Optimist the
Vol. 98, No. 46
Rulers of the Rink
PAGE 5 1 section, 8 pages
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
acuoptimist.com
BREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENT FINANCIAL AID
New aid available to counter tuition increase
Whitney Puckett Contributing Reporter The financial aid team designated $500,000 to make next year’s 12 percent tuition increase bearable for qualifying students. The Application for Additional Financial
CONSTRUCTION
Assistance gives students with unmet financial need the opportunity to receive assistance from ACU. Buck James, associate vice president for enrollment management, and his team have worked diligently to provide what is called the Application for
QUICK FACTS The university set $500,000 aside for returning students who struggle to afford the tuition increase. Follow these steps to apply: n n
Fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Fill out the university application at acu.edu/additionalassistance
Additional Financial As- struggling to make ends sistance. The team hopes meet in the wake of into assist students who are creasing costs.
“We want to make sure that we set aside a certain amount of money for families who are struggling,” James said. Applicants are required to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form along with the online university appli-
cation provided at www. acu.edu/additionalassistance. They then must submit the information to the Financial Aid office by April 30. After reviewing the applications, the office will award students see COST page 4
SOCIAL CLUBS
Piping Away Disaster
Policy restricts women’s formals Abby Anderson Contributing Reporter Every spring, the members of female and male social clubs prepare for one of the biggest social events of the year: spring formal. Formal has been a tradition for decades and is an opportunity to socialize, dress up and have a fun night with friends. This year, a change has been introduced into the policy for females’ spring social. Typically, the venue for spring formal is out of town; clubs have chosen cities all over Texas to host their special evenings in the past. This practice will continue for male social clubs, but as of this year, female social clubs must select a venue in Abilene. This change has elicited a wide range of emotions from club members, as female social clubs adjust to the new rule. Katie Findley, senior education major from Colleyville and president of Sigma Theta Chi, said the transition and rule change was the result of numerous things. Though clubs spend roughly the same amount of money regardless of
ZAK ZEINERT Staff Photographer ZAK ZEINERT Stafff Photographer
Workers prepare to dig between the McGlothlin Campus Center and the Biblical Studies Building.
The $5 million project will ease legitimate fears that the aged and corroded system could fail at any moment. Colter Hettich
to heating and cooling the campus. Kevin Roberts, chief informaEditor in Chief tion officer, said an abundance of Yet another major construction corrosion and the addition of the project commenced Friday and Money Student Wellness and Reccould have students going to their reation Center left the university iPhones for help navigating around no choice. “If we let this continue, we will the obstruction. The 8 to 11-foot-wide trench have a catastrophic failure in the between the McGlothlin Campus system,” Roberts said. “We’re going Center and the Onstead-Packer to do everything we can to make Biblical Studies Building is one of this as nonintrusive as possible.” five phases of a $5 million project to install new pipes essential see PIPES page 4
Image courtesy of OPERATIONS
PHASES
April 6 - May 17 March 29 - May 17
June 23 - July 28
May 18 - June 22
July 29 - Oct. 10
May 18 - June 29
July 29 - Oct. 10
see FORMAL page 4
CHAPEL
University embraces ‘Holy’ tradition Shea Rattan Contributing Reporter For the first time, the celebration of Holy Week is part of ACU Chapel. For centuries, the last week of Jesus’ life has been a time for believers to come together around their central tenet of faith: the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In the Christian year, it is the week immediately preceding Easter and the last week of Lent. The week includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday. It is also the first day of the new
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season, commemorating the last week of Jesus’ life on earth before his crucifixion and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Although Holy Week caps the 40-day period of Lent, Easter is by far the most celebrated holiday during this time. In order to better focus
on the life of Jesus, Chapel this week will revolve around his last seven days on earth, with a different theme each day. On Monday, Russ Kirby, director of Student Services for the Graduate School of Theology, spoke about see HOLY page 4
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KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer
SHADES performs during Chapel on Monday. Palm leaves covered the aisle in honor of Holy Week.
Online
SOME TRADITIONS should not be modernized or refreshed. Holy Week should not be forced onto 4,000 students during mandatory Chapel. Page 6
ACU SPORTS HISTORY is filled with champions. Our sports staff picked four legendary atheletes whose legacies deserve to be etched in stone. Page 8
VIDEO
LOUDandCLEAR
Are you egg-cited for Easter? a. Yes, I’m hoppin’ with anticipation. b. Yes, but it has lost its true meaning. c. I get excited about any weekend. Students React to Health Care
Visit acuoptimist.com to join the discussion.
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Campus Day
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@jmcnetwork.com.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
To ensure 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.
CALENDAR AND EVENTS
31
WEDNESDAY
11 a.m. Chapel in Moody Coliseum 3 p.m. ACU Softball v. Texas A&M International 3 p.m. Registration begins for graduate students, Honors students and Study Abroad.
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THURSDAY
11 a.m. Chapel in Moody Coliseum 5 p.m. ACU Softball v. St. Edwards 7 p.m. ACU Softball v. Texas Wesleyan 7:30 p.m. Open forum with Dr. Phil Schubert in Hart Auditorium
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Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.
FRIDAY
Good Friday, no classes 9:30 a.m. International Students Sponsorship Day. Contact Ken Lake for more information.
