timeless traditions weave past and future

Who are theFRED FANATICS?Group offers new take on old tradition

www.cardinalandcream.org | Fall 2014

A STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE CARDINAL & CREAM

Editorial BoardEditor-in-ChiefKatherine Burgess

Managing EditorsRebecca MorrisJenaye White

Photo EditorsMiKalla CottonAmanda Rohde

Design EditorCourtney Brown

Associate Design EditorZac Pankey

Copy EditorOlivia Winters

News EditorNathan Handley

Sports EditorLydia Wright

Life EditorDanica Smithwick

A&E EditorJake Wynn

Advertising ManagerChelsea Cobb

Faculty AdviserAshley Fitch Blair

Assistant AdviserKathleen Murray

StaffAssistant EditorEmily Littleton

PhotographersVictor MillerMeg RushingEmily Stookey

Contact Information

Email:cardinalandcream@uu.edu

Website:www.cardinalandcream.org

Policy:C&C is a biannual student-run publication of the Cardinal & Cream. Perspectives are the opinions of their creators, not the staff or Union University. The Cardinal & Cream is a member of the Southeast Journalism Conference, Tennessee Press Association, UWIRE and the Baptist Press Collegiate Journalism Conference.

Editor’s noteThis week marks the inauguration of

our 16th president, Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver. Change and excitement have occurred all over the university, some directly linked to the presidential transition, other events simply coinciding.

At the Cardinal & Cream, we’ve also gone through a period of change, a transformation we hope will honor both the new life at our university and all that is longstanding and good on our campus.

Union’s mission hasn’t changed with a new president. Rather, Union continues to be “excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused and future-directed,” albeit with a new visionary at the helm.

The Cardinal & Cream’s mission to reach the heart of campus by providing timely information, inspiring stories and well-written commentary has not changed either, although we have decided to alter our format by offering a magazine rather than a print newspaper.

With so much change around us, it seemed like a good time for the Cardinal & Cream to launch into a new era.

We hope that you, our readers, will enjoy our first Cardinal & Cream magazine, C&C, which we are using to commemorate the inauguration of our new president.

While the magazine is filled with stories of much that is new, we have tried to form our content around the idea of the “old and new” coming together in something beautiful.

Union would not be where it is today without the 15 presidents who came before Oliver. During this time of change at Union, people around campus are also reaching back into Union’s wealth of tradition and history, revitalizing spirit chants, creating a new tradition called “Lest We Forget” and maybe even bringing back a real bulldog.

It is a wonderful time to be at Union, a time of both renewed tradition and a strong vision for the future.

We at the Cardinal & Cream are grateful to be a part of it.

Katherine BurgessEditor-in-Chief

A student publication of the Cardinal & Cream Vol. 99, Issue 1

Contents

3 Oliver Joins Presidential Legacy

5 Communication Arts Celebrating Thirty Years

7 Unionite Leads Denomination

8 Remember Me Walk Honors Loved Ones Lost To Homicide

10

13

1416

The CallProfessor and Wife Share Adoption Story The

Cardinal & Cream is a member of the Southeast Journalism UU Favorites

Greek Olympics

Lest We ForgetNew Tradition Honors Past and Embraces Future

19 Fred Fanatics Spark New Traditions

20

21

Buster Unites Union Athletics

Athletes Bring Core Values to Gulf South

23

24

25

27

Barefoots Joe: A New Look

Sound On Film: Behind The Scenes

Finding Inspiration in Dust and Clay

PerspectivesSamuel W. Oliver- 28Jenaye White- 29Joy Moore- 30Hal Poe- 31

32 Briefs

News

Life

Sports

A&E

Follow us on Twitter: @cardandcreamInstagram: @cardandcream

Like us on Facebook: /cardandcream

Cover photo | Amanda Rohde

3 16 19 25

Past inaugurations have included concerts, guest speeches and week-long campus celebrations. This year, Oliver’s inauguration coincided with Union’s homecoming week, which was moved from the spring to the fall.

Oliver said it is important to him that the inauguration be a celebration of the institution and not just the individual.

“My desire is that we celebrate the institution and God’s faithfulness to Union,” Oliver said. “It’s not a corona-tion. It’s an inauguration — a celebra-tion of a continuity of leadership.”

As an institution, Union has an inter-esting and somewhat complex history,

but it has remained dedicated to prog-ress in Christian higher education for more than a century.

Robert E. Craig, Union’s 13th and longest serving president, said in his 1968 inaugural response that Union must serve the purpose for which it was founded – to be a private, liberal arts institution dedicated to the cause of Christ.

“Union University can no longer look to past achievements, prestige and the success of former students to satisfy our contemporary problems and future educational needs,” Craig said. “The future of this college must be charac-

“It’s not a coronation. It’s an inauguration – a celebration of a continuity of leadership.”

By Nathan Handley

N ames like Jarman, Savage, Watters, Hurt, Wright, Craig and

Barefoot can be seen across Union’s campus on buildings and plaques, but these are more than just the names of buildings.

These are the names of the men who led Union University through times of difficulty and prosperity, and their legacy continues with Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver.

On Nov. 7, 2014, Oliver was inaugu-rated as the 16th president of Union University.

With only 15 presidents in 140 years, inaugurations are unique occasions.

OliverJoins Presidential Legacy

The inauguration of Francis E. Wright is held in 1963. | Submitted photos from the Union University Archive

The inauguration of Francis E. Wright is held in 1963. | Sub

4

terized by imagination, visionary long-range planning and exertion of great labor by those who love the institution.”

Twenty-eight years later, Union’s 15th president, David S. Dockery, echoed these ideas of commitment and direction in his inaugural address.

“What is required of us at this time is a commonly held vision,” Dockery said. “But not just vision. We need vision shaped by commonly held values – values established on the Word of God and our great Baptist and evangelical heritage, leading to a firm commitment to Christ and his kingdom. ... calling us to the worship of God and the love of learning.”

Shortly after he gave this address, Dockery introduced Union’s four core values: Christ-centered, excel-lence-driven, people-focused and future-directed.

Beginning in 1823 under the name Jackson Male Academy, Union University is the oldest school to affiliate with what would later become the Southern Baptist Convention, an affiliation that continues to this day.

In 1844, the academy was brought under the charter of West Tennessee College, and in 1874, the school’s Southern Baptist ties were solidified when Tennessee Baptists assumed control of the college and named it Southwestern Baptist University.

It was at this point that the univer-sity’s mission of offering quality Chris-tian higher education emerged.

In 1907, under the leadership of John William Conger, the name of

the university was changed to Union University, signifying a connection to a previous women’s school of that name in Murfreesboro.

Between 1874 and 1907, Southwestern Baptist University had four presidents, some of whom are still remembered in Union’s campus buildings.

One of the freshman dormitories is named after President George W. Jarman, and Union’s chapel is named after the third president, George Mar-tin Savage.

The 2014 inauguration ceremony was a time to reflect on Union’s legacy of presidents and the many things that have been accomplished in the univer-sity’s history.

One of Oliver’s initial priorities as president has been the con-struction of Union’s new library. This follows the example set by his predecessors.

Under Craig’s leadership in 1975, Union University moved from its small campus in downtown Jackson to its current location. Union’s 14th president, Hyran E. Barefoot, oversaw the addition of the school of business and the construction of the Blasingame Academic Complex and Student Union Building.

When Dockery became president in 1996, he initiated a new master plan, orienting the campus toward a new entrance on Pleasant Plains Road and around the Great Lawn. Jennings Hall, White Hall, Providence Hall and Miller Tower were all built during Dockery’s presidency.

William Shelton1875-76

George W. Jarman1876-90

George M. Savage1890-1904

Phillip T. Hale1904-06

John W. Conger1907-09

Robert A. Kimbrough

1911-1913

Richard M. Inlow

1913

1916-1918

Henry E. Watters1918-1931

John J. Hurt1932-1945

Warren F. Jones1945-63

Francis E. Wright1963-1967

Robert E. Craig1967-86

Hyran E. Barefoot1987-96

David S. Dockery1996-2014

Samuel W. Oliver2014-present

Isaac B. Tigrett

OliverJoins Presidential Legacy

The inauguration of David S. Dockery is held in 1996.

From a simple radio lab to a full depart-ment offering multiple courses of study, the communication arts department has flourished over the past 30 years.

The communication arts department, which was an expansion of the speech and theater majors, began in 1984 with the addition of radio and television courses and the opening of a new broadcasting labora-tory, located in C-19 of the Penick Academic Complex.

Prior to the new department, a radio lab was constructed in the summer of 1980, and Patty Foellinger Smith taught the first radio class that fall.

Over the next few years, the curriculum expanded to include television production classes and internships with WDXI radio station, WBBJ television station and The Jackson Sun.

Betty Hillix Foellinger taught as an En-glish and journalism professor for 22 years. Her daughter, Smith, came on board in 1979 as an adjunct professor and transitioned to full-time in 1983.

At the time, several students had expressed interest in communications courses. Speech and drama were popular programs within universities all over the country, but as technology was changing, communications departments were being incorporated as well, according to Smith.

