The Optimist Print Edition 04.18.2007

Page 1

The Vol. 95, No. 49

OPTIMIST

1 section, 8 pages

IN THIS ISSUE

WEDNESDAY

April 18, 2007

www.acuoptimist.com

‘An unfolding tragedy’

CAMPUS Shinnery Review

The 2006-07 edition of the Shinnery Review will be unveiled Thursday, page 3

Timeline of events monday 7:15 a.m.

Gmail offers hope

Technology administrators say they hope the new Gmail system will work better than the old e-mail system, page 4

9:26 a.m.

University officials at Virginia Tech send out an e-mail to students informing them about the first shooting and to look for suspicious people.

9:45 a.m.

Police receive a 9-1-1 call about the second shooting at Norris Hall, half a mile from the dormitory.

9:50 a.m.

When police arrive at Norris Hall, they find the doors locked and chained from the inside. Once in, they hear shooting on the second floor. A second e-mail is sent out to warn students to stay inside buildings and away from windows.

Get to know a club

Spring rushes for social clubs begin this week. For a full schedule of each club’s rushes see page 4

FEATURES

EMILY SMITH CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

10:27 a.m.

Government officials say at least seven or eight people have been killed.

11:02 a.m.

Seventeen people injured are sent to four Virginia hospitals with gunshot wounds and other injuries.

11:06 a.m.

University officials release to the media that they are unsure whether the gunman was acting alone or not.

11:25 a.m.

Virginia Tech Police say at least 22 people are dead from four classrooms in Norris Hall.

11:26 a.m.

Government officials report that the gunmen is also dead, although it is unclear whether it was suicide or if he was shot by police. It is not known at this time if the shooter was a student or not.

Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, leads a moment of silence and a prayer for the victims, families, students and all those involved in the Virginia Tech shootings Monday. Money sent a letter to Tech’s president conveying the ACU community’s condolences.

Finding Christ

Student Ashley He recounts her conversion to Christianity since coming to America from China, page 5

SPORTS

Virginia Tech shootings touch local students n Despite the 1,000-mile distance between ACU and Virginia Tech, students still felt the effects of the shootings that killed 33 people. DANIEL JOHNSON Sports Editor

On their way up

Five athletes provisionally qualified for the Outdoor National Championships at the Angelo State Relays this weekend, page 8

Virginia Tech is located in the small college city of Blacksburg, Va., more than 1,000 miles away from Abilene, but the impact of Monday’s tragedy was not absent from ACU and campuses across the nation. “I think a tragedy like this throws us all in the same boat,” said Dr. Royce Money, president of the uni-

versity. “This could happen at any campus.” On the heels of the greatest tragedy ever to hit an American college campus, Money told Tuesday’s Chapel audience that the ACU community’s condolences had been expressed to Virginia Tech through a message he personally sent Virginia Tech president Dr. Charles W. Steger. “Words cannot adequately express the deep sorrow we feel for the immense loss of life,” Money read from the message he sent. “Our hearts go out See

VA page 7

1:31 p.m.

emily smith CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Jay Mendl, freshman musical theatre major from Abilene, prays in Chapel on Tuesday for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. A moment of silence was observed during Chapel.

ACU Police examine crisis plans n ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said after Monday’s shooting at Virginia Tech, the university will re-examine its crisis plans to see if anything can be improved in case of a shooting. By KELSI PEACE Features Editor

Keeping the streak

The nationally ranked ACU baseball team won its series against Texas A&M-Kingsville this weekend, page 8

SPEED READS Choose study abroad

A new global human resource survey from executives lists study abroad experience as an important asset in landing a job. Nearly 75 percent of employers cite study abroad as important when evaluating the resume of a job candidate. Eighty-percent of employers feel this experience is necessary for jobs overseas. ­—thescholarship.com

In light of the Virginia Tech shootings Monday, colleges across the nation are discussing their campus security, and ACU is no different.

Jimmy Ellison, chief of police, said the tragedy gave reason to examine the university’s crisis response plans, which were in place long before Monday. In a situation like the Virginia Tech massacre, Ellison said ACU police would first respond to the shooting and would determine whether or not it was over. If the shooting is ongoing, Ellison said police would enter the building and engage the shooter to end the massacre. In an extreme situation,

Ellison said the Abilene Police Department could be called to the scene as well. “You can have all the plans that you want,” Ellison said, “But every scenario is different.” In addition to the ACU police’s crisis response plans, the university also has a Crisis Response Team composed of administrators, faculty, ACU police and representatives from support offices that meets See

Ag club rounds up rodeo participants n Students who attend the rodeo can sign up to participate in four events including goat or cow milking and steer saddling. No previous experience is required.

n Price: $4

By TODD PIERSALL and NATHAN MACDONALD Arts Editor & Student Reporter

The 51st annual ACU AllSchool Rodeo hosted by the Agricultural and Environmental Science Club is Thursday

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

at 6 p.m. It will take place at the Taylor County Expo Center horse barn with an admission fee of $4. Secretary of AES, Amanda Baker, senior agricultural business major from Abilene, said AES rodeos are different than rodeos most people are familiar with. “There’s really nothing typical about it,” Baker said. See

RODEO page 7

n Date: April 19 at 6 p.m. n Place: Taylor County Expo Center horse barn

n Events for women: ­— Goat dressing ­— Goat milking ­— Calf scramble ­— Rodeo Queen n Events for men: ­— Cow milking ­— Steer saddling ­— Double mugging ­— Rodeo King n Sponsored by: Agricultural and Environmental Science Club

Government officials declare 31 dead.

3:50 p.m.

Virginia Tech president Charles Steger makes a statement saying that 33 people, including the gunman were killed.

4:32 p.m.

Steger defends the way the campus handled the shootings after students complain there was no public address or other warnings besides e-mail, which was sent around the time of the second shooting.

Tuesday 6:25 a.m.

The university says the shooter was a student at Virginia Tech, and he lived on campus.

8:27 a.m.

The gunman’s identity is revealed as Cho Seung-Hui, senior English major from South Korea.

8:37 a.m.

Police confirm from ballistics that the same gun was used in both shootings by Seung-Hui.

2:06 p.m.

A classmate of Seung-Hui’s explains how all the warning signs were present, but no one would have realized he’d actually begin shooting people after some of the gruesome writings he did for a playwright class.

SAFETY page 7

ACU All-School rodeo

A gunman enters West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory that houses nearly 900 students, and begins firing.

SHADES steps onto stage for annual show n SHADES’s first performance of the semester will take place Thursday and continue Friday and Saturday in Cullen, based on the theme of ‘Convicted.’ By ERIN JORDAN Student Reporter

It’s SHADES show time. SHADES will have its first ACU concert of the semester April 19-21 at 7:30 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium. This year’s SHADES show theme is

Abilene Christian University

“Convicted,” which grew out of the squad’s love of Christ. SHADES is taking its performances to another level this year, with a bigger budget and a greater vision. “It’s going to be a bigger production we’ve grown from just doing talent shows and regular step shows; this is going to be a production,” said Brandon Jones, co-sponsor and assistant to Kendall See

SHADES page 7

Serving the ACU community since 1912


Chapel Checkup Credited Chapels to date:

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Wednesday, April 18, 2007

18

Calendar & Events Wednesday

5 p.m. SA meeting in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building, Room 114. All students are welcome to attend.

19

Thursday

6 p.m. All-School Rodeo in the horse barn at the Abilene Expo Center, hosted by the Agriculture and Environmental Science Club. Tickets will be available at the Campus Center ticket windows from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students may sign up to compete individually or as a team. Social clubs will nominate representatives to compete for Rodeo Queen and Rodeo Roughie. 7:30 p.m. ‘Convicted,’ SHADES spring step show, in Cullen auditorium. Tickets for ‘Convicted’ shows will be sold in the Campus Center ticket windows until Friday for $4. Tickets will be $5 at the door. Children under 5 are free. Tickets purchased from SHADES members are $3.

20

Friday

Praise Day in chapel with SHADES. Last day to sign up for ACU for Abilene. Last day to turn in mentor group leader applications for Welcome Week. 6:45 p.m. Dinner begins for Spring Dinner Theatre. Tickets for dinner and the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ show are $25. 7:30 p.m. ‘Convicted,’ SHADES spring step show, in Cullen auditorium.

21

Saturday

ACU for Abilene 6:45 p.m. Dinner begins for Spring Dinner Theatre. Tickets for dinner and the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ show are $25. 7:30 p.m. ‘Convicted,’ Shades spring step show, in Cullen auditorium. 8 p.m. ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is performed in Fulks Theatre. Tickets for the show alone are $15.