Chapel Checkup
12 p.m. ACU Softball v. Texas Wesleyan
9 p.m. Chai Cafe
Announcements Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is now available to staff, faculty and students through the Counseling Center. For more information, call 674-2626. The Upward Bound Program is in need of students to serve as summer advisers. The program is looking for encouraging, energetic and responsible students to assist in preparing high school students for college. For more information, call 674-2529 or 674-2514. Registration for online summer classes is now open. For more information, contact your academic adviser. HIGHway Bible study will meet at 9 p.m. Wednesday in The Grove Clubhouse. All students are welcome to attend. Big Brothers Big Sisters Chapel will meet the first Thursday of each month in Room 258 in the Foster Science Building. All ACU students who participate in BBBS are welcome to attend. The Bible Bowl will be April 10 on the ACU campus. The Meek Blood Center is sponsoring a blood drive April 16. Beltway Park Church is sponsoring A Night of Worship with Leeland and Phil Wickham
on April 9. Tickets are $15 in advance and $10 for students or groups of more than 10; they are available at Beltway Park, Mardel and Lifeway stores or online at www.itickets.com/ events/240228/Abilene_ TX/Leeland.html. Michael Jacobs will be performing a free concert at 8 p.m. April 5 in the Williams Performing Arts Center Recital Hall. Re-Fresh, the Freshman Devotional, is every Thursday at 10 p.m. in the Beauchamp Amphitheater. Freshmen are invited for a time of worship for freshmen and by freshmen. The Abilene Christian Opera Theater’s spring opera opens April 9-10 at 8 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium. This semester’s show is Massenet’s Cendrillon, an interpretation of the classic Cinderella tale: a journey of enchantment, triumph and romance. General admission is $12 for adults and $5 for students. The ACU Career Center is sponsoring an information session about jobs with Hawkes Learning Systems, a company that develops educational programs for mathematics teachers at the high school and college levels. For more information, contact the Career Center at 674-2473, or email at careers@acu.edu.
Credited Chapels to date:
Credited Chapels remaining:
53 20
Volunteer Opportunities Registration for Fall 2010 begins today with graduate students, Honors students and Study Abroad. The Student Social Work Association is sponsoring a meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 12 and 26 to help plan for Diabetes Day this fall. The meeting will be at Hillcrest Church of Christ. For more information, contact Darrell Jordan at 674-4886. The Outdoor Club is sponsoring the fifth annual Red Dirt Adventure Challenge duathlon April 17. For more information or to register, visit www. acuoutdoorclub.org. The Virtuous African Heritage Sisterhood will be sponsoring an empowerment workshop at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Gardner East Lobby. The event will feature a panel of graduate students. Dr. Phil Schubert, ACU’s new president, will speak at an open forum at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Hart Auditorium. The Pruett Gerontology Center is sponsoring Careers in Aging Week. Booths will be displayed from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. April 5-9 in the McGlothlin Campus Center. Freshman Formal will be April 16th. Tickets are on sale in the McGlothlin Campus Center; the cost is $25 for an individual or $40 for a couple. ACU for Abilene will be April 17th.
The Noah Project needs volunteers to cover the domestic violence crisis hotline between 6 and 10 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call Yvonne Myers at 676-7107. Love and Care Ministries needs help with its clothing ministry and street feeds at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. MondayFriday. To schedule a time to help, call Terry Davis at 670-0246. The City of Abilene’s Adaptive Recreation Services needs volunteers to help mentally and physically challenged adults with activities between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Activities can include arts and crafts, exercise, ceramics, bowling, field trips, etc. For more information, contact Barbara Liggett at 676-6575, or e-mail barbara.liggett@ abilenetx.com. Abilene Hope Haven needs volunteers to provide child care between 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information, contact Kathy Reppart (before 3 p.m.) at 677-4673 or Christina Spillers (after 3 p.m.) at 437-0611. The Betty Hardwick Center needs volunteers from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on any weekday. For more information, contact Katie Fawcett at 690-5128. Breakfast On Beech Street serves breakfast to Abilene’s homeless community and is in need
of volunteers. Breakfast is served from 6:30-7:15 a.m. at the First Christian Church at 3rd and Beech Street. Volunteers must arrive at 5:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 5 a.m. Tuesdays. For more information, visit the First Christian Church’s Web site at www.fccabilene.org/outreach.html. Meals on Wheels is looking for volunteers to deliver hot meals each week to seniors and adults with disabilities. Volunteers may work once a week between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. MondayFriday. For more information, contact Elisabeth Rodgers at 672-5050. The Alzheimer’s Association needs volunteers any time 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Volunteers must be present for at least one hour and will perform various office duties. For more information, contact Libby Connally at 672-2907. The American Heart Association needs volunteers any time 8:30 a.m.5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Volunteers will help with general office tasks and assist with mailings. For more information, contact Kay Alexander at 627-0070. The Christian Service Center needs volunteers to fill requests for clothing, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc., from the donation center. Volunteers may work from noon-4 p.m. Friday or Saturday. For more information, call Jim Clark at 673-7531. The Food Bank of West Central Texas needs volunteers to sort and stock
food items between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information or to schedule a group of six or more volunteers, contact Janice Serrault at 695-6311, or email abfoodbk@ camalott.com. The Salvation Army needs volunteers Monday through Saturday. Volunteers may help sort and price items in the thrift store, help in the kitchen or do yard work. The International Rescue Committee needs volunteers to teach English and mentor refugees. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Daina Juryka-Owen at 675-5643 ext. 16. St. John’s Episcopal School needs volunteers from 3:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Saturday to help with sports, arts, crafts and science. For more information, contact Ashley Puryear at 338-8400. There will be an International Students Association service project Saturday. For more information, e-mail Ken Lake at kxl05e@acu.edu. Find more volunteer opportunities by visiting the Service-Learning and Volunteer Resources Web site at www.acu.edu/slvr and clicking on Volunteer Opportunities, or visit the Service-Learning and Volunteer Resources office located in the lower level of the McGlothlin Campus Center.
