WHAT'S INSIDE
NEWS
SITC and DET enter into tech agreement with Sony to help students develop games Page 2
FEATURE
OPINION
A local artist shares her story of how she brightened up downtown with her free-spirited street art. Page 5
We think you should care more about supporting Wildcat athletics. Find out why. Page 4
SPORTS
Football heads to Colorado for a big season opener against Air Force Academy. Pages 6
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Friday, September 2, 2016 Vol. 105, Issue 03
A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
LYDIA LAWSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Students cheer on the women’s soccer team at the Aug. 26 game against Oral Roberts University. Despite the team’s losses last weekend, soccer fans supported the team at Elmer Gray Stadium. This week on the Opinion page, read our take on why more students should support Athletics.
Core curriculum changes promote more liberal arts
Summit finalizes plans for 110th year
BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
The Summit leadership team is putting the final touches on plans for the 110th annual Bible lectures, set to take place Sept. 18-21 with the theme “Love God. Love Your Neighbor.” Dr. David Wray, director of Summit, said he anticipates 1000 guests to attend
University general education will require one history course and one elective in place of the Core curriculum. Dr. Greg Straughn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and co-chair of the general education review committee, said the changes will make ACU general education more like general education at other universities. The overall number of hours did not change, with students still required to complete 56 general education hours. Straughn said this number, including Bible courses, compares to general education at other Christian universities, and if Bible courses are not counted, it compares to requirements at secular universities. “It makes a lot of sense SEE CORE PAGE 2
BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF
the four-day event. Notable additions to this year’s lectures are the use of a mobile app for scheduling and a Medical Missions track. Students will only be able to earn three Spiritual Formation credits during Summit by attending the 11 a.m. sessions in Moody on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the week. Summit organizers made
the decision to move the evening sessions to Cullen Auditorium, a smaller venue than Moody Coliseum, so the Chapel Office said the decision to offer fewer credits is all about space. “Summit planners want to make sure that there is enough room in Cullen for those who register and come to Summit, many from out of town,” Jan
Meyer, director of spiritual formation, said in an email. “It’s a big change for them from Moody Coliseum. So they have asked us to limit the sessions where we give credit to those in Moody Coliseum.” In the past, Summit has mailed out 15,000 booklets with speaker biographies and schedules to guests in advance, but Wray and the
Summit team are directing guests to the app for all the information they need for the week. “We need to come into the 21st Century with Summit,” Wray said. Hard copies of the programs will be available at the Summit Headquarters in the Campus Center and SEE SUMMIT PAGE 2
Students react to Quest credit change “ BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
As the Office of Spiritual Development processes 700 Chapel exemption forms, some students remain hopeful while others wonder how they can meet Quest requirements. For nursing students, Chapel credits pose a problem because they have daylong clinicals, sometimes off-campus, three times per week. With 14 weeks of
Chapel, nursing students would be able to get credits at 11 a.m. only 28 times. Leanne Porter, senior nursing major from the Woodlands, said last year she and other nursing students had to get only 5-25 credits because of a mistake in the Chapel office. This year, Porter and her fellow nursing students applied for Chapel exemptions for the three days they would have clinicals. While waiting for the exemptions
Except that people have work after school, we have homework, and I have a night class.” LEANNE PORTER SENIOR NURSING MAJOR FROM THE WOODLANDS
to be processed, the nursing students received an email from Margot Binion, assistant to the dean of the School of Nursing, stating they would receive only 10 exemptions and would be
required to get 45 credits. This means they would have to get more than three credits each week. “There are over 140 opportunities for chapel credits this semester and you
should be able to easily obtain 45 including with clinical days,” Binion said in an email to senior nursing students. “I know that last semester many of you had only a handful of chapel credits required but the university did not approve of this and wants the nursing students to be involved in chapel as much as possible so the Dean has adjusted the clinical schedule and SEE CHAPEL PAGE 3
Highland buys old hospital to house homeless “ BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
Highland Church of Christ’s “housing first” initiative will turn the abandoned St. Ann’s Hospital near downtown into a permanent residence for the homeless. The church gave funds totaling $100,000 to CitySquare, a Dallas-based nonprofit, to purchase the property on 1350 Cypress St. Part of the church’s “Restore Abilene” initiative, St. Ann’s will be accessible to homeless people without extra requirements, including to have a job or stop drink-
The first thing you do for people is get them a home. BEN SIBURT EXECUTIVE MINISTER AT HIGHLAND
ing. Ben Siburt, executive minister at Highland, said the project may take 18-24 months to complete. “The first thing you do for people is get them a home,” Siburt said. The apartments will consist of 30-40 single-occupant efficiencies. All residents will have the opportunity to re-
ceive social services. Highland’s Restore Abilene initiative focuses on local issues including homelessness, poverty and education. The church began fundraising for the housing program three years ago, with many congregation members making monthly pledges towards the fund. Siburt said the congregation showed overwhelming excitement about the initiative. “We think caring for those who don’t have a place to stay is part of the Jesus story,” Siburt said. “In the margins of society is where Jesus hangs out.”
In the next three months the church will apply to rezone the property and will work on finding a local contractor to do renovations. Siburt said the church hopes the property will eventually become self-sustaining as residents of the apartments become able to pay rent through jobs or government funding. St. Ann’s opened in 1940 as a clinic and closed in 1968 for financial reasons, according to the Abilene Reporter News. HRR13B@ACU.EDU
W W W. A C U O P T I M I S T. C O M
LYDIA LAWSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER St. Ann’s Hospital opened in 1940 and closed in 1968. Highland purchased the property for $100,000.