The Bison Vol. 101 No. 09

Students savor longest snow break in years

KERRA FELZIEN guest writer

A winter blast coated Searcy in snow and ice last week, turning roads slick, canceling classes and shutting down campus. Harding University’s campus was closed for four days, the longest closure since 2021, when Harding closed for an entire week.

The snow fell Friday night, and on Saturday morning students living on campus flocked to the front lawn and Benson steps for sledding and snowball fights. On Sunday, many students got together with friends for devotionals and worship in dorm lobbies and campus buildings when the roads were too treacherous to make it elsewhere.

“Me and my friends did a little home church thing in the Reynolds since we couldn’t drive to church,” sophomore Rachael Sims said. “It was awesome.”

When Monday rolled around and classes got cancelled, the snow was frozen over and difficult to enjoy. Social clubs still made the most of it. For example, Knights social club had “Jerseys and Jammies” every day campus was closed.

“We went to the caf, and then we would go out on the front lawn, play in the snow and have fun,” sophomore Knights member Deacon Lawley said.

days

Two weeks after the Harding Bisons football team wrapped up their season in the national championship game, news was announced on Jan. 6 that Harding’s head coach Paul Simmons was leaving his post to take on the role of general manager for the Bisons and former defensive coordinator Roddy Mote would take the helm as head coach.

Simmons, in a statement on the day of the announcement, said that his new role “will allow me to have an even greater impact on this awesome program” and that “I am going

42-3, made two national championships and won the school’s first championship in 2023.

Now tasked to continue to build on that success as head coach, Mote isn’t trying to be Simmons or the other great coaches of Harding’s past. Mote said he is taking the things he’s learned through the years as a Bison in various roles and hoping to shape his own identity and path to success.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to serve in this role,” Mote said. “My identity is not in the title. It’s not changing who I am, I want my identity to be in Jesus Christ, and I try to model that to the young men I am around,

Academy’s football team from 2008-15, where he posted a 93-12 record and won two state championships. The 2025 FootballScoop Division II Coordinator of the Year award winner said that above all, the culture he wants to create with his team will be player-first.

“My first priority is our players,” Mote said. “The players are the ones that drive our really, really good team. They drive our culture, they are the culture.”

Other students turned away from the cold and cozied up inside, whether that was watching movies in their dorm or enjoying indoor sports and recreation in the Ganus Athletic Complex.

“I got to play volleyball a lot with a lot of my friends, which was fun,” senior Reese Marcangeli said. “I enjoyed just the time to kind of hang back, catch up on things and just relax for a little bit. I don’t feel like we really get the opportunity to do that a lot, especially being a civil engineering major.”

Some freshmen experiencing the Harding snow days for the first time got a little more adventurous, whether that was doing donuts in empty parking lots or hiking across Searcy to get breakfast.

“The first day we walked two and a half miles to Waffle House in the snow,” freshman Larissa Mansfield said. “That was my first time going to Waffle House because I’m from Oregon, so I’ve never been there before.”

Eventually, the excitement of no school wore off for some students, and they were ready to get back to the normal school day routine.

“It was nice to have some free time – and it was very fun – but it made me realize how much I appreciate the school routine because I started to get bored after, about, a day,” Sims said.

Mote’s family ties run deep with the Bisons. A player himself from 1984-1989, his father, uncle and father-in-law played for Harding in the 1950s and ’60s, with his uncle later coming back to coach in the ’70s.

Mote’s wife, Kim, who was a cheerleader at Harding, teaches first grade at Harding Academy. Mote was head coach of the

Shortly after the announcement of his promotion, which was made during winter break when the team was not together, Mote called every player on the roster to be as transparent as possible about the process and what they should expect going forward. Mote said that even though he is a defensiveminded coach, he values every player on his roster, from the inactive to the stars, in the same light as people.

“I value people, and that’s the most important to me,” Mote said. “And that’s to make them feel loved, to make them realize that they do have value, and their value isn’t dependent on what side of the ball they are on or what position they play.”

Among the coaching staff Mote will lead, there are several new faces, as well as new positions for current coaches. Luke Tribble, who served as co-defensive coordinator as well as coordinating special teams and assisting with the defensive backs last season, will become the team’s defensive coordinator. Tribble said that he is looking forward to next season and the challenge it will bring.

“I’m very excited about next season,” Tribble said.

“I’m excited to have a new challenge for myself, but the job is still the same, and that’s to do my role to the best I

can, to give our players the best chance of success possible.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Will Francis will stay on for a second season as the quarterbacks and fullbacks coach. A former basketball star for Harding, several of the new staff members were at Harding when he was a student. Francis said that it’s been fun reconnecting with some of his old friendships as they look to continue to run the flexbone offense.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity of working with our staff,” Francis said. “Several of the new coaches were in school here at Harding the same time I was. I’m excited to get to work with them.”

CPE welcomes new executive director

MAKAYLA

When Beverly Smith stepped into her role as Executive Director of Harding University’s Center for Professional Excellence, she brought with her a renewed vision for helping students succeed beyond graduation.

Smith’s leadership has already generated excitement among colleagues and staff. As a Harding University alum, Smith grew up in Fort Worth, TX, and graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Smith mentioned how she always had a strong connection with and love for Harding.

After graduation, Smith founded her own staffing and recruiting business in North Little Rock, AR, where she spent 30 years helping professionals navigate job searching

and advancement in their careers. In the fall of 2022, Smith and her family decided to relocate to Searcy.

Before officially returning, Smith said, she told her husband, “It would be fun to come back to work at Harding.”

After moving to Searcy, she continued working closely with professionals on job search strategies and career development, experiences that now inform her work with Harding students. As CPE executive director, Smith hopes to continue supporting students while honoring the foundation and vision established by former director Brian Harrington. Her focus remains on equipping students with the tools and confidence they need to thrive in their professional lives.

Assistant director of the CPE Max Master expressed his enthusiasm for her leadership and vision for the Center. “I really liked that vision that she laid out for us, and it was pretty easy to get on board with that vision,” Master said.

Smith’s vision emphasizes meaningful connection with students, ensuring they have

access to the opportunities and resources needed to succeed in the next chapter of their lives after graduation. This includes building resumes and preparing for job or graduate school interviews.

