Before LJ Brooks died in December of 2012, he had a vision to create an outdoor basketball court area where students could play basketball and hangout beyond the confinement of SPEC. He began working with Student Senate to start creating this plan.
“Before LJ died, he came to Student Senate with this idea,” said Lindsey Fowler, president of Student Senate. “He wanted this to be a place where OBU students could come together to fellowship, relax and enjoy each other’s company.”
After Brooks’ passing, Fowler and others began brainstorming how the court would be built and what it would feature. They worked throughout the spring to come up with a plan.
“After the elections last spring, I met with Senate’s executive team and Emily Merryman,” Fowler said. “We began developing a fundraising process to help us make this dream a reality during the 2013-2014 school year. I’m so grateful to Emily Merryman, Dr. Kluck, OSF, and all of Student Senate. They were crucial to initiating this project. Whenever I needed help on anything, they were there.”
Once the idea had taken off, different people in Senate’s executive team began to see the court being useful in various ways. One of the ways Fowler believed the court could be best used is with Ouachita’s community service.
“We began to envision the court as a resource for the Big Brother Big Sister program and the Arkadelphia Boys and Girls Club,” said Fowler. “This place would provide a safe environment for children in the community to spend time with Ouachita students who are serving as positive role models in their lives.”
From this point, Student Senate started a fundraising campaign to build the court. Alumni, faculty and staff members and students wanted to donate to the cause. Senate quickly began working towards gaining the necessary funds.
“We decided to come up with a few different ways to fundraise for the court,” said Megan Scarbrough, a senior biology and chemistry major. “Members of the Ouachita Student Foundation as well as Student Senate decided to each donate $25 each. That made a big difference in raising money.”
On Dec. 31, 2013, Student Senate announced that if the student body could raise $2,500 by Jan. 1 (a mere 12 hours away), then the court would be built. The student body rose to the occasion and met the goal.
“Overall, the fundraising process was a great reminder of how blessed we are to be a part of the Ouachita family,” Fowler said. “Over these past several months I have seen students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of Ouachita and of LJ Brooks come together to give in whatever ways they could to help make this court a reality.”
“The court will be outdoors and will include park benches and a grill,” Scarbrough said. “It will be located next to East Village by the sand volleyball court. Our hope is to make it so that people can come out there and have a good time.”
The construction is expected to begin within the next few months. Fowler hopes to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the court before this semester ends.
