WEDNESDAY March 23, 2005
OPTIMIST THE
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Vol. 93, No. 44 1 section, 10 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Serving the ACU community since 1912
All in a day’s work:
Organizers push bash back:
Softball team scores:
The features page focuses on the job of Eddie McFadden in Physical Resources. Page 8
The Tri-University Bash, originally scheduled for March 18, has been rescheduled for April 15 to give planners more time to organize the event. Page 5
The Wildcats won three of four games against TAMUKingsville last weekend. Page 10
School requests land rezoning Area near campus entrance would turn to single-family zone By SARAH CARLSON ARTS EDITOR
The university has requested that the city rezone the area across from its entrance on Judge Ely Boulevard from a College/University zone to a Residential Single-Family zone. The university made the request to the Planning and Zoning Commission, a recommending body of the City Council, and the item was discussed at a public hearing March 7. It was passed by the commission with recommendation to the council, which will not vote to formally approve the proposal until April. Lots 16 through 33 on Pemelton Drive in University Hills have been owned by the university and been for sale for some time, said Kevin Watson, associate vice president for administrative services, in an e-mail. “We have not been in a hurry to sell them because they sit at our front door,” Watson said, “and so we
wanted to be careful about how this area would build out.” A developer approached the university about buying the remaining lots on Pemelton Drive, and Watson said once the university was able to gain assurances from him of the type and quality of homes that would be built on the site, they were willing to sell the lots to him. They have asked the city for a Patio Home Overlay, which would allow for the same types of homes to be built along Pemelton Drive that are in areas such as Country Meadows south of Abilene Christian Schools. “We believe it will help maintain a good strong residential area,” Watson said. Residents in the University Hills area “will have new neighbors as the houses go up, and [it] should help them maintain their property values.” The university also requested to rezone the house used as the Alumni Relations office on the corner of Washington Boulevard and East North 16th Street, as well as the house next to it, from a
Weather proves unpredictable
Upcoming Optimist dates
History shows April in Abilene can range from dry to wet, snowy
Because of the school holiday, the Optimist will not be printed Friday. No newspaper will be printed April 8 while most of the staff attends the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference in Dallas.
what the weather will be like this season. Michael Decker, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Angelo, said, “Abilene is somewhat caught in between variable weather predicaments. “We receive a lot of cold fronts that travel from Canada down through the Central Plains to Abilene,” he said,
By BRANDON E. COOKS STUDENT REPORTER
Spring in Abilene is a time of unpredictable weather, and with tornado season on the way, it is difficult to predict
A chilling effect
Thompson, Childers named to three-year endowed positions By SARAH CARLSON ARTS EDITOR
store employees are already showing concern for the community. On Saturday, 30 percent of all proceeds went to the Children’s Miracle Network at Meeks Children’s Hospital in Abilene. The restaurant raised more than $1,300 throughout the day for CMN, said Trent McCann, owner of the Abilene Cold Stone Creamery.
