A Tribute to the Lyon Campus Dogs

By Ashley Bruno

Left: "Skeletor"

Right:"He-Man"

Fwd: Bob Qualls

By Ashley Bruno

As you may have noticed, you can find your Lyon email inbox has one name that seems to constantly appear—Mr. Bob Qualls, director of Public Relations. Last year, Lyon passed a policy which states “Any e-mail message directed to [Faculty, Staff, and Students] must be sent to [Qualls] for approval.” Lyon created the policy to stop students from sending commercial emails to advertise student sales or off-campus organizations.

Qualls is required to check every email he receives and forward it on to faculty, staff, or students. This uses up a lot of Qualls’s time.  When students, faculty, and staff reply, they sometimes send their e-mails to Qualls and not the original sender, which also takes up much of Qualls time.  He must then forward it on to the correct recipient or inform the sender who they need to contact.

Qualls has proposed to revise the policy. The new policy would restore the right for anyone to send out mass emails, so long as it pertains to the internal audience and does not promote off-campus or non-Lyon oriented events or organizations. If someone were to violate this policy, he would be warned.  If he continued, he would lose his right to mass e-mail.

Qualls said, “This is how it should have been.”

Most of the emails he receives are forwarded on—only about 1% of emails are denied. If passed, the new policy will allow Public Relations to monitor the e-mails for violations but not nearly as strict as before.  Qualls would then have time to work on other aspects of his job rather than dealing with e-mails that may not even concern him.

The Outdoor Program at Lyon

By Scott Campbell

Scott Dirksen, Director of Outdoor Recreation and Education, sat down with the Highlander to discuss the new Outdoor Recreation and Education Program this year at Lyon College. As this is his first year at Lyon, he is dealing with a brand new program and there are obviously some hurdles to overcome this year.

The Highlander's first question was, “What is your ultimate goal for the outdoor program?” After a few seconds of pondering, he responded that by the end of the semester, he wishes to increase awareness of the program, it’s goals, and what it offers to the students, faculty, and staff.

How is Dirksen planning on accomplishing this task? Already the program is developing a logo and sign so that the office will be easier to locate as well as to make its namesake more official. A website has also been created, accessible at http://www.lyon.edu/outdoor-adventures.htm, where interested parties may look up future events.  They also list on the website all forms of gear that may be rented from the office. In order to rent gear, students can either stop by the office, Dirksen is most often found there on Tuesday afternoons, or send an email to set up an appointment.

Those who are inclined to climb may rent climbing shoes, a bouldering chalk back, or crash pads. Students, faculty, and staff  will also find backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tents, stoves, backpack cookware, head lamps, and foldable tables available if they plan to stay the night or require hiking supplies.  Students can also borrow bikes, Frisbees for disc golf, ultimate Frisbee cones, and kites.  However, people may only rent these items if they not in use for an event.

The program has already held some events. On October 2^nd Dirksen and five students went to the Sylamore District Ozark Trail, where they hiked a total of ten miles over the course of two days. The next available trip will take place on November 6^th at the Jamestown Crag for a day of rockclimbing.

The program also intends to start troop leadership courses or seminars for students planning on leading hiking trips or other expeditions into the wilderness. Anyone planning a trip should visit the library available at the program's office, where literature can be found on just about anything related to the outdoors.

O’ Lyon Bloody Lyon!

By Samantha Jones

On September 28^th and 29^th, the American Red Cross hosted a blood drive in the Lower Union of Edwards Commons.  Several lab-coated professionals took the blood of many Lyon students, staff and faculty.  On the first day, they collected 62 units of blood. By the second day, they had collected a total 119 units, surpassing their goal of 100 units.

Sophomores Jessica Soule and Lauren Holt were a few in the long line of students the technicians had yet to approve for donation.

While waiting to be approved, Junior Emily Carter experienced unexpected anxiety. It was the first time she had ever given blood. Fortunately, Carter trumped her nerves and managed to save a few lives. 

“It was fun,” Carter exclaimed after giving blood, “It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.”

Some students even went out to recruit others.  Junior Lighla Whitson and senior Nina McCoy went around campus asking students to donate. Both girls tried to make sure everyone “just sitting around” on campus was aware of the potential to save lives by educating them on the benefits of giving blood.

For each student who donates blood, they save three to six lives and simultaneously receive a free t-shirt and snack.

When asked about his favorite part of donating his blood to complete strangers, Senior John Sharp said, “I like cookies.”

