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Department of Journalism and Mass Communication :: Abilene Christian University :: Serving the ACU community since 1912
Acu WeAtHeR
Wednesday ThursdayHigh: 83 Low: 57
Friday
High: 84Low: 61
High: 85Low: 61
Online Poll : How much does a candidate’s faith affect your vote?
a. Not at all. It should be about issues.b. It is very important to me.c. I only support those who believe.d. It has some effect.
acuoptimist.com
Pg 3InsideThis Issue:
Fútbol family: Soccer players from around globe unite
Sushi available to students Sundays at The Den in Barret Hall
ACU adapts to Apple power adapter recall
Pg 4 Pg 5
Optimistthe
a product of theJMC network
Pg. 8 Wildcats womp East Central, protect undefeated recordWednesday, October 8, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 14 :: 1 section, 8 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com
More from the Log onto www.acuoptimist.com or www.you-tube.com/acuvideo to see weekly News casts and Sports casts from the JMC Network News Team and videos profiling various events and
stories around campus and Abilene.
Week of activitiespromotes wellnessBy Ruth RamseyStudent Reporter
With new activities ev-ery day, the eighth annual Wellness Week, which began Monday, is in full force. The 2008 theme, “Come to the Well and Thirst No More” is devoted to changing stu-dents’ wellbeing by integrat-ing their spiritual, emotional and physical perspectives.
On Wednesday, Wellness Week offers free popcorn to students, faculty and staff all afternoon in the Campus Cen-ter. On Friday, “Unstressed Day” includes a dunking tank, rock wall, bouncing boxing, twister, bungee run, Velcro wall and ob-stacle course from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the mall area in front of Moody Coliseum.
Steve Rowlands, director
of ACU’s Counseling Center, said Wellness Week is simi-lar to those in the past but will continue with the com-mon theme of helping stu-dents be proactive in life.
“It is a chance to relay information about different
Computer ownership diminishes need for labs in hallsBy Colter HettichFeatures Editor
The days of late night computer labs bustling with freshmen might be quickly drawing to a close, if they have not already. With 93 percent of incoming fresh-men bringing their own com-puters to ACU, the theory behind computer labs has be-come less and less relevant.
George Saltsman, executive
director for the Adams Center for Learning, serves as chair of the LINK team. LINK — leader-ship, infrastructure, network-ing and knowledge — “admin-isters the technology portion of the Academic Enrichment and Technology (AET) Fee,” accord-ing to www.acu.edu, and decid-ed the residence hall computer labs no longer served their in-tended purpose.
“LINK said the model for having a lab, per say, has gone
away,” Saltsman said. “And there probably is a better way of putting computers in the residence halls than dumping them in one place.”
With more incoming stu-dents bringing comput-ers, students’ needs have changed. Instead of general computer access, most stu-dents need access to printers. ACU’s printing station in the Brown Library, CopyCat, in-tentionally was designed to
accommodate this need.J.P Hennessy, freshman
Biblical studies and history major from Coppell, lives in Mabee Hall and said he might see one person in the lab as he walks by the area. He has never seen more than two.
“Pretty much everyone I know has their own comput-er,” Hennessy said. “Most of them have their own print-ers too, since Mac is offer-ing a free printer when you
buy a computer.”LINK’s role primarily is
funding and direction, Salts-man said. Residence Life must design how the university will implement the transition. No one from Residence Life was available for comment. John Delony, director of Residence Life and Housing, said he is working on a proposal for the Oct. 31 deadline.
Saltsman said, “There are likely to be computers
and printers in the common rooms on each floor.”
LINK reviews all propos-als in November and typi-cally makes its final decision on Dead Day. Consumers’ growing attachment to their personal computers has helped push LINK’s focus from “what” to “where” the computers are.
“It’s definitely a trend we’re
By Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor
While Spring Break Cam-paign 2009 planners initially hoped for about 60 leaders for 30 campaigns, the 50 leaders appointed for this year’s cam-paigns remains proportionate to the also lower number of fi-nalized locations with 25 desti-nations on this year’s agenda.
“We wanted more locations and more leaders, but neither one really happened this year,” said SBC secretary Meredith
Platt, sophomore vocational missions major from Midland.
Because the numbers, al-though lower than hoped, re-mained proportional, Platt said SBC still has plenty of manpow-er for this spring’s campaigns.
In previous years, students traveled to as many as 33 desti-nations for campaigns, accord-ing to Optimist archives. This year’s drop to 25, Platt said, was the result of several fac-tors, including some potential
Students style soles at TOMS shoes eventBy Tanner AndersonPage Designer
If students look around cam-pus, it may be hard for them to find anyone with bare feet, and if they do, it is probably a deci-sion those bare-footed individ-uals decided to make person-ally. Friday, TOMS Shoes and its Style Your Sole Tour made a pit stop in the ACU mall area not only to give students the chance to add an extra pair of shoes to their wardrobe but to donate a pair to shoeless chil-dren who do not have a choice when it comes to footwear.
The price was $42 for each pair of the slip-on shoes. Stu-dents picked out a pair of shoes, styled and decorated them and walked away know-ing a child somewhere would have a pair to call their own also. The Style Your Sole Tour is traveling around 50 different campuses across the nation to
spread their one-for-one mot-to. For every pair of shoes pur-chased, TOMS donates a pair child in need.
“We’ve been attending the Social Justice Chapel and heard that TOMS was donat-ing shoes to children across the world, so we bought a pair for a friend back home,” said Marshall Fox, freshman English major from Waco.
Blake Mycoskie created TOMS Shoes in 2006 after he was inspired to help shoeless children he saw while in South America. The company has giv-en more than 10,000 pairs of
shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 to children in South America. TOMS hopes to hand out 200,000 pairs of shoes to children around the world.
“I think it’s important in all places including campuses to encourage any act of global support. While you’re here, you can get something for yourself while simultaneously giving something to others,” said Zach Linge, political science major from San Antonio.
In addition to shoe deco-rating, participants also could indulge in free food and music performed by
mostly ACU students near the Campus Center.
“I think it’s important for people to get involved anyway they can, even with something as simple as shoes. You can affect a child’s life with some-thing so simple,” said Kendell Wilson, junior public relations major from Sherman.
TOMS shoes can also be purchase at www.tomsshoes.com. or in town at Monk’s Coffee Shop located at 233 Cypress St.
Pipes offers insight into election
See Labs page 4
See Wellness page 4
Well Full oF Activities
A host of activties will be available to the ACU community after Chapel Friday at “Unstressed Day.”
n Rock walln Dunking tankn Bungee runn Bouncing boxingn Velcro wall
Campaigners positive despite drop in options
See SBC page 7
Kat Patton :: staff photographer
Rebekah Gill, junior nursing major from Farmersville, decorates one of her shoes at Friday’s Style Your Sole event. e-mail Anderson at: [email protected]
By Michael FreemanManaging Editor
Students filled Hart Auditori-um to its capacity Monday night to listen to former speechwriter for President George W. Bush Kasey Pipes speak in a Chapel fo-rum on politics. The ACU alum-nus’ lecture, titled “A Christian’s Responsibility to Government,” primarily covered evangelicals, the issues that matter to them and how the Republican and Democratic parties have been ca-tering to them in the upcoming presidential election.
“It’s such a hot topic,” Pipes said. “It’s an important develop-ment in American politics now that both parties are competing for voters of faith. And I think that’s good for both parties and good for voters of faith.”
Pipes, who graduated from ACU in 1995 and was honored with the ACU Young Alumnus of the Year in 2006, began Monday night by reviewing the history of presidential elections in the past 50 years. Americans’ tendency to elect a president from a different party basically every eight years has been a trend since Dwight Eisenhower was president, Pipes said. Issues also have changed significantly. Abortion tradi-tionally has been a key factor for evangelicals in determining whom they will vote for; but re-cently, life issues such as urban poverty, genocide in Africa and the environment have come to the forefront, Pipes said.
“If you look at the Gospels, there is very little Jesus says of a political nature,” Pipes said. “I don’t know if there is a particular
See Pipes page 7
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer for Christians. It’s really up to you to decide which is-sues matter most.
