Sports Page 6
Sims comes home vol. 103, no. 4
INSIDE SPORTS Soccer team reaches .500 over the weekend.
wednesday, september 3, 2014
1 SECTION, 6 PAGES
Football brings an Abilene native back
FAIR WEATHER
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OPINION Two letters to the editor present opposing opinions on the infamous Yik Yak.
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Features One student spent her summer thriving on Capital Hill.
jarred schuetze staff photographer
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News Three students play show at the House of Blues Dallas last weekend.
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SPORTS Volleyball loses first three games under new head coach. Page 6
The West Texas Fair and Rodeo sets up the carnival at the Taylor County Expo center south of Highway 36. The fair officially opens Friday night and runs through next Saturday, Sept. 13. Events include tractor pulls, gunslinger challenges and petting zoos.
Rhodes seeks grad program changes madeline orr editor in chief A proposal to create a College of Graduate Studies has been presented to the Board of Trustees, said Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost of the university. The current graduate school facilitates graduate programming across current colleges and department but doesn’t oversee faculty or new development. “It’s a little premature and a proposal versus a
elijah evans
NEWS
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NEWS Lynay brings special guest to campus for women students. Page 3
largely in place and a there might be a few programs that would be interested in moving underneath the college structure,” he said. “New graduate programs don’t have to exist just within the current departmental college structure, which can be a burden on programs and can limit interest in growing programs.” Dr. Stephen Johnson recently transitioned from a half-time dean to the full time dean of the Graduate School. Rhodes
said this was part of the strategic planning and call for more graduate support. Rhodes said his goal is to have a decision about next steps in place for the November board meeting. “We’ve proposed it to the board and it’s something that we’re going to be coming back to them for more conversation,” he said. Rhodes said new undergraduate programs such as nursing and en-
gineering that have been well-received but that the graduate programming needs more tending to. “We’ve often had an approach where graduate programming came as a sidepiece. We have great graduate programs, but for good reasons, we have really focused on undergraduate program development and there is a way to do both well,” he said. contact orr at mco10b@acu.edu
Rushees required to attend all club teas staff reporter
Rachel Brown, study abroad coordinator, takes job at Wheaton College.
definitive plan,” Rhodes said. “We’re thinking about as we grow new graduate programs we need a structure to support them and oversee them.” Rhodes said he is proposing that the university move to a model of a graduate college instead of the current graduate school. What he is not proposing is all current graduate programs or graduate faculty move underneath the new college. “We would keep those
Rushing officially began Sunday, accompanied by a couple of significant rule changes regarding rush attendance and voting. Starting this year, the Office of Student Life has made the women’s clubs teas mandatory for all women registered to pledge. Mark Jackson, associate director of student organizations and programs, said many of the women in the past had only attended one or two of the teas and rushes.
“The rushing process, to us, is about checking out every club and finding which club is the best fit,” Jackson said. Samantha Jeffries, sophomore communications major from North Richland Hills, attended teas on Sunday. She said rushees were given a card to be stamped at every club’s tea. If they did not turn the card back into Jackson then they would be dropped from the pledging process. “It didn’t bother me that we have had to go to all the teas because I think it’s better in helping everyone find the club
that’s best for them,” Jeffries said. “I’m excited for all the changes that have been made to the rushing and pledging process.” Voting was also revamped this year. All clubs will vote three times, followed by three rankings. “In the past, we’ve done it where the prospectives come to me and rank on a sheet of paper, but this year we will do it totally online,” Jackson said. There will be a 13-hour window for ranking to occur. Voting will take place at acu.edu/socialclubs. Registration will also
be earlier this year for men. Men’s registration deadline for pledging is Sept. 12. Jackson emphasized men must register online by this time or they will be irrevocably ineligible for pledging during the fall semester. Jackson said he hopes social clubs will become the largest entity on campus this year – even larger than the freshman class. He expects it will happen, with 340 women and 122 men registered to pledge. “I’d love to get over 400 total,” Jackson said. Gamma Sigma Phi expects to host around 80
men at their rushes, said Gabriel Guerra, psychology major from Edinburg. Guerra was less sure about the size of GSP’s pledge class, though. “Our number of pledges typically don’t exceed 42-45, but we had a particularly large pledge class of 56 last year, which makes it tricky to forecast the number of guys who are wanting to take part in our pledging process,” he said.
contact evans at ece12a@acu.edu
Mobile learning initiative phases out iPhones VIDEO Brantly Houston speaks in departmental chapel about his uncle Kent Brantly and the media.
Read more at acuoptimist.com
the mobile learning initiative, clauses in the contracts were changed and updated to fit the current The class of 2016 was technology needs of stuthe last class to receive dents. iPhones as incoming Kevin Roberts, vice freshmen. When the mo- president of operations, bile learning initiative said the contract signed began in 2008, students by juniors who received signed a contract saying iPhones did not include that after two years, they the clause about receivcould receive a new de- ing replacements after vice upon returning their two years. old one. However, over Some students, howthe years with each new ever, say they weren’t class that participated in aware of the changes and
Allison Brown
managing editor
anticipated receiving new phones this year. Katy Westerlage, junior speech pathology major from Fort Worth, said she was unaware her class would not be receiving an update. “I know a lot of people were wondering about it,” Westerlage said. “The other classes before us got upgrades, even the seniors last year when the program had stopped. I just assumed we would too.”
