2005 08 24

WEDNESDAY August 24, 2005

Optimist the

Vol. 94, No. 2 1 section, 10 pages www.acuoptimist.com

Leaping at the chance

A fair to remember

High expectations

Don D. and Derek Hood join their father, Don, as Wildcat coaches, page 10

Freshmen had the chance to explore involvement opportunities, page 4

With returning talent and added depth, the football team’s hopes are high, page 10

‘Renewing the promise’ n Sunday’s Covenant Service gave an opportunity to reflect on the university’s blessings and struggles and also look toward the school’s next 100 years.

By JONATHAN SMITH Editor in Chief

Students, faculty, administrators and alumni gathered Sunday night to recommit to the mission of the university for the next

century as it begins to celebrate its first 100 years.

Sunday’s Covenant Service allowed attendees to look back at the school’s first 100 years of blessings and struggles, give thanks for those times and look ahead to the future.

“I hope people take away a deeper appreciation for our past and a greater confidence in our future—a

future full of hope,” Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, said after the service.

Dr. Jack Reese, dean of the College of Biblical Studies, and Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, organizers of the event, divided the service into five parts focusing on remembering God,

professing trust in him, confessing shortcomings, giving thanks and making a covenant.

Reese said in an e-mail that scriptures from Deuteronomy were also read because the book was a call to the people of Israel to keep a covenant. Reese also highlighted the section on See COVENANT page 8

Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer

Claudette Spain Rogers watches as Dr. Jerry Taylor, assistant professor of Bible, Missions and Ministry, speaks at Sunday’s Covenant Service.

Centennial open for business

Wal-Mart prepared for grand opening n After the official opening of the new Supercenter, which is set for Wednesday, other businesses near I-20 and State Highway 351 are expected to follow.

By MITCH HOLT Opinion Editor

more than 1,200 firstyear and transfer students this fall, even without the three missing states.

The usually traditional opening ceremony held a surprise for everyone in the audience as the Big Purple Band played “Centennial Fanfare,” composed by Dr. M.L. Daniels, professor Emeritus of Music, for the first time.

Following the song’s debut, the entering class received a familiar charge like the 99 classes

The new Wal-Mart Supercenter was scheduled to open Wednesday at State Highway 351 and Interstate 20 and is the beginning of a new chain of developments that will flood the area in the coming months and years.

Students have mixed emotions about the new developments, such as WalMart and Cracker Barrel, going on so close to campus.

“I am excited about the new Wal-Mart because I won’t have to drive all the way to the mall area to get things that I need,” said Jessica Chisholm, sophomore English major from Memphis, Tenn.

Chisholm said she is optimistic about the new businesses popping up around the campus because there aren’t many places in the area to go when students need things.

“I will most likely utilize the new businesses that are coming because they will be convenient,” Chisholm said.

Jonathan Diaz, junior electronic media major from Arlington, has a different view of new businesses in the area.

“I love Wal-Mart and all of the low prices that it has, but at the same time, I don’t want it coming to this part of town because it will drive

See CHAPEL page 7

See WAL-MART page 8

Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer

Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, officially declares the university’s centennial year open during Opening Chapel in Moody Coliseum on Monday.

In his address to students, Dr. Royce Money officially called to order the university’s centennial year

By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor

Moody Coliseum bustled with frenzy Monday at the 100th opening session of the university as students, alumni, members of the Board of Trustees, friends of the university and Abilene citizens waited to see if the keynote speaker would be the President Bush, as rumored by some.

Instead, Dr. Royce Money, the 10th president of the university, opened the 2005-06 school year and dispelled the persistent rumors

that the President of 11, 1906, when the city block of land where the United States would Childer’s Classical Insti- buffalo and cattle once speak at the first Chapel tute, as the university grazed with 20 students, of the 100th year. was once called, opened Money said, it has come Making light of the its doors. a long way.

P r e s i T h e dent’s school now d e c l i n a - “A university like ACU is not built in a year, not even in boasts of tion to a decade. It takes time, and look at where we are now.” more than speak, 86,000 Dr. Royce Money, president of the university M o n e y graduates gave the from 49 centenstates and nial address and told “A university like ACU more than 100 counthe university’s history, is not built in a year, not tries. beginning with founder even in a decade,” Money Students carried flags A.B. Barret’s dream to said. “It takes time, and representing the 47 open a place to educate look at where we are states and 59 countries students in a Christian now.” that current students environment­—a dream For a university that call home. that came true on Sept. began its journey on a The university added

The Depot becomes hub of activity n Project planners said the idea for the consolidated studentservices center came after three years of research and focused on convenience for students.

By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor

Students’ minds now rest easy. The of trekking all over pus to complete or

can task camturn

in that last piece of paperwork is obsolete now because of the latest addition on campus: The Depot, a one-stop office for students who need to complete administrative needs such as purchasing meal plans or checking financial aid payments, along with other housekeeping tasks.

Phil Schubert, vice president for finance, said that The Depot is a place where students can take care of all their paperwork from meal plans to parking stickers, paying school bills to checking transcripts and getting an ID card.

“Before you had to go to 10 different offices in

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

seven buildings to take care of those different things, and they were spread out across campus,” Schubert said. “It was something over the years that we had heard from students and parents that was frustrating.

They didn’t like having to go to six or seven different places to take care of

monotonous tasks.”

The Depot, which is in the Campus Center behind the Jelly Bean, had its official grand opening Monday but opened for students on campus early Aug. 8.

Schubert said The Depot had been an idea for

Abilene Christian University

Depot services The Depot, the new campus office in McGlothlin Campus Center behind the Jelly Bean, offers a variety of services students regularly use. Some of those services include: • Billing • Financial aid • Transcripts • Meal plans • ID cards • Course transfers • Parking permits

See DEPOT page 7 Serving the ACU community since 1912

Campus

Day

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

24

Calendar & Events Wednesday

25

Thursday

Meet the Churches , 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Campus Center.

