Optimist Print Edition 10.18.19 by ACU Optimist

ACUOPTIMIST.COM | Friday, October 18, 2019 | 1

Fritter’s fame to help gain equipment needed for local police K9 units

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

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Homecoming to present Faulkner Garden BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

Main Homecoming events kicked off Thursday with the 27th Annual Gutenberg Celebration. Craig Fisher, assistant vice president of alumni relations and university relations, said he considered Thursday to be the kick off for Homecoming. The Gutenberg Celebration invited back alumni and awarded selected alumni for their accomplishments

and work in the media. The Department of Engineering and Physics also hosted a reception and presentation on Thursday. “Friday morning is just travel time for folks that are trying to come in a little bit early and gives us a last couple of hours to work through some stuff,” Fisher said. Alumni were invited to attend Praise Day Friday Chapel at 11 a.m. in Moody Coliseum. During the Chap-

el service, the fall sports teams are acknowledged and celebrated for the work they have been doing. Friday afternoon the Maker Lab is hosting an event called “Make-and-Take” for alumni and their children. “We’re trying to think of things for people to bring their kids back to campus, that they could do,” Fisher said. “And the Maker Lab is a great place for them to go.” The Maker Lab has ﬁve

different activities planned for guests to create something that they can take away. From 5-8 p.m. there will be a carnival located in the Campus Mall area and the Recreation and Wellness Center. The carnival will consist of live music, bounce houses, other inﬂatables, a rock wall, Abilene Axe Company, Chartwells will be serving food and food trucks such as Papa Murphy’s Pizza, 1881, Tacolote, The Sweet Side and

Toasted Traveler. “It’s just a great time of fellowship,” Fisher said. Candlelight Devotional will follow at 8:15 p.m. in the Amphitheater. “We have a lot of alumni that didn’t get to experience that when they were in school, they’ve seen that their kids [get to experience it], or they have kids that are on their way and they want to give them a chance to see it,” Fisher said. “So it’s a neat time.”

There will be 30 minutes of devotional and worship. Fisher said Candlelight Devo became a part of Homecoming about four years ago. “Our alums have loved it,” Fisher said. Saturday morning, clubs and organizations will invite members for breakfast in various locations. The Homecoming parade line up will begin around 10 a.m. and will end at Campus SEE HOMECOMING AT PAGE 2

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Women pledging the social club of GATA gather together in their formal colors to pay respect to their club.

Women for ACU celebrates 50th anniversary BY SYDNEY VARNER STAFF WRITER

Women for ACU is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year by hosting a social and an anniversary luncheon. The WACU Fall 2019 Social took place Sept. 19 and the Anniversary Luncheon will take place on Sunday in the Hunter Welcome Center. The luncheon costs $25 a person and will feature two alumni Andrea Lucado (‘08) and Denalyn (Preston) Lucado (‘79). WACU, created by alumna Dewby Ray, originally was formed as an organization for the women of the

faculty and staff at ACU and has grown from a small fundraising program to a large program involving women of all ages raising money for student scholarships. WACU President Nancy Miller graduated from ACU in 1960 and has lived in Abilene since 1970. Joining the organization shortly after it started, Miller was excited to do her part in helping the university. “I was looking forward to helping carry out the mission of ACU and by doing that and being involved in activities and projects that we do,” Miller said. WACU alongside fund-

raising for the university primarily raises money for scholarships. All students are eligible and are required to have a good GPA as well as ﬁnish out their education at ACU. Students apply during the spring of their sophomore year and the scholarship applies for their junior and senior years. This year alone, there are 12 students on WACU scholarships. Jama Cadle, assistant director of alumni relations and university relations, has been a part of WACU for two years and is working as a liaison between the Alumni Relations Ofﬁce and WACU. Cadle said that students who join can

“Over all of these years, we have given over one million dollars. We’ll just continue to work toward giving another million.” NANCY MILLER WACU PRESIDENT

see great beneﬁts as well as students who apply for WACU scholarships. “Juniors and Seniors can receive awards up to $2,000 a semester,” Cadle said. “A WACU scholarship committee reviews the applications and reference letters.” As for each year’s fundraising, Miller said there isn’t a goal outside of

helping students. “Over all of these years, we have given over one million dollars,” Miller said. “We’ll just continue to work toward giving another million.” Although many students aren’t often involved in their time on campus, WACU is open to everyone no matter their age. Miller said WACU also has a connection to the students. “After senior candlelight, we always have homemade cookies and cold water for the seniors,” Miller said. Students with questions can contact wacu@acu.edu and scholarship information will be available in the spring semesters.

NEWS

View a sneak peek of Beauty and the Beast PAGE 6

SPORTS

Writing Center honors 20 years on campus BY ALYSSIA ANUAT GUEST WRITER SARAH BLANKENSHIP COPY EDITOR

T he Writing Center will mark its 20th annivers ar y celebration during Homecoming week. T he celebration will take place on Saturday from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the Brown Librar y on the g round f loor. At the event there will be desser ts and a small cerem ony perfor med by Dr. Rober t Rhodes, the provost. T he Writing Center was established in 1999 by the De par tment of English in a small classroom in the Hardin Administration Building. Once the Writing Center took off, it was moved to

BY ALYSSIA ANUAT | GUEST WRITER

Dr. Cole Bennett, professor of language and literature and director of the Writing Center, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the ACU Writing Center. the basement of the librar y until 2007. It now is located on the first f loor of the librar y in the Lear ning Commons. The Writing Center offers a wide variety of assistance to stu-

dents including writing workshops, ser ving as a repository of writing material, providing individual feedback to students developing writing portfolios and offering computer resources for writing research.

“I have had faculty from a variety of disciplines tell me that their students’ writing has improved when they come in,” Dr. Cole Bennett, professor of languag e and literature and director

of the Writing Center, said. Off campus, the Writing Center has been eng ag ed in community work. Bennett volunteers with FaithWorks, a local nonprofit, to help students with resumes and cover letters. Dr. Shelly Sanders, associate professor of languag e and literature, hosts T he Community Writers’ Workshop where she g athers Abilenians on Saturday mor nings to write memoirs and other nonfiction work. “Over these past 20 years, my faculty colleagues from all disciplines across campus have supported the Writing Center,” Bennet said. “They have put their trust in our tutors to help their students carefully improve as writers.”

Read about Tracy James’ journey to the field PAGE 10

QUESTION Which former U.S. President spoke at Chapel in 1995? Be the first to answer correctly by sending your answer to @acuoptimist on Twitter. Winner will receive a prize. Be sure to watch for a new question each week.

2 | Friday, October 18, 2019 | NEWS

Fritter shirts to raise money for Peyton’s K9s BY ANDREW NORSWORTHY STAFF WRITER

The ACU Venture Program will be selling shirts featuring Fritter, the K9, to raise funds for Peyton’s K9s, a non-proﬁt organization that seeks to raise awareness for K9 police units in need. Teaming up with Kelly Mann, assistant professor of interior design and owner of Fritter, students chose to support Peyton’s K9s. Peyton Estochin is a 10 year-old girl from Pennsylvania who started a small, grass-roots campaign to raise money for local police K9 units. The money raised is to procure

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Fritter, ACUPD’s mascot, partners with Peyton’s K9s, a non-profit organization. the best protective gear for K9s on duty. The gear provided is

received from LOF Defense, based in Alberta, Canada.

These will be “comfort color grey” T-shirts. For prices,

the group is throwing a bone to students by selling the shirts for $15. Sales for these shirts are leaps and bounds ahead of what was expected from preorder. This preorder will continue until Saturday and more shirts will be available after they arrive. Other groups have been howling to use Fritter imagery for different purposes, but Jimmy Ellison, chief of ACU PD said that the pooch’s picture needs to be protected. “We’ve had lots of requests from different groups to use fritter imagery, but this group was a very worthwhile cause,” Ellison said.

