OPTIMIST THE
FRIDAY April 29, 2005
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Vol. 93, No. 53 1 section, 10 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Serving the ACU community since 1912
Summer cinema:
Student bands unite:
Best of Barker:
Discover what blockbuster movies will premier in the summer movie review. Page 5
Two ACU students have created the Abilene Band Network, which will help bands and musicians connect and find venues in which to play. Page 7
Senior Ryan Barker holds the Lone Star Conference record for career RBI. Page 10
Trevathan room dedicated Ad Building classroom where professor taught named in his honor By TIFFANY TAYLOR PAGE 2 EDITOR
A plaque honoring the late Dr. Charles Trevathan now hangs to the right of Administration Building Room 103,
following a ceremony dedicating the room to the former professor. The plaque is a reminder to everyone, from students to alumni, of Trevathan’s regular presence in the room before his death in October. “It’s a place where students can come back and say, ‘Yeah, I remember being in this classroom,’ and they can say, ‘I can
see Dr. T pacing back and forth up there,” said Dr. Bill Culp, chair of the Department of Sociology and Social Work. Culp said he felt the students already identified the room with Trevathan because he often taught there, and dedicating the room in his memory seemed appropriate. See ROOM Page 8
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Caite Jones, senior human development and family studies major from Lubbock and former student of Dr. Charles Trevathan, talks to Phyllis Trevathan at a ceremony honoring Charles on Wednesday.
New hall attracts freshman attention
Discussions, feedback force team to push back spring deadline By SARAH CARLSON ARTS EDITOR
Tentative target dates have been set by the General Education Review steering committee for when curriculum proposals will be written and discussed. The committee is looking to have a rewritten proposal based on faculty discussions by midSeptember, followed by six weeks of discussion and possibly ending with a final gathering of feedback in a proposal at the end of October, said Dr. Jeff Arrington, associate dean of Campus Life and co-chair of the General Education Review Committee. Faculty discussions have Arrington continued throughout the semester, and the amount of feedback pushed tentative dates for a rewritten proposal from April to the fall. “We’ve had a lot of participation and a lot of input, and that’s as it should be,” said Pat
Majority of women choose Barret Hall as top residence choice By MALLORY SHERWOOD FEATURES EDITOR
Online housing registration for next year’s sophomores ended this year without many problems. Barret Hall, the sophomore women’s residence hall, was most women’s first choice, but bad weather could delay the work schedule. One hundred sixty-two students can live in the residence hall, and the rooms are full. Barret Hall will have 22 suites, which house eight students. Each suite includes four rooms for roommate pairs and a living area that the Barnard students share with a chair, couch and television. Many girls didn’t get their first choice and are waiting to try again in the fall. Kim Craddock, freshman electronic media major from Atlanta, is one of the students who registered to live in Barret Hall but did not get it. “My roommate was pretty upset that we didn’t get it because they are supposed to be really nice, but I am not too worried about it,” Craddock said. She said they received their second choice of Sikes Hall but will try again in the fall to be placed in Barret, if it is complete. Dr. Mimi Barnard, director of Residence Life Education and Housing, said construction should be complete by the fall, but many weather-induced delays and problems because of the steel needed to build the hall have put workers behind. “I am really concerned about See BARRET Page 8
See REVIEW Page 8
Harrell to join Regent grad school in fall Assistant professor of theatre to leave for Virginia this summer By TIFFANY WILLIAMS COPY EDITOR
By JEREMY L. POND STUDENT REPORTER
Area restaurants and lodging facilities are anticipating a substantial increase in revenue as family and friends come to Abilene for the May 7 commencements at ACU, Hardin-Simmons and McMurry universities. The increase in business
ther, walks for hundreds of homeless adolescents on the streets of Denver, a problem he is frequently reminded of through his work on the Board of Directors of the ministry organization Dry Bones Denver. Robinson the humanitarian wants to under-
After teaching for three years at the university, Eric Harrell, assistant professor of theatre, will leave ACU to join the faculty of Regent University this summer. Regent, a Christian graduate school located in Virginia Beach, Va., recently began a master of fine arts program, which appealed to Harrell, who has always wanted to teach at the graduate level, said Adam Hester, chair of the Theatre Department. “It kind of satisfies one of the things he wanted to do eventually,” Hester said. “But it came a little quicker than he anticipated.” Harrell said he made the decision to leave ACU about a month ago. “It was a difficult decision,” he said. “I am very happy at my job in ACU, and I believe strongly in the work we do here. I wanted to continue teaching at a Christian university, and Regent has a cutting-edge graduate performance program.” He said one of his favorite productions to direct was last semester’s Homecoming musical Kiss Me Kate, and he has enjoyed working with
See DENVER Page 8
See HARRELL Page 8
EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer
Jeff Robinson waves to a passing car as he walks north on Highway 83/84 with his dog, Walker, Thursday afternoon. Robinson is walking from Galveston to Denver to raise funds for adolescents who live on the streets of Denver.
Using his soles to save souls Walk from Galveston to Denver to raise funds for homeless ministry By TIFFANY WILLIAMS COPY EDITOR
Jeff Robinson’s feet are covered in painful blisters, but he continues to walk. As the mid-day sun blazes down on him, with his 50pound pack across his shoulders, he takes a drink of water and presses on. Only phone calls from
his wife, who remains at the home they share in Duncanville, slow him down as he treks along Highway 84. The destination: Denver. Perhaps only the disadvantaged youth whom Robinson toils for fully understand his experience. Robinson, a 50-year-old husband, father of two and proud grandfa-
Graduation means business Some hotels have been booked since October for weekend of May 7
Committee to continue reworking proposal
during graduation weekend is tremendous, said Candice Parks, assistant general manager of Whitten Inn located at Highway 351 and Interstate 20. “We easily do 100 percent more business during the weekend of graduation than we do on an average weekend,” she said. “I expect to be working 12- to 16-hour shifts.” If someone tries to book a room now for the weekend of May 7, Parks said they will be out of luck. “We’ve been booked solid
for that weekend since October,” she said. “You see the same trend at other hotels around town too.” Josh Allen, manager of Joe Allen’s Bar-B-Que and Catering, said he is looking forward to increased business during commencement weekend, although he could not say exactly how much extra business he was expecting. “You can always speculate about what business will be like, but we really don’t know See ECONOMY Page 8
Final Exam Schedule (May 2-6) Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
8-10 a.m.
ENGL 103, 106, 107, 111/112 ACCT 210/211
1 p.m. MWF
8 a.m. TR
8 a.m. MWF
10 a.m.-noon
10 a.m. MWF
CHEM 133/134 MATH 120/130
Noon TR
9:30 a.m. TR
Noon-2 p.m.
3 p.m. TR
1:30 p.m. TR
Noon MWF
3 p.m. MWF
2-4 p.m.
2 p.m. MWF
COMS 111
9 a.m. MWF
4-6 p.m.
HIST 221/222
4:30 p.m. TR
4 p.m. MWF
Exam Time
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Monday
6/6:30 p.m. M
6/6:30 p.m. T
6/6:30 p.m. R