Spectator sports are huge in our country. Basketball, baseball and especially football can draw in a crowd on any level of competition. The Alpha Tau Honors Society and the Carl Goodson Honors Program give art and academics their own day to shine where they can receive a similar amount of attention. On Wednesday, April 25, from 1:30-5:30 p.m., Scholars Day will give students and faculty the opportunity to appreciate the artistic and academic endeavors of its contributors through a campus-wide event.
“Scholars Day is one afternoon during the spring semester in which students present their independent research in a professional setting on Ouachita’s campus,” said Abby Dekle, senior biology major and Alpha Tau chair. “Academic papers, posters and performances occur throughout the afternoon all throughout campus.”
Different types of presentations will be displayed around campus.
“The presentations are not set up by department necessarily,” Dekle said. “We do try to group similar disciplines in the same room, but it doesn’t always work that way. Senior thesis presentations will be in Walker Conference Center. Posters will be in McClellan 100. Business presentations, political science, music, musical theatre, English, art and history will be in Hickingbotham 200, Young Auditorium, McBeth Recital Hall, Verser Theatre and McClellan.”
There will be programs showing where the different presentations will be taking place to make the event easier to navigate. The event will be enormous and, according to Dekle, exciting to watch.
“I’m looking forward to the senior Honors students to present their senior thesis papers,” Dekle said. “We have 75 poster presentations this year, which is also quite exciting.”
Scholars Day is a long standing tradition at Ouachita. In its twelfth year, Scholars Day is very important not only for those giving the presentations but also for those who come to watch.
“Scholars Day is important for all Ouachita students and faculty,” Dekle said. “It allows students to have the experience of presenting their research in a professional setting that prepares them for presentations at other universities around the United States and perhaps even globally. Students encourage their peers. Our professors push us because they want us to succeed. It is an amazing feeling when your professor comes to hear your research and gives you a pat on the back. That’s what Scholars Day is all about.”
Students are encouraged to come out and support their friends as they give their presentations and to check out any projects they might find interesting.
“Talking to an empty room isn’t easy,” said Dr. Barbara Pemberton, director of the Carl Goodson Honors Program. “You should come out and support your friends on Scholars Day so that they’ll have a bigger and more familiar audience to give their presentation to. Also, if you don’t know what’s going on in a different department, you should go check out their presentations too. If you’re an English major, go watch a science presentation. If you’re a science major, go see a theatre presentation. You might learn something.”
The event is free, and dinner will be served on the lawn once it is over.
“As a faculty, we are so proud of everyone who gives a presentation at Scholars Day,” Pemberton said. “When we say this is campus-wide, we mean everybody, students and faculty coming to support their own. That’s what Scholars Day, and Ouachita, are about.”
Picture by Nicole McPhate.