2005 Fall Dinner Theatre: A Grand Night For Singing, Fulks Theatre.

Meal plan sign-up station, 8 a.m.5 p.m., Campus Center ticket windows.

Dallas Morning News, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Campus Center.

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Friday

Last day to register for classes.

Last day to withdraw from classes with 100 percent refund.

Students’ Association petitions due, 4 p.m., SA office.

2005 Fall Dinner Theatre: A Grand Night For Singing, Fulks Theatre.

27

Saturday

2005 Fall Dinner Theatre: A Grand Night For Singing, Fulks Theatre.

Higher Ground Student Leadership Conference, 8:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m., Highland Church of Christ.

Announcements A typist is needed for a hearingimpaired student. Good listening and typing skills are necessary, but no tools are needed because the student has a computer. Help is needed on Mondays at noon, Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. For more information, contact Mattia Bray at Ext. 2554.

Freshman Follies tickets are now available online for students and members of the community at www.freshmanfollies.com.

The women’s synchronized swimming club is looking for members. No previous experience is needed if the student can swim 200 yards. Members will be swimming a routine to music. For more information, contact clm02e@ acu.edu.

The Family Fun Event will take place Tuesday from 6-8:30 p.m. in the Teague Special Events Center.

Those interested in attending should call Ext. 4808.

Chapel Check-Up Credited Chapels to date: Credited Chapels remaining:

28

02 68

Sunday

Women’s Social Club Tea, 12 - 6 p.m., Hilton Room

ACU Theatre’s The World Stage: Witnesses, Culp Theatre.

Nine O’clock Devotional Service, 9 p.m., University Church of Christ.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are needed to help with Abilene’s annual hot air Balloon Fest Sept. 23-25.

There are a variety of jobs available in a two-hour shift schedule from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. For more information, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

The ACU Counseling Center need volunteers to help take down old materials and hanging new materials on the bulletin boards located in the residence halls. This will be done six times during the year. For more information, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

Volunteers are needed to help with donations and data entry, as well as counseling women in crisis pregnancy. Training is required for counseling. Threehour shifts are held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Fridays. For more information, contact Holly

Whitehead at 672-6415.

Healing Hands International needs volunteers to sort cloth­ ing, organize school supplies, general office organization and load containers. For more information, call David Caalina at 676-9991.

Volunteers are needed to help with the March of Dimes golf tournament fundraiser from Sept. 20-25 at the Fairway Oaks Country Club. For more information, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

Parents of Children with Down Syndrome is seeking volunteers to help with child care during support group meetings. Meetings are 6:458:15 p.m. Wednesdays at the Women`s Center of Abilene Re­ gional Medical Center. For more information, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

About This Page The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.

Groups may send announcements directly to optimist@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor, ACU Box 27892, Abilene, TX 79699.

To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.

Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.

CAMPUS NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

FilmFest achieves milestone n Students with imagination, innovation and the desire to creatively express themselves can sign up for a short-film competition by Sept. 16.

By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor

For Doug Darby, FilmFest began with an idea that grew into a production with more than 1,000 people involved last fall.

The idea: a short-film competition open to students across campus, which begins again this year on Sept. 16.

Darby, executive director of FilmFest and creative director in the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, said that although it is a film competition, it is unlike any other film festival.

“It is part film festival, where you get to show off the films that you create, but it is also a way to really learn how to express yourself in a whole new way,” Darby said. “We provide the tools and the knowledge; the only thing that is required is that people come in with the originality and imagination.”

This year, coordinators are asking students to create a film that is fourto-six minutes long and based on the theme of milestones, Darby said.

“The whole concept of milestones has a variety of connotations. It represents the concept

of where you are, where you’re going and where you’ve been,” Darby said.

“You can apply that to your ACU experience, your personal life and your spiritual journey.”

He said they chose the theme milestones because it was broad enough for everyone to create something original and because ACU is entering into its centennial year: “a milestone at the forefront of everyone’s minds that we could use,” Darby said.

The deadline for students to sign up for FilmFest is Sept. 16. They will then have a four-week filming period which will begin Sept. 17 and end Oct. 14, said Matt Maxwell, j u n i o r electronic media major from Abilene and cochair of FilmFest.

Maxwell said that participants can attend a creative workshop on the evening of Sept. 16 and on the morning of Sept.

17. The premiere of all the films will be Nov. 4 at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene.

Although FilmFest is set up the same as last year, Darby said the coordinators made some tweaks to the process.

On Nov. 3, students will have the opportunity to view all the films created and vote on their favorite one for the People’s Choice Award, something unavailable

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I don’t want to lose your love tonight

On the Web

www.acu.edu/filmfest

last year, Darby said.

Students can receive awards in other categories as well: best director, technical director, producer, writer, production designer and a new position this year: sound designer. Darby said that students expressed a lot of interest to write their own music last year and that he wanted to be able to recognize those with the talent of writing music.

Judges will evaluate the films in the categories of comedy, action thriller, drama, music video and informational commercial as well as a grand prize for the best film overall.

Maxwell said that winners in the different categories will receive an iPod mini along with a prize package and a trophy.

Some of the judges who plan to come in November are David Leeson, senior photographer at the Dallas Morning News; Robb Thomas from Igniter Videos, based in Dallas; Randy Brewer from Revolution Studios in Nashville, Tenn.; and Kurt Heineke from Big Idea, which produces the Veggie Tales films.

