Music for Zambia Local band uses rising fame to raise 50 grand for mission vol. 101, no. 13
friday, october 5, 2012
Arts Page 5
1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
homecoming
Seniors in the running for King
INSIDE NEWS Connections Cafe back up and running under student management Page 3
NEWS Survey finds nearly half of freshmen respondents were sexually active Page 4
taylor langston sports video director For years, the Homecoming Queen has been named stag, without the companionship of a knight so worthy of Homecoming recognition. Soon, that will change when many handsome hopefuls look to step out in elegance. Zach Morgan, senior biology major from Keller,
was inspired by the idea for a potential Homecoming King, and after meeting with the Students’ Association, the ‘King Of Campus Court’ was born. “It’s a cross between a traditional Homecoming King or Queen competition and a mock-pagenant,” Morgan said. After the potential candidates have applied and interviewed they will become one of five dukes – Duke of
Ambler, Duke of Campus Court, Duke of Judge Ely, Duke of College Drive and Duke of Teague. “This isn’t the traditional Homecoming King competition, so it doesn’t have all the stipulations that campaigning does for being a Homecoming Queen,” Morgan said. “We want them to be creative; the lighthearted aspect of the event will contribute to the creativity and ingenuity
of the campaign.” Each of the five dukes will emerge before the student body the week of Homecoming to pursue the prestigious title. Morgan, along with the help of Andrew Morrison, senior accounting major from Copper Canyon, and Aubree Selinger, junior family studies major from Grapevine, is looking for candidates who embody the life of an ACU student.
“We want them to be active,” Selinger said. “Someone involved on campus and generally an all around good student that is involved in the ACU community.” Candidates are welcome to nominate themselves on acustudents.com.
contact langston at ltl10a@acu.edu
NEWS Wellness Week events comes to an ’inspirational’ end Page 4
OPINION If the young voters vote, we can decide the election
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SPORTS Assistant Sports Editor Natalie Goin explains the Rangers’ struggles Page 8
SPORTS Our sports staff predicts the football team to win on Saturday
deanna romero staff Photographer Jodi Gaines, junior marketing major from Dallas; Laine Foith, sophomore family studies major from Plano; and Morgan Watten, sophomore accounting major from Coppell, respect Kojie Park as a part of Ko Jo Kai pledging traditions.
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NEWS Midnight Worship giving night-owls more praise time
students’ association
Provost proposes iPad requirement josh garcia staff reporter
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ONLINE NEWS Mission Abilene volunteering time in apartment ministry acuoptimist.com
NEWS Learning Studio publishes first annual iBook acuoptimist.com
PHOTOS Go to our Flickr page for more photos from pledging
Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost, met with the Students’ Association on Wednesday to discuss the administration’s current proposal that would require either only incoming freshmen or all undergraduate students to own an iPad. For months, ACU faculty have discussed the possibility of transitioning from the “mobile learning initiative,” which attempted to integrate Apple iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads into campus life and education, to an exclusively iPad initiative. The mobile learning budget has enough money to allow this year’s freshmen and sophomores to receive new devices their junior years. Rhodes’ current proposal, based on input from faculty and students, would re-
quire all incoming freshmen to own iPads before coming to ACU. Whether the requirement would apply to all classes is still undecided. The university would not provide iPads for students, but there is the possibility they could be rented. The device would then be utilized extensively in general education classes. Rhodes and many SA congress members shared similar concerns about the iPad mandate. Many students said their teachers do not encourage the use of mobile devices or tablets in the classroom, or that the iPad was largely useless for their major. The iBookstore has a growing number of textbooks, but is still insufficient for the majority of students. “We’d be limiting ourselves to say this is a tool we’re not going to have anything to do with,” Rhodes said. “I don’t think we can
use it without limitation.” One prevalent issue in the discussion was the overall cost to students, who would be required to spend additional money for an iPad. Rhodes said that by ending the mobile learning initiative, tuition would not increase as much, but will likely still increase. SA President Rebecca Dial questioned the restriction to strictly an Apple tablet device. “The Microsoft Surface is coming out, and it’s got all the Microsoft products on there already,” said Dial, senior political science and finance major from Lexington, S.C. “That’s way better for me as a business student. My concern is that we’re pushing iPads and not looking at possibly even better alternatives.” Rhodes said there is nothing restricting a move to multiple platforms. “We are so far down the
Apple road that it’s less expensive and easier just to go that next step,” said Rhodes. “I think ultimately, though, we need a wider platform when students come in.” Most of the two-hourlong meeting, however, was spent discussing conference fund requests, which began this week. Four student organizations requested support from SA for trips this semester. After lengthy and heated debate, the Society of Physics Students was awarded $870 for the Sigma Pi Sigma Quadrennial Congress; the ACU Locavore Club was awarded $75 for the 2012 Biodynamic Conference; the Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietics was awarded $600 for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietics Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition; and the American Society of Interior Designers was awarded $300 for the ASID
Three SA officers were absent from the meeting Andrew Saucedo BSB representative Bryson Shake Junior Vice President Elizabeth Cansino SRWC representative Student Symposium. SA meetings are open to all students. Meetings are conducted on Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m. in the OnsteadPacker Biblical Studies Building room 114. Next week’s speakers will include Jared Mosely, director of athletics, and Dr. Brady Bryce, director of ministry events. contact garcia at jtg10b@acu.edu
university
New Task Force to create new Vision flickr.com/acuoptimist
melany cox online managing editor
VIDEO Watch this week’s JMC Network newscast
acuoptimist.com
The Planning Task Force met Sept. 26-27 at the Abilene Country Club at Fairway to begin the process of creating an updated version of ACU’s strategic plan. The PTF is made up of 32 faculty and staff members. The task force was commissioned by President Schubert and is lead by Adam Hester, chair of the Department of Theatre,
and Wendy Jones, director of Human Resources. “The Planning Task Force is a group commissioned by Dr. Schubert to create the next strategic vision,” Jones said. “The Planning Task Force is charged with creating a new strategic plan that will carry ACU forward through the year 2020 as we continue to fulfill the 21st Century Vision.” The 21st Century Vision is the goal that, by 2020, ACU will be the premier
university for the education of Christ-centered, global leaders. Jones said the meeting last month was facilitated by Dr. Pat Sanaghan, who has written extensively about the planning processes in higher education. Jones said the PTF spent time identifying key components of the plan that require attention. “From our time together we are now ready to spend the next few months gathering data,” Jones said. “This
Abilene Christian University
will be a season of intense listening. It will be a time to gather input from many different campus constituencies and to collect meaningful and pertinent data for context.” The PTF will continue to meet throughout the school year. Jones said these meetings will include members of the task force and different constituencies of the university. She said the effects of the strategic plan will impact faculty, staff and students.
Dr. Jeff Arrington, associate vice president for Student Life, is one of the 32 members of the PTF. He said members of the Office of Strategic Planning, and the president’s Senior Leadership Team also met with the PTF during last week’s retreat. Arrington said the consultant and PTF leadership is going through a “highlystructured process” to develop a strategic plan. see planning page 4