The Optimist Print Edition: 09.01.10

Optimistthe

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

acuoptimist.com

Vol. 99, No. 4 1 section, 8 pages

weatherinside

page 2

websitenewsConstruction of the AT&T Learning Studio on the second floor of the Library will begin this fall.

page 5

sportsTony Washington, former ACU lineman, continues to wait for his chance to play in the NFL.

videoWatch the news happening in and around campus on our weekly newscast. This week features iPad textbooks. 96° 75°

A 33-year-old former student is undergoing a mental health evalu-ation after confronting Dr. Jean-Noel Thomp-son and attacking an-other walker on the Lunsford Trail Aug. 25.

ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said the suspect, a resident of University Park, was carrying a baseball bat as he approached the walkers shortly before 6 a.m. Abilene Police and the ACU Police Depart-ment have not released the suspect’s name, and

he cannot be charged with a crime until the mental health evalua-tion is complete. Ellison said the man also at-tacked a staff member who was walking with his wife. Police have not released their names.

The staff member sus-tained minor injuries from

the confrontation. ACU Police took the man into custody and turned him over to Abilene Police.

Ellison said neither Thompson, vice presi-dent for student life and dean of students, nor the other walker was targeted in the attack. He emphasized the in-

cident was random and unplanned.

“I want to express that this was an isolated in-cident,” Ellison said. “It was not something that is a part of trend.”

Thompson also said the incident was not planned.

“There was no way that this person would

have known that I would have been at that par-ticular place at that par-ticular time,” Thomp-son said. “That’s why I don’t feel targeted.”

A resident of Univer-sity Park initially called ACU Police early that

Suspect held in Lundsford Trail attackJeff Craig andAlan Cherry

CAMPUS

Campus heating and cooling loop line renovations will wrap up within the next 20 days, while the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center project remains in its early stages, said Zane Dennis, executive director of facili-ties and campus development.

The completion date for all major loop line construction is set for Oct. 15. After this date, repaving and sodding will complete the loop line project.

“There is no reason we shouldn’t meet that,” said Dennis. “We’re very close to finishing that off.”

The last phase of the heating and cool-ing system construction is concentrated on the east side of the Hardin Adminis-tration building and on the north side of Brown Library. Nine buildings are already running off of the new line that will even-tually support 23 buildings on campus.

Kevin Roberts, chief planning and in-formation officer, apologized for the in-conveniences caused by fenced-off areas and detours around campus.

“I know it’s a pain, said Roberts. “At some point you just have to do it.”

Roberts said three crews worked dur-ing the summer finish as much con-struction as possible before students re-turned to campus three weeks ago. More than a year’s worth of planning for the $5 million project took place before the much-needed update began last spring, Roberts said.

Structural and electrical work contin-ues to be the focus for construction on

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Texas Governor Rick Perry, shakes hands with Matt Phillips after speaking to high school students at the Academy for Technology, Engineering, Math and Science on Tuesday.

The junior class joined the technologically ad-vanced ranks of the freshmen by receiving the iPhone 4 or a new iPod touch on Saturday.

Students were able to pick up their devices from noon all the way until 8 p.m.

Lines were long at the start of the day, but cleared up due to the efficiency of Team 55 and AT&T.

“We were expecting a large group of students,” Sales Executive David Hardaway said, “so we had a lot of people here to help and have things run smoothly.”

Students waited in line to turn in their old devices and pick up new iPhones or iPod touches. AT&T representatives helped activate phones and teach students how to transfer information from old devices.

Juniors were anxious to get new phones after two years of wear and tear on their original iPhones.

“My 3G is ancient now,” said Mandi Crowder, junior physics major from Cedar Park. “I’m excited for a phone that actually works now.”

While some students weren’t too happy with the ordeal of ordering

Juniorsupgrade mobile devices

TECHNOLOGY

Deadline approaches for TOMS shoe discount

Since 2006, Blake My-coskie, founder and “Chief Shoe Giver” of TOMS Shoes, has worked toward giving one pair of shoes to a person in need

for every person who pur-chases one of his original designs. According to the TOMS website, the company has a “one for one movement” which states that the customer is essentially buying two pairs of shoes – one for

themselves, and one for someone less fortunate.

This year, ACU is hosting a two-day event beginning Monday, Sept. 13, in which stu-dents can buy, design and donate a pair of TOMS to someone liv-

ing in the U.S. who is without shoes.

“Normally, the Style Your Sole event is or-ganized and run by the TOMS club on campus that is completely run by students. That is kind of TOMS’ method; that’s

what they prefer. So its re-ally up to the students, if they want to do it again,” said Amanda Pittman, Marketing Associate for the College of Business Administration.

In light of the event, ACU is offering white

canvas TOMS, purchased through the school at a discounted price. The first 250 orders were half-off, but every order placed before Sept. 6 gets a 10 percent discount,

STUDENT LIFE

Matthew WoodrowOpinion Page Editor

see ATTACK page 4

see DEVICES page 4see LOOP page 4

Wed. Fri.Thurs.