8 p.m. ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is performed in Fulks Theatre. Tickets for the show alone are $15.

Announcements ID Photos will be used in the 2006-2007 Prickly Pear. Students may go by the Depot no later than April 27 to retake these pictures. Students may also go by the JMC

office and fill out an opt-out form to have their picture removed from the Prickly Pear. Seniors, come to Joe Allen`s Lytle Bend Ranch Thursday from 5

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@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at mxe06a@acu.edu.

To ensure that 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. Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.

p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for free food and fun. Enter the drawings to win prizes including gift certificates and a digital camera. Wear a crazy hat and compete for a prize. RSVP to (325) 674-2737 or seniorexperience@acu. edu by Friday. For more information, go to www.acu.edu/seniors. Join the ACU Bands for the Spring ACU Bands Concert on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Abilene Civic Center. This concert will feature performances by the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble. Natalie Steele, the associate director of bands who will be leaving ACU to pursue doctoral studies next year, and John Whitwell (ACU Class of `65), who was director of bands at ACU from 1981-1987 and is on his retirement from teaching, will be honored. The

feature piece of the program is a new work called “Starry Crown,” which is based on three gospel tunes, including “Down in the Valley to Pray” from the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou.” This piece was composed by Donald Grantham, composer at the University of Texas, in honor of Whitwell. Also featured in this concert will be Kristin Ward, instructor of clarinet at ACU, performing a bass clarinet solo with the Wind Ensemble. All students are invited to the International Spring Banquet on April 27 at 7 p.m. at Fairway Oaks Country Club. Dress is semi-formal. Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased by cash or check in McKinzie Hall, room 128. All ticket purchases must be completed by Friday. For more information, contact Laura Blake at laura.blake@acu.edu. Residence Life is looking for bands for the Backyard Bash on April 28. If interested, contact Jae Webb at jkw02a@acu.edu or at (325) 260-7347. The First Annual 5k Saving Babies Race will be April 28. This race will be held by March of Dimes in conjunction with Walk America. The race will start at 8:30 a.m. Check in at 7:30 a.m. at Redbud Park. The Entry fee is $25. Awards will be given to the top overall runners and the top-three males and females in each age category. For more information, e-mail sks06k@acu.edu or call (325) 672-0566. Download an entry form at www.abilenerunners.com. The Spiritual Life Core is taking applications for student leaders to oversee ministry opportunities geared toward ACU students, including prayer ministry, Bible studies, encouragement ministry, etc. A link to the application is available in the Spiritual Life section on myACU. For more information, contact Ashley Carr at rac02a@acu.edu or Mark Lewis at Mark.Lewis@acu.edu.

Credited Chapels remaining:

60 12

Volunteer Opportunities ACU for Abilene is Saturday. This is a time when ACU students, staff and faculty will join together to serve the Abilene community in a variety of ways at a number of locations. Make plans to sign up for this time of service in the Campus Center ticket windows by Friday, and make a difference in Abilene. The March of Dimes is looking for volunteers for WalkAmerica at Redbud park on April 28. Help is needed between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. in one- to two-hour shifts to help with set up, registration and other aspects of the walk. For more information on this volunteer opportunity, contact the Volunteer Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout. MOPS at Highland Church of Christ is having its annual Great Moms Walk and family day out on April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nelson Park. For more information, contact Julia Stewart at (325) 690-9023. Looking for a one-week summertime adventure in Alaska? The Naha Teen Bible Camp, sponsored by the Ketchikan Church of Christ, is looking for volunteers to work at the camp, which will take place June 4 through June 8. For more information, contact Mark Lewis at Mark.Lewis@acu.edu. Freedom Fellowship Church needs volunteers who are willing to assist with a variety of after-school activities for at-risk youth, including tutoring, basketball and air hockey on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays

from 3:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. and Fridays from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Contact the Volunteer ServiceLearning Center in the Bean Sprout for more information. Volunteers are needed to be peer visitors or in a support group for amputees. Both men and women are requested to help. For more information, contact Wayne Briggs at (325) 691-1672 or (325) 829-1961. Meals on Wheels needs volunteers to deliver meals to seniors and adults with disabilities. This usually takes about an hour, and students can have one day of Chapel per week excused for this service. Contact the Volunteer Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout for more information. Big A Club of City Light Community Ministries has an urgent need for volunteers to ride buses and vans with elementaryage children and to help with Bible studies. This takes place on Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Contact the Volunteer Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout for more information. Girl Scout Troop #1550 needs young women who want to make a difference in young girls’ lives through Girl Scouting. The girls are from underprivileged homes, and they need positive Christian influences in their lives. Volunteers will help conduct meetings, including arts and crafts. Help is needed every Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. until May. For more information, contact Diltzie Andrews at (325) 673-6379.

ACU Career Information Upcoming Career Events and Workshops U.S. SECRET SERVICE Career Info Session Thursday at 3 p.m. in the Campus Center Living Room ACU CAREER DAY Deal Or No Deal: Just In Case... You have not yet landed a job, or you don’t know where to look, or you don’t know what to do, or (Career-related fill-in-the-blank.) Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ACU Hilton Room Featuring: -Gifts for graduating seniors -Networking with 20 employers -Resume, Cover Letter, and Job Search Advice -One-on-one with career counselors -Free food and drinks This Week’s CareerLink Statistics: Number of Part-Time Jobs: 144 Number of Internships: 281 Number of Full-Time Jobs: 809 Number of Employers in Directory: 3,110 Number of Employers Added This Week: 32 Hosted By: The Office of Career and Academic Development www.acu.edu/ocad

Upcoming On-Campus Interviews April 18: J-W Operating Company Human Resources Internship Any Major Open Schedule Sign-up deadline: Wednesday April 23: WhiteHill Manufacturing Accountant Open Schedule Sign-up deadline: Thursday April 24: AMBA District Manager Trainees and Interns Any Major Open Schedule Sign-up deadline: Thursday To schedule an on-campus interview, go to www.acu.edu/ careerlink or contact Bradon Tharp at (325) 674-2653. IT’S NOT A JOB IF YOU LOVE IT: Recent Jobs Posted on ACU CareerLink (www.acu.edu/careerlink) Job ID #5512 Media relations internship with the National Mental Health Association Job ID #5481 Summer tour guide with the ACU Office of Admissions Job ID #5478 Assistant business manager with McMahon Law Firm Job ID #5421 Customer services operations coordinator with Cadbury Schweppes Job ID #5453 Field technology engineer with Halliburton (Houston) Job ID #5454 Advertising account manager with Centro, LLC (Dallas)


CAMPUS NEWS

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Page 3

New outdoor adventure class offered during Maymester n Female students can earn an exercise science credit as a new Maymester course that offers outdoor adventure and spiritual wellness at the Big Bend camp site. By KARIE SCHMIDT Student Reporter

The Exercise Science Department is offering a new experimental activity course for this upcoming Maymester. The course curriculum focuses on exercise and spiritual wellness. For four days, 15 women will go on an outdoor adventure and

will get the opportunity to canoe, hike, mountain bike and go horseback riding at the Big Bend camp site. Students will spend two days in the classroom reading and discussing the course’s required text, “Living a Life of Balance,” and the following days will be spent in Big Bend doing all the set activities. Also while at Big Bend, each student will have to write in a journal, which is meant to help write the reflective essay due after they return. Once

they return, students will spend one additional day in the classroom for reflection on their adventure. “Outdoor adventure is not just physical, it is spiritual,” said Lorraine Wilson, associate professor of exercise science and health. Wilson began the vision of this course two years ago when the department said they needed to add a new activities course. She conducted a survey of what students would want in the activities course, where

they would want to go and how much they were willing to spend. The results indicated that most students wanted to go to the Gulf of Mexico but were not willing to spend more than $500. After researching the Gulf of Mexico as a possible location, Wilson found that the price was not within range, but with more research, she found Big Bend. From there, Wilson said she began setting up activities, and after two years, Wilson got the course in the catalogue.

n Sing Song production is looking for students to apply for next year’s Sing Song co-chairs. Applicants will be interviewed Wednesday and Friday. By SARA SNELSON Student Reporter

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Mathis Kennington, senior Christian ministry major from San Antonio, shared wisdom as one of the senior speakers in Chapel on Tuesday, reminding students to live for Christ.

