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| Vol. 86 No. 16 | April 8, 2011 | thelink.harding.edu |
FIRST THAW ROCKS FOR HEIFER by LAUREN BUCHER features editor
photo by CALEB RUMMEL | The Bison The Avett Brothers sing and play their hearts out to a packed crowd in the Rhodes Field House at First Thaw on April 2. Exactly 2,260 tickets were sold to the weekend event.
Music, art, film, charity and student talent all converged Saturday, April 2, to create First Thaw Festival. The two-day festival featured musicians such as Cheyenne Medders, Langhorn Slim and headlining band The Avett Brothers. But the festival was more than a drawn out concert; it was also a humanitarian effort. A total of $2,400 is planned to be donated to Heifer Internationl; 2,260 people attended. “We wanted to do something that was local but that made a big impact: a global impact,” Corey McEntyre, director of Campus Life, said. “ It’s more than cows; it’s how to live a sustainable lifestyle. They [Heifer] embody a lot of different aspects that we wanted to give to.” Seed planting, turning cream into butter and a hand-washing station that would be found in a village to promote sanitation were all activities at “Heifer Headquarters” — a tent set up outside of the Rhodes Field House — to illustrate ways that Heifer works. “We are here to raise awareness through simple, hands-on activities about the different programs Heifer is involved in,” Valerie Kimbrough, volunteer organizer for Heifer, said. “We are honored to be partnered with Harding for this festival.” A team of 20 Heifer staff and volunteers worked the tent, showing students hands-on educational activities, conducting a raffle for a camera bag, distributing pamphlets and answering questions about Heifer’s work. At Heifer’s request, all of the products used during the festival were either sustainable or plastic, so they could be recycled. “While my thoughts on humanitarian aid are still developing, Heifer appears to be a creative alternative to unsustainable handouts and monetary donations that often perpetuate financial dependence in developing countries,” junior Logan Mahan said. “I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Heifer is actually doing a lot of work to end poverty nationally. I previously
We wanted to do something that was local but made a big impact: a global impact. -Corey McEntyre director of Campus Life thought they almost exclusively worked abroad.” Students Alan Elrod, Erin Powell, Amy Littleton and Amanda Herren — all members of the Campus Activities Board — worked with the rest of CAB to organize the event. “This [First Thaw] is significant because students did it. This wasn’t a professional multimedia company, advertising company,” McEntyre said. “This was students getting creative with what they see around them, which was just incredible to me.” Along with the Heifer tent, vendors staffed a collection of booths outside the Rhodes, with CAB members selling band merchandise and art majors selling mugs, paintings, photographs and other crafts. $221.40 was raised for Heifer specifically through booth sales. Heifer representatives also collected $381.01. Approximately 1,500 student tickets were sold, according to Littleton, who said the turnout was due in part to extensive planning. In the fall, CAB conducted a poll that asked students what band they would like to see. The Avett Brothers won, and McEntyre began working to have them come. However, plans for a large music festival had already been underway. Elrod and McEntyre had the idea for a large music festival about two years ago during a brainstorming session, according to McEntyre. McEntyre said he believed hosting First Thaw in the Rhodes added to the overall feel and excitement of the festival. “They [the audience] got to be active and engaged with the artists, which is something that doesn’t always get to happen,” McEntyre said. “You have a show in a place like the Rhodes Field House, and it elevates it to a whole new level.”
