The Optimist - Sept. 9, 2009

Sondra Rodriguez,Linda Bailey, and Colter HettichStaff Report

Enrollment for the 2009-10 school year is the high-est in ACU h i s t o r y , according to official enrollment numbers recorded Tuesday. The uni-versity an-nounced a total enrollment of 4,838, passing the 4,800 mark for the first time.

High enrollment re-flects well on Dr. Royce Money, president of the university. When he ac-cepts the role of chancel-lor in May, he will leave the university in a better position, financially and globally, than it was in

when he arrived. “My purpose all along

was to build a solid plat-form for the next president and his or her administra-tion to build on,” Money said. “In the Enrollment Management department, it’s in the business of be-ing accomplished. It’s a continual process, but ob-viously, it has been a suc-cessful one.”

Phil Schubert, executive vice president, said several factors contributed to the enrollment increase: the two largest freshmen class-es ever and a graduate class of almost 900 students for the past two years.

Money and Schubert said each area of empha-sis outlined in the uni-versity’s 21st Century Vision – a five-year stra-tegic plan to enhance the quality of academics and increase ethnic diversity,

among other things – has improved in the past year. Money praised the Enrollment Management and University Market-ing departments for their commitment.

PHOTOS

Intramurals

Forecast Inside‘IN CASE YOU MISSEDIT,’ sports writer Jeff Craig catches you up on the weekend’s action with recaps of soccer’s loss and cross-country’s success.

Page 8

Online

Wed Thu Fri

68°90° 67°89° 66°87°

EDITORIALFriday’s chapel service featured an uncomfortable encounter with a homeless man. Find out who he was and what they meant to do.

Page 6

Are the Chapel policy changes too extreme?

Visit acuoptimist.com to see whatthe ACU community is saying.

VIDEO

Zoo Night

Optimistthe

acuoptimist.comBREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENTVol. 98, No. 6 1 section, 8 pagesWednesday, September 9, 2009

Massingill: In the Studio

LOUDandCLEAR

PAGE 5

Record enrollment for ’09-’10STUDENT LIFE

Almost 5,000 students attend Abilene Christian University–the largestenrollment figure in school history.

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

Dr. Brent Reeves hated the iPhone. He avoided the device for a year – until an encounter with an iPhone-wielding col-league changed his mind. He laughed as he recalled watching the device mag-nify his coworker’s pass-word letter by letter, an iPhone feature he found particularly annoying.

“Hello. That’s not a plan,” said Reeves, associ-ate professor of informa-tion systems and manage-ment sciences. “I thought to myself, ‘You know what? This is a horrible tool, and I want to mess with it.’”

The Adams Center for Teaching and Learning provides Faculty Enrich-

ment Summer Stipend Awards to faculty mem-bers interested in com-pleting research projects. Reeves, wanting to get his hands on the device, ap-plied and was accepted.

Before long, he developed several tools designed to teach and test the ef-fectiveness of teamwork, such as Big and Scramble. Scramble sends every se-lected device a piece of an image. Users then must assemble the image by properly arranging their phones. Big enlarges im-ages; when multiple de-vices are placed together, the image spreads across all displays, essentially creating one large screen.

Reeves also devel-oped Zingem, a Web-based tool for anony-mous peer evaluations.

Dr. William Rankin, as-sociate professor of Eng-lish and director of mobile learning research, said Reeves’ tools have been ef-fective outside of the class-

room, as well.“We’ve used Scramble

and Big in a lot of different venues, and they’re bril-liant,” Rankin said. “He’s one of the most truly, un-inhibitedly creative people that I know.”

Reeves’ tendency to test limits is especially valu-able in a university setting where many people can benefit from his work.

“To have someone creatively exploring is a great asset for us, be-cause it helps us discover new things that will even-tually become standard,” Rankin said.

Creative problem-solv-ing is nothing new for Reeves. One year ago, he sold the intellectual prop-

COBA prof tests boundariesof mobile device application

iPHONE

“I think we made a good plan in the 21st Century Vi-sion, and we’ve worked our plan over the last two years,” Money said. “As a result, we have reversed the downward trend in enrollment.”

A more intentional and personal recruiting process, an enhanced campus visits program and increased re-tention efforts also affected enrollment numbers, said Mark Lavender, director of

admissions.“It’s definitely a partner-

ship with Retention, be-cause we can bring in new students,” he said. “Then, if

see ENROLLMENT page 4

Laura AcuffFeatures Editor

Students’ Association elections ushered in a new group of represen-tatives last week. New members, chosen by both vote and appoint-ment, met for the first

time at the annual SA re-treat Saturday.

“I think it’s a great group of students; I’m really excited,” said ju-nior class representative Chase Brazell, history major from Athens. “The meeting on Saturday was really encouraging. There

was a lot of synergy going on in the room.”

The representative

body unanimously ap-proved this year’s budget, allocating $90,000 to stu-dent groups, Brazell said.

That amount is less than in previous years, but budget cuts were to be expected given the cur-rent economic climate, said Vice President Tony

Godfrey, junior English major from Burleson. And SA intends to utilize its resources efficiently for a transformational year.

“Take everything you know about SA in the past and just toss it out,” God-frey said.

Godfrey compared SA

to a boat, referring to an analogy of SA President Charles Gaines, senior criminal justice major from Cedar Hill.

“In the past several years, we’ve been going in one direction, and we

see MOBILE page 4

Liz SpanoArts Editor

The Chapel Attendance and Integrity policy has changed, effective this se-mester, as a result of deci-sions made by the Chapel Office and the Office of Ju-dicial Affairs.

The most significant change was in relation to policies governing Chapel attendance, exemptions and probation, said Mark Lewis, assistant dean for Spiritual Life and Chapel programs.

Beginning this semester, students who fail to earn 55 Chapel credits for two consecutive semesters will be restricted from partici-pating in student activities, as opposed to the previous policy that resulted in sus-

pension of students from the university.

The decision to change the policy, which has been the university guideline for the last six years, was made in an effort to maintain consistent spiritual and academic requirements, Lewis said.

“We don’t suspend stu-dents for non-attendance at class, so it seems incon-sistent that we would sus-pend students for non-at-tendance at Chapel,” Lewis said.

