OPTIMIST_2004-10-06

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

CAMPUS

DAY

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

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Calendar&Events Wednesday

Wellness Week, 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Hilton Room.

Faculty-Senate meeting, 7-8:15 a.m., Faculty-Staff Dining Room.

Wellness Week expo, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Campus Center tables.

SA Live, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Center tables.

Southern Hills, Frasier’s Life Group, 7-8 p.m., Campus Center Recreation Area.

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Pruett Gerontology display, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Campus Center tables.

JamFest interest meeting, 10 p.m., Bean Sprout.

McNair speaker, 7-9 p.m., Hilton Room.

International Students Association, 8-10:50 p.m., Living Room.

Wildcat Walk Meter check-in/out, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Campus Center ticket windows.

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Friday

Unstress Day.

Thursday

Wellness Week expo, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Campus Center tables.

SA Live, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Center tables.

Wellness Week, “Passion for Life,” 11:30 a.m.-1:25 p.m., Hilton Room.

SA Live, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Center tables.

Medical Clinic flu shots, 11:30 a.m.1:30 p.m, Faculty-Staff Dining Room.

Wellness Week, “Passion for Life,” 11:30-1:30 p.m., Hilton Room.

teers to answer hotline calls and attend to shelter needs. For information, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center.

City Light Ministries needs volunteers to tutor elementary school students and to play games or read to them on Mondays from 3:30-5 p.m. People who enjoy children and are interested in this opportunity can go to the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center for information.

Fashions for the Cure, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness, needs volunteers to transport and set up a stage and help with decorations before and after a dinner and fashion show Wednesday. Contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center for information.

About This Page The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.

Groups may send announcements directly to optimist@jmc.acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor, ACU Box 27892, Abilene, TX 79699.

Frater Sodalis Grub.

Sub T-16 Grub.

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To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.

Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.

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Monday

SA Live, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Center tables.

Saturday

ACU Computer Auction, 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Hilton Room.

Jason Morris- McNair and Friends workshop, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Faculty Women’s Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Faculty-Staff Dining Room.

Social club officers meeting, 5-6:30 p.m., Living Room.

McNair Scholars, all day, Campus Center ticket windows.

Freshman Tailgate Party, 12:30 p.m., Shotwell Stadium.

Sigma Theta Chi Grub.

GATA Grub.

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Tuesday

SA Live, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Center tables.

Sunday

Pruett Gerontology display, all day, Campus Center tables.

Campaign video viewing, 1-2:30 p.m., Hilton Room.

Movie Night, 6:30-10 p.m., Living Room.

McNair Scholars, all day, Campus Center ticket windows.

Bible study group, 7-10 p.m., Living Room.

Volunteer Opportunities Covenant Place of Abilene, an assisted living facility, needs someone to tutor a student who wants to learn to read and write. For information, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center.

The Service Action Leadership Team is trying to create a database that will send e-mails to keep students informed of opportunities for service. To create the database, the center needs student participation. Students can visit the Volunteer and Service Learning Center to fill out a volunteer registration form. By filling out the form, students are not committing to any service project, but they will receive e-mails that will enhance their awareness community needs.

The Noah Project needs volun-

Gamma Sigma Phi Grub.

Announcements Interest group meetings for students interested in studying abroad will be this week. The Latin America interest group meeting will be Thursday from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in the Mabee Business Building, Room 118. The Oxford interest group meeting will be Friday from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in the Mabee Library Auditorium. A free pizza lunch will be provided at both meetings.

Wellness Week is featuring booths in the Hilton Room from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Students can check their knowledge of how depression, anxiety, stress and relationships shape minds and attitudes. Students can relax with a free massage and register for free prizes.

Students can sign up for the weekend racquetball tournament that will take place Friday and Saturday. The sign-up deadline is Thursday, and cost is $10 per person. Sign-ups are in Bennett Gymnasium.

Hello Books will be here soon. Order the 2004-05 campus directory in advance for $10 by contacting Lorri Ware in the Journalism and Mass Communication Department at Ext. 2296 or llw04a@acu.edu. Students can charge it to their account or pay by check or credit card. Students can also visit http://www.acu.edu/academics/cas/jmc/store/hellobook.ht ml to fill out an order form.

Education Department students planning to student-teach in spring 2005 must attend a required information meeting Wednesday or Thursday from 5-6 p.m. in the library auditorium. The deadline to submit applications to student-teach in spring 2005 will be Oct. 20.

The second annual gospel meeting at Hillcrest Church of Christ is being conducted this weekend. The event will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Food and childcare will be provided both days.

Students may nominate faculty members for the Piper Professorship award. Students may select one full-time faculty member as a nominee for the Piper Professorship award, a prestigious honor granted by the state of Texas recognizing the 15 most outstanding teachers at the college level in Texas. In addition to statewide recognition, Piper professors receive a $5,000 award. To nominate, e-mail hardegree@chemistry.acu.edu by Friday.

The Spiritual Life Core is providing the opportunity to be involved in a small group study for one hour per week. The groups will be going through the book Not Even A Hint by Joshua Harris.

Students wishing to participate in a small group with other students can e-mail cer00a@acu.edu.

Chapel Check-Up Credited Chapels to date: Credited Chapels remaining:

31 40

Steering Committee to increase awareness Members to wear puple every day in preparation

By SALLY STEVENS STUDENT REPORTER

Next week about 35 students will begin to wear purple every day.

The purple-clad students are members of the Homecoming Steering Committee, which is headed by two co-chairs and supervised by the staff in the Alumni Association.

"We want to increase student awareness; yes it’s Homecoming and yes it’s for students as well," said Kathleen Pina, Homecoming co-chair and senior political science major from San Antonio.

Pina said wearing purple every day will emphasize that Homecoming is not just for alumni and will show that this year’s committee wants to increase current student participation and involvement, even at the planning level.

Applying for the Homecoming Steering Committee in the past years has been "application by invite" only, Pina said, but this year they wanted to open it up for everyone. She said even freshmen could apply and would be great for the committee because of all the time and energy they could contribute. Of the students on

this year’s committee, 15 are freshmen.

Another way the committee will be getting students involved is through JamFest, a concert made up of student bands and performers. Lydia Spies, Homecoming Steering Committee co-chair and senior pre-physical therapy major form Glen Rose, said the concert scheduled for the Friday night of Homecoming, will feature many students instead of bringing in a single artist.

It is always a challenge to find someone who will appeal to the interests of both the alumni and students Spies said. She said the committee is even trying to have alumni participate in JamFest this year.

The committee is working on ways to get students excited about all of the events and is looking for prizes for the annual Homecoming Golf Classic.

Spies said one of the prizes will be a car, and there is a possibility that one of the prizes will be a motorcycle.

This year Homecoming is scheduled for Oct. 21-24, and the full schedule of events, including information about the Homecoming musical Kiss Me Kate and the class reunions, can be found online through the ACU Web sites.

E-mail Stevens at: optimist@acu.edu

First serving of Deep Dish

By TABITHA VAIL STAFF WRITER

Deep Dish Philosophy gives students an opportunity to discuss topics ranging from philosophy to religion.

It began three years ago in the Student Honors Department but did not run last year. Patrick Leech, sophomore history major from Abilene, leads the club.

Deep Dish combines fellowship and “encourages intellectual discussion”as Bill Rankin, professor of English, said. It begins with a guest speaker who “launches student discussion” said Dr. Chris Willerton, professor of English and director of the Honors Program.

A unique aspect to Deep Dish is that it is not in lecture format like many college courses. Willerton said it is an “opportunity outside of the classroom” where there are no holds barred and “anything goes.”

Attendance ranges from six to 12 students, allowing this intimate group deeper discussion on topics ranging from Aristotle’s philosophies to last week’s topic of biological altruism. Leech said that these topics usually lead to how they “impact our faith.”

Leech said Deep Dish is meant to be a safe environment where students can share their personal beliefs and receive friendly feedback.

The goal of this program is to facilitate at least 50 free thinkers, whether they are in the honors program or not.

The Honors Program tries to provide social activities combined with intellectual thought where students can use their minds and then apply that knowledge, said Jonathan Wade, professor of English .

E-mail Vail at: txv02b@acu.edu

CAMPUS NEWS

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

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Various walks help encourage disease awareness Citizens of Abilene support research for heart disease

By VALERIE HANNEKEN STAFF WRITER

As students begin the long process of pledging and intramural sports, other activities bustle around campus. On Oct. 2, students from numerous campus clubs, volunteers from local organizations, and staff joined to support the annual Heart Walk. This walk, and the funding received, went toward research for heart disease.

“Heart disease affects every age, even little babies,” said Pam Medulla, secretary for the Medical Clinic.

The five-mile walk started at 9:00 a.m., but some came as early as 7:30 a.m. because they wanted to participate and had conflicts later in the day. The walk started near Buffalo Gap Road at Wylie Baptist Church, continued through the Fairway Oaks neighborhood and ended back at Wylie Baptist.

Some of the big supporters of this walk included the social club Alpha Kai Omega, the

track team, and numerous residence hall residents.

“Heart disease runs in my family, and I want people to be aware that heart disease can start at an early age,” Gardner Hall residence director Jacquetta Etheridge said. “I would like Gardner to start even earlier next year, maybe even in the summer.”

The Heart Walk this year was coordinated by several different representatives of colleges in the area, as well as organizations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield. Medulla served as the ACU coordinator for the second consecutive year, and her job consisted of gathering donations and walkers for the event.

She said that the student participation made the event a success. Medulla said that students were calling her daily to see what they could do to help with the fund-raiser. She said people with that initiative made her job easier.

Medulla said ACU has been the top donating college for the Heart Walk in the last 2 or 3 years. The results for this year will not be disclosed until the end of this week. Regardless of

the monetary results, the donations made by the ACU campus will result in continued indepth research for heart disease.

“I want to commend the dorms for raising money. It was just awesome; all the students are great!” Medulla said.

Next year, she said she hopes they can do more to reach out to the faculty and staff to get them more involved.

As many students walked to raise money for heart disease research, a large group of ACU students walked to help another cause.

On Oct. 2, 20 Lynay students walked a mile at Nelson Park. These 20 students were part of the 103 Lynay members and numerous others throughout the community that helped to put together the annual Alzheimer’s Walk. This walk, along with the donations collected, raised $1,880 by Saturday when the money was turned in.

Other groups walking included neighborhood hospitals and the Sears’ nursing facility.

The Alzheimer’s Walk started at 9:00 a.m. and lasted until 6:00 p.m. The time frame allowed

Campus blood drive succeeds Students helped save others by donating blood Monday

By TABITHA VAIL STAFF

WRITER

The Campus Activities Board and the Meek Blood Center conducted a blood drive in the Living Room on Monday from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Cookies and juice were provided to patients after they finished giving their pint of blood, as well as a complementary T-shirt.

Amanda Spell, coordinator of student organizations and activities, organized the event and said she feels that donating blood is an important part of life that should evolve into

habit.

Attendance ranges from 25 to 65 participants, and if there is not a line, giving blood takes less than a half hour. Spell said that it is “something that takes time but not much else.” Spell said the gift of blood is a blessing for someone else.

Chelsie Fletcher, senior history major from Midland, said she gives blood every eight weeks. Giving blood is “something that I enjoy doing because I have lots of blood to give,” Fletcher said.