‘Shinnery’ to be unveiled Thursday

By LAURA SMITH Student Reporter

The first copies of the 2007 edition of the “Shinnery Review” will be on sale Thursday. Campus Activities Board will be sponsoring the Black Tulip poetry reading that evening at 8 p.m. in the Learning Commons where there will be food, poetry and a chance to snag the latest edition of this student-created literary magazine hot off the press. Every year students submit by e-mail their entry in the form of prose, poetry, art or photography. In the spring semester, the student staff of the “Shinnery Review,” under the guidance of faculty sponsors, critique and discuss the submissions and make a decision on whether to in-

clude them in the “Shinnery Review” or reject them. “This year there is a lot of really, really strong pieces,” said Emerald McGowan, senior journalism major from Lake Charles, La., and one of the two editors of the magazine. “Last semester there was a poetry workshop, which made for a lot better writing.” Each work is judged from a rubric meant to determine if the composition was done artistically or if the artist just happened to get lucky, McGowan said. Although the quality of writing was better this year, submission level was down for literary and art pieces, McGowan said. In an attempt to remedy this earlier in the year, the “Shinnery Review” staff put on a contest that involved combining art and poetry to try and generate interest among students to submit their works in to the “Review.” “There were two submissions,” said McGowan, “and

In order to enroll in this activity course, two prerequisites are required. First, there is a strength test, which Wilson said is pretty easy to pass. Second there is a cardio test that requires the students to run or walk twice around the school track. “No one should feel intimidated [by the course],” Wilson said.

E-mail Schmidt at: optimist@acu.edu

Sing Song ’08 seeks co-chairs

Live for Christ

n The 2007 edition of the ‘Shinnery Review,’ a student-created literary magazine, will be on sale Thursday for $5. The magazine includes prose, poetry, art and photography.

“It is a short but powerful course,” Wilson said. Kerri Hart, associate professor of exercise science and health, is one of the sponsors helping with the Maymester. “I am very passionate with the philosophy of the class,” Hart said. Hart will spend time exercising with the 15 women and also worshiping in God’s creation, she said. “It’s everything I love in nature — playing in nature and reflecting on God’s creation,” she said.

one of them we did [publish].” At one point McGowan and her fellow editor Kalyn Gensic, senior art major from Menard, La., were recruiting among their friends for submissions. The pair was pushing for more creative works with an emphasis on art. “We had a less than normal amount of entries but good quality,” Gensic said. “It was more about quality than quantity. There were excellent submissions with a lot of great poetry and photography and good art.” The “Shinnery Review” for 2006-2007 will be on sale for $5 as well as the remainder of last year’s copies for a discounted price. For students wanting to be part of the “Shinnery Review: staff, contact McGowan at eam03a@acu.edu or check out the Web site at http://www.acu. edu/students/shinnery.html.

E-mail Smith at: optimist@acu.edu

Interviews for the 2008 Sing Song co-chairs will be conducted Wednesday and Friday. Students can pick up applications at the front desk in the Campus Life office. Requirements for applying include a grade point average of 3.0 and junior hours. Applications are due Thursday. There are three different co-chair positions: marketing co-chair, downstage cochair and upstage co-chair. Each position is in charge of a different aspect in the production, and they all “work together to produce a show that is a big part of ACU,” said Courtney Hembree, junior journalism major from Abilene and this year’s downstage co-chair. “Being a co-chair is so fun, and you feel very re-

warded afterwards,” said Kendall Massey, director of student productions. Caddie Coupe, senior communications major from Thousand Oaks, Calif., and this year’s upstage co-chair, said a co-chair requires patience and organizational skills. “You should be patient and organized; patience for others in the show and patience for yourself,” Coupe said. “I had no idea what all co-chair entailed and all the work it involved, but afterwards I felt so accomplished and was so satisfied with the job that was done.” Hembree said Sing Song is a major production that involves on-stage fun with lights and costumes, but there’s more that goes on behind-the-scenes. “All of that is such a small part of Sing Song,” she said. “There is so much that goes on back stage that not even the students who are in the show know about. I can look back and say I did that.”

“The process of Sing Song is long and could not be done without the people backstage,” Coupe said. “The co-chairs work from August until February in preparation for this event, but it is worth it.” Hembree said that although being a co-chair may take up a lot of time, the rewards outweigh the costs. “I strongly encourage others to participate and think about being a co-chair or backstage help,” Hembree said. “It may take up a lot of your time, but do not let other things stop you from doing it. You will feel truly rewarded in the end.” E-mail Snelson at: optimist@acu.edu

Available positions and requirements n Positions: marketing cochair, downstage co-chair and upstage co-chair. n Requirements: GPA of 3.0 and junior hours.


CAMPUS NEWS

Page 4

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

ACU hopes Gmail switch works better than old system n Professors and students hope the new e-mail system from Google, Gmail, will provide them with a better way to communicate and organize e-mails. By CAMILLE PAINTER Student Reporter

The umpteen signs posted around campus advertising Gday can now come down. G-day is upon us. After about four years of using Sun Microsystems to run our e-mail, ACU has switched to Google’s e-mail system, Gmail. Chad Hutchins, one of five students on a team in charge of spreading the word about the e-mail service change, said there were several reasons for the switch. “It’s just going to be so much easier and less buggy for the school. The people who are in charge of e-mail right now just hate [Sun Microsystems],” Hutchins said. “Also, for early adopters of Gmail, now that they’ve gone public, there’s no charge for it

so it saves them lots of money in licensing fees.” Hutchins, junior computer science major from Tyler, is ahead of the average student with the Gmail movement. He has been using his ACU e-mail account but having his e-mails forwarded to his separate Gmail account, the provider he prefers. Gmail has several new features: a chat feature, an e-mail rating, a calendar, a more extensive e-mail search system which can search within old e-mails for words, a spam folder that catches spam before it reaches the inbox, and several other features students and faculty are now able to explore. “I’m very pleased that this is happening. I’m a Web enthusiast, and I like Google a lot,” Hutchins said. Whether the change will be positive, negative or neutral, it will affect nearly everyone on campus because e-mail has become such a popular form of

communication. Last year when Vincent Diggs had a project due in one of his classes, he was counting on his e-mail to hold some of the information he’d use for his presentation. He started to panic when he went to retrieve the information and found that the e-mail server was not working properly. “I was like ‘Oh my goodness, my presentation’s on my e-mail, and I can’t get to it,’” said Diggs, senior bio-chemistry and premed major from Fort Worth. The server began working an hour before his presentation. “Ever since then I haven’t been too stressed about e-mail issues,” Diggs said. Steven Wages told his students last Wednesday he was behind on his e-mail; he finally caught up three days later. “I just now cleared out probably 260 e-mails out of my inbox,” said Wages, assistant professor of family studies. “At this time of the semester, I can get 50, 60 e-

mails in a day. Or a day or two will go by, and I’m 120 e-mails behind.” These two problems are examples of issues with e-mail people have been facing since it became popular. Heather Anderson, graduate psychology major from Lake Jackson, related to Digg’s problem. “I’ve had Webmail problems — trying to check the e-mail and stuff like that, and it’ll be down a lot — but it sounds like Gmail will be a lot better, and hopefully they won’t have as many problems, and it won’t be down as much,” Anderson said. Wages uses e-mail often to communicate with students. He uses e-mail to remind students of due dates or let them know to look at a Blackboard assignment. “There’s an efficiency to email that we can get in touch with one another much more quickly,” Wages said. “I like the idea of being able to stay in touch with students.”

But some students don’t receive these e-mails. Anderson checks her e-mail two to three times a day but still runs into this problem every once in a while. “I only don’t get them on time if the professor doesn’t send them on time,” Anderson said. “But there are days when I’ll go to class and a teacher said, ‘I sent you an e-mail earlier today’ and well, I haven’t checked it yet.” Wages said most of the students who don’t receive his e-mails are from a result of timing on the e-mails. Email is a double-edged sword, Wages said. “On one hand, it’s a blessing; on the other hand, maybe you pay a price,” he said. “For the most part, it’s reliable it leaves somewhat of an audit trail; it’s real easy to save e-mail.” He often saves e-mails from students in old files, so if there’s a question about the communication, he can pull it back up. Times to communicate are

another benefit of e-mail. “There’s times when we need to be meeting and talking, but yes, on the other hand, it’s very convenient and eliminates some meetings,” Wages said. And he can work on e-mails early in the morning and late at night, times when other people may not be willing to talk to him on the phone or in a meeting. It is also more spatially available. “I can access it wherever I have the web,” Wages said. However, e-mail is a way people can contact a person, whether the person wants contact or not. “You may get something in an e-mail from someone you don’t want something from and then you’re stuck having to deal with it,” Wages said. “It’s a little overwhelming how many e-mails I get a day, but that goes with the job I guess. It’s the way we do business today.”

