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Red rubber balls bounce off bodies and battle cries are belted. The annual Students’ Association-sponsored tour-nament proves dodgeball is no longer a playful playground sport. Last week, Release the McCracken, the infamous team of teachers, returned to the court to make a second run at schooling their students in a whole new classroom.
Release the McCracken made its dodgeball debut at last year’s tourna-ment, an idea stemming from what Dr. Vic McCracken describes as “har-boring pent-up feelings of aggression borne from hours of watching our stu-dents play Words with Friends while we were trying to lecture.”
Inspired to take out his student-di-rected rage in a more socially accept-able manner, McCracken, assistant professor of theology and ethics and team captain, contacted a group of other able-bodied athletes or similarly enraged faculty members to take up the cause and step onto the court.
“What better way to release these feelings than by tossing underinflated red balls at our students?” McCracken said.
Professor David Kneip, an instruc-tor in the Department of Bible and Missions, borrowed the name, “Re-lease the McCracken,” from an old Honors College t-shirt, which the team adopted as its team uniform.
With all odds against it, the 10-member faculty/staff team made for worthy competition, reaching the
quarterfinal round of last year’s tour-nament before falling victim to the GSP team, “Average Joes.”
The team of teachers knew the off-season would need to be spent in dedi-cated training if they expected to seri-ously compete this year.
“Our team dreams of dodgeball season year round,” McCracken said. “Students seem to think this is some di-version, some light triviality to relieve them of Spring Semester stress. Not us. In those 10 minute battles with our foes, our team intends to make those moments the most intensely stressful moments of our students’ lives.”
A few weeks prior to the tourna-ment, the team filmed a promo video titled “Release the McCracken,” incit-ing student participation for a chance at revenge. The video showcased the team’s offseason training: dosages of deer antler extract, one-finger pull-ups and daily cardio conditioning.
With the video causing some stu-dent stirrings, Dylan Benac, SA vice president, said a few of the teams com-peting in last year’s tournament knew Team McCracken’s chances of winning were probable.
While students may initially feel it inappropriate to compete against their
professors, the classroom courtesy commandment, “respect your elders,” goes out with a peppering of ball am-munition from Team McCracken.
Release the McCracken was more favored by students this year, inspir-ing cheers and jeers from those in the audience. After defeating a GSP team in the first round, Dr. McCracken said audience reaction was encouraging.
“It was a delight to hear the cheers of approval from the gathered crowd when our entire team looked to the fans in the upper deck of the rec center and yelled, Gladiator-like, ‘Are you not entertained?’ And they were.”
This year, the rag-tag teach team made it to the second day of competi-tion and fourth round of the tourna-ment, finishing with a 3-2 record, after being eliminated by the Bro-jan Trojan team they played last season.
“We made it to round four last year, so we consider this season an improvement, though by no means where we expected to be, on top of the dodgeball mountain looking down on all of our vanquished students,” said McCracken.
Even with three impressive victo-
Although the weather may not have shown it until re-cently, spring is here.
All of the social clubs on campus participated in the All Club Rush on Mon-day to welcome prospec-tive rushees with food and drinks, and the opportu-nity for those interested in rushing to meet and get to know members of all the different clubs.
“It’s very laid back, it’s very fun. It’s a great way to meet the members and start to gain a little per-
spective on what clubs are all about and what club
you might want to rush in the fall,” said Mark Jack-son, associate director of Student Organizations and Programs.
During the two weeks following the All Club Rush
there will be several more opportunities for students interested in pledging to continue to interact with clubs they are interested in and to get to know each club’s members. Each club will have one rush per week starting April 9-11 and April 15 - 18.
“We encourage the pledges to go to as many rushes as they can to get a better idea of what they want to do,” Jackson said.
This year there will be two new spring rush ac-tivities including the Pack the Park rush which will take place April 18 at 2 p.m. as well as the Devo-
tional rush which will take place April 21 at 8 p.m. at the Beauchamp Amphi-theater.
“We had a meeting last night with 250 plus stu-dents come, which was a lot more than last year. We opened the registration this morning and, to date, there are 190 students that are registered to pledge,” Jackson said.
“Spring rushes have a little more of a laid back atmosphere where poten-tial pledges can come and get a feel for every club on campus with less of a time
Abilene Christian University
FeaturesPage 5
vol. 101, no. 48 wednesday, april 10, 2013 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
Social clubs open up rushing season with All Club Rush
What’s in a Name?See where Abilene got someof its odd street names
mark jacksonassociate director of student
organizations and programs
We encourage the pledges to go to as many rushes
as they can to get a better ides of what they
want to do.”“
ALL TOGETHER NOW
social clubs
Voting for Students’ Associa-tion executive positions will begin Wednesday.
The positions of presi-dent, vice president and trea-surer and currently occupied by Rebecca Dial, Benac and Joseph Austin, respectively. Dial and Austin will graduate in May, and Benac is running for president.
Nine candidates are gun-ning for the three positions. Last year, only four ran: Dial and Benac ran unopposed and Austin campaigned against one other candidate. Austin said the bigger num-ber of candidates is good, though it has made organiz-ing the elections more chal-lenging.
“Having increased can-didates means there’s more candidates out there talking to the student body, so we do expect to see an increased voter turnout,” he said.
Austin said the com-petition for each position expands the horizons for candidates and the student body.
“I think people are seeing the work that’s been done in SA in the past and are want-ing to be part of that,” Austin said.
Austin, along with Nick Tatum, is serving as co-chair for this year’s election. He said he went all out for his one year in office.
“I’ve enjoyed serving the students,” Austin said. “When you invest yourself like this position calls for, you don’t want to walk away from it.”
Campaigning began ear-lier this month, after candi-dates gathered petitions in late March. Candidates also delivered speeches Tuesday evening during a Chapel forum, and will Wednes-
Candidates preparing for officer elections
SA
josh garciamanaging editor
theoxfordcommablog.wordpress.com
Marissa Jones, our Oxford correspondent, details her latest experiences abroad
INSIDE
acuoptimist.com
Justice Week brings in most speakers in event’s history
Page 8
Page 8
Baseball team loses chance to take first place in the LSC
Dr. Seuss-themed artwork to be unveiled in Abilene
Page 4
acuoptimist.com
Committee to choose new Study Abroad director
Page 3
ONLINE
flickr.com/acuoptimist
Check our Flickr for more shots from club rushes
Page 6
SA president Rebecca Dial asks students to hold officers accountable
Page 6
The Optimist editorial board endorses SA officer candidates
JMC names new multimedia group
Women’s tennis team finishes conference play undefeated
OPINION
NEWS
VIDEO
PHOTOS
OXFORD
OPINION
NEWS
SPORTS
SPORTS
NEWS
acuoptimist.com
Rescue the Animals to host local adoption event
NEWS
McCRACKENS RELEASEDintramurals
brock niederhofferstudent reporter
gabi powellfeatures editor
see elections page 3
The Optimist won first place in overall excellence among Texas newspapers partici-pating in the Texas Intercol-legiate Press Association this weekend at the TIPA con-vention. It also won Best All-Around Non-Daily Newspa-per in Texas and Oklahoma in the Society of Profession-al Journalists regional com-petition. The publication is now eligible for the SPJ na-tional competition. The JMC Network won first place in Best All-Around Television Newscast and KACU won second place in Best All-Around Radio Newscast in the SPJ competition.
Twelve students in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication competed in live contests at the convention in Fort Worth. The students were competing against publica-tions of Division I schools in the state and won nine awards in live competition,
Optimist wins first in overall excellenceat TIPA
jmc
melany coxonline managing editor
optimist file photo
Dr. Vic McCracken, assistant professor of theology and ethics, releases ‘aggression borne
from hours of watching students play Words with Friends while we were trying to lecture’ in
a ‘friendly’ game of dogeball.
see all page 3
see tipa page4see mccrackens page4
Faculty/staff dodgeball team already looking
for payback in 2014
photos by CURTIS CHRISTIAN stafF Photographer
Above: Students flock to the mall area outside the McGlothlin Campus Center for the All Club Rush. Below: The women of Sigma Theta Chi
mingle with potential pledges.