The blood drive usually takes place twice a semester or every eight weeks because the body must have time to replace its lost supply, Spell said. The next blood drive will be Jan. 18 in the Living Room from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and then March 30.

Blood drive All who meet requirements are eligible to give, and one pint can save as many as three lives.

The next blood drive will be Jan. 18 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m..

Those who are over the age of seventeen, weigh more than 110 pounds and have healthy blood are encouraged to give blood, and one pint of blood can save as many as three lives.

Students can go to www.givelife.org for more information about blood and the donation process.

E-mail Vail at: optimist@acu.edu

EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer

Benjamin Hoyle, 3, plays with balloons in his wagon Saturday at the Heart Walk at Wylie Baptist Church.

Hoyle was the grand marshal for the walk, having had three open-heart surgeries himself. people to participate whenever they were available.

Besides walking, many people in the Sociology and Social Work Department used this event for volunteer hours.

Without the time and resources of many different

groups, this walk would not have been a success.

"I feel that the walk was a mutually beneficial experience,” said Dr. Gary McCaleb, ACU Vice-President and Lynay sponsor. It was successful to the Alzheimer's unit and help-

ful to Lynay members because of the reward they got when helping people who feel forgotten."

E-mail Hanneken at: optimist@acu.edu

Queen’s court to be nominated Nearly 300 women were nominated for Homecoming Queen

By DANIELLE LINTHICUM STUDENT REPORTER

Homecoming Queen nominations are in, and this year, 587 ballots were submitted, nominating senior women to the Homecoming Court, with a total of 279 women nominated. The top 10-12 women will be chosen to be on this year’s Court.

Any senior woman can be nominated to the Homecoming Court, with those sponsored by organizations typically getting the most votes, said Betsey Craig, coordinator of Queens Activities

for Homecoming. However, she said women do not have to be a member of an organization to be nominated.

“Even smaller groups can nominate women if they can get their members, as well friends, girlfriends and boyfriends involved in the voting process,” Craig said.

Craig said there is always the risk of the nominees finding out before the appointed time, so she doesn’t let student workers handle any part of the voting process.

“I don’t tell anyone the results,” she said. “It would get out because it’s just too tempting.”

When the time comes to tell the nominees who they are, Craig said that this year’s Homecoming Court will be

“kidnapped” sometime this week, given a gift package and told that they are on the Court.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said.

“They are so surprised… they squeal and get really excited.

Craig said she loves working with the Homecoming Court, as well as the Coming Home Court, which are the women who were on the Court 10 years ago who come back to ACU for Homecoming.

“It’s a great tradition,” she said. “It’s part of what’s fun about ACU.”

E-mail Linthicum at: optimist@acu.edu

CAMPUS NEWS

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Wednesday, October 6, 2004

2003-04 ‘Prickly Pear’ will include high-quality DVD DVD to include videos of events and special documentaries

By DEE TRAVIS ARTS EDITOR

Nearly halfway through the fall semester, many students are still missing a piece of last year: their yearbook.

The 2003-04 Prickly Pear should be distributed on Oct. 15, said Cade White, instructor of journalism and mass communication and faculty adviser of the Prickly Pear.

“We’re really excited about the book,” White said. “It’s definitely worth the wait for the quality of the finished product.”

The main reason the yearbook is late is the DVD that will accompany every book.

“Last year’s DVD was a tremendous success,” White said. “Our goal is to document the lives and happenings of ACU, and the multimedia facet of the DVD is invaluable as a historical record.”

The 2003-04 Prickly Pear is only the second volume to come with a DVD. Sarah Reid, senior electronic

media major from Abilene and editor in chief of the Prickly Pear, described the differences between the information on the book and the DVD. “The yearbook itself covers the same material it always has,” Reid said. “It has information about social clubs, sporting events and the students’ pictures.”

The DVD, she said, goes much more indepth.

“We try to produce quality that’s equal to a DVD you would purchase at Hastings,” Reid said.

She said the Prickly Pear DVDs are being replicated by a

professional company to help ensure quality, and they can hold twice as much video as the blank DVDs available for personal use.

“The 2002-03 DVD had about three and one-half hours of video,” Reid said, “whereas this one has close to five hours.”

The DVD will contain several documentary features covering sporting events, the Homecoming Parade and Sing Song.

Reid said there would be short video segments of every social club’s Sing Song act, as well as documentaries about the hosts, hostesses and co-chairs.

Sing Song searches for emcees Auditions for Sing Song hosts, hostesses to be conducted soon

By SUSAN SPIVEY STUDENT REPORTER

Auditions for Sing Song hosts and hostesses are Monday and Tuesday, and students planning to try out should be prepared to show off their talent, said Kendall Massey, director of student productions.

Three male and three female students will be selected for the role of hosts and hostesses, who perform solo and group acts in Sing Song.

Tryouts consist of a threeminute solo audition Monday and a call-back interview, an ensemble and sight-reading audition, and a dance performance Tuesday.

The solos are open to all students with 60 or more hours as of next semester and a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher.

Students can sign up for an audition or pick up an information sheet at Massey’s office in McKinzie Hall Room 133.

Students should bring an accompanist or a CD track to sing along with and choose a

song “that strikes a note,” Massey said in an interest meeting Monday night.

“We try to get you guys to bring the performer out.”

After the solos, Massey and five or six other judges will select the candidates they want to hear again and post a call-back list about 30 minutes after the last audition, Massey said.

Candidates will submit a personal reference from someone whom they work with on a performance basis at their 15-minute interview with judges Tuesday. Massey said they will also be required to sing their vocal part in an ensemble piece they have never seen before and participate in a dance audition, directed by Teri Wilkerson.

“Don’t sweat it,” Massey said in reference to the dance portion. He said the judges are looking for people who are comfortable onstage and connect with the audience.

About 60 people tried out for host and hostess last year, and about 35 people attended the interest meeting Monday night. Most of the students who try out are not music or theatre majors but just enjoy performing, Massey said.

Among them is Valerie Compton, junior undeclared major from Huntsville, who

said she hopes to become a hostess.

“I’m kind of nervous,” she said.

Compton said she has never performed a solo in an ACU production but has participated in Sing Song with the GATA social club.

“I really like to sing and enjoyed doing theatre in high school,” she said.

Massey said he does not know how many students will try out this year, but he expects widespread interest.

“People this year are really wanting to be a part of Sing Song,” he said.

Massey said the auditions are a month earlier than usual this year because he is planning to produce a six-song album featuring the hosts and hostesses. In past years, CDs have been made of the Sing Song show, but this is the first year the hosts and hostesses will make a separate album.

The hosts and hostesses will work on the album over Christmas break, and it will be available early next semester, Massey said. He said it will cost about $6, and he expects to sell 800 to 1,000 copies.

E-mail Spivey at: optimist@acu.edu

“There are many stories that can’t really be told in print,” Reid said. One example is the feature that will be on the DVD about a student who almost never wore shoes.

“Video just allows for more information,” Reid said.

Not only can Prickly Pear DVD owners plug the disc into their DVD players, but they can explore additional features on a personal computer.

“The DVD-ROM will have every page of every Optimist issue from the entire year,” Reid said. “You’ll be able to print them and see crisper quality

than when you held the actual newspaper.”

The DVD will also have large, downloadable versions of all the students’ pictures.

Reid said the Prickly Pear is already looking to make improvements for next year’s volume.

“We hope to have more of the personal features in the future,” Reid said. “We’re growing, but we’re always trying to take the next step forward.”

E-mail Travis at: dxt02a@acu.edu

Running the race for wellness

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Phil Ware, pulpit minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ, speaks at a brown-bag lunch for Wellness Week 2004 in the Campus Center’s Hilton Room on Tuesday.

Network changes prove valuable New technology helps campus, but wireless Internet spells trouble

By DEE TRAVIS ARTS EDITOR

Changes made to the network last summer, such as the new registration system NetReg and the spam filter Brightmail, have made a noticeable difference, said Kay Reeves, director of Technology Support Services.

"We have 25 percent fewer work orders these days because the network is stable," Reeves said.

Reeves said that approximately 300 computers have been denied access to the network because of viruses this semester.

"The same policy of sequestering computers applies to our off-campus users as well," Reeves said. "People become understandably aggravated when sequestered, but they don't realize how many others are able to use the network because viruses are kept off."

She also said that in one month's time, approximately 4.5 million spam messages have been blocked from the network.

"It's made a huge difference across the campus," Reeves said.

While the new programs have performed well, there is another problem becoming increasingly difficult to handle: wireless Internet.

"When wireless routers are on the network, they're causing problems," said Arthur Brant, network administrator. Brant said a wireless router in Gardner Hall recently caused a major problem, leaving hundreds of students without Internet access.

"The stability of a wireless router is questionable,” Brant said. “There's just too many issues and too many questions."

Brant said all students in a residence hall on one wireless router are in danger of experiencing network failures at any time.

K.B. Massingill, chief information officer, said the campus wireless policy is evolving, and that there will be a clearer policy as time goes on. Although wireless routers are not currently prohibited in residence halls, Massingill said students are discouraged from using them.

"They can easily put us at risk from a security standpoint,"

Massingill said, "and that's a pretty big price to pay for a wireless router."

Massingill also said the policy isn't arbitrary but is based on the ramifications to the network.

"We're always going to do what we can to protect the ACU network community," Massingill said. "I don't want students left without Internet resources because someone wants the luxury of not having a wire going into their computer."

Wireless Internet access is in the Campus Center, Library and Mabee Business Building.

Massingill said a plan exists for spreading that access campuswide.

"There will be further deployment of wireless access by the end of the year," Massingill said. "and our plan will be to look at commonly used spaces first.”

Massingill said the new residence hall might act as a prototype to help understand how campuswide wireless Internet access would need to be installed.

E-mail Travis at: dxt02a@acu.edu

Wildcat Walk promotes health Walk for students, faculty encourages healthier lifestyles

By JULIA REID STUDENT REPORTER

Wellness Week coordinators and the Abundant Life Team have coordinated a one and onehalf mile walk called Wildcat Walk. The walk is intended to encourage students, faculty and staff to lead a healthier lifestyle.

The Wildcat Walk, scheduled for Friday, is open to students and faculty, and the deadline to sign up is Wednesday. Faculty and staff can sign up for the walk by calling Ext. 4808, and students can sign up in the Campus Center.

Suzanne Allmon, director of Human Resources and chair of the Abundant Life Team, explained why they decided to sponsor a walk this year.

“We wanted to continue to promote healthy lifestyles among faculty and staff,” Allmon said. “We believe that participating in a walk with the students is a great way to do that.”

Kerri Hart, Abundant Life Team member and instructor of the Department of Exercise Science and Health, said participants may break off from the group to do less or more than the rest of the group.

The walk will begin at 11:45 a.m. and will start and end at the bell tower located between Gibson Health and P.E. Center and the Campus Center.

The walk falls on the last day of Wellness Week, “Unstress Day.” Wellness Week focuses on helping students to become more aware of their personal wellness both physically and spiritually through different activities.

Allmon anticipates between 75 and 100 walkers to participate in the walk.

For their participation, the first 50 faculty and staff members who are members of the Abundant Life program and the first 50 students to sign up will receive a free step meter, which will aid in keeping track of how far they walk.

Participants are also encouraged to bring an old T-shirt and exchange it for a new one. The collected T-shirts will be donated to Healing Hands International.