He quickly added, “And saving lives at the same time,” while gnawing away at a chewy oatmeal raisin cookie.

To reward students for reaching the goal of 100 units of blood, Sodexo sponsored a sundae bar on October 6^th in the cafeteria.

The Best Deals in Batesville

By Sarah Brethauer

College living can be rough on your bank account, as any Lyon student knows.  After tuition, room and board, textbooks, and, well, life, your wallet may contain little besides your ID card.  However, the Highlander has gone undercover a quizzical young woman to bring you the best deals in Batesville.

            In addition to this, many of the restaurants in Batesville have weekly specials.  Josie's at the Lockhouse, El Acapulco, Natalies, and Kelley-Wyatts Restaurant all feature revolving weekly specials.  For those late-night pizza cravings, Larry's Pizza is currently hosting a deal: one large single-topping pizza and a large drink for $10.99.  Also, for all of you Morningside Coffee House fans, next week Morningside plans to start offering soups again; they will add a soup and bread lunch special for $4.50 and a soup and sandwich special for $6.50 to their menu, in addition to their current lunch special (sandwich and a drink for $5.25).

            Lyon College also boasts a long list of “Lyon League” members.  Businesses that belong to the Lyon League offer discounts to Lyon College students, provided you have your ID card handy.  For a complete list, visit http://www.lyon.edu/lyon-league.htm

The Phi's Love to Dance

By Stephanie Hupp

Last Saturday, October 2^nd, Phi Mu hosted their 13^th annual Dance Marathon from noon until midnight in the Lower Union.  Dance Marathon is Phi Mu’s philanthropy event to raise money for Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and Children’s Miracle Network.  This year, Dance Marathon’s theme was “Phi Mu’s Best Dance Crew,” based upon the popular television show “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

            Before the event, members of Phi Mu sent letters to family, friends, and businesses in their hometowns to ask for donations.  They also went to local businesses in Batesville asking for donations and visited students' dorm rooms requesting loose change.  Donations also included food and gift items, which they gave away during a raffle at the marathon.  So far, Phi Mu has raised approximately $3,000, and with donations still coming in, Phi Mu hopes to exceed last year’s earnings of $6,000. 

            Dr. Bube, W. Lewis McColgan Professor of Religion, spoke at the event about his experience with ACH, his daughter, Belinda Bube, having been a frequent patient due to a cleft palate.  Dr. Bube stressed the important work that ACH does and said he appreciated the Phi Mu sisters for hosting this fundraiser.

            Phi Mu began the marathon with dancing and games.  Throughout the evening, patrons watched the movie “Step-Up” while the sisters performed skits using props, such as masks, hats, hula hoops, and chairs.  Lyon College faculty and staff judged the skits much like the judges on “America’s Best dance Crew.”  Dr. John Weinzierl, Associate Professor of History, Dr. Tim Lindblom, Associate Professor of Biology, Kim Hinds-Brush, Resident’s Life Director, and Dr. Martha Beck, Professor of Philosophy made up the four judges.  Then Phi Mu held the raffle, giving away prizes that included fast food coupons, purses, and various other gifts. 

            The highlight of the evening was Revelation, a tradition for the Phi Mu sorority.  During Revelation, the Phi Mu provisional memembers, or “Phis,” discovered their “Big” sisters in the sorority.  After Revelation, the band “Silver Service,” from Batesville's Rocktober Fest, performed as the sisters danced into the night.

            Shirts from Dance Marathon are still available for purchase.  Phi Mu will be selling t-shirts ($15) at lunch until next week. Students can also contact Whitney Simpson if interested in buying a t-shirt.

Keith Ratzlaff Visits Lyon

By Amanda Midgett

            Keith Ratzlaff, a poet, performed a reading at Lyon on Tuesday, October 5^th. Ratzlaff is a professor at Central College in Iowa, where he also teaches with his wife. Ratzlaff has published four books of poetry, his most recent being Then, a Thousand Crows. Ratzlaff has received quite a few awards.  In 1996, his book Man under a Pear Tree received the Robert Dana Prize for Poetry. 

During his reading, Ratzlaff presented a variety of his poems and a borrowed poem including “Dill,” “Howling Dog,” and “September.” After he finished the reading, he answered a few questions from the audience.  

One attendee asked, “What inspires you?”  Ratzlaff answered that he is visually inspired and therefore must always change up his study.

