The Optimist Print Edition 9.2.16

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

v

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.

2

NEW S

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

Core: changes made to courses

Freshmen prep for Follies and Family

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BY EMILY GUAJARDO VISUALS MANAGING EDITOR

for us to better align with traditional higher education practices,” Straughn said. “Our core classes were a bit on the unusual, innovative side. It’s already unique because of all the Bible classes.”

Instead of taking BCOR or Core 210, students using the 2016-17 course catalog must take any HIST course and any elective.

The general education review committee proposed the change and the entire faculty voted on it.

Straughn said some faculty thought the Core curriculum was innovative and wanted to make it better, but most faculty voted in favor of the changes.

“The vote was overwhelmingly in support and I think that speaks more or less for itself,” Straughn said.

Historical literacy, a traditional requirement at many universities, will be easier for students to fulfill with dual credit, transfer hours or AP courses.

Straughn said he’s proud of this change because he believes knowledge of history should be an expectation for all students.

The elective requirement will be undefined so students can take any course to fulfill it. Students with minors or double majors can use this to take courses required for their degrees.

“Being able to explore something that you just want to explore,” Straughn said. “Being able to have a place to put that now in our degree that’s protected, to me recaptures some of a liberal arts education.”

Started in Fall 2011, the Core curriculum was designed to connect ACU’s biblical traditions to real-world situations. Cornerstone will still be a requirement for all freshmen and BCOR will still be offered as a course to fulfill the general education requirements, but it will not be required. Core210 can fulfill the cultural awareness requirement, and Straughn said Core 210 works well for students studying abroad.

The university will offer three sections of Core210 and four sections of BCOR this year. Eric Gumm, Registrar and Director of the First-Year Program and Academic Development, said his office will monitor the number of students whose catalog requires them to take the two courses and will make sure enough sections are offered.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

First-year students will showcase their collective talent at the annual Freshman Follies during Family Weekend on Sept. 9 and 10.

Participating students will put together the skits, dances and songs with the theme Adventure Awaits in mind.

Tom Craig, director of student organizations and productions, said the main purpose for follies today is to help freshman students get to know more people and form relationships by working together within their halls. Craig said the hall acts work together to come up with an act which allows students to get to know people quicker on a day-to-day basis instead of casual interactions.

"We have hall acts where people who live together develop an act," said Craig.

"Working on something fun with the people in your hall allows you to get to know people more quickly than casual interaction on a day-to-day basis."

Craig said follies has proven to give students a chance to experience an

ACU tradition as well as take part of a major performance.

"This year's show should prove to be fun and exciting," said Craig. "We have a broad range of students showcasing various talents, including a freshman band. That's a new twist for this year, and we're excited to see what they bring to the stage."

Follies, a tradition that dates back to 1972, is known to be filled with bright lights, homemade costumes, washable face paint and flimsy backdrops, and many laughs from the audience.

The show was created in 1972 by Dewby Ray, past coordinator for alumni and parent programs. Ray organized a student run performance originally called "Catclaw Crystal Place" and it was established and performed as part of Homecoming Week. In 1990, the name was changed to Freshman Follies was later moved from Homecoming to Family Weekend, which happens each September.

Production manager Courtney Tee, a senior sociology major from Houston, said the main focus of

OPTIMIST STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A freshman girls hall act performed at the 2015 Freshman Follies.The show will take place Sept. 9 and 10 at Cullen Auditorium.

Follies is to allow freshmen to experience a student production and tap into their creative side.

Starting from the beginning of the semester, freshman are only given the theme for the performance and the rest is up to

them. Tee explained that though her role as production manager is to oversee the entire production, she allows the students to make it their own.

"The funny thing is, we never know which direction its going to go," said

Tee. "We are just so profound of the creative side of these students and we really want them to get the full experience."

EAG13A@ACU.EDU

Summit: campus prepares for annual event CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

the Summit information desk in the Bible Building.

The full schedule, speaker biographies, campus maps and social media links can all be found in the ACU Summit app, which can be downloaded on the App Store.

Wray and his team invited six physicians involved with non-profit, faith-based agencies who have partici-

pated in missions around the world for an all-day track Tuesday. Dr. Cynthia Powell will host the event and she has made arrangements for pre-med students to attend sessions throughout the day.

“Our Medical Mission Track presenters have spent years treating patients, studying cultures and praying for wisdom and God’s guidance as they have worked in communities

across the world,” said Powell, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

“They’ve seen how God’s love can be communicated through caring for physical needs.”

Wray and Powell anticipate 125-175 pre-health students attend all or parts of the sessions offered.

“I hope [the students] will be challenged to think about how they can use training in

a health profession to serve on mission fields in a way that most effectively reflects God’s mercy and brings the good news of God’s grace,” Powell said. “Many of our students are passionate about serving those who have limited access to medical care.”

The medical missions track pairs well with the overall theme of “Love God. Love Your Neighbor,”

and Wray said he hopes students will take advantage of the opportunities throughout the week to engage with those coming to campus.

“One of the real strong principles of Summit is to have students, practitioners and congregational leaders come together for conversations,” Wray said.

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

DET enters technology agreement with Sony

BY MERCEDEZ HERNANDEZ PRINT MANAGING EDITOR

The School of Information Technology and Computing has entered into an agreement with Sony that grants the department access to develop projects compatible with the company’s gaming systems.