E-mail Painter at: optimist@acu.edu

Rushes give potential pledges chance to know different clubs n The spring rush season will be a busy time for potential pledges and club members while they prepare for the rushes planned for the week ahead. By MALLORY EDENS Page 2 Editor

Social club rushes began Monday for students looking to pledge in the fall. While a few rushes have passed, many opportunities to attend rushes this spring are still available. Only five formal rushes remain, including those for women’s clubs Alpha Kai Omega and Sigma Theta Chi and men’s clubs Sub T-16, Gamma Sigma Phi and Galaxy.

“For all the rushes, I hope that freshmen will go to them and afterwards figure out that stereotypes aren’t always true,” said Jeffrey Edwards, Galaxy president and biology and pre-medicine major from Bedford. “Every club has a lot of diversity, and if you like a club you should give it a chance.” Edwards encourages all eligible students to rush because of the free food and the social atmosphere. “You will make friends that, even if you don’t pledge that club, you will see from time to time,” he said. “[Rushes] have the potential to be kind of awk-

ward, but if you go there with the mindset that ‘I am going to have fun,’ you will enjoy yourself more.” Lindsey Smith, GATA PR and rush director, said she hopes to build relationships and membership through their rushes. “We have a lot of goals for upcoming rushes,” Smith said. “I am really excited about meeting people. It’s frustrating that we have less members when seniors leave. We want to build up the club, but there is only so much we can do.” Shannon Lair, Sigma Theta Chi president and education major from Apple Valley,

Minn., said she is looking forward to the “Camp Siggie” rush that is taking place April 23 on the Hardin Administration Building steps at 7 p.m. “[This is] one of my favorite rushes,” Lair said. “We do skits, and it’s always real fun. Siggies are excited to be in the rushing season again and to form relationships with new girls. Rushing is a time when we are reminded of our purpose and what our club stands for.” Chelsea Power, Ko Jo Kai social director and human communication major from Houston, said her goal is to get as many female students interested in pledging Ko Jo Kai because Ko Jo Kai is a “great group of Godly women with a lot of spunk.” “There are so many girls on campus here that are like that, and I want to encourage them to get out and rush. It’s a lot of fun,” Power said. A new feature of spring rushes for women’s social clubs is combined rushes. The purpose of the combined rushes is for each small club to join with a large club to encourage pledging as a whole, Power said. The first combined rush will be the “Kojie-Kappa Cabana” rush between Ko Jo Kai and Tri Kappa Gamma on April 23 on the Hardin Administration Building steps at 5 p.m. The second combined rush will be between Alpha Kai Omega and Delta Theta, which will take place two hours later on that same day at Will Hair Park at 9 p.m. The third combined rush will be a “Rock and Roll” rush between GATA and Sig-

ma Theta Chi on April 24 at Nelson Park at 7 p.m. for ice cream and games. Lair said this new type of rush will give students an even greater ability to get to know people. “We drew for a club to be paired with, and that’s something we have never done before,” Lair said. “We are not wearing any of our club attire, so they won’t know who is from which club immediately.” Following these spring rushes, clubs will begin preparations for fall rushes. Many clubs are still in the planning stages. Some foresee different types of rushes coming in the fall, and others see many things remaining the same. GATA plans on still having its formal “Glitz and Glamour” rush, as well as the “Fun in the Sun” invitation rush. However, they have not planned other rushes. Galaxy traditionally has a car-bashing rush, and Edwards said this is always fun and they will try to have that again next year. They also usually have a Kojie-Moonie cookout that they are looking to do again. “That’s fun because it’s another rush with both guys and girls, and that takes some of the awkwardness out of it,” Edwards said. “And it’s outside, so that’s always good too.” Most clubs reported still being in the planning stages for fall rushes. For more information about rushing, students may contact Mauri Westbrook at (325) 674-2772 or mbm98g@acu.edu. E-mail Edens at: mxe06a@acu.edu

Spring Rush Schedule Women’s Club Rushes Alpha Kai Omega Wed. - Living Room, 5 p.m. Mon. - Will Hair Park, 9 p.m. April 26 - 2326 Campus Court, 7 p.m. Delta Theta Mon. - Will Hair Park, 9 p.m. April 26 - 810 Harrison Ave., 9 p.m. GATA Fri. - GATA Fountain, then 809 Harrison, noon Tue. - Nelson Park, 7 p.m. Ko Jo Kai Mon. - Admin Bldg. Steps, 7 p.m. April 26 - 517 College Dr., 5 p.m. Sigma Theta Chi Thurs. - Skatin’ Place, 9 p.m. Mon. - Admin Bldg. Steps, 7 p.m. Tue. - Nelson Park, 7 p.m. TKG Mon. - Admin Bldg. Steps, 5 p.m. Tue. - Sonic, 5 p.m. Men’s Club Rushes Frater Sodalis Mon. - Will Hair Park, 7 p.m. April 27 - Intramural Field, noon Galaxy Thurs. - Skatin’ Place, 9 p.m. Tue. - Will Hair Park, 6 p.m. Thurs. - Rosa’s Cafe, noon Gamma Sigma Phi Thurs. - 609 EN 20th, 7 p.m. Tue. - Sonic, 7:30 p.m. April 25 - 2693 Garfield, noon Sub-T 16 Wed. - Bennett Gym, 9 p.m. Mon. - TBD, noon April 26 - Will Hair Park, 6 p.m. Trojans Thurs. - Chicken Express, noon April 25 - Joe’s, 5 p.m.


April 18, 2007

Page 5

China: Only the beginning Story by Mallory Schlabach / Design by Kelsi Peace

A

shley He attends Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, a church that reminds her of the government-run church she attends at home in China. Although it’s bigger than Highland, she says. As the only Christian in her family, Ashley, junior nursing major from Hong Kong, often goes to church by herself unless it’s a holiday when her mom accompanies her. Ashley’s family’s beliefs vary between family members like her grandmother who worships any God that will help her in life with longevity and prosperity, to her uncle who doesn’t believe in anything at all. She said her family’s beliefs come from the way they grew up in China during a time when religion was prohibited. Fifty years ago the country followed Buddhism. Today she said most people in the country are atheists. For now her only ally is her mom, who at least is understanding of why she believes in God. “My mom kind of understands what I believe, and she thinks that at least Christianity is a good religion because it seems like it helps me in my life and God is guarding me,” she says. “The rest of my family thinks that I was just naïve that I would believe Christianity. They think any kind of religion in the world is stupid, and I’m looking for comfort so that is why I believe a religion.” To avoid further confrontation for her beliefs, Ashley attends Shenzhen Mengling Christian Church outside of Hong Kong. She said it’s easier to attend a church the government approves than to live in fear. “If you want to worship in a governmentcontrolled registered church, it is not that hard,” she said. “But if you want to worship in a house church, it is very hard and even dangerous because the government might arrest you and then take away all of your property and put you in jail.” She takes the bus to get to church, and said although the design is much different than American churches, one would still be able to tell it’s a church because of the cross on the outside of the building. The church has four services and each service is usually full with members, she said. She normally goes to one of the morning services, but said an evening service is also offered. One time she went to the afternoon service and was surprised to see only several hundred worshippers in attendance. “I was confused as to why there wasn’t many people there until they started speaking Korean,” she said laughing. “I was like, ‘Huh?’ because I didn’t understand a thing they were saying. Now I know my church offers a Korean service, and I make sure I get up in time to go to the normal services.” Americans have much more freedom with religion, she said, but depending on what part of the country you live in, most people wouldn’t notice the religious regulations. Because the city she lives in is next to Hong Kong and has about seven million people, she said she doesn’t hear about Christian persecution as much. The further inland one goes, though, the more they have to worry about being jailed or punished. Religious freedom in China is better than 20 years ago, she says, but it still has a way to go to be good enough.

“For us, China is just the start. We’re not stopping here, but looking to the rest of the world.” Dr. Royce Money, president of the university

EMILY SMITH CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Hong Kong’s Protestant church offers social services, including 57 Christian bookshops.

Christianity inChina This is the final installment in the series in the Optimist documenting Christianity in China and various mission fields where people associated with the university serve.