Those who would like more information about the Abundant Life program or the Wildcat Walk can visit the Abundant Life Web site at www.acu.edu/abundantlife.

E-mail Reid at: optimist@acu.edu

CAMPUS NEWS

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Page 5

Movies inspire learning Professor uses unusual techniques to teach management course

“My philosophy of teaching is that my students should be energized, engaged and challenged.”

Dr. Jeffery Houghton, associate professor of management

By DANIELLE LINTHICUM STUDENT REPORTER

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Students cheer and wear white in support of the Wildcat football team Saturday at Shotwell Stadium as part of White Out, a program created by the College of Business Administration’s Marketing Club in which fans wear white to games instead of purple to increase school spirit.

White overshadows purple Marketing Club promotes school’s other color at games

By BRIAN SCHMIDT STUDENT REPORTER

Increasing fans’ unity and spirit was the goal of White Out, a program designed by the College of Business Administration’s Marketing Club that tried to get as many fans as possible to wear white to Saturday’s football game, said Dr. David Wright, assistant professor of management sciences and club adviser.

“White Out is an attempt to evoke greater support, increase fan spirit and unify the crowd,” Wright said.

White Out was created by the club officers, Wright said.

The officers collaborated with the Athletic Department and Jared Mosley, athletic director, to get spirit towels to pass out to fans entering Shotwell Stadium. Mosley said he was enthusiastic about the idea.

Marketing Club president Allison Stoll, senior marketing major from Tucson, Ariz., said she is trying to use White Out to decrease what she feels is an abnormal amount of apathy toward the football team.

“We are trying to create a feeling of excitement, enthusiasm and increased participation by the fans at football games because it feels like people don’t really care as much as at other places,” she said.

Stoll said members of the club heard of other schools and sports teams’ fans having white outs at games and wanted to generate that type of spirit at ACU that will carry over to future games and other sports.

The Marketing Club gives students a hands-on approach to the marketing world, Stoll said, and it is open to students who are not marketing majors.

“Its goal is to try to give members a chance to get experience in marketing,” she said, and “to be a leader and to implement programs.”

E-mail Schmidt at: optimist@acu.edu

Forums encourage discussion Sundaes on Mondays “I wasn’t sure that it was helping America, but now I’m sure it is helping America.” allow students to share opinions, ice cream Noel Cothren, sophomore art major from Albuquerque, N.M.

By SHAVONNE HERNDON STUDENT REPORTER

The office of Student Multicultural Enrichment encourages students to speak out about controversial topics in a forum setting called Sundaes on Mondays.

“This idea came to mind to start a discussion about issues that can be debatable because there aren’t any forums at ACU that deal with race, ethnicity and everyday issues,” said LaShae Sloan, director of Student Multicultural Enrichment and organizer of the event.

“When I was in college, we talked about things amongst ourselves but not out,” Sloan said.

She said Sundaes gets students talking about diversity and about secrets never shared with others, and they are able to learn from each other about topics they may not agree on.

Sloan said she named the forum Sundaes on Mondays because the idea is to “get students to talk about heated issues and feed them ice cream to cool them off.”

During the first meeting, students discussed affirmative action, its necessity and whom it benefits. Sloan said this topic led to a discussion about racism and white privilege. That discussion will continue at the next meeting.

Noel Cothren, sophomore art major from Albuquerque, N.M., said she learned a deeper aspect of affirmative action itself and how it has a lot of qualities.

“I wasn’t sure that it was helping America, but now I’m sure it is helping America,” she said.

Students who attended the first forum said they were able to speak freely, and they came

with the hopes of learning from others while having respect for them.

“Everybody that was there offered their opinion, and I learned a lot from their viewpoint,” Cothren said.

The attendance for the first Sundaes on Mondays was reasonable, Sloan said, but as the event progresses and gains more recognition, she said she hopes students will start flooding in.

Future topics will include discrimination among international people and Homeland Security.

Sundaes will meet the last Monday of every month. The next Sundaes on Mondays will be at 7 p.m., Oct. 25, in the Living Room.

E-mail Herndon at: optimist@acu.edu

Students sit in class, watching as Rocky trains for his famous match with World Heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed, Inigo Montoya avenges his father, and Andy and Red find new life in the Shawshank Redemption. No, this is not Film Appreciation; it is Dr. Jeffery Houghton’s business management class.

Dr. Houghton, associate professor of management, uses these clips as well as others from popular movies to demonstrate what he calls a “real world approach to management.” Houghton said he believes his unusual way of approaching class is more effective than a typical lecture.

“My philosophy of teaching is that my students should be energized, engaged and challenged,” he said. “Students who are enjoying the learning experience will learn more than unmotivated, unengaged and bored students who are not enjoying the learning experience.”

Houghton uses various creative tools, such as PowerPoint,

to keep his students interested.

“My PowerPoint slides are very heavy with photos and images that help me to tell important stories in class,” he said. “My entire class is very visual.”

Houghton also uses teamwork and leadership building exercises.

Houghton For instance, on the first day he divides the class into teams and gives each team a Wall Street Journal, a roll of masking tape and a full can of Dr Pepper. The goal is to make the tallest possible structure using the given supplies.

Houghton said this exercise is motivating because the most successful team receives bonus points.

These kinds of activities help students recognize the concepts of teamwork and leadership, Houghton said.

“Movie clips especially help the students to connect the management process with real life,” he said.

Houghton described one movie lesson that uses Rocky to demonstrate the management process and define the process of achieving goals.

“In order to achieve this goal, Rocky must plan his course of action, organize his resources and his efforts, and be motivated through leadership from himself or those around him,” Houghton said. “This is the basic management process, and I point out that the same thing is true for any individual or organization that wants to achieve its goals and objectives.”

Students say they are interested and have learned a lot in his class, not only because of his unique teaching style, but because of Houghton himself.

“I’ve really enjoyed his class,” said Elizabeth Canarsky, junior communication major from Waverly, Neb. “He is so energetic and because he is excited about the subject, then I am too. It’s like a chain reaction of energy.”

E-mail Linthicum at: optimist@acu.edu

Lemmons recognized as author Manager honored locally for writing Christian books

By LAURA STORK STAFF WRITER

Thom Lemmons, manager of the ACU Press and HillCrest Publishing, was recognized Tuesday at the Friends of the Abilene Public Library’s West Texas Authors of the Month luncheon.

Lemmons was one of two local authors recognized for the month of October.

The West Texas Authors of

the Month, which recognizes local authors who have published a book within the last 12 months, is the newest addition to the West Texas Book and Author Festival, the annual weekend event that showcases local authors’ books and helps promote reading.

The volunteer group that began the West Texas Authors of the Month is called the Friends of the Abilene Public Library.

Margaret Basquette, member of Friends of the Abilene Public Library, said that it is important to recognize authors.

“We believe that reading is

important, and you can’t read without authors,” Basquette said.

Lemmons, author of Sunday Clothes and King’s Ransom, said it is “nice to have folks in your hometown recognize your work.”

“A lot of people don’t realize that people in town are writing and publishing books,” Lemmons said.

Students can purchase Lemmons’ books, which are historical novels, in the Campus Store.

E-mail Stork at: las00f@acu.edu

Page 6

WednesdayPlus

October 6, 2004

The long journey from home D

r. John Tyson walked into the presidential palace in Antananarivo, Madagascar, one Saturday morning in November 2003 not knowing what to expect.

While visiting the country on the first U.S.Madagascar Business Council and trade mission, Tyson, vice president for development, represented World Christian Broadcasting, of which he is a board member, as well as higher education. He met with officials and delivered a message from ACU for the country.

“My message was that if the Republic of Madagascar was truly interested in developing the country and making its way out of poverty,” Tyson said, “then it would be important to invest in its most precious resource, which is the human resource.”

Tyson couldn’t help but notice the poverty of the country and the poor condition of the city. He also noticed its beauty.

French colonial style houses, tall with narrow roofs, line the crowded streets of the capital and reflect the influence France once had on the country. Smaller, red clay houses can be seen in fields along the roads and in the countryside.

Dressed casually for traveling home, Tyson said he was ushered through the palace to meet President Marc Ravalomanana. The palace is not the gaudy place Didier Ratsiraka, the former president, had built outside of the capital, Tyson said, but rather the same building Ravalomanana lived in as mayor of Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital city of 4 million people.

The president was wearing a dress shirt and jeans, and Tyson noticed on his desk the engraved ACU clock from The Campus Store he had given to the president’s chief of staff to deliver to him.

“Tell me about your university,” said Ravalomanana as the two sat down in his office.

Tyson described why he was visiting Madagascar and detailed ACU’s Christian mission. avalomanana leaned forward, Tyson recalled, then hit his desk with his fist and said, “That’s what I want. I want to send 22 students to your university.”

“Well we’ve never had one student from Madagascar,” Tyson said. “So of course I was taken aback and said, ‘Well, that’s wonderful. Tell me, what’s your vision?’”

The president began to describe the poor economic status of his country and said he himself is a Christian businessman and a capitalist who made his own fortune. He said he is OK financially, but most Malagasy aren’t.

Madagascar, an island nation of 17 million people off the southeastern coast of Africa, was a colony of France for almost 70 years, gaining independence in 1960. The nation endured socialist-leaning presidents, Tyson said, and the economy began to decline.

Ravalomanana was mayor of Antananarivo and ran for president in December 2001 against incumbent Ratsiraka, who had ruled since 1975, but the election results were inconclusive with both candidates claiming victory. Violence erupted, and for months both men claimed the presidency. In February of 2002, Ravalomanana declared himself president and was publicly affirmed in June by Wanda Nesbitt, U.S. ambassa-

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Journey preparations On Sunday, June 27, the final decision was made and the 22 students were selected, representing 15 of the 22 regions of the nation.

By July 3, all of the students had been notified and came to a meeting at the minister of education’s office.

When Carolle learned she had been accepted, she said her first reaction was to cry.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Only Carolle and one of the other students had been PHOTO COURTESY OF TED AND ELLEN PRESLEY Ted and Ellen Presley, Dr. John Tyson and some Malagasy students wait at the airport in Madagascar before coming to ACU. The out of the country before, with the other student being students will only be able to return to Madagascar once before they graduate; they will visit home in June 2006. the only one of the 22 who had a passport. Officials had a month to get the students passports, immigration docdor to Madagascar. Now, Tyson said, Ravalomanana is this one country. For the entire year last year, we uments and through interviews at the American received well over 4,000 applications from all other Embassy, as well as have the government pay for their trying to bring the country out of its economic crisis. tuition.

Madagascar’s main industries are agriculture and tex- sources for new students to ACU.” “So, when you stop and think about what all hapOnly students who graduated in the spring of 2003 tiles. Natives can be seen climbing the winding dirt roads throughout the city barefoot, some with baskets of were eligible to apply, and only about 20 percent of the pened in a very, very short period of time,” Tyson said, produce or merchandise balanced on their heads. The population in Madagascar attends high school, with the “it’s just an amazing story.” y the time the money was transferred to ACU average family sending its children to school from four average annual income is $800. from the government, the exchange rate had Ideally, Ravalomanana wanted one student from each to six years, sometimes as many as eight. The students fluctuated and enough money had been sent to of Madagascar’s 22 regions to attend ACU, and he was who applied, however, had finished high school and send 23 students. hoping to have them there in January. He indicated to were in their first years at a college.