The new policy, formed after research and discus-sion among the Board of Trustees, Lewis and Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president for Student Life and dean of students,

Chapel policyless forgiving

CHAPEL

SA representatives decided, budget approvedSTUDENT GOVERNMENT

see POLICY page 4

acuoptimist.com

Get a complete list ofelected and appointed

members online.

Money

GRADUATE SCHOOL

The number of students in graduate school increased from last year to 897.

n 2008-09 Graduatestudents: 763n 2009-10 Graduatestudents: 897

4,838 Students

This year’s enteringfreshmen class of 988boasts a higher average ACT score and higher percentage of students in a minority ethnic group than last year.

n 2008-09 ACT average: 23.87n 2009-10ACT average: 24.0

n 2008-09 Minority ethnic groups: 19.1 percent n 2009-10 Minority ethnic groups: 22.9 percent

DIVERSITYACU’s cultural diversity is unknown to few, but a look at the university’s diversity for the past three years reveals a continual rise (chart in percentages).

’078.87.33.319.4

’087.77.44.019.1

’099.610.23.122.9

YearBlackHispanicOtherOverall

see ELECTIONS page 4

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].

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.

AboutThis Page

AnnouncementsCALENDAR AND EVENTSWednesday, September 9, 2009

2CampusDay

Last day for 60 percent refund

West Texas Fair and Rodeo

8:30 a.m.Ranking Day

11 a.m.Praise Day

5 p.m.Part of the Son of Rambow Film Series will be presented at the Paramount Theatre.

ACU Soccer vs. Incarnate Word

11FRIDAY

11:30 a.m.GATA Rush

5 p.m.Pi Kappa RushArtWalk

7 p.m. Ko Jo Kai RushSigma Theta Chi Rush

8 p.m.Frater Sodalis Rush

9 p.m.Alpha Kai Omega Rush

10 THURSDAY

11:30 a.m.Frater Sodalis Rush

5 p.m.Gamma Sigma Phi Rush

9 p.m.Delta Theta RushTrojans Rush

9WEDNESDAY

Volunteer Opportunities

14

ChapelCreditedChapelsto date:

Checkup

57CreditedChapelsremaining:

ACU Alums LaShara Nieland and Willa Finley will sponsor a book-signing on Sept. 21 in the Campus Center from 2-4 p.m. Their book, Lone Star Wildflowers: A Guide to Texas Flowering Plants, showcases the his-tory, and variety of Texas’ wildflowers. Neiland and Finley’s book realeased in July of 2009, and the two have been collab-orating together since their days at ACU.

The Paramount is showing Son of Rambow on Sept.11 and 12. Student admission is $5.

Christian Service Center needs volun-teers to fill requests for clothing, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc. from the donation center. Volunteers may work Friday or Saturday from 12-4 p.m. Contact Jim Clark at 673-7531 for more information.

Breakfast On Beech Street serves breakfast to the homeless and lower income people of Abilene, and is in need of volunteers to serve and prepare breakfast. Breakfast is served at the First Christian Church on 3rd and Beech Street from 6:30-7:15

The film will begin at 7:30 p.m. on the Sept. 11, and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on the Sept. 12.

Downtown Dayz will take place Sept. 12. The event will begin at 7 a.m. at a Farmer’s Market on Mesquite Street, and continue at the Texas Star Trading Company. Attend-ees will receive 25 percent off selected store items. The event will conclude at First Central Pres-byterian Church with a free concert fea-turing Alive and Well: An Evening With David Bailey.

a.m. Volunteers must arrive at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednes-days, Thursdays, and Fridays, and Tuesdays at 5 a.m. If interested visit the First Chris-tian Church’s website at http://www.fcca-bilene.org/outreach.html.

Meals on Wheels is looking for volun-teers to deliver hot meals to seniors and adults with dis-abilities each week. Volunteers may work once a week Monday through Friday, be-tween the hours of 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Contact Elisabeth Rodgers at 672-5050 for more information.

ArtWalk adopts ‘Fitness’ as themeEVENTS

contact Hackney [email protected]

Chelsea HackneyCopy Editor

Fitness is the theme of this month’s ArtWalk, a “celebration of the arts” that takes place in Downtown Abilene the second Thursday of ev-ery month. The Center for Contemporary Arts sponsors the event, and local businesses are in-vited to participate.

“We want to get peo-ple out in the commu-nity,” said Katherine Trotter, education coor-dinator for the Center, “We really want to build a sense of community downtown.”

For some, including Bonni Wattigney, junior graphic design major from Keller, ArtWalk is a longstanding tradition.

“I pretty much go every month, if I can,” Wattigney said. “Partly because I’m an art ma-jor, and we’re required to get some event cred-its, but mostly because all the galleries are free at that time.”

Galleries will often

time show openings to coincide with ArtWalk. The Center has four ex-hibits currently on dis-play, and although the official opening is not until Sept. 18, one of the artists, Kim Alexander, is traveling from Dallas to talk about her collec-tion, Young Immigrants, Thursday night. Ash Al-monte, another featured artist, is also planning a more impromptu dis-cussion of her series, Recovery. While the two shows have similar themes, their styles are very different.

“Ash is just so gut-tural and raw, and the other is so controlled,” Trotter said.

Although the focus is, of course, on the art, ArtWalk has events for everyone.

The Grace Museum will have a free art activity for kids and families can

see the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature exhibit, The Wizards of Pop, before it ends next week. Some events happen every month, like live music in Minter Park, but each new theme brings new faces and activities.

“We give people a dif-ferent experience for each ArtWalk,” Trotter said.

The main event at ArtWalk for Fitness will be 10-15 minute fitness classes led by trainers and coaches from fit-ness centers such as Gold’s Gym, LA Boxing and Crossfit. Other spe-cial guests this month include the Abilene Fire Department and the

Abilene Police SWAT team.

For most students, ArtWalk is simply a time to relax, spend time with friends and support their fellow students – for free.

“ACU’s Cockerell Gallery is featuring my friend, Jessalyn Mass-ingill,” Wattigney said. “I’m really excited to see all the work she’s done.” Massingill’s show is called In Tran-sit: The Places Life Has Found Me.

All museums and galleries will be open to the public free of charge from 5:30-8 p.m.

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

Jennifer Gorenfio, junior sociology major from Flint, enjoys a free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery on Monday during CAB’s Free Night Out.