Smith also hopes to strengthen connections with alumni, creating mentorship opportunities that allow students to seek guidance, ask questions and explore their passions.

Assistant director of the CPE Anna Yingling shared her admiration for Smith’s professional background. “She has experience on the other side of what we do here, and having that perspective and insight is really what we’re wanting to do here,” Yingling said.

With Smith’s leadership, the Center for Professional Excellence looks forward to continuing its mission as a place of opportunity, encouragement and growth.

As Smith begins her new chapter at Harding she intends to use her gifts and experiences to support others and bring faith and love to those around her, while furthering the Center’s mission to prepare students for life beyond graduation.

Student director shares her film at Rialto screening

After four years in the making, senior Emma Claire Smith held a screening at Searcy’s Rialto Theater for her first short film, “Tender Was The Waltz.”

Smith wrote and directed the film, which was a modern retelling of the love story of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. She gave a brief speech at the Jan. 15 screening, which featured the 15-minute film and a documentary about creating the film.

“[The documentary] was also a fun chance for me to explain some of the history behind the film,” Smith said. “It’s a psychological drama/romance. It’s not straightforward. … Everything that I say in the documentary is very important to the story. I’m giving tons and tons of Easter eggs to the truth of what actually happens in the film.”

The cast and crew of “Tender Was The Waltz” traveled to Atlanta to film during spring break last year, but the idea of the story started long before then.

“It’s been about four years now that we’ve been working on this together,” said Alita O’Leary, a senior and the first assistant director. “So to finally see it on the big screen, and to see the fruits of our labor for so long has been the most incredible experience.”

The crew started promoting “Tender Was The Waltz” during the spring 2025

semester around Harding’s campus. Smith and producer Lucas Mirante discussed the film during a Hot Ones challenge in chapel on March 4, 2025.

Many students followed the film’s progress on Instagram, where cast and crew posted photos while filming and to advertise the screening in January. That’s how senior Emma Douglas learned about the event. Douglas said she knew a little bit about the filming over spring break from a friend in the crew, but she didn’t know anything about the plot of “Tender Was The Waltz.”

“Going to watch it, I thought it was gonna be like a romance, which I guess it kind of was,” Douglas said. “It was so suspenseful. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.”

Smith said leading up to the Searcy screening, she dreaded the event because the audience did not have the context of knowing the Fitzgeralds’ story, so she did not know how they would react. When Smith stepped out of her car at the Rialto Theater, her emotions about the screening changed.

“I immediately saw smiling faces of people that I love, and I just kept seeing them show up,” Smith said. “It was like this huge wave just crashed over me. It was both this deep feeling of comfort, but also being convicted, because how and why was I dreading being in a room full of people that I love and that love me and that just want to support me?”

Best First-Time

international film festivals, but Paris was the

one she heard back from.

“The reason I really wanted to [enter festivals] abroad, especially when Paris reached out to me, is actually because Zelda

a

Honors College students reflect on traveling to Italy

TUCKER ALLEN guest writer

For a group of Harding University Honors College students, a recent 10-day trip to Italy proved to be more than a regular vacation. The course, titled Cerca Trova — Italian for “seek and find” — challenged students to trade their roles as tourists for those of sojourners. Led by Director of Harding University in Latin America (HULA) Jeremy Daggett and alumnus Mark Slagle, the short-term program took place Dec. 27 through Jan. 7 and focused on integrating art, spirituality and cultural immersion. While the itinerary included stops in Florence and Rome, the academic goal centered on curiosity and the five “big questions” central to the Harding experience.

Junior Laura Miller attended the trip. “Our main goal for the class was to be curious learners and travelers,” Miller said. “We were asked to just sit in front of these big pieces of artwork and ponder: ‘What does this mean to us? How do our experiences shape what this artist is trying to say?’”

For Miller, who has traveled internationally since childhood, the course offered a shift in perspective. She noted that the curriculum forced her to move beyond the surface level experience of a traveler.

“It gave me a greater perspective on what it means to really be a traveler — asking questions, being curious and integrating yourself into the culture,” Miller said.

The instructional method relied heavily on presence and observation rather than digital documentation. Senior Grayson Hume said the professors constantly challenged the group to imagine the history surrounding them.

“They kept on saying, ‘If the walls could talk, what would they say?’” Hume said. “It encouraged us not to immediately walk into a museum and take pictures, but to rely on our senses — the sights and smells — to see what the statue of David actually looks like.”

Despite the rigorous academic reflection and a graded final presentation, the students

described the atmosphere of the trip as deeply

Senior Emma Roach, who joined the trip from a waiting list just two months before departure, explained she initially signed up for the companionship and the atmosphere of the experience, but gained much more.

“I signed up for the trip for pure vibes and left with pure vibes — and also a new

understanding of the world and of God’s people,” Roach said. “The majority of the teaching time was spent in the streets of Italy, learning about the people, the culture and the museums.”

Though the trip lasted only 10 days, the students say the course requirements continue through January, requiring daily journaling

to reflect on how they are implementing the “curious learner” mindset back on campus.

“It was a really pleasant surprise that the class was so applicable to the experience in Italy, and also just coming back to school feeling inspired,” Roach said.

Chicken mini pipe dream A good girl’s guide to chapel probation

So, what’s the deal with chapel? I mean, come on, right? You’re going to ask me to be up and about at 9 in the morning? That’s preposterous! No? I think we all know the feeling of walking into the Benson still harboring stowaways of sleep in our glazed eyes only for them to meet the ever dreaded four chairs on stage, and you just know that Chicken Minis are a pipe dream. People treat chapel skips like gold; some people throw them around early on and zombify towards the end of the semester. Others seem to be called towards Wall Street, saving them up for that glorious ROI of a restful dead week. Some brave, though perhaps unscrupulous or misguided, young moguls buy and sell them, offering to swipe in others in their place.