96° 70° 84° 61°

Mission Statement, page 5

Loop line construction to finish soon

POLITICS

see TOMS page 4

Bailey NealPage Designer

Kelsi WilliamsonArts Page Editor

CONSTRUCTION

5 p.m. GATA rush

5 p.m. Sub T-16 rush

9 p.m. Delta Theta rush

9 p.m. Galaxy rush

10 a.m. Service Expo in the McGlothlin Campus Center

5 p.m. Gamma Sigma Phi rush

6:30 Frater Sodalis rush

8 p.m. Pi Kappa rush

9:30 p.m. Trojans rush

announcementsFlag football registration will take place Aug. 26-Sept. 2. Information and registration papers are available in Bennett Gym-nasium or online at www.acu.edu/intramurals.

Social Club pledging reg-istration is now open to sophomores and transfer students with 24 or more credit hours. Registration will close at 5 p.m. on Sept. 3. Interested stuw-dents must register online at www.acu.edu/campu-soffices/studentorgs/social-clubs/index.html.

The Service Expo will take place from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Sept. 1-2 in the McGlothlin Cam-pus Center as a way for students to learn about available service oppor-tunities.

New Collegiate Cards are now available in the Stu-dents’ Association office, located downstairs in the McGlothlin Campus Center.

The Paramount Theatre will show the film Nine: The Musical at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, military and children.

Students’ Association Congress applications will be available for pick-up at noon on Friday in the SA office. They will be avail-able until 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5.

Menengitis shots are now avaliable in the ACU clinic located in Mackenzie Hall. Call (325) 674-2151 for more information.

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes will speak during chapel on Sept. 13 in Moody Colisieum.

SALT, ACU’s Student Ac-tion Leadership Team is accepting applications un-til Sept. 10. Students can pick them up in the Center for Christian Service and Leadership in the lower level of the McGlothlin Campus Center.

Wednesday

11 a.m. Praise Day in Moody Coliseum

11:30 a.m. Pi Kappa rush

03Friday

Eternal Threads needs volunteers between the hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 30 - Sept. 4. Help is needed to unpack ship-ments and tag items. Contact Pam Early at 325-672-6000, or e-mail [email protected].

The United Way of Abilene needs volunteers on Wed., Sept. 8 for the Day of Sharing and Cam-paign Kickoff. A volunteer photographer is needed to take pictures of various projects during the day. They need a professional quality digital camera, and

a computer capable of transferring images from the camera to thumb drive or cd. Other volunteers are needed throughout the day to assist community partners in a variety of ways. Students may sign up as individuals or teams. Contact [email protected], or [email protected] .

Day Nursery of Abilene needs volunteers to help with their annual Putt Fore Children Miniature Golf Tournament from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Sat. Oct. 2 at Prime Time Family

Entertainment Center. Contact Sheila Cory at 325-673-1110 or e-mail [email protected].

Meals on Wheels needs volunteers to deliver noon meals to seniors and adults with disabilities. Routes are available 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Monday - Fri-day. Volunteers must be at least 18, with a valid driv-ers license, auto insurance and desire to serve. Train-ing is provided. Students may be exempted from one Chapel per week if de-livery time conflicts with

Chapel. Contact Elizabeth Rodgers at [email protected].

HERO, Hendrick Equine Rehabilitation Oppor-tunities, is looking for volunteers to assist kids with various physical chal-lenges as they ride horses for therapy. Volunteers walk alongside the horses to provide safety for the client. No experience with horses is necessary, and you must attend 1 of 2 training sessions. Contact Beth Byerly at 325-660-3465 or e-mail [email protected].

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

calendar & events

01 Thursday 02 04 Saturday

2 p.m. Women’s soccer game at Colorado State

6 p.m. Football game at Washburn University

08

Chapel

Credited Chapels to date

Checkup83 Credited

Chapels remaining

iPad . iPhone . iPod

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volunteer opportunities

2Campus Day

Counseling Center offers mental health exams

The ACU Counseling Cen-ter is advertising mental health screenings for men-tal health and alcohol disor-ders online at www.acu.edu/mhscreening. The screening is anonymous, confidential, free of charge and available for anyone browsing the ACU website.

Steve Eller, counselor at the University Counsel-

ing Center, said although screening is available to anyone, it primarily tar-gets the student body. Screenings for depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders and gen-eralized anxiety disorder are all offered as well as resources for suicide pre-vention, he said.

The only feedback pro-vided is a generic message at the end of the test which

advises subjects whether or not to seek further aid from the Counseling Center. The Counseling Center itself receives no feedback from the exams beyond a report of the number of subjects who have taken a given test, and Eller said the re-sponsibility lies entirely with those taking the exam to seek help, if advised.

However, if participants need immediate help, Eller said they should

contact the ACU Police or dial 911.

The service began last fall through Screening for Mental Health Inc., a nonprofit company who has partnered with ACU to provide anonymous screenings. SMH provides generic screening tests to a variety of institutions – from colleges to assisted-living facilities, to govern-ment agencies and private corporations.

The service is intended to help students find out more about themselves and provide the ability to define their struggles, Eller said. He described the screenings as a tool that gives students language to describe their struggles, enabling them to commu-nicate them to others.

During Wellness Week, October 4-8th, all students will have the opportuni-ty to take any one of the

screenings set up in the Campus Center. Eller says to regard the screening as a mental health check-up.