Abilene Christian University
Last year’s juniors received iPads for their upgrade, even though incoming students weren’t given a device. The program, over time, has been phased out as more students come into ACU with their own devices. “We knew at some point in time, the program would come to an end,” Roberts said. “We just didn’t know when it would be.” Roberts said now the
focus of mobile learning is shifting to the tablet platform, with certain classes on campus requiring iPads as a necessary course material. As for the iPhones, Roberts said, “Two things started happening: everyone has one now, and tablets provide a much better learning platform.”
contact brown at akb12b@acu.edu
Wednesday 09.03.14
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wednesday
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thursday 7 p.m. Frater Sodalis Kickball and Quesadillas Rush
6 p.m. Football versus Northern Arizona
8:30 p.m. Movies on the Hill: Rudy
7 p.m. Galaxy Hotdogs and Bomb Pops Rush
8:30 p.m. Student Organizations Training
9 p.m. Trojans Badminton and Burgers Rush
9 p.m. Sub T-16 Festa’s Fiesta Rush
To date:
saturday
5 p.m. Pi Kappa Fajita Rush
7 p.m. Sigma Theta Chi Cinema Rush
Chapel checkup
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friday 11 a.m. SA chapel
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Around Abilene Remaining:
9 86 @acuoptimist The Optimist
Sept. 3
Sept. 4
Sept. 5
Sept. 6
6:30 p.m. The Wagon Wheel Squares will sponsor a square dancing workshop at the Wagon Wheel. Beginning lessons will be 7-9 p.m.
5-11 p.m. The West Texas Fair & Rodeo will begin with a Sneek-A-Peek at the Taylor County Expo Center. Free gate admission. For more information, visit www.taylorcountyexpocenter.com.
5 p.m. A new exhibit at ACU’s Shore Art Gallery will open, featuring artist Ginna Sadler’s jewelry pieces, fabric and basket work. The exhibit will be on display until Oct. 3.
10 a.m.-3 p.m. A car show, bake sale and barbecue fundraiser benefiting Brock Bilberry, who is being treated for Leukemia, will be open in the parking area north of Kmart at 4565 S. First St. Admission is free; car show registration is $10.
7-10 p.m. A concert featuring Mitch & Betty and the Country Classic Band will take place at the Rose Park Activity Center.
optimist@acu.edu Police Log Announcements Movies on the Hill will show Rudy at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 5. The movie is free, but each family is asked to bring an item to donate. The requested items are: travel size hygiene items, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, lotion, soap and toilet paper. All donations will benefit the Christian Service Center.
you on a journey across the 50 states. For Ethnos will hold an interest meeting Sept. more information about getting involved 8 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Living with Freshman Follies or purchasing tick- Room. ets, go to acu.edu/follies. BSA will host a 90s themed skate night Are you interested in storytelling, script- Friday Sept. 12 at the Skatin’ Place from 11 writing, filmmaking, or film appreciation? p.m.- 1 a.m. Cost is $5. Come dressed in Then check out ACU Filmmakers, a group your best 90s attire. Want to work for Summit 2014? Visit the of storytellers and film enthusiasts. This There will be a Part-Time Job and ad on my.acu.edu to apply to work at the semester we will be exploring the film- Need to practice interviewing? ACU CaInternship Fair from 10:00 a.m.-2 p.m. 108th Annual Summit Sept. 21-24. making process through a series of work- reer Center is hosting mock interviews Sept. 9 in the Campus Center. Students shops and movie nights! Come to the in- Sept. 10 and 16. Meet with ACU alumni who are looking for part time employment Freshman Follies is a musical variety show terest meeting at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 4 in the and HR professionals to network and reor internships while attending school at performed entirely by ACU freshmen each Screening Room of the Learning Studio. ceive feedback on your interviewing skills. ACU will have the opportunity to visit with fall. This year’s theme is “Freshman Follies: For more information, contact smm11a@ Login to College Central Network to seemployers. Road Trip,” and will take place on Sept. acu.edu lect a time. 19-20. Join us as the freshman class takes If you are a fan of hockey or want to learn how to play, then you should join the ACU Hockey Club! We play at the DII college level of Inline Roller Hockey. Email our club president, Ryan Podany, at rap10c@ acu.edu or our team captain, Tim Holt, at tdh10b@acu.edu for more information.
Volunteer Opp0rtunities The Alliance for Women and Children is seeking volunteers for after-school child care for Pre-K-5th grade children, 6th-8th grade children and A-Teens Middle School Girls Program. For more information about times and location, contact Toni Brown at 325-677-5321 or info@afwconline.org. Beltway Park Baptist Church is seeking volunteers to help with special needs children in their program Kingdom Kids. Volunteers will be needed on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. For more information, contact Sharla Sanders at 325-6926540 or sharlasanders@beltway.org.