Smith built the audio lab, taught speech, continued adding classes and developed the

curriculum. The process of starting the new department took about four years. Robert E. Craig, university president, was supportive of the idea. His own daughter was one of the first students to take classes in the department.

“Dr. Craig gave me the OK; he initiated it,” Smith said. “He said ‘We have a little extra money, why don’t you go ahead and order this television equipment that you need?’” About $50,000 was made available to purchase television equipment that was first used in the fall of 1984.

That semester, 41 students were in the communication arts department. Media, speech and theater were the three concen-trations available under the new major.

“It was so exciting for me to be a pioneer and be on the ground floor of establishing something like this because we truly want-ed it to succeed, and it was a whole new department,” Smith said.

Along with Smith and Foellinger, theater director C.C. Kinnison and department chair Michael Pollock were the original faculty members, although current theater director David Burke, professor of theater, joined the department two years later, in 1986.

Students were required to take 12 hours of core classes and select 18 hours from their chosen concentration.

As a new department, there was high de-mand for the first classes available. Smith

recalled having 19 students in her first tele-vision production class and later having to limit the class to 12 students each semester. Smith was also the first faculty to put communication internships in the academic catalog. Brad Douglass, news anchor for Channel 7 Eyewitness News in Jackson, was one of the department’s first intern students. He later was hired because of his internship.

Douglass transferred to Union in 1983 from Southern Baptist College, a two-year school that is now known as Williams Bap-tist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas.

“I was told that they had a radio class and a journalism class, and that they were working on adding a television production class,” he said.

The first class that Douglass took was radio production.

He said he remembers the basic labo-ratory setup including an audio board, a microphone, two turntables and two car-tridge machines. WKUU was the campus laboratory radio station.

Television equipment was brought in soon after, which included two cameras on dollies, a switcher, videotape machines and a video editing station. This was all in the same room as the radio equipment.

“It was basic, and it was small, but we were glad to have it,” Douglass said.

Through classes and connections at Union, Douglass participated in three

Communication Arts Celebrating Thirty Years

By Danica Smithwick

5

Left:Darlene Carr and Brad Douglass run the cameras and David White is the floor director in the first official Television Production class. Right: Holding the microphone, Patty Foellinger Smith, broadcasting instructor, explains articulation techniques to Gary Douglass, Susan Higdon and Cherie Craig in the radio announcing class. | Submitted photo by Patty Foellinger Smith

Public Debate Association’s championship tournament twice, the novice season-long sweepstakes championship three times and the varsity season-long sweepstakes cham-pionship twice. Last year, the team received the Founder’s Award, the most prestigious award in IPDA.

Drake recalled several other highlights of his time at Union, including: the Cardinal & Cream receiving top college newspaper honors in the Southeast; the public rela-tions major becoming one of only 34 pro-grams in the world certified by the Public Relations Society of America; Steve Beverly, associate professor of communication arts, receiving the Tennessee Communication Association’s Outstanding Communication Educator of the Year award; and multiple communication arts faculty being finalists for Union’s Faculty of the Year award and being honored with Newell Innovative Teaching Awards.

“The faculty is not just outstanding in the Union sense, but in a national sense,” Drake said. He credits the faculty as what sets the department apart and makes it special.

According to Drake, the curriculum is grounded in theory and designed to expose students to a wide variety of media skills and experiences including social media, video, photography, film, broadcast, digital media, writing for multiple platforms, pub-lic relations, public speaking and interper-sonal communication.

“Those are the things that we are in-undated with every day, so we need to be wise consumers of it,” Drake said. “But [communication arts students] also need to be able to make it, to produce culture when the opportunity presents itself.”

different internships.“You get to network and talk to people and

find out what it’s really like,” he said. “And if you find out that working in this industry isn’t for you, then you’ve got a taste of it and figured that out. But in this case, it was what I wanted to do ... It was hard work, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”

His internships taught him both radio and television skills. He had opportunities to write news, work control rooms and work with commercial production crews.

Douglass eventually began working week-ends and filling in when needed at WDXI, his first part-time job.

“I worked Christmas Day or Thanksgiving Day because I was new in the business, and that was just part of it,” he said. “The internships really paved the way for the career I have now, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get a job in either radio or television.”

Douglass graduated in 1986 and has worked at WBBJ for the past 20 years.

Douglass said he is thankful for what Union has been in his life and for the establishment of the communications arts department. During his time as a student, he also dabbled in writing for the campus newspaper and yearbook.

“I got a taste of everything while I was at school,” he said.

Kathryn Feathers, senior media commu-nications major, works at WBBJ with Brad Douglass.

“It’s cool to see Union people working together in the actual workforce,” she said.

Feathers also started out at WBBJ as an intern, and that eventually led to a job.

“Working at WBBJ is a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s a really good experience, and I’ve enjoyed my time there so far.”

Even before the department was intro-duced, Foellinger supervised the Cardinal & Cream newspaper and the yearbook, Lest We Forget, for more than 20 years.

Because of her legacy, the Betty Hillix Foellinger Award is still presented to com-munication arts students today.

Ashley Fitch Blair, assistant professor of communication arts, was one of those award recipients when she served as the editor-in-chief of the Cardinal & Cream.

One of many communication arts cou-ples, Blair and her husband, Chris, met as students in 1990.

Now, they are both professors in the department. Chris Blair is professor of communication arts and coordinator of the digital media studies and film studies programs.

Kathleen Murray is another former stu-dent who returned to Union to teach in the program. She graduated in the fall of 2005 with a degree in sociology and was the first Union student to graduate with a minor in

photojournalism under former assistant professor, Jim Veneman.

“It takes a long tradition of really good faculty working hard to reach all these different milestones,” Smith said. “I was just fortunate enough to be in on the first beginnings of all of this.”

The slogan of Union’s Homecoming in 1984 was “We’ve got what it takes.” Smith said this was appropriate for the commencement of the new department that year.

“It was a lot of work,” she said. “I think it’s important for your generation of students to understand that you’ve got a really strong foundation that was founded by professors that really cared, really loved their students, and we really wanted to be on the cutting edge of all of this.”

The current department includes majors in communication studies, digital media communication, journalism, broadcast journalism, public relations, speech and theater as well as a minor in photojournal-ism and interdisciplinary minors in digital media studies and film studies.

Web Drake, chairman of the communi-cation arts department, came to Union in 2008 to start a debate team.

Since its establishment, the Union Debate Team has won the International

“It takes a long tradition of really good faculty working hard to reach all these different milestones.”

6

Professor Betty Hillix Foellinger critiques the Cardinal & Cream with staffers Kellye Carpenter, Leigh Anne Stegall, Victor Buhler and Becky Fairchild.

of the challenges I’ve received by the professors there.”

He will complete the program in 2016, but has already finished his onsite sem-inars. He has a dissertation and several assignments left before he graduates.

Frank Anderson, associate professor of ministry and missions and director of the Associate of Divinity program, said the Olford Center was honored to have been selected by Tolbert.

“I am sure that he gave considerable thought to how his enrollment at any institution would affect his service to the Convention and his presiden-tial prospects; and he chose Union,” Anderson said.

Anderson also said he believes Tol-bert’s enrollment in a program focused on expository preaching says a great deal about Tolbert’s priorities as a leader.

Tolbert was inaugurated as president Sept. 18 at a special conference he called in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to plan and worship alongside delegates from the NBCA’s state conventions.

The theme of the conference was “the pathway to God’s promise,” with focus on prayer, planning, unity, renewal and worship.

“My vision is to get the input of the people, the need of the local congre-gations so we can do a better job of missions, evangelism and education and basically be a convention that serves congregations,” Tolbert said.

A native of Lake Charles, Tolbert has been married for 25 years to his wife Matilda.

They have two daughters, Candace Latrice and Kayla Monique.

“I’d like to ask people to pray for our convention and our leaders,” Tolbert said. “…Our convention will be a con-vention that will reach out to collaborate with other groups in order to carry out what we believe is the agenda of the kingdom of God.”

7

As the new president of the second largest black Baptist denomination,

the Rev. Samuel Tolbert, Jr., said he be-lieves his training at Union University’s Stephen Olford Center will sharpen him into a better leader.

Tolbert, 55, was elected in June as the 15th president of the National Baptist Convention of America, which has about 3.5 million members across the United States, the Caribbean and abroad, ac-cording to a NBCA press release.

“For me to now be leading my denom-ination is a very humbling experience,” Tolbert said. “I’m still trying to believe that I actually have a position.”

Tolbert said being elected has prompt-ed a time of reflection on his past, including how he was raised in a single parent home in a low-income, inner-city neighborhood. Tolbert has pastored the Greater St. Mary Missionary Baptist

Church of Lake Charles, Louisiana, for 30 years.

He was formerly vice president of the NBCA, led the Louisiana Home and Foreign Missions State Convention as president and worked as a Lake Charles City Councilman.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in religion and philosophy from Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, a Masters of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary in Wilber-force, Ohio, and is now pursuing his Doctor of Ministry at the Olford Center in Memphis.