If students would like to discuss their results, they are invited to contact the Counseling Center for a formal appointment or to grab a free soda and a free session through the “Soda and Solutions” program.

Laura GasvodaContributing Reporter

STUDENT LIFE

contact Gasvoda [email protected]

Construction begins on AT&T Learning Studio

Students can expect to see changes in the top floor of the library this fall as construction begins on the AT&T Learning Studio, set to open sometime in the spring semester.

The studio is a product of the $1.8 million grant AT&T gave the university to enhance mo-bile learning. The studio will include small group rooms and conference rooms as well as equipment and specialists that will help students record and edit media presentations. It will also help faculty bring media to the classroom.

Until the AT&T Learning Stu-dio is built, students can con-tinue to meet their digital com-munication needs in the Digital Media Center located on the bottom floor of the library.

Kyle Dickson, director of the Digital Media Center, said the AT&T grant has made it possible to welcome the expertise of trained media specialists. The specialists

will work with students, train staff and help with strategic projects like Cornerstone.

This summer, the DMC part-nered with Cornerstone faculty to help produce the Cornerstone website, where students can find media such as podcasts from the week and resources connected to particular speakers.

“It is just an extension of the Digital Media Center’s continued support of blogging as well as au-dio and video,” Dickson said.

Kyle Trafton, media special-ist in the DMC, said he hopes the AT&T Learning Studio will spark creativity for students and faculty.

“I’m a firm believer in that ev-erybody is creative. Regardless of how you think of it, you have cre-ativity in you,” Trafton said. “My vi-sion for the new learning studio is a place where you can come, and we can help you communicate more efficiently and more creatively and help draw that out of you.”

Dickson said the DMC and the AT&T Learning Studio will continue to work with faculty to help bring

media to the classroom. He also said they will continue to provide support and training for all levels of expertise for anyone wanting to record a video or audio project.

“As we welcome over 1,000 new iPhones to campus, now,

HD recording is not something you have to come to the library to accomplish. It’s not some-thing that’s focused on a partic-ular room on campus,” Dickson said. “So, we’re excited to be a center that’s exploring chang-

es in mobile media, even if we know that much of the produc-tion of that content will happen wherever you are.”

Linda Bailey Editor in Chief

CONSTRUCTION

contact Bailey [email protected]

Photo Illustration courtesy of the Digital Media Center

The AT&T Learning Studio will be located on the second floor of the library.

September 1, 2010 Page 3 CAMPUS NEWS

Page 4 September 1, 2010FROM THE FRONT

Attack: Suspect lives in University Park

morning and reported a man with a baseball bat at the complex acting aggressively.

As police were looking for him, the suspect left UP and encountered Thompson on the trail, Ellison said.

After a brief verbal en-counter with Thompson, the suspect approached

and attacked the ACU staff member and his wife. The staff member tackled the man and sub-dued him. Thompson ran to the staff member’s aid and tossed his cell phone to the man’s wife, who then called the police. Thompson said the man appeared confused and angry and was babbling in a threatening manner.

“Clearly, there was some aggression and confusion,” Thompson said. “I know enough to know when someone is confused.”

University Park Village Director Patricia Hail-Jackson said the suspect is a resident of the apart-ments and a former ACU student who took classes this summer.

Only students, faculty

and staff are allowed to live in University Park, however, recent former students may sometimes continue to live in the apartments for a short while after finishing class-es, Hail-Jackson said.

Ellison said his officers always pay close attention to security on the trail and will continue to maintain a close watch on the trail.

“When the school year starts we always increase our presence on the Lunsford Trail,” Ellison said. “Since this event, we have tried to be more mindful of making our presence more obvious.”

Thompson said ACU Po-lice responded to the inci-dent quickly and effectively.

He said he had no ani-mosity toward the sus-

pect, and he said he hopes things work out for him in the future.

“I am personally in prayer for this person and his family,” Thompson said. “In my role, I will always do whatever it takes to protect this community.”

CAMPUS

Continued from page 1

contact Staff [email protected]

Loop: Pipeline renovations near completion

the rec center. Rough-ly 170 of 330 structural piers have been drilled at the building site, and the basement walls are framed and poured, Den-nis said.

“It’s going to be a phe-nomenal building,” Den-nis said. “There is not a space like it in Abilene.”

Although plans are now about 50 days be-hind schedule, according to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center blog, Dennis said there is no reason for concern regard-ing whether the contrac-tors will finish all work by fall 2011.

Roberts agreed and asked for students to be patient with recreation center construction.

“People need to know that’s not a big deal. We can make time up,” Rob-erts said.

Dennis said as both projects progress on cam-pus, it is important that people remain aware of

work zones. He said the construction crews work hard to avoid safety haz-ards and make sure all construction is fenced off.

“Students just need to be very conscious of their surroundings,” he said. “If they do that, we can avoid any accidents.”

More information on the Recreation Center can be found online at blogs.acu.edu/srwc.

CAMPUS LIFE



Workers continue with construction of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness center. Construc-tion is scheduled for completion in fall 2011.

contact Williamson [email protected]

Devices: More students choose iPhone over iPod

their devices individually off Team 55’s website, Terri Wolter, AT&T University Ac-count Manager, said it was much easier from a shipping standpoint.