Students interested in participating or volunteering can e-mail any of the FilmFest coordinators at filmfest@acu.edu or check their new Web site: www.acu.edu/filmfest.

E-mail Sherwood at: mes02e@acu.edu

Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer

The freshman group “The Fab 5,” gives attitude to the audience during Saturday night’s talent show. From left to right: Garett Mayfield, undeclared major from Texico, N.M.; Brady Rector, electronic media major from Abilene; Tommy Johnson, youth ministry major from Hewitt; Ryan Hunter, physics major from Waco; and Tim Brooks, accounting major from League City.

CAMPUS NEWS

Page 4

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

SA invites involvement n Student resource fair presented incoming freshmen with club and student group opportunities available on campus and in the Abilene community.

By JACI SCHNEIDER Copy Editor

Before they even began classes, freshmen had the opportunity to learn about the different clubs and groups at the university in a student involvement fair set up by the Students’ Association.

From noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, freshmen browsed through 45 tables and displays set up by upperclassmen in the Hilton Room of the Campus Center.

Melanie Booker, vice president of SA, said the opportunity to connect with freshmen before classes began was invaluable.

Members of SA worked with Eric Gumm, co-chair of Welcome Week, to organize the fair. SA was in charge of organizing the student

groups, while Gumm made sure the freshmen knew about the event.

The Hilton Room filled with wandering freshmen, who browsed displays, listened to jazz music and wrote their names on signup sheets.

Participants in the event said it was a success.

Casey Bingham, junior political science major from Conroe, said he liked the idea of the involvement fair. In the past, when incoming freshmen learned about student groups during Passport, Bingham said too much “hustle and bustle” was involved to grab the attention of the students.

“You get a lot better quality of people,” Bingham said, “rather than just a bunch of people bored in line at Passport.”

In about 45 minutes, Bingham said he had seven people sign up to be involved in the College Republicans.

“We’re eager to have freshman sign up and get involved on campus,” Bingham said.

Miranda Walker, freshman journalism major from Salina, Kan., said she also liked being able to participate in the fair.

“It’s a really neat way for freshmen to know different ways to get involved,” she said. “I’ve already seen some [groups] that I didn’t even know existed.”

Music from the jazz ensemble lightened the atmosphere of the fair and drew freshman into the Hilton Room from the Bean during the lunch hour. Students in groups ranging from the Swing Cats to SA to the International Justice Mission spent their Saturday telling freshmen about on-campus ways to be involved.

“This was such a great idea,” Booker said. “We should have done this years ago.”

E-mail Schneider at: jrs02a@acu.edu

Maybe it’s back here...

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Daniel Gesek, sophomore business management major from Hollister, Calif., searches for the right book for his American Literature class in the basement of The Campus Store on Tuesday.

ACU Press loses managing director n Thom Lemmons takes a job with Texas A&M, which adds more responsibility and deadlines; Leafwood Publishing editor Dr. Leonard Allen will replace him.

By TIFFANY TAYLOR Features Editor

ACU Press is short a managing director after the departure of 11-year veteran Thom Lemmons.

Lemmons, who said his job at ACU Press, which publishes the works of ACU faculty and other professionals, required him to become involved in every step of the publication process, began his job Aug. 15 as managing editor at Texas A&M Press.

“I was interested in finding out how things are done in a larger press,” Lemmons said in explanation of his decision to move.

Dr. Leonard Allen, managing editor of Leafwood Publishing, which was recently bought by ACU Press, is the new managing editor.

Allen, who will continue to live in Arkansas while he

manages ACU Press, made his position of leadership a condition of selling Leafwood Publishing, said Karen Cukrowski, assistant editor of ACU Press.

Cukrowski, who has also decided to leave ACU Press, said the office has been behind in work and disorganized since Lemmons left.

Cukrowski said the many transitions taking place “strongly” influenced her decision to leave, but did not want to comment any further on the subject.

The new situation, Cukrowski said, will allow ACU Press to grow and she feels now was a good time for Lemmons and herself to make a job transition.

As managing editor at A&M Press, Lemmons will review publications to find anything straying from the design plan and manage freelance editors.

Even though his new role is more specialized, Lemmons said he doesn’t find it easier.

When Lemmons arrived,

he found his workload had piled up due to the press’s lack of a managing editor. In addition, the new job forces him to abide by stricter procedures and deadlines.

“It’s overwhelming. I’m on a very steep learning curve,” Lemmons said.

While his position at Texas A&M Press was a positive career move, the switch also brought him closer to his fiance, who is a faculty member at Texas A&M. “It was really a case of God opening doors at the right time,” Lemmons said.

In this new atmosphere, where religious works are printed as historical texts and aren’t printed very often, Lemmons said he has found knowledge can be a ministry. Opportunities may be opened in his new environment, he said, if he was attentive to God. “My experience has been that God is up to something no matter where you are,” Lemmons said.

E-mail Taylor at: tat04a@acu.edu

CAMPUS NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

So many clothes, so little space

Team 55 answers computer woes n On-campus students must register their computers to be searched for viruses and should ask for assistance early to avoid delays.

By JACI SCHNEIDER Copy Editor

Team 55 technicians are staying busy this semester by keeping computers on campus updated and free from viruses.

Before students can get onto the ACU network, they much register their computers with Team 55 by filling out a form that appears as soon as they try to get online. By filling out the form, the students’ computers are registered on the network and can be searched for viruses and kicked off the network

anna carroll/ Staff Photographer

Jessica Bills, sophomore family studies major from Lubbock, moves into Sikes Hall on Saturday.

Page 5

and the Internet, if problems are found, said Josh Tooley, Team 55 manager and graduate student.

Team 55 left on-campus students CDs and res-net guides to help them get started with their computers. They make house calls to any on-campus student with computer problems and will accept the computer of any registered student to be worked on in the office, Tooley said.