EMILY SMITH CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ashley He teaches Mandarin to about 10 community members every Sunday afternoon. Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world — about one billion speak the language.

Ashley said his preaching was very inspiring to her, and attending the church made her feel free. Her English wasn’t as good then as it is now, so she learned the Bible in Chinese first and then in English so she could pick up the language quicker. Her host mom introduced her to a Christian group of high school students at school, and it was at one of these monthly meetings that she prayed for the first time and accepted Jesus as her savior, she said. After a year she returned to China to finish Changing a life high school and then returned to PennsylvaFive years ago Ashley came to the United nia after graduation to begin college at Penn States as an exchange student from State Col- State University. lege, Pa., to stay with R. Scott and Teresa Lenhart. Before her sophomore year began, she transTeresa is the stepdaughter of M.L. Daniels, pro- ferred to ACU for many reasons, she said. fessor emeritus of music and composer of CenFirst, she wanted to attend a Christian tennial Fanfare. university, and Penn State, with more than Ashley was a junior in high school at the 40,000 students, was a public university with time, attending a large public high school with Christian students in the minority. She said more than 3,000 students. Her host parents her host family always spoke so highly about were Christians, ACU alumni and the first ACU that she decided she needed to try it out, people to introduce her to the Bible. and she was also able to pay lower tuition at “My mom would teach me the Bible stories, ACU than at Penn State. and she actually hooked me up with a local ChiAshley enjoys the students at ACU the best nese church in town,” she said. and finds she has people she can look up to all Scott was a psychologist in a downtown around her. state college but also the preacher at their “I haven’t been a Christian for a long time, small non-denominational church. so I feel like I need to learn more. It’s an ongoing process,” she said in between yelling ‘hi’ to people across the room. Religion in Hong Kong “Do you have a new cell phone number?” she asked a friend who g Buddism and Taoism: About 600 temples passed by where she was sitting in the library. g Roman Catholics: about 240,000 people, 52 parishes “Sorry, I keep interrupting, but I haven’t seen him all semester.” g Protestants: About 300,000 people. 1,300 As she searches for her phone in her congregations, 50 denominations bag, she said, “It’s not about the Bible g Muslisms: About 20,000 classes but the environment. You can g Hindus: About 15,000 find a lot of models here to learn from.” g

Making a difference

Also Confusionism, Sikh and Jewish

Information courtesy of www.wikipedia.com.

Hong Kong

When she graduates from ACU in 2008 or 2009, she said she wants to

do missionary work and help those around her, which is one reason she is taking French next semester. Ashley wants to be multi-lingual so she can speak the language anywhere she goes. She already speaks English and three dialects of Chinese fluently, and because she began French in high school, she thinks she can pick it up easily again. Because of where she grew up, she speaks the local Chinese dialect of her town, Mandarin and Cantonese, two of the hardest languages in the world to learn. She’s also teaching fellow students at ACU how to speak Mandarin on the weekends. Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, with close to one billion native speakers. English comes in fourth after Hindi and Spanish. China has more than 1.3 billion people and the world’s fastest growing economy. Many predict Mandarin will become a universal language since China is the most populated country in the world. So even if a visitor doesn’t know the local dialect, he or she can still converse with the native Chinese. “Nobody here wants to take it because it’s so hard. We even have a hard time learning it. My friends spent years learning how to spell their name because there are so many characters involved,” she says laughing as she spells her name on the notebook in front of her. “See, mine isn’t even that hard. It even kind of looks like bamboo, but it’s not.” She explains that Mandarin does have an alphabet to make it easier for Americans and people from the Western world, and that it’s a language thousands of years old that is both phonetic and graphic. Every Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. she meets with around seven to 10 students and people from the community who want to learn how to speak Mandarin. Ashley offers the class for free; students only have to pay for copy fees for the worksheets she hands out each week. Less than a decade ago, the university offered a Mandarin course. But before long, the Foreign Language Department had to close it because not enough students showed inter-

est, said Dr. Mark Jones, chair of the Foreign Language Department. “There wasn’t enough interest from students to learn it, and it seems there was a resistance from advisers and faculty that didn’t think learning Mandarin was important,” he said. “If we could find someone to teach it though, and enough students stuck with it instead of talking about it, I think we’d offer it again. It would be a wonderful idea since the awareness about China has changed. It would definitely be worth a try.” But until that happens, Ashley continues to offer her course — treating each session like it really was a class and expecting each student to do their work. She gives her students a quiz before each session, but says she won’t send anyone home if they haven’t done their homework. She said she understands people have other obligations, but she does expect them to know something when they come each week. Even though she has been teaching this class since she arrived a year ago, she said some of her students still don’t have easy pronunciation down yet. With four tones in the language and more than 60,000 characters, she said it’s hard to master. “I feel proud that I am teaching others my language, and I am proud of them for trying to learn the hardest language in the world,” she said. Ashley wants others at ACU to learn Mandarin so that one day, people can know the language enough to be fluent anywhere in the country. “China doesn’t have non-profit hospitals like America does,” she says. “One day if I have a lot of money, or if I have a lot of support and volunteers, I want to open a non-profit hospital in my country to help others.” Ashley’s goal of teaching others her language is noble and practical — and something Larry Henderson, missions coordinator for Asia, said would be wise for most people. “The first time I went deep in main land China and heard millions of people speaking Chinese, it really moved me,” he said. “I wished that if God gave me a language that it was Chinese. There is nothing as useful today as Chinese.” Coming to understand the Chinese culture and its future effect on the rest of the world will mean different things to different people. For Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, his summer trip to China changed his world view and how he sees the university operating in the future. “I suspect I will return to China again sometime. I don’t know when that might be, but I will remain open to the leading of the Lord,” he said. “At ACU, we can’t just do business as usual. We have to begin teaching Mandarin Chinese, if one in five people are speaking it right now. We’re a university that has to operate globally and missionally, and we have to send students out in the world that can do that too. For us, China is just the start. We’re not stopping here, but looking to the rest of the world.”

E-mail Schlabach at: mes02e@acu.edu


ViewsWednesday Optimist

Page 6

April 18, 2007

Imus eats words, leaves public cautious

The issue:

Radio announcer Don Imus was fired for making a racial comment about Rutgers women’s basketball team.

Someone ought to thank Don Imus. Not for the offensive racial and sexual comments he made about the Rutgers women’s basketball team this month, but for the reminder that with the right to free speech comes the responsibility of selfregulation. Imus himself does not seem to have learned this lesson — nor, apparently, has he had reason to. In 1996, the New York Times reported that Imus had received some criticism for making rude comments to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the Radio and Television Correspondents annual dinner, among

Our view:

Words are powerful but can have the potential to be hurtful. They cannot be taken back.

The solution:

Honor your First Amendment rights by considering how your words affect others.

them calland the uniAs a society, we seem to expect less from one ing Clinton versity held another in regards to speech than we a “pot-smoka forum to did 20 years ago. ing weasel” discuss rato his face. cial issues The offense on campus is not an isoas a result. lated incident, and now it words are even more powAs a society, we seem to appears that even Don Imus erful and more permanent. expect less from one anis paying for failing to cen- However, this is not to say other in regards to speech sor himself as CBS has can- that those who are not in today than we did 20 years celled his show, “Imus in the public eye should treat ago. Coarse language and ofthe Morning.” their free speech lightly. fensive jokes can be found Words are powerful — For example, students at online, on TV and on the and it seems we often re- Tarleton State University street. But now, more than member this only after we surely felt they were ex- ever, we need to remember have said something hurt- ercising their right of free how powerful our words are, ful, only to remember those speech when they posted both to offend others and to words cannot be taken back. photographs from a Martin taint our own reputations. For public figures and those Luther King Jr. Day party in Employers, professors and whose words are broadcast January. However, the pho- peers have access to profiles on live television or radio, tographs caused an outrage, and posts at Web sites like

Cole Williams

Let Loose

The place of prayer in the face of tragedy The Virginia Tech tragedy is the deadliest shooting in American history, and I’m ashamed to say my first reaction was disinterest. “Just another school shooting,” I thought when I first heard of the massacre. Stereotype “Time for BiFree ble class.” Some may think, “What Daniel a selfish Johnson jerk.” And its true, I am. I let my daily routine overshadow a tragedy that affects all college students across the nation, even us here at ACU. Although my only connection to Virginia is a sister living in Lynchburg, this tragedy is directly relevant to my life and all of our lives.

