NEWS
September 27, 2013 Vol. 89, No. 4 online at thelink.harding.edu
2A
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
3B
CAMPUS LIFE
4B
Searcy, Ark., 72149
Spring Sing hosts, hostesses chosen Dustyn Stokes
Lindsey Sloan
Blake Hunter
Austin Collum
Jonathan Andrew
VIRGINIA “VIVI” VITALONE | THE BISON Seniors Dustyn Stokes, Lindsey Sloan and Blake Hunter, junior Austin Collum and sophomore Jonathan Andrew will be the hosts and hostesses for the 2014 Spring Sing show. Sloan, Andrew and Collum were all hosts in last year’s “Larger than Life” production. The theme for the 2014 show is “New.”
Mourning, rising death count after Kenya mall attack
Inauguration recap
by Bradley Cain beat reporter
HENRY GONZALEZ | THE BISON President Bruce McLarty was inaugurated last Friday, Sept. 20, in a ceremony in the Benson Auditorium. There were approximately 2,500 people in attendance, and there were family members present from all five presidential families.
‘Get Down Downtown’ celebrates Searcy by Lyndsey Ruble Nuckols editor-in-chief
Get Down Downtown, a festival hosted by Main Street Searcy, begins tonight with live music, art, vendors, food and family-friendly activities in the downtown Searcy square. “Main Street Searcy started Get Down Downtown six years ago as a way to promote the downtown area while providing the community with a fun, family-friendly event,” said Amy Burton of Main Street Searcy, director of the event. “While some festival attendees visit locally owned retail businesses over the festival weekend, our ultimate goal is to get people downtown so they’ll see what we have to offer. There are some great shops and restaurants that thrive in the Main Street district.” Several Harding students are involved with the planning and execution of Get Down Downtown. Student interns Kristi Soto, junior, and Jess Boyd, senior, for Main Street Searcy help Burton directly while student interns Blake Lewandoski, junior, and Megan Giddens, senior, are assisting senior graphic designer Waylon Howard of Think Advertising with all of the
design elements of the festival. Soto said Burton is extremely focused on relationships with everyone involved in the event. For this reason, Soto said she thinks Harding students, with their emphasis on compassion and courtesy, are a good fit for the Main Street Searcy programs. “(Get Down Downtown) gives the student a chance to see what Searcy is like outside of the Harding ‘bubble.’ Searcy is full of interesting people with stories that students just don’t get the chance to know.” -Megan Giddens, senior
The event is targeted toward the Searcy community,but Soto and Burton both said Get Down Downtown also has much to offer to Harding students. The festival begins at 6 p.m. with three contemporary bands on the Hoffmann Architectural Stage. Burton said approximately 100 vendors will line Spring and Arch streets downtown, Zion Climbing Center will have a rock-wall on site, BHP Billiton will have football games streaming on a jumbotron, and music, children’s
90 LOCAL SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
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NEWS, 2A
activities and shows will take place all day Saturday. Soto mentioned a few names Harding students will recognize; Four West, Belles and Beaux and Good News Singers will all be performing during the two-day festival. Howard is in charge of the design work for Get Down Downtown including T-shirts, banners and promotional materials. Think Advertising volunteers all hours spent on work for Get Down Downtown and local Searcy citizens volunteer to help Burton plan the event. Howard said Get Down Downtown is a natural fit for Think Advertising and said he appreciates the sense of community and involvement that Get Down Downtown encourages. “(Get Down Downtown) gives the student a chance to see what Searcy is like outside of the Harding ‘bubble,’” Giddens said. “Searcy is full of interesting people with stories that students just don’t get the chance to know.” Get Down Downtown is tonight from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and again tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, go to searcy.com/mainstreet.
Check out a schedule of some of the activities on thelink.harding.edu
Sept. 29 - Oct. 2 YOUR GUIDE TO FALL TV
Learn what ’s new, what’s returning and what to avoid. CAMPUS LIFE, 4B
BISON TENNIS
Al-Shabab, the Somali Islamic extremist group, staged an attack on citizens at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 21. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, announced Tuesday that security forces had “ashamed and defeated our attackers” after a four-day siege. In a BBC article published early Thursday morning, Kenyatta said 72 people died, including six security personnel and five militants. The death toll is expected to rise. Kenyatta also said security forces have arrested 11 suspects in connection with the siege. Wednesday marked the beginning of a three-day national mourning period. On Tuesday the United Nations envoy for Somalia called for additional African troops to counter al-Shabab, which he said numbered some 5,000 people and posed an international threat, according to NBC News. Al-Shabab, whose name means “The Youth” in Arabic, emerged out of the defeat of the Union of Islamic Courts in 2006 with a view of purging Somalia of foreign forces and establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state. The al-Qaida-linked group first began threatening Kenya with a terror attack in late 2011, after Kenya sent troops into Somalia. The attack at Westgate is believed to be a continued response to the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia. Dr. Shadrack Nasong’o, associate professor and chair of the department of international studies at Rhodes College, has researched the politics of democratization, ethno-nationalism and social conflict with particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. He has written a book on the struggle for democracy in Kenya since independence from Britain in 1963. “Part of the reason for the Al-Shabab attacks in Kenya emanates from the perception that the country is an ally of the U.S. in the war on terror; so part of the target in Kenya is Westerners and their interests – especially Americans,” Nasong’o said. “Even more importantly, it is alleged that two or three of the terrorists were Americans, recruited from the U.S. to join al-Shabab. The attack, thus, is not something that happened out there – it has a direct connection to the U.S. in terms of perpetrators as well as potential victims.” President Barack Obama called the attack a “terrible outrage” and has announced U.S. solidarity with Kenya saying, “We will provide them with whatever law enforcement support is necessary.” According to a White House statement, Obama called Kenyatta to express condolences to the government and people of Kenya and reaffirm the strong and historic partnership between the United States and Kenya and their shared commitment to combating terrorism and promoting peace and prosperity around the world. Nasong’o said he believes the responsibility of peace in Kenya and surrounding areas rests upon the shoulders of government leaders and the United Nations. “The best way to deal with al-Shabab is to stabilize the political situation in Somalia, establish an effective government by Somalis with the requisite capacity to maintain law and order and provide for the socio-economic and security needs of Somalis,” Nasong’o said. “It is critical that the African Union and U.N. conduct joint efforts to stabilize Somalia and thus obviate the circumstances that allow groups like al-Shabab to thrive.”
Men’s and women’s tennis teams start season with wins and hard work. SPORTS, 1B