Brittany Hancz, working marketing for the project, said, “This is more than a project at this point. We’ve already taken it past what we needed to, and now we just keep going.” Jared Park, heading finance and accounting for the endeavor, said, “we could get a maximum profit from shirts, sell those for more, and in the long run give more money to the non-profit organization.” In addition, LOF Defense is sponsoring Fritter, giving her a custom made ballistic vest. When asked what she thought about the tactical vest she will be receiving, Fritter gave no comment.

Society of Physics Club to throw pies at professors BY ANDREW TOOTHMAN STAFF WRITER

The Society of Physics Students Club has a fundraising event on Monday to raise money to attend the Physics Congress conference. If enough money is raised then Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, will be pied in the face. “We are raising money for the Physics Congress that will be held in Rhode Island this year, and we are sending ﬁfteen ACU students this year,” said Keaton Brewster, The Society of Physics Students Club chaplain, junior physics major from Malibu, CA. “I will be presenting the research I did

this summer at the undergraduate presentations.” The Society of Physics Students Club is a national organization, but this speciﬁc club is at ACU. It does physics outreach programs to middle and elementary school students to get them involved and interested in science. It also does small events throughout the year, such as, an event called Road Show where the club goes to several schools in Texas and Oklahoma to perform science demos for students. Brewster is the new physics chaplain this year after being the vice president his sophomore year. Brewster said the outreach plans are some

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOCIETY OF PHYSICS STUDENTS CLUB

Society of Physics Students Club hopes to raise money for event in Rhode Island. of his favorite, especially the Cosmic Cafe project. Cosmic Cafe is a project where The Society of Physics Students

Club works with coffee shops like Maslow Coffee Company and Monks Coffee Shop and more research with them.

The goal is to raise as much money as they can at this event happening on Monday. It would like to

raise $1,000 per student. This money will cover the Physics Congress conference with aid in airfare and housing for the students that are attending this event. Even though they have money in the physics department and some money internally, this fundraiser will help students so they don’t have to pay out of pocket. The goal is to raise at least $50 per professor to get pied in the face, and $500 for Dr. Schubert to get pied in the face as well, so The Society of Physics Students Club is encouraging students and faculty to come donate and watch professors and their president get pied.

HOMECOMING: Events take place through Sunday CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Court. The Saturday Homecoming Chapel service will begin at 11:15 a.m. in Moody Coliseum following the parade and end around 11:45 a.m. After Chapel, tailgates will be set up in the Campus Mall area, with tents representing clubs and organizations across campus. Reunion lunches for certain graduating classes will be located in the Quad, about 10 reunion classes will be present. “Some in buildings, some under tents, they’ll all be having lunch together and hanging out as a class,” Fisher said. “A lot of those alumni will come down for their reunion lunch but they’ll also want to go to their club tent or organization or go to the

buildings that they were in when they were students. It’s just a neat time to have some flexibility.” This will be the second year the class reunions will be having lunch instead of dinner on Saturday. Fisher said the switch to lunch fit into the natural flow of the day better. “We moved everyone from a dinner to a lunch for a couple different reasons,” Fisher said. “We had lots of feedback. Some of our feedback was that the dinner numbers were beginning to drop off. People were busy at the end of the day and it was hard for them to get to the dinner; so, the numbers were beginning to die. We also heard from a lot of alumni that they wanted to have time to get togeth-

er with their friend groups, so we tried to build in some ﬂexibility so that everything wasn’t so scheduled out.” Moving the reunion lunches to campus has allowed the time and space for them to all take place at the same time. A Queen’s Tea will be held to honor the Coming Home Court, homecoming court nominees of 10 years ago, and the current Homecom“One challenge every year is watching the weather. This year it’s looking good.” MANDY COLLUM ALUMNI AND UNIVERSITY RELATIONS OFFICER

ing Court nominees. “We just want to cele-

brate them in a small way to say congratulations and honor them,” April Young, alumni and university relations ofﬁcer, said. “It’s fun, just a time to get together and fellowship.” Following Chapel, at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, there will be a dedication to the Faulkner Meditation Garden on the north end of the Faubus Lake, in honor of Paul and Gladys Faulkner. Paul and Gladys were ACU graduates and involved at the university for many years. Paul taught in the College of Biblical Studies and ran a marriage seminar with a close colleague, Dr. Carl Brecheen. “Lots and lots of people went through their program before they got married,” Fisher said.

The Faulkner Meditation Garden will include a garden area and benches looking over the lake. Paul Faulkner will be present at the dedication ceremony. “One challenge every year is watching the weather,” Mandy Collum, alumni and university relations ofﬁcer, said. “This year it’s looking good.” T he football g ame has kick off at 3 p.m.

following tailg ate. Reunion classes are invited after the conclusion of the game, Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. in the lobby of Hunter Welcome Center, for dessert, live music and community. “It’s a multi-generational event, where they are all in one space at one time and get to see each other and connect,” Fisher said. “Just one more time to fellowship.” On Sunday, Women for ACU will have a lunch to celebrate their 50th year as an organization in the Hunter Welcome Center. Andrea Lucado will speak at the lunch. ACU Theatre will perform their Homecoming musical Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

FRI., OCT. 25

SAT., OCT. 26

“It’s a multi-generational event where they are all in one space at one time and get to see each other and connect. Just one more time to fellowship.” CRAIG FISHER ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF ALUMNI RELATIONS AND UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

WHAT’S HAPPENING? MON., OCT. 21

TUES., OCT. 22

WED., OCT. 23

11:30 a.m.- Pie Your Professor

10 a.m.- Graduation Fair 11:30 a.m.- Student Org. Fair 7 p.m.- Hispanos Unidos Movie Night

4:30 p.m.- Networking and Job Search Workshop

THURS., OCT. 24 Last Day of Pledging

FA L L B R E A K 7 p.m.- Nightmare on Elm Creek 7 p.m.- Haunted Abilene

police log SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK: •

ACUPD issued Minor in Possession (MIP) citations to 3 students at Edwards Hall. 10/11/2019 5:55 p.m.

•

A student reported that her roommate stole her keys and used her vehicle without permission, causing damages to the vehicle. 10/12/2019 8:20 a.m.

•

ACUPD officers issued a Criminal Trespass Warning to a Stadium Event Staff employee and advised him to leave the stadium. The employee was being terminated due to being confrontational and using profanity at the stadium. 10/12/2019 5:15 p.m.

•

A student reported a former student did not return clothing items belonging to a club. 10/14/2019 9:30 a.m.

911 Call Administrative activity Advice Alcohol incident Animal call Assist Barricades Boot/Unboot vehicle Building lock/unlock Cart patrol Check building Citation issuance Clery Criminal mischief Criminal trespass warning Direct traffic

1 43 1 1 1 1 2 2 16 7 254 2 3 1 1 5

Disturbance Domestic disturbance Escort Foot patrol Found property Hit & run Information report Intoxicated person Investigation follow-up Lost Property Maintenance: univ assets: cctv Maintenance: univ assets Medical emergency Missing person Monitor facility/lot Motorist assist: inflate tire.

MESSAGE FROM POLICE CHIEF ELLISON:

2 0 2 2 4 1 0 2 12 1 22 5 2 1 21 1

Motorist assist: jump start Motorist assist: other Motorist assist: unlock Noise violation Other Parking lot patrol Parking violation Patrol vehicle: maintenance Patrol vehicle: refuel Public service Random patrol Reckless driving Report writing Report writing (follow up) Sex offense Suicide (attempt and actual)

4 0 2 1 8 27 3 9 6 0 18 0 16 0 1 0

Stolen Vehicle 0 Suspicious person 2 Suspicious vehicle 1 Theft 2 Traffic hazard 0 Traffic stop 5 Training 1 Unauthorized use of motor vehicle 1 Vehicle collision 2 Welfare check 8 Total

530

*List of selected statistics of this week’s ACUPD activity report.

“Have a great Homecoming Weekend with family and ACU guests. Enjoy the Homecoming Parade Saturday morning but please obey all traffic controls/closures and follow officers directions.”