10 11 12 13Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
All Day - Track - UTEP Invitational
8 a.m. Noah Project Walk-A-Thon
10 a.m. Mens and Womens Tennis at Pensacola, FL vs West Florida
12 p.m. Softball vs Cameron
2 p.m. Baseball vs Cameron
2 p.m. Pack the Park Rush
7:30 p.m. Footloose - ACU Theatre
7:30 p.m. Omega Spring Show
12 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Tennis at Pensacola, Fla. vs Auburn-Montgomery
6 p.m. Softball vs Cameron
7 p.m. Baseball vs Cameron
7:30 p.m. Footloose - ACU Theatre
7:30 p.m. Omega Spring Show
9 a.m. LinkedIn Photo Booth
6 p.m. Softball vs St. Mary’s
9 p.m. Alpha Kai Omega Rush
9 p.m. Trojans Rush
All Day - KPMG inter-viewing on campus
5 p.m. Frater Sodalis Rush
5 p.m. Sigma Theta Chi Rush
7 p.m. GATA Rush
7:00 p.m. Pi Kappa Rush
7:30 p.m. Lindsay Smith senior recital
9 p.m. Pancakes for Parkinsons
Police Log
83 16@acuoptimist
The Optimist
Wednesday 04.10.13 2
Announcements
Around Abilene
April 10
6:30 p.m. The Key City Squares will sponsor a square dancing workshop at the Wagon Wheel in Tye. Begin-ning lessons will be from 7:30-9 p.m.
April 11
5 p.m. ArtWalk, a program of The Center for Contemporary Arts, will take place down-town. The theme is “Cajun-fest,” with Cajun food served at North Fourth and Cypress streets.
April 12
6 p.m. The Women’s Division will sponsor its 13th annual Penny Auction at De Leon High School. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Concessions will be available. Cups are $1, with a limit of 10.
April 13
11 a.m. As part of the Chau-tauqua Learning Series, Al Pickett will speak on the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame at Buffalo Gap Historic Vil-lage. Admission is free.
The ACU Career Center is now on Pin-terest. Go to pinterest.com/acucareer-center to begin following the boards from the ACU Career Center Pinterest today.
SA is accepting entries to The Greatest Idea Challenge. Videos must be shorter than three minutes explaining why your idea is the best. The top video submis-sion will advance on in the competition. Cash prizes will be given out.
OME will have its last Sundaes on Mon-day April 15 at 8:30 p.m. in the Mabee Core Classroom. Come for free ice cream sundaes and to discuss the mi-nority experience at ACU.
All majors are invited to lunch with Scott Orr April 11 at 11:30 a.m. in COBA 316 to discuss career possibilities in the world of for-profit and non-profit. To register for the event go to www.acu.edu/aca-demics/coba/events.
Stop by the Career Center April 10 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. to get a professional-looking headshot for your LinkedIn profile.
Omega Dance Company is having its spring show April 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. Tickets will be sold in the Campus Center the week of the show after Chapel.
The FAC Dodgeball Tournament is April 13 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Each team costs $30 to register and must have 8-12 play-ers. Each team must include two guys and two girls. All proceeds go to charity of the winning team’s choice.
University Park has summer housing options for a few days, a few weeks, or a few months. Call 325-738-4600 for more information.
Volunteer Opp0rtunities The Center for International Education is looking for conversation partners for international students to practice Eng-lish, conversations and cultural learning. Partners meet for one hour each week at a time and place determined by the partners. For more information contact Laura McGregor at 325-674-2821 or [email protected].
St. John’s Episcopal School is seeking volunteers to paint metal playground equipment anytime Monday-Friday after 3 p.m. and Saturday anytime. For more information contact Rebecca McMillon at 325-695-8870 or [email protected].
Center for Contemporary Arts needs a gallery assistant to greet patrons, an-swer phones and answer basic questions about the Center and its programs. This opportunity is open Tuesday-Friday. The Center for Contemporary Arts is located at 220 Cypress Street. For more information contact Jessica Dulle at 325-677-8389 or visit: http://www.center-arts.com/.
Rescue the Animals is seeking volunteers to take pictures and videos in preparation for the launching of their new website as well as maintenance of the site after the launch. This opportunity is open Mon-day, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. For more information contact Kathy Walker at 325-677-7722 or [email protected].
The National Center For Children’s Il-lustrated Literature is looking for vol-unteers to greet patrons, assist with art activities, sell books and make visitors feel welcome. Help is also needed for special events like Artwalk and exhibit openings. The NCCIL is located at 102 Cedar St. For more information on times and dates contact Debby Lillick at 325-673-4586 or visit: http://www.nccil.org/index.htm.
The Christian Ministries of Abilene: Food Pantry is searching for volunteers to greet and interview neighbors, do computer entries, shop with neighbors, take grocer-ies to vehicles, bag, stock and pick up
orders on Mondays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. The Food Pantry is located at 701 Walnut St. For more information contact Becky Almanza at 325-673-1234 or [email protected].
The Christian Service Center is seek-ing volunteers to help assist with filling requests for items such as clothing, bed-ding, kitchen utensils, etc. from the dona-tion center, sort and organize donations and occasionally pick-up donated items. Volunteers are needed every weekday and the first Saturday of each month be-tween 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. For more information contact Roberta Brown at 325-673-7561 or at [email protected]. For more information on the program visit: http://www.uccabilene.org/ministries/csc.htm.
The Food Bank of West Central Texas needs volunteers to help sort and stock food and other items any weekday Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The Food Bank is located at 5505 N. 1st St. For more information contact Janice Serrault at 325-695-6311 or [email protected].
Meals on Wheels Plus needs volunteer drivers to deliver afternoon meals to se-niors and adults with disabilities Monday-Friday between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Drivers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license. Training is provided. For more information contact Samantha Barker at 352-672-5050 or visit: http://mealsonwheelsplus.com.
The Salvation Army is looking for vol-unteers for a variety of needs including sorting and pricing items in the thrift store, helping in the kitchen and/or doing yard work. Times are flexible. Volunteers are needed throughout the week Monday-Saturday. The Salvation Army is located at 1726 Butternut St. For more information contact J.D. Alonzo at 325-677-1408 or visit: www.satruck.com.
The House That Kerry Built is looking for volunteers to assist in the day care of medically fragile children any day Mon-day-Friday from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Contact Keith Loftin at 325-672-6061.
The International Rescue Committee is seeking volunteers to work with refugees who recently moved to the U.S., teach-ing English, helping with homework and mentoring. Contact Susanna Lubango to make an appointment at 325-675-5643.
The Covenant Place of Abilene is seek-ing volunteers to lead singing and/or play piano for residents. For more information contact Ann Erwin at 325-793-1144.
University Place is seeking volunteers to help with the resident birthday party for residents the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30 p.m. For more information contact Linda Tijerina at 325-676-9946.
Breakfast on Beech Street is seeking volunteers to help set up, prepare and serve breakfast to homeless/lower income folks any Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 5:30 a.m. or Tuesday at 5 a.m. B.O.B.S is located at First Christian Church on 3rd St. and Beech St. Service times must be scheduled in advance. To serve on Mondays contact Jody Depriest at 325-669-3312 or [email protected]. To serve on Tuesdays contact Allen Daugherty at 325-660-6949 or [email protected]. To serve on Wednesdays contact Jane Harvey at 325-695-0092 or [email protected]. To serve on Thurs-days contact Margaret Beasley at 325-692-4149 or [email protected]. To serve on Fridays contact Rachel Brown at [email protected].
Christian Homes & Family Services is seeking volunteers to do minor landscap-ing such as raking, trimming bushes, minor apartment repairs and general upkeep Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information contact Shay-lee Honey at 325-677-2205 or [email protected].
The Abilene Public Zoo is seeking volun-teers to help clean/feed animals, assist zookeepers and assist with educational classes any weekday any time between 12 p.m.-4 p.m. They are also seeking volunteers to help with general labor such as grounds cleanup and painting any weekday at any time between noon and 4 p.m. For more information contact Joy Harsh at 325-676-6487.
