CYAN
MAGENTA
YELLOW BLACK NEWS
Vol. 87 No. 14
March 16, 2012
In Sports:
Tennis continues an excellent season.
SEE Page 1b
“And as my section of 20 tables fills up in a matter of five minutes, I am once again reminded that, sometimes, even Christians don’t act Christ-like.” Velvet Janelle has a tip for Christian customers SEE Page 3a
2A
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
3B
ENTERTAINMENT
4B
In Entertainment:
With the recent release of Deborah Feldman’s autobiography, “Unorthodox,” Laura Chambers gives her take on the radical book’s message. SEE Page 4b
‘Center for Student Success’ in the works for fall Several student support services consolidating into single office located in remodeled Hammon Room by LEXI STUTZMAN news editor Student support services from across campus will come together this fall in a newly refurbished office complex to form the Center for Student Success in order to provide students with easier access to academic assistance. Construction is underway on the second floor of the student center as workers convert the former Hammon Room into the new multifaceted student support area. According to Dean of Students David Collins, the Center for Student Success will bring eight different departments together, including the McNair Scholars Program, Upward Bound, the Advance program, along with disability services, career services, academic advising and academic support. The various programs will work in coordination under the leadership and direction of a new Dean of Student Success, who has yet to be hired. Collins said he hopes the center will not only provide
Everyone in this center is going to be focused on students being successful. We want [students] to have the very best experience and be as successful as they can in college.” -David Collins, Dean of Students students with easier access to assistance, but also increase collaboration between the programs so that they can better aid students in reaching their goals. “Everyone in this center is going to be focused on students being successful,” Collins said. “ We want [students] to have the very best experience and be as successful as they can in college, whether that is a student who is struggling to pass or whether that is a student who is performing at a B level and wants to have an A average, this center is going to be there to assist either of those students.” Jake Brownfield, Interim director and counselor, said many of the student support
departments currently see the same students for different but similar reasons. Brownfield said with all of the services in one space, he thinks the programs will be able to do a better job providing students with assistance. “With everyone under one roof, we will have more opportunities to bounce ideas off of each other, share materials and resources, and get assistance when needed,” Brownfield said. “The truth is that since we are spread out all over campus, we rarely see each other in person or even communicate as often as we probably should.” According to Collins, the center will include several small rooms for testing accommodations or for tutoring,
photo by SAVANNAH LEE | The Bison Sparks fly as Roger Barger saws through metal beams as a part of the remodeling construction of the Hammon Room on the second floor of the student center. The construction should be finished by the end of the semester and the Center for Student Success should be open this fall. some larger conference areas and two classroom spaces, one which can also be used as quiet place for students to study. “We have tried to maximize the space as best we can and have common space that can be shared among all of the
Remembering Ty Osman
programs,” Collins said. There will be six offices where the Hammon Room once was, according to Collins, and the other directors will have offices nearby. The Career Center will remain across the hall from the Hammon Room and the
Chapel coordinator position switches to Bruce McLarty by MATT RYAN asst. sports editor
photo by ASHEL PARSONS | The Bison Students gathered last Monday night for a candlelight ceremony on the Benson steps in honor of Osman, singing worship songs and spending time in prayer for Osman’s family and friends.
