October 17, 2014 Vol. 90, No. 6
@HUStudentPubs April 25,The 2014 Facebook: Link Vol. 89, No. 18
online at thelink.harding.edu
@HUStudentPubs Facebook: The Link
online at thelink.harding.edu
On Wednesday, Oct. 15 in chapel, students participated in a poll via texting about how they perceive different aspects of Harding. The results will be used to help the university with the accreditation process.
Which of these four do you perceive Is engaged Harding does best?
Directs our paths (23%) Is shared openly (10%)
in good works (49%)
Embraces many cultures (18%)
out of 1,129 students
In which of these five do you perceive that harding demonstrates out of 1,165 students the most quality? Faculty & Staff
Environment for success
Degree Program
Academic Support
select the most important factor in out of 1,086 students student success at harding.
Liberal Arts Faculty (70%)
graphic by CINA CATTEAU
Alternative to Club Week
By Chloe Savage Student Writer mden -- Henry Cole Mokry Opinions Editor
Students who are not participating in Club Week are invited to join Big Events Week. Student organizations including Campus Activities Board and the Student Association partnered with the Rock House, Student
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NEWS
Life and Harding Parent and Alumni Relations to sponsor free evening events around campus. The week is designed to provide something to do on campus during a week when typically everything but club activities shuts down, leaving campus very quiet for the large number of Harding students who are not in a club.
“Most of the committees would agree that it’s related to but not about club week,” senior Logan Keim, who was involved in the planning process, said. “It’s hard to see right now, but (Big Events Week is) a good reminder that there’s more to do on campus and with your time at Harding than clubs.”
“If we’re given a task that is bigger than us, we rise to meet that task,” Kelley said. The coffee cart is currently being built by Joey Myers, the Armstrong dorm dad. Myers said he hopes to have the cart completed before Oct. 25. “Midnight Oil is catering to the people,” Myers said. “Everything is going mobile, so why not coffee too?” One of the purposes behind the coffee cart is to push manual brew methods. While this would require more time, attention and qualifications from employees, manually brewed coffee promises to bring out the actual profile of the coffee, according to Kelley. “Not all coffee is created equal,” Kelley said. “Manually brewed coffee allows us to take control of the variables. It pulls out the integrity and the flavor of the coffee without taking anything away from it.” The coffeehouse has been
working hard to promote themselves on social media, particularly Instagram, by encouraging people in the community to Tweet and Instagram pictures with different hashtags like #MOadventures
SEE ACTIVITES, PAGE 2A
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
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LIFESTYLE
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NEWS
Searcy, Ark., 72149
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
Alumnus returns from documenting Ebola FEATURES
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CAMPUS LIFE
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Searcy, Ark., 72149
By Julie Anne White Asst. Web Editor
This year instead of blowing out candles on his 25th birthday, Gil Gildner was stepping into a hazmat suit. Gildner, who graduated from Harding in 2011, contracts with nonprofit organizations to produce documentaries and photographs. When a charity in Charlotte, N.C. called Silent Images asked him to travel to Liberia and document the Ebola outbreak a few weeks ago, Gildner said he did not hesitate even for a second. “David Johnson, the founder of Silent Images, gave me a call on Saturday afternoon,” Gildner said. “He said the words ‘You know the Ebola crisis in Liberia ...’ and I immediately asked when I was flying out.” Gildner flew to Monrovia, Liberia, where he shot both pictures and four different micro documentaries of the Ebola victims. To ensure his safety, Gildner was subjected to a series of precautions. “There’s no handshakes, hugs, or any physical contact whatsoever in Liberia anymore,” Gildner said. “I washed my hands and boot soles with chlorine solution every time I entered or left a building, and at most doorways a guard is stationed with a laser thermometer to check temperatures. When entering the Ebola unit, I wore PPE (personal protective equipment) which is basically a hazmat suit consisting of a full-body Tyvek suit, boots, three pairs of gloves, two masks, two hoods and goggles. It was extremely hot, and when in the unit, I wasn’t allowed to adjust anything.” Gildner said at times the horror he encountered when recording the documentaries became overwhelming. “Liberia is hell,” Gildner said. “The time I spent in the Ebola unit, walking through in a hazmat suit with a GoPro, is perhaps the most horrific thing I’ve seen in my life. I made it through everything for about an hour and a half. Then my vision started narrowing and I became nauseous. I was about to pass out, so I had to get out of there before I vomited inside the suit. It took fifteen minutes to spray me down with chlorine and take off the multiple layers, but it seemed like an eternity.” As of Thursday, Oct. 16, there are now two confirmed cases of Ebola in Dallas, Texas. President Obama declared the outbreak a national security priority and said he plans to combat the disease, according to an article on cnn.com.