:: Kasey Pipes, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush
“
”
acuoptimist.com: See a video of Kasey Pipes discuss evangelical voters and the ’08 election.
Photo Illustration by:Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer
acuoptimist.com
See video of the music, food and fun at Friday’s
Style Your Sole event
Open Mic Night in Minter Park will be Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Everyone is invited to listen to poetry, comedy, music and other entertainment. Monk’s Coffee Shop will provide free hot chocolate.
Across the Universe will play at the Paramount Theatre Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $5 for students.
Wellness Week invites students to come relax and have a good time with inflatables in the mall area outside Moody Coliseum Friday. The day will feature an inflatable rockwall and inflatable boxing for students to enjoy.
Wellness Week
Ghost Tours shares ghostly tales relating to the history of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village lynchings, death and decay. Call 572-3365 for more information.
6 p.m.Dodge RAM-bunctious Friday Night! at the Abilene Dragstrip.
Wellness Week
Free popcorn will be in the Campus Center for Wellness Week.
Wellness Week
5 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ArtWalk “Art Beat” in downtown Abilene. Call 677-8389 for more information.
6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sterling Volkswagen Street Eliminator at the Abilene Dragstrip.Call 673-7223 for more information.
Wellness Week
Service Saturday
Downtown Dayz promotes outdoor music, sidewalk sales, working artists, walking history tours and more. Call 672-9696 for more information.
Calendar and Events
Volunteer Opportunities
Announcements
Friday8
Wednesday Thursday Saturday
St. John’s Episcopal School needs volunteers at various times from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26 to help set up, run booths and tear down its carnival.
The annual G. V. Daniels Recre-ation Center Fall Festival needs volunteers Oct. 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Volunteers will as-sist with game booths and hand out candy to kids. Appropriate costumes are allowed.
The ACU Alumni Office needs volunteers to help with various as-pects of the Homecoming Carnival Oct. 24 from 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Help is needed to control the inflatables, paint faces, hand out candy or walk around in Elvis costumes. ACU’s radio station KACU-FM is seeking volunteers to act as
ushers Oct. 18 for the Prairie Home Companion performance in Moody Coliseum. Help is needed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Service Saturday will allow stu-dents to sign up in the Campus Center after Chapel on Wednes-day for the next service day. A number of sites will be available.
Find out volunteer opportuni-ties by visiting the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center’s Web site at www.acu.edu/vslc and clicking on Volunteer Opportu-nities. For more information or to sign up to help, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.
CreditedChapelsto date:
CreditedChapelsremaining:
Checkup
31 35Chapel
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Campus Day2
acuoptimist.com
9 10 11 Never leave your PIN number with your credit cards or your ATM cards.
Monday, Sept. 29 11:39 p.m. ACU police assisted Abilene police with an intoxi-cated subject at the Subway on Judge Ely Boulevard.
Tuesday, Sept. 3012:51 a.m. ACU police assisted Abilene police with an intoxi-cated driver at the Subway on Judge Ely Boulevard.3:35 a.m. A smoke alarm ac-tivated at the University Park apartments; the resident was advised to contact maintenance. 9:10 a.m. ACU police escorted the blood bank to the Brown Library.9:19 p.m. A fire alarm at Mabee Hall was set off by a fog machine.
Wednesday, Oct. 10 3:35 a.m. A smoke alarm was activated at the University Park apartments.4:35 p.m. A theft was reported at the Hilton Food Court in the Campus Center.11:25 p.m. Someone reported a suspicious vehicle at East North 22nd Street and Cedar Crest; police were unable to locate the automobile.
Thursday, Oct. 22:01 a.m. ACU police assisted Abilene police with a vehicle ac-cident at Ambler Avenue.7:25 a.m. ACU police assisted Abilene police with a subject threat-ening suicide at 2400 Church St.
Friday, Oct. 3 8:30 a.m. ACU police assisted Abilene police with a subject threatening suicide at 1400 Church St.9:23 p.m. Someone reported students consuming alcohol at Will Hair Park. Saturday, Oct. 4 12:37 a.m. Someone reported a noise violation at 600 College St.; police were unable to locate.1:19 a.m. Someone made an incomplete 911 call at the Nel-son Hall call box; police were unable to locate anyone. 1:30 p.m. Police escorted an el-derly female from the parking lot to the Biblical Studies Building.2:40 p.m. Police escorted an elderly female from the Biblical Studies Building to the parking lot.7:38 p.m. Someone reported a suspicious subject on the Lunsford Trail; it was a student waiting for a ride.
Sunday, Oct. 5 1:28 a.m. Someone reported a noise disturbance at The Grove, building 2; police contacted the resident. Always report suspicious activity to ACUPD at 674-2305 or 674-2911.
Police LogEdited for space
ACU Police Tip of the Week
The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.
Groups may send announcements directly to [email protected] or to the Page 2 Editor at [email protected].
To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.
Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.
About This Page
This week’s newscast highlights the week-end’s soccer game, football game, tennis matches and cross country meet.
Log on to www.youtube.com/acuvideo for a deeper look into Kasey Pipes’ forum and the TOMS “Style Your Sole” perfor-mance.
Online Newscast Webcast
Wednesday, September 8, 2008 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS
Disability organization sells pumpkins to generate fundsBy Kimberly WolfordStudent Reporter
A new attraction has arrived in Abilene as Disability Resources, Inc, a nonprofit organization, sponsors a monthlong pumpkin patch to raise funds for its organization.
The patch, which began Oct. 1, is open to the public until Oct. 31. Plenty of opportunities are available for those wanting to visit, said Susan Hickmott, executive administrative assistant for Disability Resources, Inc. The pumpkin patch is entertaining for families as well as students.
Hickmott said the organization provides hayrides and photo opportunities for all age groups and a story time for the younger visitors.
Another attraction at the pumpkin patch is all the different types of pumpkins for sale.
“Prices for the pumpkins range with the size of the pumpkin,” Hickmott said.
Last year, prices went from 75 cents all the way to $15. A portion of the proceeds from the pumpkin sale will go to Disability Resources for its projects.
With Halloween fast approaching, many people are in the market for pumpkins to carve. The pumpkin patch provides people with an opportunity to buy their pumpkins in a more entertaining and authentic venue then simply going to a grocery store.
“Last year, we just bought a pumpkin at Wal-Mart,” said Brittany
MacDonald, sophomore Interior Design major from Hillsboro. “But I think it would be more beneficial to buy it somewhere like this pumpkin patch, where money goes to charity.”
Disability Resources is located north of I-20 on Hwy 277 North. This organization has served the developmentally disabled individuals in the area since 1987. Services offered include live-in care and work experience through the vocational campus.
For more information about Disability Resources or how to get involved with the pumpkin patch and other activities, contact Disability Resources, Inc. at 677- 6815.
iPhone adapters pose fire hazardBy Savannah SheltonStudent Reporter
Apple recently recalled all the chargers that came with the new iPhone 3Gs released in July, affecting the several hundred students who have the smart phones. The chargers’ metal prongs have a tendency to break off and remain in an electrical outlet, causing a potential fire hazard.
The adapters supplied with the iPhones sold in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico and several Latin American countries are being replaced.
On Monday, Apple announced the Apple Ultracompound USB Power Adapter Exchange program. While no injuries have been reported, Apple is voluntarily exchanging the chargers for replacement adapters, free of charge, according to www.apple.com.
The 3G boasts some new features that were not part of the original iPhone, such as iPhone in Enterprise, maps
with GPS and the App store. It also is available in either eight or 16 gigabytes. The phone is sold at Apple Retail Stores and AT&T stores, according to the Apple Web site.
ACU freshmen who received the iPhone 3Gs are directly affected by the recall.
“Users with ultracompact power adapters should immediately stop using them until they exchange them for a new, redesigned ultracompact adapter,” according to the Web site.
iPhone users can use a USB adapter that connects to their computers until the new adapters are available starting Friday.
“ACU is working with our Apple representative, and [Apple] will be supplying us in bulk with new adapters which will be given out at the Team 55 desk,” said Kay Reeves, director of technology support services.