by J.M. Adkison editor-in-chief Harding University lost a beloved student, peer and friend this past spring break when freshman Ty Howard Osman Jr. was involved in a car accident on Friday, March 2, and passed away Sunday, March 4. To honor Osman, the student body came together for a candlelight ceremony on Monday night and held a memorial in chapel this morning. “I first met Ty the night he was hypnotized, what a first impression,” said freshman Cara Speegle, who was a good friend of Osman. “Anyone who witnessed that event can understand what I mean. It took a couple of weeks, but after those first weeks of awkward mingling we became friends and were ever since. He made an astonishing impact on me in such a short time. We are both really loud and weird people, honestly, so we had so much fun just being silly together.” Speegle said she was not so sure about the going to the candlelight ceremony after experiencing so much with Osman’s death, but said she was glad she attended. “I wanted to remember and honor him with the rest of Harding,” Speegle said. “Once I got [to the ceremony], though, it was very focused on praising and praying to God, things that cannot be overlooked in his passing. It was very beautiful for us all to praise God even though at times we cannot understand his plan.” Friends of Osman are also beginning their own service projects and dedications to honor him. Freshman Courtney Davis is beginning a fundraiser by selling bracelets, which will read “In Memory of Ty Osman
II 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18” and will cost $4. Davis said the money will go toward building a memorial for Osman on campus and a mission effort in Honduras. “I got the idea from when a girl in my class died unexpectedly last year and her parents gave us the bracelets and they were an awesome reminder to look down at our wrist and think of the memories I had of her and the influence she had in our lives,” Davis said. “Ty loved doing mission work, so any of the other money we earn, if we are lucky enough to make that much, will go to his church for mission work and for kids who can’t pay to go.” Since Osman was a performer in TNT and Zeta Rho’s spring sing show, spring sing director sophomore Alexis Samuel said the show will be dedicated to Osman. “At this point, other than just telling each other that this show is for Ty, we are all dedicating our lives and the way we carry ourselves to him,” Samuel said. “He was always the person to watch on stage. No one could watch him for more than 10 seconds without absolutely cracking up, including myself. If we put our hearts into his show like he did, then this could be one of the most outrageously funny and moving shows anyone has ever seen.” Many students traveled to Osman’s funeral over spring break, which was held at Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Brentwood, Tenn., on Friday, March 9. According to freshman Grant Schol, who attended the funeral, the verse Psalm 73:26 was written on a wooden board placed over his grave. Osman tweeted the verse shortly before his death, which read “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
disability services will also be outside of the Hammon Room area. Collins said the construction on the Center for Student Success should be finished by the end of this semester and open to students at the beginning of the fall semester.
Dr. Bruce McLarty took over as chapel coordinator last Monday, March 12, after Nathan Copeland stepped down from the position to pursue opportunities elsewhere in the university. McLarty is also assistant chairman of the Chapel Committee under the leadership of the committee’s chairman, President David B. Burks. Copeland, who serves as assistant to the president, stepped down as chapel coordinator in order to join the Carter College of Business, where he is now an assistant professor and the director of the Center for Professional Excellence, which works to form connections between students and alums that lead to internships, mentorships and careers. “This new center will take a lot of my time and I had to give something up,” Copeland said. “Since we will be moving to two chapels in the fall and spring next year, this was the right time to pass the torch. [McLarty] has a passion for the Lord and he understands what it takes to organize a period of worship. Not only do I believe he will do a good job; I believe chapel will only get better because of his leadership.” As the chapel coordinator, McLarty is responsible for taking care of the details of chapel, including bringing in speakers, putting together themes, and making sure there are song and prayer leaders for each morning’s service. McLarty said that although chapel planning is no simple task, he does not expect his new position to significantly affect his daily schedule. McLarty also said there
should not be any noticeable changes to the way chapel is run between now and the end of the spring semester. Much of what will happen in chapel, including personal announcements and programs,like Senior Week, and a number of special performances and speakers, was already organized before McLarty filled the position. “We’ll continue the same basic process,” McLarty said. “But it is an ongoing, continual process of receiving input, making decisions, charting the course.” Any major differences that might occur will be decided when the chapel committee meets during the summer to discuss the direction of chapel and whether any changes need to take place in the Fall 2012 semester. McLarty said such change, however, is beyond his control. Being vice president for Spiritual Life, McLarty said that it is difficicult to define his position’s responsibilities. He said he believes that his new role in the chapel committee fits in well. “Because we are committed to the integration of faith, learning and living, spiritual life permeates everything and is not just a division within the university,” McLarty said. “At Harding, we hope that spiritual life is not just a slice of the pie; we hope it is the flavor of the whole pie. ” Since Burks is chairman of the chapel committee and plans to retire in 2013, McLarty said he does not know how long he will fill the role of chapel coordinator. “Organizing chapel is one of those jobs where you’re very much working and serving at the pleasure of the president,” McLarty said.“Since Dr. Burks will retire after next year, I don’t know if or how my work with chapel will change at that time.”