There’s no handshakes, hugs or any physical contact whatsoever in Liberia anymore.
-Gil Gildner, Harding alumnus “If ever there were a public health emergency deserving of an urgent, strong and coordinated international response, this is it,” the President said. Freshman nursing major Mieka Wilcox said the effects of Ebola reach beyond Liberia and even Africa. “It could affect the way we travel to and from Africa, the way we interact with people from (Liberia) and also has a huge effect on our healthcare systems and the way they operate,” Wilcox said. Wilcox said she feels Americans have a responsibility to send aid to those who are suffering from the disease, and she admires Gildner’s willingness to document Ebola and spread awareness about the terror it is causing. “I support him, because I think it is important for us to be informed on how bad the situation is to be able to get involved to help support those families who have been affected,” Wilcox said. “I feel if those countries had people from America coming to help them, it could help contain the disease.” Gildner said his friends and family are accustomed to his traveling to developing countries, so they were not fazed by his decision to go to Liberia. Not everyone was in support of his decision to travel to Liberia. “KATV ran a story called ‘Ebola Fears Spread To Arkansas’ without interviewing me or even notifying me,” Gildner said. “I literally woke up in the middle of the night to dozens of messages from friends and strangers alike. Some were encouraging and others told me I had to ‘suffer the consequences’ and ‘stay in Africa.’ I wrote a series of pretty stiff letters, and they finally pulled the story.” Despite the potential dangers involved in his job, Gildner said he would welcome further opportunities for world travel. “I’d go again in a heartbeat,” Gildner said. “For me, it would have been a mistake to not take the opportunity: go hard or go home.”
Manual brewing, portable coffee cart coming to MO By Joshua Johnson News Editor
Midnight Oil is taking steps to expand their business and promote new ideas such as a portable coffee cart, manually brewed drinks and social media competitions that encourage community involvement. Zak Kelley, manager of Midnight Oil since July 2014, said the business has grown astronomically in the past few months. “ We’re ser ving better products, we have the best staff ever and we’re finally reaching out to the community of Searcy, beyond Harding,” Kelley said. With success comes a need for innovation, and Kelley said he has big plans for the future. A portable coffee cart, designed by Kelley himself, is being built for use at football games, parades and other outdoor events. Kelley said the coffee cart is an example of God’s plans for Midnight Oil and the Kibo ministry.
Chick-fil-A trivia, page 4B
and #MOshadows. The winning pictures are displayed on the #InstaHallofFame at Midnight Oil. Local artists are also being supported by the coffeehouse in an endeavor to serve the
community and compliment the coffeehouse’s environment, according to Kelley. Jewelya Williams, a senior graphic design major at Harding, will have her art displayed at Midnight Oil by the end
GRANT SCHOL | The Bison
Zak Kelley, the manager of Midnight Oil, shows different methods of manual coffee brewing at a demonstration on Oct. 5. The shop is currently working on a coffee cart to serve at places such as football games and parades.
Breast Cancer Awareness, page 2A
Life’s not perfect, page 3A
Find out what’s going on at Harding and in White County to support cancer awareness.
A senior shares why he’s become OK with not planning out his future.
of the semester. “(Midnight Oil is) pretty particular about the kinds of things they want on their wall,” Williams said. “But they’re very supportive of local artists and love to have talented students’ work featured.” Kelley said that, despite the current plans for expansion, Midnight Oil is ultimately about so much more than coffee. “What sets us apart is that our baristas are working towards something so much bigger than ourselves,” Kelley said. “We love what we do, and we do it here because we believe in Kibo and believe that Kibo is changing lives.” Kibo is a mission organization tackling poverty and injustice in East Africa. Kelley said Kibo is dedicated to ministering to those in Africa without taking away from their culture. “It’s not a band-aid,” Kelley said. “It’s a long term solution to a life-long problem.”
SEC Referee, page 1B