Originally, ACU planned to distribute the iPhone 3GS to Juniors as a replace-ment, but with Apple plan-ning a release of the iPhone 4, they waited.

“Apple annually launches a new device; ACU wants the latest and greatest,” Wolter said. “So we anticipated this years release and planned to get ACU students the best.”

Kay Reeves, executive di-rector of Information Tech-nologies, said close to 25 percent of students chose to

get the iPod touch instead of the iPhone.

“I don’t use a phone a whole lot, so why pay for an expensive phone plan?” Benjamin Miller, sopho-more physics major from The Woodlands, said. “I’m happy with my track phone.”

One of the missions of the ACU Connected initiative is to change the way students prepare to enter the world and work force.

According to the ACU Connected website, www.acu.edu/technology/mo-bilelearning, “At ACU, we are training students to not merely consume these vast amounts of information, but to assess information, to syn-thesize thoughts, to generate new ideas and to contribute meaningfully to conversa-

tions of global importance.”In keeping with their mis-

sion, ACU will continually get the newest products of Apple and AT&T.

“Each year, the freshmen and juniors will get the best Apple offers,” Wolter said. “The iPhone is a great learn-ing tool for a student to be successful, and these are the same tools employees use to-day in corporate America.”

ACU Connected has is-sued a 2009-10 Mobile-Learning Report filled with testimonies of students and professors who have changed their learning, teaching and social activi-ties after receiving a mo-bile-learning device.

TECHNOLOGY


TOMS: University offers discount

totaling $40 instead of $44.“It was really more of an

incentive,” Pittman said.Pittman said that ACU was

able to offer select TOMS at a reduced price thanks, in part,

to fundraising and donations made by friends of the uni-versity approached with the idea of helping students pur-chase shoes.

“We didn’t want the price to be a hindrance for students to come out and participate in this event,” Pittman said.

Mycoskie, who will be on campus Sept. 13, is known to be the most sought-after speaker for college cam-puses. While ACU has an active TOMS club that has organized Style Your Sole events for the past few years, the opportunity to hear Mycoskie speak may not come around again.

“Having Blake on cam-pus won’t happen every

year. We want to hear from other people and expand our horizons that way,” Pittman said.

She said the response has been very inspiring as far as social justice and do-ing something for another part of the world, and she hopes it will continue.

STUDENT LIFE


Students just need to be very conscious of their surroundings. If they do that, we can avoid any accidents.

KEVIN ROBERTS // chief planning and information officer

‘‘’’

contact Woodrow [email protected]


Team 55 collects old iPhone and iPod touches on Saturday. Third-year students were able to trade in their old mobile devices for newer models.

contact Neal [email protected]

FocusSeptember 1, 2010 Page 5

About two years ago, leaders of a local church called The Mission approached James Woodruff, re-cent ACU graduate from Nashville, Tenn., and a group of his friends with an idea.

The church proposed that they create a sense of community in the neighborhoods and apart-ment complexes in the surrounding area. Out of this idea, Homefront was born.

Each Wednesday night, leaders and volunteers from the church meet at two different govern-ment-run apartment complexes down the street from The Mission. Armed with jump ropes, dodge-balls and buckets of chalk, the volunteers invite the children of the complexes to play.

“We’re not doing a whole lot except giving the kids something to look forward to each week and giving their parents a little break,” said Woodruff.

Operation Homefront was not an easy mission to begin. Woodruff said the families were not very trusting in its beginning stages, but after time, the community began looking at it differently.

However, because the apartments are considered government housing, the occupants never stay long and new occupants must learn to trust the volunteers.

“A lot of kids come and go,” said Ian Smith, senior youth and family ministry major from Waco. “They’ll get moved in and the next week be gone.”

Smith is a member of the church and works as a servant leader for Homefront.All are invited to worship and serve at the Mission, located at 3001 N. 3rd.

Mission Statement

Story by Hannah Barnes

HEATH HENDERSON // Contributing Photographer

ACU students walk to apartment complexes, prepared to play with the apartment’s child occupants. The Mission’s Homefront ministry meets each Wednesday evening.


Ian Smith, senior youth and family ministry major, serves hotdogs and refreshments to volunteers during the Homefront barbeque.

HEATH HENDERSON // Contributing PhotographerHomefront gives occupants a chance to fellowship with one another through food and games.


James Woodruff, recent ACU graduate, bonds with kids living in apartment complexes surrounding the church building.

Students strive to reach children in Abilene neighborhoods

Your Average JoBy Jozie Sands

I spent the spring 2010 se-mester interning without a car, in Washington, D.C. Public trans-p o r t a t i o n immediately became my best friend.

W i t h i n days of my arrival, I had the public transporta-tion system memorized, and the three-quarter-mile trek from my apartment to the nearest

metro stop became the best part of my day. It was nine minutes I could spend in thought, prayer or talking to a stranger about the morning’s headlines.

I tried to bring my new love back to Abilene, but West Texas culture killed it.

I found that walk-ing in Abilene is a lonely, uncomfortable experience. The severe lack of sidewalks and other pedestrians leads to an unpleasant commute.