The contract gives the school access to Sony’s Playstation and Vita systems, which includes access to Sony’s virtual reality technology.

Dr. Brian Burton, associate professor of digital entertainment technology, said after the school was ranked 27th on the Princeton Review’s Top 50 undergraduate game design

programs, that it should take advantage of that high ranking and send an application to Sony.

“Sony is very protective with their devices but they have allowed select universities around the world to be able to develop applications for them,” Burton said. “We’re not making apps for them, but we’re teaching students to make applications that could potentially be installed on a Playstation.”

Burton said he sent the application to Sony in April and played a waiting game until late June when he finally got the tech company’s approval.

With gaming taking a turn for the realistic, Burton affirmed that a good

“

The students in the program have the resources and the tools to create what might be the next blockbuster game,”

DR. BRIAN BURTON ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY

portion of the development with Sony’s technology will focus on creating virtual reality games.

“We’ve made a huge investment into virtual reality and augmented reality equipment and this is just one more area that we will be able to develop,” Burton said.

Along with access to Sony’s technology, the school will also have access to development tools from the company. Burton said

the school will also be receiving a Sony Playstation for testing student applications that is expected to arrive in October.

Burton said the honor of working with Sony is a testament to the school’s talent and potential.

“This means that we are creating things that the game companies want to see. The students in the program have the resources and the tools to create what might be the next

blockbuster game,” Burton said.

Austin Graham, senior, digital entertainment technology major from Corpus Christi, said the partnership is a great opportunity for students to dip their toe into the workforce while still studying at university.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity. It really shows how our department is looking to work with companies out in the field to help DET majors and SITC to get some hands-on experience before actually going out into the workplace,” Graham said.

MMH13A@ACU.EDU

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 08/23/2016 10:30 p.m.

ACUPD investigated a drug offense at Adams Hall. A student was found in possession of marijuana, arrest warrant pending.

08/27/2016 12:42 a.m.

ACUPD investigated a resident’s complaint of a large party in the 500 block of EN 21st. Party was dispersing as officers arrived, but one person was issued a municipal for urinating in public.

08/27/2016 1:47 a.m.

ACUPD investigated a resident’s complaint of loud noises made by drivers driving throughout the block and yelling.

911 CALL 2 ACCIDENT 2 ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY 37 ADVICE 1 ALARM 5 ANIMAL CALL 2 ARRESTED SUBJECT 1 ATTEMPT TO LOCATE 1 BARRICADES 3 BICYCLE PATROL 5 BICYCLE/SKATEBOARD CALL 1 BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK 2 BURGLARY (MOTOR VEHICLE)

1 CHECK BUILDING 309 CIVIL DISTURBANCE 1 CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 1 DIRECT TRAFFIC 1 DISTURBANCE 4 DRUG ACTIVITY/OFFENSE 1 ELEVATOR RESCUE 1 ESCORT 4 FINGERPRINTING SERVICE 7 FOOT PATROL 33 FOUND PROPERTY 6 HIT & RUN 1

INFORMATION REPORT 4 INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP 15 LOST PROPERTY 3 MAINTENANCE UNIVSITY ASSETS: CCTV 7 MAINTENANCE: UNIVERSITY ASSETS 2 MEDICAL EMERGENCY 1 MONITOR FACILITY/LOT 4 MOTORIST ASSIST INFLATE TIRE 1 MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMPSTART 12 MOTORIST ASSIST: OTHER 2

MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK 5 NOISE VIOLATION 2 OTHER 3 PARKING LOT PATROL 36 PARKING VIOLATION 45 PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTENANCE 3 PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL 9 PUBLIC SERVICE 2 RANDOM PATROL 30 REPORT WRITING 17 SEX OFFENSE 1 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY 2

SUSPICIOUS PERSON 6 SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 3 THEFT 3 THEFT (MOTOR VEHICLE) 1 TRAFFIC STOP 5 TRAINING 3 WELFARE CHECK 4

POLICE CHIEF TIP OF THE WEEK:

Stay up to date on crime issues and occasional police humor, follow ACUPD on Twitter @ YourACUPD

N E WS

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

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Chapel: students react to new credits system CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

our chapel schedule to accommodate this requirement.”

Porter still received all the exemptions she applied for through the Chapel office, so now she only has to get 25 credits.

“People have work after school, we have homework, and I have a night class,” Porter said. “For me, it is the 11 o’clock slot that I have. That leaves me with two days. I feel like the system is so complicated that it ends up to be more work than it should be for me to get my Chapel credits.”

Megan Lavallee, sophomore speech pathology major from Tuscola, said last year as a freshman she was anxious about getting all 55 credits, especially when some credits wouldn’t show on myACU. “With the Quest credits it will be a lot easier to keep track of,” Lavallee said. “I won’t have to guess how many credits I have.”

Graham Mask, senior management major from Brownwood, said the changes to Chapel in the last two years haven’t affected him personally. He said he prefers Immersed chapel with instrumental worship. Although some semesters he did not get all

55 credits, he said it had to do with his own commitment, not the Chapel system.

“In a way it’s good that they changed the name, because I feel like it’s less of a requirement,” Mask said. “It’s kind of like they’re putting some depth behind it and encouraging students to get an experience out of it.”