Campus News
March 31, 2010
Page 3
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
W Club honors excellence at annual Silver Tea Abby Anderson Contributing Reporter For the last 90 years, ACU’s W Club has recognized young Christian women for academic excellence. On Saturday, W Club honored past and present members at the annual Silver Tea at the Swenson House. Melanie Kirkland, junior political science major from Lubbock and secretary of the W Club, said an important purpose of the club is to “inspire young women to noble womanhood.” All current W Club
members are eligible for two scholarships, which are given at the end of every spring semester. Silver Tea helps support those endeavors. “The purpose of Silver Tea is to raise money for our scholarship fund,” Kirkland said. Silver Tea is exclusively for current members and alumni and provides a great opportunity for the women of W Club to get to know past members, network and form relationships, Kirkland said. Natalie Knowles, junior interdisciplinary major
in art and English and W Club historian, said this year’s Silver Tea had a great turnout. Knowles said it takes exceptional determination to be a leader, in addition to excelling in academics, yet every woman in W Club exhibits these qualities; Silver Tea provides a way to recognize many of them. W Club was organized in 1920 under the direction of Daisy McQuigg Sewell, wife of former ACU President J.P. Sewell. The purpose of W Club is to recognize female students with
outstanding Christian character, high academic standing and who demonstrate abilities in leadership and service; it is one of only two organizations recognized at the Honors Chapel for academic achievement. Today, W Club has about 175 members, many of whom are the second generation in their families to be members. For 90 years, these women have looked to Proverbs 31 and the “virtuous” woman in this chapter as a role model.
ZAK ZEINERT Staff Photographer
Meghan Clark, senior journalism major from Olney and treasurer of the W Club, collects donations at the Swenson House on Saturday. “I have been encour- a group of women that aged by our speakers love God,” Knowles said. and the wisdom they share, but mostly, I contact Anderson at have enjoyed being with optimist@jmcnetwork.com
ACADEMICS
Honors students present The Art of the Critique Christianna Lewis Contributing Reporter Four ACU Honors students gave faces to evil, victims of discrimination and even the person of Jesus Christ in their presentations at the Great Plains Honors Council 2010 Conference on Friday and Saturday. Joshua Alkire, Katherine Sinclair, Megan Faver-Hartline and Margaret Moore traveled to Tulsa, Okla., to show their work to other Honors students and faculty from the six states within the GPHC’s region. Presentations from every branch of study are crafted around each year’s theme; 2010’s theme was The Art of the Critique.
Joshua Alkire, senior English and Christian ministry major from Abilene, received the Dennis Boe Award for his outstanding work. He was one of eight attendees to receive a plaque and cash prize this year for outstanding work, according to gphc2010.com. Alkire examined portraits of Christ through the eyes of a fictional Portuguese Jesuit, Sebastião Rodrigues, the lead character in Shusaku Endo’s Silence. Alkire said Rodrigues’ perception of Christ changes as he observes persecuted Japanese Christians, who were being pressured to renounce their faith by stepping on a picture of Christ.
QUICK FACTS Four Honors students presented their own representations of victims of discrimination at the Great Plains Honors Council 2010 Conference in Tulsa, Okla., last weekend. n Joshua Alkire – winner of the Dennis Boe Award and recipient of a plaque and cash prize; presented The Face of the Man: Fumie and Christian Art in Shusaku Endo’s Silence n Katherine Sinclair – The Monster Within: The Role of Roman Catholic Concepts of Sin in The Picture of Dorian Gray n Margaret Moore – Japanese Relocation: The Jerome and Rohwer Experience n Megan Faver-Hartline – The Most Important, and Now Commercialized, Day of Your Life
Alkire said he didn’t understand Rodrigues’ obsession with Christ’s face until he saw the symbol of Christianity, called a fumie, for himself. “It’s a small piece of blackened wood, dirtied from so many people stepping on it,” Alkire said. “The face of Christ in Japanese art during the 17th cen-
tury is this humiliated, worn-down Christ.” Margaret Moore said she was happy to be able to tell the story of the disgraceful captivity of Japanese-Americans during the 20th century. Moore, sophomore education and youth and family ministry major from Houston, presented on the “retirement camps”
America established during World War II. A young man’s corruption was symbolized in a painting of his own face in Katherine Sinclair’s presentation The Monster Within: The Role of Roman Catholic Concepts of Sin in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Sinclair, senior English major from Abilene, said she identified with the themes in the novel. “Dorian Gray doesn’t really realize the terrible things he’s doing to everyone,” Sinclair said. “That’s just human nature.” Sinclair said compiling this scholarly publication was the first time she felt her writing wasn’t simply a reiteration of something she read before. The abil-
ity to be able to think through and present one’s own ideas is essential to any communicator, Sinclair said. Alkire agreed the preparation for graduate school and career was the most valuable component of his experience, even in comparison to the $200 he received as part of the Boe Award. “I counted up the hours I spent revising it, and I think I got a little over minimum wage,” Alkire said. “It’s still better than you get on most papers.”
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From Front
Page 4
March 31, 2010
CONSTRUCTION
Pipes: Loop project construction begins Continued from page 1 Roberts and other administrators, including Physical Resources Director Scot Colley, consulted engineers at Burns and McDonald for more than a year. Roberts said they outlined a sixmonth plan to install more than five miles of pipe in the quickest and most efficient way. “When we first started talking, we thought it was going to be an 18-month process,” Roberts said. “But they’re going to use three crews working simultaneously and be finished in September.”