Hill Resources is seeking volunteers to encourage and entertain mentally de-layed individuals Monday through Friday any time between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information contact Michelle Es-pinoza at 325-673-3346 or [email protected].
For additional volunteer opportunities visit: www.acu.edu/campusoffices/ccsl/ministry-service/volunteer-opportunities/The Oaks at Radford Hills is seeking vol-unteers to participate in activities, go on outings and provide social stimulation for residents any day at any time. For more information contact Michelle White or Sonia Serrato at 325-672-3236.
Rescue the Animals is seeking volunteers to work at the adoption center doing a variety of tasks including cleaning, social-izing and grooming the animals Monday - Saturday from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. For more information contact Mindi Qualls at 325-698-7722 or [email protected].
The CAC Department is seeking volun-teers to participate in Special Olympics, by helping mentally/physically chal-lenged people play games and sports Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. For more infomation contact Angel Seca at 325-690-5235.
For additional volunteer opportunities visit: www.acu.edu/campusoffices/ccsl/ministry-service/volunteer-opportunities/
Chapel checkup
crunch and get to know ev-erybody and also give them the summer to think about their decision in the fall and go home over summer and see what their friends want to do, what they want to do, and have a mindset going into fall rushes,” said Nick Nolan, se-nior accounting major from North Richland Hills and Skipper of Sub T-16.
“I remember being super nervous during spring rush-ing, kind of being hesitant about going up and intro-ducing myself, but the peo-ple that I met made it much easier to go out and shake hands and greet people, and kind of see how I fit in with the different groups,” said El-liot Nolan, senior accounting major from North Richland Hills and 1st Mate of Sub
T-16.Jackson as well as Nick
and Elliot Nolan all agreed that the best thing potential pledges can do during this
time is to be themselves dur-ing spring rushing and to go to as many rushes as they can in order to get a feel for which club they think would be the best fit for them.
The new media agency, 99 West Media, is a new and ac-tive part of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The JMC department val-ues the hands on opportuni-ties for students. The Morris and Mitchell agency allows for Ad/PR majors to gain some hands on experience, just as the Optimist is a way for journalism majors to gain experience. The brand new 99 West Media agency is a
way for multimedia majors to have this same opportu-nity.
The name “99 West Me-dia” was created for the agency because 99 is the ap-proximate latitudinal coordi-nate for the city of Abilene.
This new agency was made possible through a re-cent donation given by Elise Mitchell, president and CEO of Mitchell Communications Group, to the JMC depart-ment. The donation was giv-en into order to meet several needs of the department. 99 West Media is just one of those.
The agency was given their first opportunity by Frontier Texas. It will adver-tise Frontier Texas’ new ex-hibit.
Lucius Patenaude, proj-ect manager for the Frontier Texas campaign, said, “The agency is preparing several versions of the commercial that will be aired locally in both movie theaters and on TV.”
As of right now Lucius Pat-enaude, junior multimedia major from Phrae, Thailand, and Marcus Bowen, senior electronic media major from North Richland Hills, are the
only paid students on staff. However, any multimedia student who wishes to be a part of this agency can con-tact Cade White, co-advisor for the 99 West Media agency.
In addition to the Fron-tier Texas campaign, 99 West Media has also created a short documentary about the JMC department’s “Pay It Forward” initiative and has produced television com-mercials for Pura Vida Salon & Spa.
A fundraiser for Parkin-son’s research will take place at Gardner West Lobby, April 11 at 9 p.m.
There will be Pancakes from IHOP, live music and T-shirts. Donation is re-quired, and all proceeds will go to Team Fox North Texas which raises mon-ey for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkin-son’s Research. Acts will include The Dogwoods and Jane and the Gentle-men.
Addie Schmitz, soph-omore youth and fam-ily ministry major from Grapevine, is in charge of this fundraiser. Her father, Gary Schmitz, was diag-nosed 13 years ago with young onset Parkinson’s.
Five years ago, Gary
Schmitz started getting involved with the Parkin-son’s research movement. Addie said he decided even if there isn’t a cure in his lifetime, he is going to use the life and strength he has left to help find a cure for others in the fu-ture.
Addie said her father had heard of other schools that had done a “Pancakes for Parkinson’s” fund-raiser, and it had been his dream to have one in Tex-as ever since.
Addie is making her dad’s dream a reality. In October of 2012, she be-gan working with resident directors including Jenny Butler, area coordinator for Gardner Hall, Jordan Bunch, area coordinator for Mabee and McKenzie, and Shannon Kaczmarek, area coordinator for Nel-son and McDonald, to
host one of these events.Once they planned out
all the details and set a date, she made a YouTube video revealing to her dad that they would finally be hosting a “Pancakes for
Parkinson’s” at ACU.The video can be
viewed by searching “ACU Pancakes for Parkinson’s 2013” on YouTube.
Jenny Butler, area co-ordinator of Gardner Hall, said, “Gardner Hall is so excited to partner with one of our precious
resident assistants (Ad-die Schmitz)… it is always a joy to raise awareness for a cure and even more so when you personally know someone who is benefitting from that re-search.”
“Dorm Wars” is the theme of the event. The freshman men’s dorms will compete against the freshman women’s dorms to see who can raise the most money. However, anyone is invited. Mone-tary donation is required.
“They’re getting closer and closer to a cure every-day,” Schmitz said. “I’m excited that when they do find a cure, ACU will be a part of it, whenever that day comes.”
wednesday 04.10.133 news
brantly houstonstudent reporter
continued from page 1
contact the optimist [email protected]
Teams compete for votes in 24 hour competition
The 24 Hour FilmFest kicked off last Friday afternoon and voting is underway. The com-petition provides opportuni-ties for students interested in film.
Tom Craig, director stu-dent activites, said Teams producing films for the competition were required to include certain control elements in their films: One of four locations, one of four props and one of four lines of dialogue. Teams had from noon to 6 p.m. to plan their films, and from then until 6
p.m. on Saturday to shoot, edit and submit them.
The films were submit-ted by being uploaded to YouTube. Teams then had to submit the YouTube link in an email to [email protected] with a list of the control elements they used. Three teams completed films for this past weekend’s competi-tion, Craig said.
Caleb Williamson, sopho-more digital entertainment technology major from Thou-sand Oaks, Calif., participated in this past weekend’s com-petition. He said events like 24 Hour FilmFest are benefi-cial to students who are inter-ested in pursuing film.
“[24 Hour FilmFest] allows the filmmakers to figure out what their personal signature is since they have to come up with it so quickly,” he said.
Craig said voting for the films went live on Tuesday at noon and will remain ac-tive until Thursday at noon and is open to all faculty, staff and students. The link to vote can be found on the 24 Hour FilmFest Facebook page. The film receiving the majority of votes will be proclaimed the winner and the team will be awarded a $100 prize. The winner will be announced Friday. However, Craig said this will not be the end of the line for these films.
“The highest ranking films will advance to the ‘24’ category for next year’s Film-Fest,” he said. “[The Film-Fest judges] will judge them on technical merit with the understanding that this was done on a 24 hour time frame.”
This category will be new to FilmFest 2014, and Craig said the Student Life office is planning to host three more 24 Hour Film-Fest competitions before next year’s regular com-petition.
filmfest
laura bensonstudent reporter
students
Student fights Parkinson’s with fundraiser
New media agency complements department
contact the optimist [email protected]
social clubs
All: Spring rushes encourage new pledges
contact the optimist [email protected]
contact the optimist [email protected]
JMC
christina williamsonstudent reporter
curtis christian Staff Photographer
Taylor Truilt, junior marketing major from Temple, grills out at Sub T-16’s area at the All Club Rush in the mall area.
day morning during Chapel. Voting will take place in the Campus Center Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30-5 pm. A run-off election, if necessary, will occur Friday.
continued from page 1
contact Garcia [email protected]
Elections: Nine students vie for spots in SALOCAL
Elliot Nolansenior accounting major
from north richLand hills
The people that I met made it much easier to go
out and shake hands and greet people.”“
The following students are running for executive office
President
Dylan Benac
Bo Braddock
Aaron Johnson
Vice President
Anna Fullerton
Rodney Johnson
Rafael Rosales
Treasurer
Tyler Eidson
Karsten Goodman
J.P. Ralston
Adrian Patenaude Staff Photographer
Noa Dowl, sophomore theatre major from Dallas, walks the runway at the Windsor for the In the Red fashion show.
