Download entire yearbook - Harding University Digital Archives

Near the foothillseditor’s noteLast year’s book theme, ‘Molding a Masterpiece,’ came to me beforeI even applied for the editor-in-chief position. This year however,I had editor’s block and could not think of anything profound forthe theme of my last book as a Petit Jean staffer. Not until May, duringthe start of the 2008 graduation ceremony, did anything strike me.All in attendance of the graduation were asked to stand and singHarding’s alma mater, and a girl down the row from me said somethingto the effect of, “I’m glad they printed the words in the program becauseI never learned them.” It hit me as strange that in the four plus years thatstudents attend Harding, someone could still not know the school’s almamater. And then all around me, others were stumbling through the verses;laughing with one another about how funny it was that they didn’t evenknow we had an alma mater, and what was a ‘foothill’ anyway?I then thought back to the first day I learned this song. I had beenon campus a mere three hours before I was whisked away to choir campwhere one of the first things we learned was the alma mater. Being atCamp Tahkodah, surrounded by mountains, trees and rivers, I truly felta connection with the words “Near the Foothills.” But if I had not beenin choir or had decided that sleeping in a cabin with people I didn’t knowwas uncomfortable and had skipped the retreat, would I have ever learnedall three verses of the alma mater? Probably not.So there in the middle of graduation, I decided that the 2008-2009Petit Jean yearbook would be a sort of history book of Harding, completewith old pictures of campus, interesting facts about buildings, the facultyand social clubs, and even include the words to the alma mater. I wantedstudents to come away and have some knowledge about the school andthe town they lived in for four or more years of their lives.“Near the Foothills,” the theme of this book, is a tribute to thosewho created Harding’s unique traditions and paved the way for studentsfor generations to come to be able to worship, be educated and creatememories on a beautiful campus in Arkansas. By the time I pulled mywhite tassel from right to left and shook Dr. Burk’s hand for the secondtime ever in my Harding career, I was excited to learn a bit about Harding’shistory to relate to future generations of Bisons.Through these pages, I hope readers not only learn a little more aboutHarding, but also about the reasons for the traditions we participate inand how they bring us all together. No matter what major, political party,social club or even beliefs, Harding has a way of encapsulating us all inGod’s love.Katie Ramirez, editor in chief314 index closing