Sophomores, juniors or seniors with 3Gs who need to exchange their adapters
can order a replacement online or exchange the adapter at an Apple Retail Store starting Friday. Apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram/ provides a picture of the adapter for 3G owners to compare adapters.
“If it matches, we will provide a replacement adapter in exchange for your current one,” according to the Web site.
Freshmen simply have to take a trip to the Brown Library and provide their information to exchange their adapters.
“We have to send Apple the serial number of all our freshmen’s iPhones, so Apple will send us the amount of adapters we need,” Reeves said.
While no injuries havebeen reported, users should be cautious and resort to their USB chargers until the replacements are supplied, according to the Web site.
Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer
Hundreds of pumpkins line the grounds of the Disability Resources, Inc. pumpkin patch. Students can purchase pumpkins at the patch, which will be open for the rest of the month.
Students receive easier access with new online filing systemBy Heather LeiphartStudent Reporter
A new files system applica-tion on the MyACU Web site replaced the old system Mon-day, closing access to old files but providing students and faculty with new features.
The old system only had the ability to store files, whereas the current system boasts several new options:
n Web: A mostly unknown perk for the students and employees at ACU is the abil-ity to have their own per-sonal Web pages, said Kristy Strickland, technology train-er. If the users know how to create Web pages, they can upload them to the new Web folder where they are made public immediately. Any kind of content is allowed, as long as it adheres to ACU’s guide-lines, she said.
n Sharing: The old system allowed file sharing through a shared folder to the ACU community only. The share feature in the new system al-lows files or folder sharing with anyone outside of the ACU community with a valid e-mail address, but the file or folder can be password pro-tected. The recipients receive a link to the shared folder through a e-mail and are then asked if they would like to subscribe or save the link.
n Subscriptions: This op-tion notifies the user by e-mail anytime the chosen file or folder is opened or ed-ited. This assists students who want to know when a graded paper is returned, Strickland said. In addition, faculty members can set up a subscription on a drop-box, which notifies them when students submit their
assignments, removing the need to constantly check the folder. This also ben-efits group projects, Strick-land said.
n Locking: This option locks files from further editing.
n Tags: Users can assign key words to their files, which makes searching for files easier.
n Bookmarks: The new sys-tem has a built-in bookmarks menu for important links.
n Versioning: Users may now keep different versions of a file without accidentally saving over the original or needing to rename each dif-ferent version. This benefits collaborative group projects, Strickland said; professors also can look at previous ver-sions to see what changes have been made.
n Logging: This feature keeps track of everything that happens to a particular document, such as updates or permission changes.
n Departments: This link al-lows faculty members to share files with their department.
“If they want to use that, they just have to call the help desk and tell us what folder name to use and who is go-ing to be the owner of that folder,” Strickland said.
n Dropbox changes: Stu-dents now can see their as-signments after they are up-loaded, and professors have a return box for graded as-signments. The return box automatically sends each graded assignment back to the student’s folder, remov-ing the need for professors to search through long class lists to find each folder. In addition, the 15-minute wait time for files to appear in the system after uploading or
transferring is gone.“One of the biggest rea-
sons we decided to do the switch this year is because of the new iPhone initia-tive,” Strickland said.
Freshmen are able to ac-cess all of the content in their home or class info folders through their devic-es, which is why the new sys-tem’s implementation this semester is a huge advan-tage, she said. She said the file system was not meant to replace the blackboard system; it is completely dif-ferent and the professors’ choose which system they use for each class.
“Some new things are go-ing to be coming in the next week or two for faculty that we’re really excited about,” Strickland said.
Some other locked op-tions in the file system should be available by next year, which will provide even more helpful features, she said.
Faculty members tested the new system during the summer, and Strickland said she does not expect students to have many problems ad-justing. She offers training classes for employees and students. The training class schedule can be found at www.acu.edu/training. An-other helpful Web site with frequently asked questions and a training video is www.acu.edu/files.
E-mail Shelton at: [email protected]
E-mail Leiphart at: [email protected]
E-mail Wolford at: [email protected]
Page 4 Wednesday, October 8, 2008CAMPUS NEWS/FROM THE FRONT
SHADES squad performs for festivalBy Elizabeth SpanoStudent Reporter
ACU’s SHADES step squad broadened its stomping grounds last Friday to Southern Hills Church of Christ, where it performed its first show of the semester for Abilene’s 14th an-nual Balloon Fest event.
SHADES’ routine was per-formed on the main stage as an opening to the event’s activities. The show was among other fes-tivities that included inflatable games for kids, fair attractions, food, opportunities to ride in hot air balloons and several lo-cal band performances.
“I think [SHADES] did a really good job,” said David Wells, senior missions major from Atlanta and the squad’s guys’ captain.
The show, which Wells said was a “come-and-go type per-
formance,” was performed on the flat bed of a truck that members said lessened the stomps’ sound quality.
“The stage was small, but it worked,” said DeMarco How-ard, junior fine arts major from Missouri City and head captain.
Howard said some improve-ments could be made following the first show, such as preci-sion and stage presence.
Alise Anderson, junior marketing major from Flower Mound, agreed the stage was an inconvenience but said the squad was still “very together for [its] first performance.”
SHADES’s next perfor-mance will be the Asian Fashion show Oct. 17 in the Teague Special Events Cen-ter from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., followed by the Cul-tural Rhythms show Oct. 18 at the Prime Time Entertain-
ment Ball Room from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The squad is anticipating other events and new routines planned for this year, including performances in the Homecom-ing Parade on Oct. 25, Ethnos Culture Show in November, Sing Song and the Spring Step Show. Members also will be outfitted with new T-shirts to wear for the events.
SHADES already is devot-ing time and effort to prepara-tion for the spring show, which members said they anticipate to be bigger and better than be-fore, member Alise Anderson said. Those wishing to audi-tion for talent acts in the spring show will be able to try out for parts, and audition details will be announced at a later date.
Fifteen members are in-volved with SHADES this year, six of whom are fresh-
men. Tryouts are every fall and spring for those wishing to join the squad.
Members practice twice a week, planning routines for up-coming shows and always pro-viding constant encouragement and prayer for fellow members. Each routine is rehearsed until every stomp and clap is precise and unanimous.
Howard said he views SHADES as an enriching and culturally diverse extracur-ricular activity.
This year, the squad is en-couraging bonding among members outside of practice and performances. Howard said activities such as movie nights and get-togethers enhance the unity of the squad both in and out of practice.
Monk’s Open Mic Night brings downtown buzzBy Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor
Downtown Abilene will shine brightly Thursday with Open Mic Night, an event that promotes the Light and Beauty Initiative.
The event will give students and members of Abilene’s community the opportunity to express themselves from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Minter Park. The event is geared to-ward those interested in liven-ing Abilene’s night life.
Jessica White, junior pre-med and psychology major from Knox City, said one of the main goals of Open Mic Night is to bring attention to the downtown area. The pro-moted Light and Beauty Initia-tive will provide lighting for the Cypress Street trees.
“We need everyone to know that special things can hap-pen downtown if we can light up the streets because people will feel more comfortable staying there and hanging out all night,” White said.
Booths will be set up at the event, allowing individuals or businesses to sponsor light installments below each of the trees. The sponsors will have plaques with the honoree’s or business’ name on it.
Monk’s Coffee Shop, Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, The Center for Con-temporary Arts and ACU’s Office of Multicultural Enrich-ment are sponsoring the mic night. Monk’s will provide free hot chocolate, and bands have been booked to keep the en-tertainment on the open mi-crophones constant. Anyone wishing for a slot in the line-up can contact Jamie Shel-bourne at 677-8389.
Abilene does not have much life in its downtown area, even though it has in-vested a lot of money to make it aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable, White said.
“Downtown lacks that buzz of activity in night-life, and that’s something I’d love to see happen in Abilene,” she said.
White said her goal is to get people to come walk around, listen to music and meet new people, while they enjoy the night’s new bright and lively atmosphere.
Light and Beauty Initiative leaders want to see all the trees lit up and commemorat-ed before the 20th annual City Sidewalks event Dec. 2.