The International Rescue Committee in Abilene needs your help in welcoming refugees to our community. We are seeking the following donations: hygiene and cleaning supplies, bed linen, towels and kitchen items (dishware, silverware, pots/pans etc). Donations are accepted Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2-4 p.m. or by appointment. Their office is located at 3303 N. 3rd St. Suite D. For more information contact Marie-Pascale Manishimwe at 325-675-5643. Treadaway Kids is looking for more students and volunteers to join the group. For more information, contact Carly Henderson at cah10a@acu.edu. Friends for Life is seeking volunteers to help with both elderly residents and independent living elderly. Nursing home service opportunities include visiting, playing games, reading to the blind and assisting in arts and crafts. Independent living service opportunities include mowing lawns, grocery shopping and changing light bulbs. To volunteer contact Cecilia Barahona at 325-672-2635 or cecilia@friendsforlife.org.
Love and Care Ministries is looking for volunteers to help with sorting clothing, stocking their food pantry, assisting in prayers in their prayer room and serving food to the homeless. For more information call 325-670-0246. Volunteers are needed to help with daily activities organized by the staff at Chisholm House. This could involve playing board games, helping with arts and crafts and helping with a walking club. For some of these tasks volunteers may be asked to lead a group or work alongside a staff coordinator. Volunteer opportunities are from 2-4 p.m. or 6-8 p.m. daily. Contact Larissa Blankenship at 817-578-9296. The Noah Project is seeking volunteers to help with tasks such as answering phone calls, providing child care and doing maintenance and housekeeping. To volunteer call 325-676-7107. The Betty Hardwick Center is seeking volunteers for the Human Resources Center to help with filing and organizing. This job requires someone with attention to detail who wishes to learn more about Human Resources. The job is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. To volunteer, please contact Martin Walker at 325-690-5235 or mwalker@bhcmhmr.org. House of Faith is an organization that seeks to take Jesus to neighborhood children. Volunteers are needed to help with the various programs they do throughout the week. Backyard Bible studies are hosted Mondays and Wednesdays and a youth program takes place on Thursday evenings. The organization is seeking volunteers who can commit to a specific day a week. House of Faith lasts from 3-5:30 p.m. To volunteer or for more information contact Amy Jeffers at abj09a@acu.edu or call 832-331-5324. Breakfast on Beech Street is seeking volunteers to help set up, prepare and serve breakfast to homeless/lower income folks any Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday at 5:30 a.m. or Tuesdays at 5 a.m. B.O.B.S. is located at First Christian Church on 3rd Street and Beech Street Service times must be scheduled in advance. To serve on Mondays contact Jody Depriest
at 325-669-3312 or jody.depriest@gmail. com. To serve on Tuesdays contact Allen Daugherty at 325-660-6949 or ale.al@ suddenlink.net. To serve on Wednesdays, contact Jane Harvey at 325-695-0092 or jharvread@aol.com. To serve on Thursdays, contact Margaret Beasley at 325-692-4149 or mbeasley5@suddenlink.net. To serve on Fridays contact Terry Stremmel at terry. stremmel@acu.edu. University Place is seeking volunteers to help with resident birthday parties for residents on the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact Linda Tijerina at 325-676-9946. The Food Bank of West Central Texas needs volunteers to help sort and stock food and other items Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The Food Bank is located at 5505 N. 1st St. For more information contact Janice Serrault at 325-695-6311 or abfoodbk@camalott.com. The Christian Service Center is seeking volunteers to help with filing requests for items such as clothing and bedding from the donation center, sort and organize donations and occasionally pick up donated items. Volunteers are needed every weekday and the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. For more information, contact Roberta Brown at 325-673-7561 orrobertabrown51@hotmail.com. For more information on the program visit http://www.uccabilene.org/ministries/csc. htm. Big Brothers/Big Sisters offers two volunteer programs. Lunch Buddies pairs volunteers with a little brother or little sister to have lunch with once a week for 30 minutes. Lunch Buddies has a preferred time of 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The community based program pairs volunteers with a little brother or little sister that they will hang out with two to four times a month. Both programs require commitment to the program for 12-18 months. To sign up, stop by the Big Brothers/Big Sisters office at 547 Chestnut St. or contact Randy Woods at 325-674-3102.
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news
wednesday 09.03.14
Brown to leave Study Abroad for Wheaton linsey thut features editor Rachel Brown, assistant director of study abroad, will leave the Center for International Education after six years to take a job at Wheaton College in Illinois. Brown will leave Sept. 10 to become the learning community coordinator for the “Wheaton in Chicago” program. She will live at the Wheaton Center located in downtown Chicago. The program allows students majoring or minoring in urban studies to study city life while im-
mersed in it. “ S t u dents will go there for a semester and do inbrown t e r n s h i p s and take classes on urban issues,” Brown said. She will have numerous responsibilities such as organizing community dinners and helping with service opportunities. Brown said while the job offer came out of the blue, it wasn’t unexpected, as she had actually applied for a very similar position at Wheaton about two
years ago. She said she turned it down at the time because she knew she and her husband, Derek, director of jazz studies, were taking a Study Abroad group to Germany last spring. She said when they emailed her about an opening in July, she decided to take the job, though it was a difficult decision. “I love my job, and I love the people here,” Brown said. Brown said her new job at Wheaton College has some of the same aspects as her job at ACU. “There will be similar aspects to what we did
in Germany this spring,” Brown said. “I loved getting to know the students on a deeper level and helping them kind of walk through a life-changing experience, and I think I’ll be able to do some of that in Chicago as well.” Stephen Shewmaker, executive director for international education, said Brown’s departure from the university is bittersweet. “I am happy for her and Derek but sad that she’s going to be gone,” he said. “She’s been great to work with and has become a very valuable asset for the university in that role.”