You may be hard pressed to gather it from my first paragraph, but I am quite a fan of chapel. It is sometimes the only time in my day I get to see certain friends, spend time worshiping, or just sitting and listening to something without trying to multitask. The Harding website calls chapel a time to “create new relationships and strengthen the student body as we worship and fellowship together.” I don’t know that I have made a shocking number of new relationships in that sooften-debated 30(ish) minutes, but I most certainly have strengthened my old ones. I think chapel deserves much more love than it gets, but I know (this being an opinion piece) that is only my perspective. So, I think Harding could stand to loosen their otherwise somewhat tight grip on chapel attendance and offer some more options in the realm of meeting that requirement. I think that the notion of moving chapel to 10, as I have heard some suggest, would make little difference other than dragging student grogginess out by an hour. I am of the mind that chapel should stay where it is, but the attendance system should be changed. Perhaps we move from giving skips, to requiring a certain number of hours spent in “chapel.” Which I put in quotations because I think that what we accept as hours in chapel should not be confined only to the 9 o’clock hour. We could also offer more frequent evening options, as well as some more weekend seminars. I think that counting certain lectureship talks, or weekend Bible classes as hours that count towards your chapel credit would increase their student attendance tenfold. Overall, I truly do enjoy my daily time in the Benson, I just think its slightly antiquated system is due for a change.

If you are a Harding student, chances are you’ve heard of the infamous “chapel probation.” For most of my time here, it felt like a distant threat – something reserved for students who never stepped foot in chapel. That’s what I thought, at least, until last semester.

First of all, I only skipped three over the limit…just to get that out of the way. Yes, really, only three. Apparently three over is three too many…and in hindsight that might actually be the point.

First up on my punishments, no more social club involvement. That was for sure the most frustrating one, especially because that meant no more club week, no more semi-formal, no more sports. Now, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a rule follower, so of course I did what everyone else would do and continued to show up to all the events and mixers. Not to out myself any further, but I got called out on that real quick.

Now, I am not one to go down without a fight, so I made a point to make a meeting with the dean to plead my case, first time offender and all. In that meeting she basically told me that they were really cracking down this semester, and that I was just gonna have to deal – better luck next time!

Chapel probation also meant fewer skips, which forced me to be far more intentional about attendance. I’ll admit it, I had been pretty lax with how disciplined I had been getting up in the morning. And here’s my hot take: It worked.

I was so mad that I couldn’t participate in my social club and go to

semi-formal that I did the impossible and actually attended chapel. In my case, the system did exactly what it was designed to do. Despite this, I will say that I think I am a rare case.

My experience may be the exception and not the rule as chapel probation doesn’t affect every student equally. Even though it worked on me, the punishment doesn’t necessarily fit all cases, like if someone isn’t in a club. That raises an important question: Are we encouraging spiritual growth, or simply enforcing compliance with the rules?

The true answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. Even though I was forced to go to chapel on a more regular basis, it really did not impact my spiritual growth as much as one would assume. With attendance being so closely monitored, it made it feel like more of an obligation than an opportunity to worship. Attendance alone does not automatically translate into engagement and growth.

Not every student’s situation looks the same, and a uniform response does not always reflect the complexities of real life. While I do know that they are willing to work with those students that have had an accident or are dealing with a loss, the average student is not awarded the luxury of being asked the question, “What’s going on in your life that made it harder to go to chapel?”

I left my meeting with the dean better understanding the policy, and that there are rules in place for a reason, but wondering if there was flexibility for the hardships that life can offer. Last spring semester was quite possibly the hardest one I have ever had on this campus, and the things I had going on in my personal life made it that much harder to get up in the morning, and I know there are countless students who have had similar experiences to me.

Birdbrain

Time of writing: 5:33 p.m.

Been a while, eh? Harding loves to brag at graduation that the bison is the only animal that walks into the storm. All the others flee, but the bison stands firm and sticks its nose into the icy wind. Ironic, when every time it snows, we brave Bisons turn tail and hunker down in our dorms. Or maybe it’s ironic that we praise the bison for rebelling against every other animal and wandering into an icy blizzard. I’m fine staying indoors. I woke up at 8:40 a.m., slapped down a Keurig pod, and crashed on my couch with some yogurt to write this opinion. (I skipped chapel.) My green Keurig hissed to a halt, but waltzing back to our dingy (and also green) couch, I heard a rattling. A rattling behind our closet door. Down our dark hallway. My roommate is a good Christian; he’s in the Benson.

I’ve never met a demon, but I now know their call. Phone-flashlight in hand, socks dragging on wood vinyl flooring, I peered through the small crack between the two doors, leaving my back fully exposed to the empty apartment. The rod of light that split the darkness through the doors wasn’t enough.

I’m no coward. I know if I die in battle fighting closet demons with scalding coffee, Odin will take me to Valhalla with the rest of the Einherjar. So I gave the accordion door a mighty kick. The demon was agitated, and he shook the door with his thrashing.

A short plea

I’ll keep it snappy; you have classes. If you don’t know already, the opinions section doesn’t write itself. I know somewhere in that heart you have convictions, and if you don’t tell them, who will? Whether you have an idea for a Bison opinion, or you want to write one yourself, let me know! I won’t bite. I’d bet your name looks great in a byline. -Andrew

With every ounce of bravery mustered, I creaked open the gates of hell and met the adversary. It was a bird caught in a glue trap. I assure you (as I have since assured the bird) that my roommate and I never intended to catch him; that the trap was only ever intended for a wayward rat. Besides, why would I expect to catch a bird in my fully enclosed closet with no outward access?

My next 30 minutes were spent on my knees prying feathers from sticky brown paste, dripping oil on talons not longer than your smallest finger, all on a balcony in my socks.

At one point, my blue eyes met his beady black ones. His feathers were bright against the muddy glue, but his eyes were black mirrors.

He looked indignant. I’m peeved that he could even think about feeling indignation after he got himself in that whole mess. It’s not like I thrust him into the glue trap, laughing like a maniac while cursing his mother.

The little bird stayed completely quiet until I coaxed his last feather off the tray; then he shared exactly how he felt about his entrapment in peeps and whistles.

I watched him hop around my backyard, pecking his feathers and the ground. When he flew off, he didn’t look back.

He probably thought I was crazy; that makes two of us.

Anyway, I got engaged.

Samples of gold

Editor-in-chief Randi Tubbs

Christmas break drives me crazy. Save for one exciting week (or rather three days of that week), the entire month feels like a wash. If you are a loyal reader of my column, you know that I thrive on productivity. Christmas break feels like it would be prime time for getting things done, but as a college student there is truly nothing to be done over breaks that are in between semesters. At least over the summer I have enough time to get a job and find some sense of short term routine. Christmas break is short enough to not make any real commitments, but long enough for you to feel like you are completely wasting your life away.