Courtney Barton, junior biology major from Abilene, also said Quest credits seems to emphasize spiritual formation more than just getting credits.

She attends Honor’s chapel and Missions chapel.

Philomena DeHoyos, senior criminal justice major from Marion, said although the Chapel office claims students have 150200 opportunities to get credits, many of those opportunities happen at the same time or are exclusive to certain clubs or organizations.

“I’m just still bitter that Summit lectures aren’t worth two credits anymore, and those are only at 11 a.m.” DeHoyos said.

In her freshman and sophomore year, getting two credits for Summit events helped her get all 55 credits. Last year she was required to go to some Summit events for classes,

MAGGIE FARIAS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

but said she was frustrated that she couldn’t get Chapel credit for those.

“With all these changes, people are just getting irritated,” DeHoyos said.

“It was definitely hard to carve out time. I was still

rushing around at the end trying to get them.”

Austin Riley, senior management major from Lubbock, has Faith-inAction credits for World’s Backyard, which means he automatically gets 15

credits to account for serving in the organization for 15 weeks. Faith-in-Action credits were offered last year, but Riley didn’t know about them until another student explained the credit option.

“To me it’s just another name,” Mask said about Quest. “I guess there’s more opportunities but to me it’s just another name.”

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

Comms Dept. to take students to presidential inauguration

BY ERIKA BOLADO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A short course will be offered in the first two weeks of the spring semester, political communication and sociology in presidential campaigns, students can earn 3-hours to their degree and also attend the presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. The dual credit course, COMS 440/SOCI 440, works best for sociology or communication majors/ minors and leadership minors. However, the class can be added as an elective for non-majors or non-minors.

Lynette Sharp Penya, Assistant Provost for Graduate Programs, took two different

groups of students to Washington, DC. in 2009 and 2013.

“The second time I actually took Dr. Suzie Macaluso, the assistant professor of sociology, and I also took a group of 21 students from ACU,” said Penya. “We are hoping this time to take 30 students with us and Dr. Kristina Davis has also decided to join us.”

The cost of the course will cost students $2,990, which can be charged on any student’s account or financial aid can cover the cost.

“We tried to do a little bit of restructuring work and we are able to offer the course for the same price that we offered it last time,” said Penya.

The cost includes a round-trip flight, a hotel for 14 days, meals, and ground transportation around D.C. The group will depart from the DFW airport on January 7 and will depart Washington, D.C. on January 21.

“The highest fee comes from the washington center because they are going to house you for that many days and they also have all the programming so they bring in all of those people,” Penya said.

Since it’s an upper-level course, some concern if whether freshmen can enroll raised a few questions.

Penya said students from all areas and all levels from the university take the course, including freshmen

“

Attending the Presidential Inauguration seminar is the opportunity of a lifetime that enriches a student’s educational experience. ” DR. LYNETTE SHARP-PENYA ASSISTANT PROVOST FOR GRADUATE PROGRAMS

all the way up to graduate students.

Since students have to miss the first two weeks of classes, an advanced approval absence form is provided.

“Last time we didn’t have any students with a problem like that but they did all talk to their professors in advance before the fall semester ended for their spring classes,” Penya said.

This year’s speakers will

address the question “Can we elevate political discourse?”

Before the presidential inauguration, students will attend lectures from well-known speakers at the Washington Center, visit sites around D.C., and discuss the significance of sites in the topic of sociological and communication research.

In previous years, students

had the opportunity to meet high-profile speakers in different careers, network, and get insight into potential careers.

“Attending the Presidential Inauguration seminar is the opportunity of a lifetime that enriches a student’s educational experience,” Penya said. “Whatever a student’s field of study, attending this seminar and participating in history by attending the 2017 Presidential Inauguration will be an incredible and unforgettable experience.”

For more information, contact Dr. Lynette Sharp Penya at penyal@acu.edu.

EXB14A@ACU.EDU

Employees eligible for free ACU Dallas online graduate degrees

BY ERIKA BOLADO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ACU employees can pursue an online graduate degree from ACU Dallas Online Programs and receive 100% refund of their tuition.

Beginning in October, ACU employees can choose to enroll in six different online graduate programs: Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EdD), Master of Education in Instructional Lead-

ership (MEd), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Master of Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT), and Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA).

According to an email sent to faculty and staff members, “Fall 1 term will see the largest entering class of online graduate students for ACU Dallas.”

Jaime Goff, dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies

at ACU Dallas, said she saw an increasing interest coming from faculty and staff members after the first week an email was sent out about the details of the new employee tuition benefit program. Goff said ACU Dallas focused on growing their new online graduate programs about a year ago and has been adding more over the past year and a half.

“We are up to around 500 graduate students only in online graduate pro-

grams or our ACU online programs here over the past, maybe within a year, eventually when we have been in operation,” Goff said. “That’s in addition to any graduate students who are in residential programs in Abilene, that’s a pretty significant growth overall for ACU’s graduate students.”

Goff said she hopes ACU employees will take advantage of the benefit and share the news with other faculty and members.

“It’s a great benefit for them and hopefully it will help a lot of people advance in their careers or profession,” Goff said.

However, the programs offered can only be taken online from the ACU

Dallas Online Programs.