In D.C., the same people make the same commute every day, making mornings

anonymous - but not lonely. I don’t know their names, or even where they were go-

ing. But I know that I always passed the cute guy with or-ange running shoes on my way to work, and the home-less man in front of the gas station would always wave and give me the weekend countdown.

Now back in Abilene, my walk to school involves walk-ing along the curb with only

mailboxes for company.So, help me out, Abilene.

Try walking a little bit so I don’t end up talking to in-animate objects.

Labor Day is a testament to the ingenuity and re-sourcefulness that makes the American labor sys-tem so successful, a salute to the proverbial “little man.” It is a national holi-day, and most businesses shut their doors for the day. Count ACU among those who fail to observe the holiday.

Abilene Independent School District will be closed Sept. 6 for Labor Day, as will Wylie ISD. City and state agencies will also close for the day. The

University of Texas, Texas Tech University and Baylor University are among the universities who recognize the holiday; but ACU class-es will be in session, and all offices will be open.

The university should recognize the Labor Day holiday, not for its stu-dents, but for its faculty and staff. Students have fall and spring breaks set aside as hiatuses from their work, but no such day exists to honor the others who make ACU a world-class institution.

The university’s failure to observe Labor Day is not only senseless, but is bor-derline disrespectful. It dis-respects the teachers who educate the students, and the staff who is the heart-beat of ACU.

Arguing that classes have just started, making a holiday pointless, is re-futable, as the university observes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an equally im-portant holiday, celebrat-ed in the second week of spring classes.

Additionally, the idea is

absurd that if students are given a three-day weekend the first week of classes, they may not return. If a three-day weekend con-vinces a student they should stay home, college probably isn’t right for them in the first place. But Labor Day should not even be about the students.

President Ronald Rea-gan delivered a message on Labor Day in 1984 ex-plaining the importance of the holiday.

“Today, we pay tribute to America’s working men

and women, and I join with all Americans in celebrating the dignity and productiv-ity of our working people. Labor Day brings a fitting opportunity to salute those who built our great nation and whose spirit, hard work and courage are now building a new era of last-

ing economic expansion filled with greater opportu-nities for all our people.”

It’s time for ACU to pay tribute to its workers: the men and women who make it great.

OpinionPage 6 September 1, 2010

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]

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Optimistthe

University fails to recognize Labor DayEDITORIAL

Chapel crowds play quiet game

COLUMN

BarbarossaBy Matthew Woodrow

I hate it when people talk during Chapel. I’m not above whispering to a friend occasionally or f i n i s h i n g up a con-versat ion d u r i n g the first song, but when you can hear somebody b l a b b e r -ing from six seats over and three rows up, it’s a little much.

This past week has been great. I’ve hardly heard anybody talking during the speakers mes-sage and only a slight buzz during the singing.

I was planning on writing this column to challenge the student body to continue to be as quiet and respect-ful during Chapel this year as they have this past week – then some-thing happened. After texting in for the Pepsi challenge, I found my-self switching contacts. I had every intention of playing a game then texting my friends who were sitting on the other side of Moody.

How can I, in clear conscience, write a scathing critique of oth-ers when I find myself doing the exact same things? My freshman year, I took a required speech course, Funda-mentals of Communi-cation. In it, I was told of a UCLA study which stated over 50 percent of communication is nonverbal. Even though I may not be making au-dible noise, my attitude of boredom is just as dis-respectful.

True, if I had a choice of hearing somebody talking or playing on their phone, I’d go with the phone. This is main-ly because I’m not that

interested in hearing how unfair a profes-sor was for giving Betty Sue a “C” on the paper that was three days late. But my freshman year I spent most of the first semester watching a guy play jelly car in the row in front of me. En-tertaining? Yes – but not fulfilling.

Expecting students to get out from their class-es, go to Moody, sit next to a friend and never talk is unrealistic. I do it all the time. I don’t know of a solution that will weed out disrespectful behav-ior in myself, much less the whole student body. If anybody else does, please let me and Dr. Mark Lewis know.

Instead of telling oth-ers what to do, I’m making a new-school-year resolu-tion for myself.

Even on days when I don’t feel like being there, from the moment the first song starts I’m putting my phone in my pocket and not taking it out until we’re dismissed.

I have a bit of a mouth, so I’ll continue to make snide com-ments to whoever I sit next to, but I resolve to stay awake and actually listen to what the speak-er is saying. Then I’ll discuss weekend plans during lunch.

I do have one request for all Chapel goers. I know not all of you have the same affinity for Chapel that I do, but days when prospective students come, please skip. You have over 90 potential Chapel credits and can afford to skip a couple of Fridays.

So while I doubt I’ll keep this resolution any longer than any others I’ve made, I hope we can face this challenge and make every Chapel this year a little better.

contact the Optimist [email protected]

the issueACU students, faculty and staff do not have labor day off like many other businesses and schools.

our takeLabor Day should be recognized by the university and be given a three day weekend.

Woodrow

contact Woodrow [email protected]

Commute lacks social familiarity

letter to the editor

A Gardner RA has decorated her hall with a “blushing brides” theme, complete with tulle, rose petals, covers of bridal magazines, and a fake groom.