This Christmas break was no different for me. By the time New Years had come and passed, I was unbelievably antsy. I decided, in light of the new year, it was prime time to declutter. Another problem quickly arose – all of my stuff was in Searcy. So, I decided to help my mom (it is not worth noting whether she took it as “help” or not) to declutter everything in her house. We started with the pantry, moved to storage closets, spent days on her personal closet, but eventually I ran out of spaces. This forced me to go where I never wished I would return – the closet of my teenage self.

After hours of sifting through art projects, high school merch, yearbooks and APUSH notebooks, I found my gold in the sand. I picked up a six-year-old Fitbit fitness tracker. It was the size of a packing peanut, sitting in its belt clip case. I used to think that wearing a fitness tracker on your wrist as a watch was the farthest thing from fashion that you could get, so I naturally bought a case that I could clip on the waist of my pants (a much more fashionable option, apparently). Next to it sat its oddly shaped charger. I said a quick prayer that it could still be resuscitated, and plugged it up to charge. Almost immediately a dim smiley face popped up on the tiny screen, and I knew I was in business.

I wore the Fitbit for a few days, just for old times’ sake. Ever since I stopped wearing it a few years ago, I figured that I was still getting 10,000 steps a day like I did in high school. What I didn’t take into account was that I no longer walk with my parents after dinner every night, nor am I a high school athlete forced into daily practices. I quickly found that a normal day in my current life averages only about 4,000 steps. That realization led my “old times’ sake” experiment to my new, rediscovered way of life.

My parents have been avid Fitbit trackers for decades. I joined the gang over the COVID lockdown because my extended family started to invite us to step challenges. I quit the Fitbit when the world came back to life, but my parents kept wearing theirs. This was surprising to no one, because as a marine veteran and registered dietitian, my dad and mom know a thing or two about fitness. They love to preach the importance of an active lifestyle, especially once you don’t get in activity from just being a kid. Since this is the first time in my life that I am not a kid, I have never taken seriously the idea of intentional movement and strengthening my body. As I age, it’s becoming increasingly easy to live a terribly sedentary lifestyle – but also increasingly clear that it does not make me feel my best or allow the level of productivity I desire. As an adult, nothing in my life requires me to move. This Christmas break showed me how easy it is to feel purposeless when no one is making you do anything. When you have no real measure of what you are accomplishing, you can easily just not accomplish anything at all. This Sample of Gold reminded me – maybe for the first time – to do the right thing even when no one else is watching, even if I’m the only one who ever sees the results.

When I was a senior in high school, there were always three things that juniors and seniors were constantly thinking about: 1. Surviving and graduating from high school, 2. Getting a good GPA and finishing college applications, and 3. Getting a high score on the ACT. These were some of the only things that were on our minds that stressed us out the most. But after I graduated high school, I quickly realized that I was not a kid anymore, and I didn’t know what I was doing at all. I might have been able to tell you how to solve a geometry problem or how to use the periodic table, but I didn’t even know where to begin when it came to learning how taxes work, or how to balance a checkbook. Students are expected to figure out important life skills on their own, but real life doesn’t give second chances the way a classroom does.

I’m not saying that the things we were taught in high school don’t matter, because it is good to know subjects like our history and math. Education should challenge students, and there is nothing wrong with learning difficult concepts. The problem is that so much of high school is focused on passing tests instead of learning real skills we will use outside the classroom. Many students leave school feeling like they succeeded because they got good grades, but then they graduate and realize they were never taught how to handle the responsibilities that come with adulthood.

High school has become a place where students are trained to memorize information long enough to pass a test and then move on to the next unit. For a lot of people, it feels like the goal is not truly understanding the material, but simply surviving it. We cram for exams, stress over points and worry about our scores more than what we actually learned. Instead of focusing on growth, learning can start to feel like a competition. It’s not that students don’t want to learn –

It was an eccentric bequest, to be sure. In his last will and testament, William Shakespeare had considerable property to disperse. Income from his plays and investments had helped him retire comfortably to Stratford, buy the second largest house in town, and apply for a coat of arms as a gentleman.

What some think very ungentlemanly, though, was his last legacy to his bride of over thirty years. For four centuries, scholars have wondered what Anne Hathaway thought when she discovered that the famous author had left her his “second best bed.”

The nature of the couple’s marriage is really nobody’s business, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation. Was this an angry snub, leaving broken-down furniture to his beloved? Was it some snarky comment on their life together? Or was it an affectionate gift of their long-time marriage bed? As some have been quick to point out, the “best” bed in those days was often reserved for guests.

Shakespeare spent much of his time in London, or on the road with his traveling company when the theatres were closed. Such long absences from a wife raising three children in Stratford surely put a strain on their relationship. Did Anne support her husband’s dreams of producing plays in the city, or did she resent his choosing a cast of fictional characters over the very real ones who missed him back home? Or was it both?

That is the plot of the new film “Hamnet.” Based on the 2020 novel by Maggie O’Farrell and directed by Chloe Zhau, this exquisitely acted and beautifully photographed film follows the courtship of Will and Anne, who is renamed Agnes. Despite the opposition of their families, the couple marry and are at first blissfully happy. When they have a daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet, their joy grows.

Shakespeare is shown to be a playful and affectionate father, teaching his son the art of stage combat and reveling in his children as they

High school should be more than a test

it’s that the system often rewards the ability to take tests, not the ability to apply knowledge in real life.

One of the biggest skills schools should be focusing on is communication, especially written and oral communication. Being able to speak clearly, write professionally, and express your ideas confidently matters in almost every part of adult life. Whether it’s applying for a job, emailing a teacher or boss, doing an interview, asking for help or standing up for yourself, communication is something everyone needs. These are skills that can affect your future just as much as a test score can.

A student could earn an A in English but still feel unprepared to write a resume, a cover letter or a professional message. A lot of communication skills are learned through practice, and students need more opportunities to practice them in a supportive environment. Instead of only grading students on multiplechoice tests, schools should focus more on presentations, group discussions, real

Every Four Weeks

act out the witches’scene from “Macbeth.”We are not supposed to notice, of course, that “Macbeth” didn’t appear on the stage until 10 years after the key event in the film. Playing with chronology is allowed in the movies.