Addie Schmitzsophomore yourh ministry
major from grapevine
I’m excited that when they do find a cure, ACU will be a part of it, whenever that
day comes.“
wednesday 04.10.13 4news
Fifteen students were recog-nized as having outstanding presentations at the Fifth Annual Undergraduate Re-search Festival Thursday.
Representing a wide range of topics, 88 ACU students and 5 McMurry students presented their research during Thursday afternoon’s festival, which took place in the Hunter Wel-come Center. The research categories included oral and poster presentations, which were judged by a team of 49 faculty, staff and adminis-tration members.
The competition this year produced fourteen win-ning presentations across five categories, including one group of two. The Stu-dent Panel on Undergradu-ate Research also chose three mentors of the year: Dr. Brian Cavitt, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Dr. Lauren Lemley, assistant professor of communication; and Dr. Stephen Balridge, assistant
professor of social work.Dr. Autumn Sutherlin,
director of undergraduate research and chair of the Re-search Festival, said the festi-val provided the opportunity to see the breadth of research being done on campus.
“We may know what people in our own depart-ments or buildings are do-ing, but for students and faculty alike, our apprecia-tion for other fields is deep-ened when we hear about how scholarship is done in different departments,” said Sutherlin, associate profes-sor of biochemistry.
Sutherlin said more stu-dents from different depart-ments participated this year.
“There were approxi-mately twice as many pre-sentations as the first fes-tival,” Sutherlin said. “The quality of student presenta-tions has also improved over the past five years.”
The Sixth Annual Under-graduate Research Festival will take place April 1, 2014.
Annual festival sees large participationFifth Annual Undergraduate Research Festival Winners
Outstanding Poster Presentation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics:
Blaine Smith, senior biology major from Keller
Ben Cobb, freshmen biology major from Chantilly, Va.
Zack Morgan, senior biology major from Keller
Outstanding Poster Presentation in Social Science, Arts and Humanities:
Stephanie Fink, senior art major from Fayettville, Ga.
Elizabeth Ellery, senior psychology major from San Angelo
Outstanding Oral Presentation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics:
Andrew Miller, senior physics major from the Woodlands
Adam Simpson, senior physics and mathematics major from Abilene
David Reynolds, senior mathematics major from Round Rock
Outstanding Oral Presentation in Social Science:
Kholo Theledi, junior family studies and gerontology major from Pretoria, South Africa
Dylan Brugman, senior political science and sociology major from Aurora, Co.
Kaitlyn Howell, senior education major from Rockwall, and Ellen Smith, senior English education major from College Station
Outstanding Oral Presentation in Arts and Humanities:
Rebekah Horton, senior English and marketing major from Weatherford
Heather Kregel, senior English major from Tyler
Toni Maisano, junior communications major from Burnet
joshua Garciamanaging editor
research
contact cox [email protected]
contact the optimist [email protected]
including two first places, three second places, one third place and three honorable mentions.
Dr. Cheryl Bacon, profes-sor and chair of the Depart-ment of Journalism and Mass Communication, said the re-sults of the competition “vali-dates what we do in our cur-riculum and demonstrates that our students are success-ful and comparative against other and much larger pro-grams in our region.”
Students also placed in dozens of contests for pre-submitted work from the 2012 calender year.
In the pre-submitted cat-egories, members of the Op-timist staff won 19 awards in writing, design and photo-journalism. These awards in-cluded three first places, four second places, three third places and nine honorable mentions.
KACU won overall excel-lence in the ratio category for “News and Noon” and
the radio sweepstakes award. KACU staff members won five first places, a second place, a third place and an honorable mention.
The JMC Network won first place in General Website Excellence for acuoptimist.com in the Division 2 online category. The network also won the sweepstakes award with three first places, a sec-ond place and one honorable mention.
Students won two two first places, a second place, two
third places and two honor-able mentions in the televi-sion news category, including second place for best news-cast.
Bacon said ACU has been entered in TIPA as a Division 1 school for the past 25 years.
“We chose to compete against the largest universi-ties because we think it’s good for our students to compete against schools of that cali-ber,” she said.
Julie Coppedge, senior Ad/PR major from Amarillo
received a $400 Frank Buck-ley Scholarship during the awards breakfast for her aca-demic performance at ACU. Coppedge said the conven-tion was a fun way to connect with professors and other JMC students.
Mark Smith, senior con-vergence journalism major from Powhatan, Va., is the Ed-itor in Chief for the Optimist and the JMC Network Direc-tor. He said he was thrilled to see the publication receive that recognition.
“I am extremely proud of everyone on the Optimist staff to have produced this publication that, throughout the entire year, was the best overall student newspaper in Texas,” Smith said. “It says a lot about our department and our staff and the students who contribute to it. I’m very proud, very thankful and grateful for all their work.”
TIPA: Student media take home awardsjmc
contact garcia [email protected]
ries, team members still feel their performance was crippled by internal team factors.
“We were somewhat sur-prised that there were two student teams that were able to defeat us,” said Dr. Ryan Jessup, assistant pro-fessor of marketing. “Prof. John Camp, may have been somewhat hindered by playing in his complete aca-demic regalia. We were also without our captain, Prof. McCracken, for our final day of matches, probably contributing to our ultimate demise.”
Benac said students should not underestimate the team of ever-aging adults.
“I’ve heard rumors that
they might be training in the basement of the Chambers building,” he said. “With that being said, I think next year’s students need to be prepared for a faster, stron-ger and wiser team.”
McCracken said the team’s next promo video is already in the works, “an ESPNesque mockumentary about our team’s humble beginnings, our quick as-cent and calamitous crash brought on by years of hard living.”
But above all, spectators can expect one thing from Release the McCracken 2014 team: payback.
McCracken offered words of warning to their competition, “Bro-jans, we are coming for you.”
Though the team was created out of teacher-to-
student spite, Benac said he feels it vital for students and faculty/staff to be involved in nontraditional activities so students may see their professors in a light other than the office or classroom.
“To say in plainly, students need to see faculty members in their true environment,” he said. “At times I think students forget that profes-sors have families, children, hobbies, and want to have fun. The dodge ball tourna-ment provides students with a quick glance at who these professors really are.”
Many members of Re-lease the McCracken have taken to a new arena on the soccer field, creating an in-tramural team populated primarily of faculty and staff named “Sunflowers of Death.” Like their dodgeball
brethren, the current 2-0 re-cord soccer team plays on intimidation for what they lack in youthfullness.
“The team is exception-ally competitive,” said Dr. Andy Little, assistant pro-fessor of business law. “As an example, consider our name: ‘The Sunflowers of Death.’ Notice the level of fear the name strikes in our opponents. Among all sun-flowers, which one is the scariest? Obviously, it’s the Sunflower of Death.”
As for the dodgeball brotherhood, balls were dodged, no golds were won, but Team McCracken proves yet again they are a team to be reckoned with.
McCrackens: Professors force to be reckoned withintramurals
Abilene’s third annual Cajun Fest will be take place this Thursday, from 5-8 p.m. in downtown Abilene, on North 4th and Cypress.
There will be crawfish, corn and potatoes. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for chil-dren. All proceeds will benefit Abilene Education Founda-
tion Alumni Scholarships and Programs.
Linda Roark, the chair-woman of Cajun Fest, en-courages everyone to come and experience Cajun Fest if they haven’t already before.
“It’s so much freggin’ fun,” said Roark. “I don’t like to go downtown a lot but when I go down for this it’s just so won-derful.”
