271 ORGANIZATIONS In fall 2022, the Black Student Association (BSA) hosted a candidate for Arkansas governor to speak to Harding students about his journey, his faith and how to handle civil discourse. Dr. Chris Jones, the 2022 Democratic candidate for governor, was invited by the BSA to visit campus and speak in a student-led discussion. Janae Bradshaw, vice president for the BSA, took charge of the task of bringing Jones to campus. Bradshaw received the recommendation to invite Jones to campus from one of her professors. After doing her research, she emailed his campaign manager and scheduled the event for the following week. “You reach out to people who are pretty big, and you never suspect that they’re going to have a response for you, especially with that response agreeing, saying that they want to come,” Bradshaw said. “It meant a great deal, not only to just me, but also to the BSA. We don’t really get many guests come in specifically because we asked them and because we want them to be here.” Jones was a nuclear engineer and worked for NASA after graduate school. He was also a minister and an executive for Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, an Arkansas nonprofit. Jones said that the connecting thread to all of his experiences was serving people, and it was for that reason he ran for governor. BSA President Halle Miller and Bradshaw led the conversation with Jones and asked him questions Candidate for Arkansas governor Dr. Chris Jones, joins the Black Student Association for a panel. QUALITY CONVERSATION Black Student Association Vice President Janae Bradshaw and President Halle Miller interview Dr. Chris Jones. The panel discussed his faith in a secular career. Photo by: Julianne Baker about his education, his faith and how he dealt with civil discourse. “At the end of the day, I don’t care what your party affiliation is,” Jones said. “You want to know that somebody is listening. You want to know that someone cares, and you want to take care of your family.” Miller said this was one of the points that she felt students needed to know. “We all, at the end of the day, care about the same issues and have really similar experiences,” Miller said. “Harding students shouldn’t be afraid to have another voice on campus, especially because we’re going to go into the world and have lots of different voices coming at us from all different angles.” Jones also spoke about his faith and how it fit into a science-based career. Rather than causing tension, Jones said his faith and science complemented each other. “My faith tells me the why,” Jones said. “My science tells me the what.” To end the discussion, Miller asked Jones for advice for students who would be graduating soon. “In moments when decisions are critical, what I do is I visualize myself as an 80-year-old sitting on a porch … and I ask myself, my 80-year-old self, ‘When you look back at this moment in my life, which decision makes you smile?’” Jones said. Written by: Grace Hurt
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