FA L L B R E A K 7:30 p.m.- Abilene Philharmonic

A national leader in student success

4. Abilene Christian 5. Duke / Stanford 8. Boston College

9. Abilene Christian 14. Yale 19. Princeton

11. Abilene Christian 13. Rice 17. Dartmouth

ACU is the only Texas institution nationally ranked in 5 student success areas Many universities promise to deliver a quality education, but Abilene Christian takes that promise a step further. Not only are its students prepared to compete successfully in today’s global marketplace, but they leave ACU with a clear sense of their purpose in life and the tools they need to live it out. The university’s commitment to student success was recognized on a national scale in September when U.S. News & World Report released its 2020 “America’s Best Colleges” rankings. A new benchmark measuring eight high-impact areas focused on student success put ACU in more categories – five – than any Texas university. ACU was in the top 11 in three categories among U.S. schools, ranking in some areas above Duke, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Rice and Dartmouth universities. Schools were ranked on the following programs that have been

proven to enhance learning outcomes and a student’s academic experience: first-year experiences, co-ops/ internships, learning communities, senior capstone, service learning, study abroad, undergraduate research/creative projects and writing in the disciplines. To create the new benchmark, U.S. News surveyed college presidents, chief academic officers and deans of admissions at public and private universities throughout the nation, asking them to nominate institutions with stellar examples of each program. “It is gratifying to receive these accolades from our peers because they reflect our strategic vision, spirit of innovation, and collaborative living and learning environment,” said ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert. But even more importantly, he said, “Our focus on student success comes from our desire to offer an exceptional education

deeply rooted in Christian values and reinforced by a foundation of faith.” Specifically, ACU was recognized in these categories: • No. 4 in Service Learning, ahead of Duke, Stanford and Boston College. • No. 9 in First-Year Experience, ahead of Yale and Princeton. • No. 11 in Learning Communities, ahead of Rice and Dartmouth. • Tied for No. 35 in Study Abroad • Tied for No. 42 in Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects ACU also received its highest overall regional ranking ever – 12th – in the U.S. News report, a jump of nine places over 2019. The university was specifically recognized in the categories of Best Undergraduate Teaching and Best Colleges for Veterans.

acu.edu

4 | Friday, October 18, 2019 | NEWS

Women’s Rugby Club becomes active again after recruiting BY PAIGE CUDINI GUEST WRITER

The women’s rugby club has become active again after a hiatus due to lack of players from previous years. The women’s rugby club was formed in January 2017 after the men’s rugby club formed in 2015. The rugby teams started as an organization with SGA and then worked with athletics to become a club sport. Neither the women’s or men’s teams are sponsored by ACU athletics but do have an active sponsor from campus. James Scudder, associate director of Alpha Scholars Program and McNair Scholar, is the active sponsor for both the men’s and women’s rugby teams. In addition to Scudder, both of the rugby teams work with volunteer coach Kevin Phillipson. The women’s rugby club is accepting new members whether they know how to play or not and does not have a limit on how many women can join. “We don’t have recruiting or tryouts, so we encour-

BY ADELIN BLACKMON | PHOTOGRAPHER

Women’s rugby club gains new members and begins practice. age people that have never played before to come out,” said Tristin Reynolds, junior management major from San Saba. “It’s actually fun and easy to learn.” In order to become part of the team, prospective members need to show up

to weekly practices. “In order to join, there’s no special process you have to go through,” Reynolds said. “You just show up to one of our practices and say you want to play and if you keep showing up and we see that you’re committed, then

you’re on the team.” Once a student has made the team, they will take part in weekly practices, running and weightlifting at the rec and CrossFit-like training at The Forge in Southside Abilene. I n add it ion to prac-

t ices a nd t ra i n i ng , members must a lso pay dues to play. Dues i nclude $2 0 0 for t he tea m, wh ich ca n be brou ght down to $10 0 if you have a ref cer t if icat ion for r u gby, a nd $115 to reg ister for t he

USA Ru gby Nat iona l Org a n i zat ion. “[Registering with the USA Rugby National Organization] will get you insurance just in case you get hurt or hurt another player.” Reynolds said. Rugby has gained attention in the U.S. for the past decade and has grown in popularity by 82.4% since 2011 according to Rugby Warfare. “I wanted to try something new and rugby was becoming more and more popular,” Hannah Holst, sophomore nursing major from San Antonio said. “I liked the idea of being able to play a sport where it wasn’t just touch or ﬂ ag.” To learn more about the women’s rugby club, contact Tristin Reynolds at tjr17c@ acu.edu or Celeste Sanchez at cgs17a@acu.edu. “Rugby can come off as a tough guy sport, but it’s not l ike that at all,” Reynolds said. “One of my best friends came out to play, she weighs 110 pounds and she’s one of the best players on the team.”

Crime report shows decrease in on-campus burglaries BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

The 2019 Annual Campus Crime, Security and Fire Safety Report showed a decrease in on-campus burglaries. The annual report shows the statistics representative of the past three years, 2016, 2017 and 2018, for the ACU main campus in Abilene, ACU-Dallas campus in Addison and the three ACU Study Abroad campuses at Leipzig, Germany, Montevideo, Uruguay

and Oxford, England. The report is released in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The crimes listed in the statistic report represent those which occurred on the ACU campuses as well as certain off-campus facilities, off-campus properties owned or controlled by ACU and on public property within proximity to or accessible from the ACU campuses. The data from the report

shows 10 burglaries reported to ACUPD in 2016, 7 in 2017 and 6 in 2018. Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said it is a downward trend that is steady and signiﬁcant. “We would like to think that that means students and employees are doing better jobs of locking up their [residence] hall rooms when they’re not home or locking up their offices and keeping things more secure,” Ellison said. The data collected from the report shows a decrease in drug viola-

tion arrests and referrals and an increase in liquor law violation arrests and referrals. In 2016 there were nine total drug violation arrests and referrals on-campus and in 2018 there were three. In 2016 there were 12 liquor law violation arrests and referrals on-campus and in 2018 there were 20. Ellison said these numbers go up and down slightly from year to year. “We didn’t see anything within the report that was concerning at all,” Ellison said. “We were glad to see

“We didn’t see anything within the report that was concerning at all.” JIMMY ELLISON ACUPD POLICE CHIEF

that the trends for on-campus burglaries is continuing to decrease. ACU historically has done very well. No campus is immune from crime.” The numbers that are ref lected in the annual report are incidents that

have been reported to ACUPD. Ellison said he would like to remind faculty, staff and students to report every crime to the police department. “We can only provide help and assistance when we know someone needs our help,” Ellison said. Cate Dunne, junior multimedia major from Houston, said she remembers getting the email about the Annual Campus Crime Report. “I think that’s important and I do think it is helpful,” Dunne said.

Human Resources changes employee payment schedule BY MADI MILLER GUEST WRITER

ACU is changing the payroll method from a monthly payroll to a bi-weekly payroll for all of its faculty and staff members starting January 2020. For the last 3 years there have been different methods on how each employee is paid depending on if they were a student, staff or fac-

ulty. The Human Resources Office was looking for a more efficient way to pay all employees on one payroll method that would be more efficient for both sides. “Majority of our employees are paid hourly, which right now puts them on a semi-monthly pay schedule which causes the days in that pay period to f luctuate,” Crystal

Cox, manager of compensation and benefits, said. “This means that their paycheck f luctuates making it harder for them to budget. It is also a disadvantage if they work overtime because they may not see that check for over four weeks.” It is for reasons l ike this the Human Resources Off ices has de-

“Majority of our employees are paid hourly, which right now puts them on a semi-monthly pay schedule which causes the days in that pay period to fluctuate. CRYSTAL COX

veloped the bi-week ly payroll system to put all its employees on.

“Going to a bi-weekly is going to make everybody’s hours, 80 hours a pay period, every single time,” Cox said. “You will always get your overtime immediately, clean, simple and every other Friday.” This transition will be beneﬁcial to the Human Resources Ofﬁce and make the process of paying its employees more ef-

ﬁcient but the change does come with negatives from an employee perspective. “The first few checks I will have to manage my money well so that all my automated bills balance out but after the first 3 months it will be a huge positive to get a check twice a month” Erik Deroo, assistant women’s basketball coach, said.