Tolbert said the professors and stu-dents at the Olford Center have provided him with a strong learning experience.

“It really helps me understand Scrip-ture better, since I’ve been there at the Olford Center,” Tolbert said. “[It] makes me be more of a leader that’s possibly on the cutting edge and fresher because

By Katherine Burgesss

“My vision is to get the input of the people, the need of the local congregations so we can do a better job of missions, evangelism and education and basically be a convention that serves congregations.”

Submitted Photo

Remember MeWalk Honors Loved Ones Lost To Homicide

By Katherine Burgess

Survivors of homicide loss said they found strength in each other as they

walked through rows of witnesses hold-ing flickering candles.

The sky turned pink and the sound of “Amazing Grace” filled the Great Lawn at the 7th annual Remember Me walk, which honored loved ones lost to homicide.

Many participants carried photo-graphs of those loved ones as they walked. The night ended as they re-leased white balloons into the sky near the Miller Bell Tower, saying the name of their loved one.

“Just being able to see and meet other people who are going through or have gone through the same thing we have gone through, it gives us strength, it lets us know we’re not alone,” said Norma Ellington, who attended with her hus-band Clifton.

The Ellingtons lost their son Jerome when he was 19 in a 2009 homicide. They said they hope to pass on the strength they have gained from other homicide loss survivors.

“I know that’s what our loved one Je-rome would want us to do,” Norma said. “He’d want us to keep moving forward.”

This year, members of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority walked in honor of Olivia Greenlee, a Union University student who died in February.

The Proclamation choral group also sang “No More Pain,” a song composed by Dan Musselman, assistant professor of music, to honor Greenlee. She was both a member of ZTA and the Union

University Singers. “Friends of Olivia, thank you so much

for being with us this evening,” said Nita Mehr, professor of social work. “We walk in her memory.”

The walk grew out of a support group that was a part of the Trauma, Faith and Resilience Initiative at Union University.

Terry Blakley, professor of social work, said those in the group yearned for a way to focus on their loved ones. The line of human witnesses that loss survivors walk through means a great deal to them, Blakley said.

“They’re recognizing that we’ve had a significant loss, and we’re being strong and resilient by saying we will not allow our loved ones to be forgotten,” she said. Both Blakley and Mehr are homicide loss survivors.

Before the walk, homicide loss sur-vivors and others listened to Marianne and Mike Dunavant in the Carl Grant Events Center. Marianne is a field repre-sentative for U.S. Congressman Stephen Fincher, and Mike is district attorney for

the 25th judicial district of Tennessee, where he is the chief criminal prosecu-tor for several counties.

The couple received the “Champion of Victims’ Rights Award” from the Trau-ma, Faith and Resilience Initiative.

Mike shared how he sat on all seats in the courtroom, both prosecuting and acting as defense attorney, but never un-derstood the pain victims went through until his wife was killed in a vehicular homicide in 2008, leaving him a single father with a 5-year-old son.

“While I know that homicide leaves a hole that no indictment, no verdict, no conviction, no sentence can ever fill, I want you to know that personal justice for you and your loved ones is some-thing that I understand intimately and that I fight for every day,” he said.

Marianne shared the story of how the first man she trusted, to whom she was engaged, was killed in a burglary.

“Everything just spiraled out of con-trol and I didn’t know what direction to go,” she said. “I was broken. As far as I was concerned, I died with him.”

Several months after his death, she went to an event similar to the Remem-ber Me walk. There, she saw people who had been through the same experiences and who understood her pain. Now, she advocates for victims’ rights.

“I ask you all to come along with me,” she told the room of homicide loss sur-vivors. “Take that pain and use it for a purpose.”

See More Photos Onlinewww.cardinalandcream.org

8

Survivors of homicide loss honor their loved one.

Photos by MiKalla Cotton

Southwestern Seminary is committed to walking alongside God-called men and women on their road to ministry. We will provide sound, biblical education to equip you, as well as help to remove barriers that can hinder you along the way. We’d like to introduce our new Road to Ministry Scholarships that will allow you an opportunity to have a year of tuition on us. Are you interested? Learn more at swbts.edu/roadtoministry

PREACH THE WORD. REACH THE WORLD. | SWBTS.EDU

WHEREVER GOD CALLS YOU,WE’LL HELP YOU GET THERE...

...and we’ll

even give you

a year of tuition

on us.

One fall night 10 years ago, Fonsie Guilaran, a first-year physics pro-

fessor, went about his nightly routine. His wife Lesley was already asleep. As he processed the day’s events, he had a thought that he could not shake: “If you’re going to adopt, you’re going to adopt in the most Christ-like way possi-ble, which means you’re going to adopt the most unwanted child you can find, as a picture of the Gospel.”

“I didn’t hear God’s voice audibly,” Fonsie said. “But it was as if a thought that was clearly external was forced upon my mind. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

His mind wandered to what that call could mean – A child with disabilities? A child who might never live independent-ly? Emotional turmoil? Financial costs? Medical bills?

“I had some idea of the cost. But even still, I said, ‘OK God, we will do this.’”

During August 1994, Fonsie and Lesley met as freshmen at Western Ken-tucky University.

Toward the end of their second semes-ter, Fonsie noticed that Lesley had been putting on some belly weight.

“I looked seven months pregnant,” Lesley said. “Sometimes I would look down and couldn’t see my feet or tie my own shoes. That’s when I knew some-thing was seriously wrong.”

After numerous tests and a CAT scan, the doctors found a 14-pound tumor in her left ovary.

Lesley’s doctor rushed her to Louis-ville, Kentucky, for emergency surgery to remove the tumor and one of her ovaries.

Lesley made a full recovery and returned to school after that summer. However, years later, she realized the surgery’s toll on her body.

In 1998, Fonsie and Lesley finished

college, got married and moved to Flori-da for Fonsie to begin his doctoral work.

They began trying, unsuccessfully, to have children. One of Lesley’s friends encouraged her to go to a doctor to see if there was a problem.

“I felt like everything in my life was revolving around [trying to have chil-dren],” Lesley said. “I was sad all the time because I was seeing person after person having children, and it wasn’t happening for me.”

Doctors discovered the damage from Lesley’s tumor left her with less than five percent chance of conceiving naturally. The months that followed were dark as Lesley and Fonsie struggled to deal with the reality of the prognosis.

“I wasn’t as sad that I couldn’t birth children, it was more the thought of ‘I want to be a mom, and I want to be a mom right now. I don’t want to wait,’” Lesley said.

The CallProfessor and wife share adoption story

By Jenaye White

Southwestern Seminary is committed to walking alongside God-called men and women on their road to ministry. We will provide sound, biblical education to equip you, as well as help to remove barriers that can hinder you along the way. We’d like to introduce our new Road to Ministry Scholarships that will allow you an opportunity to have a year of tuition on us. Are you interested? Learn more at swbts.edu/roadtoministry

PREACH THE WORD. REACH THE WORLD. | SWBTS.EDU

WHEREVER GOD CALLS YOU,WE’LL HELP YOU GET THERE...

...and we’ll

even give you

a year of tuition

on us.

10

Photos by MiKalla Cotton

The couple desperately desired a family, but they both felt that they were not to pursue in vitro fertilization or any other medical options. Adoption was the only way.

After Fonsie finished his doctoral de-gree in 2004, he and Lesley immediately began the process of adoption.

After Fonsie’s encounter with the Lord in their living room, Lesley made the initial call to an agency and asked the coordinator which children were hardest to place in a home.

“That’s easy,” the coordinator replied. “Kids with special needs. Nobody ever wants them.”

A month later, Lesley was scrolling through the agency’s website. One name jumped out: Angel. He was 2 and a half years old with a visual cataract.

“There was zero reason for him to stand out among all the others, but I remember calling Fonsie and saying, ‘I saw this kid Angel on the website. He stood out to me.’”

The next time Lesley spoke with the adoption coordinator, she gave her a few names to consider, but other families were already considering those children.

Lesley said to the coordinator, “No, we want a child that no one else wants. What about Angel?”

Three days later, record-breaking time in a typical adoption process, the paper-work arrived on the Guilarans’ doorstep.

When Lesley showed it to Fonsie, he said, “I don’t even have to look at it. That’s my son.”

In November 2005, the Guilarans traveled to the Philippines and trekked through the jungle to Angel’s orphan-age, located on the side of a volcano.

The little boy in Fonsie’s arms was 4 years old but only weighed 19 pounds. His diet at the orphanage was over-boiled rice with water and honey, shoved into his mouth through a bottle. Angel could not chew or drink from a cup, and he wore 18-month baby’s clothes.

Angel was deaf, had a cataract in one eye and was autistic. But Fonsie and Lesley said they were filled with inde-scribable love for their young son.

“I cannot possibly describe the first moments that I saw my sweet boy tod-dling down the hall to me,” Lesley said. “After waiting for six years since first trying to conceive, I held my son.”

Over the next few years, Angel under-went surgeries, diagnoses and a cochlear implant.

The Guilarans felt the Lord calling them to move to Jackson, one of two cities in Tennessee with a state-funded deaf school, West Tennessee School for the Deaf.