I abandoned the declarative hostility I often hold toward God and came to him with one request: to be with the people of Blacksburg, Va. The Virginia Tech tragedy is an example of something that could happen on any college campus across the nation. What if you heard gunshots while walking to English class in the Administration building or while waiting in line for a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in the Learning Commons? What would you do? How would you react? Those are the questions that ran through my mind as the story unfolded on TV. I couldn’t help but wonder the horror and fearful exposure the students at VT felt after 33 of their classmates were confirmed dead. And before

I knew it, the feelings I imagined of all involved became my own. I was overwhelmed with horror, shock, disbelief and most of all fear. And that’s when I started praying. I know it sounds corny and like advice your mom would give you when something bad happens in your life, but when I searched my mind for what I can do, prayer seemed to be the best answer. And that is something hard for me to admit. I believe little in God and even less in God’s reaction to prayer, but I do believe this tragedy is out of my hands. I abandoned the declara-

tive hostility I often hold toward God and came to him with one request: to be with the people in Blacksburg, Va. There is little a person in the small city of Abilene, miles away from the tragedy, can do to personally affect this tragedy, but I believe that shouldn’t encourage apathy and disinterest. Keep your eyes glued to the television and as the story continues to unfold, don’t react with anger, react with understanding and peacefully grieve the students who were murdered. We all can do something about this no matter how small, and we should not let this tragedy slip under the lie that we don’t have an impact. I just hope my prayer was heard.

E-mail Johnson at: ddj04a@acu.edu, optimist@acu.edu

In Your Words What was your reaction to the shootings at Virginia Tech University? I was wondering what I would have done if I were in their shoes.

I was shocked.

I like the way the nation addressed the problem.

Chandler Harris

Justin Ruiz

Kelly Kerchezal

freshman broadcast journalism major from Fort Worth

sophomore interior design major from Houston

sophomore youth and family ministry major from Belton

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

E-mail the Optimist at: optimist@acu.edu

Facebook trumps news in VT incident The Kennedy assassina- it takes a major event to tion changed journalism show us when the norm has forever. It marked the time changed. If Monday’s shootwhen TV surpassed the ings happened just two or newspaper three years ago, we would as the pri- all be glued to the TV. mary means I was not, however. for covering I read a short report onan ongoing line to see how many were event. From dead or injured. Cell phone then on, videos were already online the public to watch what happened. I turned to didn’t need TV shots from Fields of t e l e v i s i o n the events that happened Dreams for break- outside of the building ing news when first person accounts Jared coverage. were a click or two away. I, Fields T h a t like TV reports that night, day in Dallas launched turned to the Internet. The the careers of journalists only reason I know what like Dan Rather and Peter the national news aired Jennings. Journalists and that night was because I viewers looked at news was at a class event watchdifferently from then on. ing the TV. Otherwise, Viewers expected immedi- like 364 days in the year, ate updates, and journal- I would not have seen the ists were expected to live nightly news. up to the new standard. Think back to similar Journalevents, like ism’s next Columbine or big change Sept. 11. In a The phonebook happened relatively short Monday in time, the way is being replaced Virginia. similar events by Facebook. There, are covered among all changed from the chaos getting just inand conterviews afterfusion of the shootings at ward. Now, the need for inVirginia Tech, TV reporting terviews is almost useless failed where the Internet because we already have and cell phones thrived. the first-hand knowledge While huddled in class- from the witnesses withrooms or just wondering out the cuts and edits of where friends were, people a newscast. turned to their phones Monday was so differand even Facebook to see ent because technology is what was happening. Some available that wasn’t then. even used their camera But mostly, there is an exphones to document what pectation from younger took place. generations for multimeThe news reporters, news dia news and a new undergatherers and historians are standing by the media to these people. supply that need. The ABC World News only Where technology-deadded commentary to facts prived generations want about the shootings. Any re- their news fed to them in a porting they used was from TV or newspaper report, the cell phone videos or Face- technologically savvy want book accounts — very little not only a variety of news of the reporting was from its outlets, but to be the news own work. A majority of its providers as well. reporting came from FaceJust like newspaper, book. They even showed a this change won’t mean guy’s wall post saying he the end for TV reporting. was tired of reporters trying The difference now is that to talk to him. so many more people can The phonebook is being be more than just a witreplaced by Facebook. No ness to history. We can be reporter will go to a phone- authors. Where the Kennebook when so much more dy Assassination launched background and contact the careers of a few, Moninformation is available day’s events will make us on Facebook. all reporters. Meanwhile, students went to Facebook, as is the custom for any event now, to update profiles and make groups. E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu, optimist@acu.edu None of this is a surprise,

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 personal

Facebook and MySpace, and an offhand comment could wind up affecting its author with harsh consequences. The First Amendment protects the right to free speech — a right vital to democracy, a right that has spurred great changes and drawn attention to many injustices. But with such an important right comes important responsibility. Honor that right and uphold your responsibility with your words. Words are more compelling when thought can back them up.

Editorial and Management Board Mallory Schlabach

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Page 7

FROM THE FRONT/SPORTS JUMPS

Softball: Sweep necessary for playoff berth Playoffs: Women Continued from page 8

stands at 21-20 overall and 713 in the division. “Our main problem all season has been taking our momentum to the next game,” Wilson said. “Our pitching and defense were not able to hold off Eastern’s offense. We hit the ball well enough to win three out of four.” The losses make next week-

end’s games even more important because they are still fifth in the Lone Star South division. To make it into the conference tournament, the team has to be ranked fourth or less, and for that to happen, ACU must win all four of next weekend’s games against West Texas A&M. “We have to sweep WTAMU to get us to 11 conference wins,” Wilson said. “We have a

shot being at that number, but it is not for sure, and we will have to let the rest of the conference games play out.” ACU, who had been the pre-season pick to win the LSC South division title, can only hope they get some help from Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas Woman’s University and Angelo State. Those teams will be playing Eastern New Mexico and Tarleton State, the two teams

immediately ahead of ACU in the conference rankings, and if they have any losses, ACU’s chances are higher of getting into the tournament. “This team has known the past three series what they needed to do,” Wilson said. “The pressure has always been there. It is in their hands whether they want it bad enough.” E-mail Davis: optimist@acu.edu

Rodeo: Safety: Students must respond too Men needed to compete Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1 “It’s really funny.” Baker said participants don’t need to know how to ride a bull in order to be involved. This year’s rodeo will consist of several different events for both men and women. The rodeo includes four separate events, three of which require a team of four. The women’s events include: goat dressing, goat milking, calf scramble and a competition for Rodeo Queen. The men’s events include: cow milking, steer saddling, double mugging and a competition for Rodeo Roughie. Rob Matthews, animal science major from Winter Springs, Fla., and vice president of the rodeo, said it is entertaining for both the people that participate and the people that just watch. “Its funny to watch people with animals who haven’t done anything like that before,” Matthews said. Matthews also said that registration is high for women’s events, however, very low for the men’s events. While some are involved with the rodeo for the entertainment, others get involved for the rush. Jeremy Gudgel, communication major from Andrews, has been involved in the rodeo for the past two years with the steer-saddling event and plans on doing it again this year. “It’s fun. The adrenaline rush of taking a steer to the ground is awesome. Everyone should experience that,” Gudgel said. Students are still able to sign up for the rodeo at the Campus Center ticket windows until Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. E-mail the reporters at: optimist@acu.edu

quarterly to discuss crisis scenarios and recent trends and to further develop the university’s response. The university can communicate with students, faculty and staff through email, internally on the myACU page and externally on the ACU home page. Ellison said these methods are used in less extreme situations, such as the severe winter weather that canceled classes at the beginning of the semester. In severe instances, Ellison said the PA system in the Tower of Light could be used for announcements. “We reserve that for extreme circumstances,” Ellison said, explaining that the university doesn’t want to “cry wolf” too many times.

The department has also been considering purchasing programming that will send instant text messages across campus. The department has been “exploring the possibility actively” for a few months, Ellison said. The immediacy of text messaging in a generation of students very connected to their cell phones makes the technology a tool guaranteed to reach students in situations e-mail and Internet announcements might not, Ellison said. “[Monday’s] incident just underscores the need,” he said. Ellison emphasized that the ACU campus is safe, and the police department is professionally staffed 24 hours a day. While the administration has the responsibility to have a crisis response plan, Ellison said,

students, faculty and staff also need to think about their own responses. “We’re here to protect,” Ellison said, “But we need students to do their part.” Ellison said this includes thinking ahead, being observant and alert and reporting suspicious behavior. “We would much rather respond and find out it is nothing,” Ellison said. Monday’s tragedy also serves to remind students that a tragedy can happen anywhere. “No plan is capable of addressing the carnage that occurred at Virginia Tech,” Ellison said. “We are part of the world, and things can happen.”

