Cultivating a needed love for the past The students grumble as they file into the dimly lit classroom. It's 8:00 and they are in no mood for History. One has a chilled Coke tightly clutched in his hand. He gulps it down, not stopping to taste it, then waits with heavy eyelids for the caffeine to take effect. Another staggers in with his Accounting books and begins to crunch numbers. He views History as a study hall of sorts. He's got more important things to do. Why all these feelings toward History? Dr. Fred Jewell, professor in the History Department, sympathizes with the negative attitudes. "Sure, there are a lot of students who hate history," Jewell said. "I felt the same way until my senior year in college. Then I finally took my required history class and I loved it." "Love" is the word for Jewell's feelings about history. He has been making hi story ever since, by receiving his mas - ter's from Indiana University and eventually his doctorate in history from Ball State University. Jewell feels that history got its "bum rap," so to speak, because of teachers who taught it as nothing more than a "let's memorize dates" course. "I try not to stress dates," said Jewell. "History is the one class in which you can talk about everything because everything that has ever happened . . . is history." Many students view history as a waste of time because, in their view it does not directly prepare them for the job market. English prepares them, speec h prepares them, even math does to a certain extent, but not history. It's true that most job applications will not have a "name the capitals" section or a True-False question on Civil War battles, but according to political science instructor Mark Elrod, a self-proclaimed history buff, historical knowledge can help you. "I would not hire anyone who did not know the capital of Ohio," Elrod said, "if they could not tell me that, then I would not even want them to work at my gas station. Someone may ask directions some day." Whatever the view may be, no one will graduate from Harding Lance A. Berberian - Concord , NH Michael Paul Berger - Hot Spring, AR Jennifer R. Beverly - Huntsville , AL Darrell Lamont Biggers - Augusta , AR Ronnie Shanta Biggs - Memphis, TN Melissa Renee Bird - Searcy, AR Angela C. Blackburn - Buffalo Gove, IL Wendellyn Blades - Ridgecrest , CA Twila Gay Blair - Springdale, AR Tamera Jean Blakeney - Little Rock, AR Victor Ivan Blanco - Guatemala David E. Blankenship - Searcy, AR Robert T. Boaz - Searcy, AR Brenda G. Bobo - Searcy, AR SHORTHAND. Becky Parrish, s ophomore, scribbles out history notes in one of her "freshmen" history classes. Due to the liberal arts curriculum at Harding, students were enrolled in at least two history courses during their college career. -Photo by Sharon Bowles. or any other university without a few credits in history. Perhaps Jewell summed it up best when he said, "I tell my students each semester that history may not repeat itself, but a lot of students will repeat history." -Mark Moore People for keeps 273
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