We all joke about Ring by Spring, but promoting the con-cept to freshmen, even to be fun-ny, is inexcusable.

ResLife’s approval of the theme is shocking given that,

three years ago, Follies acts were forced to change lyrics that mentioned Ring by Spring be-cause ACU did not want to pro-mote the “tradition” by letting students call attention to it in a university production.

How have standards changed so much that it is now acceptable for university employees to ac-tively promote the idea?

Students come to college for an education. Many students do find a great Christian spouse while they are here, but if ACU is hinting to freshman girls that finding a hus-band should be their number one priority, then this university is not living up to its own standards as a world-class educational institution.

I hope this is not a trend that will continue.

COLLEEN ASHLEY senior political science major from American Samoa

Student shocked at Gardner Hall decor

Sands

COLUMN

I tried to bring my new love back to Abilene, but West Texas culture killed it.

contact Sands [email protected]

By Morgan DavisThe Funny Funnies

September 1, 2010 Page 7FROM SPORTS

Rockies: ’Cats begin season in Colorado

offense a boost. Andrea Carpenter will join the team as a freshman and should play a vital role. She will look to move up this season to give the offense a boost.

The defense will be strengthened by the re-turn of Anastasia Nelson. Nelson missed all of last season with a knee injury but received a medical redshirt. Nelson will play a key role in the defense, along with returning play-ers Bree Craig and Kendall Cooper.

“I love this sport, and I am very excited to get play again,” Nelson said. “I love all of my teammates and feel like we have a very good team this year.”

The Mountain Lions,

ACU’s first opponent, en-ter the season picked to finish sixth out of 14 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s preseason coaches poll.

Last season, the Moun-tain Lions were 7-10-1 overall and 6-9-1 in confer-ence. Kristin Preble led the team in points last season and will return as a junior. Juniors Jessica Escobedo and Julia Saenz are also looking to lead the Moun-tain Lion’s offense.

The Wildcats will travel to Pueblo, Colorado on Saturday to take on the Thunderwolves of Colora-do State University-Pueb-lo. The Thunderwolves have played three exhibi-tion games, dropping all three of them. The last two games were handed to LSC members. The Thunder-

wolves lost to Eastern New Mexico 2-1 and West Texas A&M by the same score. However, theses games were just exhibitions, and the Thunderwolves season does not officially kick off until Saturday when they host the Wildcats.

The Wildcats are look-ing to start the season on a good note and turn some heads in the process.

“The RMAC is a very strong soccer conference,” Coach Wilson said. “Both of these teams were picked in the middle of the pack of their conference, but they should be as good as anyone we face in confer-ence this season, so it is a great indicator for us.”

SOCCER

contact Cantrell [email protected]


HEATHER LEIPHART // Staff Photographer

Rashaad Johnson goes up to defend to a pass against the Wildcat offense during a scrimmage Saturday night. Johnson (37) is a freshman defensive end from Houston. The Wildcat’s strong defense will return eight of their 11 starters from last season.

Volleyball: Longer seasons in the spring

“That’s just really hard to do because I’m 5’7.”

Jonathan Pruitt, sopho-more criminal justice ma-jor from Recife, Brazil, is considering playing for a social club. He is consid-ering pledging Galaxy or Trojans and playing for one of their teams, or just creating his own squad. Last year, Pruitt played

intramural waterball and soccer. The athleticism of volleyball intrigues Pruitt the most.

Pruitt said, “I’ve played basketball all my life, so I like jumping sports.”

Volleyball sign-ups will be Oct. 20-27, and the cost is $75 per team. The volleyball season will begin on Nov. 1 and continue until one week before finals begin. The tournament to determine

the champion will be single-elimination style for both recreational and champion-ship leagues. All volleyball games will be held in Ben-nett Gymnasium.

Sign-ups will be avail-able online at www.acu.edu/camopusoffices/intra-murals.

INTRAMURALS

contact Goggans [email protected]


Defense: Eight to return

semester of eligibility by the NCAA at the end of last sea-son. Senior Eric Edwards will join Washington inside the 3-4 defensive scheme run by the Wildcats. Edwards was fourth on the team in tackles last season with 55 and is third among returning players.

On the outside, Wildcat fans will see familiar faces. Both Courtney Lane and Bryson Lewis return for their senior season at ACU. Both players made game-saving plays in ACU’s first appear-ance at the Cotton Bowl last season. Lane recovered a fumble that put an end to a

Texas A&M-Commerce drive at the end of the first half. Lewis then made one of the biggest blocks in Wildcat his-tory to spring Drew Cuffee on his 81-yard interception return in overtime.

In the secondary, the Wildcats look different. ACU will not return three of their four starters from last year’s secondary. L.B. Suggs will slip into the spot vacated by former team captain Tony Harp in a safety position. Suggs backed up the safety and both the linebacker spots. He makes the move to full-time safety and will play alongside another for-mer backup, Richard Havins. Havins started in the first

four games of the season before being replaced in the lineup by Nebraska transfer Major Culbert.

“We have a lot of new faces with new guys, but the biggest key in replacing the leadership is getting every-one to do the right thing and do their job,” said senior cor-nerback Drew Cuffee.

