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| Vol. 86 No. 15 | April 1, 2011 | thelink.harding.edu |
PREPARING FOR THE WORST Media gurus
Theater, nursing, journalism students participate in disaster drill
discuss change by LAUREN BUCHER features editor
photos by JON YODER | The Bison TOP LEFT: Nursing students Meg Watson and Brad Houtchens tend to theater major Marcus Bellamy. TOP RIGHT: Searcy firefighters escort an “injured” student from the Brackett Library after the mock earthquake hit at about 3 p.m. Wednesday. BOTTOM: Public Safety worker Mitchell Cherry keeps the perimeter as communication students and passers-by await information in the press pen outside the Brackett Library. Participants received a call at 3 p.m. Wednesday notifying them that a mock earthquake had affected the Brackett Library. Nursing students, Public Safety and Searcy safety officials tended to “injured” theater majors, while communication students practiced public relations and journalism skills.
Missions group seeks to aid Japan by KATIE SWANN student writer The Asian Mission Fellowship held a meeting Wednesday, March 23, to discuss a relief plan for Japan after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the country March 11. The meeting was joined via Skype by Japan missionary Jonathan Straker, who suggested various areas in which Japan is in desperate need of help and what the Harding community can do to assist. As of last week, the National Police Agency reported the death toll at
10,035; 17,443 people are reported missing and 320,000 evacuees are staying in 2,100 shelters. The Kyodo News Agency reported 15,000 people rescued from the rubble as of Monday, March 14. Japanese citizens face a laborious and costly recovery. The relief cost is estimated by Bloomberg.com to be almost four times as expensive as the cleanup for Katrina: approximately $309 billion. The recovery process is estimated to last anywhere between three and 10 years. “I highly encourage making donations to the churches in Japan,” AMF
member Neale Bryan said. Bryan said the Church of Christ membership throughout all of Japan is about 1,000. Bryan said he thinks the tragedy provides an opportunity to encourage these brothers and sisters in Japan by being a shining light for Christ and a contact and help in rebuilding their communities. These churches are also projected to be ready to accept mission and relief teams starting mid-April to mid-May. “This summer would provide an excellent opportunity for teams to go and assist in the relief effort,” Bryan said. SEE JAPAN PG. 2A
Tw i t t e r, Yo u Tu b e , Facebook — social media have changed the nature of communication. Now, this virtual communication is instantaneous, easily accessible and perpetual. Activity in the virtual world can translate directly into activity in the material world; rather than simply creating another world, online activity flows into movement outside the virtual world. The Brave New Media Conference on Saturday, March 26, explored a way to harness the virtual activity of social media and channel it into positive social change. “Social media changes the way we communicate, the way we relate to the world, but it is also important because we need to think of social media in a larger context to see how we can effect positive change,” Casey Neese, social network marketing manager at Heifer International, said. “New tools and media platforms enable students, no matter where they are, to connect with people anywhere else.” Neese’s speech, “Unlikely Humanitarians,” explained the changing nature of media, how anyone can become a content creator and how social media can be used for a philanthropic goal. “ We all are content creators — news, videos, photographs. Everyone is talking to each other at the same time,” Neese said. “Now, all of a sudden we have access to a lot of tools to do a lot of good.” Neese explained the way virtual events can bring people together to support a common cause. Anyone with access to the Internet can find others with shared interests and humanitarian goals, making humanitarian activity accessible to ordinary people. “People can use Twitter to organize offline events, personal events, gathering in their city locally,” Neese said. The tool of online activity is just that, a tool, Neese said, adding that online political activity is not responsible for social
Social media changes the way we communicate, the way we relate to the world. -Casey Neese Heifer International change in itself. “ Ne w m e d i a ge t s a lot of credit for toppling regimes, but people and ideas have always been the real driving force of social change,” Neese said. “[However], the tool of social media can facilitate those changes.” Because social media are still relatively new, junior Amy Littleton and senior Alan Elrod, who planned the conference, said they thought it was important to engage students in a critical conversation about the topic. “Getting online doesn’t mean turning off,” Elrod said. “It doesn’t mean going on autopilot. It requires that we come ready to think critically and meet issues with vision and grace. Approximatel y 100 people attended the conference, and 75 were Harding students, Littleton said. “I’ll be working for a nonprofit this summer, and the Brave New Media Conference covered materials that I’m interested in,” senior Jonghwa ( Jon) Lee said. “Social media helps to reach out to younger generations and inform them of our responsibility to help others.” The conference was sponsored by HUmanity, the College of Communication and the Harding chapter of the Roosevelt Institute. “I think the discussion at the conference was especially significant because of the fact that our world is forever changed because of social media and the Internet, and we must learn how to use it to benefit our life experience,” Littleton said. To learn more about Heifer, visit heifer.org To view Neese’s social media skills in action, follow him on Twitter @ cbneese.
65 Roses Tour raises awareness, funds through cycling by CALEB RUMMEL photographer More than 100 riders gathered last Saturday morning for the 65 Roses Tour, a bicycle ride supporting cystic fibrosis awareness. The riders started in Spring Park and split to four different routes of 65, 50, 35 and 10 miles. The 65 Roses Tour is an annual Searcy event in its second year. The ride is a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which seeks to find a cure for its namesake disease. Originally scheduled to start at 7:30 Saturday morning, the ride was delayed by bad weather, but it did not deter the riders from showing up, especially when they knew it was for a good cause. “I’ve been going, honestly, all winter, so when it was zero degrees and icy I was definitely out in that, and now it’s raining and cold, so I’m glad I’m kind of used to it,” said 2009 Harding graduate Kevin Gormany. “It’s a challenge. It’s 50 degrees, it’s rain-
ing, it’s gray, we’re going up Joy Mountain, and we’re on bicycles. That sounds like an adventure to me. That’s what I like.” While the draw of a big ride brought many riders to Searcy from as far away as Fayetteville, Ark., the charity brought in its own fair share of riders. One such rider, freshman Soffia Metzler of Pleasanton, Calif., was moved by the story of Aven, a 4-year-old girl from Searcy who has cystic fibrosis and was the face of the tour. “[Hearing Aven’s story] just really struck a passion in me to ride for her,” Metzler said. While many of the riders were experienced cyclists and had completed rides as long as 65 miles or more, inexperience did not keep people away. Nearly one quarter of the participants rode the 65-mile route, but most kept to the shorter distances. This, however, did not stop freshman Kelly Batte of Atlanta, Ga., from attempting the longest available ride. “I haven’t ridden since, like, fifth grade, but I ride the bike in the gym occasionally,” Batte said. “[Metzler] told me about the whole story and everything, and I saw
advertisements everywhere, so I thought I would just take the challenge.” Each person had a reason to attend, be it cycling or the charity. Some, however, were more personal than others. Searcy native Bruce Berkheimer and his son John have completed several bike rides, with two of Berkheimer’s being 100 miles, and they were out in Searcy for the 35-mile ride. “I’ve been biking and had a lot of friends in Searcy for years. I’m a cyclist enthusiast,” Berkheimer said. “We have another cause because [ John’s] aunt died of cystic fibrosis when she was about 22. We like cycling anyway, but this is another reason to come out.” The name “65 Roses” comes from a story of a young boy who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. He overheard his mother on the phone, trying to raise money for medical research. The young boy commented to his mother that she was “working for 65 roses.” Since then, children with cystic fibrosis have called their disease by that name, and the rose has become a symbol for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
photo by CALEB RUMMEL | The Bison Aven, a local 4-year-old with cystic fibrosis, cracks a smile. Aven’s story inspired some cyclists to ride in Saturday’s 65 Roses Tour.