Student body Stride to Prevent Suicide raises hope elects McMullen by AERIAL WHITING asst. copy editor
by SARAH KYLE editor in chief by KYLIE AKINS news editor The student body officially elected junior Bruce McMullen as the 2011-2012 Student Association president yesterday. McMullen ran against junior Stephen McBride, winning with 53.3 percent of votes; 982 students voted in the SA presidential election. Joining McMullen in office next year will be vice president Amanda Herren, secretary Claire Walker and treasurer Amy Littleton. “When I saw that I had won the position, I was filled with emotion and my stomach started turning, and a deep breath was needed,” McMullen said. “I soon followed with a humble and appreciative moment, giving thanks to God and those who are a huge encouragement and blessing in my life. I’m excited to serve the Harding student body this next year.” McMullen said he had thought about running for the presidency earlier in the year but thought his status as an international student might make him ineligible to hold office. McMullen is from Cape Town, South Africa, on the west coast. After being approached by several students about running, he interviewed current SA President Steven Ramsey and some faculty members and discovered that he was eligible. McMullen said he has been active in student groups since high school, continuing into his time at Harding; he is currently the president of men’s social club Sub T-16. “I don’t like the term social butterfly, but I really am a
McMullen people person,”McMullen said. McMullen ran on the platform of becoming the “middle man” between the student body and elected officials and faculty. “All I want to do is please people and be an approachable guy, and I think that’s what the SA needs: a good connection between the student body and the leaders of it who can make changes and bring unity to campus,” McMullen said. “It’s not actually about my ideas; it’s about me just being the middle man to get everyone else’s ideas on campus put in place.” However, McMullen does have some ideas of his own, including a more cooperative effort of brainstorming with the previous SA officers to bring more activities to the student body. McMullen said he also hopes to promote unity between different clubs, as well as between clubs and non-club students, with a project he has termed “Monthly Memories.” “It would be a monthly project together, whether it’s going on a float trip together or doing a big service project between clubs, and also with students who aren’t in clubs,” McMullen said. “I’m all about just getting everyone involved and feeling like they’re getting the best experience they can while they’re here.”
At the 10th annual Stride to Prevent Suicide, about 450 participants helped raise awareness — and approximately $20,000 — for suicide prevention. The Stride to Prevent Suicide took place at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 2, in Spring Park, where people from the community engaged in either a 5K or 1-mile run/walk to raise funds for a nonprofit, the Dr. Robert E. Elliott Foundation, which offers free programs such as monthly Survivors of Suicide meetings and seminars on understanding depression. The foundation was started in 2002 in honor of Elliott, who committed suicide in 2001. Laurie Swain, board president of the foundation, said in her introduction Saturday that although depression is the most treatable psychiatric illness, a person dies by suicide every 15 minutes.
photo by JON YODER | The Bison Runners begin the race at the Stride to Prevent Suicide race Saturday, April 2. More than 450 participants ran or walked in the event. “[These people are] some- she believes it is important like junior David King, said they one’s parent, someone’s child, to educate the public about attended the Stride to Prevent someone’s spouse, someone’s depression and preventing Suicide because they viewed it friend,” Swain said. “And so suicide. She added that 80 as a form of Christian ministry. the work of the foundation to 90 percent of people who This was King’s first time to here is to raise awareness of receive treatment for depression run in this event, and he said the disease of depression, to recover but that when depres- he thought it was an excellent prevent suicide, to save lives sion remains untreated, it can way for people to unite and to cause a person to lose contact draw attention to the problem and restore hope.” of depression. Swain said she has served on with reality. Several Harding students, the board for six years because -SEE STRIDE PG. 2A
‘Bazaar’ to promote local artistry by MONIQUE JACQUES student writer The Harding Bazaar, product of senior Calea Bakke’s honors capstone project, will be tomorrow, April 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the field in front of the Reynolds Center for Music and Communication. In the event of bad weather, the Bazaar will be held in the Ganus Athletic Center. Twenty-four vendors will meet beneath two large tents to display and sell fine arts and artisan crafts priced from $3 to $300. Bakke said all vendors are Harding affiliated and include not only a few senior art majors and three professors from the art department, but also a number of faculty members
and students who simply have a knack for creating. “Harding is more than academics and clubs, but also has a great depth of crafty and artistic talent,” said senior art major Paige Walton, who will display and sell works from her senior art show. “The Bazaar will showcase some of Harding’s hidden talent, and hopefully it will encourage others to pursue theirs as well.” Bakke said that as a whole, she wanted a cultural and communityfocused event. “We didn’t want to call it a fair or an art show, because it is so much more than that, it envelops such a wide gamut of things,” Bakke said. “Bazaar just connects in mind the old-world Istanbul marketplace with modern-day art.” The vendors will exhibit everything
from oil paintings to antique teapot lamps, handmade jewelry to decorative home decor. With the wide range of characters at Harding, Bakke said she hopes there will be something for everyone. “I love doing shows because it gives me time to talk to each customer and see their faces light up when they find something,” Claire Lifsey, student vendor of handmade jewelry and bridal pieces, said. “I hope to contribute an opportunity for people to buy unique, affordable accessories made by a peer.” The Bazaar will embrace not only visual arts, but also music from Burksy’s champion band The Emancipastries and Burksy’s nominee band The Abigails, as well as a number of other student musicians. -SEE BAZAAR PG. 2A