E-mail Peace at: knp04a@acu.edu

VA: Student check on Tech friends to the victims, their families, friends, students, faculty and staff at Virginia Tech.” Money sent the message on the day the massacre of 32 Virginia Tech students and suicide of shooter Cho Seung Hui, to let Virginia Tech administrators know that the ACU community’s thoughts and prayers were with their campus. In addition to the letter, the campus observed a moment of silence, and Money said a special prayer for the victims, their families and friends affected by the tragedy. And beyond the formal observances, numerous current and former ACU students were directly affected by the tragedy. Randy Woods, sophomore electronic media major from Falls Church, Va., said his first response to the tragedy was to call everyone he knew at Virginia Tech. “I just went down the line and called them to make sure they were alright,” Woods said. Once Woods reached his friends and knew they were safe, his thoughts traveled to what could have happened if he chose to go to Virginia Tech instead of ACU. “Virginia Tech was one of the schools I was considering going to,” Woods said. “I was

scared that I could have been there and that all my friends were there.” Jenia Clark, who transferred to Virginia Tech from ACU in fall 2006, was on her way to work at the Home Depot in Blacksburg when she first heard of the massacre. “My first thought was about my best friend that I grew up with, she is like my little sister, and I had to make sure she was safe,” Clark said through instant message. Clark’s friend was safe, but she said one of her friends jumped out of a window to avoid the shots of the shooter and is in the hospital because of his injuries. Like most other Virginia Tech students, friends and family contacted Clark to make sure she was safe. The sophomore psychology major was contacted by most of her ACU friends electronically through the social networking site Facebook.com and through AOL instant messenger. More than 500 global groups in less than 24 hours were created on Facebook — the largest group had more than 100,000 members — in remembrance of the Virginia Tech victims. And numerous ACU students joined those groups and changed their

profile picture to a symbolic black ribbon with the Virginia Tech logo in front to honor of the victims. “It is amazing to see the response from other schools,” Clark said. Brian English, freshman integrated marketing and communication major from North Richland Hills, had two friends locked in a building during the tragedy and joined the Facebook group “Pray for Virginia Tech,” in support of the victims. “If it can happen to a small boring town in Virginia, how can it not happen to Abilene?” English said. “Just because we live in a great Christian community doesn’t mean it can’t happen here.” By Tuesday not even half of the identities of the people killed have been released and no motive for the killings has been discovered. And as Dr. Jeff Arrington, associate dean of Campus Life, said as he opened Chapel on Tuesday, the story of the Virginia Tech massacre is far from over. “This a tragedy that will unfold for sometime,” he said. Mallory Edens contributed to this report E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.edu

defend LSC title

Continued from page 8 in the nation, into a three-set battle that ended in a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win for Harknett. In the No. 2 match, sophomore Ryan Hudson rolled over Filip Ziyojinovic 6-1, 6-3. Hudson’s dominating play carried over into the following day’s match against the No. 1 team in the Central region, St. Edward’s. Hudson, along with Nunez, senior George Carstens, senior Bryce Hicks and freshman Luke Hawk, helped mount a come-frombehind 5-4 victory over St. Edward’s. “It was good to play at a high level the day before,” Jones said. “We like a good struggle.” The ACU women also had to conquer some struggles as they traveled to Houston to play a pair of matches. On Thursday, the Wildcats took down Lee College, the No. 2 junior college team in the nation, 7-2.

After downing Lee, the women fell 5-4 to Rice on Friday. ACU came out of the gates strong by sweeping all three doubles matches. Junior Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika and sophomore Irene Squilliaci teamed up to take the No. 1 doubles match 8-3. Seniors Holly Lindloff and Lana Pavlin triumphed in their doubles match 8-4. And the team of junior Meagan Brown and freshman Dina Pavlin won 8-2. However, in Division I matches, the team that wins the majority of doubles matches earns only one point in the overall match, as opposed to Division II play where each match counts as one point. So, instead of being up 3-0, ACU was leading 1-0 when it started singles play. After the singles matches were complete, Rice came out with the win.

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

SHADES: Extra days added to boost support Massey, director of student productions. This year’s show will feature about 15 performances, said Sara Eligado, woman’s captain and junior nursing major from San Jose, Calif. “There will be more variety of performances, not just hip hop or a band singing, it’s everything,” Eligado said. With the theme “Convicted,” the squad hopes to show how they have grown over the years. “This show will reflect how we’ve been convicted on the inside,” Jones said. The show also has a literal and metaphorical meaning. “In the show the girls are inmates and the guys are SWAT, so they will show that they are convicted by jail and convicted by Christ through our performance,” said Camari Carter, head captain and junior political science major from Los Angeles, Calif. SHADES hopes to draw a bigger crowd by adding Thursday to its performance menu. “We decided to perform three days to appeal to the people. Thursday appeals to our crowd that goes out of town for the weekend. Friday and Saturday is for the people coming from out of town to see the show,” said Jonathan Holloway, men’s captain and senior biology

major from Abilene. “Yeah so this year people have to come; there is no excuse,” Carter said. SHADES practices have doubled leading into opening show night. “At the beginning of the semester we practiced Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the last few weeks, practice has been pretty solid Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,” said Rebecca Schumacher, women’s captain and sophomore interior design major from Abilene. “A full semesters worth of preparation has gone into the show, a lot people and their ideas.” The ACU community may be used to seeing a SHADES performance once a semester; however, they decided to spend last semester serving the community. “We usually do a show per semester but we dedicated our first semester to community service and our second semester to a show,” said Carter. “The community can come out and expect to get their money’s worth,” Jones said. Tickets go on sale April 15. Ticket prices are $3 if bought from a SHADES member, $4 pre-sale in the Campus Center ticket window and $5 at the door. E-mail Jordan at: optimist@acu.edu

Intramural : Club teams waived entry fee because of 2006 cancellation Continued from page 8 from Abilene and intramural coordinator of officials. “So far this year, the weather is good and the season is on schedule.” Because of last season’s cancellation, club teams who paid

in 2006 were allowed free entry for the number of teams they paid for last year. Non-club teams were allowed to keep their rosters for free, paying $10 for each additional player added this season, Saffel said “In the men’s champ league,

there is no clear favorite because each team has quality players. The same goes with men’s rec and in the women’s league,” Saffel said. “However, freshman teams usually have a good chance to win in the rec leagues because of students

coming out of high school athletics.” Reid Overall, senior missions major from Abilene, is excited about the new season. “The best thing about playing is getting together with a bunch of different guys and

hanging out,” Overall said. Overall plays for the Tom Emanski All-Stars in the men’s champ league and is looking forward to the competition. Weather permitting, the season will continue until the week before finals, but Saffel

said games may be played during the weekend because of the limited field space.

E-mail Abston at: optimist@acu.edu


SportsWednesday

Page 8

ScoreBoard Standings Scoreboard as of Tuesday

Team

BASEBALL Div. 9-3 9-3 6-6 5-7 4-6 1-9

ACU Angelo St. TAMK-U Tarleton ENMU WTAM

Team

Overall 34-11 33-13 23-23 23-24 19-26 10-31

SOFTBALL

Div. 19-1 11-5 9-7 8-8 7-13 TX Woman’s 4-12 WTAM 2-14 Angelo St. TAMK-U Tarleton ENMU ACU

Overall 40-6 28-14 29-12 23-21 21-20 18-31 14-31

Scores Thursday WOMEN’S TENNIS

Cats’ postseason begins n Both ACU tennis teams will compete at the Lone Star Conference Tournament on Thursday and Friday in Oklahoma City.