That “key event,” by the way, is the death of Hamnet. History doesn’t record how he died at age 11 in 1596, but bubonic plague is a reasonable guess. The film posits that Judith is the first to have the fever, chills, swelling and other symptoms of the dread infection, and her mother valiantly nurses her back to health. Meanwhile, Will is away on tour.

Hamnet, who adores his twin sister, watches her sickness tenderly. One night, when she tells him she has seen Death coming after her, he lies down with her and says he’s going to trick Death into taking him instead of her because they are twins. By morning, Judith is much better, but now Hamnet has the plague.

Jessie Buckley gives a bravura, Oscar-worthy performance as a woman fiercely loyal to her family. One critic said that she goes from “iron to porcelain”effortlessly, with scenes that alternate tenderness, fury and unbearable grief.The moment of Hamnet’s death is difficult to watch because of the realistic depiction of a soul in the final agonies of plague. Mrs. Shakespeare’s sadness is compounded by her husband’s absence, and she struggles to forgive him. His return to London after the funeral seems unfeeling to her.

Yet her understandable bitterness toward her husband softens — ironically — when she goes to London to see his new play. The film begins

writing assignments and projects that build confidence.

Besides communication, there are also basic life skills that should be taught before graduation. Students should know how to budget money, understand credit cards, and learn what it means to sign a lease or pay bills. They should know how taxes work, how to open a bank account and how to manage their time. Many students graduate and immediately feel overwhelmed because they are suddenly responsible for things they were never taught. If high school is supposed to prepare students for the future, then it should prepare them for the parts of life that are guaranteed to come. Now, this doesn’t mean schools should remove important subjects. It means schools need to rethink how they teach them and what they prioritize. Instead of placing so much pressure on standardized tests, schools could offer more classes focused on real-world skills. They could require a life skills course that includes budgeting, taxes, job applications and communication. Teachers could give students more chances to practice public speaking and writing in ways that connect to real life. Even small changes, like teaching students how to write a professional email or how to speak confidently during a presentation, would make a difference.

At the end of the day, high school should be more than a test. Students should not feel that their entire future depends on one score, one GPA or one exam. Education should be about learning how to think, how to communicate and how to succeed in the real world. We will always have tests, but we should not build an entire system around them. High school should prepare students for life after graduation, not just the next test on the calendar.

with a historical note that in the late 16th century, the names “Hamnet” and “Hamlet” were interchangeable. While attentive readers have long noticed that Shakespeare’s famous tragedy shows a playwright wrestling with grief, Paul Mescal’s finely tuned performance as Will makes us feel the connection emotionally.

When Agnes goes to attend a performance of Hamlet, she sees the work of a man whose grief is as great as hers — and whose work allows others a cathartic experience.Will himself plays the ghost of Hamlet’s father, displaying a tenderness toward his stage son that deeply touches his wife. Later, Hamlet is lectured on how to grieve. Gertrude tells her son that all sons lose fathers, that it is “common.” Claudius accuses him of “unmanly grief” and “obstinate condolement.”

As Hamlet exposes his own struggles, he represents anyone who has ever been told precisely how to lament a loss. His intense mourning gives us all permission to experience loss in our own way, not according to some prescribed pattern. Agnes Shakespeare finds healing in this fictional story, and a new respect for the artists who enact their own pain on the stage. This film validates what great literature does, and I heartily recommend it.

Bisons tie home winning streak record

On Jan. 17 the Harding men’s basketball team delivered a night to remember, defeating East Central 96-62 in a game that blended celebration with a major milestone.The matchup also served as a tribute and reunion for the 1995-96 men’s basketball team, which was recognized during halftime as the program celebrated the 30th anniversary of that season.

The Bisons’ win carried extra significance beyond the final score. With the victory, Harding tied the school record for consecutive home-court wins, reaching 13 straight victories at home and adding another achievement to a season that has already been drawing attention across the Great American Conference.

Head men’s basketball coach Weston Jameson reflected on the 1995-96 reunion and the lasting connection that the team still shares. “This is the bond you’re forming and how important it is even 30 years later,” Jameson said.

Jameson explained that the moment served as a reminder to his players that the relationship they are building now will stay with them long after the season ends.

During the game, Harding established early control and never allowed East Central to gain much traction. After a competitive start, the Bisons pulled away with strong offensive execution and defensive pressure. By halftime, Harding had built a 14-point lead, giving the home crowd energy and excitement even before the halftime celebration began

Bison 3B Lacey gets national accolade

Following a record-breaking junior season, Harding University senior and third baseman, Logan Lacey, has been named to the 2026 First-Team Preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Lacey is selected to the first team as one of 17 players nationally, which places him among elite baseball players entering the 2026 season. During the 2025 season, the senior helped lead the Bison lineup that secured the program’s first Great American Conference Tournament title and a No.30 national ranking.

“He is very deserving,” Harding head baseball coach Patrick McGaha said.

“Definitely one of the best third basemen in all of Division II without a doubt. The season he put up last year was one of the best in Harding University history from an offensive standpoint.”

Ranking second in the Great American Conference during the 2025 season, Lacey recorded a .338 batting average and set a new school record by smashing 19 home runs in one season. He led the conference by scoring 70 runs, driving in 58 RBIs, and stealing 18

Senior basketball player Thompson Camara credited the team’s chemistry both on and off the court. “We have that chemistry off the court, and so when we’re on the court, it makes it easier to be a good team, and so that’s what makes it so special to us,” Camara said. Coming out of the break, Harding quickly built on its halftime advantage. The Bisons continued to score effectively, knocking down shots from the perimeter and staying strong at the free-throw line. Harding executed on both ends of the floor in the second half, keeping East Central from building any momentum.

Assistant men’s basketball coach Bradley Spencer pointed out the team’s intensity and effort as key parts of its identity.

“The team’s willingness to defeat, crash the glass and play relentless efforts are just a few traits that make them special,” Spencer said. That energy showed throughout the game as Harding continued to pressure East Central and maintain control on both ends of the court.