“God picked us up and gave us a new calling and community in Jackson,” Fonsie said. “Not only was there a state deaf school in the town, but Union’s insurance plan covered Angel’s cochlear implant.”

Still, Angel required a lot of daily care. Fonsie told Lesley again and again, “You need to accept that Angel might be it for us.”

But Lesley was brokenhearted. “I had always pictured tons of kids,”

she said. “But over time, I got to the point where I decided, ‘OK, God. If it’s just the three of us, then that’s the fami-ly you have for us, and that’s fine.’”

An email arrived in Lesley’s inbox a few months later from a woman from Angel’s school. It said: “Can I send you the information for a little boy in Hong Kong who needs a family?”

Lesley wrote back immediately: “Yes.” The woman replied with a photo of

Xiao Yu, a 4-year-old boy who was deaf in both ears.

Later that night, she nervously showed Fonsie the picture, assuming he would never go for it.

“What do you think about this?” she asked.

“Well, we need to get him here right away so we can get him an implant, because he’s already 4 years old,” Fonsie told her. “We already have a deaf school. We know sign language. We are parent-ing a deaf child. It just makes sense.”

Though they were confident it was time to adopt again, the Guilarans quickly ran into financial hurdles.

“We said, ‘OK God, we are willing, but if you want us to do this, you have to pay for it,’” Fonsie said.

A month later, a friend showed up at the Guilaran’s doorstep. She handed Fonsie an envelope with a check for $10,000.

“We had a stock go up overnight,” she told Fonsie. “We prayed about it, and God said to give the money to you.”

After several more unexpected contri-butions, Fonsie and Lesley were $12,500 on their way toward Xiao Yu’s adoption.

“I cannot possibly describe the first moments that I saw my sweet boy toddling down the hall to me.”

11

Left: Xiao Yu Guilaran, age 6, with mother Lesley Guilaran. Right: Angel Guilaran, age 12, enjoys making music on his keyboard.

“That was a very clear statement that God was going to pay for it,” Fonsie said. “My students gave me money, things to sell. People at our church donated – literally the body of Christ gave us the money we needed for our adoption to bring Xiao Yu home.”

In December 2011, Fonsie and Lesley picked up their second son, Xiao Yu, from China.

Angel and Xiao Yu are perfect for each other, even with a six-year age differ-ence, the Guilarans said.

On a typical afternoon, the boys play in the backyard as Lesley prepares din-ner inside their home. Angel balances on the new swing that Fonsie built while Xiao Yu runs around the yard, kicking a ball or yelling for his brother to join in the fun.

Angel is introverted, pensive and loving. He wears hearing aids and com-municates in sign language.

Xiao Yu is extroverted, energetic and usually smiling. He wears removable hearing aids and knows basic words thathe would much rather shout than speak, because that is more fun for a 6-year-old.

Fonsie and Lesley said they hope that one day he will be able to speak fluent English.

The boys do everything together and do not enjoy being apart.

When Angel begins to sink back into his own world, Xiao Yu takes him by the shoulders and says: “You will look at me! Angel. Angel. Angel!”

When the Guilarans reflect on their journey to adopt Angel and Xiao Yu, they are overwhelmed by the pieces of the story and how they fit together.

“We didn’t engineer any of this,” Fonsie said. “We could have never done that. It’s all the Lord.”

“Parenting our boys is not easy. It comes with many trials and with deep suffering at times,” Lesley said. “But, it also comes with deep joy, sanctification and love. We have seen the grace of God lived out in each of our children’s lives, and I cannot imagine my life any other way.”

“We have seen the grace of God lived out in each of our children’s lives, and I cannot imagine my life any other way.”

12

Lesley and Fonsie Guilaran spend quality time goofing off with their two sons at their home in Jackson.

Fonsie and Angel Guilaran watch football while Lesley Guilaran colors with Xiao Yu.

13

Bulldog Sport

“I love [the sidewalk couples] cliché because it is true,” said Yuria Durham, senior special education major. “Plain and simple.”

Relationship Cliché

“I like independent music because it is on the cutting edge of trends in the music industry,” said Chris Hare, junior digital media studies major. “Finding and listening to an artist who is doing something really different gets me excited, because if he or she does it well, other people may catch on. There's a large emphasis put on craft, rather than promotion.”

Music Genre

A Surveyof Fall2014

“I prefer Instagram over other social media because there is less personal opinions on there,” said Christopher Bolyard, senior exercise science major. “Pictures are already worth a thousand words, and it’s not neces-sary for people to say much. It’s also a good way to connect with celebrities, brands and people around the world and not be distracted by advertisements.”

Social Media

“[Student Activities Council] is great be-cause they find a way to involve everyone on campus,” said Caleb Wagler, senior nursing major. “They do great events such as Movie on the Lawn, Variety Show, and it’s always a good time.”

Student Organization

“My favorite drink from Barefoots has to be their mango smoothies,” said Holly Johnson, junior marketing major. “Maybe it’s the milk they put in it, or maybe it’s just the fact the baristas are just really good at what they do.”

Barefoots Drink

"I love Barefoots because it accounts for a lot of memories I have, even before I came to Union,” said Amy Knack, freshman teaching English as a second language and Spanish double major. “It's where I saw Andrew Belle and had coffee with my brother and crammed for exams with my roommate."

Place to Hang Out

“[Wrap Wednesday] is consistent and it’s al-ways good,” said Clayton Stewart, sophomore Christian studies major. “You always know what to expect without any surprises.”

Campus Meal

“I love skinny jeans and flannel because they’re super comfortable and very cute,” said Aubrey Marquardt, senior psychology major.

fall Fashion

Reporting by Dominique Willingham

“The atmosphere at basketball games are fun to experience and our team is fun to watch,” said Will Duncan, senior engineer-ing major.

14

After a two-year hiatus, the annual Greek Olympics returned this year. The six organizations competed in a series of five classic competitions: 200-yard swimming relay, football toss, 200-yard running relay, rope pull and chariot race. Chi Omega women’s fraternity won first place overall, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity won first place in the men’s events.

Music Genre

Barefoots Drink

Place to Hang Out

Photos by Victor Miller

See More Photos Onlinewww.cardinalandcream.org

You can stay with Union after you complete your bachelor’s and earn one of 13 graduate degrees offered.

With programs in Jackson, Germantown and Hendersonville, as well as online, you can continue Christ-centered academic excellence as you advance toward your education and career goals.

Advance Your Mind. Advance Your Career.

Business Administration – MBA*

Education – MAEd | MEd* | MUEd | EdS* | EdD*

Intercultural Studies – MAIS

Nursing – MSN* | DNP

Pharmacy – PharmD

Social Work – MSW

Theology and Missions – MCS* | DMin

*online option available

E X C E L L E N C E - D R I V E N | C H R I S T- C E N T E R E D | P E O P L E - F O C U S E D | F U T U R E - D I R E C T E D

Explore the options available to you at

uu.edu/graduate

Taylor-Brooke McLeanClass of ’10, MSN class of ’13

Diego SantosClass of ’13, current MBA student

13GRADUATEDEGREES

James BarbeeClass of ’13, MEd class of ’14

Lest We ForgetNew tradition honors past and embraces futureBy Kate Benedetti

Campus leaders Clare Williams, Mary Wayne and Rebecca Williams assist one another in lighting their candles just before the event begins.Submitted photos | Kristi Woody

Despite heavy rains and sky-split-ting lightning just hours before,

the incoming class of 2018 assembled in the circular courtyard outside the Penick Academic Complex. Each stu-dent took a polished stone from the fountain and followed the sidewalk to Miller Tower — a path lit by the can-dles of nearly 200 student leaders.

The candle-lit journey was part of a new Union University tradition called Lest We Forget.

Jared Dauenhauer, assistant director of student leadership and engagement, spearheaded the project, which takes its name from the Union yearbook last published in 2001.

The concept sprang from discussion with students and faculty about the way Union views tradition, Dauen-hauer said, as well as the role of FOCUS orientation to communicate important messages to students.

The aim of Lest We Forget, he said, is to impress on new students that they are part of a larger story at Union University, a story of God’s faithfulness in the past, present and future.

Josh Clarke, director of alumni relations, also spoke at the event, which he helped plan. Clarke said the

Lest We Forget tradition shares many themes with this year’s Homecoming celebration.

Both events aim “to look back over what the Lord has done, to see what he’s doing now and always look forward to the future of what God is doing at Union University,” Clarke said. “Dr. Oliver and a new admin-istration ... the library and all these other things that are happening lead to this great future that we hope for in the Lord.”

He wants both incoming students and returning alumni to recognize that Union life spans more than four short years, he said, connecting instead to a legacy which spans 190 years, two Jackson campuses, 16 presidents and more than 25,000 living alumni.

Clarke hopes Lest We Forget will “instill in coming students this idea of a great cloud of witnesses, the legacy that has been left,” he said.

“Scripture continually talks about leaving that legacy, so the genera-tions that come will be able to ask and talk about it, and those who are here will be able to say, ‘This is what the Lord did.’”