But before calling Team 55, he advises students to look through their guides and check out the Team 55 Web site at www.acu.edu/ technology/team55.html.

If a student does need Team 55 to look at a computer, Tooley said it could up to a week to be fixed.

“If they get them in early on in the semester, we can sometimes get them out in 24 hours,” he said.

Traffic in the Team 55 office have decreased since the Depot opened up in the Campus Center, allowing the staff to focus on computers.

“There’s not as much constant traffic,” Tooley said. “It allows us to focus more on technological services than in the past.”

So far this semester, Tooley said things have gone pretty well as far as viruses in the network.

Tooley advises students to visit the Team 55 Web site to download virus and spyware updates. If a computer on campus does get infected with a virus, net-

work administrators will immediately kick the computer off the network and notify the owner of the problem.

“At the beginning of the year that can be quite a big problem,” Tooley said.

Another problem that can occur is when students plug their own routers into the network, Tooley said.

“If a student plugs a misconfigured router into a computer, lots of students can lose access,” Tooley said.

Tooley said students can call Team 55 for several reasons: for network access, their voicemail and for troubleshooting their computers.

E-mail Schneider at: jrs02a@acu.edu

ViewsWednesday Optimist

Page 6

New dorm, new students—old safety issues

The Issue:

The construction on Campus Court and the addition of Barret Hall now presents more accident risk for students and faculty crossing the street.

Our view:

It is unsafe for students to be walking across Campus Court on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day, in the state it is in.

The solution:

Students should take the necessary precautions to avoid accidents, and the university should take steps to make the street safer.

August 24, 2005

The start of the school year brings construction and the use of the new Barret Residence Hall on Campus Court, a street that is now more dangerous for students to cross than it has ever been and where parking spaces are scarce.

Because of the lack of crosswalks, students crossing Campus Court to and from Barret Hall and those driving the street must be extremely careful, driving slowly and paying attention at all times.

These traffic risks are not

limited only to SophoThis fall semester ... students are at a greater risk of traffic university stumore womaccidents that could result in injury or death. dents, but the enen who are tire neighborhood. residents in Anyone who walks across Court from the parking lot Barret, now free of curfew, can Campus Court at any point near the old Copy Stop. come and go as they please at during the day is in danger of This accident happened be- all times, which will bring them being hit by an automobile. fore construction on Campus home late to find few, if any, All it would take for someone Court even began. This fall parking spots available. Thus, to get killed or injured is an semester, with construction they will have to park farther oblivious driver and someone heightened and the new resi- away from the hall and walk, walking out from behind a car dence hall housing more than which is unsafe, especially at that is parked on the side of 100 sophomore women, stu- night. Students should avoid the road. dents are at an even greater returning home late at night In November of 2003, Alli- risk of traffic accidents that alone and always park in wellson Poole was hit by a pick-up could result in serious injury lit areas. truck while crossing Campus or death.

Residents should also be

Disliking Chapel highly overrated During my two years speech was spoken by Dr. at this university, I’ve sat Jerry Taylor from the Colthrough many a Chapel in lege of Biblical Studies, also which I was either sleep- in 2004. His picturesque ing, doing delivery of his thoughts homework on how religion, spiritualor unhappy ity and Christianity have with what become too politicized hit was being home with me. said.

These are just two of the M a n y several Chapels assemblies s t u d e n t s , that stick out in my mind.

Don’t Believe myself in- My first reaction when rec l u d e d , flecting on this daily activthe Hype have often ity is to criticize it because Mitch seen Cha- of all of the boredom and Holt pel as a inconvenience it has caused time sim- me in the past; however, if I ply to see friends that they think a bit harder, I realize don’t see regularly or to how much good it has done catch up on schoolwork. in my life through speakers As I experience more and like Taylor or Parker. more Chapels and get to The university goes out know those who partici- on a limb when asking pate in Chapel, I realize speakers to discuss conthat the reason for my dis- troversial issues that might contentment with Chapel offend a considerable numisn’t fully ber of the instipeople, Chapel is what you make it. tution’s but what fault.

It matters isn’t the is that fault of the Chapel coordi- they do it anyway because nator or the song leader or they feel like these things the freshman behind you need to be heard. I believe who can’t sing. that those with a voice at As I reflected a bit fur- the university do a solid ther into this ever-present job portraying what they concept of Chapel, the in- see as truth and, even if stances in which Chapel you don’t agree with their did affect me began reap- “truths,” much respect and pearing in my forgetful attention is due these bold mind. Damon Parker’s talk individuals. last year on money idolaIn this new school year, try and the importance of many boring Chapels will living modestly was one of take place—guaranteed. the first to reappear. Many However, somewhere in heavily criticized his talk the mix, you will hear some and deemed it inappropri- truly heartfelt, brutally ate but was something that honest and against-theI think everyone needed to grain ideas presented that hear. His talk may have you won’t want to miss. lacked a bit of tact, but I Remember, Chapel is thought his message to be what you make it. completely appropriate, well-timed and accurate.

E-mail Holt at: mah02f@acu.edu or optimist@acu.edu Another great Chapel

careful when crossing the dusty and broken Campus Court, and adequate crosswalks need to be installed in front of the hall as soon as possible.

Barret Hall, along with Adams and Smith halls, are near residential areas and while most of the surrounding areas of campus are occupied by students, the streets are not completely safe.

With help from students and from the university, the safety issue on Campus Court can be taken care of.

Cole Williams

Let Loose

Summer winners, summer losers For those of you who have had your heads in the sand, this has been a news-filled summer. With lots of news come lots of winners and losers.

In no particular order, here are several of them, along Column Like I with several draws.