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I loved getting to know students on a deeper level and helping them walk through a life-changing experience.” rachel brown assistant director of study abroad
Shewmaker said the Study Abroad office began searching for a new replacement a month ago. He was unable to give a name but said Brown was working closely with the new recruit. “We had to do it pretty quickly so that person could spend about a week
crossover training with her,” Shewmaker said. Shewmaker said replacing Brown might be difficult, but he had high hopes for the new staff member. “The hope and the intention is that things will continue to run along as they have,” Shewmaker said. “There will be some challenges as we train a new person to step in and take her role, but we’ve hired somebody who I think will be good and learn quickly.”
contact gasvoda at jrc07d@acu.edu
Theatre promotes Meeks to assistant chair said. “I’ve got things that I think can be a huge help to the department that right now have to go on the back The Theatre Department burner because, as chair, has named Dawne Meeks I’ve got other things that the assistant chair in prepa- take my focus.” ration for her to assume the Meeks, an associate prochair next year. fessor of theatre, said she Adam Hester, chair of greatly appreciated Hester’s the Theatre Department practical mentoring last since 1991, said he has tried year in preparation for the numerous times to step change. away from the position for a “I’m so grateful for his while, but no one felt ready leadership and sensitivity,” to take over until now. Meeks said. “I’m so honored “I want to move back into and humbled to be asked a position where I’ll be serv- to move into this position. ing as a professor,” Hester Frankly, it’s a little daunt-
james eldred staff reporter
ing, but I’m excited.” Hester said running a department can be difficult - especially for the theatre department, which has a production side in addition to its academics. “Both the dean and the provost have been very grateful for this model of transition,” Hester said. “There’s not a lot of training for a chair - it can be a little overwhelming, and you can feel a little lost when you come on.” Hester said the dean’s office and the entire theatre faculty were in unanimous
agreement that Meeks was a good fit for the position. “She just has the right kind of temperament - the right sense of vision,” Hester said. “Dawne will bring a new vitality - she’s very endearing, and she’s got strengths that I don’t have. She’s going to bring a lot of great things to this office.” Meeks began working with Hester as a freshman at ACU, and they continued to collaborate as colleagues when she returned as a teacher in 2005. “Being inspired and encouraged to grow and find
my own strengths and gifts - I really appreciate that,” Meeks said. “He trusts us in the classroom, he trusts us in the work we do on stage - he doesn’t micromanage. It’s such a gift to be given that kind of trust and freedom.” This transitional year is designed to introduce Meeks to the myriad of tasks and responsibilities of the chair’s office and keep her in the administrative loop, Hester said. After the transition, he and Meeks will swap titles. “Adam will move into as-
sistant chair, which I think is incredibly gracious and I am so grateful for that,” Meeks said. “He’ll be there to support me during that shift.” After that, Hester will relinquish the position of assistant chair, although he will remain in the department as a professor. “I plan to stay at ACU for quite a while,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
contact gasvoda at jrc07d@acu.edu
Sophomores perform at House of Blues catherine blakemore arts editor Three sophomores performed at the House of Blues Dallas on Saturday for a full two-hour set in their first live performance together. Wes Robbins, psychology major from Houston, Caroline Levinson, graphic design and advertising major from Colleyville, and Aaron Cervantes, management major from McAllen, stepped into the Dallas spotlight with little practice beforehand. “When I was back in Abilene for Welcome Week, we practiced several times, but honestly we are making up a lot of it as we go,” said Robbins, who currently lives in Dallas with CitySquare. Robbins plays guitar and sings, while Levinson sings and Cervantes plays guitar and cajon. The opportunity for Robbins and his friends was spontaneous and surfaced from a simple open mic night Robbins performed at in Dallas.
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There’s also something special about looking to your left and right and knowing your friends have your back, musically and otherwise.” wes robbins sophomore psychology major from houston
“This summer, I was living in Dallas doing an AmeriCorps internship with CitySquare’s Food on the Move program,” Robbins said. “I played open mic night at the House of Blues, and they liked my set so they booked me to come back on the 30th to play a full twohour show for the restaurant guests.” Robbins asked Cervantes and Levinson to perform at the House of Blues with him, remembering the show they played together in Abilene last year. Robbins said his friends are “mega-talented.” “The House of Blues is such a neat building, so it was an amazing atmosphere to play music in,” Levinson
said. “Wes and Aaron are crazy talented musicians, and they really just love music for all that it is. So singing with them is the best.” Their love for each other and the music they played influenced their dynamic, regardless of individual opinions towards playing live. “I love playing solo because of the freedom that it brings, but there’s also something special about looking to your left and right and knowing your friends have your back – musically and otherwise,” Robbins said. This was the first opportunity for Robbins and his friends to gain more performing experience. “I spoke to the manager after the show and he said he enjoyed it and is going to try to book me again some time soon,” Robbins said. “I also look forward to coming opportunities to play elsewhere.” contact blakemore at crb13a@acu.edu
photo courtesy of Wes robbins
Wes Robbins performs at the Dallas House of Blues.