The Den offers food diversityBy Elizabeth CoffeeStudent Reporter
In order to broaden meal op-tions for students, ACU started Sushi Sundays, where from 7 p.m. to midnight every Sunday in The Den, chefs prepare vari-ous rolls of sushi that can be purchased with meal plans or Bean Bucks; the meal includes a drink and eight cuts of sushi.
“I just started working here this summer, and it was during my interview when they saw that I could do it [make sushi],” said Christopher Diaz, ACU ca-tering chef. “When they hired me, I agreed to do something like this.”
From California rolls to tuna rolls, ACU chefs prepare just about any type of sushi. Ingre-dients include shrimp, tuna, crab, cucumber, carrots and pickled radish.
“The more popular we get, the more our budget grows and the more things we can offer,” Diaz said.
During the first hour, traffic at a typical Sushi Sunday usual-
ly is slow, but around 8:30 p.m. students begin to pack The Den. Last weekend, the line for Sushi Sunday was out the door.
The small coffee shop was filled with the sounds of stu-dents ordering, the chatter of those waiting in line, knives scraping against cutting boards and the cappuccino machine brewing in the background. This experience seems to brighten students’ days, said Jason Strader, a sushi chef.
“I enjoy the kids’ faces that haven’t tried it,” Diaz said. “When they actually eat it, they come back and tell me that they like it.”
Strader said students should not be scared to try the unsual.
Erin Brown, sophomore speech pathology major from San Antonio, attended each Su-shi Sunday since it started four weeks ago.
“It’s convenient having sushi right below my pod,” Brown said. “It’s also really nice to have ACU open up other op-portunities and have a broader selection of food.”
ACU Dining Services intends to offer another Sushi Sunday at the Starbucks in the Brown Library, Diaz said.
“This is a good place to try something new and different,” Diaz said.
Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer
Members of the SHADES step squad rehearse routines in preparation for their performance at Southern Hills Church of Christ Friday.
E-mail Coffee at: [email protected]
E-mail Byrd at: [email protected]
E-mail Spano at: [email protected]
I enjoy the kids’ faces that haven’t tried it. When they actually eat it, they come back and tell me that they like it.
:: Christopher Diaz, ACU catering chef
“”
services and making college life easier along with a bet-ter life in general,” Rowlands said. “Wellness Week is impor-tant because usually we know what it takes to be healthy but don’t take the time. This is a problem especially in college, and Wellness Week is a time to be reminded.”
The ACU Counseling Cen-ter, Medical Clinic, Campus Activity Board, Peer Health Education Program, Resi-dence Life and the Depart-ment of Exercise Science
and Health sponsored Well-ness Week 2008, and all stu-dents, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in the week’s activities.
“Wellness Week is in Oc-tober because around this time is when the Counseling Center sees the stress levels go up. The honeymoon pe-riod of school starting has wore off, and now we are in the middle of everything,” Rowlands said. “There are more stressors; pledging has started, relationships might not be going the way you wanted and more stu-
dents are getting sick with the change of weather.”
The week’s activities be-gan with Dr. Tony Rector’s message in Monday’s Chapel and continued with free mas-sages, educational and infor-mational booths on spiritual, emotional and physical well-ness and free giveaways.
To learn more about Wellness Week activities or the Counseling Center, visit www.acu.edu/campusoffic-es/counseling.
Wellness: Rector begins week
seeing all across technol-ogy,” Saltsman said. “The computer is becoming an extension of a person, and that connection is not some-thing we want to sever.”
One major corporation al-
ready has begun catering to a growing trend. As part of its new program BYOC — Bring Your Own Computer, Citrix Systems employees receive a $2,100 stipend to buy a laptop of their choice and a three-year service plan, according to the Associated Press.
Although incoming fresh-men did not receive quite as generous an offer, the privi-lege of choosing between an iPhone or iPod Touch may be one step closer.
Lab: Computer labs dissappearing
Continued from page 1
Continued from page 1
E-mail Ramsey at: [email protected]
E-mail Hettich at: [email protected]
Page 5October 8, 2008
FocusWednesday
From left to right: (Top row) Donovan Plummer, David Hewell, Asa Kusuma, German Irias, Samuel Opoku, Nathan Pickle, Giguya Nzunga, Ricardo Johnson, Felix Uhegbu, Eddy Borera, Juan Carlos Cal-villo, Vibulano Hun (Bottom row) Jorge Daniel Garcia, Joel Lubanga, Tito Attang, Stephen McBride, Lazarus Kawinga, David Suazo, Wilkins Ahuta, Joe Byun, Hiroaki Akahoshi and Takumi Matsumoto
By Colter Hettichfeatures editor
While school campuses in Abilene sit lifeless on Sun-day afternoons, Mann Mid-dle School transforms into a battleground.
Across the street a white, church steeple stands just higher than the mesquite tree-tops. Weathered homes with toy-littered lawns line the bor-dering streets to the north and west. A few steps from the sideline, a man sells traditional Mexican snacks under his blue canopy. Friends and families of the players fan themselves from their folding chairs. Every couple of minutes a referee’s whistle interrupts spectators’ conversations and all eyes turn to the action.
Here, on a cloudless Sun-day afternoon, a love for the game of soccer, or fútbol, brings 160 players from all over the world together. Liga Hispana de Abilene (Hispanic League of Abilene) has given 22 ACU students and alumni a reason to join a second fam-ily: ACU Inter FC.
Gregorio Torres, the league’s founder, played on Abilene High School’s first soccer team in 1986. After graduating, Tor-res and his friends continued playing together in out-of-town tournaments. But traveling to a different city every weekend took its toll.
“I finally thought, ‘Why not start a league in Abilene?’” Torres said.
In spring 2006, the 16-and-up Hispanic League of Abilene played its first game. Today, every league referee has reg-istered with FIFA, the interna-tional governing body of the sport. Games start at 10 a.m. and do not usually end until 6 p.m. In case someone resorts to violence, any person or team that starts a fight is immediate-ly ejected from the league.
“Everyone is here to have fun,” Torres said. “And if the kids are here playing, then they’re not on the street, in a gang or doing drugs.”
When deciding on a name, ACU Inter FC had no choice but to include “international.” The Bahamas, Cambodia, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Ke-nya, Madagascar, Mexico, Nige-ria, South Korea, United States and Zambia are all represented by at least one team member.
“It sounds really cool and it is, but we have to develop strat-egies and learn many ways of multicultural communication,” said Daniel Garcia, the team’s goalkeeper.
Garcia, ACU multicultural enrollment marketing special-ist, came to ACU from Cancun, Mexico, and graduated in 2004. When Garcia is not recruiting international students or de-fending ACU Inter FC’s goal, he maintains the league’s Web site, www.futbolabilene.com. Wherever it goes, the global game of soccer carries a gravity that draws people together — people who would likely never interact otherwise.
“Where else will you get the opportunity to be involved in something with people from 13 different countries?” Gar-cia said. “Now that there is no school team or even intramural club soccer [at ACU], this is one of the only places people can play semi-competitively.”
Takumi Matsumoto, senior engineering for physics major from Japan, joined the team two years ago. His friend Hi-roaki Akahoshi, ACU alumnus from Japan, played on the team and convinced him to try out.
The inherent challenges of such an ethnically diverse team met Matsumoto head on.
“I’m not good at English. At first I think it was hard to com-municate,” Matsumoto said.
In addition to the lan-guage hurdle, cultural styles of play clashed.
“Here they show their own skill. Teams back home play together more,” Matsumoto said. “I think Japanese peo-ple are afraid of mistakes;
sometimes they are afraid to take a shot.”
Stephen McBride, junior pre-physical therapy major from Ecuador, said as the team be-came more familiar with each other, they slowly opened up to criticism. Once they felt com-fortable correcting each other and sharing ideas, the flood-gates opened.
“We play as a team, but each person has their individual tal-ent and we use that talent as a
weapon against the opponent,’” McBride said. “Hiro runs very fast, so we use his speed. David has very good footwork, so we use him for that. Juan Carlos is very calm with the ball and keeps a very cool head, so we use him in midfield. And Ed-die, Laz and Ricky are almost impossible to get by, so we use their defensive skills.”