“They recommended another student, and we Carolle Ranaivoarivelo was in her first year at the Tyson that the government of Madagascar would send University of Antananarivo when she heard about the offered to provide a 24th student’s scholarship,” Tyson the students, and he wasn’t asking ACU to pay.

When Tyson arrived at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport opportunity and decided to apply. She said she wanted said. “So in the end we’ve had 22 students come at one time and two come Sunday afternoon, he called Dr. Royce Money immedi- to study in America later, so 24 here because she considately. now.”

“You’re never going to guess what happened,” Tyson ered it one of the most The Presleys went said to Money. “Well, I don’t know how to explain this, powerful countries in back in July and met but basically, Madagascar wants to send 22 students to the world, and the with the students technology available ACU.” every day for two Back in Abilene, Tyson formed a team of people from makes it easier for one Dr. John Tyson Jr., vice president for development and alumni relations weeks, orienting across campus trying to plan exactly how to bring stu- to study. them about Ameri“It’s not everyone dents from Madagascar to the university, mapping out every possible obstacle in the journey and planning for who is given the opportunity to come to America to can culture.

“The biggest difference between virtually any country study; America is a kind of dream,” Carolle said. “Even if the needs of the students. or months, Tyson tried to communicate with I applied, I never imagined that I could dream I could in the world and the United States is our emphasis of the president’s chiefs of staff and protocol, but come to America.” individualism,” Ted Presley said. he didn’t get the reception he had anticipated.

Something they had to teach the students was that She mustered up the courage to apply, but she said In March, Tyson made a second trip to Madagascar to she didn’t think she would be chosen, being only one Americans may come across as being very selfish, Ted meet with the president’s new minister of education, person out of a thousand hopefuls.

Presley said, but it shouldn’t be viewed that way. who had not heard of the project, and with members of “Americans share and are involved in all kinds of ways “I was really nervous because 1,000 students applied, the World Bank to develop plans to send students to and it was a really great competition; in that case only to help other people as far as benevolence,” he said. “We ACU. the best can win,” Carolle said. “They wanted to select give more than most other people. But our sense of After many meetings, one of the World Bank repre- the best of the best, and I’m not the best so I was worried identity is wrapped up in self. ‘I am me,’ rather than ‘I sentatives finally said, “If the government wants to send [and] nervous, but I just said, ‘I have nothing to lose, but am a part of this family’ or ‘I am a part of this tribe, or 22 students to ACU, they can. What I really want to know things to gain in applying.’” culture group or ethnic group.’” he American Embassy in Madagascar received is would you be willing to consider building a branch of He said they tried to give the students basic tools for applications and provided a space to interview learning about another culture, how to go to another ACU in Madagascar?” the students, but did not take part in the deci- country, learn how to survive and learn about the cul“Well,” Tyson said, “we would be willing to take a look sion making process. at that, but let’s do one thing at a time.” ture.

Back on campus, admissions staff gathered data on At a meeting with Ravalomanana the next day, the “In other words,” he said, “we tried to help them minister of education told the president they had found the success of international students from French become kind of amateur anthropologists.” funding through World Bank to send 22 students to ACU, speaking schools to help develop criteria for admission.

The transition from Malagasy to American culture costing $2.6 million over four years. World Bank loaned Standardized test scores could not be required because was difficult for Carolle, but she said the Presleys helped the money to the government for full-tuition scholar- of the time constraints. her prepare for the change. One of the main differences Meanwhile, in Madagascar, a businesswoman who she said she has noticed is Americans’ self-reliance. ships, and the government paid the university.

“The president began to applaud,” Tyson said. “Well, provided support for internationals in that country “American people value self-reliance, but in my coundeveloped a matrix for analyzing students’ files. Then try, self-reliance is said to be something really bad we all began to applaud.”

Tyson and others narrowed the list of applicants to the because you’re thought as selfish,” Carolle said. top 150 prospects; a staff of four Malagasy narrowed the “We always taught ourselves that we need to get list to 75. together to make a bigger thing. The old tradition that Advertisements for the scholarships were broadcast The businesswoman was able to contact most of the says when you break you become sand, but when you in the month of May on national radio, television and in students to set up interviews, Tyson said, but some of come together you become strong, and that’s a Malagasy newspapers. At the end of the month, 1,031 completed the families lived in remote parts of the country and value – to never rely on yourself but to always listen to applications had been received. without telephones. what society needs, what society says.”

“Now to kind of get a little context,” Tyson said, “we “So, some of these students who came for their interTed Presley said he taught the students to learn how got over 1,000 completed applications within 30 days in views heard about it on the radio,” Tyson said. to look at a different culture objectively.

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“So when you stop and think about what all happened in a very, very short period of time, it’s just an amazing story.”

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Finding the students

FILE PHOTO BY EYAKEM GULILAT/Staff Photographer

Page 7

Madagascar sends 24 students halfway across the world to ACU

Ted and Ellen Presley, former director and international student coordinator for the Center of International and Intercultural Education, respectively, and Tim Johnston, chief strategic enrollment officer, went to Madagascar in June for two rigorous weeks of meeting with the 75 applicants, who took an essay exam and had a 20-minute interview.

“I was really, really, really nervous,” Carolle said.

“More than nervous, and I didn’t have confidence, but I’m in communications and I got to use the small amount of communication skills I have. Even though you’re scared, you have to hide your feelings sometimes, and that helped me. But I was really, really scared.”

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Malagasy students Carolle Ranaivoarivelo and Corine Goulam talk with a student at the welcoming reception Aug. 4.

WednesdayPlus

“Ethnocentrism is one of the most difficult plagues to get rid of because we all have it,” Ellen Presley said. “We think we are the best and what we do is the best, and so does everybody else. By trying to help them and teach them anthropology, you learn to look at something you observe that at first looks ridiculous [and] just simply state here is what I see.”

Other concepts, such as time, vary drastically from the Malagasy’s culture to Americans, said Ellen Presley.

For example, the word in Malagasy for future literally means behind, and the word for past means ahead. The future is behind them because they don’t know what it’s going to be, they can’t see it. The past is ahead of them because they know what happened and can see it.

“It’s a totally different concept,” Ellen Presley said.

“For us, looking into their concept is foreign.” ost of the students chosen are Christian, she said, with one Muslim. Tyson said many Christians in the country attend the Malagasy Church of Jesus Christ.

When Carolle applied for the scholarship, she said she didn’t know she would be attending ACU, or a Christian university for that matter. She is a Christian though, and said she was not forced into her faith by parents or others, but chose it. Her father is Catholic but she attended a Protestant church in Madagascar. She had never heard of the Church of Christ until she came to ACU, but that didn’t bother her.

“For me, as long as you pray to one God, the only God that is up above, and you believe in Jesus Christ, that’s the only thing that matters,” Carolle said.

Before the students were ready to leave for America, the Presleys walked through the steps and rehearsed going through immigration and the consulate at the airport, and what to say when questioned by immigration officers.

“It’s critical, it depends entirely on the immigration officer,” Ellen Presley said. “They have the power to say ‘I don’t think you’re a legitimate student, go home.’”

The Presleys also taught the students about American currency, how to write checks and use credit cards. One of the things that struck them, however, was the students’ reaction to the topic of money.

“Interestingly enough, we were talking about how they would probably need some spending money, and by their blank looks I knew something was not communicating,” Ellen Presley said. “So I said, ‘Well, when you go with your roommate to Wal-Mart and want to buy something like a CD or whatever’” you will need money.

“They all said, ‘“this is not our priority.’”

The students were provided with basic necessities, Tyson said, such as linens and toiletries. Members of the Hillcrest and University churches of Christ also have donated items to the students and taken care of other needs. The students will all have on-campus jobs to provide spending money.

Ted Presley added, “One of the girls said, “Why do we need money?” The Madagascar Presidential Scholarship provides tuition and room and board to the students, so they don’t see a necessity for anything else, he said.

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Saying Goodbye Tyson went back to Madagascar at the end of July, and when he arrived and met with the minister of education, he learned that Ravalomanana wanted to meet with the students. Tyson went to the American Cultural Center run by the American Embassy in Antananarivo, where the students were in class with the Presleys.

“The first time I ever met the students, I walked in and introduced myself and said, ‘My name is John Tyson, and the president wants to see you guys.’” he group found taxis and held up traffic as they wound their way through the narrow, crowded streets of the capital city. When they arrived at the palace, the president talked with them for more than an hour.

“He was very personable and talked to them very directly about his expectations and the fact that they were not just going for themselves but they were going for their country, and he expected them to come back and make a difference in the country,” Tyson said. “He had them all stand up and introduce themselves, and then he would call randomly on different people and

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they would get up and talk about what their dreams were and what they were hoping to do. It was remarkable.”

Parents, some of whom had traveled for two or three days to get there, were invited to a closing ceremony at the Hilton Hotel with the students. Representatives of the Malagasy government, the U.S. State Department World Bank, students and their parents, the national press and finally those from ACU joined together to mark the occasion.

The students sang “This is the Day the Lord Has Made” and “Make Me a Servant” to the crowd in English.

Afterwards, at a reception, Tyson said parents who could not speak English would talk, using their children as interpreters.

“They would try to say thank you for this opportunity and indicate ‘take care of child,’” he said. “It was very… well it was just overwhelming.”

Life in Abilene Carolle is having to adjust to life not only in America, but in Texas. Getting used to things as basic as food can be a task. Seeing a pot of beans in the Bean, she took a large scoop expecting the taste she is used to from back home. To her, they were too sweet, and she couldn’t stomach them. he is homesick. She has never left her family before, and her culture does not allow her to truly move away from her parents until she is married. Luckily, Carolle said, she uses the Internet and occasional phone calls to keep in touch with her family.

She said Internet cafes are prevalent in the cities of Madagascar, so most of the students have been able to contact their families.

“Yes, I miss them a lot,” she said. “I know it’s a great place, being here in America, but I can’t wait till I get

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EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer

Dr. John Tyson looks through mementos from a box given to him by Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana last November. back home because I miss home.”

The language barrier is also a problem. Six of the 24 students remain in English as a Second Language classes, trying to learn the language to be able to take regular courses. Carolle is enrolled in English, math, communication and Bible classes, but said she finds understanding her professors and peers difficult because of the speed with which Americans talk, as well as the dialects of Texans.

Once the students can overcome the language barrier and aren’t as homesick, she said, then they will be able to focus on their degrees and gaining knowledge to improve their country.

For now, Carolle is adapting to life at ACU and an American roommate. Leaving her country was the hardest thing she’s ever had to do, but she said Abilene is a great temporary home.

“Everything is so beautiful in Abilene,” Carolle said.

“That’s true, I’m honest.

“It’s not what I thought of America. I thought America was violence, I thought America was what I see in the movies; but here it is such a beautiful place, and it’s really a Christian university.”

STORY BY SARAH CARLSON

VIEWSWEDNESDAY OPTIMIST

Page 8

The issue: Six Gamma Sigma Phi members and pledges could face felony charges for stealing the Frater Sodalis crest from the new intramural fields.

Our view: The theft of the crest is an example of club rivalry gone too far.

The solution: Clubs need to restrict rivalries to properly established forums, like intramurals and Sing Song, not criminal pranks.

October 6, 2004

Pledging pranks turn into trouble for GSP Social club rivalry took an unacceptable turn during the weekend — from harmless practical jokes to alleged criminal activity.