Gutenberg honors alumni in 27th anniversary celebration BY SENIA OVERSTREET GUEST WRITER

The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication honored three distinguished ACU alumni Thursday at the 27th annual Gutenberg Celebration. The three honorees included: John Scaggs, CEO of Way Media in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Michael Hagerty, senior producer of Houston Matters in Houston, and April Farris, appellate partner at Yetter Coleman in Houston.

“I always kind of wanted to receive a Gutenberg because of the cool trophy.” MICHAEL HAGERTY SENIOR PRODUCER OF HOUSTON MATTERS IN HOUSTON

Hagerty graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2001. Since 2013, he has been working at Houston Matters where he is the senior producer. “I always kind of wanted to receive a Gutenberg because

of the cool trophy.” Hagerty said via email. “But other than that, it’s kind of surreal. Sometimes I can’t believe it’s already been 20 years since my ﬁrst on-air shift at KACU, especially since there were times as a student where I wondered if I was really cut out for some aspects of journalism.” Hagerty was the “Voice of Sing Song” for the 2000 and 2001 productions. He was also an announcer for KACU. Scaggs, a 1990 ACU graduate, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. His company, Way Media, owns more than

20 contemporary Christian stations and operates the WAY-FM radio network. “I could get an award from a group I don’t know and it could mean a lot,” Scaggs said, “but I think it means so much more when it is your adviser and the university that you came from. It is just really gratifying when people who know you both the best and the worst give you an award for your excellence.” Farris, a 2006 graduate, has a bachelor’s degree in integrated marketing and communications.

JMC’s advertising and public relations agency, Morris+Mitchell, ran the event. Account director Aleira Martin, senior advertising and public relations major from Fort Worth, said there was a small team this year comprised of two other students and it was “nerve-wracking” at times, but the outcome made it all worth it. “There’s three people on my team, including me, so we have had our hands tied in everything for the event.” Martin said. “It got harder as

the event got closer.” Martin said it was such a blessing to be apart of the annual Gutenberg celebration despite having a small team. “This event was huge for me,” Martin said. “I love event planning but have never been given the opportunity to plan this large of an event so I was so excited to see how it all turned out. This involvement is a blessing. I don’t think many people in my ﬁeld can get an experience like Morris+Mitchell and I’m glad I am a part of leadership here.”

Students perform at the Black Student Union talent show BY KAYLA MONTANO GUEST WRITER

Students showed up and showed out Friday night at the Black Student Union talent show. The talent show took place in Hart Auditorium in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building, Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Aside from members of Black Student Union, all students were welcome. No auditions were held prior to the show, but there was an interest meeting for those who would want to perform. The show had a great turn out and for the audience there was pizza and refreshments. There were performances

from six acts and three additional performances during open mic. The performances included singing and dancing. During the show, the crowd was interactive; singing, dancing, clapping, and swaying along. There was good energy all around. Half way through, an intermission was held. The Black Student Union ofﬁcers took that time to show a carpool karaoke video they made. It included the ofﬁcers driving around while they sang and danced to various songs. The Black Student Union had two special performances. One was from former ACU student and Black Student Union President I.J

Bapeli from Fort Worth. He performed one of his original poems, “My Country Tis of Thee.” “I started writing that piece about two years ago and it probably took me about a year to complete. My inspiration was America,” Bapeli said. The second special performance was from a brother duo, Lundi. They performed songs from popular artists and added their own twist to each song. The show was wrapped up by the announcement of the winners. The winners were chosen by the audience with online voting. The third place winner was junior Jordan Joe who sang Let Me Love You by Mario.

Coming in second place was freshman Cydney Ford who sang opera. Last but not least, in ﬁrst place came senior Aleria Martin who sang “Killing me softly” by the Fugees. The talent show is one of many events that the Black Student Union host. They will be hosting their family night November 15th. Marilyn Allen, sophomore speech pathology major from Hillsborough, North Carolina and president of the Black Student Union encourages all students to attend. “It is an event that allows members of BSU to bond, be competitive and win prizes, it allows students to distress in an environment of fun,” Allen said.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Lundi, made up of brothers Jacob and Manny Lundy, performs a set at the BSU Talent Show.

OPINIONS | Friday, October 18, 2019 | 5

Social clubs go way back in history EDITORIAL BOARD

Homecoming is such a beautiful time for ACU. Alumni come from every state to come back to their alma mater, the home of special memories and great friendships. Even the celebrations of multiple class reunions from their 15th, 25th and 50th that take place. One of the most anticipated events of homecoming that many look forward to is the homecoming parade. There are so many awesome participants that contribute to making the parade so fun and special. Some of those participants are pledges for social clubs, going through their right of passage to becoming members of the organizations. Social Clubs have been around for one hundred of the one hundred and thirteen years that ACU has been open. Throughout the years we have gained and lost several clubs for both men and women. Starting with the men social clubs, we currently have six active men clubs on campus as well as six women clubs. The oldest men’s club on campus to date is the men of Sub T-16 who were

founded in 1923. Currently they are not allowed to receive a pledge class or active but hopefully they will make a return in the spring. The second oldest men’s club on campus is the men of Trojans being founded in 1930. Then the men of Frater Sodalis were founded in 1943, followed by the men of Galaxy who were founded in 1956. The men of Gamma Sigma Phi were founded in 1968. The men of Pi Kappa were founded in 1996. Lastly the men of Nu Kappa Psi, also known as Noble Kings, were founded in 2016. With our women social clubs we have the women of Zeta Rho who were founded in 1944. Sadly they have folded after an attempt to revamp the club in 2016 with an intake 33 new members. The women of Delta Theta were founded in 1925 but went inactive in 2011, due to the lack sponsors. However, they rechartered in the spring of 2017 and they have thrived since being back. The women of Alpha Kai Omega were founded in 2000, and the women of Tri Kappa Gamma were

BY ERNIE GUAJARDO | CARTOONIST

founded in 1986, then rechartered in fall of 2015. Then the women of Sigma Theta Chi were founded in 1969 and celebrating their 50th year of being on campus. Now when it comes to the remaining two women’s clubs there has been a big debate about who is the oldest club on campus. According to history, the High-A Club was established in in 1919 but then two days later changed their name to Ko Jo Kai. The women of GATA were established and in 1920 but there name has never changed. One of the pros of join-

ing a social club is gaining a new community on campus. You are able to become apart of group individuals that have learned the same traditions and have endured almost the same challenges as those who came before to become a member of the club. Another pro of joining a social club is the opportunities you get to create and establish connections. In every social club, there is a multitude of members that have different majors. As members graduate from ACU and go out into their career ﬁelds, there is a pretty high chance of knowing

someone who was in that social club or they could help you get an interview. Another pro is the friendships that are established. Joining a social club on campus allows you to meet different individuals that you possibly would not have met if it had not been for club. You can also meet and get really close to they could end up being your bridesmaid or groomsmen in your wedding. However, there are some negatives that come with being in club as well as the positives. One of the cons is the lack of diversity. This was the reason for the creation of the Noble

Kings social club, to make minority males feel welcomed and accepted into a community for who they are and not for assumed athletic talents and abilities. The clubs on campus that are considered smaller, do not have this problem since they have for a while have pretty diverse members. Now this is not to say that social clubs are not welcoming to all students but, for some it deﬁnitely feels that way. When asking several students who are not in club, “Why did you not pledge?”, the responses were all similar in regards that they did not feel there is a lot of representation and or diversity. Another con of being in a social club is the exclusiveness. With pledging a social club, you are privy to the club’s traditions and secrets. Meaning that your friends who are not in club or in other clubs are not able to know all the traditions and secrets of your club. Nor are they able to attend those club speciﬁc events. Social clubs are just like any of the other student organizations on campus. They were created to help establish community and an area to grow with peers.