Doan focuses on family with LYNAY group rachel fritz copy editor Jennifer Doan didn’t just convince thousands of students to take a selfie in opening Chapel, but inspired young women with her tales of being a successful business woman. Doan met with a small group of female students the afternoon of the opening ceremony and offered advice and insight to what it takes to be a woman and a successful partner at a law firm. Doan started the meeting by asking each guest to state their hometowns and majors and a story that they really “nailed something.” “As women sometimes we’re hesitant to say ‘I do this well,’” Doan said. “There’s no reason we should be shy about becoming comfortable with who we are in our own skin.” Doan emphasized the importance of being confident in yourself and being strong in faith. “Being a Christian and being assertive could be an issue for some women,” Doan said. “So, I spoke a little about the importance of having grace, but being assertive.” Lea Watkins, assistant to the vice president, organized the small event after Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university, invited her to come speak.
“She’s a very confident woman who I can tell is trying to encourage other women to have that confidence in themselves,” said Lea Watkins, assistant to the vice president. Watkins contacted women in Lynay, the on-campus scholarship program, a week before class started to set up the meeting. “Generally, when we have a guest like that on campus, we try to make them available to students if that’s possible,” she said. “One of the ways we find that it’s easy to facilitate doing that is through the Lynay group.” When Doan accepted the request, she was eager to talk and answer any questions about being a woman in business, Watkins said. Doan met with the small group in the Hunter Welcome Center and discussed her family, spirituality and career. “First, she went around the room and had everyone introduce themselves and tell one story about themselves that they had really nailed it in their lifetime.” Watkins said. “I just thought it was really cool that she wanted the students to put some thought into something that they did really well.” Doan’s main focus was on how she became successful while balancing her family and religion. “She’s a very family-
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She made me think even if I wanted to do something other than education, I could totally do it if I set my mind to it.” mabree moore sophomore education major from brownwood
oriented woman and she talked about how she manages family life with a busy law practice,” Watkins said. “Law is sometimes sort of one of those areas that conflicts with spirituality, so she talked about how she merges those two things in her life.” Doan encouraged the students she met and left quite the impression. “We didn’t know who the surprise guest was, but as soon as saw her, I knew who it was,” said Mabree Moore, sophomore elementary education major from Brownwood. “She was wearing the same little outfit from chapel and she was just as bubbly in person.” She was confident and outspoken and encouraged the group to be confident in their own shoes, Moore said. “She’s really good at what she does,” she said. “I want to be a teacher, so I don’t have extremely high goals or expectations for my life, but it was just like a little confidence boost and she made me think even if I wanted to do something other than
education, I could totally do it if I set my mind to it.” Her personality was just as big as her accomplishments, making her the perfect example of an empowered woman. Doan graduated from ACU in 1986, leaving behind an impressive legacy. Doan was the first female
president of the Students’ Association and was a cofounder of the first Welcome Week in 1984. Now, Doan is a partner at Haltom & Doan Trial & Appellate Counsel. With a “girls rule” attitude, Doan had something to say that resonated with the group. “I really enjoyed it,” Doan
said. “The group I met with was very bright and very smart. If I’m able to give just one person the courage to do something great, it’ll all be worth it.”