The Cajun Fest will fea-ture crawfish, shrimp and
a vegetable dinner that will be provided by Two Daddy’s Crawfish from Bossier City, La. All the entertainment will be by the students from Abilene Independent School District. This includes the Red Rhythm and Blues group, the Cougarettes, the Jazz band and many more.
There will also be dessert provided by Texas State Tech-nical College Culinary Arts School, an art walk and at 5:30
p.m. the Dr. Seuss statues will be revealed at Everman Park.
Roark advises people to get there early.
“We will sell out,” said Roark. “We’ve sold out ev-ery year that we’ve put this thing on. There will be lines, but it’s great to wait because you have the best seat in the house with all the acts going on right next to you… these kids are really good, and I’m not just saying that because
I’m a mom or something, they are so talented.”
Paula Dickie, another chair of the Cajun Fest who has worked the festival for the past two years said, “It’s prob-ably the hardest [she] has ever worked, but the most reward-ing experience… it is going to be just a wonderful time.”
Roark revealed her “dirty little secret” to why this fes-tival is such a success. She said, “It’s great to be the com-
mittee chair because every-one else does the work… the committee has been work-ing so hard, it’s been such a blessing to work with this group… it’s going to be like a street festival but even bet-ter. Everyone needs to come out. It’s going to be a beauti-ful day.”
City to celebrate Cajun culture with festivallocal
continued from page 1
paige otway Staff Photographer
Jacob Kilpatrick, junior Ad/PR major from Mesquite, performs during Sanctify’s spring show.
laura bensonstudent reporter
contact orr [email protected]
The Abilene Cultural Affairs Council will be unveiling five new Dr. Seuss sculptures at Everman Park during the ArtWalk and Cajun Fest on April 11.
“We borrowed the sculp-tures last year for the Chil-dren’s Art and Literacy Festi-val and everyone in Abilene
loved them so much we decided to add them per-manently,” said Kimmy McNiece (’12), director of Abilene Broadway series and special projects for ACAC.
Abilene will be the only city in the nation to have what was previously a retro-spective and touring sculp-ture collection as part of their permanent collection. The ACAC purchased the bronzes with contributions from the
Abilene community and fun-draising efforts.
“We want to emphasize Abilene is a family-focused community and we’re pro-moting families to come together, spending time to-gether at the park or even having a picnic,” McNiece said.
The five new sculptures will be covered and then unveiled at 5:30 p.m. by stu-dents from various Abilene
elementary schools. This month’s ArtWalk will be at-tended by over 800 members of the Abilene community and held in conjunction with Abilene Education Fund’s third annual Cajun Fest, which will include a craw-fish boil, free cookies and ice cream.
The sculptures will be an addition to the already exist-ing Cat in the Hat sculpture in Everman Park. All six stat-
ues are made of bronze and depict characters from vari-ous Dr. Seuss books. They include Yurtle the Turtle; the Lorax; Horton; the Grinch; and Sam I Am. There will also be colored lights projected onto the sculptures for vis-ibility after dark.
“We love the values that the Dr. Seuss stories promote and ultimately want to benefit the chil-dren,” McNiece said.
Elizabeth McVey, ACAC director of marketing, said she hopes to exhibit Abilene’s culture of arts and literature.
“We hope for kids to enjoy this safe and fun en-vironment while learning about the unique history of the city they live in,” McVey said.
Dr. Seuss-themed sculptures to be unveiled local
madeline orrcopy editor
contact powell [email protected]
continued from page 1
eaving through the streets of Abilene is a miniature history lesson – at least for those who look past the signs and into the names printed in the standard white Clearview
font.Texas and Pacific Railway brought Abilene into ex-
istence as the railroad began spreading west toward California. Several Taylor County businessmen and ranchers convinced the town-site locator, H.C. With-ers, to have the railroad bypass Buffalo Gap. A new town was to be established between Cedar and Big Elm creeks, east of Catclaw Creek. C.W. Merchant is known to have suggested the name Abilene, after the cow town in Kansas. Abilene was promoted as the “Fu-ture Great City of West Texas.”
J. Stoddard Johnston and other railway officials planned the city in 1881. Johnson and the others named streets running north and south after trees and numbered those running east and west, similar to the system William Penn created in 1682 while set-tling Philadelphia.
More than 130 years later, Hickory, Pine, Walnut, Beech and Orange streets still run north and south through the central part of the city while the east and west streets are numbered.
Abilene High School history teacher Jay Moore pro-duced a series of five DVDs entitled “History in Plain Sight” that aims to give Abilenians a look into the his-tory of the city, including the streets.
Sitting in his history classroom, Moore digs through digital archives of old Reporter-News articles, pausing to discuss one that mentions street names that honor Abilene’s first families.
Among those historic streets are: Sayles Boule-vard, named for rancher and city builder Henry Say-les; Sandier St., in honor of Dr. J. D. Sandier, Sr., long-time president of Hardin-Simmons University and Merchant St., named after Colonel C. W. Merchant, a prominent figure associated with the organization and early development of Abilene – just to name a few.
At least two, however, are misspelled. The most commonly known error is “Leggett St.,” named af-ter judge, lawyer, church leader and educator – K. K. Legett. After the death of Judge Legett, the city de-cided to honor his life by naming street after him. His two daughters were out of town when the signs were planted on the street. The signs were misspelled, but the daughters agreed the Judge wouldn’t want to make a fuss over the spelling of his name. Thus, though mis-spelled, the extra “g” lingers on the green and white signs across town today.
Other misspelled street names include “Lillius St.,” named after Swedish immigrant Hjalmar Lilius and “Jeanette St.,” named after real-estate agent Louis Wise’s wife, Janette.
Influential lawyers, ranchers and businessmen don’t claim all the signs. Three streets in the Uni-versity Hills subdivision, near the campus of Abilene Christian University, are named after successful ACU athletes. Morrow Lane is named after Bobby Morrow who won three gold medals in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Smith Drive is named for Sonya Smith, the first female student-athlete from ACU to participate in the Olympics. Smith threw the javelin for Bermuda in 1984. Lastly, Pemelton Drive after Billy Pemelton who pole-vaulted for the United States in the 1964 Olym-pics in Tokyo.
Hunt St., along the south side of McMurry is named for the first president of the university, J.W. Hunt. Sim-mons Ave. located on the west side of HSU pays tribute
to James B. Simmons, who contributed to the univer-sity early on.
Former U.S. presidents Roosevelt, Lincoln and Tru-man along with Indian tribes, such as Arapaho, Co-copah and Sioux are also represented.
The streets, however, aren’t limited to people. The Fairway Oaks subdivision’s streets are named after fa-mous golf courses including Turnberry Circle (Turn-berry Golf Course in South Ayrshire, Scotland) and Muirfield (Muirfield Golf Club Gullane, Scotland). Various sights in the U.S. are also represented off County Road 127 south of Bell Plains Road with streets such as Canyon Rock Road, Gathright Drive and Rim-right Road.
Other streets throughout the city make known the town’s family-friendly personality. Abilenians can explore the medieval and renaissance streets named from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, including Squires Road, Summoner Lane, Pardoner Road and Parson’s Road. Off Maple Street near Lake Kirby, one can find a whimsical development. Abilenians, too, can twist and turn down Lollipop Trail, Cinderella Lane, Sugar Berry Ave. and Cotton Candy Lane.
Real estate agent Kristy Usrey recently sold a house on Lollipop Trail. “I haven’t found street names to be part of the criteria for purchasing a house – in other words, it’s not a deal breaker if they like the house,” she said. “The husbands might cringe a little, but it never keeps buyers from purchasing.”
Naming streets isn’t necessarily an easy task, ac-cording to developer Aaron Waldrop.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to come up with six or seven names that haven’t been used or sound like a used name, but it’s difficult,” Waldrop said.
Inspiration for names can come from family, friends or even strangers. Take Handsome Jack Road, for instance.
During the late ‘90s, Waldrop was responsible for naming the streets within the property he owned. He established names for all the streets except the main road that intersects with FM 1750.
One afternoon, Waldrop made a stop into his bank. A man walking in the door drew the attention of the female teller assisting Waldrop. She said, “Oh, here comes handsome Jack!”