The team’s renown has grown to the point that seven players showed up this season
in hopes of filling three open-ings. Four years on the school team and a lifetime of practice paid off for David Suazo. The team asked the freshman math-ematics major from Honduras to join them.
Daniel Garcia, who met Suazo at his school in Hon-duras, first introduced him to the team. The number of international students took Suazo by surprise, but what he learned about the world surprised him even more.
“I thought that Ecuador was the same as Honduras, but it’s very different,” Sua-zo said. “And I learned a lot about Africa. We’ve become like a family.”
Lazarus Kawinga, ACU alum-nus from Zambia and ACU Inter FC coach, said the same thing.
“It pretty much becomes a family,” Kawinga said. “But it’s quite a challenge. You have to understand where they come from and pay attention to who they are individually.”
Growing up, Kawinga want-ed nothing more and nothing else than to play soccer profes-sionally. Having broken “almost every bit of bone in [his] body,” it took more than physical pain to deter him. His mother’s well-placed insistence on education finally gave him the courage to let go of his dream. He did not expect to find a soccer team when he left home for a univer-sity in Abilene.
“It’s one of those things that you hope for, but where we come from we don’t usu-ally pick and choose,” Kaw-inga said.
When he arrived at ACU in 1997, he and a handful of in-ternational students started playing pick-up games. Little did they know their games would become an organized, 22-player squad. The longer they played “for fun,” the more frequent talks of league play became. The talks materialized, the team members pooled their money and they began entering out-of-town tournaments.
“When they started the His-panic League, we jumped on it,” Kawinga said.
Although widely acknowl-edged as a global sport, Kaw-inga said soccer alone would never be enough to create the ACU Inter FC family.
“It doesn’t have to be soc-cer,” he said. “The way we do it, we don’t get paid. We only do it for the love of the game.”
Photos by :: Zak Zeinert, chief photographer
The Second Family
Left: Giguya Nzunga, freshman business management major, out maneuvers his opponent at a Sunday afternoon match. Right: At prac-tice next to the Zona Luce Building, Ricardo Johnson, ’06, gets the first touch, while Hiroaki Akahoshi watches.
Players huddle together, exhausted, at the conclusion of a Tuesday night practice.
At a West Texas university, a love for a global game
brought together players from 13 countries. The diversity that once divided them now serves
as their greatest weapon.
E-mail Hettich at: [email protected]
ViewsWednesdayPage 6
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.
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Editorial and Management Board
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October 8, 2008
Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463
Optimistthe
I’ve never been a fan of ob-ligations; to me that word is in the same boat as job (boo), responsibility (sick) and oth-
er atrocious perversions that for some reason grown ups had to in-vent to suck the dreams and spirits from their p r o m i s i n g youth (us).
I know not everyone has the same out-look as I do;
in fact, some people even like their daily responsibilities and seem to have every small aspect of their current lives strategically in place. Some students already are work-ing with a great internship, turn in their assignments
five days before they’re due and have no troubles at all convincing professors and fellow students their futures are bright, optimistic and completely in sync. To these people, I say congratulations, but this column isn’t for you.
This is for you fellow slackers out there, to ev-eryone who is overwhelmed
with school, work and all the crazy aspects of their social lives. This is for those stu-dents who pull all-nighters for a test and then have to worry about writing a 10-page paper the following day and are wondering and wor-rying what the future will hold. To those people, I only can write the corniest most cliché term I have ever writ-ten. What I want to say to you is “Keep on truckin’!”
You’re darn right I said it; whether you found it encour-aging or not, I don’t care. It needed to be said. It’s that time of year when midterm tests and grades are due. The time when most classes are
awaiting one of your major assignments for the year that probably has a significant ef-fect on your final grade, and unless your name is Genius Gary or Suzy Smartypants, you need to read something immature and encouraging.
All I can really say is I’ve been there and still am there today, so to anyone who’s close to meltdown mode, you’re not alone. The good thing about the meltdown mode, however, is people for some reason are a lot stron-ger than they believe. So to that person who has the nas-tiest school schedule in the history of school schedules, you know what needs to be done and soon enough you’ll be done with it.
Every Friday, many ACU students pack their cars, grab their road maps and take to the roads in search of
adventure , excitement and an over-all fun week-end. Who can blame them? On the surface, Abilene is an incredibly boring and d r e a d f u l l y unattractive town. Half of
the city’s buildings look di-lapidated, the night life prac-tically ends at 9 p.m. and the local television commercials have more jingles in them than an episode of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.
However, weekend trav-elers should be ashamed of themselves. Fun does reside in Abilene; it’s just hidden.
So instead of burning money on gasoline this week-end, students should try to do something in town. After all, one of the purposes of attending college is to chal-lenge oneself and to learn how to problem-solve. And Abilene presents quite a co-nundrum. It can be difficult to find something exciting to do in this town, but part of the excitement comes in try-ing to figure it out.
For those of you who have a hard time getting your cre-ative juices flowing, here are a few suggestions for you to check out in Abilene:
Two movie theaters in town offer different, yet equally enjoyable experi-ences. The Town & Country Drive-In, located on Vogel Street and North Mocking-bird Lane, showcases two 100-foot screens that play double-features Thursday through Sunday. But if you suffer from car claustropho-bia, you might want to go to the downtown Paramount
Theatre. The Paramount, built in 1930, shows nostalgic movies every month as well as concerts, plays and mu-sicals in a spacious theater decorated with faux Spanish-Moorish architecture and a domed ceiling painted as the Abilene night sky.
If you want to do some-thing outdoors, visit the Abilene Zoo on East South 11th Street, where you can see more than 800 animals, including giraffes you can hand-feed. Play Faire Park on South 2nd Street off of Shelton Street also provides outdoor entertainment with monthly music concerts and miniature golf. If you want a
mixture of both outdoor and indoor fun, Prime Time Fam-ily Entertainment Center on the southeast side of Loop 322 offers bowling, bumper cars, arcade games, go-karts and laser tag.
Nothing sound good yet? Well, if you are really des-perate, then drive about 30 minutes north to Anson. A dark county road near the town’s cemetery is home to the infamous Anson Lights, a mysterious ghost light of an old woman searching for her long-lost son. And if you drive down the road this Sat-urday night, turn off your car and flash headlights toward the cemetery, I can guaran-tee you will see something. It will either be one of three things: the actual ghost of the old woman, the Anson police coming to arrest you for loitering or me clad in Ghostbusters drag — com-plete with a Proton Gun.
And if that doesn’t excite you, then maybe you should skip town on the weekends.
We, the Optimist Edito-rial Board members, are not economists. But it does not take
a business major to know our country’s current finan-cial state needs improving.
To oversimplify, Americans have been spending more than we should. In terms of the ev-er-fluctuating business cycle, our economy enjoyed what was perhaps an unnaturally long upswing because of gov-ernment regulation, priming it for a steeper fall than even what a normal business cycle would have prompted. And certainly, now are we falling.
When our economy was on the rise or stable, people could ask for more loans than they could afford to pay back at the time and walk away unscathed. For instance, in the housing market, buyers could pur-chase a house for more than they could actually afford with money they did not actually have because when they later sold the residence, it had ac-crued more worth and would
sell for more than what they paid for it, negating that initial, overly ambitious loan.
The government promoted such practices, making its goal to increase the 70 percent of home-owning Americans to 80 percent by encouraging loans for lower-income borrowers.
It stuck by that goal, re-gardless of whether these in-dividuals would be capable of repaying the money when the housing market reached its next natural decline and regardless of warnings from people like Warren Buffett, who TIME Magazine calls “the nation’s most successful inves-tor” and the Bush administra-tion’s White House chief econ-omist, N. Gregory Mankiw.
The dangers of entering the downward spiral of debt are clear: as people fail to repay their loans, banks fail to repay
companies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who borrow money from both the Federal Reserve and other countries at low in-terest rates. With national debt already a monumental issue, debt to other countries brings obvious political ramifications.