Service Day 2010 Re-Cap

By Samantha Jones

Dr. Alan McNamee, Frank and Marion Bradley Lyon Professor of Accounting, and his freshman mentor group cleaned the Batesville Community Theatre Building for Service Day on September 28^th. The six freshmen in his mentor group spent three hours dusting, organizing, and doing miscellaneous yard work.

                The group gathered with other Service Day volunteers at eight thirty in Brown Chapel for a general assembly.  Dr. Weatherman briefly explained the point of Service Day and dismissed the volunteers to their respective locations. McNamee’s group met with Tommie McDonald, the Vice President of the Batesville Community Theatre Board of Directors.  She informed the group the building serves solely as a storage place for stage sets and costumes.

                “We always intend to clean it up after moving things here,” McDonald said, “I guess today’s that day.”

                The group split up into two; half of them worked indoors, and the other half worked outdoors. Outside, the volunteers participated in common yard work like raking leaves, sticks, and other debris. They also cleared the yard of any items that belonged in the garage and moved them to their rightful place.

                Freshman Miracle Davis and her group remained indoors. They spent the majority of their time in the costume room organizing various pieces of fabric.  They organized them into boxes labeled lacey, reds, blues, upholstery, dark large prints, etc. Once they completed this task, they swept the area. Davis moved into another room and came across an unkempt wood slicer. McNamee offered the Shop-Vac to one of Davis’s fellow volunteers, which increased the cleaning efficiency tenfold.

                Once each group finished cleaning, they wore ridiculous hats from the costume room, McNamee insisting he take a photo.  McDonald snapped the picture and thanked the volunteers for their help.

                “We are so appreciative,” she said, “Not only did you clean up quite a bit, you got us to work, too!”

What Students Like About Lyon

By Amanda Midgett

           Lyon College is a highly respected school in Arkansas as well as in the nation. Lyon as a whole incorporates many elements that appeal to students, such as its academic prestige and honor code.  After questioning students, they revealed what they collectively value about Lyon.

            Students mainly enjoy the relationships they form with their professors.  Some said that they enjoy the one-on-one time that professors are able to give to students, and others stated that they enjoy how quickly professors remembered their names and how often students could speak with professors outside of class.  Zakary Darrell stated, “A professor that doesn't even have me in class, and has only met me once, remembered my name right off the bat. I thought that was pretty awesome.”

            Others said that the relaxed environment on campus is also a great thing.  Glory Dickson stated that she enjoys the Adirondack chairs freely scattered around campus.

            Lyon's size is also important to students, being a relatively small school in a Southern community.  As freshman Ashley Mott stated, this environment breeds a closeness “where [students] won’t be left... nameless [and] faceless.”  It also provides a smaller learning community where you actually get to know the people in your class by name. In addition, the size of the school makes it easier to form close friendships and aids in keeping the campus safe.

            Beyond this, students also value the diverse student body that Lyon maintains despite its size.  Lyon students come from all over the United States, and Lyon also boasts myriad international students.

Jessica Koon’s Advice on Writing Papers for Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and some Seniors.

By Jessica Koon

1.       1.) Make an outline.  I know it sounds stupid, and that’s what your high school teachers made you do.  If you have a list of sentences saying you want to write for every paragraph and how you want to conclude your paper, you won’t be awake at 2 o’clock wondering what on earth you’re going to add to this paper to make it reach the word count.  Instead, you’ll be awake at 2 o’clock in the morning because that is prime paper-writing time.  Anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t an English major.

       2.) If you can’t sum up your entire paper in one clear, concise, and assertive sentence (your  thesis), you don’t actually have a paper.
 

       3.) For some professors, the word count requirement on the syllabus is more like a guideline than an expectation.  But that’s only for some professors.  Others will take your paper and count to make sure you have every word.  Try asking your fellow students or other people who have had the class before to see what the teacher expects on word counts.  I have a friend who once wrote 600 words for what was supposed to be a 2000 word paper and still made an A. It really can happen.  Ask around.  Most other students are more than willing to give you advice on what to expect for a class.
 

       4.) All the stories you’ve heard about what Dr. Boling does to papers?  Those aren’t stories made to scare you—those are cold hard facts.  And yes, you should be afraid.

 5.) Don’t know what to write about?  Try talking to your professors.  Most of them have been doing this long enough that they can help guide you in the right direction.  Some will even help you start an outline.  It’s why they have office hours, after all.

 6.) Different teachers expect different things.  A paper written for Dr. Tebbetts may not work for Dr. Beck.  Again, try asking your fellow students to get an idea of just what each professor expects out of you.