In addition to the three-crew strategy, the route was slightly modified to save time and money. Roberts was aware of students’ financial concerns and said the university will not need to pass the $5 million cost to students; the university issued debt to fund the entire project. The current pipes were installed in the late 1960s and have a typical life span of 25-30 years. Crews will strategically place the new pipes on and around old ones to minimize outages. Colley said although outag-
es are inevitable as they disconnect old pipes and connect new, they have been planned for weekends and summer days to affect the lowest number of people. Roberts said because boilers and chillers consume the bulk of energy used to heat and cool buildings, the new system will not immediately increase energy efficiency. “But this does set the stage for us to do more for our efficiency in the future,” Roberts said.
contact Hettich at
clh05d@acu.edu
FINANCIAL AID
Cost: Efforts to alleviate Continued from page 1
aid according to their need, academic standing and Chapel attendance. The FAFSA form weighs heavily in this process, which is why all deadlines are crucial in regard to acceptance. It determines whether the student can afford the hard and soft costs of ACU. The hard costs are things like tuition and room and board, while soft costs refer to personal care, transportation and miscellaneous costs.
Buck said although the cost of tuition will rise, the increase directly correlates to an increase in the integrity of degrees issued by the university. “We are enhancing the quality of education at ACU,” James said. “Unfortunately, that costs money.” ACU is using the tuition rise as a way of completing its 21 Century Vision of becoming a premier Christian academic institution by 2020. Carlee Snyder is a senior public relations ma-
jor who transferred from West Texas A&M in part because of the quality of academics at ACU. “ACU is very innovative. The classes consist of excellent quality,” Snyder said. The application process began last week, and 200 applicants have already begun submitting their forms. “We would expect 80 to 90 percent who participate to participate right away,” James said.
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optimist@jmcnetwork.com
KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer
Kirk House leads worship at Vibrant Expressions, a time of praise, conversation and community, Sunday nights at Monks Coffee Shop.
SPIRITUALITY
Holy: Refocusing on Easter Continued from page 1 the Triumphal Entry; Tuesday’s speaker was Randy Harris, instructor in the Department of Bible, Missions and Ministry, speaking on The Upper Room. Wednesday will be a Taizé service focused on Gethsemane, led by Dr. Jack Reese, dean of the College of Biblical Studies, and Dr. Stephen Johnson, associate professor of preaching. The week will conclude Thursday with Women at the Cross, delivered by Dr. Jeanene
Reese, Dr. Dena Counts, Dr. Kristina Campos and Anna Peters. Mark Lewis, assistant dean for Spiritual Life and Chapel Programs, said the Chapel Office is hoping the ACU community will use this week to refocus on the true meaning of Easter. “In this time of focus on the final events of the life of Jesus Christ, we hope to encourage the ACU community to draw nearer to our Father, to celebrate all he has done for his children,” Lewis said. Reese, associate professor in the Department
of Bible, Mission and Ministry, said this is also a good time to focus on the last week of Jesus’ life because it is during this time of year most of the world pays attention to these significant events. “As Christians we focus on the death, burial and resurrection every Sunday,” Reese said. “This is unique because it’s a time when the world focuses on it, too.”
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SOCIAL CLUBS
Formal: Bound to Abilene Continued from page 1
the city, the club members and their dates end up spending much more money on lodging, travel, etc., when formal is out of town. Formals also fall at the end of each spring semester, which is often the busiest time of the year academically for students, Findley said. Lanna Armstrong, senior accounting major and president of Ko Jo Kai, said though the members of Ko Jo Kai overall are fine with the decision, out of town formals were popular because members got to travel with friends and have a weekend away from school. Yet, she points out, the policy change had some positive results.
“We are having our formal at The Warehouse this year and are very excited about it,” Armstrong said. “We were able to cut the cost and still have a really nice formal.” Morgan Meyer, sophomore psychology major from Richardson and member of GATA, said she was looking forward to doing something fun with club outside of Abilene. “I really wish we didn’t have to stay in town and think it is unfair that the male clubs are still allowed to leave,” Meyer said. Still, she said, it will save money, and clubs will probably have higher attendance because some girls are never able to attend due to work or schedule conflicts. Taylor Strenger, sophomore education major
from Sachse and member of Ko Jo Kai, voiced a similar opinion, agreeing that in-town formals will save members and their dates money and encourage a higher attendance. “There aren’t as many places to choose from to host formal, but I think it would still be fun,” Strenger said. Though the change seems to be something clubs are still adjusting to, club members have remained optimistic and accepting of the new rules. “I believe in-town formal will be a refreshing change, and hopefully more people will be in attendance,” Findley said.
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Focus
March 31, 2010
Page 5
Far Right: Mark Daughdrill, junior vocational missions major from Cypress, looks on during play. Right: The ACU hockey team usually plays two to three out-of-town tournaments a semester in the Dallas and Austin areas. Photos by KELSI WILLIAMSON
KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer
Goalie Ryan Dumas, freshman architecture major from Abilene, takes shots from teammates during warm-up at the Slapshot Hockey Center in Richardson.