Lynette Sharp Penya, assistant provost for graduate programs, said she doesn’t foresee a tuition discount being offered to ACU employees for the residential graduate programs.

Applying for the benefit doesn’t guarantee admission nor does it guarantee an exact start term. There are also eligibility requirements and academic progression requirements.

Jenni Williams, enrollment and student development manager in the School of Information Technology and Computing, said she received her Master of Higher Education online a few years ago prior to the new benefit. She said for people

who take online classes it’s recommended to be determined, self-motivated, and can work independently.

“It wasn’t a challenge out of the normal classroom,” Williams said. “It was a great experience, I definitely enjoyed it.”

Williams said she believes ACU is making an investment in their employees by offering the benefit.

“The reality is anyone who pursues higher education in this field at ACU, it’s an automatic opportunity for us to give back to our students and to invest in them further about what we’re learning in the classroom,” Williams said.

EXB14A@ACU.EDU

Advising center awaits new home

BY MERCEDEZ HERNANDEZ PRINT MANAGING EDITOR

WITH COACH KEN COLLUMS, GRANT BOONE AND HANNAH NULL

SATURDAYS AT 11 AM on KTAB-TV

After the storm of the first week of classes, the Academic Advising Center is settling into its temporary home in the top floor of the library.

Tamara Long, dean of admissions, said despite the cramped conditions in the center’s current location, the staff made it successfully through one of the busiest times of the semester.

“I think we’re dealing with it as best as we can,” Long said. “There’s a lot of value in being in the

same working environment with each other.”

Long said the greatest challenge for the advising center was how quickly the university made the switch from its old advising system to its new one.

“Students left in May with one structure in place and came back with a new structure in place,” Long said. “We’re also using new software so there’s been a challenge of getting used to that and training.”

A benefit of moving to centralized advising, Long says, has been the implementation of a student-to-adviser ratio of

300:1, which she said allows for more meaningful relationships to be formed between student and adviser.

“The goal and the purpose of the center is for students to know they have that one staff advocate right out of the gates,” Long said. “Our advisers will start working with freshmen during their senior year of high school, so when that student gets here and might be in a time of crisis, they know they have a person they can go to.”

MMH13A@ACU.EDU

4

O PI N I ON

&

ED IT O R IA L

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

Purple! White! Purple! Why you should care!

THE ISSUE

For a Div. 1 school, students’ levels of school spirit aren’t where they should be.

OUR TAKE

As a collective student body, we need to do better at supporting our teams.

“Go Wildcats!”

Last year, athletic director Lee DeLeon taught incoming students that when someone says “Go Wildcats!” the appropriate response is “Go Wildcats!”

– a simple phrase used to rally the student body and show support for ACU athletics. Come into Chapel on a Friday, and odds are you’ll hear the exchange take place. These two words are becoming more a part of common campus vernacular, but they don’t seem to be deeply ingrained in all of our students yet.

Some students don’t understand that supporting athletics impacts the school more than just attendance at sporting events. We need to support our athletics by taking pride in our school.

First, we need to take part in traditions. On the

first Friday of the semester, there were a lot of purple t-shirts in Moody – but our guess is that most students donning school colors were either freshmen or sophomores, those who were taught the tradition of Purple Friday during their orientations. In 2015, Wildcat Week put heavier emphasis on teaching new students our traditions, from making sure every student had a purple shirt to wear on Fridays to knowing the lyrics to “Oh Dear Christian College” by heart.

Why is purple important? For one, prospective students visit campus every Friday to check out ACU. When we show school spirit, we are showing these potential Wildcats that we care about our university both in academics and athletics.

Second, ACU is worth

cheering for. We compete with top universities in Texas, so we should be just as enthusiastic as they are. At schools like Baylor, Texas A&M, University of Texas and Texas Tech, school pride is a given.

Support for sports puts these schools at the top of the social ladder and can result in huge alumni donations for the school and other scholarship funds.

Win or lose, these universities support their teams.

Perhaps many of you may have almost attended those schools because you wanted to be a part of that kind of school spirit.

You were drawn to traditions like the Baylor Line, A&M’s Midnight Yell and Tech’s Raider Gate. In the end, you chose ACU, a school with rich traditions and community just as worthy of cheering for as those other schools.

Finally, the football stadium will be finished in one year, and we need to be ready. Looking out on the construction site, the words from Field of Dreams echo in our ears: “If you build it, they will

BY GARON GOODSPEED GUEST COLUMNIST

@ANDREWBOONEDOG AUG. 26 11:56 A.M.

A recent fashionable style for girls is the “ready to go on a wilderness hike at any moment” look – very practical @COLTONPOWELL97 AUG. 26 11:26 P.M.

“It is not long until ACU offers an honors’ colloquium on the grammar of emojis” – @allentmartin

@TAENJOHNSON AUG. 30, 7:11 P.M.

nothing ruins a day quite like seeing a Tomi Lahren video shared on Facebook

@MEEKY_CHEEKY AUG. 30 10:26 P.M.

Based on my lack of motivation to do homework, and capacity to procrastinate it’s actually incredible I’m a junior in college @KENNA_BELLE22 AUG. 30, 11:00 P.M.