See ‘Em Winners Steve T h e Holt Space Shuttle Discovery launched and returned without a hitch just two years after Columbia tragically broke apart upon re-entry into earth’s atmosphere..

Jacko. In other news from outer space, Michael Jackson was “not guilty” on all counts of child molestation earlier this summer, giving avid “Entertainment

Tonight” watchers some hibernation time until the next celebrity trial. Rumor has it MJ’s next single will be a slightly modified remake of the classic, “Once, Twice, Three Times Acquitted.”

The Republicans. President Bush pleased conservatives everywhere with his nomination of John Roberts to be the newest Supreme Court puppet—I mean justice. After scouring Roberts’ records for “skeletons in the closet,” the Dems sternly questioned whether or not the former Ronald Reagan aide could seriously perform the duties of Supreme Court justice with “such a hauntingly clean record.”

And Now, the Losers Bush on Iraq. Fifty-four percent of Americans currently believe the U.S. made a mistake in invading Iraq, the highest such percentage since the war began over two

years ago. And when things aren’t going so pristinely in an anti-terror conflict, what do you do? Change the name! White House officials are now calling the “war on terror” “a global struggle against the enemies of freedom.” There, that’s much easier to say over coffee and a fritter.

Tom Cruise. The War of the Worlds star found that publicly promoting Scientology and lashing out against clinical psychology is risky business, making most people think he needs some clinical psychology.

At least he found a young (!) woman with whom he can happily spend the rest of the decade…

Drivers everywhere. Gas hit $3 a gallon some places in Texas last week, leading the Big Country’s more “rural” inhabitants to consider re-introducing the stagecoach as a viable source of

long-distance transportation. Tally-ho, settlers!

It’s a Draw Lakewood Church.

Members of the Houston giga-church, led by “smiling preacher” Joel Osteen, traded in their church bulletins for giant foam fingers last month after moving into the re-modeled Compaq Center. If being a Christian now means sipping macchiatos and listening to Zig Ziglaresque self-help sermons with 30,000 of your closest friends, count me out.

Bush on intelligence leakage (there’s a joke there, but I’ll take the high road…).

“The best place for the facts to be done is by somebody who’s spending time investigating it.” (George W. Bush, July 18, 2005). Well said, Mr. Presi—wait, what did he say?

E-mail Holt at: smh00a@acu.edu or optimist@acu.edu

2005 Optimist Editorial Board Jonathan Smith •Senior journalism major from Tyler •Editor in Chief •Conservative views •Church of Christ

Mallory Sherwood •Junior journalism major from Orrville, OH •Managing Editor •Moderate to conservative views •Church of Christ

Mitch Holt •Junior journalism major from Memphis, Tenn.

•Opinion Editor •Liberal views •Church of Christ

Editorial and letter policy 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: optimist@acu.edu

Jaci Schneider •Senior journalism major from Central Point, Ore. •Copy Editor •Conservative views •Nondenominational

Optimist the

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

Newsroom: (325) 674-2439

Sports desk: (325) 674-2684

Sarah Carlson •Senior journalism major from San Antonio •Arts Editor •Moderate to liberal views •Church of Christ

Brian Schmidt •Junior journalism major from Austin •Chief Photographer •Moderate views •Baptist

Editorial and Management Board Jonathan Smith

Mitch Holt

Editor in Chief

Opinion Editor

Mallory Sherwood

Brian Schmidt

Managing Editor

Chief Photographer

Jaci Schneider

Jared Fields

Copy Editor

Sports Editor

Photo department: (325) 674-2499

Advertising office: (325) 674-2463

Sarah Carlson

Christi Stark

Arts Editor

Advertising Manager

Tiffany Taylor

Kenneth Pybus

Features Editor

Adviser

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

Online: www.acuoptimist.com

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Page 7

Chapel: Money encourages, advises new students Continued from page 1 preceeding: Go and change the world.

“Generation after generation, we have had students leave to be salt and light to the world,” Money said. “They come and are transformed intellectually, spiritually and socially. Their lives are transformed into the likeness of Christ.”

Money also said structure nor buildings make the university what it is.

“There is a saying that the church is not a build-

ing; the people are the He encouraged the To everyone else in- is neither Republican nor church,” he said. “It is the first­­-year and transfer volved with the universi- Democrat, and we should same here. ACU isn’t the stu­­dents and said he be- ty, he reminded them of be called to the basic prinplace; it’s the people.” lieved in them and told the God who has blessed ciples and be one nation To each group of peo- them they were mission the university. under God. Patriotism ple, Money should not gave a word be a reliof advice. gion.”

“There’s a saying that the church is not a building; the people are the “I want Justin church. It is the same here. ACU isn’t the place; it’s the people.” the interScott, Stunational dents’ AsDr. Royce Money, president of the university students to sociation know that I president admire your and senior courage and determina- keepers.

“Remember that we political science major tion to cross boundaries “I am confident that are a free and democratic from Whitehouse, also of language and culture you will fulfill the mis- society but that God is encouraged the student to study with us this sion and make us proud,” not God over just one na- body to be vital and acyear,” Money said. he said. tion,” Money said. “God tive members of the uni-

versity. He said each student is a tangible witness that God is at work in this place.

Money ended the convocation by explaining how God was at work at the university.

“We know who we are: followers of Christ,” Money said. “We know why we’re here: our mission is to capture the minds and hearts of students and to give them meaning by answering their question of ‘who am I?’” E-mail Sherwood at: mes02e@acu.edu

Depot: Convenience principle reason for ‘one-stop office’ Continued from page 1 the past several years after they began to see other schools going to the same type of setup.

He said that planners wanted to put all of the offices together to help minimize the time and effort spent on filling out paperwork.