At corner, Cuffee returns to man the left side. He made one of the most spectacular plays in Wildcat history after intercepting a pass by Texas A&M-Commerce on the first play of overtime and returning it 81 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Opposite Cuffee, the Wild-cats will look to replace Josh

Wise, who led the team with seven passes defended in 2009. ACU will call on senior transfer James Williams to hold down the right corner position. Williams played 11 games last season for the Wildcats.

“Havins and Cuffee have really taken charge back in the secondary and become the leaders back there,” said Washington.

With one of the most expe-rienced squads in the Lone Star Conference, the Wild-cats look poised for another solid year on defense .

FOOTBALL

contact Tripp [email protected]

Dream: Formerlineman waits

Washington blocking.“It was definitely com-

forting to have big Tony blocking my blindside,” said Gale. “But the other four guys and our running backs played a major role in my security as well.”

Currently, Washington is still in Texas playing football. Over the sum-mer, he was an offensive and defensive linemen for the Dallas Vigilantes in the Arena Football League. The season is only four months long and will not have scores or highlights on ESPN, but to Washing-

ton it’s a way to keep his skills sharp.

“I enjoyed playing in the AFL, and I appreciate the Vigilantes giving me an opportunity,” said Wash-ington. “Every experience was a positive one, but it is just hard to wait.”

He now has a season under his belt in the AFL, but this is not his ultimate goal. For now, the league is all Tony has, but he will keep working and prac-ticing, hoping a team will take a chance on a guy who has a lot to prove.

FOOTBALL

contact Gwin [email protected]



2010 ACU Road GamesThe Wildcats’ six road trips will cover 4,448 round-trip miles this season. During the course of the year, ACU will travel to four states and cover enough ground to cross the United States.

• Week 1: Topeka, Kan. - Wasburn - 1,182 mi.

• Week 2: Tahlequah, Okla. - Northeastern St. - 878 mi.

• Week 3: Abilene, Texas - East Central New Mexico

• Week 4: Abilene, Texas - Tarleton St.

• Week 5: Kingsville, Texas - Texas A&M-Kingsville - 808 mi.

• Week 6: Abilene, Texas - Midwestern St. (Homecoming)

• Week 7: San Antonio, Texas - Incarnate Word - 490 mi. • Week 8: Portales, NM - Eastern New Mexico - 548 mi.

• Week 9: Abilene, Texas - Angelo St.

• Week 10: Canyon, Texas - West Texas A&M - 542 mi.

• Week 11: Abilene, Texas - Southwest Oklahoma St.

SportsPage 8 September 1, 2010

Standings

FOOTBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.ACUMSUENMUWTAMUAngelo St.TAMU-KCen. Okla.SE Okla.TAMU-K

0-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-0

0-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-0

NE St. 0-0 0-0

VOLLEYBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.ACUWTAMUTarleton St.TAMU-KENMUAngelo St.

0-00-00-00-00-00-0

0-00-00-00-00-00-0

WOMEN’S SOCCERTeam Div. Ovrl.ACUAngelo St.MSUWTAMUCen. Okla.E. Central ENMU

0-00-00-00-00-00-00-0

0-00-00-00-00-00-00-0

Briefs

n Baseball Head Coach Britt Bonneau has an-nounced the addition of 14 players to the team for the upcoming sea-son. The additions in-clude six Division I, four junior college and four high school players.

n Wildcat golfer Tyler Sheppard’s run in the U.S. Amateur has ended. Sheppard was head to head with Joseph Bramlett of Stanford until the final hole. Bramlett shot a birdie while Sheppard shot a double bogey, giving the round to Bramlett.

n Track and Field Head Coach Roosevelt Lof-ton announced 21 new players for the 2011 season. The additions include 10 men and 11 women.

PlayerProfile

n Junior running back Daryl Richardson will be taking over as start-er for the Wildcats this season. He enters this season having come off a stellar perfor-mance last year. As a sopho-more, he compiled 961 yards rushing with 16 touch-downs. He averaged 4.8 yards per game. He also caught 23 passes for 209 yards with one touchdown. He had 1,170 total yards in 13 games for the Wildcats totaling an average of 73.9 yards per game.

Richardson

Intramurals

n The registration deadline for flag football is Sept. 2. To register go to acu.edu/campusof-fices/intramurals or go to Bennett Gymnasium.

‘‘’’

Experienced defense anchors ’Cats

In 2010, the ACU Wildcats will return with the greatest strength of their 2009 team: their defense. They will look to improve upon their stellar last season with eight returning starters, includ-ing the entire front seven.

ACU will once again rely on their defense to carry the team, much as they did last season as the Wildcats managed to go 9-4, earning their lowest mar-gin of victory and fewest points scored since 2006.

ACU welcomes back to the defensive line one of the its most valuable players – de-fensive end Aston Whiteside. He received multiple pre-season awards from various media and coaching outlets, including the pre-season de-fensive player of the year in the Lone Star Conference, pre-season first team all-LSC, and pre-season first team all-American by d2football.com. Whiteside had a team-leading nine and a half sacks in 2009 to go with 14.5 tack-les for loss.

Senior linebacker Kevin Washington knows what a huge influence Whiteside has on the defensive side of the ball.