“I turned around and said, ‘thank you,’” Waldrop remembers with a chuckle. “She asked why and I said, ‘you just named my last street.’”
Jack Luther, known as “handsome Jack” to the fe-male bank tellers, was coincidentally the previous owner of Waldrop’s land. This was Waldrop’s way of honoring Luther.
Other streets near Handsome Jack bear a rural-western motif – Sundance Road and Chiggers Trail, while others honor Waldrop’s personal memories –Sugar Biscuit Lane, named after the honey and sugar filled biscuits his grandmother fed him and his cous-ins for an afternoon snack to re-energize them and Cody Bug Road, named after his wife’s dachshund.
To change an existing street name or to add an honorary title, a multi-step process exists, including a public hearing to get approval by both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. The process also requires a petition signed by a minimum of 51 percent of street residents and the change costs $800.
Street signs reveal history of any town, Abilene in-cluded. Furthermore, history, Moore said, is what con-nects you to your home. “And knowing the history of the streets makes a city a home.”
Wednesday 04.10.135 featureS
curtis christian staff Photographer
W
WHAT’S IN A NAME ?
SUGAR BERRYAVE
CINDERELLALN
LOLLIPOPTRL
NO NAMERD
NONESUCHRD
WISHBONEDR
DOLLARBILLDR
POTATOE PIEDR
HANDSOME JACKRD
COTTON CANDYLN
SUGAR BISCUITLN
CHIGGERSTRL
By Julie Coppedge
The Editorial Board scheduled interviews with all nine candidates for the three officer positions. We met with eight of them and heard their platforms and ideas. After much deliberation, we have endorsed one candidate for each position.
I have been invested in Students’ Association for four years now. It has been the biggest part of my time here at ACU and I care deeply about its mis-sion. I want the elected of-ficers to do the most they can for the student body and lead SA in another year of productivity and service. You as a student are powerful through your vote--value it! Don’t
just vote for your friend or someone who offers you some enticement. Think about whose ideas and character will best im-pact campus. Then hold those people to what they say they will do and make sure they are fully repre-senting the student body in the best way possible.
Following through on what you start is impor-tant for every position but most crucial for the Presi-dent. While I have con-cerns about all of the can-didates’ track records on
this, I would recommend voting for Dylan Benac. He does have experience that will be advantageous to the Cabinet as they ful-fill their roles.
Vice president needs to be someone with great interpersonal skills and
creative thinking. Anna Fullerton seems to be the best candidate and has a great passion already for what she could accom-plish. I think the fact that Anna has not previously been in SA will bring a different and beneficial
perspective to the Cabi-net.
Student organizations have the most interaction with the treasurer. This person should be patient and respectful and value each group. The biggest part of the job is planning the budget. J.P. Ralston has proposed doing away with the conference re-quest fund and putting that money back into stu-dent group budgets. I sup-port this wholeheartedly and believe that the uni-versity and departments
need to step up on fund-ing conferences rather than expecting SA to do that.
No matter who is elect-ed, please hold them ac-countable. And thank you, very sincerely, for al-lowing me to serve you for the past four years. It has been an honor and I have been incredibly blessed by it.
J.P. Ralston has a bold plan for the SA budget process. It could be risky, but it’s a good plan.
Conference fund requests take up a lot of time in SA meetings; just look at our reports about the weekly meetings recently. Ralston thinks this is a waste of SA’s time because they have such a limited fund and can only grant the groups a small fraction of their requests.
He wants to end the fund all together and put that mon-ey into the Congress’ overall budget.
He believes SA is not a handout club and, if elected, he plans to encourage and help with fundraising, as well as provide instruction and make sure people know who to talk to about fundraising.
Ralston also has experience that makes him qualified to take on the responsibili-ties of treasurer. He has served in SA for two years as the COBA representative. He has also been on the finance committee and the internal affairs committee. He has considered running for the position for the past two years, and now he thinks he’s ready. So do we.
We have chosen to endorse Anna Fullerton for the posi-tion of executive vice president.
The vice president must be capable of managing events and maintaining interpersonal relationships with the Stu-dents’ Association Congress. Fullerton, junior psychology major from Garland, has had no experience with SA, but she played a big role in organizing the Red Boot Roundup, a successful event earlier in the semester honoring the memory of Lindsey Smith. Additionally, her area of study
makes her ideal for conflict resolution and she expressed that she is not afraid of conflict. She is able and willing to encourage Congress members to fulfill their duties. Fuller-
ton’s outsider status is not necessarily a disadvantage, as she is capable of providing a fresh perspective for the executive cabinet.
The vice president position does not rely as much on experience in SA as it does on organization and passion. While candidates for president and treasurer ought to come in with a good working knowledge of how the Students’ Association operates, it isn’t as es-sential for the vice president. Fullerton is passionate and will provide a voice for people who think SA is too distant and political.
illustrations by evan marks
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 let-ters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing
personal attacks, obscen-ity, 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 27892Abilene, TX 79609
E-mail letters to: [email protected]
editorial and Letter Policy
guest column
J.P. Ralston
Dial: Hold elected officials accountable
hashtagACU
These endorsements reflect the opinion of the Optimist Editorial Board.
OUR CHOICE FOR VICE PRESIDENT: OUR CHOICE FOR TREASURER:
Wednesday 04.10.13 6opinion
Tripped over myself in the hall, casually tried to play it off, some kid was already laughing. dang it.
@morgsasmith
12:10 p.m. April 8
Don’t just vote for your friend or someone who offers you some enticement. Think about whose
ideas and character will best impact campus.”“
Literally my profressor cannot go through a day of chemistry without talking about breast feeding #pleasestop #pleaseee
I don’t usually wear a skirt, but when I do, there is a tornado outside. #windycity
So apparently the @acuoptimist was awarded the best newspaper of all Texas D1 universities this weekend... #acudifference
@carlyyruth @Spuckett09 @Sh4zam@bpbailey @treytres
10:02 a.m. April 8
11:04 a.m. April 9
10:47 p.m. April 7
8:48 a.m. April 8
COBA is the man cave of ACU
1:02 p.m. April 9
IT’S THE MOOOOOOOST SWEATIEST TIIIIIIIIIIIME OF THE YEAR!!!!!
Also running for presidentBo Braddock, senior biology major from Deer Park:Braddock is familiar with many students and areas around campus. We liked his idea of brainstorming with smaller groups within SA to better facilitate and encourage discussion. However, his track record in SA isn’t great. He hasn’t proven his responsibility. If elected, he needs to follow through and be accountable;
with that, we believe he would be a good president of SA.
Aaron Johnson, junior art and psychol-ogy major from Houston:Johnson is comfortable in his walk with God and feels called to run for the position. However, he doesn’t have any experience in SA, but believes he will be able to learn and teach throughout the entire term. If elected, Johnson will face the challenges of inexperience and balancing leading SA
and the lacrosse team.
Also running for vice president Also running for treasurerRafael Rosales, sophomore management major from El Salvador:Rosales would set forth a great example and provide strong representation for in-ternational students. Additionally, he has had a lot of leadership experience through missionary work in his home country. If he is not elected, we encourage Rosales to run for Congress next semester.
Rodney Johnson, sophomore manage-ment major from Odessa:Johnson did not show up to his sched-uled interview with the Optimist Edito-rial Board on Monday morning. In an email that evening, he expressed his passion for leading the student body and his desire to use his experience to fully invest himself in the position. He wants
to promote a more lively campus by focusing on ACU’s roots and Christ-centered community.
Tyler Eidson, sophomore marketing and fi-nance major from College Station:Eidson has experience in financial busi-ness, but has never been involved with SA before and is unfamiliar with conference fund requests and how time consuming they are. He needs a year, possibly work-ing with the executive treasurer as chief financial officer, to get familiar with how
to run the SA budget. He will only be a junior next year, so he still has time to prepare for the treasurer position.