“Our philosophy is that we don’t want students to focus on these things that aren’t that important; they need to be focusing on building relationships with their peers and professors and taking care of academic business,” Schubert said.

Kevin Roberts, director of re-engineering, spent three years researching and coming up with the logistics for The Depot and said that students were behind his logic for creating the one-stop office.

“We had been talking

and planning on ways to better serve the students,” Roberts said. “I started exploring that concept of student customer service, and it took me down the path of a consolidated student services area.”

Roberts said that students should come to use The Depot for several reasons.

“The first thing is convenience,” Roberts said.

“That is what the whole thing is driven out of, purely to serve students and make it more convenient for you. The second is that we hope to be a place where you can get answers, or we’ll know who can get them.”

The Depot offers stu­­­dents convenience through any of the 12 employees who work either full or part time, to the pleasant atmosphere with plush chairs and a television, to the new

Web site launched on Monday where students can complete paperwork and submit it online.

“The Depot has a significant program online available for students,” Schubert said. “We want to alert them to it because you can basically do everything online that you could in our office.

It is a link off of my.ACU named the Depot, and you can take care of those needs without having to step inside.”

Roberts and Schubert said that they hoped the online component of the Depot allows students to quickly get what they need done without wasting any time.

“A key component of The Depot is giving students the opportunity to self serve instead of having to go see somebody,” Robert said. “Any of us would rather do something from the conve-

On the Web my.acu.edu

nience of our living room as opposed to having to go talk to someone.”

The reaction on campus has been positive and encouraging to administrators and workers, Roberts said.

“So far, I have heard nothing but good things,” Roberts said. “It has been very well received from the faculty and staff side and from the students who have come by already. Most people are surprised that you can do as many things that you can.”

Schubert said students are able to take care of so much business in the Depot because of the help given by faculty and staff during this past year and throughout the summer.

He said that representatives from student

Anna Carroll/Staff Photographer

Kyle Seals, junior communication major from Arlington, talks with Derrian Duncan, junior kinesiology major from Arlington, while filling out forms at The Depot. Students can also fill out paperwork online. financial aid, the registrar’s office, Campus Life and Information Technology all helped contribute ideas, personnel and paperwork to create the Depot. Physical Resources, another key department, completed the renovation of the faculty and staff dining room during the summer in time for it to be available for stu-

dents.

“We, at The Depot, are just excited about the opportunity that we have to help out,” Roberts said.

“We just ask that everyone comes by and gives it a try.”

E-mail Sherwood at: mes02e@acu.edu

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Page 8

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Covenant: Past, future examined Continued from page 1

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Seniors Erin Snyder, communication disorders major from Allen, Sarah Hurst, psychology major from Westminster, Colo., and Eric Hurst, accounting and finance major from Garland, sing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” during Sunday’s Covenant Service.

confessing shortcomings.

“It was especially important to have a time to ask forgiveness of sins,” Reese said. “This is always part of ancient covenant services. It says, ‘God is the maker of our covenant; we are dependent on him.’”

Money said during his introduction of the service that it is important for the university to remember its blessings as well as struggles.

“We will take all we have done over the last century ... and lay them at the feet of God,” Money said.

In that spirit, Claudette Spain Rogers, class of 1967 and daughter of

former ACU professor Dr. Carl Spain, read an excerpt from her father’s 1960 Lectureship speech, which helped pave the way for racial integration at ACU. “We knew from the beginning we wanted excerpts from Dr. Spain’s famous Lectureship address,” Reese said. “How wonderful it was for his daughter to be present to read portions of that speech.”

After the service, Rogers said it was an honor to speak on the subject of equality—a subject people still struggle with today, even though the groups affected change.

“And I think we’re making progress,” Rogers said. “You can look

around this auditorium and see that dream is becoming a reality.”

In one of the lighter moments of the ceremony, the audience viewed an interview with Willie Waters Henry, who came to the university in 1919 and is one of the school’s oldest living alumni. Waters, who was born in November of 1904 and has also celebrating her 100th birthday nine months ago, talked about the early days of the university.

To close out the event, Money led the audience in a responsive reading in which Money read several different statements calling the audience to commit to continuing the mis-

sion of the university and the work of God, and the audience agreed to each in unison: “We will.”

Money said he enjoyed the event because people were able to see the continuous chain of events in the university that brought it to where it is today.

“It was really moving,” Money said.

Reese said he hopes those in attendance would feel blessed to be part of the university.

“And I hope they will keep the commitments we all made to continue to be faithful to God and to keep the school focused on its mission,” Reese said.

E-mail Smith at: jvs02a@acu.edu

Wal-Mart: Store attracts business Continued from page 1 out smaller, family-owned businesses that have been in the area for a long time,” Diaz said.

Kenneth Musgrave, buyer and seller of the land on which Wal-Mart and Cracker Barrel stand, said the key to the success of these bigger businesses is the development of the roads in the area.

“I am planning on taking East Lake Road and connecting it with Interstate 20,” Musgrave said. “We are waiting for a letter of approval from the Texas Department of Transportation.”

Musgrave said that the connection of East Lake

Road and I-20 and the construction of nicer on and off ramps from the highway are important parts of the success of these new businesses; however, these road renovations can’t take place without approval from TxDOT. “I’ve got several very large companies looking at buying property near Wal-Mart,” Musgrave said, “but most of them are waiting for us to get approval from TxDOT to go ahead with the road plans.

“In five years, you won’t even be able to recognize the area,” he said. “Wal-Mart is only the beginning.”

E-mail Holt at: mah02f@acu.edu

SPORTS JUMPS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Page 9

Football: Thomsen sees leadership in seniors Continued from page 10 and total offense. Sophomore Brock Pierce did some of the play calling last year, but will be contested for playing time by two recruits.