The ACU Police began investigating on Friday morning the disappearance of the Frater Sodalis club crest from the newly built archway on the Larry “Satch” Sanders Intramural Fields across from Gardner Hall.

The investigation soon centered on six men — all members or pledges of Gamma Sigma Phi. Club rivalries are fine and

Campus missing usual complaints Two full years on the heard the last two years.

Optimist staff have taught me I can’t decide which pledgat least one thing about the ing season I like better: the one university: Students respond I’ve heard about the last two almost the years, or the one I am experisame way a- encing now.

The one I’ve heard about bout everything, every the last two years certainly seems like it would give the year.

Same com- Optimist more copy to fill its plaints about pages. Students are more likely meal plans, to have a vocal opinion if U n i v e r s i t y things are not going well and Ask the 100, Chapel they are no longer speaking to and the list a roommate.

Question goes on. I’ve Although, I will admit that I Jonathan gotten to have enjoyed pledging much Smith where I almost more this year because it has have to hear these responses to had no adverse effect on my know that life, the world and life. Freshman year, pledging the university are continuing just seemed to get in the way as they should. of my daily routine as neither However, strange things are me nor any of my friends were affected by it. happening this Last year, I year that have led me to one I’m still talking to think it was my duty as a sophoconclusion: nonPledging must and living with my more pledge to be bitnot have started roommate even ter about the yet.

More than though he pledged whole process. one whole week This year, has passed since Gamma Sigma Phi however, I have pledging supbeen able to last year, and I posedly began, watch pledging pledged the and the Optimist and enjoy and hasn’t received laugh at the Optimist. one letter from a quirky things disgruntled pledges have to group of studo. dents about how their seats in I’ve seen that my group of Chapel have been thoughtless- friends has not been torn apart ly invaded by a pledge class. after two pledging seasons, and The “Pledge Jesus. He bids yes, I’m still talking to and livall who come” T-shirts — ing with my roommate even someone’s oh-so-brilliant though he pledged Gamma protest against pledging the Sigma Phi last year, and I last two years — have yet to pledged the Optimist. make an appearance. Maybe I do not want to say those that tradition has finally died. types of things do not happen.

No one I know is no longer With hundreds of people speaking to a roommate be- pledging and even more cause they are pledging differ- already members of a club, I’m ent clubs, and none of the sure many people have lost groups of friends I know have some friends or drifted apart been ripped apart by clubs. because of the time pledging In fact four pledges sat in can drain from one’s schedule. my apartment last week: two But I have seen no proof of Squigs, a Kai-O and a Nunu. this being a widespread probNo one uttered a remotely lem plaguing campus. For the divisive word regarding her most part, for those who want respective club, and all remain to pledge, it seems like a good friends. If not for the eyesores experience for all involved. some were required to pin to Maybe pledging and I finaltheir shirts, I might not have ly have come to an agreeeven known they were pledg- ment — if it is true that pledging. ing actually has begun.

Is that supposed to happen once pledging starts? Not if I E-mail Smith at: optimist@acu.edu or jvs02a@acu.edu believed all the rumors I’ve

In Your Words Did you watch the presidential debates last week? Are you planning on watching the debates this week?

Daniel Barcroft

In My Words

Tumultuous season numbs Floridians The wind roars as it whips down streets, bending palm trees and turning horizontal sheets of rain into thousands of little pellets that sting the skin.

When a hurricane makes its way across land, “roaring” isn’t just an apt perGuest sonification of the storm. It’s column the sound that Jessica Smith people remember.

It’s a sound that Floridians have heard four times in six weeks. To say that this is unusual is an understatement; the last time four hurricanes hit one state in a season was Texas in 1886.

And this is the weather that a Texas transplant has learned to live in. Give me a greenskied tornado, golf-ball-sized hail or a West Texas thunderstorm any day. Those kinds of storms pop up in an afternoon, unleash their fury in a few minutes or hours and give way to clearer skies.

Hurricanes last for days.

People in the path watch for a week in advance as the hurri-

The last time four hurricanes hit one state in a season was Texas in 1886. cane gets closer and stronger.

Anxiety builds. Bottled water, canned food and gasoline are difficult to find.

As Hurricane Charley approached in August, my home of Tampa sat in the crosshairs. I was out of town, visiting my family on an airline ticket bought months before.

My mother was relieved, but I wondered what I was missing.

Charley jogged south and made landfall two hours away, barely affecting Tampa.

Frances loomed over the east coast on Labor Day weekend, posing an eventual threat to Tampa. My bosses urged the newspaper staff to stay at the office overnight if we were worried about wind and flooding preventing us from getting back the next day.

It was kind of like hurricane camp. We ate pans of Boston Market meatloaf and dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We watched 24-hour storm coverage on TV, and the editors made me listen to ’80s music.

The next day, I heard tropi-

cal storm force winds for the first time. They don’t sound much different than the Category 1 winds that hit Tampa during Jeanne.

The hurricanes’ paths formed a giant “X” through the center of the state, along with an ugly slash across the Panhandle.

The eyes of two of the storms have passed just north of Tampa. The city had billboards blown over, a few toppled trees, some flooded rivers and homes, streets closed until water drained and homes without power. But we didn’t see the real damage.

Compared to other places in Florida, Tampa is blessed. We got back to normal within a few days. Two of the storms had aimed at us, and we dodged the bullet at the last minute. Perhaps that survivor’s guilt brings a pervasive feeling that this storm season isn’t done with us yet.

But we might deny until the last possible minute that we were in danger.

We’re not foolhardy or reckless. We are numb.

Many have worked weird hours, missed school, sweated through humid nights without air conditioning, thrown out spoiled food in the refrigerator and cleaned the yard, and no one wants to do it again.

Pictures of hurricane damage used to be abstractions that meant little to me. I was sad for the people who were affected, like I might feel about victims of an earthquake, a car bombing or a famine, but I had no concept of the terrible buildup and anxiety, the flooding and the interminable recovery and clean-up. I might have seen only the outer bands of a few hurricanes, but I understand better now.

No one in Florida will forget this season; I won’t forget my first hurricanes. Or that roaring sound.

Jessica Smith is a 2002 graduate of the Journalism Department and former editor of the Optimist. She has just concluded two years as a copy editor at the Tampa Tribune and is now a full-time graduate student at University of South Florida. Email her at optimist@acu.edu

“No. I don’t know when they are.”

“I didn’t watch them this week because I didn’t really see the need to, but I should watch it this week so I can make an informed decision.”

“No, I did not watch the debates last week. I didn’t think about it.”

“I watched a little bit of it; it was the only thing on.

Watching the first one made me more interested in the second one.”

Ashley Ketchersid

Emanuel White

Emily Lippincott

David Sessions

sophomore business management major from Bloomington, Ind.

junior interior design major from Fort Worth

freshman family ministry major from Plano

senior Christian ministry major from Issaquah, Wash.

Editorial and letter policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist Editorial Board and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist, its Editorial Board or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors

However, they have done more to harm the name of Gamma Sigma Phi, and the university alumni who donated money might not see the finished product at the field’s ribbon-cutting ceremony during Homecoming.

Regardless of how the university handles discipline for the individuals involved, all club members should think about the consequences of any club prank.

Club rivalries have a place among the many club competitions, but none is worth police investigations and felony charges.

healthy if kept in When club members include criminal activity into also defaced property meant the proper forrivalry, all rationality has been abandoned. for all students um. Many of to enjoy. these forums Frater Sohave already been established through intra- felony theft if the university dalis worked to secure more mural sports and Sing Song, chooses to pursue that course of than $100,000 in donations — most of which came from club among other activities, and action. these places are appropriate to Even if the university forgoes alumni — to add lighting and a perpetuate the rivalries. pressing charges and instead fence around the field across However, when club mem- handles the discipline internally, from Gardner. The club did not bers include criminal activity the magnitude of the six men’s work to improve the intramural into the rivalry, all rationality actions must be kept in perspec- field for other Frat members; it was a gift to the entire student has been abandoned. tive.

Because of the value of the This action was not simply body.

The men involved might have $3,500 bronze crest, all six indi- one club acting against another. viduals involved with its Although members of GSP stole meant the stunt to affect the curremoval could be charged with the Frater Sodalis crest, they rent members of Frater Sodalis.

or to refuse to print letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79699 E-mail letters to: optimist@jmc.acu.edu

OPTIMIST THE

The Optimist Editorial Board

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Abilene Christian University

Editor in Chief

Opinion Editor

Chief Photographer

Faculty Adviser

Jonathan Smith

Jaci Schneider

Brian Schmidt

Dr. Cheryl Bacon

Managing Editor

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Lori Bredemeyer

Sarah Carlson

Kyle Robarts

Christi Stark

Optimist contact information Newsroom: (325) 674-2439

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Subscriptions ($45/academic year): (325) 674-2296

Online: www.acuoptimist.com

CAMPUS NEWS/FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Page 9

Theft: Students to go before panel Continued from Page 1 ations, he would be solely responsible for determining the disciplinary action; however, using the panel raises the importance of the situation to match the severity of the offense.

The hearing will be closed to the public because it involves only disciplinary actions from the university and is not yet a criminal matter.

Only if criminal charges are filed would more information regarding the case, such as the six men’s names, become public record.

Although all sides involved can only await Barnard and the panel’s decision, representatives from both Gamma Sigma Phi and Frater Sodalis have spoken about their positions.

Tim Yandell, sponsor of Frater Sodalis, said even if the theft was meant as a prank against the current Frat members, the ordeal has done more damage to alumni who donat-

“Consequences need to be justly paid, but as a club we want to hold our brothers up when they fall.”

Michael Hunton, president of Gamma Sigma Phi

ed money for the project and to all students who use the field.

Yandell and Frat members have worked two years raising more than $100,000 from members and club alumni to donate lighting and fencing around the intramural field.

Yandell said the donation was never meant only for Frater Sodalis but for all students.

“Just respect a gift that’s been given to all of y’all,” Yandell said. “I don’t want this sort of thing to ever happen again.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the intramural fields was to occur during Homecoming when many alumni who donated will be at the university; however, Yandell said that might have to happen now without the centerpiece of the archway — the crest,

which is currently being held as evidence.

Michael Hunton, president of Gamma Sigma Phi and senior management major Nashville, Tenn., acknowledged the Frats’ right to be upset, but he said the theft was not a clubsponsored or approved activity.

He said he is not aware of any specific actions that will be taken against the club and that the members will continue to cooperate.

“We’re going to do our best to make sure we act appropriately,” Hunton said. “Consequences need to be justly paid, but as a club we want to hold our brothers up when they fall.”

E-mail Smith at: jvs02a@acu.edu

Haiti: Fund-raising goal reached Continued from Page 1 doors of Moody Coliseum as students left. Donation opportunities were also made available at the “SA Live” tables in the Campus Center until 3 p.m. Monday.

Initially, Enzor said the goal of the donation campaign

was to raise between $5,000 and $10,000 to give the Gautneys. Before Monday’s collection, and with the help of churches around Abilene, HHI has raised roughly $5,000 to $6,000.

If students are unable to give, Enzor said, HHI needs volunteers and most of all

prayer for Haiti.

“The Devil is alive and well in Haiti,” he said. “Haiti has more Satanism per square mile than any other country.