contact fritz at ref11@acu.edu
Opinion
Wednesday 9.03.14
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editorial
The Yik Yak effect: students speak out ‘No login, no password, no traces; simply annoymous.’ That is the motto of Yik Yak, the messaging app that allows students to make anonymous posts to be seen by anybody using the app in the surrounding area, or in our case, on ACU campus. We have received two letters to the editor in response to the Optimist’s decision to print yaks in
the paper. Both letters bring different opinions to the controversy, and we thought both were helpful in shedding light on what role the Optimist plays in campus conversations. Regardless of whether the Optimist prints yaks or not, the app is not going away. Yik Yak gives a voice to many individuals who
previously felt voiceless, even on other forms of social media. And that can be a frighteningly powerful gift. Whether they use this new sense of power to cowardly create inappropriate messages behind their anonymity or with good taste and nobility, we can’t control. But we can reward
those who choose the later. Our presence on Yik Yak does not mean that we support or endorse any or all material that is posted. The purpose of the Optimist’s presence can be broken down into three goals: 1. To remind users just how far their messages may reach. 2. To listen to and be rep-
resentative of all students on campus; the good, bad or ugly. 3. To transform the medium into a place where more clean, humorous or constructive posts make their way to the top of the feed. That being said, there is no set number of tweets or yaks to be selected for every
issue. Some weeks the clean and positive yaks are more rare than others. Sometimes good tweets are more plentiful than good yaks. The quantity and quality of any opinions on this page are up to the opinion editor’s discretion. contact The Optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
letter to the editor
letter to the editor
Yikkity Yak, don’t come back Yaks create a level playing field for all ideas
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retty please with a cherry on top, stop putting any posts into the Optimist that come from the social media sensation “Yik Yak.” You’re not helping anybody, you’re not representing our students well, and you’re certainly not “reporting” when you put Yaks into the paper, regardless of whether they are good, bad, or ugly. Speaking for our campus, the app has done nothing but harm our students in very real ways, emotionally and spiritually. We now have the ability to hide behind our phones in complete anonymity and spread vile rumors about people with no fear of backlash or retribution, and it is a concept that terrifies me. Without the accountability of a username beside the things that we decide to post, these little verbal grenades will keep getting lobbed until we’re in an all-out war with each other, and the shrapnel will continue to needlessly devastate lives and reputations. Of course, I’m speaking generally here, and the burden to alleviate the destruction that our generation inflicts on itself via sites and concepts like Yik Yak does not fall squarely on the shoulders of the Optimist. Also, I’m not accusing you of cyberbullying directly, as the Yaks that I’ve seen published have been incredibly mild compared to some of the stuff that is actually on the site. But what kind of precedent does it set, what kinds of situations are you enabling, and what kind of model for discourse are you encouraging when you, a traditionally respected publication, post words from a site that is inherently without any sources? As the current and aspiring journalists that I look forward to seeing in my Sunday papers after we all graduate, you are expected to put forth honest information. Isn’t the concept of journalism centered around the championing of the truth? Publishing anonymous Yaks is the farthest thing from that. That encourages sensationalism and gossip, and I’ll not see it continue. If you want that, go get a job at “TMZ” or something. Look, I know the idea was that you want to stay relevant, and I know the concept was the same as with the tweet section (which I love, by the way... stay
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tuned for some super hilarious things that @BrainOfJake says this year). I just want you to think this one through a little bit more. We don’t need this garbage level of discourse encouraged any more than it is. It’s deadly to our atmosphere here, and if there’s anything that I can say about the Optimist, it’s that you all have so much power when it comes to shaping the atmosphere on campus... more than you may realize. I love the Optimist, I love its tradition, and I think you are all fantastic, hard workers that provide an excellent service to the students here. But I wouldn’t be doing my job as a fellow human and Wildcat if I didn’t expect absolute excellence
from you. I’d like you to do the same for me, and I’d like you to do the same for each other there in the office. Maybe then we can all rid ourselves of degenerative things like Yik Yak, and people will see that something is different about the people that come from the ACU community. Jake Hall is a senior education major from Springtown.
It’s deadly to our atmosphere here, and if there’s anything that I can say about the Optimist, its that you all have so much power when it comes to shaping the atmosphere on campus... more than you may realize.” jake hall letter to the editor
T
here has been a lot of talk about Yik Yak at ACU since it’s grown in popularity, as well as some fairly adamant comments about whether “Yaks” should be featured in the Optimist. Some feel that the yaks can be mean and because the Optimist is publishing a few Yaks a week, they are endorsing and encouraging this type of hateful and immature behavior. This is a classic exhibition of platform
prejudice. People say terrible things on Twitter all the time, yet tweets are continually printed in the paper. Just because a few people write some hurtful messages does not mean the entirety of the app is corrupt and evil. The same type of filth that occurs on Yik Yak occurs on nearly every other form of social media. If you look at many of the recent Yaks, there is actually a surprising amount of uplifting and serious comments. That being said, there is still a good amount of unpleasant Yaks, but with the Optimist limiting the number they print and picking out only the clean humorous ones, they are raising the standard. It in turn encourages the ACU users of the app to strive for creating clean, funny, and original Yaks. Because if a yak is in any way degrading or inappropriate, it has no chance of ever being featured.
Still, others complain that Yaks have no credibility because there is no identity associated with them. They argue it’s not true journalism or reporting if something like a yak or a comic or a tweet gets put into the OPINION page. This is absolutely absurd. Not everything that gets put into newspapers are scholarly articles backed up with a work-cited page (hello Garfield). Finally I would like to address how the anonymity of Yik Yak users is affecting students. First and foremost, if you are unhappy with some of the things being said on there, YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE THE APP. There is no personal account or email associated with it, so you will never receive a notification of any kind for anything being said on there. So no app, no problem. Secondly, some people believe that the site will cause friction amongst students on campus. The app is anonymous. You can’t be mad at someone you don’t know (well technically you can, but you know what I mean). This is the equivalent of getting upset at some total stranger who made a stupid comment on your YouTube video. You don’t know them and you will never see them which makes it a waste of your time and energy to even dignify that person with another thought. That comment has absolutely no effect on your life in any way so it’s not worth even thinking about, much less getting upset over. I believe that even in all the ways users abuse the anonymity feature, there is beauty to it as well. Since there is no username of any kind, everyone is on the same playing field. This is completely and utterly a bias-free zone. Anyone is able to come up with something funny or original and become a star on Yik Yak. All other social media sites have your face and name tied to it, which causes skewed appreciation for truly creative ideas. For example, I cannot hope to compete for recognition against a beautiful president of some girl’s social club or attention on a status, photo or idea I create on other sites, but Yik Yak is a place for those of us who seek unbiased admiration for exceptional ideas. And I believe that is something worth encouraging. Ramsey Towell is a senior computer science major from Abilene.