I’m 20 and I still am not allowed to have boys in my room... Unless it’s Thursday from 6-11 pm

Last week I ate at Vagabond. Yes, the pizza was great. Yes, the dessert was great.

But most importantly, Abilene is great.

My group was forced to sit at the bar of the bustling new eatery, and we became fast friends with the gentleman serving us. After the common courtesies, menu explanations, and comments about the weather, I took the leap of faith and asked him more about his story.

He’s well spoken and cheerful, in his late 20s, and he has a day job at another downtown Abilene establishment. He would fall in that ambiguous category of

@MADDIE_THANNUM AUG. 31 3:26 P.M.

From now until Xmas break I will not be posting any selfies but if you just google ‘corpse’ you’ll see some photos of similar quality.

Omg I just googled corpse. Do not actually do this I am so sorry.

I need chapel exemptions so bad that I don’t have time to go fill out the form to get chapel exemptions.

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 79609 E-mail letters to: optimist@acu.edu

“cool,” and he has a spirit about himself that somehow gives everyone around him energy. His story had him come to Abilene for college, graduating and getting married, moving to Austin, and then quickly leaving Austin to come back to Abilene.

I stopped him. “What do you mean?” He said, “What do you mean what do I mean?” And I said, “You chose to come back to Abilene ?” “Yeah,” he said, “we love it here. The people

Junior convergence journalism major Albuquerque, New Mexico

Blasting Cyndi Lauper while you drive to Whataburger. Throwing french fries at each other at 1 a.m.

Making everyone else feel like third-wheels. If you’ve already found your college BFF, consider yourself lucky.

If you haven’t found your partner-in-crime/futuremaid-of-honor-best-man, don’t worry. Making best friends takes time and energy, and as a college student, you probably don’t have much of either of those.

A best friend can handle your tears and isn’t afraid to shout at you from across campus. Your best friend will drop everything to take

care of you when you’re sick or lonely. You can’t just expect that person to fall into your lap.

Many of us came to ACU not knowing a single person, yet we still expected our relationships to go from strangers to besties in the first semester. How are you supposed to really get to know someone in such a short time, when it took years to make the friends you had in high school?

And how are you supposed to get to know someone, when most people are trying to look good, disguising who they really are?

A 2016 social psychology study by the journal PLOS

T H E

EDITORIAL AND LETTER POLICY 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

GARON GOODSPEED GRADUATE ACCOUNTING STUDENT FROM COPPELL

HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

@HOTTMESSJESS13 AUG. 31 9:58 P.M.

AUG. 31 10:02 P.M.

It wasn’t that I thought settling down and falling in love with Abilene was wrong intrinsically, I thought it was wrong out of habit.

RATED R

Trump is the GOP nominee and Nick is the new bachelor.

Can’t win in 2016.

Saw a shirtless dude doing headstand push-ups about fifty yards from a girl’s dorm.

I’m glad my workouts inspired this guy.

OPINION@JMCNETWORK.COM

are so nice. We get to make our own fun. Abilene is the beautiful oasis of West Texas.” I wanted to ask what he meant again.

The important thing to note here is this: It wasn’t that I thought settling down and falling in love with Abilene was wrong intrinsically, I thought it was wrong out of habit. The common conversation heard around our campus is that what we have either isn’t enough or it isn’t as good as what our friends have across the

state. We’ve told each other the same story over and over again, and now we can’t imagine a different narrative existing.

This week marks the 122nd week of classes here at ACU for me, and every week I become more and more certain that a different story is about to break through – a story that begs us to consider what our college experience would look like if we listened to the people that call Abilene an oasis instead of the people that call it a desert.

Garon is a graduate student in the Masters of Accounting program.

He graduated from ACU with a degree in accounting in May 2016.

Wait we’re not best friends yet?

@BRICLOSE AUG. 31 4:00 P.M.

@ITSMEMITCHEAST SEPT. 1, 3:19 P.M.

Texas universities, and for ourselves as future alumni. “Go Wildcats” is more than a phrase. It’s an attitude of pride that claims, win or lose, this university is worth cheering for.

COLUMN

*gets a few hours of sleep* ... *looks forward to nap all day* ... *men with loud hammers reapir house right outside window*

I just told my professor, “good have a day”

right now. It starts by going to games this year, by yelling “Go Wildcats” when someone yells it at you and by throwing on that one sort of wrinkled purple shirt in your closet because it’s Friday and you will probably wear a t-shirt anyway.

We need to support athletics for our future students, for a competitive place in the ranks of

Making Abilene Great Again “

@acuoptimist

@ABBEY_MOSES SEPT. 1 9:09 A.M.

come” – they, being current students, alumni and members of the Abilene community.

This is the hope the Department of Athletics is counting on. If you build it, they might come. They should come, and they could come, but will they?

To make a stadium full of people at the opening of next football season a reality, we have to start

GUEST COLUMN

hashtagACU

@IAMJMC95 AUG. 31, 11:56 P.M.

Daily Doodle Dosage by Ben Todd, Cartoonist

One studied the friendships of college students and found only 53 percent of friendships are reciprocal.

That means 53 percent of the people you think are your friends, probably don’t feel the same way about you.

Freshmen, take advantage of the common bathrooms, but don’t worry if your best friends change several times or even every week in the first year.