Karsten Goodman, junior finance major from Abilene:Goodman is experienced handling money; he’s worked as a bank teller for nearly two years. But, like Eidson, he has no experience in SA and isn’t famil-iar with the responsibilities the posi-tion has.
braddock
aaron johnson
rosales
rodney johnson
eidson
goodman
Mark Smitheditor in chief
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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 let-ters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing
personal attacks, obscen-ity, 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 27892Abilene, TX 79609
E-mail letters to: [email protected]
published by the department of journalism
and mass communication
editorial and management board
editorial and Letter Policy
rebecca dialSA president
contact the optimist [email protected]
SA OFFICER ENDORSEMENTS
Dylan Benac is already experienced in the Students’ Asso-ciation cabinet. After serving the past school year as vice president, he understands how the Congress runs.
But that’s only one reason why we’re endorsing him.Benac is prepared. He has vision. He has plans.If elected, Benac would be the only returning SA officer.
He has learned firsthand what works well and what could be improved.
We like his plans for student petitions. We’ve seen them work: most recently in the rehir-ing of Mike Schuler, the Bean’s Piano Man, and in bringing back Dead Day. He wants the students to have a say in the university’s search for administrators in Student Life, who will have a great direct impact on campus life. Benac will strive to better the relationship between administration and students.
We are pleased to see more candidates for this important position. Any of the three can-didates could have success if elected; we don’t expect whoever is elected to have a perfect term either. However, we believe Dylan Benac is the best choice for for SA president.
OUR CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT:
Dylan BenacJunior political science major from Boerne
Junior finance and accounting major from Plano
Anna FullertonJunior psychology major from Garland
wednesday 04.10.137 sports
Wildcats swept by Lady Buffs
The Abilene Christian softball team fell short this past weekend against No. 2 in the nation confer-ence foe West Texas A&M.
The lady Buffaloes handed the ‘Cats two 8-0 run-rule losses; one Fri-day night 0-8 and the other in the first game of their doubleheader Satur-day 1-11.
Although the offensive side of the game for the
‘Cats seemed to struggle, the third and final night-cap game came down to the wire.
In the fourth inning, down 2-7 with the bas-es loaded, Lyndi Smith crushed her first grand slam of the season putting the ‘Cats within reach of upsetting the Lady Buffs.
“It was a tough loss, but I’m glad I could at least give us the fighting chance for a comeback,” Smith said. “WT is a tough opponent to face, and I’m sure they were looking
for revenge after last year when we swept them in the series.”
Senior Caitlyn Crain was nearly untouchable crossing the plate as she struck out the first 12 bat-ters she faced. She gave
the ‘Cats the inspiration to attempt a comeback, but it was too late.
Leadoff hitter for the Lady Buffs, Alyssa Lemos, had a big weekend belting two home runs in Friday night’s game.
What most people don’t know is this past weekend was WTAMU’s Turn two for Cancer weekend in honor of those who are fighting and who have lost their battle with cancer.
Lemos’ mom lost her battle to cancer, and af-ter hitting two home runs she knew her mom was watching over her.
“As soon as I hit the first home run I immediately could not stop smiling,” Lemos said. “After hitting the second one I had no doubt in my mom that she
was there with me the en-tire game.”
The two losses dropped ACU’s Lone Star Confer-ence and season records to 5-10 and 21-20.
The ‘Cats hope to not extend their losing streak today when they face St. Mary’s University in a double header. The first game starts at 5 p.m.
softball
paige otway Staff Photographer
Senior outfielder Keanna Winkfield stretches for the ball at Poly Wells Field. The Wildcats were swept by the Buffaloes of West Texas A&M over the weekend. They lost the first game 8-0, the second game 11-1 and the finale 7-6.
jimmy isbellsports reporter
contact isbell [email protected]
Susset topples steeplechase competition
The Wildcat’s track and field team traveled to Lub-bock over the weekend to compete in the Texas Tech Open. Senior Chloe Sus-set was a standout as she captured first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, one of three ACU wins from Lubbock.
“Texas Tech was a good meet to improve perfor-mances or step into a new one like I did,” Susset said. “The weather was great and that is one of the rea-sons why the competition
was better than we could imagine for Lubbock and its usual strong wind.”
Susset finished with 10:48 time, nearly a minute ahead of the rest of the com-petition, and twenty four seconds off her best time in the steeplechase(10:24).
Her time currently ranks seventh among all NCAA D-II schools.
“It is always stressful to run the first steeple of the season but as soon as I cleared my first water jump ‘cleanly’, I got all my confi-dence back,” Susset said.
Seniors Shalania Lakey and Baptiste Kerjean also did well, as they excelled in
the hammer throw. Lakey and her team-
mate sophomore Lauren Hardwick finished first and second for the second straight week with dis-tances of 164 feet - 5 inches (50.11 meters) and 154-6 (47.10m), respectively.
Kerjean won for the sec-ond time in three tries be-
hind a top effort of 198-0 (60.35m).
“We had some great placement performances at Texas Tech,” Coach Jer-rod Cook said. “I was very pleased with the meet overall, especially after a tough week of training.”
Senior Shennae Steele finished sixth in the
200-meter run with a 24.42 sec. time and finished sev-enth in the 400-meter with a 56.72 time.
Senior Ayesha Rumble was fourth in the 800-me-ter run, finishing with a 2:11 time.
Freshman Xavier King finished sixth in the 1500-meter run with a 3:58 time.
Freshman Andrew Hud-son was third in the discus throw with a 170-3/51.90m throw. Hudson and fellow freshman Jelani Rainey fin-ished third and fifth respec-tively in the hammer throw.
Hudson had a 159-1/48.48m throw, while
Rainey had a 169-0/51.51m throw.
“Every week we are making strides and im-proving overall as a team,” Cook said. “There is a ton of talent out here and ev-eryone is working hard to reach their potential and their goals as individuals as well as our goals to leave Division II as conference and national champions.”
The Wildcats return to the panhandle next week for the West Texas A&M Open and Multi in Canyon.
track & field
daniel zepedasports reporter
contact zepeda [email protected]
Struggle: Offense lulled by Buff pitchersa strikeout and a ground-ball out to end the threat.
In the third, he al-lowed two base runners with one out before strik-ing out the cleanup hitter looking and educing an-other ground-ball.
“He’s a bulldog,” Bon-neau said. “He really con-trolled the game.”
The ‘Cats scored one run in each of the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. They whacked eight hits and drew three walks against starter Joshua
Wyeker and two relievers.Giusti, Travis Schuetze
and Duarte all had two hits apiece.
The night cap was a pitching dual where Lam-brix and ACU fell on the short end of a 3-1 defeat.
The Wildcats were lim-ited to three hits and one
unearned run thanks to ‘Buffs starter Paul Pulley who tossed 6.2 innings.
Their only run was scored by Kyle Conwell who reached base on an error to start the fifth. He was brought in when Duarte hit a ground ball third.
Sunday, the team lost a 2-1 lead in the fifth after WT sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on five hits.
“We walked five guys that inning,” Bonneau said.
“We can’t do that.”ACU went on to lose
the match-up 11-2. Ty Tay-lor started the game and was charged with five runs through 4.0 innings in the loss (3-4).
The ‘Cats will be back home this weekend when they host Cameron in a four-game set. The first game will start Friday night at 7 p.m. Saturday the squad plays a double-
header beginning at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, they play at 1 p.m.
baseball
contact isaacs [email protected]
from page 8
britt bonneauhead coach
acu baseball
Their pitchers threw really well against us. But we’re a better hitting team than that.”“
Chloe sussetsteeplechase
acu women’s track & field
It is always stressful to run the first steeple of the season but as soon as I cleared my first water jump
‘cleanly,’ I got all my confidence back.”“
Lyndi smithoutfielder
acu softball
It was tough loss, but I’m glad I could at least give us the fighting chance for a comeback.”“
mandy lambright chief Photographer
Senior Rog Macy slides into second base at Crutcher Scott Field trying to aviod the tag of an Eastern New Mexico Univeristy infielder. Macy’s eva-sive slide allowed him to get into scoring position safely.
Last Thursday, the Wild-cats hosted the Cameron University Aggies at the Eager Tennis Pavilion.