We really want to build a sense of community downtown.KATHERINE TROTTERCenter of Contemporary Arts Education Coordinator

September 9, 2009 Page 3Campus News

Mary GarvisPage 2 Editor

Students looking for historical informa-tion about ACU – or just a list of the “Top Ten Funniest Professors” are in luck. The new ACU AnswerBook can an-swer these questions and is available for only $15.

“The ACU An-swerBook tells you anything and every-thing you need to know about ACU,” said Stephanie Car-lton, administrative coordinator for the Department of Jour-nalism and Mass Com-munication. “Pretty much any question you can come up with about ACU, Dr. Marler has found an answer to,” she said.

Dr. Charlie Mar-ler, professor emeri-tus and director of graduate studies in journalism and mass communication, is the original creator of the AnswerBook. Marler has worked

at ACU for 54 years, including in the role of JMC department chair. He created the AnswerBook in 1988 to help create consis-tency and accuracy in the Optimist. Two decades later, a once 21-page book has bloomed into a 333-page historical ac-count of ACU that is sold all over campus.

“It eventually be-came more than just an Optimist thing, be-cause people around campus wanted them,” Marler said.

The 2009-10 An-swerBook features the first photograph-ic cover and 20 per-cent more content than last year’s. It acts as an index to questions about ACU. The book lists faculty members, buildings, events and other con-tent – as Dr. Marler puts it, “all things Purple and White.”

“The AnswerBook has been my hob-by for the past 21 years,” Marler said. “I work every day for

about two months ev-ery summer updating the content and add-ing new categories.”

Marler calls him-self a “data-mining” hobbyist and enjoys all things historical. He already has plans for the 16th edition, which will include up to 30 new categories. Potential categories are: twins and triplets that have attended ACU; alumni awarded the Purple Heart; alum-ni who have been city mayors; and unusual campus weddings.

Students can pur-chase an AnswerBook for $15; others can purchase them for $20 or three for $15 each. Books can be pur-chased from Carlton on the third floor of the Don Morris Build-ing. All proceeds go to support programs in the JMC department.

AnswerBook: the ulimate ACU resourceRESOURCES

Dr. Marler’s AnswerBook is the source of all campus, faculty and staff information.contact Garvis at

[email protected]


ACU said goodbye to three long-time faculty members last May; Jea-nette Lipford, assistant professor emerita of voice; Dr. Bo Green, professor emeritus of mathematics and for-mer chair of the De-partment of Mathemat-ics; and Mark Jones, associate professor of foreign languages and former chair of the Foreign Languages De-partment. Even in re-tirement, the personal touch of each professor can be seen in their re-spective departments.

Jeanette Lipford be-gan teaching at ACU in 1968. For several years, she was a voice teacher for the Mu-sic Department and trained majors in all vocal disciplines. But ask anyone today, and they remember her for her unmatched talent in musical theatre. Af-ter her first produc-tion as vocal director in 1971, Camelot, Lip-ford became the vo-cal director for every

Homecoming musical after that until 2009. She was also a vocal coach for musical the-atre majors.

“Over the years, she really became such an expert at musical the-atre and voice,” said Adam Hester, chair of the Theatre Depart-ment. “Baylor [Uni-versity] wanted their instructors to take classes from her. She is highly respected in musical theatre.”

Faculty in the math department showed similar respect for Green and his accom-plishments. Dr. David Hendricks, associate professor and chair of the Mathematics De-partment, was quiet and thoughtful when recall-ing Green’s time at the university – that is, until asked what about Green stood out the most to him. Then, he answered immediately.

“His enthusiasm,” Hendricks said. “He was enthusiastic about everything he did, whether it was teach-ing, serving on com-mittees, serving as

department chair – he was always enthusias-tic, always had a smile on his face.”

Green was an inte-gral member of the ACU community; he was named Educator of the Year for the College of Arts and Sciences for the 1998-99 school year. Many students remember him as the creator of the “Problem of the Week.”

“He wanted to en-courage the joy of the hunt, to try to instill that in our students,” said Dr. Mark Riggs, profes-sor of mathematics.

Jones mirrored Green’s passion for teaching. During his 38 years at ACU, he taught Spanish, French and Latin, and served as chair of the foreign language department. He was also taking stu-

dents to Mexico, Central America and Spain long before ACU had a Study Abroad Program.

Although he retired in May, Jones is teach-ing French part-time

this semester while his replacement finalizes some academic cre-dentials. This, it seems, is natural for Jones.

“I’ve been a foreign language professor all

my life,” he said. “All my professional life, that is,” he added, laughing.

Retired faculty leave lasting legacy on campusFACULTY

RETIRED FACULTY

n Dr. Bo Green, professor emeritus of mathematics and former chair of the Department of Mathematicsn Mark Jones, associate professor of foreign languages and former chair of the Foreign Languages Departmentn Jeanette Lipford, assistant professor emerita of voice

contact Hackney [email protected]

September 9, 2009From FrontPage 4

just want to stop and take a big step back and turn the the whole boat around,” Godfrey said.

Even if the boat does not cover much new ground this year, Godfrey said the more important goal is to set SA up for fu-ture success.

To help prove his point, Godfrey said con-gressional appointments were taken much more seriously this year than in the past. Instead of filling empty seats as quickly as possible, Godfrey and Gaines interviewed all ap-plicants to judge each in-dividual’s motivation.

This year’s elected rep-resentatives also reflect

the organization’s change in attitude,” Godfrey said. “These students that we’re seeing are a lot more active. They’re a lot more creative. And I feel like they’re a lot more responsible. They have a sense of duty to the people that elected them.”

While there may be fewer representatives, Godfrey said this con-gress has a better dynam-ic than past congresses.

“They’re different than a lot of people we’ve had,

in a good way,” Godfrey said. “As a whole, we have a slightly smaller congress than we did last year, but we also have a lot more passionate, productive congress than we’ve had in the past.”

Elections: Students selected

we can always retain them at a higher percentage, it’s going to help us with our enrollment goals.”

Schubert said 21 per-cent of this year’s incom-ing class is from an ethni-cally diverse background, 3 to 4 percent more than last year’s.

A demographic break-down of the freshman class tells the university who exactly is attending the university each year. Demographics include high school standing and GPA, race, geographic origins, home church con-gregations and a male-to-female ratio of applicants and first-year students.