Creating community between social club groups

BY ABBEY LEE VIDEO DIRECTOR

Social clubs are not doing enough to cultivate community among each other. I can only speak for women’s clubs, but one of the

biggest things women say when looking for a club to pledge is they want to ﬁnd community. I want to say to current pledges and those considering pledging, that you can ﬁnd and create community in any club. It doesn’t have to be the club that looks most like you right now or the ones you have the most friends in because you are going to grow and change as you go through college. Club is a good place to meet new people who are different than you and learn to love them the way God loves us. As great as that is, the

idea of club still makes some people feel uneasy. Club can get messy and complicate relationships. The rushing process has flaws. The pledging process has flaws. All clubs have flaws. Why? Because we’re human and we make mistakes. We take good things like community and unintentionally make them complicated. So, whatever your view of clubs is please don’t let them be solely based on the flaws only. However, as a result of this flawed nature, we are left with a rushing process that seems insincere and club

rivalries that go far beyond the intramural ﬁeld. Don’t get me wrong, almost everyone has friends in some other club besides their own, but stereotypes and general hostility are common too. Club rivalries can be fun and can boost morale within club, but members need to understand when it is appropriate and how far is too far. We need to see other people for who they are and not make an assumption about them or comment to them because of the letters they are wearing on a shirt. When we let

expressions or arguments get out of hand and separate us, we are missing the point of club. Pride for our clubs is not an excuse for not edifying one another. Club shouldn’t be the place where we get our value and our identities from. If we use it as a platform to bring others down and let it negatively affect how we feel about ourselves and others, we are giving it more power in our life than it deserves. Women’s clubs can start breaking stereotypes and mending relationships between each other by cultivating biblical communi-

Photographers deserve respect

BY RILEY FISHER CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

As someone who is new to the world of media professionals, I still have a lot to learn. However, I have learned a lot of important lessons from both good and bad experiences that I have had in the last year. Media professionals, whether photographers, reporters, columnists, videographers, editors or the like, all work very hard to produce the

ﬁnal products they share with their audiences. Speciﬁcally, photographers must put in hours of work behind-the-scenes before their art is ready to share. After countless late nights of editing in the newsroom or at my house and many hours of driving to shoots, I can personally attest to the amount of work that goes into producing even one usable photo. Though I think journalism is generally a highly respected profession, photographers are receiving less respect in today’s increasingly saturated market. More people seem to either steal another artist’s work to claim as their own or believe that they can point and click with any camera and call themselves a photographer. As a freelance photographer, it frustrates me to see

not only my own work discredited, but also the work of my many talented friends. On several occasions, I have defended the work of my friends when they have been cheated or when it has been stolen by others. Additionally, I have had to explain to several of my own clients the reasons behind my prices. I understand that people need to follow their own budget, but asking someone to lower their prices is never appropriate, especially if they’re using photography as a source of income to pay their own bills. Many photographers charge what they do because they must account for shooting time, travel cost, editing time, editing software, delivery software and equipment cost in addition to their own living expenses.

Asking them to lower their price is like asking someone to put less effort into their nine to ﬁve job and to take the ﬁnancial hit in their own life instead of paying for the product you are asking for. Not everyone deserves a special price on a product just because they think they should have one. It’s discouraging to media professionals to hear that someone doesn’t want to pay for the hard work that they love to do, and it’s even more discouraging when someone else passes that off as their own. I wish that I could change what society thinks about media, but unfortunately, I can’t. However, I ask that people respect the hard work that others do to make media possible, and respect the costs necessary to do so.

ty within their own clubs and then ﬁnding ways to seek that with other clubs. Clubs look inward at the community you are cultivating with your sisters and improve it. Clubs look outward at the community you are cultivating with members of other clubs and improve it. Women’s clubs can beneﬁt from community with each other. Not everything we do is a secret or a competition. The things that each sisterhood does to better one another should be shared and celebrated with their sisters in other clubs too.

Tweets Nunu Almost Christian University @ChristianAlmost Taking naps in college when you got assignments due just hits different nick boone @Nickboone5 One of the coolest parts about acu to me is that you can’t go here if you don’t own air pods. Very innovative Blurr @BlairMarieClayt Getting to see Milton’s smiling face at the chick-ﬁl-a line makes ACUs 40,000 tuition all seem worth it #KindaAnyways Nunu Almost Christian University @ChristianAlmost Professor just congratulated everyone on their C average. Guess it’s time to buy the textbook. Anne Carroll-Amerine @anneEcarroll The ACU grounds people are always pretty good about stopping whatever they’re doing so you can walk by but today I was pelted in the forehead by an acorn going 155 mph and I am not okay

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6 | Friday, October 18, 2019 | PHOTOS

‘Beauty’ to bring Homecoming magic

PHOTOS | Friday, October 18, 2019 | 7

Department of Theatre to perform grand Disney musical production BY ETHAN EPPINETTE GUEST WRITER

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Wardrobe, played by Zula Pryor, scares off Lefou, played by Easton Orr.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

The Wardrobe, played by Zula Pryor, reverts to her human form.

The timeless Broadwaystyle musical of Beauty and the Beast will be preformed three times during Homecoming Week. This play is a large production. It took four semitrailers to bring in the set and costumes for the play. Catherine Baumgardner, the head of costume, oversaw the unloading of the set and costumes. “This is a large production,” Baumgardner said. “There are over 230 costumes being used in the production of Beauty and the Beast.” Not only are there lots of costumes, but there are also many cast members as well. The play will have more than 30 actors and 20 crew members. This

does not include the orchestra and singers. Dawne SwearingenMeeks, associate professor and ACU theatre department chair, has helped this massive production stay on track as the director of the play. “It’s been an extraordinary experience working with such a gifted group of actors and designers,” Swearingen-Meeks said. “This story that appears to be simplistic at ﬁrst glance is intelligent and complex.” Because of how famous the story is, ACU theater decided it would focus on a few speciﬁc themes. “The themes that we have focused on are transformation of the soul, restoration, light and darkness,” Swearingen-Meeks said. “This story teaches us about walking in love and community.”

“The students have really enjoyed being in this production. It is a beautiful set.” CATHERINE BAUMGARDNER HEAD OF COSTUMES

When the students involved with the theatre department found out last February the Homecoming play would be “Beauty and the Beast” they cheered. There has been a lot of excitement and build up for this event. “The students have really enjoyed being in this production,” Baumgardner said. “It is a beautiful set.” Tickets to “Beauty and the Beast” can be bought online at acu.edu/theatre. Show times will be Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Belle, played by Lauren McDonald, and Maurice, played by Mitchell Bradford, share an intimate moment.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Belle, played by Lauren McDonald, tends to Beast, played by Richard Gomez, after he was injured while saving her from the wolves.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Belle, played by Lauren McDonald, dances with the prince, played by Richard Gomez.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

The dishes celebrate as Belle, played by Lauren McDonald, joins them for dinner.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Gaston, played by Griffin Jones, and Lefou, played by Easton Orr, devise an evil plan.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Because of their true love, the prince, played by Richard Gomez, is turned back into a man.

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Lumiere, played by Tré McLeod, prepares Belle, played by Lauren McDonald, for dinner.

8 | Friday, October 18, 2019 | FEATURES

A TALE OF TWO CENTENNIALS The women of Ko Jo Kai and GATA reﬂect on the signiﬁcance of their 100 years on campus BY DILLON DANIEL MANAGING EDITOR

This school year represents the 100th Anniversaries of women’s social clubs Ko Jo Kai and GATA. Ko Jo Kai, formerly known as the High-A Club, was formed in 1919, while GATA, formerly standing for Girl’s Aid to Athletics, was formed in 1920. Ko Jo Kai and GATA are the longest continuous socials clubs on campus and continue to have larger sized pledges classes with GATA having 53 Flames and KJK having 62 NuNus. However, although both centennials take place this year, KJK’s will be celebrated this semester, primarily during homecoming, while GATA’s will be celebrated next semester. Sarah Ross, senior worship ministry major from Sugarland and president of KJK, said being 100-years-old has allowed the club to look back to its roots and evaluate how far they’ve come. “We get to hear all these stories of pledging from alumni and sponsors and we even get to see a lot of our alumni becoming these great moms, teachers, speakers, and more,” Ross said. “By looking at this diversity I feel it makes the history of our club richer and how it shows how the women in our club are always seeking sisterhood.” For the centennial, KJK has a breakfast planned for 500 to 600 people Saturday morning for incoming alumni and current club members. The club also plans to include the alumni in the homecoming