With Saturday’s matchup connecting two eras of Harding basketball in one night, the result felt bigger than a single win. As the program celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1995-96 team, the current Bisons delivered a record-tying home victory that showed the foundation built by past teams is still being carried forward today.

Miller tops Arkansas RBs with award

bases, earning him consensus All-Region honors and establishing him as a powerhouse hitter in the Central Region.

For Lacey, his success comes from seasons of dedication and discipline, on and off the field. “When the season ends, it’s easy to take a step back and use your summer as an opportunity to rest,” Lacey said. “I have used my summers to perfect my craft, or at the bare minimum, work in the weight room to get stronger.”

McGaha said Lacey’s growth began during his redshirt freshman year. During this season, he embraced development as a player.

“A lot of freshmen, when they’re asked to redshirt, have choices,” McGaha said. You can either decide to work while you wait your turn, or you can waste an opportunity to get better. He worked his tail off and was a great teammate from the beginning, and

The dedication paid off quickly in his first season as Lacey won a Division II National Gold Glove for his defensive skills at third base. Now he is entering his senior season as a

“He really leads by example,” senior teammate Cooper Newsom said. “When he says something, he does it, and it’s easy to follow someone who makes practices and games enjoyable but also

the overall team dedication.

Senior Andrew Miller was recently selected as the Darren McFadden Award winner. The Darren McFadden Award is given to the top running back in the state of Arkansas. This accolade adds to a list of postseason honors for Miller, who was also a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy and a consensus First Team All American.

During the 2024 season, Miller rushed for over 1,570 yards and recorded 22 touchdowns, which aided the Bisons to their successful year. Despite the significance of the award, Miller says that he found that he had won the award because one of his dad’s friends texted him saying congratulations.

Darren McFadden, who himself is a college football hall-of-famer who played for University of Arkansas, specially selected Miller for this award, which was announced by the Little Rock Touchdown Club Jan. 19.

“It’s pretty cool because I grew up being a Hogs fan, and Darren McFadden was a legend to me,” Miller said. “Being chosen by him for an award is an honor.”

Two of Miller’s teammates discussed how it was an honor to be chosen, and that it was also due to Miller’s hard work and

“This award means a lot to everyone on the team I’m sure,” former teammate and allumnus Cole Keylon said. “Everyone knows how talented Andrew is, but also how hard he works and has worked to be able to have success.”

Junior quarterback Malik Young also backed up this idea, saying that in his time of knowing Miller, he has shown growth and consistency through his hard work.

“This award shows not only how great Andrew is, but also the rest of the team,” Young said. “Andrew has shouted out the offensive line, but not only them, just the whole team and the support that everyone gives when someone is excelling.”

Miller echoed this sentiment that it truly was a team effort.

“It also represents how well the offensive line performed this season,” Miller said. “This award isn’t just mine.”

Searcy Crews Battle Winter Weather

PAUL RYAN guest writer

The City of Searcy Maintenance Department worked tirelessly in conjunction with the Street and Drainage Department over the past two weeks to ensure a safe and operating Searcy for its residents.

“The Maintenance Department is the liaison between city residents and Entergy for reporting street light outages,” the City of Searcy website said.

Outside of streetlights, they are in charge of much more behind the scenes management.

“We are in charge of maintenance of all city-owned properties and buildings,” department director Jeff Webb said. “This includes plumbing, electrical, HVAC… pretty much everything. Our change from day-to-day maintenance to more of a prevention mode. Our focus shifts to preparing for the cold more than just the snow.”

The department has to be highly attentive to the local forecast to ensure the city is working and that water is not going to freeze.

“Several areas have little or no heat, so that is sometimes a challenge,” Webb said. Webb also spoke about a major leak

discovered in the Searcy library. The leak was not caused by the storm but was still important to address, especially

with the freezing weather. The team discovered the leak was unfixable due to its location under a slab and had to dig up the main water line in order to reroute it to another entry way into the building. But the glaring issue for most Searcy residents was the frozen roads and walkways, putting some schools and businesses out of commission for more than a week.

“The main roads took, probably, two or three days to get it really where it was safe for most people to be out on, and then we have worked every day, except [Sunday] we did not work, but every other day we have worked,” City Engineer and Public Works Director Mark Lane said.

Taking plows up and down major streets like Race Avenue and Beebe-Capps Expressway is not an easy job and takes great amounts of time and effort.

“One day we worked 24 hours,” Lane said.

Although this year has been mild in terms of power outages, many past years have not been so.

“Several years ago we had nine intersections out at the same time,” Webb said. “Some were out for two to three days. That was quite a challenge to get and keep them up and running. Lots of improvements have been made to make this a lot easier process.”

New sandwich shop Jersey Mike’s Subs coming to Searcy

Mayor Mat Faulkner announced Jan. 14 on his Instagram account that Jersey Mike’s Subs is coming to Searcy. The event will benefit the Searcy community through further dining options.

The New Jersey-based company began in 1956 and has since expanded to more than 3,000 locations nationwide. The Searcy location will be part of Jersey Mike’s continued growth in Arkansas, where several locations already operate.

Faulkner later confirmed the project but said details about the restaurant remain limited.

“I don’t have many details other than they have received their building permit,” Faulkner said in an email.

According to Richard Stafford, Searcy’s city planner, the restaurant will be located in the former GameStop space on Race Avenue, directly across from the Walmart

Jersey Mike’s is known for slicing meats and cheeses fresh to order and offering both cold and hot subs, including cheesesteaks and grilled chicken. Senior Jacob Page said he enjoys the lingo of the restaurant chain, such as getting your sandwich served “Mike’s Way,” which adds the chain’s signature oiland-vinegar blend.

“I like how when you order the Philly cheesesteak without onions, they make you say ‘no fun,’” Page said.

Several Harding students said they are excited about the restaurant opening in town. Freshman Jackson Daugherty shared his enthusiasm. “I’m really excited about Jersey Mike’s because I just love their sandwiches,” Daugherty said. “Sub sandwiches just make me happy.”

Daugherty said being able to customize his sandwich is one of the main reasons he enjoys the chain.

“I love Swiss cheese, and I love being able to mix different cheeses like Swiss and

While the Race Avenue location is convenient for many Searcy residents, some students said they wish the restaurant were closer to campus.

