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| Vol. 86 No. 14 | March 25, 2011 | thelink.harding.edu |
Students bike 622 miles for charity by SARAH KYLE editor in chief Eight days. 622 miles. $2200. Last week, seven Harding students literally put the pedal to the metal by biking 622 miles from Searcy, Ark., to Houston, Texas, raising money and awareness for Living Water International. Senior Jordan Harris, who planned the trip and coordinated the bike team, said he came up with the idea of the long-distance journey, named the Pilgrimage, after spending time this past summer with missionaries in Burkina Faso, West Africa, who partnered with Living Water, an organization that builds and maintains clean water wells across the world. During his time in Africa, Harris said he began to see the importance of providing clean, drinkable water to people who live without access to clean water sources. “It’s hard for us to understand not having water because we have so much of it,” Harris said. “In a culture where we can go to a restroom and, with the wave of a hand, clean water pours from a spout, or where we flush with water clean enough to drink, … we can’t grasp what it’s like to walk to the local well, pump water into a
In a culture where we can go to a restroom and, with the wave of a hand, clean water pours from a spout, or where we flush with water clean enough to drink, ... we can’t grasp what it’s like to walk to the local well. -Jordan Harris senior steel basin and then carry it back to a compound on your head, just so you can have water to drink with dinner.” After returning to the States, Harris said he decided to take an active role in helping Living Water’s mission and began to plan the Pilgrimage shortly after Christmas break, with all proceeds helping to repair a well in Burkina Faso. The team consisted of seven riders: Harris, Daniel
photo by JUSTIN HARRIS | Pilgrimage (From left to right) support vehicle driver Courtney Elder, rider Jon Waddell, team hostess Becky Barker, rider Andrew Riley, rider Jordan Harris, rider Brent Walker, rider Ashley Moore, media manager Justin Harris and rider Eric Wilson take a moment at a local mural in Tenaha, Texas, to look ahead to their final destination: Houston, Texas. Kaiser, Jon Waddell, Brent “Beans” Walker, Ashley Moore, Andrew Riley and Eric Wilson, and two supporting members: Courtney Elder, who drove a support vehicle, and Justin Harris, who took photographs and videos of the trip’s progress. Riley, a senior at Harding, said the group began the Pilgrimage in Searcy, biking for eight days (four
90-mile or more days and four 60-mile days) to Houston, battling sunburns and fatigue to further their cause. Throughout the trip, Riley said people from every walk of life contributed to the group’s efforts, including a chainsaw woodcarver with a huge personality and a unique donation. “He ended up telling us about his drug history,
called Ashley ‘pumpkin’ and ended up donating a 2-foot-tall wooden eagle statue and a small painting to our cause,” Riley said. “We were all wondering what we were going to do with the eagle, but when we got to the next stop in Tenaha, Texas, someone bought it for $100.” Riley said he was encouraged by the support
the group received during the trip. “The hospitality of the people we stayed with was the best part,” Riley said. “All kinds of different people from the church family took us into their homes, fed us and let us use their showers and beds.” For more information about Living Water International, visit www.water.cc.
Brave New Media seeks to educate, inform, inspire by SARAH KYLE editor in chief by GABRIELLE PRUITT student writer
Last week, 260 students participated in Harding University’s 2011 Spring Break Missions. From Canada to Nicaragua, 15 groups did everything from doorknocking to manual labor.
SA plans fundraiser to aid Japan by KYLIE AKINS news editor While Harding students packed their cars for spring break two weeks ago, the island nation of Japan was in shock after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the east coast March 11, triggering a tsunami and nuclear crisis that has left the Japanese people in a state of emergency. Now, the Student Association is giving Harding students an opportunity to contribute to the relief effort in Japan through a former Sendai missionary, a Memphis church and Healing Hands International.
The people of Japan have been devastated by something that is uncontrollable, and in an event like this it makes one realize that life and nature are fragile things. -Steven Ramsey SA president The earthquake, classified as the worst recorded earthquake to hit Japan, produced tsunami waves of more than 70 feet, leaving an estimated 23,000 dead or missing. With the heavily damaged Fukushima nuclear plant 150 miles north of Tokyo still unable to control its
overheated reactors and the radioactive fumes they are emitting, contaminated food and water is crippling the nation’s ability to recover. As of Wednesday, Japanese officials reported 9,452 dead and 14,671 missing. -SEE JAPAN PG. 2A
In an effort to discuss the impact of social media on modern life and culture, students are hosting the Brave New Media Conference, a one-day study of social media and its effects, on Saturday. The conference — sponsored by HUmanity, Harding University’s chapter of the national Roosevelt Institute, and the College of Communication — is open to all and free of charge. Beginning at 10 a.m.in Cone Chapel on Saturday, the Brave New Media Conference will address social media’s relationship with politics, humanitarian aid, education and more through three keynote speakers, with three classroom facilitators leading breakout sessions in Heritage 209, 210 and the Liberty Room. Speakers include 2002 Harding graduate Casey Neese,Heifer International’s social network marketing manager, network engineer Keith Crawford and 2007 Harding graduate Alex Cone, the online branding manager for the New York City Charter School Center. Harding political science professor Mark Elrod, Pulaski Technical College adjunct professor Ian Thomas and University of Central Arkansas associate professor and associate dean of the Honors College Donna Bowman will serve as classroom facilitators. Senior Alan Elrod, creator and overall director, said he believes discussing the impact of social media on everything from pop culture to politics is important to promote
Social media can be powerful tools for good [and have] permeated every aspect of our lives. -Jim Miller associate professor of communication growth in today’s changing world. “Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are already casting their shadows on the world we live in,” Elrod said. “When we talk about the revolutionary nature of social media, we’re not alluding only to it’s potential to affect political change; social media is so embedded in our daily lives that it’s reshaping every landscape.” Assistant professor of communication Jim Miller said the effects of social media have been most evident in the recent civil uprisings of the Middle East. “We’ve all seen recently in the Middle East how social media can empower the oppressed and expose corruption,” Miller said. “Social media can be powerful tools for good [and have] permeated every aspect of our lives.” Miller said he believes Brave New Media applies specifically to Harding students who wish to use every means possible to help the helpless. “As Christians, we’re called to use every talent and resource with which we’ve been blessed to serve God and our fellow man,”Miller said.“This conference addresses how we might do that through social media.” -SEE MEDIA PG. 2A