A RINK OF THEIR OWN Left: Greg Tomaras, sophomore environmental science major from Abilene, and Jon Snyder graduate student in English from Alamogordo, N.M., celebrate after Tomaras’ score against Louisiana Tech. Below: Inline hockey consists of more breakaways than ice hockey due to the tile surface of the rinks. Photos by KELSI WILLIAMSON
Kelsi Williamson Chief Photographer
“Some people have the idea that inline hockey is a kiddie sport,” says Mark Daughdrill, junior vocational missions major from Cypress. The men of the ACU inline hockey team would beg to differ. For a small number of ACU-affiliated hockey enthusiasts, the quick action of inline skating combined with the rough play of hockey is enough to pack a bag and head to a weekend tournament in Dallas. The team does not always fare well on the rink, but the core players continue to come back. “We have fun playing, but it’s the time that we hang out afterwards that’s the most fun,” Daughdrill said. Ten players comprise this year’s team and range from freshmen to graduate students. When in Abilene, they practice on weekends at Cal Young Park. contact Williamson at
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KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer
ACU Hockey team members take a break between periods. Regular inline games consist of three 12-minute stop-clock periods.
Opinion
Page 6
EDITORIAL
March 31, 2010
Holy week requires solemn explanation back to the end of the third and beginning of the fourth century. The week includes three wellknown religious holidays – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – leading to Easter Sunday. In the traditional Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions, Christian followers partook in practices such as fasting, all-night vigils and the Divine Liturgy among others. Followers have used of Holy Week for centuries to prepare their hearts for an Easter celebration. It is a time to remember the weight of Jesus’ sac-
od is being robbed of its original significance is twofold. First is the concern that in an attempt to make Chapel interesting, Holy Week has become just another outlet for contemporary Christian attention-grabbers. Our second fear follows the first: The historical context of this time period is lost in translation amidst the rush to deem the seven days a trendy theme week to gain popularity. Although this year is the first time ACU has celebrated Holy Week, recognition of the final days of Jesus’ life dates
In Monday’s Chapel, guest speaker Russ Kirby asked students how many had celebrated Holy Week since childhood. A few hands hesitantly went up while the rest of us tried to figure out if he was joking or not. Although the week’s opening Chapel featured palm branches and a SHADES performance, we heard little explanation about the historical background of Holy Week. And so the murmur of disinterested students mixed with an occasional ringing cell phone continued. Our worry that an important seven-day peri-
rifice as well the joy of his resurrection. It is not that we disagree with ACU’s recognition of Holy Week. Clearly this time has played an important role in the history of our faith. What we find fault with is grouping it – whether intentionally or unintentionally – with the rest of the theme weeks and then filling it with unrelated events such as Monday’s Shades performance and Kirby’s slam poetry. While these events are certainly entertaining, they fail to display what we would deem “holy.” We suggest a Holy Week where the prac-
Pears
By Lucas Wright
THE ISSUE
In honor of Easter weekend, the Chapel Office has decided to celebrate Holy Week.
OUR TAKE
The historical significance of Holy Week is being lost amidst the contemporary approach in an effort to keep students entertained. tices rooted in remembrance of Jesus’ last days on earth are clearly explained and clearly directed. Although perhaps less entertaining on the surface, we believe this kind of week could escape the dangers of contemporary trends and actually suc-
ceed as an identifiably separate and special period of time. Maybe then we would finally put our iPhones away and listen in Chapel.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Health care bill carries big debt
COLUMN
Minor obligations no less important Sondra Not Sandra Sondra Rodriguez My roommates and I had our lawn mowed Thursday for the first time in a year and a half. “How do you let it get to that point?” my mom asked as though I said I Rodriguez hadn’t showered in a year and a half. I responded, “I live with three girls, we’re fulltime students, we all have jobs and try to maintain somewhat of a social life and mowing the lawn is not too high on my priority list, Mother.” We got away with it for most of the year and a half. Sure, it looked tacky, but so do a few houses around the corner, so why does it matter? We thought the snow and ice would kill most of the grass around the time it reached 3 feet, but we were wrong and looked even more tacky
with 3 feet of brown brush surrounding our house. Taking out the trash became a chore because no one wanted to trek through the jungle and get those awful pricklies all over them, so trash began to build up, and after the skunk, a buildup of trash was the last thing we needed in our house. The skunk probably chose our house to spray because he felt protected by the lush vegetation surrounding his burrow. Every couple of days one of us would say, “Wow, we need to get the lawn mowed.” The rest of us would glance outside, raise our eyebrows and nod and go back to what we were doing. Spring came around, and when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, the weeds bloomed. We’d heard rumors about getting fined by the city for having such a revolting yard, and our neighbors are trying to sell but probably aren’t having much luck because of the “ugly house.” By the grace of God, a gentleman with
a mowing business left his business card with a reasonable estimate on our front door, and on Thursday, I took a stand. The poor guy didn’t realize we had a backyard and said he would have doubled the rate, but he was kind enough to stick to his original price. He did, however, leave me with a chilling statement: “The city is charging $500 fines for yards that look like this with no warning. It’s a miracle you haven’t gotten one yet.” Not only was he saving us $500, he was doing it for a price that made us feel we were robbing him blind. I wanted to embrace him, figured that might be too much and instead eagerly wrote him a check and made conversation to get to know this saint of a man. Unfortunately, he wasn’t much for small talk; he had plenty of work to do and seemed a bit intimidated by it. It took about three minutes to pick up the phone and call the number on the business card — it wasn’t
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Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist 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 or the university. The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors 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@acu.edu
a difficult thing to do. But we could always find better things to do, and we always will find better things to do, deadlines to meet and assignments to finish. That tiny effort made our house look brand new. We immerse ourselves in school and forget there’s a world of duties outside of our ACU obligations that we can’t forget about: getting the oil changed and the tires rotated, paying the bills on time, taking out a semester’s worth of recycling or mowing the lawn. The semester is almost over, and pretty soon, we’ll be left to deal with those nonACU obligations and wish we could claim homework as an excuse. Don’t forget about the little things; responding to them can make all the difference in the world, and at some point you’ll realize you really don’t have much of a choice. The challenge is learning to not let it reach that point.