By placing the event on Sunday

night, the conclusion of FOCUS week, Dauenhauer hopes to usher students into the midst of Union life.

“You’re one of us,” he said. “You’re no longer just this incoming student that nobody knows. Once you par-ticipate in this tradition ... you’re culturally here.”

Every step of the tradition is significant, Dauenhauer said. First, new students met at the fountain, a gift from the class of 1963 that recreates a gathering place on Union’s old campus.

The stones in the fountain had been placed and prayed over by student leaders representing Life Groups, Student Government Association, Student Activities Council and other organizations.

These same leaders held the can-dles illuminating the walkway and represented “those who are going to help light the way for [new students] during their time at Union,” Dauen-hauer said.

In future years, he plans to invite more staff, faculty and alumni to participate.

At the end of the ceremony, stu-dents placed their stones in a ring around the circle garden by Miller

17

Tower. The stones are “a reminder, a memorial, an Ebenezer for them” of God’s continuing work in their lives, Dauenhauer said.

Each year before FOCUS begins, student leaders will recycle the rocks by placing them back in the fountain. And the process repeats.

“The class of 2018, the class of 2022 will use those same rocks, and we’re just creating memorial after memorial after memorial in that space, all saying, ‘Let’s do this, lest we forget what God has done,’” Dauenhauer said.

Lee Wilson, director of discipleship, delivered a speech at Miller Tower as students arrived, holding their stones, on the still-damp earth of the Great Lawn.

He described the moment as “monumental,” and said he himself had not been able to resist picking up a stone in order to participate.

“We are gathered here, in spite of the gnarly weather and late hour, because we do not want to miss this moment in your life,” Wilson said.

“You are making a crossing, cutting across the border between all you have known and find comfortable and going into the unknown; a foreign landscape of uncertain relationships, ideas, decisions and responsibilities. It might be Mars. Or it might just be West Tennessee. But whatever it is, this crossing is marked by stones.”

Wilson introduced the new students to the upperclassmen who sur-rounded the area with candlelight, and he encouraged them to absorb and reflect on the moment.

“This tradition is the first mark you are making in the story of your school,” he said. “This will become a sacred place, a remembering place. It

will be a place to hold your memories as you hold your stones now. It is a place you are building.”

After the students set their stones in place, Wilson and the upperclass-men led the group in a chant learned during the previous day’s spirit rally: “Never forget. Never forget. We. Are. Union.”

Hundreds of voices repeated these words twice.

Then the students held up both hands in the form of a U before Wilson concluded the night by saying a prayer.

Caroline Logan, freshman business major, said she did not know what to expect when she came to the event, but she was impressed by the symbol-ism and emotion of the experience. She was honored that her class is the first to participate in the tradition, she said.

“It made me feel really special and important,” Logan said. “It made me feel like they really cared about all the students, like we weren’t just numbers. We were actual people.”

“This will become a sacred place, a remembering place. It will be a place to hold your memories as you hold your stones now. It is a place you are building.”

18

Fred Fanatics Spark New Traditions

By Ali Renckens

You can recognize them by the energy they rouse in the crowd, how they

bring people to their feet in a wave of red and white.

They are a revived tradition at Union: the Fred Fanatics.

The Fred Fanatics are making a come-back. They were officially started on Family Weekend in 2005.

“I was on Steve Beverly’s basketball broadcasting team, and I remember him often referring to the [Fred Delay Gymna-sium] as ‘The Fred,’ so we organized ideas around marketing ‘The Fred’ somehow,” said Justin Philips, director of student affairs in 2005.

The Fred Fanatics were re-established this academic year when Jared Dauenhau-er, assistant director of student leadership and engagement, saw an opportunity to increase school spirit.

“Jared was passionate about bringing more school spirit to Union, specifically to basketball games first,” said Hunter Hawes, senior biblical studies major and leader of the Fanatics. “… he knew that there were already some guys going to games and leading cheers and yelling, so he wanted to pull from them to start the Fred Fanatics as a way to organize the cheers.”

Hawes was one of the first students Dauenhauer approached about starting the Fanatics.

Will Spicer, senior political science major, is another member of the group.

“The Fred Fanatics’ goal is to create an appreciation for Union University through the support of our athletics teams,” Spicer said. “We want for Union students to have a sense of pride about being a Bulldog.”

Hawes said that the group goes to sport-

ing events and leads cheers in an effort to impact overall school spirit.

“The focus of our work is in trying to uni-fy cheering at games along with spreading the word about games,” Hawes said.

Spicer said he was attracted to the group because the Fanatics inspire school spirit and enrich school culture.

“The reason I joined Fred Fanatics is out of the desire to make a change in culture at Union,” Spicer said. “I would go to basket-ball games and think, ‘Man these games are great, but there aren’t many people attending.’ I also thought that it would be an even better experience if there was a sense of solidarity in the student section.”

The Fred Fanatics have already begunworking to instill a strong sense of school pride in new students. During FOCUS new student orientation, the group led a spirit rally, where they taught cheers and chants to the new students.

“I really enjoyed being given the oppor-tunity to teach the incoming freshmen the cheers at FOCUS week,” Spicer said. “It was just great to see people participating and getting into cheering.”

The Fanatics will also be attending at least one game of every sport throughout the year and hosting various events, such as tailgating parties.

“It was really special to see some of my best friends and some of the most influ-ential people on campus buy into the new idea right from the start,” Hawes said.

19

Willie Louth, junior economics major, leads the freshman class in a cheer during FOCUS.

Will Spicer, Willie Louth and Hunter Hawes teach new chants and cheers.

Photos by Emily Stookey

Buster the Bulldog has been synon-ymous with Union school spirit for

more than 90 years. In 1920, the bulldog and Union athletics became united and Buster has been a constant symbol of the university.

Many have worn the costume and at-tended games and events, rallying students to harbor school pride. Move-in days, family weekends and basketball games are just some of the events that Buster attends to raise morale and create a link between current students and alumni.

“Buster is so closely intertwined with their experience,” said Josh Clarke, direc-tor of alumni services.

The latest to slip into the suit is Josiah Murphy, freshman Christian studies major, who said he is excited for the opportunity to raise school spirit and participate in many events on campus.

“The plan is for me to be the full-time Buster,” Murphy said. “We want Buster to be active in the community, to go to

hospitals and schools and really get Union’s name out there and make Buster an image that represents the school.”

Union’s NCAA eligibility calls for an increase in school spirit and even more reason for Buster to be an on-campus presence, according to Clarke. Union’s First Lady, Susie Oliver, has offered her-self as a resource.

“She has the creative genius to be able to take it to the next level,” Clarke said. Oliver has more than 30 years of experi-ence working with school cheerleaders and mascots and said she is very happy to work alongside Clarke and others regard-ing Buster.

“I think that mascots are a very import-ant part of school spirit,” Oliver said. “They can be an easy face of the school, and they can also be in the community.

“Most everybody loves a mascot, so they can just have more fun with you than someone who isn’t in a costume,” Oliver added.

A live mascot that a student organization could take care of and have on campus is something Oliver hopes for.

“I know that, historically, we have had one,” she said. “And I think it would be a great addition to our campus.”

BusterUnites Union Athletics

By Chelsea CobbThe bulldog kept on campus was a

symbol of the university from the time it was given to Union as a class gift in 1998 to its passing in the early 2000s.

Oliver even has a name for the potential live mascot in mind: “Double U,” because of President “Dub” and the school being known as “UU.”

There have been many changes at Union over the years. However, Clarke said Buster has long been a large part of school spirit.

“I think that mascots are a very important part of school spirit.”

“We want Buster to be active in the community, to go to hospitals and schools and really get Union’s name out there and make Buster an image that represents the school.”

20

Ray Van Neste, professor of biblical studies, and his children Abigail and Thomas pose with Bust-er during move-in. | Photo by Emily Stookey

Photo by Amanda Rohde

Union University’s athletic program began in the late 1800s and has

sought to incorporate the four core values of the university, according to athletics personnel.

Since its implementation, Union’s athletic program has been home to five national championships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, seven National Christian College Ath-letic Association championships and an NCAA small college national cham-pionship. Union students, graduates and coaches have included numerous All-Americans, an NFL Hall of Fame inductee and four competitors in the Olympics.

Union was declared an active member of NCAA Division II in July 2014. From 1972 until 2011, Union competed in the NAIA. However, from the time athlet-ics began until 1972, Union competed in the NCAA, acting as a dual member of the NCAA and NAIA.

During its time in the NCAA, Union’s baseball team won the NCAA small college national championship in 1963 and was runner-up in 1964. The Bull-dogs defeated Southern Illinois Univer-sity in the 1963 championship game. David Blackstock was an outfielder for the team during both seasons.

“Winning the championship in ‘63 was special because all of the players were very close to one another, as most of the guys were from the Jackson

area,” Blackstock said. “There wasn’t a lot to do in Jackson back then, so we pretty much spent all of our time together as a very tight knit group.

“Being a part of a national champi-onship team is great no matter who is involved or what level it may be at,” he added.