“We look at who is com-

ing to ACU, where they are coming from and what they will bring,” Schubert said. “We feel all that is very important to shape the campus culture and provide the best experi-ence for every student.”

Schubert said enroll-ment was expected to be higher than average this year, but some goals were questioned in the face of the recent eco-nomic downturn.

“We’ve got some real ag-gressive growth,” he said. “The economy makes it uncertain, but these targets were able to be achieved.”

Lavender said he is pleased the university’s enrollment has grown in a year when students and their families are

feeling pressure from a sagging economy.

“With all of that, we are thrilled to be able to have an increase in enrollment for this year,” he said. “That is something a lot of colleges and universities cannot say.”

Not only has the total number of students on campus increased, but also there are more stu-dents who identify with congregations other than Churches of Christ.

“I don’t think we have a great concern that more and more of our incoming students are not identify-ing themselves specifically with the Church of Christ,” Schubert said. “We’re not seeing a dramatic shift in the key aspects of those

congregations where they are attending. Most of them have a faith and practices very consistent with traditional Church of Christ. We see it as a great opportunity.”

Schubert said the num-bers reflect the success of the 21st Century Vision.

“It’s encouraging to see that the investments in areas are seeming to work and be effective,” he said. “It’s a great year from an enrollment perspective.”

Dr. Money invited fac-ulty and staff to join him for the campus enroll-ment celebration at 4 p.m. Friday in the Hunter Wel-come Center.

Enrollment: Record numbers

states that students placed on Chapel proba-tion will be banned from all student activities. That means a loss of privileges in relation to all student organizations, intramu-rals, leadership positions and award nominations, Lewis said.

“When someone has an academic problem to the point of probation, they can be restricted from ac-tivities until academics are stronger, so we decided to come in line with that at Chapel,” Lewis said. “Activities are such an im-

portant part of the life of ACU, and that might be an effective way of getting the student’s attention.”

Exemption require-ments have also been modified. Students who work during the after-noon may be exempted under the new policy but are required to earn at least 12 Chapel credits, depending on the number of exemptions granted.

“There are plenty of ways that even a student that has to work at 11 a.m. every day can –outside of that time – get credits done without too much ef-fort,” Lewis said.

The university will offer 35-40 Chapel credits this semester, in addition to morning Chapel sessions. Students can earn 23 more credits from ten different Summit events, making it possible for all students to meet the minimum re-quirement, Lewis said.

Other changes include new rules for “sliding and gliding” at Chapel, a prac-tice in which a student slides his card but does not attend the Chapel service. Penalties include a man-datory meeting with the Chapel Office and the Of-fice of Judicial Affairs and may result in probation or

suspension, depending on the circumstances.

The two offices will evaluate the initial results of the policy at the con-clusion of this semester and consider any modi-fications after the spring semester, Lewis said.

“The idea of telling a student they can’t par-ticipate in an extracur-ricular activity is pain-ful, because that’s one of the wonderful things about ACU, not just our strong academics but our student life,” Lewis said. “But, given that Chapel is going to be a required part of the ACU

experience, there will be a consequence.”

Brandyn Lee, junior computer science major from New Orleans, said he understands the reasoning for the new policy.

“You have to enforce things,” Lee said. “As far as Chapel goes, you have 24 hours in the day. If you can’t give a half-hour a day to the Lord, then you have a problem. I try to avoid complaining about it.”

Lewis said he hopes other students will under-stand the changes made to the policy were positive, and that each revision was made out of consideration

for students.“The intent of Chapel

is to be very intention-ally informative on a spiritual level,” Lewis said. He said although it might seem inconsis-tent to require students to attend a spiritual event, the university is focused on making Chapel worthwhile. “We want it to challenge stu-dents, cause them to think, to be stretched and to grow,” he said.

Policy: Officials say changes are positive

erty rights for Grade-Slayer to Genesis Net-works Inc. Reeves was frustrated by the amount of time he wasted grading stu-dents’ spreadsheets, so he created Grade-Slayer, a grading util-ity that can grade hun-dreds of Microsoft Excel workbooks in less than one-tenth of the time it takes an instructor.

“I noticed that even the really diligent teacher’s assistants didn’t grade consis-

tently,” Reeves said. “You look at seven spreadsheets and your eyes glaze over.”

Reeves continues to develop tools to help iPhone users be more efficient in working relationships and the classroom. Along those lines, he and his associ-ates are currently work-ing on an alternate re-ality game, but he was unable to provide de-tails at this time.

Mobile: Striving for efficiency

Continued from page 1

contact Acuff [email protected]


CHAPEL

STUDENT LIFE


STUDENT GOVERNMENT

contact the Optimist [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY

contact Spano [email protected]


contact Hettich [email protected]

These students that we’re seeing are a lot more active. They’re a lot more cre-ative. And I feel like they’re a lot more responsible.

TONY GODFREYStudents’ Association Vice President

In a small studio just a few blocks from the Paramount The-atre, Jessalyn Massingill has cre-ated a modern-day Bohemia.

On one side of her storefront window, passers-by can see into her photo gallery. On the other, sketches and paintings sprawl across two drafting tables under a swath of purple cloth.

Massingill, senior fine arts major from Abilene, opened her studio, “Jessalyn Claire Studios,” during the August ArtWalk in Downtown Abilene. A fellow stu-dent, Kara Dubose, provided live music for the crowd of nearly 100 people who came during the 4 ½ hour opening party.

Massingill says she has had “solid” business ever since.

The shop’s merchandise var-ies from professional-grade photographs to hand-drawn and painted portraits. Massingill even creates personalized henna tat-toos. Imported goods from India and Africa add an exotic flair to her showroom, and in the back, a backdrop and lights frame a room for future photo shoots.

Her interest in the arts be-gan at an early age, influenced in part by her family’s regular visits to Zambia.

“Growing up in two places al-lowed me to see a three-dimen-sional view of the world, instead of a flat one,” Massingill says.

Her work during high school stemmed largely from that Af-rican perspective, during which her peers began to notice her gifts in photography and draw-ing, she says.

“People started asking me to take their senior portraits,” she says. “Then, I started taking engagement photographs and weddings. I’m not sure I ever would have thought I had it in me without people asking me to do things.”