Dr. James Thompson, professor and associate dean of the Graduate School of Theology, will replace Dr. David Wray as the Robert and Kay Onstead chair of Undergraduate Bible, and Dr. Jeff Childers, associate professor of Bible, ministry and missions, will be the new Carmichael-Walling Chair in the Graduate School of Theology beginning this fall. T h e e n d o w e d chairs have a three-year rotating basis, which allows time for research to be conducted. The Onstead Thompson and Carmichael-Walling chairs are academic chairs, which are different from a department chair. Wray recently stepped down as the chair of the Department of Bible, Missions and Ministry, and Dr. Jack Reese, dean of the College of Biblical Studies, said the department is a long way from filling Wray’s department chair position. The chairs are allowed time to travel and to complete research in their area of interest, and Reese said Thompson is probably one of the most distinguished faculty members in the college. “He is one of our finest scholars,” Reese said. “His work on the book of Hebrews is among the most important on the study of Hebrews anywhere. In a variety of ways, he is ideally suited for [the
See CREAMERY Page 7
See CHAIRS Page 9
See ZONING Page 7
By TIFFANY TAYLOR PAGE 2 EDITOR
Seven members of the National Broadcast Society won top prizes at the national convention in Burbank, Calif. over spring break. Four student broadcast majors won grand prizes, the highest and only prize given for each student category. Twelve student finalists and two adult finalists attended the convention, and all representatives from the university made top three honors in at least one category — a record for ACU — said J.R. Kessler, instructor of journalism and mass communication and sponsor of NBS. Faculty members also received recognition. Dr. Vernon Williams, professor of history, and Kessler won first and second place, respectively, in the documentary category. Suzanne Kessler, J.R. Kessler’s wife, won Regional Director of
the Year. Sarah Reid, senior electronic media major from Abilene, won the grand prize in the documentary competition for her documentary on WWII war brides, finally winning after being a finalist in the category last year. Students came out on top in three categories other than documentary. Blake Farmer won a grand prize for his radio feature segment named Earth and Sky. Casey Cooper won a grand prize for a television commercial for Gary’s Pizza. Dominique Anderson won a grand prize for an instructional video about drunk driving titled Consequences. Students enter almost every broadcast category, sometimes competing against up to 60 other people in popular categories such as commercials, Kessler said. He said he thinks the competition benefits the students. “It lets [students] see how they compare to other students around the country, who See ZONING Page 7
See WEATHER Page 9
Chairs selected for Bible programs
Seven win top broadcast awards Twelve students, two adult finalists attend national conference
“and we also receive warm moisture pushed our way toward the Gulf of Mexico”, Decker said. “One day it's hot enough to wear shorts, and the next day it’s cold enough to wear long johns. “The weather here is crazy; it makes people in this region
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Kyle Sandrit, sophomore at Cooper High School, tosses up a scoop of Chocolate Devotion before putting it in a chocolate-dipped waffle bowl Monday at Cold Stone Creamery. The ice cream shop opened this weekend and is located at 4249 Southwest Drive.
Cold Stone Creamery opens Ice cream shop offers 30 percent of opening profits to local charity By DANIELLE LINTHICUM STAFF WRITER
People crowd inside and out of the store. Sweaty soccer players, still in uniforms and dirt-caked cleats, stand with their moms and dads, holding ice cream cones and sweatshirts. College students
stand outside, chatting and tasting each other’s ice cream concoctions. The scene could come from an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, and that is what Cold Stone Creamery is attempting to create in Abilene. The ice cream shop is a place to spend time with friends, laugh and eat ice cream. Cold Stone Creamery’s grand opening ceremony happened Saturday, and the
Money, freshman trade places for day President attends classes; student meets with administrators By CIANA HARDWICK STUDENT REPORTER
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Tatia Close, freshman psychology major from Ottawa, Kan., talks to Dr. John Tyson, vice president for development and alumni relations, in Tyson’s office as part of an event in which she switched places with Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, for a day.
He positioned himself in the front row of the classroom, focusing intently on the professor’s teaching. He diligently scribbled down notes. But Dr. Royce Money still only managed to get a 70 on the pop quiz at the end of class. It seems that being the
president of ACU doesn’t even exempt him from the need to study the textbook to make an A on this chapter quiz. On Monday, Money switched places with a freshman for the day. The reading quiz took place in Dr. Jeff Wherry’s developmental psychology class, where Money was experiencing life as student Tatia Close usually does. Close, freshman psychology major from Dallas, said she is happy with the 70 and hopes Wherry will let her keep the grade. After all, the class average was only two
points higher. While Money was busy taking notes and quizzes, Close was discovering what is involved in running a university. The Students’ Association organized the president swap and had freshmen fill out applicaMoney tions to compete for the chance to switch places with Money for a day. The swap was arranged
because SA wanted students to interact more with Money, said Sarah Woodroof, executive secretary of SA. SA wanted to make Money more of an “accessible character,” said Woodroof, junior history major from Nashville, Tenn. Another goal of the swap was to allow a student to see how the school operates. This event has happened in the past but not in six or seven years, said Layne Rouse, executive president of SA. He said he proposed that See SWITCH Page 9