Blinn Junior College transfer Daniel Marshall and Tulane transfer Billy

Mallone bring depth to the quarterback position.

Marshall threw for 2,000 yards last season for Blinn, and Mallone signed with Tulane in 2002 after being a top national recruit.

Thomsen is the most outspoken about his class of seniors.

“All of those guys have been around a long time,” Thomsen said. “We’ve got a really good group of seniors that have taken the leadership role of this team. That should do something for us.”

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief photographer

E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu

Head coach Thomsen addresses his team during practice last week in preparation for their first game.

Tennis: Jones’ expectations high Continued from page 10

Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer

Junior George Carstens returns the ball at the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship May 6, at the Eager Tennis Pavilion.

Artin Tafazoli was selected to the all-American team last year as a senior and is now a graduate assistant for Jones. Tafazoli is the first men’s tennis all-American for ACU in seven years, and he is the only man not returning

from last year’s team.

“We’re adding several new players,” Jones said.

“It’s a great problem for the coach because these are all really talented players. Where everyone else will end up, I won’t know that until midspring.”

Even with the loss of an

all-American, Jones says that he expects his team to be better than his 2004-05 squad.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I think we could be better than last year, I really do,” Jones said. “I expect to be better than last year.”

The players’ first chance

to compete this year is Sept. 9-10 when ACU hosts the ACU Wal-Mart Open.

Jones says he’s optimistic about his team.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Jones said. “I think it’s going to be fun.”

E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu

Hoods: Living a dream Continued from page 10 make sure that it comes out OK. I feel really comfortable making the jump to this level at Abilene Christian.”

Running the Race The Hoods come to ACU in the middle of a string of successful track and field and cross country seasons.

Don D. takes over a program that has won eight straight NCAA Division II track and field titles (four indoor and four outdoor), while Derek is inheriting a cross country program at its very best. The men’s cross country team has won 14 straight Lone Star Conference team titles, five straight NCAA Division II South Central Region titles and finished in the top three at each of the last five NCAA Division II national championship meets. ACU has also produced the first two individual national champions in school history in the past five years, Alfred Rugema in 2000

and 2002 and Nicodemus Naimadu in 2004.

While Don D. recognizes the program’s past and present successes, he foresees even greater things in the future.

“I think we’ve got enough confidence to know that what we’ve done in the past has worked, and there are a lot of different ways to win,” he said. “So we’re not going to tip-toe; we’re going to hit the ground running, and really get after it and see what happens.”

Derek met with the cross country squads Sunday night to acclimate them to his family, and practice will begin Wednesday. He said Murray built two very good-looking teams for the 2005 season.

“From what I see on paper, it is depth, and that is a luxury that hasn’t been afforded in the past,” he said. “ACU’s always had some really good runners and teams, but this year it looks like we might have some more depth than

other years. If I can keep these guys healthy and the training goes along as I expect, we ought to have a good shot at doing really well at nationals – in the men and women.”

Both Hoods already have seen coaching success, but they see their most recent opportunity as the most exciting and important of their careers.

“This is a great opportunity for this program to flourish a little better than what it has,” Don D. said.

“They asked me what our goal was to come here, and I said, ‘Well, man, it can’t be to win – we’re already winning. I guess to win by more.’ I think we’ve got a chance to do that.”

And adding up the almost 80 combined years of coaching between Don, Derek, and Don D., along with all the national champions and Olympians between them, one has to believe what coach says.

E-mail Holt at: smh00a@acu.edu

Emerald Mcgowan/Staff photographer

Don D. and Derek Hood grew up running around tracks where their father coached. Don Hood, Don D. and Derek’s father, coached at ACU from 1978-88 and led the Wildcats to 13 national championships.

SportsWednesday Optimist

Page 10

August 24, 2005

Hood brothers follow in father’s steps n ACU hired brothers Don D. and Derek Hood as the new track and field and cross country coach to join their father, Don, who coached the team from 1978 to 1988.

By STEVE HOLT Sports Writer

The last time the Hood brothers were both living in Abilene, they were curious little boys who would play in the long jump sand pits and swing from the “jungle gym” underneath the bleachers while their father coached Wildcat track and field national champions.

Now, many years later, Don D. and Derek Hood are rejoining their father, Don, on the ACU track and field coaching staff.

Don D. will serve as head track and field coach, and Derek will coach the Wildcat men’s and women’s cross country teams and distance runners during the track and field season. Their father, Don, who won eight NCAA Division II national championships as ACU’s head coach from 1978-88, now volunteers as the Wildcat pole vaulting coach.

Don D. said his family had dreamed about this situation for years.

“We’ve talked about this opportunity forever, to have the two of us and our dad, along with our brother coaching 45 minutes away in Roby,” said Don D. “To actually get to do this is incredible.”

After former head coach Jon Murray’s resignation July 25, Athletic

Emerald mcgowan/Staff photographer

Brothers Derek and Don D. Hood stand next to each other under a banner that includes their father, Don who coached from 1978-88.

Director Jared Mosley, wasted no time replacing him. Within days, Mosley and Vice President of the university Gary McCaleb contacted Don D., who was intrigued and honored by the head coaching position offer, but had one request before he could accept.

“I got a phone call from [Don], saying, ‘Hey, the job’s opened up, and they only contacted me, but I’m only going to go if you go,’” Derek said.

On the Friday following Murray’s resignation, Mosley and McCaleb interviewed Don D., and followed by interviewing Derek on Monday. In the

end, Mosley decided to split the duties of head coach and distance coach between Don D. and Derek, respectively.

