OPTIMIST THE
FRIDAY September 17, 2004
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Vol. 93, No. 9 1 section, 10 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Serving the ACU community since 1912
Chasing elusive victory:
Campus job openings remain stable:
Stay at home:
Wildcats look to defeat Tarleton for first time since Gaines arrived in 2000. Page 10
Student employment was not affected in last year’s budget cuts, and many on-campus jobs are still available through Human Resources. Page 3
Resident Evil 2 better than first movie, but will leave you in zombie-like state. Page 7
SA approves appointees Administration’s loan gives Congress’ budget some breathing room By JONATHAN SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Student Congress in its first official meeting of the year Wednesday approved 23 appointees to fill vacant seats amid much debate and confusion over parliamentary procedure. When only 35 of 58 seats
were filled after elections this month and few eligible candidates asked to be appointed, Layne Rouse, executive president of the Students’ Association, initially asked Congress to suspend its own bylaws to allow ineligible students to be appointed. “The people I’m putting before you all have a desire to serve,” Rouse said. “What would hurt is to have someone who wants to serve not allowed to.” Congress seemed receptive
to allowing some freshmen and sophomores to fill vacant academic building seats and suspended the bylaws because they require these representatives to have junior hours. However, contention arose when some potential appointees’ majors were not housed in the building they would represent—also a requirement of the bylaws. “We’re walking a line of upholding government stan-
Open positions in Congress • Biblical Studies Building: 1 • University Park Apartments: 1 • Sherrod Apartments: 1 • Foster Science Building: 2 • Chambers Hall: 2 • Senior Class Representative: 1
See SA Page 9
Students take part in fair’s activities Exhibits, games, rides open to public through Saturday night By EMILY CHASTAIN STUDENT REPORTER
From cowboys to funnel cakes, students find different reasons to attend the West Texas Fair and Rodeo. But in the end, they seem to share one
common denominator: fun. The fair, which officially kicked off another year last Friday, offers carnival rides, a rodeo, food, games, exhibits and more. With special deals such a free college night last weekend, the fair and rodeo continues to attract many ACU students. Ryan Roden, junior history See FAIR Page 9
Student travels to New York and remembers ...
The day the towers fell By LORI BREDEMEYER MANAGING EDITOR
Daniele Ntahonkiriye lived in fear every day. In her hometown, residents are afraid to leave their houses and go into the countryside, and she came to the United States three years ago thinking she could leave behind the war-stricken country and finally shed the constant feeling of terror in her life. Daniele’s first day at ACU was Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorists hijacked planes and crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands and destroying the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. The attack led the United States into a war on terrorism. Daniele, junior broadcast journalism major from Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi in Africa, now speaks
rapid-fire English and is fluent in four languages, but when she first arrived in Abilene, she didn’t know the language well. She had never heard of the World Trade Center and only knew of New York City because her flight had connected there two days before. Because everything about the United States was so new to her, she See SEPT.
11 Page 8
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
A New York firefighter from Engine 323 in Brooklyn looks up at the memorial light towers near Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2004. The lights were illuminated for one night in memoriam of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
While the names of the victims were read, three young women (per request they remain nameless) remember their friends who were lost in the World Trade Center attacks at a memorial service at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2004.
ACU Police work to improve safety Department chief says lack of driver safety more problematic By SARAH CARLSON COPY EDITOR
The ACU Police and Administrative Services made several additions to campus to improve students’ safety since last semester and encourage feedback from students about safety concerns, said Jimmy Ellison, ACU police chief. The only safety trend Ellison said he has noticed this
school year is an annual one: lack of driver safety. “This year seems to be perhaps a little worse,” Ellison said. “It concerns me the speeds which drivers drive on the streets adjacent to campus.” He said the traffic problems stem for the lack of yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks, three of which are on East North 16th Street and two are on Campus Court. A crosswalk was installed on East North 16th Street across from Gardner Hall at the urging of the Students’
Association last year. Ellison went through the city of Abilene to install the crosswalk last semester, and said the city did surveys of traffic on East North 16th Street and found that not enough pedestrians cross the street to warrant the installation of an additional crosswalk in between Gardner and Sikes halls. “I think it’s a common battle cry to say we need more crosswalks,” Ellison said, “but people are going to cross at places that are convenient to their destinations. It’s up to pedestrians. We have plenty of cross-
walks, we just can’t get people to use them.” Kevin Watson, associate vice president for administrative services, said in an e-mail that the city of Abilene will work on Campus Court this semester, repainting and clearly identifying where crossings are. “Students should always be diligent when crossing streets or intersections,” Watson said. “Be slow to cross. Also, drivers need to be on the look out for pedestrians as we drive around See SAFETY Page 9
EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer
Edward Cutberth pulls a car over in the parking lot behind Edwards Hall on Tuesday to let the driver know her back tail light is out. He said the only difference between ACU police and APD is the jurisdiction.