The women’s team end-ed their Lone Star Confer-ence matches for the sea-son on a shining high as they added an 8-1 victory to their 5-0 conference standing. The team won 5 of 6 of their singles and all of their doubles matches.
Julia Mongin matched up against Amanda Mo-berg 6-0 straight. Brittney Reed took on Elvira Shol-les 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.
Hannah Kelley defeat-ed Laura Winter 6-3, 6-3. Laura Mongin challenged Florencia Torneo 6-3, 6-4 and Kaysie Hermsdorf faced Antonia Moberg 6-0, 6-1.
The duo of Julia Mongin and Reed, Micah Herms-dorf and Kelley joined by Laura Mogin and Kaysie Hermsdorf gave the team their doubles points.
Going 19-5 overall this season with a 7 game win streak, the ladies proved nothing will intercede their house.
The men’s team didn’t
fare as well, but fought hard as they fell 4-5 to the Aggies.
Still recovering from multiple injuries from earlier in the season, the team managed to win 3 of
6 of their singles matches.Hans Hach chal-
lenged Nicoali Ferrign 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Alfredo De-siati matched with Joao Fazenderio 6-2, 6-2. Borja
Cortes, still healing from a wrist injury, defeated An-gelo Lencioni 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
The only pair to earn a doubles point was that of Hach and Guilherme Gesser who beat CU’s Duje Janjic and Lencioni 8-3.
The men’s team went 12-12 overall this season and 1-2 in conference.
This weekend both teams will travel to Pen-sacola, Fla., for a three day tournament to end their regular season.
They will be chal-lenged by the teams of Auburn University, the University of West Florida and the University of New Orleans.
Before heading to the LSC championship tour-nament at the end of the month, the men’s team will serve up a battle against McMurry, here at the Eager Tennis Pavilion, Wednesday, April 17.
The softball team plays a double-header against St. Mary’s University Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at home. The game is a non-conference matchup.
The men’s and women’s tennis team plays Auburn University Montgomery at noon Friday at home in a non-conference match.
The softball team hosts Cameron University for the first game of the series Friday at home at 6 p.m.
The baseball team hosts Cameron University Friday at 7 p.m. at Crutcher Scott Field.
The track and field team will take part in the West Texas A&M Open Friday and Saturday.
women’s tennis
standings
briefings
Who’s Hot
The football team will conclude spring practice April 16th after having more than a dozen practices over the course of the last month.
All of the social clubs will be set up around the baseball field Saturday for an all-club tailgating rush at 2 p.m.. Clubs will provide food and drinks for rushers and watch the baseball team play as well.
men’s tennis
TeamCameronUIWACUMSU
Div.16-211-512-1213-5
Ovrl.3-01-11-21-2
Senior outfielder Keanna Winkfield continues to crush the ball in her final
season as a Wildcat. Winkfield is leading the team in batting aver-age at .400 and has started every single game for the ‘Cats in 2013. She has also stolen seven bases in eight attempts this season, adding a threat on the bases that give defenses trouble. She also leads the team in runs scored with 33.
TeamACUCameronUIWMSUTSUTAMU-K
Div.19-512-48-810-58-81-5
Ovrl.5-02-31-32-12-10-2
wednesday 04.10.13 8sports
Winkfield
baseball
TeamTSUACUASUTAMU-KWTAMUUIWENMUCameron
Div.12-410-6 9-7 8-8 8-8 7-9 6-10 4-12
Ovrl.23-11-122-15 24-13 25-12 21-1421-1419-1610-22
softball
TeamTWAMUTWUASUTSUMSUUIWCameronACUENMUTAMU-K
Div.12-312-310-59-68-78-76-95-104-111-14
Ovrl.30-434-925-1221-1529-1225-1513-2221-2012-3111-27
upcoming
The Wildcats lost their first Lone Star Confer-ence series of the season this weekend. The Buf-faloes of West Texas A&M snatched three-of-four games from the ‘Cats be-hind dominant starting pitching.
The Buffaloes held the Wildcats to a under .200 team batting aver-age in the four games in Canyon. The team scored just nine runs while West
Texas scored 22.“Their pitchers threw
really well against us,” said head coach Britt Bonneau. “But we’re a better hitting team than that. It was a tough week-end for us.”
ACU drops to 22-15 overall on the season and 10-6 in the LSC. The squad is still sit-ting in second place in the division behind Tar-leton State (12-4 in LSC). WTAMU is 21-14 (8-8).
The ‘Cats lost the first contest 7-3.
‘Buff starter Dylan
James tossed a five-hit complete game following his National Pitcher of the Week honors.
ACU’s starter Jordon Herrera (5-2) was jumped on early and gave up two runs in the first inning and three in the second.
The Wildcats cut the deficit to 5-2 in the sixth when first baseman Ty-ler Eager grounded out to second base plating in-fielder Chuck Duarte.
WT got back on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run home run making the
score 7-2.Three of ACU’s five
hits were recorded by third baseman Kyle Gius-ti. He homered to left in the second, singled in the seventh and smashed an RBI single up the middle to bring home Eager in the ninth. Eager tripled with one out in the ninth, which was his lone hit.
Saturday, the team received two good pitch-ing performances from starters Carter Hahn and Aaron Lambrix but split a doubleheader with the Buffaloes.
Hahn (6-2) threw a complete-game five-hit shutout in the first con-test and the squad won 3-0. He fanned a career-high 10 batters. It was his second shutout of the season.
The senior from San Antonio was an escape artist in his outing. He got out of a bases-loaded no-out situation in the second inning. After al-lowing three consecu-tive bunt singles, Hahn got an out at home plate,
baseball
brittney johnsonsports reporter
Carpenter claims trio of victories
The ACU golf team trav-elled down I-20 to Dallas to take part in the Dallas Baptist Golf Classic Sun-day through Tuesday, fin-ishing in 12th place.
The tournament was hosted by Dallas Baptist University at the Hackber-ry Creek Country Club.
Oklahoma Christian University won the tour-nament with an efficient 887 strokes for the tour-nament.
The Wildcats finished 47 strokes behind Oklaho-ma Christian University.
Meanwhile, senior Alex Carpenter took control of the tournament, shoot-ing a 3-under-par 69 in the first round and never looked back.
Carpenter registered the 20th win of his career and achieved the goal he set for himself before his senior campaign.
Carpenter was tied for first place after the first two rounds of action by posting a 4-under-par 140, putting himself in con-tention before sealing the victory with another solid round Tuesday afternoon.
The victory at Hack-berry Creek Country Club means that Carpenter has
won the last three tourna-ments he has entered in dating back to just before spring break.
The ACU team played short-handed this week after two of their key play-ers sat out the tournament while nursing injuries.
Both Trey Sullivan and Corbin Renner missed the Dallas Baptist Golf Clas-sic in order to rest up for the Lone Star Conference championships.
The Dallas Baptist Golf Classic was the first tour-nament the Wildcats par-ticipated in since their fourth place finish at the Chenel Country Club in Little Rock, Ark.
At the Chenel Coun-try Club, ACU faced off against a tough course against teams that will be-come familiar faces next season.
“That is the toughest course we will play all year,” head coach Mike Cambell said. “A lot of the teams we played will actu-ally be in our conference next year. Oral Roberts, Stephen F. Austin and a couple other Southland Conference teams were there so I thought we played really well.”
The Wildcats will be back in action Monday through Wednesday when they play in the
Lone Star Conference Championship at the Golf Club at Champions Circle in Fort Worth.
With the Wildcats moving up to Division I next season, this will be ACU’s last chance to win the Lone Star Confer-ence and put their stamp on the conference before heading to the Southland Conference next season.
ACU will be one of the favorites to win the Lone Star Conference tourna-ment next week.
golf
matthew sloanassistant sports editor
contact sloan [email protected]
Women lambaste LSC opponents tennis
paige otway Staff Photographer
Brandon McCarty prepares to hit a forehand in Teague Special Events Center.
edward isaacssports editor
see struggle page 7
contact johnson [email protected]
Bats cool in Canyon