After high school, Massin-gill came to Abilene, where she found a job with Shelli Kay Stu-dios. As an ACU student, she eventually took part in the Study Abroad program in Oxford, and the four months she spent in Eu-rope led her to spend another se-mester in Montevideo, Uruguay, where she had the opportunity to see local artists selling hand-made wares.

“People live this lifestyle of the craftsman, sitting on blan-kets, selling what they make, and I came back from Uruguay, and that was my plan,” Massin-gill says.

Initially, she intended to set out a blanket and sell her work to students or whoever else came by. She hoped her experience

eventually would become a self-supporting business venture.

The idea of being a “starving artist,” Massingill says, was ap-pealing at first.

“You live the art,” she says. “That’s what you do, and you survive.”

After pitching the idea to her parents, however, Massingill chose a more secure option.

Her parents encouraged her to look into creating a legitimate business, complete with a name, license and her own workspace. Her father helped guide her through the technical aspects, but Massingill did much of the legwork herself, laying out a business plan and researching startup strategies.

She began to explore store lo-cations and nail down financial details. She applied to be a whole-saler, and with her research and her dad’s business know-how, she was able to secure a location in Downtown Abilene.

“Initially, I wanted to wait, get set up more, have the store set up before I opened,” Massingill says. “My dad was influential in telling me to get it open.”

Her parents were her driv-ing force at this point, she says. They pushed for her to have the opening, and her dad helped her select professional-quality lighting and equipment for her photo studio. Although she says the store was not quite up to her decorative standards, Massingill opened shortly before the begin-ning of the fall semester.

“I’m my own boss, and I love it,” Massingill says. “If I can do it

now, why not?”At the time of this interview,

Massingill was working on a commissioned portrait, with at least two wedding shoots lined up. She does multiple photo shoots in a week and will do tattoos by appointment during business hours. Her dedication allows her to make a career out of what she loves.

“Some people are smart when it comes to math, and some peo-ple are good at science, and some people build buildings, and I do art,” Massingill says. “This, the studio, allows me to do photog-raphy and sell art and paint and draw and do the tattoos – all the exotic things that appeal to me.”

Massingill attributes her success to something beyond commitment.

“I don’t think there’s some-thing particularly special about me,” Massingill says. “Just stubbornness.”

It’s her love for art that in-spires her stubbornness, Massin-gill says. She encourages others to use their own passions to ful-fill their dreams.

“Find something you love and start it,” says Massingill. “It comes down to being too stub-born to do anything else.”

Her secret, says Massingill, is a refusal to be interested in any-thing other than her art.

Now, Massingill’s studio is her creative workspace. Sketch-es of Oxford phone booths and stunningly lifelike portraits litter her drafting table, and a color-ful painting of a woman sprawls across remaining space.

In the shop, photographs from both sides of the Atlantic decorate the walls. Unframed portraits lean against the wall next to imported Indian rugs and handbags, and African bas-

kets sit beside stacks of hand-designed greeting cards.

“The coolest part of this is that the more you do, the more you come up with,” says Massingill, who hopes to even-tually show some of her pieces in galleries.

Massingill says her primary focus is always her art.

“The shop’s not the main part; the studio is,” Massingill says. “I’d like to spend more time do-ing hands-on art.”

For now, the Abilene com-munity will reap the benefits of Massingill’s artistic gifts. She already has two or three wed-ding shoots scheduled for the spring, and she expects more as word-of-mouth spreads about her business.

Meanwhile, Massingill spends the majority of her time in her shop, sketching and painting and waiting for street traffic to bring her business. Massin-gill will unveil a show in ACU’s Cockerell Gallery on N. 2nd dur-ing Art Walk Sept. 10, something she hopes will spark conversa-tion and interest in her studio.

Those interested in Massin-gill’s work can contact her via email at [email protected] or visit her in person at 1051 N. 5th and Cypress Street in Down-town Abilene from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For ex-amples of her work and pricing information, visit her website at www.jessalynclaire.com.

FocusSeptember 9, 2009 Page 5

picture THIS

Student artist seeks entrepreneurial successCara LeahyFeatures Writer

contact Leahy [email protected]

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Jessalyn Massingill, senior fine arts major from Abilene, puts her major to work in her downtown Abilene studio, selling her own products and offering personalized henna tattoos.


Massingill uses her downtown

studio to sell her artistic creations,

like this purse.


Massingill displays photos from her trips to Zambia.

OpinionPage 6 September 9, 2009

Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters

containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79699

E-mail letters to: [email protected]

Editorial and Letter Policy

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

Newsroom(325) 674-2439

Sports Desk(325) 674-2684

Photo Department(325) 674-2499

Advertising Office(325) 674-2463

Subscriptions ($40/year)(325) 674-2296.

Editorial and Management Board

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

Sondra RodriguezManaging Editor

Laura AcuffFeatures Editor

Linda BaileyOpinion Page Editor

Jozie SandsChief Photographer

Brandon TrippSports Media Director

Sommerly SimserMultimedia Editor


Liz SpanoArts Editor

Scott StewartPage 2 Editor

Jordan BlakeyCartoonist

Multimedia Desk(325) 674-2463

Kenneth PybusFaculty Adviser

Cade WhiteFaculty Adviser

Christi StarkAdvertising

Optimistthe

By Jordan BlakeyAtaraxia

The man with the shopping cart in Chapel on Friday is not homeless. His name is Mark Hewitt, and he is the founder and executive di-rector of Love and Care Min-istries, a fact the university officials didn’t explain very well. This oversight, though unintentional, has created confusion and continues to trouble many students.

Apologies have been made for the awkwardness of the exchange between Hewitt and song leader Nino Elliott and for extend-ing the service past 11:30 a.m., but Hewitt’s true identity was not mentioned anywhere in the apology Monday morning. Running seven minutes over is frus-trating, but giving students false information, even ac-cidentally, is wrong.

After Friday’s Chapel, students poured out of Moody Coliseum into the concourse, and one ques-tion was heard over and over again.

“Was that staged?”The word “staged” says

it all. It implies a lack of authenticity. People must understand and believe a message before they can apply it. In this case, there was neither understanding nor belief.

Mark Lewis, assistant dean of Spiritual Life, re-called a similar event that took place a few years ago. Hewitt, whose work keeps him very close to issues of homelessness, came to campus dressed as a homeless man and noted how people reacted to him. At Chapel that morn-

ing, he was introduced as a “special guest speaker.” He then began to speak from his seat in the crowd about his experiences that day. Lewis said it was a powerful moment.