“It’s kind of far from campus,” Daugherty said. “I’d much rather it be like, right in front of Allen Hall.”

Despite the distance, Daugherty said the addition of another national restaurant is still a positive change for the area.

“Anything new is exciting, especially something people already know and like,” he said.

Searcy has experienced steady commercial growth in recent years as new businesses open to serve a growing population and the Harding University community.

An official opening date has not yet been announced, but Stafford said the restaurant is expected to open sometime around May.

Towns in the South” for the second year in a row.

The Southern Living list is released annually, and Searcy was at the top of the list for both 2024 and 2025. The lifestyle magazine highlighted some key features of the city that make it stand out, including the lights that adorn the city parks, the drive-through living Nativity and horse-drawn carriage rides. The article also encouraged visitors to view the state’s largest Santa collection, where over 2,000 Santa pieces are housed in the Carmichael Community Center.

The Holiday of Lights committee is in charge of coordinating and planning the lights and Christmas events around Searcy, and is composed of volunteer members. The planning for the displays and events starts as early as the last week of December each year, while the physical display set up begins Oct. 1.

Will Walker, maintenance superintendent of Searcy, works with a seven person crew to schedule the logistics and set up of the light displays. He also works with the committee designs from year to year. Walker said his team was thrilled when they found out about the award.

“This should be seen by every citizen as something to be proud of,” Walker said. “The Christmas spirit is spurred.”

past light displays.

“This is a proud moment for volunteers that give time and funding, it is a well deserved honor for those who make Searcy great,” Burton said.

Burton is also in charge of coordinating other events that bring Christmas cheer outside of the lights themselves around town, including reading with Santa, the Polar Express Pajama Party, and more.

Mike Parsons, director of Searcy Parks and Recreation and chairman of the Holiday of Lights committee, shared the reasoning behind the event. “We don’t do this for that title, we do it to give our citizens in Searcy and surrounding areas the Christmas joy and the Christmas magic,” Parsons said.

Parsons also said the committee has big plans for the future, bringing back key elements like the Christmas train and adding more candy cane lights, as well as focusing on the parks and adding in new elements.

“Since the award we saw an uptick in traffic that came through,” said Burton, saying how the displays and holiday cheer serve as a tourism driver for the city.

Searcy remains a hub of Christmas cheer to everyone in the area, as well as any who come to visit for some small-town Christmas charm.

Dr. Dutch Hoggatt to retire after 45 years

Communication professor Dr. Dutch Hoggatt announced his upcoming retirement by email on Dec. 2, giving communication students the last opportunity to take his Radio Production and Performance class in the spring.

Hoggatt has taught as a professor for 45 years, spending 16 years at Abilene Christian University (ACU) until he was hired by Harding in 1997. The next year, the Reynolds Center for Music and Communication opened, and Hoggatt helped set up the University’s TV and radio stations. This year, he’s coming up on his 29th year teaching at Harding.

“I really enjoy teaching the Beatles class; I’ve loved teaching film history,” Hoggatt said. “I love managing the radio station. You know, it’s going to be hard for me to step away from a lot of stuff, but I mean, I’ll be 71 years old, and you’ve got to stop at some point. My wife retired last fall, and we decided that while we’re still healthy, there are things we want to do… There’s just a lot of places in the United States my wife and I have never been to, so I think we would like to maybe try to hit almost every state in the nation.”

The department has been preparing slowly for Hoggatt’s leave, transitioning the management of KVHU 95.3, the University’s radio station, over to Jordan Crisco. Noah Darnell, interim chair of the department of communication, said that they are currently going through the process of finding a professor to take Hoggatt’s role, and have narrowed it down to two applicants.

“It’ll be a change,” Darnell said. “A good change because we’re getting new people in, and that’s always kind of fun, but he’ll be

works at his desk on the first day of his last semester as a professor. Hoggatt announced his retirement in December 2025 after 28 years of teaching at Harding.

missed. I think things like traditional radio might evolve a little bit. It’s not going away, but it’ll just be evolving into something different.”

Dr. Pat Garner and Dr. Jack Shock are the only professors still in the communication

department who were faculty when Hoggatt came to Harding. Now, they will watch him leave.

“It’s hard to think about Dr. Hoggatt retiring because he’s been such a part of the department of communication for so many

years,” Shock said. “I have always loved watching his passion for music shine through as he’s managed the radio station for all those years. Dr. Hoggatt has been a great soldier for the department of communication at Harding University.”

Faculty trio supports global outreach in England

Harding faculty Ken Graves, who is the director of Global Outreach, Dr. Michael Claxton and Dr. Jonathan Singleton traveled to the Lake District in Northern England on an outreach trip on January 14-20.

“It truly was a glorious trip, a chance to make new friends in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” Claxton, professor of English, said.

The trip took the group to a retreat held at Basenfell Manor, a Victorian estate overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake. The estate is used by Christian groups throughout the year. Patrick Boyne, who works with the British Bible School, organized the retreat.

In the past decade the retreat has seen a growth of about 28 people. While there, Graves, Claxton and Singleton spent time with Christian brothers and sisters from abroad as well as several who were not of the faith.

Singleton, English department chair, praised the retreat’s efforts. “Several of those in attendance had little or no prior connection to churches, but the warm fellowship and spiritual depth of the retreat

was welcoming for everyone,” Singleton said. “We were trying to see how Harding could support local Christians to host people without commitments to Christ.”

Claxton said “Europe as a whole is a

challenging place for Christians.”

The group worked to provide creative methods for outreach and discipleship as well as helped support local churches in what they need, and if they were able to do

that, “We will feel like we’ve been of service,” Claxton said.

But the trip was not spent exclusively at the manor or going to churches. Graves, Claxton and Singleton took intentional time to connect with each other and with God through nature.

The group took several hikes through areas like the Ridge of Skiddaw, where they overlooked a windmill farm, and mountainous parts of the Lake District, where famous poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge once lived and worked. Claxton said he found this particularly impactful as a professor of English and literature himself.

The trip was helpful to those visited but also very impactful to Harding’s own members of faculty. Singleton reminisced on the trip and its impact on him.

“The beauty of the rugged landscape and the warm friendship of new Christian friends poured new life into me,” Claxton said.