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Riley Ray and Isabella Maradiaga respect Kojie Park on their way to class. parade, as well as giving the oldest living Kojie, Eloise, her own car in the parade. Ko Jo Kai will end their centennial night of celebration with a birthday party, where current members and alumni will attend wearing their club jerseys. “A lot of people from a lot of different generations of Kojies have responded, so we’ll have a good outcome of each generation being represented,” Ross said. Ross said she is thankful that she is a part of KJK and is grateful for her position as President of the club, even if it can be stressful. She said it’s amazing, considering her previous

thoughts as a sophomore: “I wasn’t even planning to pledge; however, I felt like the Lord wanted me to ﬁnd a ministry within club,” Ross said. She said that her position in club gives her the ability to approach presidency with a chaplain mindset. “If you’re gathering in a room on a Wednesday with 100 plus girls and you’re not talking about the Lord, then you’re wasting your time,” Ross said. Ross said she thinks it’s incredible how ACU has kept the traditions of KJK and GATA around for so long. “The fact that both of us, two clubs celebrating 100 years, just speaks to how incredible the

communities are that are brought up because of social clubs.” Looking into the future, Ross said she wants members to continue knowing they would not be here without Jesus. “Yes, social clubs are fun,” Ross said. “You have formals and grubs and fun, light-hearted club meetings on Wednesdays, but a huge proponent we try to say is that this would be a waste of time if we were not utilizing it to talk about the Lord.” She said she believes the way KJK will continue to prosper is by putting God at the center of it just as they’ve done in years prior. GATA, while at the end of their 99th year, is coming up

on their own centennial beginning next semester. As for events to celebrate their 100th year, Bailey Baker, senior kinesiology major from Abilene and president of GATA, said that it is a secret right now. “It will be chaos,” Baker said. “When it is our birthday, everybody will know.” Regarding their centennial being close to KJK’s, Baker said that GATA loves to celebrate and that that includes others around them. “We love that it’s their 100th as well; it’s the importance of sisterhood across the campus, not just for us,” Baker said. She said that it is an honor

being GATA’s 100th president and being a part of an organization that has its traditions deep in ACU’s roots. “Something we’re teaching our flames right now is that there are things all around this campus that people may not know are affiliated with us, for example the ACU museum has a big GATA pledge pin on the side.” These traditions, Baker said, are motivating her to get the new pledge class and current members to think about why they do what they do. “We want to be vulnerable with them and explain to them that these things have a purpose,” Baker said. “We want these ﬂames in this club, but that means helping them learn, especially in fun ways.” Through this, Baker said she ultimately wants the club to be as accepting as possible. “Moving forward, we want to portray ourselves as a club that is ‘come as you are,’” Baker said. “We accept you as who you are, even when you fail. I know I’ve failed.” Baker said that once she is graduated, although club has meant so much to her, she wants students to know there is so much more out there than being part of a club. “There’s so much more to college than being in a club,” Baker said. “However, it’s important to know that when we’re done here we won’t be looking back at tests, not the classes we skipped, it’s going to be the fun times we had with each other. To quote David Moses: ‘Don’t miss out.’”

Student’s research reveals students are not eating enough BY TYLER HENDERSON SPORTS WRITER

One-in-every-four full time college students across America suffer from food insecurity and the repercussions that follow if not acted upon. The stereotype of “starving college student” is not just a stereotype, it has become a fact for roughly 25 percent of four-year college students across the United States. For community college students, the percentage increases to 56% of fulltime students who suffer from food insecurity. The United States Department of Agriculture deﬁ nes food security as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.” Thus, Individuals who are food insecure are unable to access quality food on

a consistent basis. Food insecurity has seldom been a topic of conversation across America due to the lack of knowledge on the subject, until an ACU student researched and reported on the subject and won the 2019 Hatﬁeld Prize for her research. ACU Graduate student in Social Work Shannon Que alongside professor of Social Work Dr. Stephen Baldridge began research last year on the topic of food insecurity in universities and community colleges across America. The process began with mulling ideas for an application for the Hatﬁeld Prize, a scholarship awarded by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) to those who make advances in complex social challenges. Que said that based on Dr. Baldridge’s passions

on food justice and food insecurity, they narrowed their selection down to food insecurity on college campuses. “I looked a little more into it,” Que said. “and after ﬁve minutes of looking into the statistics, this is something we should talk about.” Their research showed that 11.8% of all U.S. households, approximately 15 million people, suffered from food insecurity in 2017. This data led Que to ﬁ nd where the problem originated, and she believes it begins with low-income families. Her research showed that the highest average rate of national food insecurity came from households at or below the poverty line, households headed by a single-parent women or single-parent men, both men and women living

alone, as well as Black and Hispanic households. “The root of it is the socioeconomic inability to purchase enough food, or quality of food to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Que said. Que said that food insecurity will not just lead to hunger for students, but more immediate problems as well as detrimental issues further along in their college careers or in their life. She believes that it is a domino-effect for students who suffer from food insecurity. Her research showed that when students miss meals, they will lose focus in their classes and lead to added anxiety in an already stressful situation. She believes the added anxieties and loss of focus could result in higher percentages of students dropping classes, dropping out and losing self-conﬁdence

“I looked a little more into it and after five minutes of looking into the statistics, this is something we should talk about.” SHANNON QUE GRADUATE STUDENT IN SOCIAL WORK

when attempting completion of a university degree or job searches. Que believes that awareness is the biggest issue revolving around food insecurity on campuses. By providing awareness of government programs and on-campus programs such as SOAR, it can greatly contribute to the decline of food insecurity, Que believes. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP or formerly known as Food Stamps, are available to college students if their socioeconomic status is

within SNAP’s regulations. Que believes that if more students hear about these programs and are encouraged to reach out, the percentage of “starving college students” could drastically decrease. “As a group, as a cohesive unit, what are we able to do for our students,” Que said. “We could provide meals, host events with food, and then refer students to SOAR, which is our biggest resource as of now.” Que and fellow graduate student Jack Oduro will continue to research food insecurity around Abilene, specifically ACU. By continuing their research, they believe gathering specific data for ACU will decrease the likelihood food insecurity presents itself as an issue, as well as raise awareness around campus.

Assessing the challenges and rewards of a student athlete BY LEXI KIRGAN SPORTS WRITER

“My life is completely hectic,” said junior basketball point guard Breanna Wright, as she sat on the couch reading Inferno for her English class. “This morning I had conditioning at 6 o’clock on the football field, class from 9-11, then we had to go to Chapel as a team at 11,” said Wright. “I had a little break after Chapel to read a couple of pages in my book. Then I went to practice at 2 o’clock and straight to weights at 5 o’clock. When all that was over I came home, made dinner and had to read 100 pages of the book that was assigned to me in class.” Athletes have school, practice, weights, conditioning and games to participate in. On some days, Wright and her teammates are required to go to study hall in the midst of all that. Student athletes and non-athletes face different challenges. Most students have a lot on their plates. They may have a

job (sometimes multiple), they may have bills and they have classes. Student athletes have their sport, they have weight training, conditioning, practice, study hall and they have their classes. Wright said being a student athlete is not an easy task, but it is rewarding. “I feel like being a student athlete has really helped me in the classroom,” she said. “Because of sports, I have learned how to manage my time properly so I know how to get my assignments done on time.” As an English major, Wright said she has 20 books to read this semester. Grades are important because if she does not hold a certain GPA she cannot play. “Our coaches hold us to a really high standard when it comes to our grades,” Wright said. “We have meetings with our coaches every two weeks so they can check our grades and make sure that we are staying on top of things in the midst of our busy schedules.” Not only do their coach-

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Wildcat players show their school spirit. es work to make sure their athletes are doing well grade-wise, but they help them get the tools needed to succeed. “Our coaches tell us to sit in the first or second row in each of our classes,” Wright said. “There is also mandatory study hall that we have to go to as a team to make sure that we are getting all of our homework done and, if needed, they provide us tutors for our classes.” Wright said she has written out a schedule for every day, so she knows when she will have time to complete her assignments.