Please pray that God will open their hearts.”

E-mail Lucado at: optimist@acu.edu

Poker: Staff supervises games Continued from Page 1 dence halls or what’s allowed by our sponsoring groups, whether they’re any student organization, social club or otherwise.”

Todd Ormsby, residence director of Smith and Adams halls, said although he has noticed a few poker games in Smith Hall, it’s not something he has encouraged, especially because of the stigma attached to the game.

“It just has that negative connotation to it regardless,” he said. “I do believe it to be like any other game … but because it’s poker, it’s known to people as a gambling game.

“I do believe it to be like any other game ... but because it’s poker, it’s known to people as a gambling game.”

Todd Ormsby, residence director of Smith and Adams halls

That’s why it’s probably best that we don’t play in the lobby because if a parent walked in and saw there were chips out and the guys were playing poker, they would assume there was gambling going on.”

Barnard said the important thing about allowing nongambling poker games in the residence halls is that they can be supervised.

“We know that we can’t control all behavior,” he said.

New Cricket Club seeking members Leaders looking to share international sport with students

By APRIL WARD PAGE 2 EDITOR

With wickets in hand, the Cricket Club is seeking students interested in learning to play the international sport of cricket. Under the leadership of Kate Smith, freshman psychology major from Cambridge, England, and Martin Walker, sophomore psychology major from Abilene, the club is hoping to promote interest in the sport.

Smith said Walker came up with the idea for the club after playing the sport in Africa.

“Martin learned to play at the school he went to in Africa,” Smith said. “I’ve played cricket for about five years, so he asked me to join since I’m from England.”

Cricket is played on teams of 11 players with a flat cricket bat and a ball. Smith said the object of the game is to knock down the other team’s wickets — poles that are stuck into the ground.

“It’s a bit like baseball, but not really,” Smith said.

Despite little participation in the United States, Smith said cricket is an important sport in other nations including England, Africa and Bermuda.

“My mom is from

Bermuda,” Smith said, “so I know it has a lot of national attention over there. Each year, they have Cup Match — a tournament on a four-day weekend between teams from the two ends of the island [who] play each other. On that weekend, all the shops close down so people can watch the tournament. No one has to work while it’s going on.”

Smith said the club here wants to play for fun and eventually make cricket an intramural sport on campus.

She said that although some people bring their own equipment, the club is open to anyone who wants to learn.

“The club is open to both boys and girls, and no experience is needed,” she said.

“We’re wanting to meet every Friday afternoon.”

Smith said that although an official time and meeting place have not been determined, students interested in playing can call her at Ext. 5122.

The group had its first general interest meeting on Friday.

“We had about 10 people show up,” she said. “I know of a lot more people that wanted to come but couldn’t make it, so we should have a lot of interest.”

E-mail Ward at: alw02b@acu.edu

“That is not the point. The point is to be actively involved in students’ lives so that we can have a positive presence in their possible choices.

“Our greatest concern is maintaining relationships with students so that we can continue to have a positive voice in their decisions.”

E-mail Bredemeyer at: lmb00g@acu.edu

Courtesy of CREATIVE SERVICES

David Leeson, senior staff photographer for the “Dallas Morning News,” rides through Baghdad last spring with the Task Force 2-69 Armor, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga. Leeson is being honored as Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.

Alumnus: Leeson won Pulitzer Continued from Page 1 aspirations, and you get a Pulitzer. It’s a great formula.”

This is the second year in a row an alumnus from the Journalism and Mass Communication Department has been awarded Outstanding Alumnus of the Year. Last year, Max Lucado, class of ’77, won the award.

Giddens said the Alumni Association tries not to choose alumni from the same department or college too often so every college is represented.

“I don’t think it’s happened since I’ve been on [the board],” she said. “This is unusual.”

Giddens said Leeson’s recent awards were considered but were not the sole reason for choosing him. She said the 36-member committee also considers the person’s continued contact with the school, his moral character and humanitarian activities.

She said along with the prominent professional recognitions, Leeson has remained active with the university and has been gracious about

speaking to students without charging a fee, as well as allowing the Optimist to publish his photographs.

“That just gives you an idea about the kind of person he is,” Giddens said. “It wasn’t just that he stayed close to the school, but what he has done in his community, his service leadership.

“He’s really gone out and showed the characteristics of what ACU stands for.”

E-mail Gower at: cng02a@acu.edu

Wade: Shankle looking to hire Continued from Page 1 fill his position. We’re going to redistribute his duties for one year at least.”

Aside from scrambling to reschedule Wade’s classes, the departments must deal with the loss of a popular teacher.

“It’s a loss, no doubt about that,” Willerton said. “He’s popular with his students and a very effective teacher.”

Dr. Nancy Shankle, chair of the Department of English, said she is also working to reschedule classes next semester.

“I’m looking for a part-time teacher,” she said. “We may wait to offer the classes next fall so we can find a teacher with matching qualification to Dr. Wade.”

She said she has been looking at students’ schedules, and the rescheduling shouldn’t affect any graduating this May. She also said that she will ask the Dr. Colleen Durrington, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, for permission to hire someone on a tenure track to replace Wade.

“We’re very sorry to lose

him,” Shankle said. “He is a wonderful member of the English Department.”

Although Willerton and Shankle will feel the loss of Wade in their departments, they said they appreciate Wade’s contribution to campus.

“It’s better to have a brilliant teacher for a few years than to never have had him at all,” Willerton said.

E-mail Schneider at: jrs02a@acu.edu

CAMPUS NEWS

Page 10

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Cell phones on campus Professors use various techniques to deal with phones in class

“I don’t want people to contact me all hours of the day. I want to have a little privacy in my life.”

Jenna Jillet, freshman ministry major from Gladwater

By EMILY CHASTAIN STUDENT REPORTER

The first day of Dr. Brent Reeves’ class was a quite a hit.

Literally.

When Joshua showed up late to the first day of Reeves’ management information systems class last semester, it gave Reeves a great opportunity to talk about punctuality.

When Joshua’s cell phone rang a few minutes later, it gave Reeves an even better opportunity to talk about cell phones. When Joshua actually answered the call, Reeves was through wanting to talk.

Walking over to Joshua, he said, “Son, may I see that phone?” Joshua grudgingly handed it over, and Reeves held up a hammer.

“This is my grandfather’s hammer, and I had brought it to illustrate a different point, but this will work.”

With that, Reeves simply placed the phone in the middle of the floor and smashed it to pieces. Politely returning the parts to Joshua, he said, “Son, I don’t believe this class is going to work out for you.

I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

While class members frantically grappled for their cell phones to quickly switch the ringers to silent, Joshua headed for the door. Just as he was leaving, Reeves’ voice called casually after him, “And tell Mom I’m going to be half an hour late for dinner.”

Reeves’ unique tactic for deterring cell phone usage is just one of many that teachers are beginning to employ.

Mobile communication devices such as cell phones are not anything new for students at ACU; however, their rapidly increasing popularity is changing the classroom setting in new ways. Cell phones, once just a mere nuisance in class, are quickly becoming an issue that demands attention.

According to the 2003 U.S. Census Bureau report, the number of cell phones in the United States is nearly 141 million. That means about one of every two people owns a cell phone. And on college campuses the ratio is even higher.

In the wake of this growing ownership and usage are the teachers who attempt to deal

with the rising amount of mobile communication devices in class. More and more faculty members are beginning to include cell phone policies in their syllabi in an effort to cut down on the distractions.

“It’s a disruption,” said Dr. Mark Riggs, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, whose syllabus contains such a policy. “For that person [with the cell phone], they’re not involved in class. If [the cell phone] goes off, it not only interrupts my train of thought but draws attention to them.”

Riggs said his approach is to ask students who answer a call in class to leave, and then to count him or her absent.

Jenna Jillet, freshman ministry major from Gladewater, said she too, like Riggs, believes cell phones have no place in the classroom.

“You’re in class to learn stuff, not to talk to your friends,” Jillet said. “I don’t want people to contact me at all hours of the day. I want Jinkerson to have a little privacy in my life.”

For Dr. Darryl Jinkerson, chairman of the department of management sciences, cell phones just aren’t that big of a deal. He wears one himself throughout the day, and has no problem answering it in class.

“I tell my students on day one that I wear a cell phone and bring it to class and leave it on, and the primary reason for that is I have three daughters,” Jinkerson said. “I’m a father first and a professional second. If it rings and it’s one of my daughters, I will take that call.”

Jinkerson added that he just expects his students to use good judgment and be considerate when bringing cell phones to class.

“I try to treat my students as professionals, and the reality is that most people carry a cell phone, certainly as a part of business.”

Pam Carroll, senior sociology major from Hampton,

Va., said her reason for having a phone with her at all times is solely work-related. As the assistant dorm director of Gardner, she said she takes her phone to class with her in the case of an emergency in the dorm.

“I bring it, but I always turn the ringer off,” Carroll said.

Though cell phones may be invading college culture, they are not yet addressed in ACU Student Guide.

Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of campus life, said in an email that he foresees a cell phone policy statement being written this year as an addition in the Student Guide.

Such a policy would address issues such as unauthorized pictures being taken via picture phones and students using text messaging during tests. While there has been no disciplinary action taken specifically in response to those problems, there have been reports of such activity, said Barnard.

He also said changes to the Student Guide would be implemented in February, following approval from the ACU Board of Trustees.

“I’m not opposed to student having cell phones,” Barnard said. “However, the responsibility of having a cell phone is to act in a mature way. Voicemail enables students to return calls later. I think this means that cell phones do not have to be answered during public meetings. Taking calls during class, church, movies, Chapel, etc. is rude and unnecessary.”

Meanwhile, cell phones continue to command attention in classrooms, and teachers like Brent Reeves are left to illustrate their “no cell phone” policies in all the creative ways they choose.

“Another guy here has a pickle jar,” said Reeves, referring to a technique his colleague uses. “He brought one with the pickle juice but with a cell phone in the bottom of it. He never says anything about it. But you get the point.”

E-mail Chastain at: optimist@acu.edu

Group promotes health Dietetic Association to help student be more nutritious

By HAYLEY JONES STUDENT REPORTER

Teaching students about healthy snacking will be the focus of the ACU Dietetic Association’s booth for Wellness Week. The booth will be set up in the Campus Center until Thursday.

“We are trying to put the word out about nutrition and that we have the education and ability to teach others to be healthy,” said sponsor Sheila

Jones, instructor of nutrition.

The Dietetic Association, comprised of nearly 20 nutrition majors, was started after nutrition split from the Family and Consumer Science Department and is primarily for students preparing to become registered dieticians, Jones said.

The Dietetic Association has a number of activities besides Wellness Week it is involved in.

Along with monthly and special meetings, one of the association’s activities is attending Dietetic Association conferences, including the Texas Dietetic Association Conference in Dallas. The association is raising money to attend the con-

ference by hosting two bake sales in the Campus Center. The items sold at the bake sales consist of nutritional ingredients only.

The first bake sale took place last week and was a success, Jones said.

The association also does food-related service with Christian Homes of Abilene, Meals on Wheels and makes food baskets for the local women’s shelter.

“The Dietetic Association is an absolute must for nutrition majors,” Jones said.

E-mail Jones at: optimist@acu.edu

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Jordan Lyons, freshman Spanish major from Tyler, gazes across campus as he talks with a friend on his cell phone on the steps of the Adams Center in front of the library Tuesday.