This “teachable mo-ment,” Lewis said, was in-tended to be a capstone to Mission Week. The point was to demonstrate that all followers of Christ are called to minister, regard-less of their circumstances. Obviously, the message didn’t carry, but the uni-versity admitted that, and we’re all moving forward.

Except some students still think Hewitt is homeless.

They know the pre-sentation was just that, but there is no reason the man taking part in the di-

alogue couldn’t really be homeless. Elliott even of-fered to take him to lunch before dismissing every-one, so surely, it couldn’t all be untrue.

Of course, no one is hid-ing Hewitt’s identity. The Spiritual Life Office will tell anyone that asks who he is and his purpose there. Lew-is even said he is thankful for such a strong reaction, because it means “people are invested enough to care.” We should be thank-ful to have such loving and humble people in charge, and we shouldn’t doubt their good intentions. But it still doesn’t address the real issue: students shouldn’t have to ask.

The university, by fail-ing to communicate clear-ly, inadvertently put genu-

ineness at the bottom of their list of priorities. What was real was sacrificed for what was attention-grab-bing. Churches, striving to remain culturally relevant, do things like that every day. The problem is we get enough of that from commercials.

The passage Hewitt read from John on Friday seems even more appro-priate in this context:

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when

the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worship-ers the Father seeks.”

Jesus’ message of radi-cal love is, or should be, the most authentic thing we will ever experience, and if anyone deliberately or accidentally throws doubt on it, we have a re-sponsibility to speak out.

Chapel leaves students confusedEDITORIAL

Students should show local support COLUMN

E-Span Lizzy Spano

It seems that every-where you turn these days, there is a Subway sandwich shop boasting its lat-est pro-motion. S u b w a y is quick-ly be-c o m i n g the Star-bucks of the sand-wich in-dustry, popping up ev-ery 20 yards, emanating that familiar bread and onion aroma.

Now, I’ll admit I’ve enjoyed a $5 foot-long on occasion. And I ap-preciate the services and jobs Subway and other businesses provide to our community. There is a difference, however, between sitting at your everyday corporate-owned lunch stop and nestling into the corner booth in a little café or sandwich shop found only in Abilene.

Students overlook many family or local-ly owned restaurants

in Abilene every day. Most don’t realize what they’re missing – that is, until they spend a few hours on the couch with an endless cup of cof-fee from Monks coffee shop or try an “El Gato” Southwestern sandwich from AlleyCats.

Restaurants aren’t Abilene’s only secret. Last year, I had a locally owned auto body shop change my oil – I prom-ise, I’ve had it changed since then – and the workers were atten-tive, friendly and hon-est people that seemed genuinely thankful for my patronage. I was charged less than I would have been at a corporate chain, and they chatted with me while they worked on my car. They even hon-ored a coupon I had received a year before that gave me an incred-ible discount.Other lo-cally owned businesses offer student discounts and special offers that make their services rea-sonable for students with low budgets. I’m not about to advertise the weekly special at

Joe’s Pizza, but stu-dents should take the time to look into what these small businesses can offer.

Students should support small busi-nesses for support’s sake, not just for the homey atmosphere and good, well-priced service. I began work-ing at a family-owned Italian restaurant my first week in Abilene, and they have been my faithful employers for two years. I go home every summer knowing my job will be waiting for me when I return the next semester.

Students make up a large percentage of the population of Abilene, so they play a promi-nent role in providing income for every busi-ness in the city.

In the midst of the recession, almost ev-ery business is strug-

gling. Of course, a col-lege student’s budget is usually suffering no matter how the econo-my is doing, but we all enjoy eating out with friends after church or between classes once in a while. Next time you are in need of a tuneup or craving a good burg-er, try out an Abilene exclusive. You’ll get a great meal or service, support hard-working people that have been serving the Abilene community for years and probably have an experience that can beat a foot-long sub any day.

THE ISSUEFriday’s Chapel message created needless confusion and distress for students.

OUR TAKEACU should be careful not to sacrifice authenticity for the sake of a presentation.

Generation Y boasts diversity

COLUMN

Self-Examination Ryan Self

There are many names used to describe this gener-ation: Generation Y, mille-nials, echo boomers. Some would describe this gen-eration as lazy, arro-gant and b r a s h , but oth-ers would see those same at-t r ibutes as opti-mism and self-confidence. With disagreements like these running wild, it’s im-portant to put Generation Y in perspective.

Generation Y includes those born between 1980 and 2000 and is the largest generation since the baby boomers. Making up 20 percent of the population, this generation will have an enormous impact on global economic and soci-etal trends.

A sense of entitlement is considered by some to be a common trait of mil-lenials. Parents of Gen-eration Y-ers have been more actively involved in their children’s lives than in previous generations, giving them a high sense of self-esteem. Many college professors and first-time bosses may say parents are too involved, checking up on their chil-dren in the workplace and classroom well into the child’s early adult years. While this deep well of support may foster confi-dence, it can easily cross the line into arrogance.

Generation Y is techno-logically savvy. Those born in the late 80s can barely remember a world without computers, the Internet

and instant global commu-nication. Text messages, Facebook and iPhones have led to complaints about the inability of echo boomers to carry on a conversation without some electronic medium in the mix. While this may be true, it is also believed millenials are bet-ter at multitasking than previous generations.

The Internet might have made this Google genera-tion impatient, but it hasn’t made them calloused. Mil-lenials are notorious for high levels of volunteerism and social activism. Ac-cording to USA Today, 61 percent of 13-25 year olds feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world, and 81 percent have volunteered in the past year.

Generation Y is relative-ly open minded when it comes to diversity. Accord-ing to a study conducted by the Pew Research Cen-ter, 91 percent of those who belong to Generation Y accept the idea of inter-racial dating - no surprise, since one in every three is a member of a minority.

Every generation has flaws, and Generation Y is no exception. What is im-portant is that the genera-tions accept each others’ flaws and learn to comple-ment rather than conflict with each other. I hope this generation will be known less for its informal busi-ness attire and attitude of entitlement and more for the progress it made to-ward diversity and accep-tance. The only thing that is certain is that the mark we leave on history is en-tirely up to us.