CHRISTOPHER SISK Sophomore accounting major from San Antonio in response to the recently passed health care bill
contact Rodriguez at
sar06g@acu.edu
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The health care bill, HR-3200, passed March 21 is the single greatest attack on American liberties in the history of this country. Even more appalling is the lack of information that has been made available to the public. Throughout the media, few reports mention the $2 billion Washington will take from the medical device manufacturers, in addition to the 2.9 percent excise tax (Sect. 1405 and 9009), the $4.2 billion from the companies who manufacture new, life-saving drugs (Sect. 9008), the $6.7 billion from the insurance companies (Sect. 9010), the 40 percent tax on high-dollar health plans (Sect. 9001), or the various restrictions on hospital expansion. This taxation, which will result in increased rates, has been pushed under the rug by the media because it shows this bill was not about helping Americans but about controlling onesixth of the economy and increasing the dependence of Americans on a party that does not share the principles of this country. In addition, the only portion of the student loan amendment regularly mentioned is the portion regarding the subsidy cut. However, the media has failed to mention this amendment also eliminates banks from issuing private student loans. These account for not only a significant proportion of banking activity but also a large portion of students’ funding. More than likely, this will significantly harm our economy as many will be forced to forego college due to expenses or spend less over their lifetime due to the increased cost of paying their college loans. Furthermore, the assertion by the White House that this new legislation will take the insurance companies “out of the driver’s seat” is yet another example of the hubris of this administration specifically and those in Washington in general. They think legislation originally written by a former WellPoint vice president and nearly identical to the plan created by the AHIP will be harmful to insurance companies. It is time this country once again became a country of, by and for the people instead of being subjects to egotistical individuals in their ivory towers.
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From Sports
March 31, 2010
Page 7
FEATURE
Rushmore: Morrow, Naimadu among all-time greats Continued from page 8
Delloreen Ennis-London Ennis-London (’99) is one of the most decorated athletes in ACU history. She is the only woman in NCAA history to win eight national titles in hurdles. She represented her home country and summer Olympic powerhouse Jamaica at three Olympic Games, with a fourth-place finish in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Ennis-London has won three medals in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the World
him in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL draft and he went on to play eight solid seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, attending two Pro Bowls. Montgomery rushed for 6,789 yards in the NFL, scoring 57 touchdowns. He served Wilbert Montgomery as running back coach During his four years for the St. Louis Rams in Abilene, Montgom- from 1997-2005, where ery compiled one of the he helped develop two greatest careers in ACU all-Pro backs, Marshall and NAIA history as a Faulk and Stephen Jackrunning back. From 1973- son. Montgomery is now 76 he set the NAIA record the running back coach for touchdowns with 76 for the Baltimore Ravens. and helped lead the Wild- The Ravens moved up to cats to the 1973 National the No. 4 rushing team in Championship. The Phila- the NFL during his first delphia Eagles drafted season as a coach, after Championships: silver in 2005 and a bronze in both the 2007 and 2009 championships. She was inducted to the ACU Hall of Fame in 2009, her first year of eligibility.
ranking No. 16 the season before. Montgomery was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Bobby Morrow Morrow (’58) is possibly the greatest athlete in ACU history and by far its greatest Olympian. Morrow graduated from ACU in 1958 but left his mark on the world of track and field during his time in Abilene. Morrow was the most dominating athlete on the planet in 1956, capturing three gold medals at the Olympic Games in Australia. Sports Il-
lustrated named him the 1956 Sportsman of the Year, placing him among greats like Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods. He set the world record in the 200-meter and 4x100meter relays in 1956. During his time at ACU, he collected 14 sprint national chanpionships. He was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1989. These four athletes stand alone as the greatest among greats, the cream of ACU’s crop. The
Wildcats have won 62 team national championships; only USC, UCLA and Stanford have won more titles. The Lone Star Conference was created in 1973, and ACU has won 143 conference titles, more than twice as many as the school with the second-most LSC titles. Thus a monument to the all-time greats is a fitting tribute, a reminder of what a privilege it is to walk the same halls as some of the world’s most amazing athletes.
contact Sports at
sports@jmcnetwork.com
BASEBALL
SOFTBALL
Sweep: Wildcats take 10th consecutive game
Split: ’Cats win three of six
Continued from page 8
Wildcats took the 6-5 lead into the seventh but gave up another solo home run that tied the game. The Wildcats lost in extra innings, 7-6. Brittany Rexroat pitched the final inning for a tough loss; she moved to 5-5 for the season. The second day saw another split for the Wildcats. ACU scored five runs in the sixth inning to pick up their second come-from-behind victory of the weekend. The Wildcats closed it out in the seventh to win 9-7 against East Central. One inning doomed the second game; the Wildcats gave up nine runs in the fourth. This
to win the game via the run rule. “The pitching was definitely the answer for the first day,” said Head Coach Britt Bonneau. On Saturday, both teams came to the plate swinging, despite the wind. “Today was huge for our hitters,” Bonneau said. “When they put up a big,crooked number we matched it with another big,crooked number, and that’s what you have to do on a day like today.” The Rams gained the lead early, scoring two runs in the first inning. The Wildcats matched the two runs in the bottom of the first when Will Calhoun hit a two-run home run. In the third, ACU put their bats in motion, scoring six runs. Bret Bochsler hit a threerun home run, making the score 6-2. ASU retaliated, scoring four runs in the fourth, but they couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats, who scored three runs in the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth. The Wildcats won the game 16-8. Will Calhoun started pitching the second game of the doubleheader and gave up one run in the first inning, giving ASU an early lead. The Wildcats managed to catch up in the first inning, scoring three runs. ASU came to the plate swinging in the second
NUMBERS GAME
10
The number of consecutive victories for the Wildcats after their sweep of Texas Wesleyan on Tuesday.