Blackstock was inducted into the Union Hall of Fame in 2006, followed by the 1963 baseball team in 2009. Blackstock became Union’s athletic director in 1973 and had a career of 34 years in the athletic department. He coached the baseball team for 11 years and the softball team for two years. Blackstock was the head coach of the women’s basketball team when they won the NAIA national championship in 1998 and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1999. He resides in Jackson and frequently attends Union sporting events.

In 1975, the women’s basketball team went 3-0 against Pat Head Summit and the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. This was a feat no other school in the country has ever been able to accom-plish, according to a 2005 article in The Jackson Sun by Dan Morris.

The coach at the time was Peggy Birmingham. She led the Lady Bulldogs to upset the Lady Vols three different times during the 1974-75 season, which was also Summit’s first year coaching at Tennessee.

The women’s basketball team carries a history of its own within the athletic

department. In 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 the Lady Bulldogs were crowned NAIA Division I national champions, and in 2014 they were NCCAA national champions. In 1993, 1997, 2011 and 2012 the Lady Bulldogs were NAIA Division I runner-ups. The team is also one of two NAIA programs in the country to have more than 1,000 wins.

In the history of women’s basket-ball at Union, there have been 24 NAIA All-Americans and two NCCAA All-Americans. One is a current senior on the team, Amy Philamlee, an exer-cise science major from Jonesboro, Arkansas.

“Athletics is a way to connect to peo-ple when other barriers may exist,” said Steven Aldridge, director of sports in-formation. “It is a way to get one’s story out there and connect to people when you otherwise might not normally.”

Union has been a part of several international mission trips, providing teams with the opportunity to travel.

In the summer of 2010, the women’s basketball team traveled to Uganda. The women’s team has also been on two trips to Haiti.

“Union has done an excellent job since the beginning of its athletics for that purpose which is ultimately to make a difference in the world,” Al-dridge said.

“By positively teaching our athletes

‘Christ-Centered’

‘Excellence-Driven’

Athletes Bring Core By Lydia Wright

Late 1800s: Start of Union Athletics

1919: Joe Guyon named head football coach

Spring 1941: Paul “Bear” Bryant hired

1963: Baseball team won NCAA Small College National

Championship

21

to be a Christian light during their time here, the after effect is that they are able to make a positive difference wherever they go after Union, at whatever level that may be.”

The men’s soccer team traveled to Brazil in 2011, and the women’s soccer team traveled to Eleuthera in 2013.

Joe Guyon was head football coach from 1919 to 1925, according to James Alex Baggett’s book, “So Great a Cloud of Witnesses: Union University 1823-2000.” Guyon was among the first class of inductees into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971.

Guyon played for six different teams in the NFL and played for the New York Giants in the 1927 NFL championship. He was also inducted into the Union Hall of Fame in 2008.

In the spring of 1941, Union hired one of the most recognized faces in the history of college football.

Paul “Bear” Bryant received his first coaching job as he was named the assistant coach of the football team that year.

However, before the season began, Bryant accepted a position on the coaching staff at the University of Alabama.

He was also a coach at Vanderbilt University and was the head coach at the University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, Texas A&M and the University of Alabama.

Bryant went on to win a national championship at University of Ken-tucky and six national championships at the University of Alabama where he spent 25 years working as their head coach. “The history of the people and the coaches who have been here is what makes this place different,” said Tom-my Sadler, director of Union athletics. “You realize when you get older that you don’t remember the games you won and lost, but you always remember your teammates and coaches.”

Aside from women’s basketball, Union has also been home to 45 NAIA All-Americans and many others during previous years competing at the NCAA level and the NCCAA levels as well.

In the history of Union baseball, there have been 33 players selected to the Major League Baseball draft.

Several players from the men’s bas-ketball team have gone on to play at the professional level, and 18 players have continued to play after graduation.

Union has also been home to several Olympic athletes. A track coach, Al

Alan was a 1932 Olympic hurdler. Cano Valez played baseball from 1986-1988 and pitched for the Puerto Rican team. Volleyball player Gladys Wandera played for Kenya in the 2004 Olympics, and women’s basketball player DJ Sissoko played for Mali in the 2008 Olympics.

“We are blessed to have outstanding coaches and athletes here at Union,” Sadler said. “We are also very fortunate to have won some national champion-ships, and we are very proud of those, but it is the memories that we each have from the people that makes this place really special.”

In 1975, Union made the move from downtown Jackson to the current cam-pus. There have been upgrades in the athletic facilities on Union’s campus within the last 15 years.

“As an athletic program, if you are not looking to the future, you are going backwards,” Sadler said. “In athletics, you cannot afford to stand still, if you do, people are going to pass you by.”

Union is in its first year competing at the NCAA Division II level in the Gulf South Conference, which is a confer-ence that has won 49 national cham-pionships since its inception. Union has 11 varsity sports teams: men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s cross country.

‘People-Focused’

‘Future-Directed’

Values to Gulf South

1998: Women’s basketball won first Div. I NAIA National

Championship

2003: Volleyball team won first NCCAA National

Championship

May 2013: Softball team won NCCAA National

Championship

July 2014: Union Athletics became NCAA Div. II Eligible

22

“You realize when you get older that you don’t remember the games you won and lost, but you always remember your teammates and coaches.”

T his summer, Barefoots Joe underwent renovations,

which include a new bar that folds up into the wall during concerts, a new light by the bar, four new tables, new paint on the walls and a new Barefoots Joe sign as the backdrop to the stage.

“We wanted to modernize the room, giving it a cleaner, fresher look,” said Joy Moore, director of Barefoots Joe. “The gray paint brightens the room, as does the new light fixture, and the new wood ad-ditions create a better overall aesthetic.”

Levi Hartsfield, junior engi-neering major and roaster for

Hartsfield researched more than 100 coffees from Barefoots’ importer and settled on 13 to taste. After tasting those, he and Moore selected six for the semester.

“I am very excited about what is coming out of the roasters,” Hartsfield said.

Along with these new coffees, Barefoots will debut new sleeves for the coffee cups.

member of the Barefoots’ leadership team, said Barefoots hopes to be progressive and

Barefoots Joe: A New Look

By Jake Wynn

“The design process was motivated by the

desire to give Barefoots a renewed feeling.”

Barefoots Joe, hand built some of the new pieces, including the bar and the new wooden sign.

“The design pro-cess was motivated by the de-sire to give Barefoots a renewed feeling,” Hartsfield said. “We wanted to change the color to brighten it up and make it feel

The stamp for the old sleeves had been used so frequently that it became difficult to read the label.

Moore and Chris Hare, junior digital media studies major, worked together to design a

new, more simplified stamp to use for the sleeves.

Joseph Smith, junior business man-agement and psychology major and

more welcoming. With the bar and new ta-bles, we wanted to give more seating while also creating the feeling of having more space.”

“We’re aiming to give students a really high-

grade product, whether it’s in our coffee or in music or

an art showcase.”

Along with these physical renovations, Barefoots is in-troducing six new coffees to their menu this semester from Mexico, Columbia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ethiopia.

vision-focused.“We’re aiming to

give students a really high-grade product, whether it’s in our coffee or in music or an art showcase,” Smith said.

“That’s something we take a lot of pride in, and I think the new space is a lot sharp-er and cleaner and a little more professional.

“I think it really highlights the services that we provide,” Smith said. “You know you’re getting a product that’s good, and that’s what we at Barefoots are really working for.”

The staff at Barefoots Joe said they are excited about the direction the coffee shop is heading with the new changes in menu and the upgrades to the physical appearance of the location.

“It’s fun,” Smith said. “Change is fun.”

Photo by Amanda Rohde

24

What happens when hos-pitality, music and film

come together? An original “Sound on Film” production is created.

The idea for Sound on Film was developed by alumnus

ness management and psychology major, and Joy Moore, director of Barefoots Joe, collaborate to look for new bands and work with the production managers or producers to book shows.

They initially ask the bands if they would be interested in being a part of Sound on Film. Once the band is booked and has agreed to be a part of Sound on Film, the process of preparing for the film begins.

“At this point, I start looking for loca-tions with a good atmosphere and proper

videographers and sound as-sistants meet about 30 minutes before the artist is scheduled to arrive at the location. They set up everything ahead of time so they can begin when the artists arrive.

“It is a great experience to work in the live music industry in my area of film,” Penuel said. “Setting up is always fun because we get to talk and hang out with the band, getting to know them and where they have been in their careers.”

The band will play a song sev-eral times before heading back to Barefoots to prepare for the concert.

Hare packs up the cameras and equipment and returns to campus to begin editing.

The editing process takes about 15 hours combined.

After editing, Hare sends the finished product to the

“It is a great experience to work in the live music

industry in my area of film.”

The end of the 2014 spring semester brought

transitions for the leadership of Sound on Film.

hospitality for the bands, finds the location to shoot the film, books videographers, checks out the cameras from the com-munication arts department, assists in videoing, edits the video once it is filmed and publishes the film on Barefoots Joe’s YouTube page.

to reserve enough cameras for that day and reach out to other videographers to help with filming.”

Hare said Gabe Farmer, senior digital media studies major, and Peyton Penuel, senior digital media studies major, are often eager to help.