Losses lessen playoff chances

Tennis

By MICHAEL FREEMAN Online Editor

With the regular season over, the Wildcat tennis teams are preparing for the Lone Star Conference Tournament this Thursday and Friday in Oklahoma City. The men, ranked No. 28 nationally, ended their season with an overall record of 22-10, and the No. 6 women closed at 22-4. “You never know what’s in your team’s head,” said head coach Hutton Jones. “But in my perception of our team, we are really looking good, and I feel like we’re going to have a good tournament.” Last year, the women won the conference tournament, and the men made it to the finals before losing to Midwest-

ern State. The draws for this year’s tournament have not been finalized, but Jones said he expects the men will first face East Central, and the women will most likely go up against either Central Oklahoma or Eastern New Mexico in the first round. “I feel like both teams are ready to take it up a notch,” Jones said. “If somebody beats us, they’re going to have to play really, really above their normal level.” ACU’s opponents had to rise to a higher level last week to compete with the Wildcats as the tennis teams wrapped up their respective seasons. On April 10, the Wildcat men lost to No. 27 Rice 5-1. Sophomore Juan Nunez dragged Rice’s Ben Harknett, the No. 28 singles player See

PLAYOFFS page 7

April 18, 2007

n After losing a series to Eastern New Mexico this weekend, the ACU softball team needs to sweep West Texas A&M to have a chance to make the conference tournament. brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Irene Squillaci returns a ball against Cameron University on April 6. The ACU women’s tennis team will compete at the Lone Star Conference tournament starting Thursday.

Five qualify in Angelo

ACU 7, Lee College 2

Friday BASEBALL ACU 7, Texas A&M-Kingsville 6 ACU 7, Texas A&M-Kingsville 3

WOMEN’S TENNIS Rice 4, ACU 3

Saturday BASEBALL

By RACHEL DAVIS Sports Writer

The Wildcats dropped three games this weekend, further diminishing hopes for this year’s postseason conference tournament. The ACU softball team took on Eastern New Mexico this weekend in Portales, N.M., and it looked like its postseason hopes might still be alive after a 17-8 thrashing in the Saturday’s first game. “Leisha Johnson and Kassidy Rotter both hit the ball well with a combined five homeruns,” said head coach Chantiel Wilson. “Rotter’s game-one grand slam was what we needed to seal that game.” However, the team was not able to carry the excitement over to the following game, where they lost Saturday’s second game 10-5 and then lost both of Sunday’s games, 139 and 10-2. Their record now

ACU 5, Texas A&M-Kingsville 3

See

SOFTBALL page 7

Texas A&M-Kingsville 7, ACU 3

SOFTBALL

Officials hope weather doesn’t interfere

ACU 17, Eastern New Mexico 8 Eastern New Mexico 10, ACU 5

Sunday SOFTBALL Eastern New Mexico 13, ACU 9 Eastern New Mexico 10, ACU 2

Upcoming Thursday MEN’S TENNIS ACU at Lone Star Conference Tournament, Oklahoma City

WOMEN’S TENNIS ACU at Lone Star Conference Tournament, Oklahoma City

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Matt Pugh clears a hurdle during practice Monday. Pugh finished third in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.48 at the Angelo State Relays on Saturday. Pugh’s time was good enough to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in Charlotte, N.C., on May 24-26.

n Three men and two women from the ACU track and field teams provisionally qualified for the outdoor nationals at the Angelo State Relays on Saturday. By JARED FIELDS

Briefs Four golfers honored n ACU head gold Coach Mike Campell was named Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year and Wildcats golfer Hugues Joannes was named LSC Freshman of the Year on Sunday. Also honored were Curtis Harris, who was named second team all-conference and Stephen Knight, who was named honorable mention.

Nunez named Player of the Week n ACU tennis standout Juan Nunez was named LSC men’s Player of the Week on Thursday after beating regional opponent Cameron’s No. 1 player Jordi Mullor on 6-3, 6-3 on April 6.

Intramural Round-up

Managing Editor

Despite giving many athletes a week off, the men’s and women’s track teams gained two women and three men provisional qualifiers at the David Noble Relays at Angelo State. This weekend, head coach Don Hood will take a majority of his team to TCU. Until then, Hood is content with those who competed at Angelo State. Johnny Jacob ran the 400meters with a winning time

n The intramural schedule and points seen on the Optimist sports page are not final and subject to change. Any lastminute changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

Thursday OUTDOOR SOCCER See intramural board for schedule. SOFTBALL Softball began Monday, see intramural board for team names and schedule.

of 47.64, something, Hood said, showed signs of improved health that can only get better. “It was like he was warming up, and he was still up front,” Hood said. Jacob said the cautious start could be improved and drop a second off his time. “I wasn’t even running, just chillin’,” Jacob said about the first 100 meters of the race. “Then I thought, ‘I’m cool,’ and took off after that. … I didn’t feel bad but didn’t feel like I did before indoors.” In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Matt Pugh and Andrew McDowell posted provisional marks just one-hundredth of a second apart with times of

14.48 and 14.49, respectively. “I was out the first two weeks [of the outdoor season],” Pugh said. “At least I got a time down … 14.2 is what I’m shooting for this week.” Like Jacob, Pugh said he’s been battling an injury and isn’t quite up to full strength. “Two weeks or so I’ll be feeling top notch,” Pugh said. “Things are going good.” Pugh’s conditioning doesn’t affect his 110 hurdles but does on the 400-meter hurdles. “I need a little more conditioning for the 400s,” Pugh said. “Coach Brown’s really helped me on keeping my form as one of the strong points this year.” Rounding out the men provisional qualifiers, Landon Ehlers’ pole vault of 16-

0.75 not only provisionally qualified him, but earned him a second-place finish in San Angelo as well. On the women’s side, Keva Wilkins’ preliminary time of 56.04 provisionally qualified her while she won the meet in the finals with a time of 56.42. Shawna-Kaye Thompson ran 1:03.08 in the 400-meter hurdles to post a provisional mark. Two men bettered previous provisional times: Marvin Bien-Aime and David Walker. Bien-Aime won the 100meters with a time of 10.49, and Walker improved his long jump mark with a jump of 23-10.25. E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu

By GRANT ABSTON Sports Writer

The intramural softball season began April 9 and is off to a successful start with a total of 29 teams competing. There are six men’s teams in champ league, 12 men’s teams in rec league and 11 competing in the women’s league. Last year, the intramural softball season was cut short because of bad weather, but this year, participants and intramural staff are optimistic about the new season. “Last season there was a lot of rain and there was no way to get a full season in,” said See

INTRAMURAL page 7

No. 13 ACU win first Divisional road series n The ACU baseball team won its first road series in Lone Star Conference South division play after winning three out of four games this weekend. By DANIEL JOHNSON

Upcoming

Track & Field

n The intramural softball season was canceled last year because of weather, and intramural officials hope weather will not interfere with the 2007 season.

Sports Editor

ACU closer Jameson Maj has already secured his spot in the ACU history books, and after two more solid performances in Kingsville this weekend, Maj’s name is now among the best pitchers in the history of the Lone Star Conference. In only his first season at ACU, Maj broke the LSC singleseason record for saves after adding two more against Texas A&M-Kingsville this weekend for a season total of 12. “He’s definitely been our workhorse out of the pen,” said head coach Britt Bonneau. “He’s

Baseball been the one consistent thing we’ve had all year.” Maj already holds the ACU single season and career saves records, and his conference record is two more than the previous one set by former Northeastern State pitcher Joe Ornelas Maj in 1991. “If you’re going to win a championship you need a good closer,” Bonneau said. “The reason why we’re 34-11 is because we have a closer that can come in and hold the lead.” Maj and the rest of the nationally ranked Wildcats retained their spot atop the LSC

South after winning three out of four games against Kingsville this weekend. ACU swept the first three games of the series, 7-6, 6-3 and 5-3 and lost the final game 7-3. Despite dropping one spot to No. 13 in national rankings, the three wins extended ACU’s conference record to 93, and ACU is now tied with Angelo State for first in the LSC South. Angelo moved to 9-3 after sweeping last place West Texas A&M. Bonneau blamed the gamefour loss on the absence of consistent day-two starters; a kink ACU has little time to fill since the postseason is less than three weeks away. “If this team’s going to go anywhere come playoff time we need to find good second-day starters,” Bonneau said. ACU’s day-one starters,

“If this team is going to go anywhere come playoff time we need to find good second day starters.” Britt Bonneau, head baseball coach

Trey Watten and Chris Wiman, both picked up their seventh wins after they each posted a six-inning performance in Friday’s games. Wiman kept the Wildcats in a close first game after matching Kingsville ace Raul Trevino for six innings. ACU won the game after Mike Elkerson scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly ball from designated hitter J.J. Pacheco. Watten, who is 7-0 on the mound, only gave up three runs and five hits in game two after the Wildcat gave him

the run support he needed by scoring three runs in the fourth and adding onto the lead with a run in the sixth and seventh innings. ACU secured the series by winning game one Saturday behind a seven-inning performance by Brian Kennedy. Kennedy pitched seven innings and allowed four hits and three earn runs and extended his record to 7-2.

E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.edu


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