and third innings. The Rams scored two runs off a home run in the second, and another two-run home run in the third, making the score 5-3. The Wildcats weren’t behind for long. They scored one run in the third and went on a hitting rampage in the fourth. The Wildcats scored five runs with Steven Camillucci and Travis Latz getting RBIs. ASU came back again in the fifth scoring six runs and taking the lead, 12-9. ACU was able to hold the Rams in the sixth, and the Wildcats scored two more runs to keep the game close. The Rams stayed strong, hitting a home run in the seventh, but the Wildcats didn’t sit back and take it. They scored five more runs in the seventh with an RBI by Chris Hall, a three-run home run by Aaron Oliver and a single home run from first baseman Bret Bochsler. “You have to take it one pitch at a time,” Oliver said. “They finally threw me a good pitch to hit and I hit it well.” Rutherford began pitching at the beginning of the eighth to close the game. “It is the first time we’ve swept Angelo State,” Bonneau said.
“It feels good but we still know we have a long conference season ahead of us, and we’ve got to refocus on what we have next.” The Wildcats were back in action Tuesday taking on the Texas Wesleyan Rams at Crutcher Scott Field. The Wildcats took the first game from TWU 10-4. Kevin Justice got the start for ACU and tossed 4 1-3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. The Wildcats’ first six hitters combined to drive in seven runs. First baseman Will Calhoun reached base four times in the first game with two hits and two walks . In the second game, the Wildcat bats stayed hot as ACU crushed TWU 7 to 0. Jordan Hartley pitched three solid innings for the win. The victory was the Wildcats’ 10th in a row and improves their record to 29-7 on the season. The Wildcats head to Tahlequah, Okla., for a four-game series against Northeastern starting April 2. Northeastern is 14-20 on the season and 12-16 in LSC play. Texas Wesleyan will take on Louisiana Tech starting Friday. contact Bailey at
ljb07a@acu.edu
Continued from page 8
was the only time Central Oklahoma scored, but it was more than enough for them to cruise to a 9-5 victory. It was the same story Sunday as the Wildcats split a pair a games, losing 4-3 to Midwestern State before defeating Northeastern 8-4. In the first game, ACU was tied going into the sixth before giving up what became the gamewinning run. It was the team’s ninth one-run loss of the season. In the second and final game, ACU responded by defeating the Riverhawks 8-4. The Wildcats trailed 3-1 before scoring five runs on six hits in the sixth inning. ACU tacked on two insurance runs in the
seventh and held on for the 8-4 victory. The win moves the Wildcats to 12-20 for the season. “Overall it’s been really hard for us to finish out games,” Wilson said. “We haven’t been able to put runs across or at least the winning run across late in the game. We need to work on not settling when we have the lead, and when we have the chance to win games or put games away, to execute.” The Wildcats will be back in action with a doubleheader Wednesday against Texas A&MInternational. The games will be played back-toback starting at 3 p.m. contact Cantrell at
jrc07f@acu.edu
COLUMN
Madness: NCAA brackets nearly impossible to pick Continued from page 8
including the president himself, and he doesn’t even know a whole lot about basketball. My point is – Kansas was the favored team. The NCAA tournament is a like a whole season shrunken to fit into two weeks. Rankings don’t necessarily matter in the season. All that matters is getting your team to appear on that bracket come Selection Sunday. Of the five million brackets entered on ESPN, roughly 200 predicted this Final Four.
With Duke, West Virginia, Butler and Michigan State as the chosen four, my prediction for the championship game is going to have to be West Virginia and Butler, with West Virginia being the champion of it all. It saddens me that my team can’t win the title; however, this year has been just as exciting as the rest. With only one of my predictions in the Final Four, it seems like this year would be a waste of time. Yet, regardless of the outcome, this is still my favorite time of year. To me, the tourna-
ment beats the Super Bowl, the NBA playoffs, the World Cup and even the Olympics. So, come April 5, you’ll know where to contact Bartee at
skb09a@acu.edu
Page 8
Standings SOFTBALL Ovrl. Div. Team Angelo St. WTAMU TWU TAMU-K Tarleton St. ACU ENMU
5-0 4-2 4-2 4-2 0-3 0-3 0-5
30-4 26-12 22-11 16-15 15-17 12-20 9-26
BASEBALL Ovrl. Team Div. ACU 18-6 SE Okla. St. 18-8 18-8 Cameron TAMU-K 15-13 Southwestern 13-12 14-14 ENMU Angelo St. 13-15 Tarleton St. 12-16 Northeastern 12-16 7-14 WTAMU East Central 6-14 Central Okla. 7-17
29-7 22-10 19-11 19-16 19-16 16-18 19-18 15-18 14-20 11-14 6-17 9-17
SOFTBALL
Sports
March 31, 2010
Wildcats split LSC Crossover Tournament Ryan Cantrell
week before,” said Head Coach Chantiel Wilson. Assistant Sports Editor “Two of our games we The Wildcats went 3-3 lost were by one run, so in the LSC Crossover we need to work on playTournament this week- ing seven strong innings end. ACU split a pair of to come out with a win." The first day of the games on Friday, Saturtournament had highs day and Sunday. “We did some things and lows. The Wildcats better than we had the trailed 2-1 going into the
field line, scoring two runs to win 4-2. We need to work on playing seven In the second game, strong innings to come out with a win. the Wildcats took a 6-2 CHANTIEL WILSON lead into the bottom of Head Coach the sixth inning. Cameron answered, hitting two seventh inning, but in a The Wildcats loaded the home runs in the sixth late rally, they scored bases in the seventh, to score three runs. The three runs in the sev- and Missy Mendoza hit enth to take a 4-2 lead. a double down the right see SPLIT page 7
FEATURE
Purple Mountain Majesty
Scores TUESDAY Baseball ACU 10, Texas Wesleyan 4 ACU 7, Texas Wesleyan 0
SUNDAY Softball ACU 8, Northeastern 4 ACU 3, Midwestern St. 4 HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS
Upcoming WEDNESDAY Women's Tennis ACU vs. Stillman College, 10 a.m. Photo Illustration by ZAK ZEINERT Staff Photographer
Men's Tennis
ACU's Mount Rushmore from left to right: Bobby Morrow, Delloreen Ennis-London, Nicodemus Naimadu and Wilbert Montgomery.
