10 facts about C.S. Lewis you may not know

November is the birth month of author and theologian C.S. Lewis. Here are 10 facts you may not know about C.S. Lewis and his first book in the Narnia chronicles.

While I may disagree, should I not have empathy?

The first book I remember being scandalized by is Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” which I first read my junior year of high school. We had read other previously banned books in class, but none that I actually thought merited being banned.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic and Latino Americans have positively shaped our society, so it is only right to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions during Hispanic Heritage Month, held from September 15 to October 15.

How to survive the first day of freshman year

The first day of freshman year can be a scary thought. You are walking into a new place, with new people at your new home, and you have no clue how to take it all in. The best part of being a freshman is that everyone else in your class is right there with you, and the people who aren’t were there at one point. After talking to fellow students, I came up with a few tips to help you survive the first day of freshman year.

Still trying to decide which college is best for you? Do these three things.

It’s been four years, but I remember how stressed I felt when I was trying to decide between my top two college choices. I was torn and wanted to make sure that I picked the perfect home for the next four years of my life. My Ouachita admissions counselor made sure I knew everything I needed to know while choosing between OBU and another school, but she also shared some advice that was thoughtful, gave me more to consider and, in the end, helped me make my decision.

Finding opportunity in unfamiliar places: A first-generation student's journey

I considered myself to be an “average student” in high school. I wasn’t enrolled in gifted and talented courses, and college wasn’t highly spoken of within my immediate family. My mother received her GED and attended cosmetology school. As my brothers and I got older, she would tell us that she knew college wasn’t for everyone, but that she hoped we would go because she wanted us to have the experience that she missed out on for many years.

Do you want grass or mud?

“Do you want grass or mud?” It was a simple question with an obvious answer. And we knew what we were being asked when Dr. Ben Elrod, president of Ouachita during my time as a student, said, “Do you want grass or mud?” I was sitting in Jones Performing Arts Center.

Tips for visiting campus: Make the most of your college visit

Visiting campus is a huge part of the college selection process. It gives you a glimpse into campus life and allows you to physically see all that the school has to offer. My first campus visit to Ouachita was my deciding factor in choosing to attend school here. It felt like home from the moment I stepped onto campus.

What threatens me

I recently read “The Coddling of the American Mind,” a book as dismaying as it is excellent. It was a painful reminder to me of just how alive and well and ubiquitous is the censorious mind these days.

How dare Homer!

In the fall semester of 2018, Dr. Wink and I taught again a seminar for the Honors Program that we had first offered some fifteen years before: Banned Books. Just a few weeks before the semester was to begin, The New York Times published a story that let us know how deeply vital the subject remained, that it was a far more pressing issue for the current age than it had been when we had offered the seminar years before.

Test your best

Standardized tests are … well … standard in the college process, but your score is a huge factor in college acceptance and scholarship decisions. While it may not feel fair that a test affects so much, you want the results to show the very best that you can do.

12 apps to keep your mind sharp over the summer

The moment I turn in my last assignment of the semester, my brain officially shuts off from learning anything new. Summer is all about soaking up the sun while forgetting about the stresses of school. But when the three blissful summer months have passed, turning the switch back on in your brain seems to be way more challenging than it needs to be.

Early Registration (ER) podcast

Check out this podcast episode where Ouachita juniors Addy Goodman, Ethan Dial and Josh Salim sat down to discuss some helpful information and tips for a great Early Registration experience.

Finding a college home if you're undecided about your major

Road trip! My best friend and I decided to start our college search journey with a road trip to three different universities. Three days to visit three schools and, potentially, to find our future home for the next four years. Ouachita was the second school we visited on our trip.

How "small" made a big difference in my academic career

Deciding where you want to go to college by weighing what each school offers can be difficult – especially if you aren’t sure if you would benefit more in your studies by attending a big school or a small school. Going to a school of Ouachita’s size for my education has had some major advantages.

7 ways parents and students can team up in the college search

It may feel like there are so many questions to ask, and you and your student are on two different pages about what to look for in “a good college experience.” Such a big decision may be difficult to talk through for some families, but deciding on the best college for your student should be a family decision that is met with open communication and an understanding of each other’s perspectives.