Computers up for auction Technology Support Services to auction old computers to buy new

“We used to keep machines until they got so old that they would be put in closets.”

Robert Schryer, Technology Support Services

By ELIZABETH NEWMAN STUDENT REPORTER

Computers and electronic equipment will be auctioned off to the public in the Hilton Room on Saturday with viewing starting at 11 a.m. and a live auction at 1 p.m.

The auction will allow the public to bid on Macintosh computers, Pentium machines and other computer accessories that were replaced through the computer replacement program. The profits will contribute to the purchase of new computers for the university.

“We used to keep machines until they got so old that they would be put in closets,” said Rob Schryer, lead hardware analyst for Technology Support Services.

“We wanted something where when we replaced a computer there would be some way to actually get some funds back instead of keeping them and holding on to the bitter end.”

The auction is the fourth one this year, and 50 to 100 computers are sold each time.

Each computer will be connected to a keyboard and mouse to allow prospective buyers to see how it works before bidding.

“This is a way for us to sell them in bulk and get them out to as many people as possible,” Schryer said. “We just don’t have the man power to do individual sales.”

Schryer said the last auction made over $14,000, which was enough to pay for 20 new computers, and he expects the profits from the auction Saturday to be between $5,000 and $10,000.

The old computers and accessories were sold to nonprofit organizations and schools or auctioned through Kincaid Auction Service and House in Abilene until Schryer volunteered to get his state auctioneer’s license in January.

Schryer said having someone on staff with an auctioneer’s license allows Technology Support Services to conduct the auctions on its own time schedule and avoid paying commissions.

“Because these computers are a limited resource, it also allows it to be as fair as possible instead of only a friend … getting the computers,” Schryer said. “Some might not have had a chance before,

but now they have a chance to get a reasonably priced computer.”

The computer replacement program, which was put into effect in June 2002, replaces roughly 500 to 600 computers out of the over 1,800 computers on campus every year.

The old computers are cleaned off, tested and stored until there are enough to have an auction.

Schryer and hardware analyst Bob Fletcher both volunteer to conduct the auctions with the help of student workers who volunteer to work extra hours on the weekends setting up, registering buyers and cleaning up.

Tara Earwood, senior history major from Albuquerque, N.M., was one of the student workers who helped with two of the past auctions, and she said they have gone well.

“They have some really good computers that you can buy for good prices,” Earwood said. “I was tempted to buy some myself.”

E-mail Newman at: optimist@acu.edu

Students encouraged to apply for WorldWide Witness Students can gain experience, knowledge through internship

By MALLORY SHERWOOD STUDENT REPORTER

Last summer, Justin Tuggle wanted to see what mission work was all about.

He spent 10 weeks in Chiang Mai, Thailand, evangelizing to university students alongside other Christians on campus, and he discovered something.

“Foreign missions is exciting,” said Tuggle, graduate student in Bible from Edmond, Okla. “It is a chance to really put into use your faith. You really find out what you believe in so you can communicate it to others.”

Tuggle participated in the WorldWide Witness program,

a program that sends students in teams of two to four across the world to 20 different locations for six to 10 weeks to apply what they have learned in the classroom to the real world by actually participating, said Wimon Walker, instructor in the department of Bible, Ministry and Missions and co-director of the program.

The program will accept students throughout the month of October. It is designed for students of Walker any major who are interested in interning and working with missionaries in a crosscultural setting, either in a different country or in the United States next summer.

“You really find out what you believe in so you can communicate it to others.”

Justin Tuggle, graduate student in Bible from Edmond, Okla.

Some of the internships include studying Spanish and working with cell churches in Mexico City, evangelism in Chile, outreach to youth in the Bronx, New York, working with students in the public school system in England, participating in urban and rural ministry in Tanzania and Uganda and working with youth in Australia.

Students who are interested in the internship can apply online at bible.acu.edu/witness, or call directors Wimon Walker or Gary Green for more information. Walker said interest meetings will take place later this week, and

students should know if they have been accepted and where they are going by Thanksgiving.

Brent Hines went to New Zealand last summer through the program and said he applied because he felt called to go.

“I’ve always wanted to travel, and especially to work with the church,” said Hines, sophomore international relations major from Belton. “As Christians, there is nothing else for us to do than to build up the church; if our purpose is just to be saved, then baptize me and kill me because it is the easiest way to go.”

After applying, students will be interviewed by the administration of the World Wide Witness program before beginning a training program, which begins in January, giving them time in December to begin raising funds to cover airfare and living expenses in the various countries. The precise amount to be raised depends on the location, but the average cost is around $3,000.

Since Chapel on Sept. 29, close to 40 people have shown interest in participating, Walker said, adding he hopes to have 75 people intern this summer. Since the program began three years ago, 110 total students have participated. It has continued to grow and this year has partnered with the program Let’s Start Talking.

This ministry sends teams

of students throughout the world to teach the Bible through conversational English using the Gospel of Luke.

WorldWide Witness is taking responsibility for recruiting and training students to participate in this program and travel next summer to Germany, Japan, Peru and Switzerland.

These programs were started to help students find an involvement with missions in their lives, Walker said. He said he wants students to go to experience missions firsthand and find out whether it is even for them or not.

“People should go,” Hines said. “Just go. Do something.”

E-mail Sherwood at: optimist@acu.edu

SPORTS JUMPS

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Page 11

Lights: Gaines reacts to hype Continued from Page 12 blood.”

Ryan Rutledge, freshman fullback and math major from Lancaster, said even though controversy surrounds the film, he is intent on watching it.

“It’s a football movie, so I gotta go,” Rutledge said.

“Most of what I heard about the book made him out to seem like an un-Christianlike guy. From what I know, he’s nothing like that.”

Former ACU running back Willie Williams is also ready to watch the movie.

“I know what the book is saying,” said Williams, senior business management major from Houston. “As far as the movie is concerned, when it comes out, I don’t know how inflated or deflated they are going to make these issues seem.”

Williams, who is also black, read Friday Night Lights as a junior in high school, and he said he was shocked and initially felt weird to find that he would be playing for the former Permian coach.

Despite the negative portrayal of Gaines in the book, Williams said he hopes people don’t judge Gaines unfairly.

“I just hope that whatever the end results of the movie brings, or what coach has done in the past, I hope it doesn’t label the man on his past actions,” Williams said.

“What we have done in the past doesn’t represent who we are right now.”

KTAB-TV Sports Director David Bacon said it is likely that the controversy surrounding the book may have to be over emphasized to meet Hollywood’s standards.

“Unfortunately, for movies, they will probably hype it up,” said Bacon, who has read the book and plans to watch the onscreen edition. “My fear is that they’ll try to play on the controversy.”

Bacon, who has also been the voice of Wildcat football for the past 20 years as the play-by-play announcer, said the book unfairly portrays Gaines.

In the early ‘90s, Bacon tried to do a piece on Gaines while Gaines was coach of Abilene High when speculation ran wild that Ron Howard was set to direct a first version of Friday Night Lights.

At the time, Gaines was not willing to talk about the topic and was noticeably upset about the inquiries. Gaines did tell Bacon that he wished he never agreed to do the book.

With the story of Friday Night Lights hitting so close to home, Abilene’s Century Theaters has been preparing for the release of the movie.

Jalynn Johnson, house manager for Century Theaters, said the anticipation for the movie’s arrival has

been growing in the past weeks.

“We have got calls from people asking about selling out and pre-ordering times for the movie,” Johnson said. “It could be as big as The Passion.

It could be that big.”

Johnson said the city of Odessa will be premiering the movie Hollywood style, complete with the appearances of Bissinger, Billy Bob Thornton, who portrays coach Gaines, and director Peter Berg, as well as other Hollywood stars.

To promote the movie, Johnson said that Universal Studios and Century Theater’s home office began a contest, with the prizes being two tickets to the premiere and after party along with two tickets to the next year’s Rose Bowl.

With the movie ready for release, it would be easy for Gaines to begin to feel like he once did. But time and an unexpected visit have helped ease the bitterness he once felt.

About three months ago, Bissinger went by Coach Gaines’ office early one morning after Bissinger visited Odessa. The two talked for about 30 minutes, talking about each other’s families and about life.

It was the first time the two men had spoken since that football year in 1988.

“We had a nice visit,” Gaines said. “We talked about old times.”

RALPH NELSON/Copyright: © 2004 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines and Garrett Hedlund as tailback Don Billingsley in Imagine Entertainment's adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's prize-winning book “Friday Night Lights.”

Gaines said it is understandable that the community of Odessa was split in their response.

“Any book that tells about a community is going to bring mixed reactions,” Gaines said.

“Half of them are going to like it, and half of them are not.”

Gaines still keeps in contact with the city of Odessa.

He regularly attends the Joel Beene Golf Tournament, which raises money for the

former Permian football player who was paralyzed four years ago. Odessa is also a yearly recruiting stop for him.

“All the places that you coach, you like to see the team have success,” he said. “And this year it looks like they may have another good one over there.”

As far as the movie is concerned, Gaines said he has no idea how this medium will showcase the ’88 Permian

team.

“I don’t really know what is going to be in the movie,” Gaines said.

“Hollywood can Hollywood things up. They can embellish it and think what the book was about or not.

Like I have been telling everyone, I just hope it turns out well.”

E-mail Gonzalez at: rjg03a@acu.edu

Football: Team drops second straight Book looks at racism, town’s ignorance Continued from Page 12 to pull the score to within seven points at the end of the third quarter, and after stopping Southeastern and forcing a punt, the Wildcats had a chance to build off the touchdown drive. However, Gaines’ fumble on the second play was returned for a 27-yard touchdown as the Savages doubled the Wildcats’ score 28-14 from which ACU could not recover.

“I was proud of our defense, they held them to 288 yards when they had been averaging well over 400; I’d say that was the highlight,” head coach Gary Gaines said.

“It’s hard to tell how they’ll respond; we need to get on the same page and play a complete game,” Gaines said. “We shot ourselves in the foot for the second straight week with turnovers, and we only had the ball for 28 minutes.”

On the up side, the Wild-

cats aren’t out of any playoff race or even out of the LSC South Division crown, but the team will need to get tough as the last five games of the season all come against south division opponents.

The team will look to take advantage of a struggling Angelo State team Saturday at Shotwell Stadium. The kickoff will be at 2 p.m.

E-mail Robarts at: kdr00c@acu.edu

Tennis: Cats to defend LSC title Continued from Page 12 splitting up the teams. I was very pleased.”

Summer Beesley, Rachel Taylor, Ashley Hawk-Caperton and Lana Pavlin attended the tournament at the University of Kentucky. The Wildcats competed s t r i c t l y a g a i n s t Division I competition, none of whom where lower than 55th in the Caperton nation last season.

“The level was by far the toughest I’ve ever been involved in,” Jones said.

“You’re not going to run into easy matches.”

The matches were indeed tough, but while all four lost their first match none of them left without at least one win. Pavlin won two singles matches and beat Alex de

Guzman of William and Mary 6-1, 3-0 (retired) to finish 13th. Hawk-Caperton and Pavlin won two doubles matches, and Beesely and Taylor won one doubles match. Jones said that while the team “took their lumps” with the win-loss percentage, they were competitive and took many matches to three sets.

“I’m not like other coaches that don’t believe Taylor in moral victories; I believe in moral victories,” Jones said. “I was real pleased with how we competed.”