Email the Optimist at:[email protected]

Students make up a large percentage of the population of Abilene, so they play a prominent role in providing income for every business in the city.

Spano

Self

contact Spano [email protected]

contact Self [email protected]

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff PhotographerDumaurier Jordan celebrates after QB Mitchell Gale throws a 56-yard touchdown.

The struggling offense from last week was no-where to be found Friday.

Stewart was 9-15 with 165 yards and two touchdowns. Harrell was 8-15 with 83 yards and one touchdown. With 84 yards and two touchdowns, Richard-son was the leading running back. He aver-aged 8.4 yards per carry against the Skyhawks.

The defense re-mained solid even with-out defensive leader Tony Harp, who sat out due to an ankle injury.

“I should be back next week. We are playing Commerce at Dallas in the Cotton Bowl,” Harp said. “I am just trying to rest it, to make sure not to reinjure it.”

Harp was impressed with the defense; they only gave up 10 points the entire game.

“We are still flying around out there, hav-ing fun, being fast, vio-lent, and physical,” Harp said. “That is our phi-losophy for defense.”

The momentum from this win will carry the Wildcats into their first conference game against Texas A&M-Commerce

next week. Head Coach Chris Thomsen was pleased with the win and is looking forward to next week.

“It just gives you some confidence,” Thomsen said. “Im-provement is crucial at this time of year, espe-cially with new players. Hopefully, all of this will help us next week.”

The Wildcats will play the Lions at 5 p.m. at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday.

Rolls: Offense explodesFOOTBALL

September 9, 2009 Page 7From Sports

Jeff CraigSports Writer

The NCAA ruling to up-hold sanctions against the football team has elicited a strong re-sponse from the student body. Students across campus are confused and disappointed with the final verdict.

The ruling was based on violations made in 2007. Under the ruling, the ACU football team was forced to vacate 10 wins from the 2007 sea-

son and erase the stats of two unnamed players. Athletic Director Jared Mosley and head football coach Chris Thomsen have said they disagree with the ruling, but the program is moving on.

Some students are not. Cross-country runner Ja-cob Schofield, sophomore mathematics major from Wayne, Mich., said he thinks the NCAA is wrong.

“It’s stupid,” Schofield said. “Division I schools do this kind of stuff all the time and get away

with it. ACU is a big-time Division II school, so they are trying to make an ex-ample out of us.”

The NCAA penalties have been criticized as harsh and excessive. An-other complaint has been made regarding the appeals process. The appeals board failed to question one of the coaches mentioned in the report, and Thomsen, who was not named in the report, said he was never even questioned about the academic violations alleged against the team.

This apparent lack of due process has drawn the ire of students across campus. Laurel Black-mon, a freshman com-munications major from Arlington, said she won-ders if things might have gone differently if these

coaches had been given an opportunity to speak.

“It seems really un-fair. I would think it would be normal for the coaches to be able to make an appeal,” Black-mon said. “Maybe if he had been able to explain himself, they could have seen his side of the sto-ry, and maybe things would have been more favorable for ACU.”

Some students think the NCAA came down too

hard, in light of the fact that ACU self-reported the violations and en-acted some self-imposed sanctions. Others con-tend the ruling unfairly punishes individual play-ers for team violations.

“I think it’s silly, be-cause ACU reported the violations itself,” said Erin Boyd, sophomore biology major from Keller. “So there should be a little bit of grace involved. I mean, it’s not like we were trying to hide anything, and it definitely wasn’t the in-dividual players’ fault.”

ACU’s love for its foot-ball team has been the common theme through-out the ordeal. Much like Mosley and Thomsen, the students seem eager to go forward from here. Jeff

Morris, junior biochemis-try major from Richmond, is among those who are ready to move on and cheer on this season’s un-defeated team at the Cot-ton Bowl on Saturday.

“I feel like it’s a shame they way things went down,” Morris said. “But, we are moving past all that and are excited about having a good season this year and in the future.”

Students react to NCAA rulingNCAA

ACU is a big-time Division II school, so they are trying to make an example of us.JACOB SCHOFIELDSophomore mathematics major from Wayne, Mich. contact Craig at

[email protected]


contact Cantrell [email protected]

QUICK FACTS

The NCAA upheld its initial rul-ing, and ACU will have to imple-ment the following sanctions:

n ACU must immediately vacate all 10 wins from 2007n Two athletes, who were not named in the NCAA report, will lose all their statistics from 2007

The Wildcats’ win was a team effort, though there were some key players. The star was Jordan Schilling. She racked up 17 kills and 13 digs, not to men-tion three service aces against the Gorillas.

“It’s great to see her play where she belongs,”

Mock said. “She played great on the inside for us last year, but she is a natural on the outside. She came into her own this weekend.”

Schilling was forced to play on the inside last year because of injuries. This year, she is exactly where Mock wants her. Schilling led the Wildcats in kills, scoring 57 throughout

the course of the ACU Classic.

The four wins vault-ed the Wildcats record to 5-3 going into the Lady Patriot Tourna-ment hosted by Dallas Baptist University. The Wildcats expect tough competition.

“This next week-end will challenge us,” Mock said. “We have now set a standard, and we have to stick to it. We need to control every match.”

The Wildcats will play four non-confer-ence games, two against Southwest Baptist and Arkansas-Monticello on Friday and two against Southern Arkansas and host Dallas Baptist on Saturday.

Win: Cats dominate competition at home

VOLLEYBALL



Junior Ijeoma Moronu gets ready to set the ball.

contact Gwin [email protected]

SportsPage 8 September 9, 2009


Reggie Brown darts past a defender in the first quarter of a blowout Saturday at Shotwell.

Ryan CantrellAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcats rolled over Fort Lewis College 58-10 Saturday night. The of-fense jumped ahead ear-ly in the game and never looked back on their way to a huge victory.

Soon after kickoff, Zach Stewart hooked up with Terrell Woodall for a 45-yard touchdown pass, which set the pace for the Wildcats. Fort Lewis fought back, getting a field goal to make it 7-3, but after that, ACU controlled the first half. Wildcats scored 31 more points before halftime. Run-ning backs Reggie Brown and Daryl Rich-ardson each scored a touchdown, as did full back Justin Andrews.