She is attentive in class and over-communicates with her professors so she knows what she will be missing when she is traveling for games. “I’m not going to lie; it is very difficult to balance school and athletics,” she said, “but I feel like it is getting me ready for the real world. I have done this for almost four years now, so it has gotten a little easier, but it’s a different plan of attack each semester.” Bible professor Robert Oglesby said he sees no huge difference between the student athletes and

non-athletes in his classes. “For the most part, the athletes that I have had have been fantastic,” Oglesby said. “I think there’s a discipline in being an athlete that helps them hit marks and not make excuses. I think they are used to being set up to be a better student, especially with timing and no excuses and all that stuff. And that’s getting them ready for life, so I appreciate that about the coaches,” Ogelsby said. According to NCAA. org, each team must have an academic progress rate

(APR) score of 930. If it drops below that score the NCAA penalizes the teams. Each student on scholarship equals two points per semester on aid; one for eligibility and one for retention. Krista Masci, athletic academic coordinator, said this puts a different kind of pressure on certain athletes. Not only do they have to perform well on the field or court, but they have to perform just as well, if not better, in the classroom to keep their eligibility and meet the NCAA standard. For student athletes, the challenge is not just about keeping up with schoolwork while playing a sport; it is about being held accountable by multiple people and balancing school, sports and life. “I am held at a really high standard by my coaches as well as my teammates,” Wright said. “It is very stressful at times, but I know that I will be well ahead of my peers when I get out of college and into the workplace because I now know how to manage my time better than I ever have before.”

HOMECOMING COURT 2019

NOMINEES | Friday, October 18, 2019 | 9

Name: Bailey Baker Major: Kinesiology Hometown: Abilene, TX

Name: Maddie Sue Conway Major: Kinesiology Hometown: Trophy Club, TX

Name: Ashleigh Crawford Major: Nutrition Hometown: North Richland Hills, TX

Name: Eden Lopez Major: Accounting Hometown: Holland, TX

Name: Aleria Martin Major: Advertising/Public Relations Hometown: Fort Worth, TX

Name: Marlee Painter Major: Child and Family Services Hometown: Stony Brook, NY

Name: Sloan Polvado Major: Marketing Hometown: Sugarland, TX

Name: Sarah Ross Major: Ministry and Vocation Hometown: Sugarland, TX

Name: Claire Sladek Major: Communication Hometown: Fort Worth, TX

Name: Nikole Taylor Major: Liberal Studies Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

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10 | Friday, October 18, 2019 | SPORTS

JAMES RISES FROM REDSHIRT TO STAR An impressive senior year gains running back attention on the ﬁeld BY OWEN SIMPSON SPORTS DIRECTOR

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Tracy James, senior running back, surpassed 3,000 all-purpose yards.

trainer

psychologist

community

champion

Senior running back Tracy James has been a Wildcat longer than most athletes, and he continues to plow over opponents in his final season in purple and white. He joined the football team as a redshirt freshman in 2015 after graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. However, James’ passion and talent for football did not emerge until he entered the Lone Star State. “My passion of football really began when I first moved to Texas,” James said. “I lived at first in Minnesota, so all we did was play basketball up there. Football is during winter, and winter up there is not good.” James did not start playing football immediately, but it did not take him long to once he arrived. “Once I moved down here, I started playing once the coach came up to me in my elementary school,” James said. “I told my mom I wanted to try out, and since then, it’s all history.” While James could have played at another Div. I school, he chose ACU because he saw something special. “Everything led up to going to ACU,” James said. “The team and players all had a different vibe to them that me and my mom liked.” He’s also been able to “Everything led up to going to ACU. The team and players all had a different vibe to them that me and my mom liked.” TRACY JAMES SENIOR RUNNING BACK

experience the transition from playing at Shotwell Stadium to Wildcat Stadium on campus. James said there’s a lot to appreciate in his time here. “My most cherished moments have been every second at ACU,” James said. “I’ve been through a lot through ACU with a different coaching staff, different head coaches. It was a lot to learn.” Since joining the Wild-

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cats, James has been a nightmare to opposing defenses, especially in his senior year. In 2019, he’s rushed for 571 yards on 112 attempts with 13 total touchdowns, the most in FCS this season. He’s also surpassed 3,000 all-purpose yards, but James wants to keep improving as the season progresses. “My passion of football really began when I first moved to Texas. I lived at first in Minnesota, so all we did was play basketball up there. Football is during winter, and winter up there is not good.” TRACY JAMES SENIOR RUNNING BACK

“All I’m going to do is keep working hard and try to be the hardest worker on the ﬁeld,” James said. “We’re just going to take it day-by-day and see what happens.” James is coming off his most rushing yards this season with 118 against Houston Baptist in their 45-20 win. He’s taken a larger role in the offense after senior running back Billy McCrary required season-ending surgery. Head Coach Adam Dorrel has also been impressed with his season thus far, including his leadership. “He’s doing a lot of really good things,” Dorrel said. “He’s a captain and a leader and taken a lot upon himself to try and get us going in the right direction. That means a bunch to us as coaches with his leadership at practices.” With a strong resume that he’s built in college, Tracy’s path to the NFL is still certainly a possibility. “If I get that call to go to the NFL, that would be something great,” James said. “It would show that people from small schools like Abilene Christian have talent. I just want to show people on my team and later on that they can do that.” James and the Wildcats will look to stay undefeated at home Saturday when they take on Stephen F. Austin.

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BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior running back Tracy James tries to run past a defender.

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12 | Friday, October 18, 2019 | SPORTS

STANDINGS Football Team Nicholls UIW SHSU UCA Lamar SELU ACU HBU SFA McNeese NWSU

Ovrl. 4-2 4-2 3-1 4-2 4-3 3-3 3-4 4-3 1-5 3-4 0-6

Conf. 3-0 3-1 4-3 2-1 2-2 2-2 2-3 1-2 1-2 1-3 0-3

Soccer

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Sophomore forward Laura Mauldin makes a move on the ball.

ACU brings home first loss in conference against Islanders BY RACHEL POE SPORTS WRITER

On Friday night the Abilene Christian soccer team comes home with their ﬁrst loss of the season, in the Southland Conference. The Wildcats just fell short on Friday night, losing to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 2-1. The Islanders are now on a on a ﬁve game unbeaten winning streak and the Wildcats seven matches of

an unbeaten streak comes to an end. The Wildcats were the ﬁrst ones to get the ball in the back of the net, in the 20th minute of the ﬁrst half, when junior captain Christina Arteaga took the penalty kick for the Wildcats after a foul was made in the box. Her penalty kick goal was her second of the season, giving her eight scores of the season. AMCC did not waste anytime tying the game,

in the 21st minute of the first half, when Addison Urbunas scored an unassisted equalizer. It was not until the last ﬁve minutes of the game when Kayla Gove scored her third goal of the year in the 85th minute, winning the game for the Islanders. Once again, ACU outshout their opponents, 1811. However Corpus led, 8-6, with shots on goal. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Rachel Johnson

had a total of six saves in net, but is now 4-1-2 in season. ACU led, 5-3, in corner kicks and was fouled six times by the Islanders. Arteaga led in shot attempts, with a total of ﬁve, while senior Shay Johnson tallied three. Junior Brittany Harris and redshirt freshman Emily Heidman each had two. The last time ACU faced AMCC, last season in Abilene, it was a draw

0-0. However, the last two times ACU traveled to Corpus Christi, the Wildcats took home a win in 2017 and 2016. The all time record with AMCC is now 3-2-2. The Wildcats will have Sunday off before they hit the road again to face Lamar University next Friday, Oct. 18 at 7p.m. in Beaumont, Texas and McNeese in Lake Charles, LA at 1p.m. on Sunday Oct. 20th.