On the day of the concert, Hare and the

There are several people involved in the making of a Sound on Film production from beginning to end.

First, the bands must be booked.

Joseph Smith, junior busi-

light and sound accommo-dations that will fit with the artist’s style,” Hare said. “Then, I contact Dr. [Chris] Blair in communication arts

Benjamin Wright, class of 2014, who loved getting to know the various bands that played at Barefoots and doing videography.

He combined his passions, cre-ating a series of short films fea-turing artists that performed at Barefoots Joe.

Each production is typically a raw view of the artist or band performing an acoustic version of one of their songs in various locations. Wright also created a YouTube page for Sound on Film and Bare-foots Joe as a way to publish the films for both fans and the artists to enjoy.

The end of the 2014 spring semester brought transitions for the leadership of Sound on Film.

After graduation, Wright passed his responsibilities on to Chris Hare, junior digital media studies major

Hare is now responsible for organizing all of the Sound on Film productions. He conducts

band’s production manager to receive their final approv-al. If everything looks good, the

video is ready to upload to the website.

Check out the latest Sound on Film at youtube.com/bare-footsjoe or follow Barefoots Joe on Instagram and Twitter: @barefootsjoe.

By DeShawn ManleyTakénobu, cellist and composer, performs for Sound on Film in spring 2013. | Submitted photo

Finding Inspiration in dust and clayBy Evan Estes

Photos by Amanda Rohde

Dust laces the floors and desks of the art studio, covering artists from

head to toe in gray-brown ash. The leftover specks of clay travel around the space looking for a place to rest.

The studio, filled with busy students, keeps the dust moving through the air. Caitlyn Miller does not describe the room in the Penick Academic Complex as dirty.

For the senior art major, the particles that stain her clothes are the byprod-ucts of her ceramic expressions of imperfection and beauty.

Miller, who is from Spring Hill, Tennessee, did not always know she wanted to be an artist. Her creative work was simply a form of communication.

“I was a shy kid,” she said. “Art was a way for me to show affection — to show people I love them.”

As an incoming freshman, the Inde-pendence High School graduate chose art education as her major.

However, a decision to switch majors came during a mission trip when she witnessed the beauty and grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

Miller will graduate from Union University in December with bachelor of fine arts in ceramics and a secondary emphasis in painting.

Much of Miller’s work is inspired by George Ohr, a ceramic artist who desired that none of his pieces be the same. Instead, he emphasized imper-fection.

“I connect to his work because it’s kind of how I think about my own work,” Miller said. “I want my work to be more than just pots; I want people to see dirt in a different way.”

One of her latest mugs encapsulates this theme of finding beauty in the midst of flaws; the bottom half of the mug appears broken, with fragments of wood-fired clay attached to a mold. The top half remains smooth and intact, providing contrast as it sits upon its “shattered” foundation.

This constant theme seen throughout her pottery can also be credited to the art community. While experiencing

the significance and fragility of life last year, Miller has learned to see beauty in everybody — in their imperfection, heart and hard work.

As the young artist developed her skills, relationships within the art de-partment left an impact that she said will transcend her years at Union and even the art itself.

To Miller, the art community is “a bunch of beautiful artists and creators that love each other. They taught me what being selfless means and how to love well.”

Miller recently won the department’s Bezalel Award. The award is given to the student who builds community while producing quality work.

Autumn Wegner, sophomore art major, said she sees Miller as a leader in the art department.

“She sets a beautiful example to everyone who surrounds her and en-ergizes a room the moment she steps through the door,” Wegner said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to know her and learn from her.”

Another senior art major, Kristen Witham, also said Miller has an impact on the department.

“She’s always working hard on her own work, but is also eager to help oth-ers and is involved in almost everything the department does,” Witham said.

Miller’s senior show in November will showcase her pottery while she explains her themes and techniques.

Open to the public, her final presen-tation will touch on the significance of the materials she uses throughout the work on display.

Miller plans on displaying her work throughout the semester at various events and craft fairs.

After her winter graduation, Miller plans on returning to Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts for three months, where she previously worked as an intern. During that temporary job, she will continue looking for in-ternships and studio space.

“I want people to know how to use dirt, because that is what we are,” she said.

in dust and clay“Art was a way for me to show affection — to show people I love them.”

“She sets a beautiful example to everyone who surrounds her and energizes a room the moment she steps through the door.”

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Miller poses with fellow art students Paige Smiley, Casey Manner, Erin Sower, Olivia Avery and Zac Pankey.

Photos by Amanda Rohde

By Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver

‘Where He Wants Us To Be’

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and

your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. (Genesis 12:1,4)

When God calls, my desire is to heed that call. I want to be found faithful because it is impossible to please God without faith.

While I am certainly not Abraham (not even close), God’s call is what brought me to Union. While it is hard to describe that call succinctly in this column, let me just say that His call was clear and unmistakable through the discernment process. We moved from Texas to Tennessee. People asked, “Do you have family in Tennessee?” People asked, “Do you have any connection to Union?” People asked, “Do you know anyone in Jackson?” No. But, when God calls us to leave family and friends and the land with which we are so

familiar, the only response should be to say “Yes” to God – to go.

I’m not saying it is easy or comfortable, but that it is right and good.

You may remember that during the day I was introduced this past February, I quoted lyrics from the song “Oceans” by Hillsong United– Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever you would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior

It is hard to leave a place and people you love. But, you know what? When you let go and fall into His arms, God gives a peace

that strengthens your faith and expands the borders of your trust. God, in His infinite love, brought us to a new place and people that we already love deeply.

He has blessed us with new friends whose gracious welcome and abiding love has overwhelmed us. He has rooted us in such a way that we already feel well-established in this new place of service. He has confirmed over and over that we are where He wants us to be.

We are so deeply grateful to the Union family and to our God, who spoke it all into being.

Dub Psalm 90:17

Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver is Union University president.

27Photo by MiKalla Cotton

A month after I was elected president of the Student Government Association,

I was writing agendas, planning events, finalizing last-minute details for my first semester in the position and trying to antic-ipate what the year would hold.

However, my plans quickly changed when, only a few weeks into the semester, tragedy struck. The campus mourned, classes were canceled, events were post-poned and there was an overarching sense of “what do we do now?” Any plans I or any other leader had made were thrown out the window, because suddenly the needs of our campus had changed.

Over the past year I have learned an incredibly practical yet important lesson about leadership: excellent leaders identify the ever-changing needs of those they serve and work creatively to meet those needs, no matter the circumstance. I learned this les-son through the example of student leaders and administration who served well during a difficult and chaotic time for the campus.

In the events surrounding Olivia Green-lee’s death, David Dockery, former univer-sity president, creatively and intentionally served our campus well by meeting specific needs in a time of crisis despite the tremen-dous pressures and demands he faced. He called a town hall meeting to explain what was happening and canceled chapel meet-ings so students could have time to rest and grieve.

Social Work Reaches Out, the campus social work student association, also served students by transforming the upstairs Bowld area into the “Care and Comfort Room,” which included massage chairs

and snacks replenished daily by SWRO leaders. I heard countless students ex-press pleasant surprise and gratitude for the “new room.”

Times of tragedy certainly provide op-portunities for leaders to identify and meet needs, but the true challenge is showing this kind of leadership during the ‘normal’ and ‘good’ times as well. It is impossible to predict what will happen during our time of service, but we leaders are called to serve regardless of the circumstance.

As SGA president, I am called not only to carry out my own agenda, but also to serve and represent the student body in a way that is fitting for their current needs. Therefore, this school year presents a new opportunity to practice leading in such a way that is attentive to the needs of those we serve.

Jenaye White, senior public relations major, is Student Government Association president and Cardinal & Cream manag-ing editor.

By Jenaye White

‘Leaders Meet Changing Needs’

"It is impossible to predict what will happen during our time of service, but we leaders are called to serve regardless of the circumstance."

28Photo by Meg Rushing

T his past May, I worked late grading papers and, for a break, walked from

my office into the neighboring gallery space to see Ellen Cline’s senior show. No one was around. In fact, the Penick Academic Complex seemed empty, and as I sat on the bench, I drifted into the film — really three brief films — uninterrupted: its assemblage, its music called up in me a number of emo-tions just below conscious thought.

I watched not her, exactly, but the stones she carried, the red clay she loosed and lugged out bucket by bucket, the red rectan-gles she hand-shaped on snow. The flag she sewed and draped from a tree she climbed. The images evoked holy asceticism, each shouldering the weight of another: small graves, and then that banner, tattered, mud-tainted, sewn together. And, in the final scene, cascading down like some mix of surrender and freedom. I must have sat there 30 minutes, and somewhere along the way, I realized the piece was doing something to me, in me, and I let myself be affected. As if I’d been invited into a conversation I’d only know by having it.

‘Where the Conversation Leads’By Joy Moore

Fifteen years ago, Ray Oldenburg, in his book “The Great Good Place,” discussed ways in which gathering places — or third places, meaning places outside home and outside work — benefit a community and its social capital. Gathering places enhance a community by offering physical space for people to connect, exchange ideas and build a network.