Kendrick Johnson re-turned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown in one of the more impressive plays of the game. John-son had another return later in the game that went for a touchdown, but it was called back on a penalty.

ACU continued to dominate in the sec-ond half. Richardson got his second touch-down of the night on an

eight-yard carry. Ray-mond Radway scored two touchdowns in the second half; the sec-ond was a 56-yard pass from third-string quar-terback Mitchell Gale. Gale threw a perfect pass to Radway for the Wildcats’ final touch-down of the night.

The struggling of-fensive from last week

FOOTBALL

Can’t touch this

Never let up. That’s what head women’s volleyball coach Kellen Mock preach-es, and the Wildcats prac-ticed it this weekend at

the ACU Classic, winning all four of their matches.

“We maintained our intensity and kept our

momentum throughout the matches,” Mock said. “We had our low points, but that’s the nature of

the sport. We played re-ally well. The girls proved to themselves they can play at a high level.”

The Wildcats were 1-3 before the tournament and facing some stiff competition in the Clas-

sic, but they did not seem to remember the fact. The women built momen-tum in the first match of the tournament, beating Western State 3-1.

Although they lost one of the four games, the contest was never in question. The los-ing match only built up

to the most important match of the evening, ACU vs. Pittsburg State.

Pitt State came into the match as the 17th team in the nation. They walked away from the match with their first loss of the season.

Victorious WildcatsVOLLEYBALL

Cats finish ACU Classic undefeated

ACU rolls over Fort Lewis SkyhawksGAME BREAKERS

Optimist picks for players of the game and the play of the game.

n Co-Offensive Player of the Game, Daryl Richardson, 10 rushes for 84 yards, 2 TDn Co-Offensive Player of the Game, Raymond Radway, 2 receptions for 66 yards, 2 TDn Defensive Player of the Game, Major Culbert, 5 tackles, 1 INTn Play of the Game, Arthur Johnson returns a punt 74 yards for a TD. It was the first punt return for a TD since 2005.

Tarleton St. 0-0 2-0

MSU 1-0 2-0

ENMU 1-0 1-1

Standings

FRIDAY

VolleyballACU vs. Southwest Baptist, 11 a.m.ACU vs. Arkansas-Monticello, 3 p.m.

SoccerACU vs. Incarnate Word, 5 p.m.

SATURDAY

VolleyballACU vs. Southern Arkansas, 3 p.m.ACU at Dallas Baptist, 7 p.m.

Football ACU vs. Ft. Lewis College, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY

GolfCharles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate

HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS

Upcoming

FRIDAY

VolleyballACU 3, Western State 1ACU 3, Pittsburg State 1

SoccerACU vs. SW Baptist (Canceled)

SATURDAY

VolleyballACU 3, Western New Mexico 0ACU 3, Incarnate Word 0

FootballACU 58, Fort Lewis College 10

SUNDAY

SoccerACU 0, Rollins 1

Scores

FOOTBALLTeam Div. Ovrl.

ACU

VOLLEYBALL

Central Okla.

Angelo St

East Central

0-0

1-0

0-0

0-0

2-0

1-1

TAMU-K 0-0 2-0

SE Okla. 0-0 1-11-1

0-2

Team Div. Ovrl.

TAMU-KWTAMUSE Okla.

0-00-00-0

ACU 0-0 5-3

Cameron 0-0 7-1

7-27-26-2

Angelo St 0-0 6-1

WOMEN’S SOCCERTeam Div. Ovrl.MSUWTAMUTAMU-C

0-00-00-0

3-03-0-14-1

ACU 0-0 2-1Angelo St. 0-0 2-2East Central 0-0 1-1-1NE State 0-0 1-2TX Woman’s 0-0 1-2ENMU 0-0 1-3SE Okla. 0-0 0-2-1Central Okla. 0-0 0-3-1

TX Woman’s 0-0 3-6

TAMU-C 0-0 4-3East Central 0-0 5-4

ENMU 0-0 2-6Tarleton St. 0-0 2-7MSU 0-0 1-7SW Okla. 0-0 1-8

SW Okla. 0-0 0-2NE State 0-0 0-2

TAMU-C 0-0 0-2WTAMU 0-0 0-2

In case you missed itA quick recap of the games you may have

missed this weekend.


The Wildcat soccer team suffered its first de-feat of the season in a hard fought 1-0 loss to No. 11 Rollins College on Sunday.

The squad was scheduled to play two games this weekend; however, Friday night’s match-up with Southwest Baptist was canceled when heavy storms rolled through the Big Country. The match against Rollins College was ACU’s toughest test of the season. The Tars improved to 3-0-1 after defeating ACU, and they have yet to allow a goal this season.

Reigning LSC Goalie of the Week Crissy Law-son’s shutout streak ended when Tars midfield-er Joy Powell fired a shot past Lawson. Lawson stopped all other Tars shots, making five saves.

Senior forward Jordan Reese and senior defender Alyson Thomas collected the team’s only two shots on goal. The game was a de-fensive struggle, and although it went down as a loss, the Wildcats played well against one of the nation’s top-ranked teams.


Both the men’s and women’s cross-country teams finished in second place at the Great Alaska Stampede in Anchorage on Saturday.

Micah Chelimo, University of Alaska at Anchor-age student, captured the men’s individual title with a time of 15:18.60, followed by ACU’s Cleo-phas Tanui in 2nd place with a time of 15:44.90. UAA runners finished in third and fourth place, ACU freshman Spencer Lynn finished fifth and sophomore Jacob Schofield finished in seventh place. The top ACU women’s finisher was Chloe Susset, who finished in fifth place.

Head coach Sam Burroughs said the trip was an excellent opportunity for his team.

“We raced on a world-circuit cross-coun-try skiing course,” Burroughs said. “UAA is good competition as well. Their men’s team is ranked No. 15 and their women’s No. 9.”

see WIN page 7

see ROLLS page 7


The Wildcats celebrate as they dominate the competition at the ACU Classic.

n Former Wildcats Bernard Scott and Johnny Knox made their 53-man rosters Saturday. Scott is listed as the second RB on the Bengals depth chart behind starter Cedric Benson. Knox may be return-ing kickoff for the Bears.

Briefs

Austin GwinAssistant Sports Editor

SOCCER

CROSS-COUNTRY

Cats lose first game

Wildcats take second

Documents

The Optimist - Sept. 9, 2009