Sophomores, whether you started this year with your posse or all your friends transferred away during the summer, understand this is a new year, with new friendships. You may have to start all over building your friendships. You may lose and gain a whole new group after pledging season.

Juniors, now that you live off campus, you have to spend much more time and energy to build friendships.

Without the Bean and the

dorms, you’ll have to go out of your way to eat together or watch movies. Don’t give up on your best friends just because your new Anthropologie bedroom is so cozy now. But if you’re having trouble keeping up with old friends and a new house, nothing is wrong with you.

Seniors, you may be running out of time to put into any friendships at all. But remember, other seniors are overwhelmed and lonely too. It’s not too late to make best friends.

Like I said, if you’ve already found your college BFF, you’re lucky and you should hug your best friend today. If you haven’t, don’t worry. Be patient. Best friends are like flowers or something cliche like that.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

O P T I M IST

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F E ATUR E S

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

5

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The rose mural on North 2nd and Plum.

“It was bigger than me” Abilene artist finds purpose in painting

BY ABBEY BOWLING ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR

R

ed roses intertwine across the whitewashed bricks, accompanied by the hashtag #PrayForRosie stenciled in neat, block letters; just a few streets away, a sunset splashes against the side of a building, adding a pop of color to the otherwise dreary structure.

If you’ve driven downtown recently, you’ve probably seen the two new murals that sprung up seemingly overnight – Abilene resident Calina Mishay Johnson is the artist behind those beautiful murals in the heart of the city. Even though she’s been painting professionally for five years, it took her a while to get to this point.

“I actually dropped out of my first abstract painting class because I didn’t understand how to paint like that,” Cal said.

“It wasn’t until much later, after many hardships and pain, did I find my style that I have today. I learned a tough lesson: sometimes to be an artist it helps to have a story to tell, even if it hurts.”

After starting as an art major, she graduated with a general studies degree from Midwestern State, and then went back to school for her masters at Hardin Simmons University. She completed her masters in 2014 and started working an office job, but felt too much negativity from disgruntled coworkers that eventually brought her to a breaking point.

“One day, I decided

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Abilene artist Calina Mishay Johnson poses in front of one of her murals downtown. She’s completed two so far and has plans to tackle a massive three-story tall mural next month.

life was just too short for that way of thinking,” Cal said. “I quit my job and had a burning passion to do something to make up for the time I had lost, and that scared me. I wanted to do something big.”

With the responsibilities of getting her masters and working full-time, she wasn’t able to create for two years, so when she quit, she had two years worth of stored passion and creative energy that needed to be used. That’s when she came up with the idea for the mural project.

“I began to paint because I was at my rock bottom,” Cal said. “I didn’t care what the painting looked like, if it was pretty

or good. I needed to paint for my sanity. It was therapy, it was real and it was emotional. Painting allowed me to be vulnerable and tell my story, which in return helped me heal and spoke to others.” he painted her first mural just three months ago in Haskell, but the first mural in Abilene was the painting on North 4th and Walnut, titled, “Into the Sun.” It includes the vibrant colors of a sunset and a man, falling backwards with an open briefcase, which she completed earlier this month. The inspiration for that mural came from her favorite muralist, Banksy, because she “wanted to

S

do something in honor of him. Even though it’s not as good as his, I still wanted to try.” She completed the second Abilene mural of the roses on North 2nd and Plum about a week ago, after the owner of the building contacted her and asked her to paint something for his daughter. Like any artist knows, putting artwork on display can be scary and intimidating, but Cal said she’s always excited to see how the community will react.

“It’s exciting to see, like are people going to hate it? Are they going to love it? Are they going to tear it apart? Are they going to accept it?”

As she grew older and

developed both as a person and an artist, she realized that she wasn’t even painting for herself anymore – which was the sole reason she had first picked up the paint brush so many years ago.

“I lost my fear of failure, because it was bigger than me,” she said. “It was about inspiring others to dream big, too, to never give up on life and become bitter and sad. You always, always have another choice, if you’re brave enough to go for it.” al keeps busy with her family – she has three kids and her husband, Kevin, is a B1 pilot at Dyess Air Force Base and also helps paint the

murals – and her job with Integrated Behavior Solutions, where she’s a Board Certified Behavior Analyst working with autistic children. But in the midst of everything, she still finds the time to make Abilene a little more colorful.

The site of her next big project will be a three-story tall mural on North 3rd and Pine, which she’ll start in October. But in the meantime, she’s about to launch a fundraiser – called Art Bomb – with the Palette of Purpose organization to fund artists to paint murals downtown.

She’ll be selling T-shirts and taking donations from Sept. 3 to Nov. 1, and hopes to inspire the younger, college-age population to participate and support the art scene in Abilene.

For more information, check out the Palette of Purpose Facebook page.

Other towns have also noticed her work and are starting to reach out to her about painting more murals outside of Abilene.

“I hope people feel a part of themselves in what I do,” she said. “I hope it inspires people to be fearless of failure. Go big, everyone fails. So what?

Life is beautiful and people are amazing if you can align yourself with what you were created to do and use it to benefit others.”

C

AKB12A@ACU.EDU

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Banksy-inpsired mural downtown on North 4th and Walnut.