Cross country team takes on Chile Pepper Festival BY AVERY JACKSON SPORTS WRITER

On Oct. 5 the ACU cross country team traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas to attend the Annual Chile Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas. Five players ranked in the top half of the races including sophomore Kevin Kipkosgei leading the men’s and junior Briahna Gerlach

leading the women’s. This was the third straight race that Kipkosgei has led the men in this fall. He places 47th in the 8k for men’s while Gerlach placed 31st in the 5k. The teams competed against nearly 60 different schools. The men ﬁnished the meet placing 22nd out of 32 beating two Southland Conference rivals. The two rivals were Incar-

nate Word and Central Arkansas. The women placed 14th beating many notable teams inside and outside of the Southland Conference such as Texas State, Incarnate Word and Lamar to name a few. “I was happy with the results knowing that we still have time to improve and that we off to a good start,” Assistant Coach Jarvis Jalen said.

The teams have had a strong start with many players like Kipkosgei and Gerlach taking charge leading the pack. This meet allowed the teams to see how they would compete against other teams in the Southland Conference. It also allowed them to get tougher competition against teams they normally compete against inside of the conference. “Going forward if we

want to improve we need to be more intentional about our training and how we prepare for future meets,” Jalen said. The cross country team will be in College Station Oct. 19 at the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M. Another meet will also be held Oct. 19 in Abilene at the Bill Lobby Invitational hosted by McMurry.

Volleyball goes 0-2 against Nicholls and Stephen F. Austin BY LEXI KIRGAN SPORTS WRITER

The Wildcats struggled on the road Thursday and Saturday against Nicholls and SFA. They are currently on a four game losing streak and are sitting in 10th place in the Southland Conference. Nicholls was the ﬁrst team the Wildcats competed against and they lost 1-3. In the ﬁrst set the Wildcats

came out strong winning 26-24 but couldn’t hold it losing the second set, 2325, third set 15-25 and the fourth set 20-25. Marybeth Sandercox, senior outside hitter and right side hitter lead the team with 16 kills, Eighmy Dobbins, senior outside hitter had a career high of 15 digs and Lindsey Toney, sophomore outside hitter got her third double-double on the season. For the second match,

SFA beat the Wildcats in straight sets. In the ﬁrst set the Wildcats lost 13-25, the second set was 16-25 and the third set was 14-25. SFA is currently sitting in ﬁrst place in conference at 6-0 in the conference and 18-1 on the season. Sandercox lead the team with seven kills and Lorin McNeil, junior middle blocker lead the team with two blocks.

Sophia Resendiz, senior labero said that despite going 2-0 on the road again, there is always something positive that can be found. “I think something positive that we can take away from both matches is our hustle and grit,” Resendiz said. “Our team is young this year, but I have seen more determination and hustle this season compared to previous ones in each and every one of us. We all work on defen-

sive moves no matter the position, so that gives us an advantage to extend rallies and make impressive plays that other teams cannot.” Resendiz said that their mentality going into these next few practices will be aggressive, high energy and intense. The Wildcats will fight to get a win at home against Southeastern Louisiana University on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.

FOOTBALL MATCHUP PREVIEW 2019 SEASON 33.9

POINTS PER GAME

25.8

197.4

RUSHING YPG

112.0

262.7

PASSING YPG

262.0

26.3

POINTS ALLOWED PG

SPORTS DIRECTOR

Ovrl. 9-4 8-6 6-7 8-3-2 7-5-1 7-6-1 5-7-1 5-8 2-10-1 2-11 3-9-1 1-11-1

Conf. 5-1 5-1 5-1 4-1-1 4-1-1 4-1-1 3-2-1 2-4 1-5 1-5 0-6 0-6

Volleyball Team SFA SHSU NWSU Nicholls UNO TXAM-CC HBU SELU ACU UCA Lamar McNeese UIW

Ovrl. 18-1 10-8 14-7 10-7 11-10 10-9 11-10 9-11 4-12 8-12 6-10 8-11 4-16

Conf. 6-0 6-0 6-1 4-2 4-3 3-3 3-3 3-3 2-4 2-5 1-5 1-6 0-6

HEADLINES - Former ACU football player Carl Whitley was drafted by the Dallas Renegades of the XFL Wednesday. Whitley was a receiver for the Wildcats through the 2015-17 seasons. The XFL’s inagural season will take place in 2020. The Renegades home turf will be located at Globe Life Park in Arlington, the former home of the Texas Rangers.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Football

ANTHONY In his first game back from a concussion, junior quar terback Luke Anthony delivered against Houston Baptist, completing 69.8% of his passes while throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks top ten in passing efficiency, total offense, and passing yards per game in the FCS.

Football

39.0 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSIT Y (3–4)

Owen Simpson

Team McNeese Lamar UIW ACU TXAM-CC NWSU SHSU SFA SELU HBU Nicholls UCA

(1-5)

Tavian Miles

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Lexi Kirgan

SPORTS REPORTER

The Wildcats proved me wrong, playing a phenomenal game on both sides last week against Houston Baptist. After getting called out on Twitter by none other than senior running back Tracy James, I might have to think more carefully about my pick this week. The Lumberjacks are coming off a bye, and they needed it. After starting the season 1-5, Stephen F. Austin is looking to improve to .500 in conference play, but stopping offenses has been a problem lately. In all but one game this season, the Lumberjacks have surrendered at least 31 points. That’s asking for trouble after ACU dropped 45 in the previous matchup. The Wildcats executed an impressive balanced attack on offense against Houston Baptist with 303 rushing yards and 280 passing yards. In previous games, ACU’s offense struggled in the first quarter, but they put that bad habit to rest, scoring a touchdown on their first two drives. Wildcats win this one for the Homecoming crowd. Don’t disappoint me Tracy.

The Wildcats are coming off a big win at home to keep their FCS Playoff hopes alive by defeating HBU 45-20. ACU was able to shut down the high powered Huskies offense by only allowing them to put up twenty points instead of their usual forty-nine points per game. Everyone for the Wildcats seemed to be in sync that night starting with junior quarterback Luke Anthony who went 30-43 and throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns. Looking over at this weeks opponents, we see the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin come into Anthony Field for homecoming. Stephen F. Austin is currently sitting at 1-2 in the conference and won’t be moving up this week either. SFA gives up 39 points a contest and if the Wildcats are able to put up numbers like last week, SFA is looking at another loss. Going into this week the Wildcats need to put up numbers similar from last week. Wildcats take this one and will improve to 3-3 in conference play.

After the big win the Wildcats got against HBU last weekend, it looks like they are here and ready to play. The two losses they had before had no impact on the game against HBU, and I feel like it will be the same way this weekend when they take on the SFA Lumberjacks. SFA is currently 1-2 in conference and not looking like a very big threat this year. The only team they have played against that we have played against is Lamar. They beat lamar 24-17, but we lost to Lamar 24-31. I’d say this is a pretty evenly matched game. I feel like with the way the Wildcats played last weekend, they will come out and do the very same thing this weekend, if not better, considering it is homecoming. The stands should be packed. I have a lot of confidence in the guys that they can come out and get it done this weekend. They have a great team and showed a lot of leadership last weekend, so there is no doubt that Saturday’s game will end with a win.

FINAL SCORE: ACU 30 SFA 24

FINAL SCORE: ACU 42 SFA 17

FINAL SCORE: ACU 31 SFA 28

Jalen Garrett SPORTS REPORTER

Coming off a dominating win against Houston Baptist last week, ACU will look to finish the season strong as they host the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in this year’s homecoming game. The Wildcats played their best offensive game of the season, having possession of the ball for over 35 minutes. Junior quarterback Luke Anthony completed 69% of his passes, two players rushed for 100 yards each, and two players had 100 receiving yards. SFA, coming off a bye week, are currently ranked ninth in the Southland Conference and captured their first win against Lamar a couple of weeks. The Lumberjacks rank in the top spots in categories including time of possession and red-zone offense. I believe ACU will have another dominating offensive game and will put up similar numbers to last week’s game. This will be a win for the Wildcats for homecoming week. FINAL SCORE: ACU 35 SFA 14

CLARK Sophomore wide receiver Kobe Clark was the factor to ACU’s fluid offense, catching nine receptions and gaining a season high 107 yards against Houston Baptist Saturday. He averaged 12 yards per catch. Clark ranks sixth in receptions with 43 total and 418 receiving yards in the Southland Conference.

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