The Wildcats will get right back into action in the LSC Individual Championships this weekend. With the experience the team has and the level of competition they have played against this year, Jones said he is expecting the

players to do well.

“I feel like we’re ready to go, to finish off the fall,” Jones said.

“We might be a little road weary, but we just had some opportunities, and I thought we needed to get some young players a lot of match play.”

The Wildcats have seen plenty of match play: This weekend will mark the fifth straight week the Wildcats have been in a tournament.

ACU is the defending conference champions, and Jones said they’re ready to re-establish themselves as the top team.

“We’re looking to show we’re still the ones to beat,” Jones said.

The tournament will be both Friday and Saturday and will be at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.

E-mail Gray at: weg02a@acu.edu

Author’s perception of racism still eats at Gaines 15 years later

By BRIAN ROE SPORTS WRITER

A movie with direct ties to ACU will be released Friday in theatres nationwide. Friday Night Lights is the big-screen version of H.G. Bissinger’s acclaimed book Friday Night Lights that details the 1988 football season at Permian High School in Odessa, just 180 miles west on Interstate Highway 20.

ACU head football coach Gary Gaines was the head coach at Permian High in 1988.

In March of 1988, H.G. Bissinger, an editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer, visited Odessa for the first time. Bissinger wanted to write a book about how high school football could define the very core of a town. Once he visited Odessa, Bissinger knew he wanted the book to be about Permian High School.

Bissinger convinced Gaines to let him spend a season with his football team. He moved his family to Odessa in July 1988, and the newspaper editor’s sole purpose was to spend every waking moment with the Permian football team.

During the course of the season, Bissinger attended every practice, every meeting and every game involving the Permian Panthers. He went to school with the players, went to church with the players and interviewed more than 100 people for his book.

Fifteen years later, the book remains controversial because of its portrayal and description of topics such as race, politics and the education system in Odessa. In alternating chapters, Bissinger chronicles the Panthers’ season and their town, in the process portraying many citizens, coaches and players as racist and ignorant.

The author quotes various sources from Odessa using derogatory language toward minorities.

The martyr of Bissinger’s story is running back Boobie Miles. The star running back of the team, Miles was injured in the preseason and never returned to full health. Bissinger relates the story of Miles’ life

and going from the star player to just another black football player.

Bissinger also writes extensively about the education system in Odessa and the influence of football in every aspect of the district’s budget and decision making. According to the book, the school district spent more money on football medical supplies than on the entire English department. It also says that of the entire 26,000 students in the district, only one was a National Merit Scholar.

Bissinger has said many times through the years that he liked and respected Gaines and that the two grew close during the 1988 season. Most readers agree with the author that Gaines is not portrayed in a negative light, but Gaines has said the book still affects him negatively.

“I was the captain of that ship,” Gaines said. “I was responsible for those players and coaches.”

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger is published by Da Capo Press, copyright 1990, 365 pages. Available locally at Waldenbooks and Hastings.

E-mail Roe at: bpr00a@acu.edu

SPORTSWEDNESDAY OPTIMIST

Page 12

ACU coach portrayed in upcoming film

LSC South Standings Football Team Div. 1. A&M-Kingsville 2-0 2. Midwestern State 2-0 3. E. New Mexico 2-0 4. A&M-Commerce 0-1 5. ACU 0-2 6. W. Texas A&M 0-2 7. Angelo State 0-2

Tot. 4-0 4-1 3-3 2-3 2-3 1-4 0-6

Volleyball Team 1. Angelo State 2. ACU 3. A&M-Kingsville 4. Tarleton State 5. E. New Mexico 6. West Texas A&M

Div. 2-0 2-0 1-0 0-1 0-2 0-2

October 6, 2004

Tot. 15-4 16-5 7-12 13-8 12-5 11-9

Scores Thursday

Anticipation increasing for movie’s Friday premiere

By RUBEN J. GONZALEZ STUDENT REPORTER

When the controversial pages of H.G Bissinger’s book Friday Night Lights hit the big screen Friday, don’t expect to see ACU football coach Gary Gaines to be the first person in line buying a ticket.

At least not anytime soon.

“I will eventually watch it, I’m sure,” Gaines said. “But right now, I don’t think I will have much time because I’m in the middle of this football season. After the season, I may watch it.”

Gaines, who was the coach staff as playing racial favorites of the 1988 Permian High on the team. There was the case School football team that is of the black star running back, depicted in the movie, has still Boobie Miles, and the somewhat never read the book. In fact, useless attitude the staff had for many people who have read it him after he sustained an injury don’t recognize the book’s from which he never fully recovered. Then there was the Gaines to the one they know.

With Friday’s nationwide look-away stance Bissinger release, Gaines is aware that the wrote about that the coaches practiced when movie may resurFNL Book Review it came to the rect a past he has Page 11 black players tried to avoid. and their failing Much of the local controversy surrounding grades.

It is a notion Gaines denies. the book stems from Bissinger’s “We treated our players all portrayal of a football-crazed Odessa that strongly supported the same,” Gaines said. “But this its team but was also a well of was a case of the ‘eye of the deeply rooted racism and beholder.’ It is what he perceived.” hypocrisy.

In fact, many current WildIn the book, Bissinger subtly paints the Permian coaching cat players cannot believe the

way Bissinger depicted Gaines.

ACU defensive back Danieal Manning, who is black, said he was curious to ask coach Gaines about the movie and book but was cautioned by the Wildcat coaching staff to be careful not to rehash old memories concerning Friday Night Lights.

Regardless, Manning said nothing anyone else thinks could

change his mind about Gaines.

“He’s a great coach and man, too,” said Manning, sophomore exercise and sports science major from Corsicana. “To me, I wouldn’t believe none of that stuff in the book. A person wouldn’t change that much. You would still have it in your See LIGHTS Page 11

Volleyball ACU 3, West Texas A&M 0

Saturday Volleyball ACU 3, Eastern N.M. 2 Football SE Oklahoma State 35, ACU 14

This week in Wildcat sports... (home events in italics)

Wednesday, October 6 WCC: at NCAA II regional, 10 a.m.

Thursday, October 7 VB: at Tarleton State, 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 9 VB: at TX A&MKingsville, 2 p.m.

FB: Angelo State, 2 p.m.

Tuesday, October 12 VB: St. Edward's, 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 14 VB: at Angelo State, 7 p.m. (above) photo courtesy of UNIVERSAL PICTURES (below) BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Billy Bob Thornton (above) stars in “Friday Night Lights” as head coach Gary Gaines (below). The film opens Friday and depicts the 1988 Permian High School football season.

Turnovers plague Cats Team gains experience Five turnovers, 21-0 hole keep team from improving record

By KYLE ROBARTS SPORTS EDITOR

The Wildcat football team struggled with turnovers for the second-straight week and as a result fell to 2-3 at the hands of Southeastern Oklahoma State. The 35-14 score wouldn’t look so bad, had it not been for the Savages quick 21-0 start in the first quarter.

If the game had started in

Football the second quarter, the score would have been tied at 14 all.

However, the first quarter was played and the Wildcats can only look at what could have been had they not allowed such a quick start for Southeastern.

Offensively, the Wildcats looked sluggish as starting quarterback Greg Wiggins threw two interceptions for the second-straight week and left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle.

Brock Pierce stepped in during the latter half of the fourth

quarter and also threw an interception. Mark Gaines and Rashon Myles each fumbled at key times during the game to give the team a total of five turnovers on the day.

After the defense stopped the Southeastern offense at the beginning of the third quarter, the Wildcat offense had a great opportunity with their starting field position beginning at their own 38. They drove to the 50, but then Myles lost the ball.

Jerale Badon caught a nineyard touchdown from Wiggins See FOOTBALL Page 11

Competitive matches prepare Wildcats for LSC championships

By WARREN GRAY SPORTS WRITER

The ACU women’s tennis team had an up-and-down weekend in Lubbock and Kentucky.

The Wildcats came back from Texas Tech with three third-place finishes from the Scarborough Specialties Open.

Up north, all four Wildcats at the Kentucky Fall Invitational in Lexington, Ky., lost their

Women’s Tennis first-round matches in the toughest competition they’ll face this year.

In Lubbock, Meagan Brown and Alison Tetrick had an upand-down time of their own.

Brown lost a second-round match in the second flight but recovered to defeat Karissa Walker of the U.S. Air Fore Academy 6-2, 6-1. In Flight F, Tetrick also suffered a secondround loss but won the consolation title by beating Texas State’s Laura Gomez 6-4, 6-1.

Tetrick captured another consolation prize in doubles

as she teamed up with Joy Israel to knock off Alcan Butain and Jessica Lee of North Texas, 9-8. Holly Lindloff finished fourth in Flight C singles after losing to Texas Tech’s Kalann Wagley 6-2, 6-2 in the third-place match.

ACU coach Hutton Jones was in Kentucky with the rest of the team but said from what he heard, those in Lubbock played well.

“It sounds like we did well,” Jones said. “I took my top four to Kentucky, and our results were very strong with See TENNIS Page 11

Wildcats slip by Greyhounds Team moves to 2-0 in LSC South Division Play

By BRIAN ROE SPORTS WRITER

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Junior setter Lindsey Martin sets up a teammate during Saturday’s match against Eastern New Mexico. The Wildcats took the match in five games and won their 10th-straight contest.

The Wildcat volleyball team extended its winning streak to 10 games Saturday afternoon, winning a match against Eastern New Mexico in Moody Coliseum.

The Wildcats were coming off an emotional victory Thursday night over longtime nemesis West Texas A&M, soundly defeating the Lady Buffs 3-0 for the first time since 1993.

ACU struggled against the Greyhounds on Saturday, rallying from an 11-3 deficit to win game one 30-27 before dropping game two 30-25.

The Wildcats dominated

Volleyball game three 30-18, but then fell in game four, losing 3027.

ACU regrouped in the fifth and final game, winning 15-6 to cap its second victory against an LSC South Division foe.

The Wildcats improved their record to 16-5 overall and 2-0 in conference, Delabano and through Monday, sit atop the LSC South Division tied with rival Angelo State. Both Angelo State and ACU beat West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico, who have fallen to sixth and fifth in the standings respectively.

Junior outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt led the

Wildcats with 25 kills and 23 digs. Bernhardt posted four of her 25 kills in the deciding fifth game. Junior middle blocker Amanda Slate — who had 13 kills in the match — finished the match off on a kill from setter Lindsey Martin, who distributed a game-high 70 assists.

Sophomore outside hitter Callie DelaKindred bano finished with 17 kills, junior middle blocker Amanda Motola added 14 kills, senior middle blocker Sophia Kindred hit .304 with 12 kills and senior libero Kellen Morrow added 23 digs in the victory for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats remain undefeated at home this season with a perfect 6-0 record.

Head coach Brek Horn said the plan is to go undefeated at home the entire season.

ACU will next look to build a road streak as it plays six of the next seven matches away from Moody Coliseum.

The Wildcats played last night in Lubbock against LCU and will hit the road Thursday going to Stephenville to face Tarleton State at 7 p.m. and traveling to Kingsville Saturday to play against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 2 p.m.

Through Monday, Texas A&M-Kingsville stands 1-0 in the LSC South, while Tarleton is 0-1.

E-mail Roe at: bpr00a@acu.edu