OPTIMIST THE
FRIDAY September 24, 2004
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Vol. 93, No. 11 1 section, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Serving the ACU community since 1912
On the road again:
‘Sky Captain’ sputters instead of soars:
Cats ready for tourney:
The Wildcats play LSC South opponent Eastern New Mexico on Friday. Page 8
Arts editor Dee Travis reviews the newly released Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, filmed to look like a 1930s comic book. Page 4
The Lone Star Conference will begin a tournament in Moody Coliseum Friday. Page 8
Bid Night launches pledging Social clubs prepare for month of activities beginning Friday By LORI BREDEMEYER MANAGING EDITOR
Prospective social club members will participate in Bid Night on Friday after being involved in three weeks of rushes. The students ranked clubs Wednesday and received bids Thursday night.
Mike Spell, adviser of social clubs, said 148 men and 233 women ranked clubs Wednesday, for a total of 381 students. He said the rushes went well, but he is ready to move beyond rushing and Bid Night activities to pledging. “Overall, the process has been exhausting,” he said. “There is a lot of paperwork and organization that takes place in the weeks up to Bid
night. We are looking forward to being into the pledging season.” Spell said his office has been preparing for Bid Night by talking to club members about the night’s events. “My office has spent much time with each club in discussions about their Bid Night activities,” he said. “Each club has prepared activities that complement their organization.”
Pledging guidelines
Pledging begins next week and will continue for about four weeks through Homecoming. Pledges will help build their club’s Homecoming Parade float, participate in visits with club members and play in or cheer for their club’s intramural team, among other activities. As pledging proceedings are about to be in full swing, Spell said things have gone well in See PLEDGE Page 5
The following are some of the prohibited pledging activities: • Activities requiring excessive sleep deprivation • Any physical touching intended to inflict pain • Creation of an environment that endangers new members through restriction of senses. • Any type of personal servitude or requirement to purchase goods for members. • Any activity that occurs without the presence of an approved adviser.
Police e-mails meant to warn Suspicious subjects prompt police chief to send ‘timely warning’ By SARAH CARLSON COPY EDITOR
A timely warning e-mail was sent to students Sept. 17 after a female student was alarmed by two males in a vehicle while walking alone on East North 16th Street at 9:35 p.m. The warning, sent by Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life, and Jimmy Ellison, chief of ACU Police, said the males pulled their vehicle up beside the female and initiated conversation with her, eventually trying to lure her into the car. She then backed away, and when she did, the men immediately pulled away, and the girl notified Sikes Hall personnel and the ACU Police, according to the e-mail. “It alarmed her simply because of the time of night,” See SAFETY Page 5
Congress passes first bill BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Almost every one of Dr. K.B. Massingill’s, chief information officer, pictures on his bookshelves remind him of a friend he has made or a person he has helped while codirecting a medical mission trip to Zambia, Africa. The team, which goes to Zambia for about three weeks each July, has grown to 120 American volunteers.
Delivering a ‘day of dignity’ By JONATHAN SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF
H
e just couldn’t move a person in a wheelbarrow. Dr. K.B. Massingill leaned over the wheelbarrow and picked up the helpless Zambian woman, now rigid with fear. Carrying her to a doctor, he could tell from the odor that she had not bathed in days. None of that mattered. He just couldn’t move a person in a wheelbarrow. Recounting the scene four years later, Massingill, the university’s chief information officer, cannot help but get teary-eyed.
“We can’t imagine dying because we’re not able to go to the dentist, but in Zambia it’s a routine problem.” Dr. K.B. Massingill, co-director of the Zambia medical mission trip
After almost eight total months spent in Zambia — a country in southern Africa just slightly larger than Texas — memories flow of people he has worked with, people he has helped. Pictures of them line his bookshelves, all seeming to face the 5-foot-by-7-foot map of Africa filling most of one of his office walls. Massingill and his family returned from his eighth medical
mission trip in July. He co-directs the trip with Dr. Kelly and Eleanor Hamby, retired ACU employees who began the ministry in 1994. Kelly Hamby said he and his wife began the mission after vacationing in Zambia with a dentist to offer dental care to people there. “It caused us to see a much bigger need medically,” Hamby said. That need gave birth to the med-
Rouse, VanRheenen to discuss possibility of leadership minor By JONATHAN SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF
assingill lives next door to the Hambys and heard about the mission trip through them, but his family became interested in the trip in 1995 after befriending Patrick Kawinga, an ACU student from Zambia.
The Students’ Association passed its first resolution of the 81st Congress on Wednesday in its second meeting of the year. Congress voted unanimously to recognize the Welcome Week co-chairs and steering committee for the work they did. “It is a very exhaustive job,” said Sen. Missy Mae Walters, senior political science major from Abilene and co-author of the resolution. “I want to make sure that they feel appreciated.” Layne Rouse, executive president of SA, said he would be meeting with Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, provost, about
See MASSINGILL Page 7
See SA Page 5
ical mission trip, which 10 years later sends about 40 medical professionals in various fields and more than 80 other volunteers to assist in whatever way possible for almost three weeks each July.
Joining the team
M
Plans continue for new residence hall Construction should be under way by October; done in 10-12 months By JACI SCHNEIDER OPINION EDITOR
Plans are still underway for construction to begin on the new residence hall later this month or early next month, said Jack Rich, executive vice president of the university. The $6 million hall will be built in the parking lot across Campus Court from Brown Library and will house men or women, depending on enroll-
ment figures. Rich said the $6 million includes architecture, construction, furniture and landscaping. “We’re moving on getting final plans … and working out some of the details,” Rich said. Some work has already begun for the project including utility lines being moved, said Kevin Watson, chief development officer, in an e-mail. Hill & Wilkinson, the contractor that built Williams Performing Arts Center, will build the new residence hall, and Rich said it should take 1012 months to complete the hall. “We’ve been taking some
steps to ensure it can be built quickly,” he said. Some details still need to be finalized before the project can officially begin, Watson said. Planners must work with the city to establish locations for hot and chilled water lines to cross the street, as well as cable and telephone lines. “We should break ground in the next couple of weeks and hopefully get into full swing by mid-October,” Watson said. During construction, the entire parking lot will need to be blocked off for safety purposes, Watson said. Once the building is finished, a parking lot will be
built for residents. Although many students are concerned with parking, Rich said it should not be an issue. “Over the past four or five years, we’ve added quite a bit of parking,” he said, adding that people may shift where they have to park, but spaces will be available. “Parking is always an issue on any campus, and I think it will always be an issue,” Rich said. “The location is convenient, and it will be a good addition.” E-mail Schneider at: jrs02a@acu.edu
TITTLE LUTHER PARTNERSHIP/Courtesy image
A site plan (above) and front elevation (below) show the details for the proposed residence hall to be built across Campus Court from Brown Library, which could begin in early October.