Cartoon by BEN TODD
hashtagACU Sept. 1 11:57 a.m.
Aug. 30 10:50 p.m. Aug. 27 11:05 a.m.
“Is chapel really every day???” #actualfreshmanquote
@chknoodle
You know there’s NOTHING going on when all the parking spots at the dorm are full on a Saturday night #acurage
@KaileNorris
Sept. 1 9:43 a.m.
Sept. 1 11:20 a.m.
Doing Labor Day right by spending it laboring at school and work. #labordayweekend #loth
@alikaywould
Sept. 1 11:21 a.m.
It’s not ACU without some slam poetry....
@tomevans74
63% is the average scholarship amount for our incoming Fall 2014 students! #TheMoreYouKnow
Let me know when there are pumpkin bagels again and I’ll come back to ACU.
@jennak1594
@ACUGST
Sept. 2 1:26 p.m.
Sept. 1 9:26 p.m.
Wake me up when September ends
@carlyyruth
Sept. 1 12:35 a.m.
Rushing brings out the weird in people.
@TessLenae
Apparently being a senior means knowing nobody in the library and having to actually do work there, which I am not cool with.
@lesslielew
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Shout out to the Kojie Siggie and Gata sitting together. Breaking social barriers I see you.
I pay $2000 for the bean... And $1950 of it should go to Annie
Yik Yak
Yik Yak
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featureS
Wednesday 09.03.14
A View from
The Hill
Sarah bateman staff Photographer
Student spends summer interning on Capitol Hill linsey thuT
S
|
features editor
avannah Hostetter sat in Lynay last spring listening as U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway talked about working at the Capitol and staying true to his faith at the same time. Hostetter, a senior political science major from Brownsville, wanted the chance to live out her own faith on Capitol Hill. Fast forward a few months to June, and that’s exactly where Hostetter found herself. Hostetter interned in Conaway’s office in the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill as a part of the Fund for American Studies Summer Internship Program. She worked as a part of the Engalitcheff Institute, which focuses on Comparative Political and Economic Systems. “I learned a lot,” Hostetter said. “If anything, I would summarize this as an eventful learning experience.” Conaway is the representative for Texas’s 11th District – the Midland, Odessa and Brownwood area – so she said he was pretty busy with legislation the whole summer. “The whole time I was there, Congress was in session which is their busiest time,” Hostetter said. Dr. Neal Coates, department chair of political science, suggested Hostetter look at the internship in D.C. He said students had to be nominated for the position by the department of political science. “As we’ve gotten to know Savannah in her time here at ACU, she had some of those qualities that would make her a good fit,” Coates said. He said she had many qualities that made her a great fit for the program. “In particular, she has a very good GPA, she has an interest in how the world works and has an interest in world politics,” Coates said. One of Hostetter’s responsibilities was to give tours of the Capitol, which she said was tricky but rewarding. “I think I took too many left turns the first couple of tours,” Hostetter said. “But it was a really awesome opportunity to get to show constituent West Texans the Capitol Building where the Senate and Supreme Court used to work.” One of the places she took them was to the current House Gallery.
“
Conaway always said, ‘You have to uphold the law, but you also have to show compassion. So how do you balance those things?’”
Savannah Hostetter senior Political Science major from Brownsville
“Sometimes I’d be giving tours and Congress was actually in session,” Hostetter said. Hostetter said she loved being able to meet different Congress members each day when she made runs around the Capitol. “I would run into Congress members in elevators quite frequently because everyone takes the elevator,” she said. “They were so friendly and so personable.” One Congressman that Hostetter said she connected well with was U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, an ACU alumnus. “He told us all these stories of when he was Galaxy president,” Hostetter said. “He was just a hoot.” Hostetter said Poe invited her and two other ACU students interning in different programs in Washington to a brunch. While exploring Capitol Hill, Hostetter said she became well versed in the many underground tunnels that connect the Capitol building to surrounding office buildings. “A lot of people don’t realize that there is practically a city underneath the Capitol building,” Hostetter said. In the tunnels there are Verizon Wireless stores, cafeterias, and even barbershops, Hostetter said. When she wasn’t running from end to end of Capitol Hill, Hostetter said she was most likely dealing with constituent correspondents, or responding to letters and emails from people in Conaway’s district. She said this was how most interns started off their internship. “We started with status letters which is just updates on bills and things like that,” Hostetter said. After seeing her dedication to her job, her supervisor let her write letters on more substantial topics. Hostetter wrote letters about issues such as the crisis in Ukraine, the Malaysian airline crash and even the Bushmeat trade.