 7.) Get someone else to read your paper before you turn it in.  This can be your roommate, a tutor, or even a professor.  Even though you aren’t asking someone to correct every grammatical mistake you’ve made, having someone else read your paper can ultimately keep you from making a fatal mistake.  After all, what makes sense in your head may not make sense in everyone else’s.

 8.) It’s okay to take a break.  Sometimes taking an hour off to go hang out with friends and watch a movie can keep you from getting too stressed.  That said, make sure it’s just an hour or so and not a full evening of partying.  You do have a paper to write, after all.

 9.) It’s okay to ask for an extension, but only if you have a legit excuse.  Having three papers due the same day is a legit reason to ask for an extension.  The fact that it’s Chapel Walk is not. 
 

Debate: Shooting Teams on Lyon Campus

A Pro by Tiffany Thiessen

A Con by Seth Madison

Shooting teams are a great asset to any school or club across the board. Most shooting teams are provided by schools and they provide many positives, including gun education, school camaraderie, and discipline.

            Education is key when it comes to guns. A shooting team at Lyon would help provide education to its participants, as well as people who are in general just interested.  Education teaches the mechanics of guns; how they work, how they are cleaned, and their uses. It also teaches people that guns are tools and not weapons. They are something we use to accomplish a job, and it’s important to each person who uses a gun to know what its purpose is. The education would also highlight safety. Safety is a concern to everyone when guns are mentioned, but if we educate people on the precautions used with guns, they will be safe. If Lyon offered a team or club to students and faculty we would have the opportunity to teach not only people who have been exposed to guns, but also those who have never been exposed. It could easily be a safe low pressure environment for anyone to learn in.

            School shooting teams provide teams and school with camaraderie. Like any team, a shooting squad provides a connection between its participants and its fans, it could also do this for Lyon. The participants will have to work for many hours to reach a common goal, and this will build a connection.  From my own experiences, a shooting team builds camaraderie differently than a regular team though. Shooting is a physically exhausting sports as well as a mentally exhausting sport, and it puts a lot on a single person, so when each person comes together to encourage each other to reach those goals, and they are reached it’s a different kind of celebration for everyone on the team. You have a single victory, but also a team victory all at in one.

            Shooting teaches discipline. Many sports to claim to teach discipline, but none do it to quite the caliber that shooting does. When I shot regularly for competition, I would train for at least two hours a day, five days a week. Now, that may or may not seem extreme, but that was the least amount I shot. I would usually clock many more hours in to shooting than that.  One of the things that I learned from it was discipline to stay focused for long periods of time, to keep training even when I no longer wanted to, and to keep my goals insight. These disciplines are something that I have carried into other parts of my life that have now helped me in studies, other sports and activities, and life. These are things that every student should have the opportunity to learn and a shooting team at Lyon would be beneficial to teach these disciplines.

I recently learned there is to be a shooting club started on campus.  My initial reaction was that this was part of the new outdoor program, similar to the rock wall and XAS Adventure Squad.  I later learned, however, that it is simply a group of students interested in shooting for sport.  I am not sure I can express how nervous this makes me.  I have never been a fan of guns, so I certainly do not share their enthusiasm.  Since I started paying close attention to politics, I’ve noticed a general consensus from more conservative political views that gun-toting is an eminent right given to Americans, one that should be protected at all costs.  Call me crazy, but I think that most people don’t have a legitimate, rational need to own a firearm.  No, I would not say simply liking them is a rational need.  Naturally, my disgust at this framework of opinions tends to render in me a disfavoring of activities involving firearms.  This could be because I have never enjoyed shooting guns, though I suspect it is because I, like most other people, will most likely go through life never needing to pull a trigger. 

Though I would not say this shooting club does not have the right to exist, I do recognize problems that could arise.  The first, which concerns me the most, is that raising an interest in gun-related sports will lead to more irresponsibility on campus.  It is already against the Social Code to bring guns onto this campus.  I have been told the guns used for this organization will be kept in strict control and will be locked up, but I do not yet understand why this rule should have an exception.  Isn’t that rule put in place to keep us safe?  I cannot speak for anyone else, but I personally do not want to have to worry about walking through the drunken hordes in Apartment Row on the weekend or, even worse, during Chapel Walk, worrying if some dispute will result in an exchange of bullets.  I also do not want to see Lyon College lose a student or hear about someone being injured because of irresponsible gun usage brought on by this increased interest.  The organization is supposed to ensure safety and education concerning guns, and it may have strict rules, but can it really control what its members or the rest of the student body does outside of its events?