Snowflakes sparkle on the light poles on Main Street in Heber Springs; the Courthouse bells ring out the familiar Christmas carols; Christmas trees decorated in silver, gold, and red fill windows of businesses and homes. Throughout the city and around the college, colorful decorations herald the winter break and a time of religious celebration and family gatherings.
After Thanksgiving, the atmosphere is strained with faculty and staff attempting to control the barrage of end-of-semester paperwork and students trying to prepare their final papers and study for final examinations. However, despite the pressure and anxiety, the Christmas spirit prevails. A student shows up in class wearing reindeer antlers; another decides that he wants to be Elf for a day in green tights and sweater; others wear snowmen and Santa Clauses on their sweaters. Music on computers and iPods rings up and down the hallways and computer labs with Manheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Taylor Swift, and the occasional Bing Crosby. There is a collection point for Toys for Tots, and a canned food drive is underway with a red afghan as the raffle prize.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, community groups come in for their Christmas parties or end of year meetings; the café on campus, in coordination with the ASU-HS Administration, provides food for students free of charge for two days as part of our campus’s Student Appreciation; and the art classes (drawing and ceramics, in this case) display their body of work for the semester in the Entergy Room. The “best in show” in Drawing I was a pen and ink drawing by Rachel Lacy of an African-American woman holding a baby, and “best in show” in Drawing II was a pen and ink drawing by Sue Reeves of reindeer. In Ceramics I, while there was no competition, the students displayed their simple pots constructed in the course of the semester—coil pots, pinch pots, and slab pots—and other items. One student molded by hand a dragon’s head as an additional project.
The FBLA-PBL Practice Competition held on campus on December 4th proceeded without any major hitches. This competition came together through the combined efforts of Phi Beta Lambda (the campus business club), Gamma Beta Phi (the campus honor organization), Rotaract (a campus organization affiliated with Rotary Club), FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), and the area high schools’ faculty, staff, and students. While Dennis Devine provided overall coordination, Leah Hadder (Phi Beta Lambda President) and Amy Pettit (Rotaract President) contacted area businesses for sponsorship, with Heber Springs State Bank, First Security Bank, Terry Castleberry of Edward D. Jones, Louis Lee Agency of State Farm Insurance, and Heber Springs Wal-Mart responding.
Graduation Ceremonies on the Beebe campus highlighted the end of semester activities with several students who had previously attended ASU-Heber Springs now completing their nursing certificates, associates’ degrees, or bachelors’ degrees. Our congratulations go out to Colleen Blevins, who spoke at commencement in Beebe, and all of the 17 LPN students representing the first class of LPN students to complete their programs at Heber Springs. Further congratulations are extended to recipients of degrees through Jonesboro: Toni Turley and Angela Stringer for their Associates’ Degrees in Nursing, Buffy Goad for her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, and Charlie Martin for his Bachelor’s Degree in Business. Many other students completed programs through Beebe after attending ASU-Heber Springs.
As final examinations end, students saunter toward the exits, saying their good-byes and “Merry Christmases.” Faculty members concentrate on the last round of grading and submitting grades before the deadline. As of December 17th, a hush falls over the campus; only staff, a couple of instructors, and a few dedicated students remain. For three weeks, the ASU-Heber Springs campus will be relatively quiet before the Spring Semester begins and the students return with renewed energy and laughter.
Mary A. Comstock is an English instructor at ASU-Heber Springs.
Heber Springs, Ark. —
