WEDNESDAY October 6, 2004
OPTIMIST THE
Vol. 93, No. 14 1 section, 12 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Serving the ACU community since 1912
‘Friday Nights’ light up:
Wireless routers clog the airways:
Coming to America:
Football coach Gary Gaines will be portrayed in the movie Friday Night Lights. Page 12
Wireless Internet routers, especially in the residence halls, have caused significant problems, network administrators said. Page 4
Chronicle the Malagasy students’ journey from Madagascar to Abilene. Page 6 and 7
Six investigated for theft of crest Suspects to go before panel of faculty, students Wednesday By JONATHAN SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Six members and pledges of the Gamma Sigma Phi men’s social club will go before a panel of faculty, staff and stu-
dents Wednesday afternoon to tell of their involvement in the theft of the Frater Sodalis crest from the intramural fields across from Gardner Hall. The panel will recommend to Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life, what disciplinary action to take against the men. Should the university decide to pursue criminal charges —
something Barnard said is not yet decided — the men could face felony theft charges, said Jimmy Ellison, chief of ACU Police. The bronze crest was stolen around 1 a.m. Friday morning from the newly built archway at the entrance to the Larry “Satch” Sanders Intramural Fields, Ellison said.
By 11 a.m. Friday, Ellison said he had identified the six individuals involved in the theft and through their cooperation found more evidence implicating those involved. Ellison said Tuesday he had completed his investigation and was awaiting word from Barnard and tomorrow’s hearing.
‘This won’t hurt a bit’
“We’re going through a very reasonable process for the students,” Barnard said, regarding the panel and hearing. Tomorrow’s panel will be chaired by Neal Coates, assistant professor of political science, and Barnard will select one faculty member and one staff member to also serve on it. Layne Rouse, executive
By JENNA LUCADO STUDENT REPORTER
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Courtney Amos, freshman journalism major from Lake Charles, La., looks away as Jodi Jordan, a blood bank technician from Hendrick Medical Center draws blood during the blood drive in the Living Room of the Campus Center on Monday.
Assistant direct of honors studies takes job in North Carolina JACI SCHNEIDER OPINION EDITOR
Dr. Jonathan Wade, assistant professor of English and assistant director of honors studies, announced his resignation from the university Monday. He will complete the fall semester and move to Cullowhee, N.C., in December, where he will take the position of center fellow at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
“I’m not leaving ACU because I dislike it or have any hard feelings,” Wade said. He said that the overwhelming reason for his decision is that the center is five minutes away from his wife’s parents’ home. He said he wants his two children, ages three and six, to grow up with their grandparents. Wade was scheduled to teach one honors Bible class and two English courses next spring. “It really just came up in the last two or three weeks,” he said. “It was a now-ornever sort of thing.” The center where Wade will work is part of the
University of North Carolina system. He will teach about 12 renewal seminars a year for public school teachers. After four years of teaching at ACU, Wade’s absence will be noticed in the English and Honors departments next semester. Dr. Chris Willerton, director of the Honors Program and professor of English, said he is trying to arrange for a different teacher to take over the Honors Bible class Wade was supposed to teach. “Long-term, I don’t know what will happen,” Willerton said. “I don’t know how we’ll
Memorial Service A memorial service for Emmanuel Anyanwu will be conducted at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Chapel on the Hill. The International Students Association is helping to organize the service. Anyanwu, 22, died Sept. 24 in a car wreck on North First and Mesquite streets. He was an international student from Nigeria for one semester at ACU in the spring of 2001. Funeral services for Anyanwu will be in Houston on Friday where members of his family from Nigeria can attend.
By CHRISTY GOWER FEATURES EDITOR
David Leeson, class of ’78, has been named this year’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, the highest award an ACU alumnus can achieve, by the Alumni Association. “I was excited, naturally, and I felt very honored to be chosen for the award,” Leeson said. “I was humbled, actually. There’s a lot of alumni out there, and for me to be chosen for the year is an honor. It’s an important event in my life, an important milestone in my life.”
