This May will mark two years since I graduated from Harding. Shortly after, I moved to California to help open a coffee bar. I spend my 9-5 working for a…
After graduating from college, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I no longer had to write papers, complete projects or pull all-nighters to study for tests.…
“So, how does it feel to be a college graduate?” This was the first question I was asked by my mom as I walked out of the Benson Auditorium on…
Attending college in Arkansas was not something I planned, but an opportunity that interrupted a class I didn’t like, back in my senior year of high school, when I learned…
Since the recent chemical attacks in Syria, the U.S., along with its French and British allies, has launched 58 tomahawk missiles into Damascus at Syrian military bases and government-held facilities.…
My mom always thought I was weird for loving “Alice in Wonderland” so much. She preferred “The Wizard of Oz.” But I loved that the story was full of inspiration…
You might remember me as the opinions editor for The Bison in the 2016-17 school year. Or maybe you don’t. I’m not extraordinarily memorable, so I don’t blame you. After…
The English Department has a roundtable discussion most Fridays, where faculty and students bring lunch and chat. Last week we talked about walking. We had a guest from the Kinesiology…
One, “I ran out of shampoo and didn’t have enough money to buy more.” Two, “I was channeling my 2007 Britney Spears.” Three, “I’m a biology major; I don’t have…
Meet Kaity. We met sometime between freshman and sophomore year. I don’t remember how or when we met. We had some mutual friends, but I cannot recall any initial conversations…
Counseling at a church camp is something I dreamed of doing as an elementary school kid. As an 8 to 10-year-old, I remember my counselors always being patient and kind.…
Suspension is a pretty serious consequence given to students for their actions. The suspended students are the “troublemakers,” the “bad eggs,” the “ones who think they’re above the rules,” right?…
There are several personal crises we might anticipate in post-grad life. For one, a crisis of accomplishment. That is, we might not achieve our goals on our own timetable. Then…
When I stepped onto Harding’s campus as a freshman in August 1980, I may have been the greenest, wettest-behind-the-ears new student in the history of the school. OK, that may…
I didn’t have much trouble making and maintaining friendships in college. The structure of a university — especially one where most people live on campus — forces people together. Without…
When I pray, I often find myself repeatedly uttering variations of the same phrase: Thanks for not leaving me in the 11th grade. Thanks for not leaving me as a…
A personal friend and public relations mentor once told me that it is important to enjoy the journey. I did not fully understand what he meant until I entered the…
All my life I have prayed for my future husband. I pray that he is happy, healthy and growing spiritually. I pray that God will place him in my life…
I went to elementary school with a boy named Dilraj. I am certain he was Indian. I remember him wearing a turban on his head. As a kid, I did not…
I recently overheard a group of students talking about OPIs. In case you aren’t taking a foreign language class, the acronym stands for oral proficiency interviews. The students all felt they…
One of my best kept secrets is that I’ve actually been writing something that I someday hope will become a book. I’ve not been brave enough to really show anyone…
Facebook privacy issues have been ongoing, and this most recent apology tour of Mark Zuckerberg’s is just another notch in his bedpost of wrongs. Facebook, however, is not the only…
This Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent his second day testifying before Congress in a navy suit and tie, facing the lower chamber, after spending Tuesday in front of the…
Being in the U.S. for three years now, I am used to people being surprised when I tell them that I am Latino and speak Spanish. I have realized that…
I swiped away the notification that had popped up on my screen from Facebook saying I had memories with my cousin Robann Brown “to look back on today,” March 28, and…
There is an aspect of fear present in my senior year of college that I was in no way prepared for. This fear, honestly, concerns things that are all pretty…
I always cry in superhero movies. It’s not that they’re particularly sad, I just get emotional seeing the awe-inspiring courage these heroes possess, even while facing impending doom. I saw “Pacific…
During spring break a few weeks ago, I spent a few days as an assistant landlord. My mother owns some rental properties in Georgia, and I just happened to be…
“Wait, so you never went to, like, a real school?” I honestly cannot count the number of times I’ve heard that phrase after telling someone that I grew up home-schooled.…
I do not remember the last superhero movie I watched. Partly because I struggle to follow all the Marvel and DC characters, but mostly because I have fallen asleep during many…
I once congratulated Dr. Jack Ryan on a fantastic Sing-A-Rama. It was a rookie mistake. I was a first-year faculty member — unfamiliar with all things Searcy — and my sister…
Amelia Earhart’s bones were claimed to have been found. I have been struggling with that fact and here is why: Amelia Earhart went missing on July 2, 1937, during her…
Musa rolled up to me while I was walking with a friend to our temporary apartment in downtown Jinja, Uganda. He was a young man, probably in his 20s or…