Now that we are entangled in this mess, our elected repre-sentatives have picked a plan of action: the $700 billion bailout, which is really the $700 billion bailout including the billions of dollars of pork-barrel spending those representatives demand-ed before passing it.
The purpose of this bailout is, basically, yet another loan. The government loans money to lenders to keep them from failing before the housing market and general economy can pick up, at which time the lenders will, ideally, repay the government money.
Why should we, as col-lege students, care? Most of us are one to four years away from entering the workforce ourselves. Generally, the last-ing, most significant impacts of economic decisions tend to take hold eight to 10 years after their implementation, meaning what those in power decide now, we will have to deal with just as most of us are starting our careers. We want this decision to be a good one.
But this is neither the end nor the final solution. It is a result we are only beginning to contemplate. We have to stand up, dust off and look for the economic stumbling block we hit the first time around to avoid an instant replay.
We need to realize lenders will lend more money than we should accept. We must take responsibility for our own fi-nances and not trust bankers to look out for our interests when our capitalistic system requires them to watch out for their own. We need to avoid spend-ing money we do not have and
live frugally when necessary. “Keeping up with the Joneses,” unfortunately, is not always conducive to keeping up with our bank accounts.
The bailout is a temporary fix. It is a hand up to companies who should have been more careful loaning money to peo-ple who should have been more cautious asking for it. It may be necessary, but it also may tell lenders to expect a government bailout after handling funds ir-responsibly. Regardless of how we came to this point, whether the bailout is necessary or even beneficial — those points are all arguable and still inspire discussion — it is done. Now
we have to look to the future.With a presidential election
looming in November, it is up to all of us to do the research, decide what we believe, dis-cover what our candidates believe and vote accordingly.
Money does not grow on trees. Neither do good lead-ers, and neither do good deci-sions. At this point, apathy is no longer a harmless, apathet-ic force. We are going to have to work for a better economic future for our nation, starting with making good financial decisions for ourselves.
Abilene area offers surprising diversions
Bailout prompts movement of financial responsibility from all
Students must suffer through midterm stress
By Tanner Anderson
People Say I Talk Too Much
By Michael Freeman
The Fro Knows
E-mail Freeman at: [email protected]
E-mail the Optimist at: [email protected]
E-mail Anderson at: [email protected]
The issue:Financial irresponsibility on the part of individuals, lenders and government officials left our nation in an extreme economic depression.
Our view:The bailout, whether necessary or beneficial, has been passed. We now must decide how to move forward.
The solution:We must strive to avoid making mistakes twice, as individuals and a nation.
Regardless of how we came to this point...Now we have to look to the future.“
”
acuoptimist.com
Log online to hear Anderson podcast
his column.
acuoptimist.com
Log online to hear Freeman podcast
his column.
...weekend travelers should be ashamed of themselves. Fun does reside in Abilene...
“
”...I’ve been there... so to anyone who’s close to meltdown mode, you’re not alone.“
”
In Your WordsWhat is your favorite
Abilene activity?
Stradlyne HallmanJournalism and psychology majorfrom Haiti.
“I love finding a quiet tree and letting the sun bathe me and writing poetry.”
acuoptimist.com
View videos of student responses
for the “In Your Words” questions online at a later date at www.acuoptimist.com
Dennis PodryadchikovGraduate studentfrom Russia.
“The only thing that comes to mind is Prime Time. I have family with me, and we usually go there.”
Mandee RectorMusical theater majorfrom Abilene.
“I personally enjoy hanging out downtown, enjoying some coffee, sitting by the fountain, and riding my bike.”
Colter HettichFeatures Editor
Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor
Cody VetetoChief Videographer
DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager
Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor
Kenneth PybusAdviser
Cade WhiteAdviser
Christi StarkAdvertising Manager
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Page 7FROM THE FRONT/SPORTS JUMPS
first half on a two-yard touch-down by running back Joshua Maldanado. The Wildcats re-sponded on their next drive when Scott scored his third touchdown of the game on a 19-yard pass from Malone. The Tigers drove down again on the next possession before safety Tony Harp intercepted a pass on the goal line to stop all momentum for East Central, giving the Wildcats a 31-7 lead at halftime.
“Tony Harp did a nice job Saturday and had an intercep-tion before the half that helped kill the momentum for the oth-er team,” Thomsen said.
After halftime, the Wildcats put the game away after scor-ing on their first play of the second half for the third con-secutive game. Malone found wide receiver Edmund Gates for a 66-yard touchdown pass to put ACU ahead 38-7. Ma-lone found Gates again mid-
way through the third quarter for a 22-yard touchdown pass bringing Gates’ touchdown to-tal to five on the year. Malone threw his third touchdown of the quarter with two minutes remaining, throwing a screen to Scott that covered 53 yards to make it 52-7.
Scott finished the game with a career-high 173 receiving yards and three touchdowns on seven catches while adding 128 rushing yards and one touch-down on 17 carries to finish with 301 total yards.
“He’s a really good pass catcher and had 46 catches last year and was the third leading receiver,” Thomsen said. “When they put enough people in the box to stop him in the running game, you just have to get him going other ways.”
Running backs Chancy Campbell and Patrick Wash-ington finished the scoring for the Wildcats in the fourth quarter to make it 66-7. The Wildcats are averaging 540
yards of offense and 54 points of game through five games this season behind Malone who finished 17 of 23 passing with 357 yards and five touch-downs. Gates led all receivers with 92 yards and two touch-downs on three catches.
“I think from an offensive standpoint, the execution was OK,” Thomsen said. “The first quarter wasn’t all that great, but then we kind of woke up and did better.”
Defensively, the Wildcats limited the Tigers to 179 total yards, negative nine rushing yards and 188 passing yards. The Tigers managed their sec-ond-lowest scoring total of the season with seven points, while the Wildcats forced six turn-overs — three fumble recover-ies and three interceptions. East Central’s quarterback Marcus Johnson was kept to just 136 yards a passing with no touch-downs and one interception af-ter throwing for 426 yards and two touchdowns the previous
week, breaking his own school record for passing yards.
Linebacker Bryson Lewis led the Wildcats with eight tackles, while defensive lineman Nick Jones added 5 tackles and Studivant added four tackles and two sacks. Linebackers Casey Carr and George Faber along with Harp each had an intercep-tion, while linebackers Eric Edwards and Fred Thomp-son added a fumble recov-ery. The seven points al-lowed was a season best for the Wildcat defense.
“I think our defensive coach-es came out with a good plan to limit [Johnson’s] effectiveness, and our players really execut-ed that well and played well,” Thomsen said.
The Wildcats will play An-gelo State (3-3) at Shotwell Sta-dium Saturday at 7 p.m.
Football: Malone tosses five TDsContinued from page 8
time of 25:31, Kelsey Hilton who finished 158th with a time of 26:59 and Lindsay Putman who finished 162nd with a time of 27:51.
Burroughs said the con-ditions at OSU were not the most favorable.
“The course has very thick grass with spongy wood chips, not necessari-ly one suitable for fast run-ning, but cross country is more about endurance than
speed,” Burroughs said.ACU’s focus will now
turn toward the Lone Star Conference Championship, which is Oct. 25 in Kings-ville. The team has a meet in San Angelo before then, but Burroughs said only a few players will attend.
“This next week, I will be encouraging as many miles as possible,” Burroughs said. “Remember, our sport is a sport of conditioning.”
Run: Conditions cause poor finishContinued from page 8
while three others added at least six. Moronu post-ed another double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs. The Wildcat defense held Newman to a .024 hit-ting percentage.
In the team’s final match of the tournament, the Wildcats lost to the host Pittsburg State 3-1 (25-13, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23).
Junior outside hitter Mi-chelle Bacon and Hutt led the Wildcats with nine kills each, and Schilling added eight in the loss. The team was outhit by the Gorillas .244 to .121. Nine service errors and four Gorilla ser-vice aces helped Pittsburg State to victory. Moronu posted another solid per-formance with 34 assists,
13 digs and five kills. Her overall performance at the tournament earned her all-tournament team honors.