6

S P O RT S

FOOTBALL

Collums: Air Force toughest test of season

BY JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS EDITOR

It has been almost ten months since the Wildcats walked off the field in Colorado with a bitter taste in their mouths after a 40-36 loss to Northern Colorado.

ACU will get a shot at redemption Sept. 10, but before it can even think about that game, a triple-option and Mountain West powerhouse awaits them in Colorado Springs.

In 20 games, Air Force has never lost against an FCS-opponent. Over the last nine seasons, the Falcons have only missed a bowl game once. And among all the FBS schools in the nation last year, Air Force finished fourth in rushing, averaging an incredible 319.4 ypg.

ACU which will enter the game a 16-point underdog, will have its work cut out for it. However, head football coach Ken Collums is well aware of the stage this game is being played on, and said he knows the level of energy

his team will need to bring to have a chance.

“This will be the toughest team we play all year, that’s a fact,” Collums said. “Defensively they’re going to come after you. At times they are going to blitz more than you can pick up.

And so at that time, we’ve got to be able to put bodies on the right bodies.”

Meanwhile as the Wildcats begin their 95th season as a football program, they will be well acclimated to the Mountain West environment, having opened last season at Fresno State.

“Our guys are going to have to show some poise and some discipline and not be too passionate in that type of moment,” Collums said.

Although it was only able to muster a 3-8 record a year ago, ACU will be able to put playmakers on each side of the ball.

One of those playmakers is junior running back De’Andre Brown, who just two seasons ago eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, but struggled last year with an

injured offensive line.

“I’m ready to get back to that 1,000-yard mark,” Brown said. “Of course my goal is to exceed way beyond 1,000 yards, but I’m just glad the offensive line is healthy, and that I have a great quarterback and great wide receiving core that will help me get to that 1,000-yard mark.”

Not only will the offensive line be crucial in helping Brown and the offense keep pace with Air Force, but Collums stressed the importance of the defensive line in stopping the triple-option attack.

“The No. 1 thing you better have against Air Force is a solid defensive line,” Collums said. “If you’re not compressing gaps, then they’re just going to give the ball to the fullback and he’s going to run for five yards here, six yards here, four yards here, and they are going to get first down after first down.”

Despite having never met throughout the long history of each pro-

gram, the Wildcats do have a point of reference from their game last year against Fresno State. Air Force played the Bulldogs a month and a half after ACU fell 34-13. Fresno State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in that matchup, but the Falcons scored 42 unanswered points en route to a 42-14 thumping of the Bulldogs.

However, if the Wildcats can start fast, Brown thinks they’ll be able to make it a game.

“We’re really going to be up to the test, and I just think at the end if we play really hard and 100 percent and give it our all, at the end of the game, around the fourth quarter we should have a chance to win,” Brown said.

Another key component to the Wildcat’s success will be redshirt sophomore Dallas Sealey. Sealey was given the starting job after a strong spring and impressive fall camp. Although this won’t be the first start of his career, Air Force is a different type of team than

he will have seen before.

In his two previous starts, Sealey showed potential, especially against the eventual Southland Conference champion McNeese State.

Sealey kept the Wildcats in the game until the very end, but ACU came up just short of the upset, 15-13.

During the spring, Collums implemented a no huddle tempo that if Sealey and the offense can execute, could catch the Falcons off guard.

“In the spring we were running a little faster than we used to, but I feel like now we have got it down and it’s moving real fast so it’s like second nature to go fast,” Sealey said.

Saturday will be the 45th time ACU has squared off against an FBS opponent, and 11 of those times it has come away with a victory. The Wildcats last win against an FBS-caliber team came against Troy 38-35 in 2014.

JMR13B@ACU.EDU

Tabbed as a preseason all-American, Denmark enters third year as a key component to the defensive scheme

BY TREVOR WYATT SPORTS WRITER

McNeese Nicholls St. UCA SELU NSU HBU ACU SFA UIW TAMU-CC Lamar SHSU

Ovrl. Div. 2-0 2-0 2-2 1-2-1 1-2 1-3 0-3-1 0-2 0-3 0-4 0-4 0-4

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Volleyball Team

McNeese UCA NSU SELU ACU Nicholls St. SFA UIW TAMU-CC HBU Lamar SHSU UNO

Ovrl. Div. 1-3 2-1 3-2 1-2 0-4 1-3 2-1 0-3 2-1 1-3 0-2 1-2 1-1

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

SCHEDULE ACU McNeese UCA NSU SELU SFA UIW HBU Lamar SHSU

v Air Force v Tarleton v HBU v Baylor v Okla St. v Texas Tech v TAMU-K v UCA v CCU v OPSU

With one preseason game left, Charcandrick West is listed as third string on the depth chart for the Chiefs.

In the Spokane Indians last three-game series, Seth Spivey recorded 11 hits, seven RBI and a HR. Offensive tackle Tivis Neal won the 2016 Arena Football Championship on Aug. 26 as a member of the Philadelphia Soul. Neal was a three-year starter for ACU.

BRIEFINGS LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

As much time as Denmark spends on the football field and studying film, he also puts a lot of time into his engineering major, which keeps him plenty busy outside of football.

senior in 2013 at Las Cruces high school in New Mexico, he had 155 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss. A two-way starter, he also caught 15 passes for 378 yards and six touchdowns from the tight-end position and led his team to back-to-back Class 5A state championships and a 23-2 record.