From 1990 to 2015, 209 romantic comedies were released. Two hundred and nine. And the list I found didn’t include all the movies I would count as romantic comedies. From…
There are six more weeks left of this semester. I counted. Six more weeks until my junior year of college is officially over and I’m one year from graduating. I’ve…
I am an avid GPS user. I’d like to say it’s because I think GPS is convenient, but really, for me, the GPS is necessary. I am what my parents call…
What’s your style? When I was younger, I never would have dreamed of answering this question, and if you did ask it, I would’ve looked at you like you were…
In case you don’t remember the Brooke Shields cameo in “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” let me set the scene. Kermit is working at a diner while he’s trying to break into…
Last week I sat on a metal folding chair around a bonfire with church members in Kayenta, Arizona. It was a cold desert night, but I don’t remember the temperature…
In the second chapter of Philippians, Paul advises: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (NIV). After a week of intentionally avoiding complaint and negativity, I realized this is easier said…
This past Tuesday, 76-year-old renown scientist Stephen Hawking died. After the news alert went out on Twitter, I scrolled through the tag and read the plethora of inspiring and humorous…
A couple months ago, a man speaking in chapel claimed that Christians in the U.S. were being persecuted more than ever. Our ideals and traditions are being challenged and dismissed, according…
If you know anything about me, you know I am an avid sports fan. My dorm is a shrine decorated with Philadelphia Eagles and 76ers apparel. Not only do I…
In your four years here at Harding, you will at some point make your way down to Little Rock for a function, a date or just a night with friends.…
This is The Bison’s fourth article regarding a mass shooting this school year. As students, we have lived most of our lives in a country accustomed to mass shootings. We…
One image from the second grade lingers in my memory. It was the day our principal ate lunch with us in the cafeteria. On the surface, Mr. Weil was hardly…
I want to bring up a controversial topic of debate. No, not gun control — something the media doesn’t want to cover — but a topic so controversial that, if it…
Last weekend I decided to do something a little different. I traveled with a group of friends to Beebe to receive new ear piercings, which was like eating candy to…
My roommate Hollee and I were sitting in her room, trying to think of something to talk about. It wasn’t the first time we’d talked long enough to run out…
Last week Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people and wounded at least 14 more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle…
On Thursday, Feb. 15, I posted a status on Facebook regarding the Florida school shooting. I’ve read the shared articles and even the long, opinionated comment sections. Gun rights, and…
Last Friday, I was standing in front of my dresser in my dorm, shoving a pair of jeans into my duffel bag to go home for the weekend. Despite being…
In the midst of the #MeToo movement, advocacy for consent has become louder than ever. Seemingly untouchable men have been unraveled and outcast because strong women and men alike have…
“Twenty-four hours ago … Aziz Ansari was a man whom many people admired and whose work, although very well paid, also performed a social good,” Caitlin Flanagan, a contributing editor…
One of my favorite stories from the vaudeville era involves the magician Frank Van Hoven. There’s no reason anyone would know his name today, but a century ago he was…
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men…
Tererai Trent grew up in a rural town in Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia, during colonial rule. She did not have the opportunity to go to school. Instead, she was…
An unprecedented number of women are running for a major political office this year. Over 500 women are set to break a 1992 record for women running for office. As…
Students should know that they need to always remain true to themself and that there is help on campus if needed. In the atmosphere that Harding is around, it might…
In my class last week, we talked about Aziz Ansari, and honestly until that class, I hadn’t heard anything about him. He’s an actor in the news for allegedly sexually…
In high school, I took a class called “Experiences in Writing,” where the teacher had us try our hands at various types of poetry. That’s when I wrote my very…
Drugs, self-harm, a psychiatric hospital and rehab. Sounds like a soap opera or a depressing movie, right? Nope. Those things have been the bulk of my life for the past…
I did not know anything about grief until I began to experience it myself. I’ve never heard a lesson, sermon or chapel talk on it. I’ve never been taught what…
It’s all in your head — an expression I will never use again. I was recently taking classes in a higher education doctoral program. I was trying to balance family,…
It was a normal day. Everything was going great. I was surrounded by friends as we watched our favorite Vine videos when suddenly, that happy moment turned sour. I caught…
I had a friend in ninth grade named Tamara. I remember her bringing a lunchbox full of candy to gym class so that she could share it, and I remember…
My name is Justice Laws, and I am a junior theatre major. Being a junior in college is honestly pretty weird, and it comes with a lot of responsibilities. You…