The Wildcats’ record now stands at 14-6 overall and 2-2 in LSC play. The team has lost six of its last 11 matches since begin-ning the season 9-0.
The team will travel to play Angelo State Thurs-day at 7 p.m.
“We have to take care of matches,” Mock said. “Angelo State looked great this weekend at the tour-nament. We have to take what we learned this week-end and get out and win some matches these next couple of weeks.
Volleyball: Team learns from lossesContinued from page 8
her and the goal, Patchen’s shot missed.
The miss proved costly as the Wildcats gave up the game’s only goal in the final minute of play. With only 59 seconds left to play, Mus-tang substitute Jordan Smith scored to dash any ACU hope of winning in overtime.
“The offense is still work-ing hard,” Patchen said, “We’re just having trouble fin-ishing. We have had a lot of good shots, but they haven’t gone in yet.”
Jordan Reese said the Wild-cats were having communica-tion issues regarding volume and giving directions to those with the ball.
“The offensive struggle is across the entire field,” Reese said. “We keep los-ing the ball, either on a bad
touch or a bad pass.”The two losses dropped
ACU’s overall record this sea-son to 4-5-1 and its conference record to 0-2. It is significant to note both Alyson Thomas and Jackie Gentile did not play against Midwestern due to injuries suffered in Thurs-day’s loss to Dallas Baptist.
Coach Wilson did not make that an excuse.
“It’s always tough to lose two key players, but we have proven we can play without key players this season,” Wilson said. “We will not make that as an excuse for why we lost.”
ACU plays in Oklahoma for two conference games this week. On Friday, the Wildcats take on East Central Univer-sity, and Saturday they play Northeastern State.
Soccer: Wildcats struggle in games Continued from page 8
ideology that’s attached to the Gospel, but there are certainly values that are attached to the Gospel. Both parties have dif-ferent sets of issues that they think speak to those values. Democrats have social justice issues, and Republicans have protecting the unborn. It’s re-ally just up to the voter to pray, read the Bible and come up with their own answer as to how they can best vote their values.”
Pipes discussed how reli-gious issues play a part in this year’s presidential election and how both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama handle those issues.
“I feel like we’ve got two pretty good choices, but it’s a pretty stark choice,” Pipes said. “I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer for Christians. It’s really up to you to decide which issues matter most.”
Pipes’ speech lasted about 25 minutes, and then the au-dience asked questions. Stu-dents inquired about Obama’s motives for taking particular positions, Gov. Sarah Palin’s impact on the election and the reason why certain issues are more important to evangeli-cals than others. The question-and-answer segment went for about another 25 minutes.
“I thought the questions that were asked were very
good questions,” said Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university. “I could sense that we could’ve continued this for quite some time, but we said it would start at 7 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.”
Pipes, who lives in Fort Worth, currently runs a cor-porate consulting firm and has written a biography on President Dwight Eisenhow-er, titled “Ike’s Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality.” Prior to entering the consult-ing business, he served as chief campaign speechwriter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. From 1999 to 2004, Pipes
wrote speeches for George W. Bush. He also wrote speeches and provided policy advice for Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Bob Dole, Commerce Secre-tary Don Evans and Repub-lican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.
Pipes said he was encour-aged to see ACU students inter-ested in the political process.
“I think the students here are very informed, very aware and very knowledgeable,” Pipes said. “That’s a real tribute to this generation, that it is more involved in the affairs of the na-tion, and that’s a good thing.”
Pipes: Speech focuses on political raceContinued from page 1
hosts failing to finalize plans.In addition to not scheduling
some new locations, SBC will not send a group to Hawaii as in the past partly because of changing leadership in the church at Ho-nolulu, which made making the decision easier, Platt said.
“It sounds bad, but when you’re short on leaders, you kind of have to be like, ‘who needs us the most?’” Platt said.
One new location this year is Regina, Saskatchewan, in Canada, joining places like Ni-caragua, Honduras and Mexico on SBC’s list of international destinations. While SBC annu-ally sends several groups out of the country, Platt said Europe is not usually an option largely because of expense and jetlag-induced fatigue.
Kasey Smith, sophomore psychology major from Al-
len, attended the spring break campaign to Virginia Beach, Va., last year and plans to co-lead a campaign this year to Patchogue, N.Y.
“I wanted to be able to help with what we’re doing this year and be a part of the process, so that more students can do it because if they don’t have enough leaders then people can’t go,” Smith said.
Campaign leaders attended an informational luncheon Sat-urday to meet each other and fellowship. The next step in the planning process includes lead-
ers contacting host churches and organizations and plan-ning itineraries and budgets.
Students interested in join-ing a campaign may view trip details and cost information at the SBC Info Fair set to take place Nov. 4. Tri-folds with details for each campaign will be on display in the Campus Center Nov. 3-6, and campaign signups are Nov. 6. Campaign assignments are based on a lot-tery system in which each stu-dent submits top choices.
Prices for each campaign vary, and Platt said students
can expect to be provided with information on writing fund-raising letters to raise money. Campaign leaders also may de-cide to coordinate group fund-raisers for their campaigns.
Overall, Platt said SBC pro-vides an experience most col-lege students will not receive during spring break travels.
“Spring Break Campaigns is a really easy way to live differ-ent from the world, in my opin-ion, because 90 some-odd per-cent of the college students in America will go do something fun and adventurous or excit-ing that revolves around them,” Platt said. “But if you go on an SBC with ACU, you will be part of a group of students that take their week of rest and use it to serve someone else. It’s really an awesome chance to live your faith out away from campus.”
SBC: Some locations for campaigns changeContinued from page 1
E-mail Abston at: [email protected] E-mail Gwin at: [email protected]
E-mail Harris at: [email protected]
E-mail Craig at: [email protected]
E-mail Acuff at: [email protected]
E-mail Freeman at: [email protected]
It sounds bad, but when you’re short on leaders, you kind of have to be like, ‘who needs us the most?’
:: Meredith Platt, sophomore vocational missions major from Midland
“”
n The Wildcat football team’s next two games will be broadcast locally. The Wild-cats will play Angelo State on KRBC-TV and West Texas A&M on KTAB-TV.
Undefeated Wildcats crush ECU
By Grant AbstonSports Editor
The Wildcats remained un-beaten and improved to 5-0 on the season after defeating East Central University 66-7 Saturday at Shotwell Stadium in a Lone Star Conference crossover game.
Led by running back Ber-nard Scott’s 301 all-purpose yards and quarterback Billy Malone’s five touchdowns, the Wildcats racked up 595 yards of total offense and limited the Tigers to just 179 yards. East Central fell to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the LSC. The Wild-cats also jumped to No. 3 in the nation after former No. 1 Valdosta State lost. However, ACU came in second behind West Texas A&M in the first week of the regional rankings.
“We played pretty good overall, and I think our guys for the most part came out ready to go and did a good job in all three phases,” head coach Chris Thomsen said. “They came out, executed and got after it.”
Scott put the Wildcats on the board first, scoring on a 60-yard run seven minutes into the first quarter before pushing the lead to 14 two minutes later after scoring on a 23-yard pass from Malone.
Kicker Matt Adams ex-tended the lead to 17 after a 26-yard field goal to begin the second quarter before the Wildcat defense scored its sixth touchdown of the season. After the field goal,
the Tigers started the ensu-ing drive at the 28-yard line. Defensive ends Aston White-side and Vantrise Studivant recorded sacks on first and third down to force East Cen-tral into a three and out. On the punt, the Tigers fumbled the snap in the end zone, and defensive back Richard Havins recovered the fumble for the touchdown.
East Central scored its only touchdown of the game with 7:16 remaining in the
SportsWednesdayPage 8 October 8, 2008
Standings
FootballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUACU MSUTAMU-KAngelo St.
Tarleton St.
