OPTIMIST THE
FRIDAY January 21, 2004
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Vol. 93, No. 30 1 section, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Serving the ACU community since 1912
Joining ‘Good Company’:
Hoping bracelets provide relief:
Upsetting victory:
In Good Company breaks the mold of the typical comingof-age story. Page 5
The Students’ Association joined with Pepperdine University to sell bracelets to raise funds to send as tsunami relief. Page 4
The Wildcats defeated the No. 11 team in the nation, Angelo State University. Page 8
Two released from hospital after fatal wreck Five still hospitalized after incident involving Highland Church youth By LORI BREDEMEYER MANAGING EDITOR
A wreck Sunday afternoon involving a vehicle full of middle school children has deeply affected the ACU community after one boy died and seven others were injured in a
rollover. Members of Highland Church of Christ were returning from Winterfest, a youth rally in Arlington, when the wreck occurred at 2:45 p.m. Julie Folwell, 49, was driving west on Interstate 20 a little more than a mile west of Putnam when she ran off the road into the center median, then overcorrected to the right, said Bill Russell, senior state trooper who was at the scene. The GMC Yukon XL
rolled one and a half to two and a half times, and all eight passengers were wearing their seat-
his funeral service was Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Highland. He is survived by his
“The families feel greatly buoyed; they feel a wonderful lift of support in prayer from everybody.” Dickie Porche, an elder and involvement minister for Highland Church of Christ
belts, Russell said. Brody Bourland, 11, was pronounced dead at the scene, and
parents, Bret and Jennifer Bourland, and brothers Taylor Hill, 17, and Brock Bourland, 7,
according to his obituary. His father is an alumnus of ACU. Dickie Porche, an elder, administrator and involvement minister for Highland, said the church family and community have responded in an amazing way. “The families feel greatly buoyed; they feel a wonderful lift of support in prayer from everybody,” he said. “… Life is not normal for them right now. We’re thankful that those who
were injured are going to be better, but we just don’t lose sight of the fact that one family lost their child.” Porche said those injured in the wreck have suffered numerous injuries and are continuing to recover. Three passengers remain at Cook Children’s Health Care System in Fort Worth. A hospital official said the boys are in See WRECK Page 7
Committee presents core course proposal Faculty could vote on curriculum change by the end of this semester By SARAH CARLSON ARTS EDITOR
storm for a Center for Student Involvement—a central place on campus where students could go to find ways to be involved with the university. Right now, SA’s main focus lies on Sunday’s Invision, a dinner for student groups and leaders to meet together. Rouse said the theme for this dinner will also Rouse center around transition and helping student groups prepare to pass leadership to future classes.
Faculty were presented with three scenarios for changing curriculum before the start of the semester by the General Education Review Committee, which is reviewing the university’s core courses for the first time in 15 years. Dr. Jeff Arrington, associate dean of Campus Life and chair of the committee, said the committee will receive feedback from faculty on the proposals in order to present a formal proposal for the faculty to vote on by the end of the semester. “We want the proposal that we vote on to be informed on the feedback we get over the next six weeks,” Arrington said. Core courses are mandatory for students regardless of their Arrington major, such as exercise science, Bible, history, science, English, math and communication, among others. Arrington said part of what the committee is evaluating are Student Learning Outcomes, or the skills, knowledge and values of students when they graduate in relation to the mission of ACU, and how the core courses are contributing to them. The proposals all vary in the courses chosen to remain unchanged and those that will be cut or added on to. Part of the proposals are calling for an enhancement of the quantitative reasoning and communication skills of students, to which Arrington said he has received positive feedback from faculty. “This is a very complex process,” Arrington said. “We’re looking at the broad base part of the curriculum that the faculty as a whole is responsible for.”
E-mail Smith at: jvs02a@acu.edu
E-mail Carlson at: skc02a@acu.edu
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Lydia Spies, senior pre-physical therapy major from Glen Rose, waits to donate blood as Velma Barker, phlebotomy supervisor for the Blood Center of Abilene, prepares the needle Tuesday in the Hilton Room of the Campus Center. Students typically have several opportunities each semester to donate blood.
Students’ Association focuses on transition SA president Rouse says he is excited about what Congress accomplished By JONATHAN SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Although the first Students’ Association meeting Wednesday passed without any official business, executive president Layne Rouse said he has plenty to be excited about. Looking back on his first semester as president, Rouse said he is proud of what Congress was able to accomplish for the students. “It’s been exciting to watch Congress catch a hold of the idea they can make a difference on cam-
pus,” Rouse said. To make his point, Rouse points to Congress members successfully petitioning to have The WB television station added to campus cable and working with the administration to have the Sikes Hall parking lot connected to the Williams Performing Arts Center lot. Looking to this semester, Rouse said Congress has at least one overarching theme—transition. “Congress is catching on to the idea that it’s not just a year they’re working on — they’ll be handing on the baton to future congresses,” Rouse said. Some of the main projects SA already is involved with will be projects begun but not completed
by this Congress. Rouse said SA is working on a plan to be involved with Project Abilene, in which students will be able to be involved with the neighborhoods surrounding campus. Although the actual project might not begin this semester, Rouse said SA should have a plan to present to students this semester. Rouse said he will also continue working with administrators to build the foundation for a leadership minor—an idea he began discussing with Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, provost, during the summer. Rounding out projects and goals for SA this semester, Rouse said Congress will continue to brain-
Thursday Chapel adjusted New format to include chance for questions, feedback from students By LORI BREDEMEYER MANAGING EDITOR
The Spiritual Life Core has finalized plans for Thursday Chapels that will tackle tough issues and present various points of view on each topic, said Mark Lewis, director of spiritual life. Lewis said the meeting will be less formal than regular Chapel and will “present different perspectives about those issues and then invite students to dialogue.” Students can still attend small-group Chapels, but the Thursday meeting in Moody Coliseum will be an option for students who are not part of a
small group. The Spiritual Life Core has compiled a list of possible topics, which includes sexual purity, same-sex attraction, abortion and euthanasia, among other things. Topics also will be chosen from student-submitted suggestions that coordinators collected in the first community-formation Chapel on Thursday. The theme, 18:38, will based on John 18:38 in which Pilate asks, “What is truth?” Lewis said the first 15 minutes of Chapel will be reserved for a panel to present various views on the day’s topic, and during the second 15 minutes, students will have a chance to ask follow-up questions or give their opinion on the issue. He added that the community-formation Chapels will allow the speakers to go more in-depth
than time usually permits during normal Chapel. “The hope is that as the audience is listening, they’re hearing their viewpoint or something close to it represented right there on stage,” Lewis said, “which will hopefully give them a sense of ownership in the process.” Todd Ormsby, member of the Spiritual Life Core and residence director of Adams and Smith halls, said one initiative is to challenge what students think and believe. “We really started thinking about how we can engage them (students) in a way that really our objective is not to tell them all the answers but to try to let them think for themselves … (and realize) ‘Oh, maybe everybody else on campus doesn’t See CHAPEL Page 7
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Stephen Moore, assistant professor of English, Bonnie Buchanan, junior studio arts major from Lubbock, Ashley Carr, junior interdisciplinary major, and Tim Inwood, senior interdisciplinary major from Rockwall, discuss their positions on lying in the new community-formation Chapel, which will include panel discussions.