Linebacker coach and special teams coordinator Mark Ribaudo is quick to point out that his accolades are only part of his game, and that his qualities as a person make him

the player he is.

“I’m more proud of some of the other qualities he has,” Ribaudo said.

“His leadership, his work ethic, and his commitment to this team is unparalleled.”

Denmark also said that his goal this season was a conference championship.

Ribaudo said that’s Sam in a nutshell.

“You ask a lot of kids what their goal is nowadays, in the world we live in, and they’ll say something along the lines of 100 tackles, 50 catches, or

I wanna be all-American, or drafted,” Ribaudo said.

“The appropriate answer, the one a coach looks for, is a championship. That’s what separates Sam from 99 percent of students.”

That praise isn’t just limited to coaches. Nik Grau, senior placekicker for the Wildcats, picked up right where Ribaudo left off.

“He’s El Capitan,” Grau said. “But seriously, he is a great leader. He has all the traits in what you want from a leader. He keeps everyone accountable and pushes every-

one to be their best, and he’s the same way off the field. He’s a great friend and someone I see doing great things on and off the field.”

However, people know Denmark, whether it be as an athlete, student, leader or friend, they can be sure that he will be right where he belongs, calling out plays to the Wildcat defense from the middle linebacker position.

TMW13A@ACU.EDU

Bibler looking for confidence from team this weekend The Wildcats head to Omaha, Nebraska, for their second weekend tournament of the season.

The Omaha Classic will match ACU up against four teams it is yet to play since transitioning to Div. 1.

Head coach Jason Bibler said he hopes the team can continue to improve on some of the positives and negatives that came out of last weekend’s tournament.

“Specifically our blocking and serve receives were really good last weekend, so we will con-

Team

EX-FACTOR

VOLLEYBALL

BY DEREK MARCELAIN SPORTS WRITER

Soccer

Football

Denmark driven by team goals For junior Sam Denmark, playing linebacker is about more than the statistics and the accolades. In many of those awards Denmark is quick to point out the entire defensive line.

“They’re incredible, all those guys give credit to me, but they do all the work. I just get all the glory,” Denmark said.

According to his teammates and coaches, that’s just Sam -- humble, understanding, and a great leader. The 6-foot-1-inch, 230-pound linebacker was voted a third team preseason all-American, one of six from the Southland Conference, and the only player from ACU. He was also voted first team preseason all-Southland Conference, as well as being a member of the all-Southland team last year.

Despite all of those accolades, he says his proudest moment was winning the Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year award in 2015.

“I take a lot of pride in my academic work, as well as my athletic accomplishments,” Denmark said. “Being able to put the school on the map and prove I’m not just an athlete, that meant a lot to me.”

Denmark is an allaround athlete who won state championships in both football and basketball in high school. As a

STANDINGS

tinue to improve on those things,” Bibler said.

The Wildcats will begin tournament play Friday against the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The Kangaroos started the season at the Oklahoma Invitational, compiling a 2-1 record as they had impressive wins over UTEP and Oral Roberts, but fell to the hosting Sooners.

Two players, seniors Emma Hagedorn and Kaylyn Brandt, named to the all-Tournament team. UMKC will have one game before the tournament plays this weekend. The ‘Roos will head to Vermilion, SD on Thursday for a night

game against the University of South Dakota, who the Wildcats will also take on this weekend.

“We definitely have to make some better decisions offensively in order to help us score points and our back row defense needs to improve as well,” Bibler said.

The second game is also on Friday against the hosting Mavericks.

Omaha comes in with a 0-3 record after last weekend’s North Dakota Classic, but was able to show some bright spots.

One of these bright spots was junior setter Sydney O’Shaughnessy, she was named to the UND Clas-

sic all-Tournament Team for her performance as she had an average of 7.5 assists per set and 2.5 digs per set. The Mavericks are a young team with the addition of seven freshmen, after graduating six seniors from last year’s squad.

The final game for the Wildcats comes against the Coyotes from the University of South Dakota. The Coyotes bring a 3-1 record into the tournament and as mentioned earlier, they have a game against the UMKC Thursday. South Dakota played against ACU’s Southland Conference rival Incarnate Word at the

Tulsa Tournament, where they beat UIW in three sets.

After last week’s tournament, Coach Bibler said the team needs to play with more confidence.

“We need to trust ourselves and our ability to handle the moment, regardless of the outcome,” Bibler said. “We are better than our result last weekend and we have to believe that. I’m excited to watch us play more consistently at that level and do the things we need to do in order to be successful.”

DJM14B@ACU.EDU

A Wildcats upset against Air Force on Saturday would be the Falcons first loss against an FCS school in their history.

ACU signed a threeyear deal to make 98.1 FM the flagship station of Wildcat Athletics this week.

The deal includes over 425 radio broadcasts during the length of the contract.

Freshman forward Shay Johnson received her second straight Southland Conference honorable mention award, after scoring another goal over the weekend.

UPCOMING Volleyball faces off against the University of Missouri-Kansas City, South Dakota and Nebraska at Omaha this weekend.

The Wildcats also play their first home game against UTA on Tuesday.

Cross Country begins its season Thursday in Lubbock, while Golf opens up play next weekend in Colorado Springs.