“We had to talk each other into it, but once the interviews were done, it was pretty much a done deal; we were on board,” Derek said.

Don D. said he is convinced Mosley made the perfect decision.

“You won’t find two guys that love this program any more than we do,” he said.

Preseason Training One could say the Hood boys’ destiny was in coaching track and field.

They practically grew up running around the tracks at ACU and Howard Payne University, where their father spent most afternoons during the winter and spring.

“If we wanted to see our dad, we came up here to the track,” Derek said.

Don D. went on to run for ACU and serve as student-assistant while his dad was head coach before graduating in 1987.

“I wasn’t very good, and they say, ‘If you can’t do it, coach it,’” he said.

“So I figured I’d get into coaching pretty quickly.”

And he did. Don D. spent six years as head cross country and track

and field coach at Temple High School, two years as head coach at Sam Houston State, six years at the helm at Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) and the past three years as an assistant at Texas Tech under former ACU head coach Wes Kittley.

“I’ve had the chance to learn from the years growing up with my father, as a student-assistant here and running for him,” Don D. said. “I’ve had three other coaches I’ve had a chance to learn from. I think that’s what will be so good about this being at this point in my life – I’m not a beginner.

It’s going to be a little bit

easier to take what I’ve learned and apply it to what I’m doing here.”

Don D. said he’s a little more relaxed entering this head coaching position than the others he’s started.

“This is the first program I’ve been in where there wasn’t rebuilding to go into it,” Don D. said.

“Every place I’ve been before was an opportunity to go in and build something. Here, I think the foundation is just tremendous, and there are places to improve, but it’s not like we’re scraping the bottom or having to put something together.”

Derek began two high school programs from scratch at Keller Fossil Ridge High School and Keller Central High School. He served as head track and field and cross country coach at Fossil Ridge from 199599, served in the same role at Bethany College in Kansas from 1999-2000, and was at Keller Central from 2003-05.

He said he’s not too worried about making the jump from coaching at high schools and small colleges to conditioning world-class athletes.

“Coaching is coaching,” he said. “What it all boils down to is how I can motivate these athletes and provide leadership. It’s kind of like baking a cake: I’ve got to make sure I’ve got all the ingredients, and that I check on it, and See HOODS page 9

Tennis reloads for another run n ACU head tennis coached Hutton Jones signed several men’s and women’s tennis players during the summer after a successful 2004-05 year.

By JARED FIELDS Sports Editor

After a record setting year for ACU tennis last spring, head coach Hutton Jones reloaded his arsenal with a talented class of freshmen for the 2005-06 year.

Last year the women’s team finished with a school record 31 wins and the men finished with one of the highest final rankings in Jones’ nine years after being upset in the regional finals.

The women advanced to the national tournament, where they lost in the first round to Lynn University and finished the season

ranked eighth in the Division II national poll. Jones lost three players from singles play and three from doubles, but recruited five women to fill the void.

“I feel like we’re bringing in five girls who are really strong players,” Jones said.

With the loss of five players from last year’s team, and such a big freshman class, some might say that this could be a down year for the Wildcats.

“A cliché might be that this is a rebuilding year,” Jones said, “but I’m not going to buy into that. I feel like we’ve got the talent. We were dominant in region and conference and I still expect to do that.”

See TENNIS page 9

Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer

Senior Ashley Hawk-Caperton lunges for a backhand during the Wildcats 5-0 victory over Northeastern State in the south central regional.

Brian Schmidt/chief Photographer

Johnathan Ferguson, a redshirt freshman wide receiver decides where to run after catching a pass during practice Monday.

Team returns talent, adds depth n ACU opens the season against the University of Central Oklahoma on Sept. 3, at Shotwell Stadium.

The Wildcats return a talented core for the 2005 season.

By JARED FIELDS Sports Editor

After an up and down 2004 season, head football coach Chris Thomsen said he looks to start his first year in Abilene with a bang. The Wildcats begin the season Sept. 3, hosting Lone Star Conference North Division favorite Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos, who finished 82 last year and shared the division title with Southeastern Oklahoma State, will be a tough first game for the Wildcats.

Thomsen said that UCO will be a good challenge for his team.

“A good way to find out what kind of team you have is to go against a top-20 football team,” Thomsen

said. “That will be good because it’s the first one for us to see where we are.”

Central Oklahoma won’t be the only tough game on the schedule this year.

The final three games are against proven teams in the tough South Division: Tarleton State, Texas A&M-

but Thomsen said he just wants to see the team improve each week.

“As far as records and championships go, it’s hard to say,” Thomsen said. “You just want to see your team play as well as they can.”

With a talented team

“We have a lot of players that have played here in the past and played at a high level.”

Head football coach Chris Thomsen

Kingsville, and Midwestern State.

Thomsen said he can’t pick out a single big game out of this year’s schedule.

“I can’t pick one out that you can say is bigger than the other; they’re all tough.

Every week is a big game,” Thomsen said.

Winning is of high importance to everyone,

to lead, high expectations are contagious among the team.

“We have a lot of players that have played here in the past and played at a high level,” Thomsen said. “I think those guys’ expectations are high this year.”

The Wildcats have a talented core of players

coming back to tackle the difficult schedule. Junior safety Danieal Manning and senior defensive end Clayton Farrell return to anchor the defense. Senior Greg Yeldell also returns after being second on the team in tackles behind Farrell.

Offensively, the Wildcats have talented players at skill positions to lead them down the field.

Senior Rashon Myles returns as running back for the Wildcats. Myles led the team in rushing last year with 865 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore Jerale Badon returns as the team leader in receiving yards after having 521 as a freshman.

The quarterback position is highly competitive this year. The Wildcats finished the year ranked 12th in the LSC in passing and See FOOTBALL page 9