2-01-01-11-11-10-1
6-05-04-14-23-35-1
ENMU 0-2 1-5
VolleyballTeam Div. OverallMSUWTAMUTarleton St.TX Woman’sTAMU-C
ACU*
*7th out of 14 teams
3-02-04-13-13-12-2
19-318-313-613-711-614-6
Women’s SoccerTeam Div. OverallWTAMUCentral Okla.Angelo St.NE St.TAMU-C
MSU
3-02-02-01-1-11-11-1
9-1-17-2-28-3-12-5-27-2-16-4
TX Woman’s 1-1 6-4ENMU 1-2 7-5East Central 0-2-1 4-5-2ACU 0-2 4-5-1SW Okla. 0-2 2-9
SCOREBOARD
NOTES
Thursday
VolleyballACU at Angelo State, 7 p.m.
Friday
TennisLSC Fall Individual Championship, Wichita Falls, 9 a.m.
SoccerACU at East Central, 4 p.m.
Saturday
TennisLSC Fall Individual Championship, Wichita Falls, 9 a.m.
FootballACU vs. Angelo State, 7 p.m.
:: Home games listed in italics
Upcoming
Friday
VolleyballCentral Missouri 3, ACU 0Missouri Southern 3, ACU 1
Saturday
FootballACU 66, East Central 7
VolleyballACU 3, Newman 0Pittsburg State 3, ACU 1
Sunday
SoccerMidwestern State 1, ACU 0
Scores
Volleyball team falls in KansasBy Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor
The ACU volleyball team dropped three of its four matches over the weekend at the Pittsburg State In-vitational in Pitts-burg, Kan. Two of the losses came at the hands of na-t i o n a l l y r a n k e d teams, No. 14 Central Missouri and No. 16 Pittsburg State.
“I’m a little frustrated overall with our play,” head coach Kellen Mock said. “We were capable of win-ning all three of the games we lost but we weren’t able to finish.”
In its first match of the tournament, the team lost to Central Missouri 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16). The Jen-nies won the match in just one hour and nine minutes. The Wildcats hit only .113 to the Jennies’ .213.
Sophomore middle blocker Shawna Hines led the way with 12 kills and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Jennie Hutt and sophomore middle blocker Jordan Schilling both added nine kills each in the loss.
The Wildcats’ second match on Friday also ended in defeat but to a different Missouri-based opponent. Missouri Southern defeat-ed ACU 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 14-25, 25-18).
The Wildcats outhit the Lions by more than 40 per-centage points, but it was not enough. The Wildcats put up a .236 hitting per-centage to Missouri South-ern’s .194. Schilling led the team with 15 kills, followed by Hutt with 12 and Hines with 11. Sophomore setter Ijeoma Moronu fell just short of a triple-double with 44 as-sists, 11 digs and six kills. The team’s downfall was its receiving. The Wildcats com-piled 13 service receiving er-rors to Missouri Southern’s two. The Lions’ Jeanna Feld-man had match-high 17 kills in the win.
“There are some posi-tives regarding our play as a whole this weekend,” Mock said. “It wasn’t a resound-ing success but it wasn’t terrible either. It was one of those weekends that fell right down the middle.”
ACU’s success came on Saturday as the Wildcats responded to their first two-game losing streak of the season by sweeping Newman 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-9). The Wildcats dis-posed of Newman in just 54 minutes.
Hines’ .643 hitting percentage propelled the team to a season-high .485 hitting mark. Hutt’s 14 kills led the Wildcats,
MSU beat Cats 1-0 in final minuteBy Austin GwinSports Writer
The Wildcat soccer team lost to Dallas Baptist Thurs-day in its last non-confer-ence game of the season be-fore falling to Midwestern State University in the final minute in a Lone Star Con-ference matchup Sunday.
The Mustangs went home with a 1-0 victory in their first conference match of the sea-son after scoring in the final minute to break a scoreless tie at the ACU soccer field.
“Defensively, we have been tough all year. Offensively, we are looking for a spark,” said head soccer coach Casey Wil-son. “We are going to make some adjustments, maybe move some players around. All we need is just someone getting one in.”
The first half of the game on Thursday looked good on paper for ACU. The Wildcats outshot DBU 9-1 in the first half. They
had three corner kicks, but the scoreboard told the story for the Wildcats. At the end of the first half, both sides read zero.
In the 54th minute, finally a ball was put in the net. Allyson Bales for the Patriots scored on a set up by Sarah Meirerhofer on a one-on-one play against goalie Crissy Lawson.
“I think as a team we’re working together well on of-fense. I think it’s going to take someone stepping up and getting that first goal,” midfielder Alyse Ritchie said.
The game against MSU on Sunday afternoon was not much better for the Wildcats. ACU had its opportunity to put a goal on the board. In the fourth minute of the first half, Rachel Patchen beat the Mustang goalie to a loose ball. With only open grass between
Men’s cross country team finishes fourth at OSUBy Jeff CraigSports Writer
The ACU cross country teams traveled to Oklahoma State University last week-end for the annual Cowboy Jamboree. The meet pitted ACU against some of its toughest competition yet, including some Division I and Big 12 Conference pow-erhouse programs.
The ACU men’s team fin-ished last week as the top-ranked team in Division II, so the Wildcats’ matchup against Division I schools entrenched with rich athletic traditions proved a worthy test for ACU. The men’s team finished
fourth, despite competing without All-American Cleo-phas Tanui, who was out with an injury. Head coach Sam B u r r o u g h s said he was pleased with his men.
“The men did very well. It was very competitive,” B u r r o u g h s said. “If we had run Ta-nui, we would have definitely finished in second.”
No. 2 Oklahoma State won the men’s race with an aver-
age time of 24:23. Second and third also went to Division 1 schools in Northern Arizona and Indiana. Notable regional teams ACU beat included Kan-sas, Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State and UT-Arlington.
ACU’s men’s team had some impressive individual races as well. All-American Ju-lius Nyango finished in eighth with a time of 24:23, just 26 seconds behind the winner, Harding’s Daniel Kirwa. Nyan-go’s teammate and fellow All-American Daniel Maina fin-ished one second behind him to come in ninth. ACU’s other all-Americans Serge Gasore and Amos Sang finished 22nd and 31st respectively with
times of 24:58 and 25:19. The Wildcats’ final runner, Charles White, finished in 32nd with a time of 25:22. Coach Burroughs was pleased with his entire team but impressed by the rap-id development of White.
“Charles’ confidence is go-ing through the roof, having kept up with our all-Amer-icans; he’s got a shot at all-American,” Burroughs said.
The women’s team did not find the same success as the men. In an uncharacteristic fashion, the women finished in 20th place. Although the women did not end as high as they normally do, Burroughs still saw positives.
“With the women, we
found some key areas we need to work on to improve,” Burroughs said. “We have five weeks to get them prepared for regionals.”
The women’s average time was 25:01, while Northern Arizona won the women’s bracket with a time of 21:34. Individually, all-American Winrose Karunde was ACU’s top individual runner with a time of 22:08, good for 25th place. Winrose’s fellow all-American teammate Loice Cheboi finished 42nd with a time of 22:35. Other ACU athletes were Haley Garner who finished 143rd with a
See Volleyball page 7
Soccer
See Soccer page 7
Cross Country
Zak Zienert :: chief photographer
Midfielder Sadie Barton dribbles past a defender against Midwestern State. The Wildcats lost to the Mustangs 1-0, falling to 4-5-1 on the year.
See Football page 7
Football
Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer
Top: Running back Bernard Scott runs past the defense in ACU’s 66-7 win Saturday night against East Central University. Scott finished with 301 all-purpose yards. Bottom Right: Quarterback Billy Malone throws a pass against the Tigers. Malone threw for 357 yards and five touchdowns.
Burroughs
Hines
ACU 66, EASt CEntrAl 7
MSU 1, ACU 0
nCAA SUpEr rEgionAl FoUr
The first football regional polls were announced Monday.
1. West Texas A&M (6-0)2. ACU (5-0)3. Northwest Missouri (5-1)4. Pittsburg State (5-1)5. Central Missouri (5-1)6. Midwestern State (4-1)7. Central Washington (5-1)8. Texas A&M-Kingsville (4-2)9. Tarleton State (5-1)10. Truman (3-2)
See Run page 7
acuoptimist.com
See a slideshow and video highlight from ACU’s win
over East Central