ACU vs. Stillman College, 10 a.m. ACU at Samford, 2 p.m.
The four greatest Wildcats’ legacies forever etched in stone
Softball
Jeff Craig and Brandon Tripp
ACU vs. TAMU-Int'l, 3 p.m. ACU vs. TAMU-Int'l, 5 p.m.
Sports Staff Report
Track and Field ACU at Texas Relays
THURSDAY Track and Field ACU at Texas Relays
Women's Tennis ACU at Blue-Gray Classic, TBA
Men's Tennis ACU at Blue-Gray Classic, TBA
SATURDAY Softball
Nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota stands a monument to four of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen, a tribute to their accomplishments as leaders of the United States. Imagine for a moment that nestled among the nonexistent hills of Abilene stood a monument to ACU’s elite – a Mount Rushmore, if you will, of ACU sports. The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln stand watch over America, a reminder of the greatness of our past. So too should the faces of the greatest athletes to ever don the Purple and White be etched in immortal stone – a
testament to their legacies. As one of the nation's elite athletic programs, ACU sports has seen some tremendous athletes during the last century; however, four stand out as the greatest among Wildcats: Nicodemus Naimadu Naimadu ('08) may be the youngest member of our “Mount,” but he's certainly no less deserving than any other athlete. Naimadu is the only NCAA athlete in any division to win four consecutive national titles in cross-country. During his four-year career, Naimadu led the Wildcats to four Lone Star Conference titles and a pair of Division II national titles in 2006 and 2007.
ACU’S Mount Rushmore Wilbert Montgomery: 1973-76, football, NFL Pro Bowl back Nicodemus Naimadu: 2003-07, four-time cross-country champion Delloreen Ennis-London: 1995-99, track and field, Jamaican Olympian Bobby Morrow: 1954-58, track and field, three Olympic gold medals
see RUSHMORE page 7
ACU at TAMU-K, 11 a.m.
Baseball ACU at Northeastern, noon ACU at Northeastern, 5 p.m.
Track and Field ACU at Texas Relays
Women's Tennis
BASEBALL
COLUMN
Linda Bailey
true to its name
Wildcats sweep ASU, TWU March Madness Opinion Page Editor
ACU at Blue-Gray Classic, TBA
Men's Tennis ACU at Blue-Gray Classic, TBA
HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS
Briefs n Javelin thrower Linda Brivule posted an automatic qualifying mark at the University of Texas at Arlington. n Pole vaulters Landon Ehlers and Aaron Cantrell posted qualifying marks for the NCAA Outdoor Championships last weekend.
The Wildcats continued their winning streak this weekend by sweeping the Angelo State Rams in a four-game home series. On Friday, the Wildcat defense shut out the Rams, leaving them scoreless in both games. During the first game of the doubleheader, Cameron Aspaas pitched the first six innings, giving up only two hits, and Brad Rutherford closed the game. Zach Sneed pitched all seven innings during Game Two of the doubleheader, allowing only two hits. The first three innings were scoreless for both teams, until the fourth when Travis Latz
Jayhawked
KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer
First baseman Bret Bochsler stretches for an out during the Wildcats' 16-14 win against the Angelo State Rams. got an RBI on a single to left field. Later, Aaron Oliver tripled with the bases loaded, making the score 4-0. ACU defense continued shutting
down the ASU offense, and the Wildcat offense scored three more runs in the fifth and seventh see SWEEP page 7
some hoops. The tournament is By Sam Bartee controlled by one thing Christmas has been de- – upsets. With the Final scribed as the most won- Four already determined, derful time of the year no one would have pre– for me, March Madness dicted Duke would be the only one seed left. feels It seemed as if a lot of t h e brackets started changs a m e ing drastically when St. way. Mary's upset Villanova Coland Northern Iowa delege basfeated Kansas, and it ketball all went downhill from is by Bartee there. far my I am a die-hard Kansas favorite sport to watch, so being able to watch 64 Jayhawks fan, and they games in a period of two- were going to win the tourand-a-half weeks is heav- nament. Not only I thought enly. The raw talent and that; so did all of the drive from the players is top sports contributors, infectious and makes you see MADNESS page 7 want to get up and shoot