In my years at college, I have discovered that I am a grandma. With this title comes a lot of jokes, particularly that I’m going to be a little old…
When my mom gave birth to my baby brother, I was a freshman in high school. I was old enough to remember every detail, from her pregnancy to the hospital…
A few months ago, my roommate Hollee and I talked about a joke we saw that suggested changing your Twitter handle to your biggest character flaw and favorite food. I asked…
I’m sorry to say, it didn’t work out. It all started last December, when I took my Intel laptop in for repairs. Things weren’t working right: web pages weren’t loading,…
On January 22, a very long line formed in downtown Seattle as Amazon opened its very first convenience grocery store. Amazon Go is a system that involves no cash exchange,…
I used to be an athlete, back in the day when Bruno Mars made his debut and UGG boots were still in style. I loved high school sports, and I dedicated…
In an era of pop music where everyone somehow received an anonymous memo that music has to sound like Young Metro produced it, one pop star shines above all: Carly…
One of the most iconic scenes in movie history features a woman in a white dress standing over a subway grate. That scene has been memorialized in many forms like…
As much as I wanted to walk away from the Golden Globes with only the ring of Oprah’s impassioned speech in my ears (#Oprah2020), when the credits rolled, I sat…
Scott Rogers of Edmond, Oklahoma made the national news last month when something odd happened in his own house. His 6-month-old baby’s pacifiers kept disappearing. Now that is hardly news…
I was recently standing in line with a few other students, while a couple of professors stood nearby. They were laughing and enjoying their time together, and I heard one professor…
My parents started dating their senior year at Fraser High School, back in ‘84. They met at a Halloween party that my mother attended with a different guy — one…
It’s a wonder I wasn’t heckled more in elementary school over this, but one of my prized possessions back then was a Pigs in Space lunchbox. Every day as I…
You may have seen geckos on the outer walls of your dorm, in your stairwells or maybe in your showers, but what you may not know is that these geckos…
My family just purchased our first artificial Christmas tree. I am not sure how I feel about it yet. I cannot imagine coming home to a pseudo tree in our…
“D is my egg,” my roommate Hollee said as she held up a piece of fried egg with her chopsticks. I could feel my eyes starting to water from laughing so…
Why is there so much division in America today? Why is government welfare always threatened to be erased? Why is there so much backlash to saying Black Lives Matter? Why…
How important is the freedom of the internet to you? On Dec. 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to repeal the previous net neutrality laws set in place…
As the leaves start to fall and the breeze turns cold, society seems to pick up the pace. As a college student, this is always a busy time of year,…
Middle Child Syndrome (MCS) is a common condition, affecting more people than society acknowledges. Side effects may include, but are not limited to: fear of shadows, raging independence and increased…
It was an utterly transformative day for more than 50,000 runners competing in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. In the span of 26.2 miles, goals…
When I was in sixth grade, I came home from school one day with an “F” on my report card for the first nine weeks. It was in reading, which…
With great power comes even greater electricity costs. Walking around campus and seeing that our holiday lights are beginning to be strung all around has made me even more excited…
I once got a letter from Fred Flintstone. It must have been about 1980, after I had long been a loyal consumer of Fruity Pebbles cereal, which the commercials assured me…
If you read nothing else, read this: Thou shalt love the Muslims as thyself. To treat those who are different from you as anything other than your neighbor is to…
I used to think I would change the world. I was a blissful, naive high school kid. I thought saving the world was simple: be kind and be like Jesus. I…
I was an education major my freshman year, and I was amazed at how much technology is talked about. It was often said that if you were a teacher who…
I read in last Sunday’s paper that former President Barack Obama has been called for jury duty in his home town of Chicago. Imagine that. Twelve men and women in the…
Right before coming back to school, I saw one of my campers for the first time since leaving camp two months before. He ran up to me and proudly proclaimed…
Yoga is an odd experience. I recently participated in my first professionally-led yoga session. The instructor asked the group to sit up unnaturally straight and spread our toes, to stand…
I haven’t stopped thinking about Las Vegas, either. That’s what has me so concerned about the article published in last week’s edition of The Bison titled “We must do better.” I’m…
Last week I wrote about the importance of challenging your beliefs in order to grow stronger in the faith. To participate in that process, one has to be open and…
It’s no secret that the past two weeks have been dedicated to social club activities. For those who joined a club, I congratulate you on making it through the process.…
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