2A
NEWS
April 26, 2013 Vol. 88 No. 18
OPINIONS . . . .
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
3B
CAMPUS LIFE
4B
thelink.harding.edu
Opinions: SEE Page 4a
SEE Page 2a
Features: SEE Page 3b
PART THREE: EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING WITH DUCK AND BUCK COMMANDER
Claxton composes an epic poem in the tradition of “The Aeneid” about the new bison in the Benson. The fifth and final article in a series about Dr. Burks’ presidency.
SEE Page 1b
Springtime on campus
After Duck and Buck, COBA seeks similar opportunity by LYNDSEY RUBLE editor-in-chief After a semester of partnership with Duck Commander and Buck C o m m a n d e r, H a r d i n g business students, faculty and alumni are finishing projects and looking forward to presenting business proposals to the businesses behind the TV show “Duck Dynasty.” This semester, an independent research class worked with the businesses to help with a business plan, brand identification, future branding opportunities, warehouse inventory and community involvement projects. While it is still to be seen what precise strategies the Duck and Buck Commander businesses will adopt, Professor of Accounting Dr. Phil Brown, who spearheaded the project, said he is confident Harding students added real value to the businesses.
The students have been phenomenal, very impressive how well they handle themselves and how professional and advanced their thought processes are. -Grant Taylor, general manager Buck Commander Brown said the project, which was one of the first of its type in experiential learning, helped communicate the realism and spontaneity that is characteristic of a real, breathing business. In addition, students had the opportunity to develop deeper relationships with alumni and faculty, which Brown said added value to
the entire project. “T he students have been phenomenal, very impressive how well they handle themselves and how professional and advanced their thought processes are,” Grant Taylor, general manager of Buck Commander, said. “It’s really a credit to COBA in how they prepare students for what lies ahead as they venture out to take their first jobs in the vaunted ‘real world.’” Brown said he hopes this project will draw attention to the significance that Harding’s COBA students can offer a business. “I hope that other businesses and other opportunities in other geographic locations will present themselves for a future project for students to undertake,” Brown said. “The visibility of the department’s willingness and desire to be actively engaged in real life business applications should be crystallized in everyone’s minds. We are interested and we want to do this. We know it’s in our students’ best interest.” Taylor said each of the Harding students has a “wealth of knowledge and experiences to draw from” to share with Duck and Buck. Taylor also said Duck and Buck would definitely consider more partnerships with Harding students in the future. The partnership with Duck Commander and Buck Commander involved 15 Harding students, an alumni group led by Blair Bryan and other business faculty members such as Assistant Professor of Marketing Lori Sloan, Assistant Professor of Accounting Bob Churchman and Assistant Professor of Business Jake Stewart.
photo by ASHEL PARSONS | Student Publications Junior Will Waldron, the current Student Assocation president, throws a Frisbee with friends on the front lawn on Wednesday evening. Students flock to the front lawn during the spring, soaking in the sunshine and spending their last few weeks of the semester with friends.
HU communication dept. teams up with Little Rock film festival byVIRGINIA“VIVI”VITALONE asst. photographer
The seventh annual Little Rock Film Festival is scheduled for May 15-19, and for the first time, Harding University will be present as a co-sponsor. Mass communications professors Dr. Jack Shock and Dr. Jim Miller went to the festival last year and got to know Craig Renaud, festival co-founder and co-artistic director. Shock, chairman of the communication department, then met with the planners, who offered Harding the opportunity to co-sponsor the film festival. According to Miller, Harding will have an advertisement and a visual presence at the festival and will have a session that will focus on Joe Aaron and Kim Swink, two Harding graduates that are producing feature films in Arkansas this summer.
“To be able to network and get to know people that are big names in the film industry of Arkansas will be a great opportunity for Harding,” Miller said. “Arkansas is becoming one of those places where many feature films are made. There are money and tax benefits that are offered to filmmakers that come to Arkansas to produce their films.” Even if Harding does not yet have a filmmaking major, in the last school year the department of mass communication added a script production for TV/film class and a script writing production class. Also, during Summer Session I, Aaron, co-creator of the TV-show “Doug” will be teaching the script production class. “Hopefully we will make connections that will benefit our students and help those students that want to get into the filmmaking industry find their place and
find people that can help them to that,” Miller said. Senior Chanhee Song, public relations major, is looking forward to being involved in the festival. “Even if I don’t end up getting any connections there, just the fact that I was there with our department is totally worth it,” Song said. Some of the categories in this year’s festival are the “Golden Rock Best Narrative Feature,” the “Golden Rock Best Documentary Feature,” the “Arkansas Times Audience Award,” the “Best Arkansas Music Video” and the “Best Film Made in Arkansas.” “I’m so excited that our communication department is a part of the program and a sponsor at the film festival,” Song said. “It gives us an opportunity to get our name out there and hopefully to connect with some of the media entities in Little Rock for future reference.”
the story of an artist, a generous donor and a giant bison
by JARED DRYDEN editorial assistant
On April 12, a new landmark was introduced to campus. “Glory,” a large woodcarving of an American bison, now sits in the Benson Auditorium lobby. It was carved in 2010 by artist Tim Hogan on a ranch in Fort Worth, Texas. According to Hogan, he spent several months planning the carving before beginning to work on it for the next five months. “I worked on him for five months on my own time,” Hogan said. “I took it at my own pace.” The carving is made from five separate oak trees that had been
damaged and had fallen during storms. Hogan named the bison “Glory” after reading Psalm 29, which reads: “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty … the voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his temple, everyone shouts, ‘Glory.’” The carving was not originally intended for Harding University. According to Hogan, he has shown it at rodeo shows and exhibitions across the western United States. It was initiated as a way to pay homage to the role the American bison played in the western United States during American expansion and before,
according to Hogan. “The American bison supported the people of the west, both settlers and the Native Americans,” Hogan said. “He was the high plains’ manna from God.” Hogan said it is sad that the only monument to the role of the American bison is a depiction on the back of a nickel. The individual bison that was the model for the nickel spent much of his life in cages and belonged to the Barnum & Bailey circus, according to Hogan. “If you look at the back of the nickel, he’s hanging his head, like he’s defeated,” Hogan said. “I wanted to create something
stronger and more appropriate for him.” Liz Howell, alumni relations director and coordinator of the Associated Women for Harding, said she was first approached about the carving by Harding alumnus Terry Beck, a friend of Hogan. Beck realized how impressive the piece was and thought Harding would be an appropriate home, Howell said. When she heard the name of the carving was “Glory,” she knew Harding could use the carving as an encouragement to do everything to God’s glory, Howell said. “I knew he was supposed to be here,” Howell said. “He is
such a masterpiece.” Howell said at first, the price of the carving was out of reach for Harding. She discussed the price with Hogan, however, and after mentioning the carving to a few people around Harding, the Paul R. Carter family offered to purchase and donate the carving to the university in honor of President Dr. David B. Burks, according to Provost Larry Long. Hogan and his wife visited campus when the carving was first installed and are visiting again this weekend. A video showing parts of the process of creating the carving can be found on Hogan’s website, www. hoganlonghorns.com.