“Anytime the ball snaps, As-ton is likely to get a sack or tack-le for loss,” said Washington.

Fred Thompson will make

the move back to defensive end opposite Whiteside af-ter spending last season at outside linebacker. In this position, Thompson led the team in tackles for loss with 16 and recorded eight and one-half sacks.

The Joneses will once again man the nose guard position. Marvin Jones and Mike Jones, of no relation, combined for 48 tackles and five sacks last season.

The linebackers will look much as they did last year. Notre Dame transfer and leading tackler Kevin Wash-ington will once again hold down the defense at the mid-dle linebacker spot. Wash-ington was granted an extra semester of eligibility by the

Brandon Tripp Sports Director

FOOTBALL

see DEFENSE page 7

A Waiting Game

Waiting for a dream to come true is tough. Tony Washington knows that the dream he waits on is out of his control.

“It’s hard trying to keep the football mindset and to stay motivated when there is no funds coming in for training purposes,” said former ACU lineman Tony Washington. “I’m gonna keep fighting and keep lift-ing, but it’s hard when there are no results.”

Four months ago, Wash-ington heard hundreds of names called for the draft, but not his. Team after team came and went. When the draft was over, his name was left on draft guru Mel Kiper’s Big Board as the second player in any position whose name was not called.

Now, Washington is wait-ing. He is hoping for his chance to shine in the Na-tional Football League. He says all he needs is one team to give him a shot, but no teams are knocking.

“Nothing is going on,”

said Washington. “I feel like Kurt Warner. I’m just sitting around waiting for something to happen.”

With the pressure of fans placed on coaches to get players with clean slates, no team wants someone who is a registered sex of-fender. Washington has put his past behind him. Many

others, including every NFL team, still haven’t. But he has a lot of support from many friends in Abilene.

“I think he’s focused to make it happen,” said ath-letic director Jared Mosley. “It has been and will contin-ue to be an uphill climb.”

Washington carries a 6’6” 305 pound frame to

the left tackle position. He is quick on his feet, rare for a man of his stature. His job is simple: protect the quarterback’s blind side, a job he performed so well, many thought he might be drafted as quickly as the second round.

In his two years at ACU, Washington was the rock

of the ACU offensive line. He opened up huge holes for Bernard Scott and Reg-gie Brown and kept the other team away from Billy Malone and Mitchell Gale.

As last year’s quarter-back, Gale got to experi-ence the benefits of having

Austin Gwin Assistant Sports Editor

FOOTBALL

see DREAM page 7

Tony Washington’s struggle to realize his ultimate dream

’Cats head to Rockies

The Wildcat women’s soccer team will travel to Colorado Thursday to start its season against the University of Col-orado at Colorado Springs.

The second of the two games will be Saturday against Colorado State-Pueblo.

“This weekend gives us an opportunity to see where we stand as a team,” said Coach Casey Wilson. “Hopefully, we will go into these games full strength, but we are a little banged up right now.”

The Wildcats are looking to produce more offense with a revamped attack. Krysta Grimm and Ashley

Holton return to the team after being injured last year. Courtney Wilson and Julie Coppedge return this season as well to lead the offense. Coppedge played last year in a defensive role. She will look to move up this season to give the

Ryan CantrellAssistant Sports Editor

SOCCER


Lyndsey Womack (12) fights for the ball against the University of Central Missouri last season.

INTRAMURALS

Volleyball moves to fall semester

Students who love to play volleyball have some-thing sweet in store for them this year. The intra-mural volleyball season will start in the fall.

With the absence of waterball this year, volley-ball was moved to the fall semester. Waterball was a popular sport among many social clubs last year but will no longer be available for intramurals, because the swimming pool is under construc-tion. Two new pools are in the process of con-struction, eliminating any possibility for play this year. Director of Intramu-ral Sports Kenli Edwards said that waterball was an added burden to schedul-ing other sports. With its elimination, other intra-murals such as basket-ball, football and soccer will have longer seasons.

Each of these sports will also have more games added to their sched-ules. Edwards hopes that longer seasons will bring many more participants in these sports.

“It’s going to be a lot eas-ier.” Edwards said. “ [Water-ball] was just too much.”

Madison Dennis, a sophomore information systems technology ma-jor from New Braunfels, is looking forward to the opportunity of playing volleyball in the fall. Den-nis has not participated in volleyball but has partici-pated in other intramu-rals in the past. He hopes to become team captain, because he wants to name the team the ‘Iron Thighs’, but said he will settle for anything.

“I’m really just looking to spike the ball,” Dennis said. “That’s just really hard to do because I’m 5’7.”

Jonathan Pruitt, soph-

Zane Goggans Assistant Sports Editor

see VOLLEYBALL page 7see ROCKIES page 7


Tony Washington holds his son Tage after a game last season. Tony tries to see his sons Tony Jr. (5) and Tage (11 months) as much as he can despite training and playing in the AFL. Tony played both defense and offense for the Dallas Vigilantes this summer.

Anytime the ball snaps, Aston is likely to get a sack or tackle for a loss.

KEVIN WASHINGTON // senior linebacker for the ACU Wildcats‘‘ ’’

Documents

The Optimist Print Edition: 09.01.10