Alumnus Jordan Crisco joins communication department

On July 21, 2025, Jordan Crisco joined the Department of Communication as operations manager for Harding’s radio station, 95.3 KVHU. Crisco graduated from Harding in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in history. During his time on campus, he worked for HU16 and was a member of Chi Sigma Alpha social club.

“I came to Harding to study history,” Crisco said. “While I was here, I got involved in HU16, and that developed my love for communications and media.”

As the operations manager, Crisco oversees the equipment, programming and academic side of the radio station. He is also the sales manager for KVHU and meets with those interested in advertising on-air. No two days are the same in this role.

“No day is typical for me; there are always things that need to be done,” Crisco said. “I have a daily checklist of things I have to do every day, such as checking the station to make sure everything is broadcasting correctly, checking the hundreds of emails I get a day, some of which include new music for the station.”

While Crisco’s official role is with 95.3 KVHU, he also brings his personal expertise to HU16. Before returning to Harding, Crisco was working at Channel 7 in Little Rock, when Noah Darnell, chair of the communication department, reached out.

“Jordan is a key player because he really does have knowledge in the field,” Darnell said. “He also has that closer connection

to what would be relevant in the industry.”

The communication department’s student media play a key role in providing students with hands-on experience that aids their post-graduate success. Senior communication studies major Hailey Stevens has been part of these programs and is thankful for the knowledge she has gained.

“Harding’s student media is a good place for students to learn about how to work in those specific areas,” Stevens said. “The faculty are there to ensure that we are successful, and they are the ones with years of experience to help whenever we may not know what to do.” Crisco is happy to be back on campus and

involved in the same programs that prepared him for post-graduate life.

“As a leader in the overall student media team, I am helping shape and guide the future of student media at Harding,” Crisco said. “It’s such a blessing to be able to work with such talented and motivated students. We have some amazing and talented students who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what we can and want to do.”

The department appreciates Crisco’s passion for returning to campus to work with student media.

“He is like a lot of us were in our early career,” Darnell said. “He is just a sponge

for things like all things radio operations, all things audio, all things broadcasting.He’s bringing that energy, that level of energy, to the students directly.”

While working at the radio station and newsroom, Crisco is eager to continue improving Harding’s student media to provide a place on campus for students and opportunities that will last a lifetime.

“I think of student media as the critical outlet for student expression on campus,” Crisco said. “We currently do a lot for our students, but I feel we can do even more, from connecting with industry professionals to providing portfolio opportunities; there is plenty of room to grow.”

GAC attendence increases with new years

AVA HAGEDORN

Every year, many Americans begin the New Year with fitness-related resolutions, but by the end of the year, gyms are not nearly as crowded. Likewise, students flock to the Ganus Activities Complex on Harding University’s campus after their winter break. This begs the question: Are there more students present in the Gac at the beginning of the year than at the end, due to New Years’ resolutions?

Derek Jones, the GAC manager, has a unique perspective into gym attendance at Harding, as his office resides directly next to the weight room and is mostly made up of windows into the gym. He calls it his “fishbowl.”

“There are peak hours usually throughout the semester, maybe around two or three o’clock because it is right when people get off of class,” Jones said. “But even then, you can definitely tell the difference between the beginning of the semester or the year, and the end.” Jones also mentioned that a big uptick in the attendance to the GAC could be due to the presence of both the cold weather and club sports, like volleyball and basketball.

Tom Ritchie, who coordinates the club intramurals and is in charge of recreational sports on Harding’s campus, totaled up some of the attendance numbers.

“I was doing some figuring, and we have 87 volleyball teams for clubs,” Ritchie said. “Right now, that’s around 741 people. That will be 38 games a night, so anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people come into the GAC on a Tuesday or Thursday night.”

Often, students who come to spectate will end up using the walking track on the second floor or potentially even the weight room. While it is impossible to fully track everyone who comes into the GAC, club sports are a clear motivator for attendance.

Junior Josh Patterson said that he has made a conscious effort to get back in the gym after he got back to school.

“The new semester is always a good one to start new habits, and I hadn’t been for a while so I was trying to re-establish that,” Patterson said.

Both Ritchie and Jones said that it would be impossible to completely check who is scanning in and out of the GAC, and that truly, attendance being up in most likely because of a variety of factors.

2016 Instagram trend takes over Harding social media

A new social media trend has taken over several apps like TikTok and Instagram, with several different pages on Harding’s campus following suit. The trend frames 2026 as “the new 2016” and prompts users to post throwback pictures of 2016.

Alyson Voigt, marketing and project coordinator for University Communications and Marketing, runs Harding’s social media and has recently encountered the trend.

“I had seen a brand post 2016, and then a bunch of influencers that I follow post 2016 as well,” Voigt said. “I was like, how fun would this be to get college pictures from 2016?”

Voigt said that she immediately reached out to campus photographer Jeff Montgomery to gather different photos from 2016 that captured campus life.

“From what I’ve seen, everyone loved 2016, and I think it was definitely one of my favorite years too,” Voigt said. “Looking back on it, it was such a fun time on social media, with YouTube being such a big part of it too.”

There was a surge in the popularity of YouTube and Instagram in 2016 which can be characterized by bright colors and VSCO (a photo editing app that also serves as a social media platform), as well as the very first influencers surfacing through Vine and YouTube.

For many students, the photos offer a glimpse into a time that they did not get to experience.

Junior Haleigh Carter noticed a longlost bit of Harding history. “I was scrolling through Harding’s post and I realized that there was a Taco Bell in the Stu, which I had

literally never seen before, so that was super interesting,” Carter said.

Voigt’s post on Jan. 14 gained traction on Facebook, with alumni tagging each other and using the post as an opportunity to reconnect.

Not everyone is so on board about the new

The Bison Crossword

By JACOB BRANSON

trend, however. Senior Ben Evans offers an alternative opinion to the year 2016.

“I think it originated because we have become such a nostalgia-driven culture and instead of coming up with new things we just keep on going back to the old,” Evans said. “I think that it’s possible that people

had rose-tinted glasses on.”

The trend has continued to grow. Even celebrities have been jumping on the digital bandwagon. Whether embraced or questioned, the 2016 trend demonstrates nostalgia and appreciation for years past.