonnette sophomore fight Wednesday afternoon. Other snow day activities included a “Post-Snowpocalypse Movie Day” at the Honors House, sledding and video games in several parts of the Hammon Student Center. Faculty also welcomed the chance to step away from lesson plans and spend time with their families. “I have always loved snow days,” Dr. Jim Miller, professor of communication, said Wednesday after chapel. “[My kids and I] are going to put on our snow gear, and there’s a hill right by our house that we’re going to go on, and then we’ll come in and have hot chocolate and sit by the fire and warm up.”
The chaos in Egypt is all over every major news outlet, be it print, Web or TV. And while it might feel like a world away, its effects are very real to some Harding students. HUG, Harding’s overseas program in Greece, has yet to be in session for an entire month and is already seeing the effects of the turmoil. HUG director Dr. Mike James said it will probably affect the group’s travel. “Our travel window is rather narrow, and excursions for a group of 40 takes time and planning,” James said. “The outlook is not good presently. However, if we cannot go to Egypt, we have some other very amazing locations to see.” Some of the possible places include Turkey, England, Russia, Scandinavia or another European country. “A lot of people here actually came because we thought we’d get to see the pyramids or tour the Nile. And now finding out that we were so close to getting to go, it’s disappointing,” sophomore HUG student Roxanne Moaveni said. Before the outbreak,Egypt’s attitude toward visitors had always been positive. “Egypt has been very friendly to American tourists in the past,” James said. “There have never been threats or
Even though [the students] really want to go, they realize that threats like these are serious business. -Mike James HUG director opponents as we’ve traveled.” But changes are happening fast in Egypt. The directors are taking measures to stay informed by keeping an eye on the Al-Jazeera Network, BBC and Fox News, as well as other sources. They are also being open with the students about the effects. “We talk about it, pray about it and discuss it,” James said. “They know about the threat to our travel. Even though they really want to go, they realize that threats like these are serious business. They understand.” W ith these kinds of threats and uncertainty, it is expected that parents would be up in arms. “My parents are worried, but they know that the faculty here would risk their lives for our own. It’s really like a big family here, and we all watch out for each other,” Moaveni said. “They know I’m safe.” -SEE HUG PG. 2A
Freshmen face rising stress rates, UCLA study says by AERIAL WHITING asst. copy editor An annual survey by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute found that the emotional health of students entering college is at its lowest point since the start of the survey in 1985, according to an article in The New York Times. The survey, “The American Freshman: National Norms 2010,” reported that 52 percent of incoming freshmen rated themselves last year as having above-average emotional health, down from 64 percent 25 years ago, when the survey began collecting data. The New York Times article, “Record Level of Stress Found in College Freshmen,” suggested that economic concerns may be weighing on students, especially in light
of college debt, job scarcity and financial strain on parents. Disabilities Director Teresa McLeod said she agreed that the economy is likely weighing on students, citing rising tuition
and a higher cost of living. “I think kids are worried about their loans and their bills and all, and college is so out there now, so expensive,” McLeod said. “It’s just almost impossible with the
cost of living and the cost of college now, and I think kids are worried financially.” Dr. Shelly Pollard, assistant director of the Counseling Center, said other studies reflect that the decrease in emotional health has been going on for about six years and that children from fifth to 12th grade, and not just college students, were demonstrating greater levels of stress. These findings predate the recession and indicate that factors besides the economy are also influencing the decline in students’ emotional health. Over-parenting may contribute to a lack of coping mechanisms among students, McLeod and Pollard said. They said coping strategies can include maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, getting adequate rest, avoiding caffeine, making social time and doing an activity for pleasure. -SEE STRESS PG. 2A
Rwandan students share trials by SARAH KYLE editor in chief by KYLIE AKINS news editor As part of a campuswide effort to promote reconciliation, a group of Rwandan students shared their stories of pain and healing during the Rwandan genocide, speaking to a packed Cone Chapel Monday night. Prosper Majyambere, Regis Ngaboyísonga, Alex Rugema, Patríck Niyibizí and Amlam Niragíre told a story unique to their country, one of immense pain and powerful healing. Student Association President Steven Ramsey, who drafted the “Celebrate: Reconciliation” project, said he asked the Rwandans to speak because he felt their story best embodied the process of reconciliation. “[Rwanda] is a testament to that act and to what humanity is capable of,” Ramsey said. “These guys are representatives of a place that has proved so much about what we can be as people, and especially as disciples.” To help understand the journey of the Rwandan people, Ngaboyísonga began the forum by telling students about the history of his country — a history that began not with bloodshed, but with cooperation. Before European colonization in the 1800s, Ngaboyísonga said Rwanda was a place of peace, where the main tribes, the
The mutual respect that had represented the country was almost gone. ... They started to see themselves as enemies. -Regis Ngaboyísonga Rwandan student Hutus, the Tutsis and the Twas, worked together to provide for the needs of the people. “At that time, the cultural tension was fairly low because they looked at themselves as friends, as brothers,” Ngaboyísonga said. “They shared the talents they had.” When the Belgians began to colonize in Rwanda, however, they brought with them the idea of an “identity compulsory card” that would state the tribe loyalty of each Rwandan citizen. While the system helped the Belgians distinguish between the different tribes, Ngaboyísonga said that the negative effects were insurmountable. “They would classify people based on their body length. … A Tutsi was a person who was very tall and had a sharp face. A Hutu would be somebody who had big muscles with a big nose,” Ngaboyísonga said. “They started looking at themselves as different. … The mutual respect that had represented the photo by KYLIE AKINS | The Bison country was almost gone. ... They started to see themselves Regis Ngaboyísonga talks with students after as enemies.” -SEE RWANDA PG. 2A Monday’s forum on the Rwandan genocide.