The students who proposed a coffee shop in 2007 had this in mind, and its purpose has remained central to the mission of Barefoots Joe.

So while the Barefoots team works to bring to campus specialty coffees, to host concerts with rising musicians and to celebrate the artistic talents of our stu-dent body, we see our quieter mission as cultivating a place where the intellectual and cultural life of our campus continues to grow. And so, let us all, as Ellen did to culminate her four-year tenure here, and as Dr. Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver challenged in his September sermon, bring all we have to bear, not knowing how we may be used by the Lord.

Joy Moore is director of Barefoots Joe and adjunct in the English department.

"We learn by personal experiences that illuminate ways we wish to continue and ways

we wish to avoid. If we remain curious, learning happens all the time, in obvious ways and in

small, perhaps unnoticed ways."We attend universities to seek truth, to be

educated and liberated, to develop ourselves and apprentice with wise men and women, to prepare for one’s vocation. Universities are places where we widen our knowledge and understanding, explore ideas, ask our-selves important questions about meaning and purpose and service in the world. We engage conversations that far pre-date and far outlast us. We have, you might say, accepted an invitation.

While here, we discourse in classrooms, in dorms, in offices, at lunch tables. Con-versations both planned and happenstance. With peers and professors, mentors and student life staff. We learn by personal experiences that illuminate ways we wish to continue and ways we wish to avoid. If we remain curious, learning happens all the time, in obvious ways and in small, perhaps unnoticed ways.

29 Photo by Meg Rushing

W it h the election of Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver as our new president, Union

can expect changes to take place. Even if Union did not have a new president, we would still face change because our entire culture is going through an era of rapid and dramatic change. In my 18 years at Union, I have seen enormous changes that have as much to do with the culture as they had to do with Union’s choices. The trick to change is to guide it rather than be driven by it.

When I came to Union in 1996 with re-sponsibility for technology and the library, the worldwide web was brand new. Unfor-tunately, most of our campus computers were old, so it was hard to navigate the web. Our library’s electronic catalog could be used only within the four walls of the library.

Dorm rooms had no internet access, but few students owned computers. The faculty and students used different email systems. The food service and the chapel program used different systems, neither of which connected to the academic or business computer systems. All the data had to be downloaded and physically transferred from one system to another.

By 1998 everything had changed. The technology and library staffs created a comprehensive technology infrastructure for the university and the library had global

By Hal Poe

degree completion program and LifeWay. When the MBA program and the new Master of Education, Master of Science in Nursing and Intercultural Studies Institute sought office space and dedicated classrooms, it was decided to build Jennings Hall to move communication arts, music and Christian studies out of the existing space to allow for the expansion of the adult programs.

With the growth of the adult graduate nursing degrees, it was decided to build White Hall to service those new programs. Finally, Providence Hall was built to pro-vide space for the new Pharmacy School and the growing nursing graduate programs. A campus in Germantown and a campus in Hendersonville were also added to provide adult education in those areas as well as a new building off campus in Jackson for adult studies.

I will go out on a limb and predict that in the coming years, the focus will return to our traditional 18-22 year old under-graduate students on the main campus in Jackson. The next building is a library, traditionally the intellectual heart of any university. Many changes will come, but Union will be what we make it.

Hal Poe is Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture and recipient of the 2013-2014 Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year Award.

‘Union Will Be What We Make It’

"I will go out on a limb and predict that in the

coming years, the focus will return to our traditional 18-22 year

old undergraduate students on the main campus in Jackson."

access, yet they would never be finished as we faced new change.

In those days we only had about 100 non-traditional students in the Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Education and evening school programs. Evening school students could never grad-uate because the university had no plan to offer the right courses in the proper sequence.

Today the adult, non-traditional pro-grams have almost twice as many students as our traditional 18-22 year old under-graduate program.

The adult students drove the expansion of the campus. The first new building of the Dockery administration housed the adult

30Photo by Amanda Rohde

Call or email today to request information or

schedule a campus visit.

Biblical.Missional.

Global.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / PACIFIC NORTHWEST / ARIZONA / ROCKY MOUNTAIN

phone 1.888.442.8701 email info@ggbts.edu web www.ggbts.edu

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Course schedules, Jackson weather, class rosters, Union social media – these features and many more are now easily accessible through Union’s new smartphone app, Ellucian GO, launched August 2014.

Union’s website describes Ellucian GO as a mobile-device application (app) that provides free and convenient access to university information and services. Anyone interested in Union can access public information regarding the university. In addition, current students, faculty and staff can sign in with their Union login information to view course in-

Like any other student, Laura Lee returned ready for a new semester, full of stories to share with friends. Unlike most stu-dents, her summer stories in-clude a three-week trip to Kenya and Tanzania that climaxed in summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro.

She left for Nairobi, Kenya, on July 7. From there, she traveled four hours by bus to Moshi Na-tional Park in Tanzania and em-barked on a seven day, 37- mile trek to the tallest peak in Africa. Five other American hikers and 24 members of a Tanzanian expedition company, Hidden Valley Safaris, were included in the group.

“I’m single, I’m graduating college soon,” Lee said. “…If I want to experience the world, now is the time. I want to seize the moment while I’m young.”

The team spent six days hik-ing to base camp and departed at midnight on the seventh day for the summit.

The trek ended on an icy, frozen summit that was home to

formation, class schedules and rosters, grades, account holds and emergency text alerts.

Will Walker, senior econom-ics major, downloaded the app in August after his roommate told him about it. At the begin-ning of the academic year he used it to remember his class schedule, but now he uses it daily.

“I think it’ll be handy to have, since WebAdvisor is a little cumbersome to go through,” Walker said. “My favorite thing is the ease of use, the schedules for athletics and academics. I really like having those on hand when I need them.”

“a huge, gorgeous, snow-capped glacier.”

The elevation at the top is 5,895 meters and the tempera-ture can be as cold as -8 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most of the team was wheez-ing for the final hour, and the wind chill was so frigid that Lee did not even want to take her hands out of her pockets for pictures, she said. But despite the below freezing weather and lack of oxygen, Lee said she has positive memories of the summit hike.

“It’s glorious to stand at the summit and enjoy the moment you worked so hard for,” Lee said. “… It made me want to explore even more. One thing I learned from this trip is just to see the people God puts in front of you. I learned to see him through the inconveniences and not to be self-consumed. I truly experienced him through his creation.”

New app provides quick access By Jenaye White

Union student summits Mt. KilimanjaroBy Emily Littleton

This semester, 14 students are setting quill pen to goatskin parchment, creating a medieval manuscript.

The project is part of the spe-cial topics class Medieval Piety, taught by Gavin Richardson, professor of English. This is the third time Richardson has assigned the creation of a medi-eval-style manuscript.

“The texts don’t mean as much, I think, because any at-tempt to make something cheap or free tends to trivialize it. But in the Middle Ages to have a text meant an animal had to die. You had to kill an animal, you had to bleed it, you had to skin it — somebody did. The vellum [parchment] was expensive.”

The class divided into four groups, each of which will create a portion of the Book of Hours, a Latin text that includes psalms and prayers that would be sung during seven canonical hours of the day.

The process started with the purchase of goatskin vellum

from a parchmenter in New York. Some supplies were purchased with departmental money, but every student also contributed $5 for the skin.

After careful planning, the students will create small illustrations called miniatures. Some will use artificial gold leaf, which is attached to the parch-ment with a glue-like substance called gesso.

Richardson said in medieval times, college students would rent portions — called quires — of their textbooks, then copying those books out by hand.

“Just think if every college student had to copy their own textbooks, and that was part of your education,” Richardson said. “You probably would not be quiet as cavalier about those books that you had to work so hard to own and have. Probably the knowledge that’s contained within those books would be more precious to you for having literally labored and sweated over those words.”

Students create medieval manuscriptBy Katherine Burgess

Elise Seufert, junior social work major on the volleyball team, and Emily Waggoner, ju-nior athletic training major on the women’s soccer team, were recognized by the Gulf South Conference for their athletic performance during the first week of play for both teams.

Seufert earned the title De-fensive Player of the Week as she lead the team with 67 digs in the four games the team played at the Henderson State (Arkansas) tournament.

Seufert currently has a to-tal of 118 digs and serves as the main libero for the Lady Bulldogs.

Waggoner, a goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team, was also named the Defensive Play-er of the Week as she recorded three saves in the shutout win against Trevecca Nazarene in the Lady Bulldog’s season opener.

“It means a lot to be recog-nized because of how much tal-ent there is on each of the teams in the GSC,” Seufert said. “It also means a lot because of the hard work I know everyone has been putting in for the past two years while we have been tran-sitioning to NCAA Division II. It is nice that different players will be recognized for that now.”

Athletes receive GSC weekly awardBy Lydia Wright

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Humans of Union is a project by Cardinal & Cream photographers to document the voice of the Union community.

Kevin Morgan, senior psychology major | “But seriously, the cool thing with the freshman and sophomore class is the start of the Union Cup and Lest We Forget. I look forward to seeing what traditions have been established in the future.”