Linda Giddens, president of the Alumni Association and 1972 graduate, said the award is given to honor someone who, through their work, has put ACU on the map. “He has excelled in his chosen field of photography,” she said. “It seemed to be the right selection at the right time.” Leeson recently won the Pulitzer Prize, the highest award in print journalism, and the Edward R. Murrow Award, the highest award in broadcast journalism, for photographs and a documentary of the war in Iraq. Leeson said the award is more complete than the others he’s received because they go beyond the tangible prod-
uct of the photographs and videos. “To me, to win an award from your university and hometown, it’s more personal,” the native Abilenian said. “These people know your background and history. They’re not doing it just because of the Pulitzer, and I know that. “I could be a low-life and still win a Pulitzer, maybe,” he said. “That’s why it’s so humbling that people have noticed my life and my faith and how it is integrated in my career.” Dr. Charlie Marler, professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication, said Leeson was a “wanna-be photographer” when he attended the university, which
More than $3,780 has been raised since Chapel Monday to help buy rice, beans and water for the victims of Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti. The money will go to a branch of Healing Hands International, a Christian worldwide relief effort, located in Abilene, who will in turn give the money to Brad and Monica Gautney, two ACU graduates who now work as missionaries in Lagosette, Haiti. “Brad and Monica are the people who will be physically purchasing and distributing the water and food there in Haiti,” said Melanie Booker, junior political science major from Sugar Land and Students’ Association vice president. “That way they can bypass the black market that is so prevalent there.” Dr. Ed Enzor, director of Healing Hands International in Abilene, said the Gautneys had returned to the United States because of the hurricane threats in the Caribbean. While they were in the United States, Hurricane Jeanne hit Haiti on Sept. 16. Eznor said the magnitude of the hurricane’s destruc-
was before the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication had a degree in photography. “He was a natural storyteller, and it didn’t matter to him what tools he had to tell the story, and what tools he didn’t have to tell the story,” Marler said. “It was an insatiable drive in him.” Marler said the Pulitzer is made for unique people, and so Leeson winning the award was a good match. “It’s a story about how a person uses adversity,” he said. “He didn’t pick a big university or a big photojournalism program. You put together a student with high See ALUMNUS Page 9
tion has pressed the Gautneys to return and help the relief efforts this week. The Guatneys will purchase 100-pound sacks of rice and beans, and water will be bought in Haiti. Enzor said they are looking at possible emergency rations in Lubbock and buying rice in the Houston area. “The drinking water that the Haitians have available for them are polluted by the dead bodies floating in it,” Booker said. Hurricane Jeanne is considered one of the deadliest hurricanes in history, killing 2,000 people in Haiti, 11 people in Puerto Rico and at least three in the Dominican Republic, according to BBC News. The storms have left thousands homeless and starving. HHI sent letters to churches around town, as well as the ACU campus, asking for money. “They generally don’t ask for donations on the ACU campus,” Booker said, “but this was such an immediate opportunity to minister to these people that they wanted to do a huge campaign.” A slide show presentation of the disaster in Haiti was played after Chapel on Monday, and SA and International Students Association members held donation buckets outside the See HAITI Page 9
Poker allowed, not gambling Residence directors encourage playing for chips, not money By LORI BREDEMEYER MANAGING EDITOR
See WADE Page 9
Photographer named alumnus of year Leeson won Pulitzer Prize this year for war coverage in Iraq
See THEFT Page 9
Students raise money for Haiti Donations will go toward buying food, water for victims
Wade to leave at semester
president of the Students’ Association, will select two students to serve, and a club president and adviser not affiliated with Gamma Sigma Phi or Frater Sodalis will also be randomly selected for the panel. Barnard said in similar situ-
Although a national poker craze has grown through the last several years as ESPN, Bravo and several other TV networks have broadcast major tournaments, Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life, said he has not seen much of a problem on campus and has not had to take any disciplinary action against it. Gambling in any form is a violation of Section 1-06 of the Student Guide, and consequences can include an informal or written warning. Barnard said instead of reprimanding the men playing the card game, residence directors this year are focusing on encouraging the use of chips instead of money. “What we’ve attempted to do is create environments where playing poker could be much like playing spades or chess or any other game,” he said.
Men are allowed to play poker as long as the money they put in is used as an entry fee, like what they would pay to play in any other kind of tournament. Jason Craddock, residence director of Edwards, said he thinks his residents understand the distinction between gambling and paying an entry fee. “They should be aware of that difference,” he said. “Like it says in the handbook: Gambling is against the student guide, and if you’re putting down your own money, that’s just leading to issues. They should know the difference, and they will be treated as if they know the difference.” Barnard said he has been considering the effectiveness of the policy against gambling and said it might be clarified more in the future. “Our policies can’t legislate behavior,” he said. “… I don’t even assume that we’re going to control behavior off campus. What we can do though is set some limits about what’s allowed on campus in our resiSee POKER Page 9