“People were writing in about chimpanzee meat being sold and so I got to research and write about that,” Hostetter said. Hostetter said writing the letters in Conaway’s perspective could be difficult. “I would write things like ‘Rest assured, I am handling this issue,’” Hostetter said. By the time the letters were sent to constituents, though, they were much different than what was sent out. “I would write these letters and submit them to someone else, who would submit them to someone else,” Hostetter said. “When they were sent out, they weren’t under my name, they were under the Congressman’s name.” While there, Hostetter attended several donor dinners, and gave the invocation at the Fund for American Studies Annual Conference Dinner. On top of that, she received another big honor while on her internship. Out of the 70 interns in the Engalitcheff Institute, which was the biggest of the Fund for American Studies program, Hostetter was the sole winner of the Outstanding Student Award. She attributes her success to her determination to be a part of the program. “I attended everything and just kind of went above and beyond,” Hostetter said. “I made sure that I had a positive attitude.” Hostetter said she learned a surprising lesson about politics throughout the summer. “Conaway always said, ‘You have to uphold the law, but you also have to show compassion. So how do you balance those things?’” she said. Hostetter said she realized the easiest solution to a problem is not always the best one. “I was able to see the hard decisions that people have to make in dealing with these issues,” Hostetter said. As Hostetter’s internship came to an end in August, she was offered a staff assistant position with the House Ethics Committee which is chaired by Conaway. “The House Ethics Committee deals with setting up rules for the Congress members,” Hostetter said. Hostetter said she isn’t sure if she’ll take the job after she graduates, but is trusting God at the moment. “I’m just praying that God will lead me where I can best serve,” she said. “He’s already done that just looking back at this whole opportunity.”
Above: Hostetter gave the invocation at the Fund for American Studies Donor Dinner. Top Right: Hostetter met Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation President Margaret Davis (left). Bottom Right: Hostetter joined with U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, ACU alumnus, and Caleb Orr, sophomore political science major from McKinney who also interened in DC this summer.
Bibler drops first three as new head coach
sports
wednesday 9.03.14
standings football Standings
tori valdivia
contact valdivia at vmv12b@acu.edu
Team
Div.
Lamar SELU SHSU HBU MSU ACU UCA Nicholls St. NSU SFA UIW
0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Ovrl 1-0 1-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1
soccer Standings
Team
sports reporter The ACU volleyball team concluded its first weekend of tournament play at the Hampton Inn Waco North Baylor Invitational last Saturday. The Wildcats fell short, losing all three of their matches against Baylor University, University of Portland, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. “We didn’t perform the way we wanted to this weekend,” head coach Jason Bibler said. “We were all disappointed with our overall performance. We failed to play in the same ways that we had been practicing the last three weeks.” ACU played its first match against Baylor Friday night in front of 747 fans and lost in three matches, 25-15, 25-20 and 25-8. The ‘Cats only tied the score once early on in the first set, then trailed the Bears by just two points before they busted it open with a nine point rally against ACU. Baylor kept this rally going by capitalizing on three of ACU’s errors. The second and third sets were not as close, as the Wildcats fell behind quickly and could not stay within a threepoint range. Junior Jennifer Loerch and freshman Stephanie Schoelman led the ‘Cats with nine kills, followed by senior Taylor Nix with seven kills. Schoelman also had six digs in her first game as a Wildcat, and junior Madison Hoover had eleven digs. ACU looked to redeem itself Saturday afternoon against Portland, but was again defeated in three matches, 25-16, 25-23 and 25-11. The Pilots ran away with the first match, beating ACU with a lead of nine points. The Wildcats responded well in the second match with a comfortable 8-0 lead, taking advantage of three Portland errors. However, the Pilots fought back, eventually tying the score at 18. The ‘Cats maintained a close game, but eventually fell 25-23. The third match was dominated by Portland from start to finish as they quickly finished the game with an 11-4 run. Loerch and Schoelman both had six kills, followed by sophomore Lexi Mercier with five kills and four blocks for the Wildcats. In its third and final game, ACU fell to its Southland Conference adversary Texas A&M Corpus Christi. For the third time in the tournament, the Wildcats lost in three matches, 25-28 in the first two and 25-22 in the last. After being defeated by the Islanders with the same score twice, the Wildcats didn’t go down without a fight in the third match. ACU called its second timeout after the Islanders went on a seven-point streak, leading the Wildcats at 23-17. The ‘Cats then rallied, soon trailing Corpus Christi by just two points at 24-22, but the Islanders took the match in the next play when Brianna Brink made her final kill for the night. “We have to keep pushing to get better each day,” Bibler said. “If we find ourselves settling for where we are, we will find ourselves losing those matches. We have to earn every point and every set we play. No one is giving us any freebies this season. The better we understand that, the more successful we will be this season.” Loerch led the Wildcats again in the third game with twelve kills and was later named to the Hampton Inn Waco North Baylor Invitational All-Tournament Team.
6
SELU UCA TAMU-CC ACU Nicholls St SFA HBU Lamar MSU NSU SHSU UIW
Div. 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0
Ovrl 4-0-0 3-0-1 1-1-1 2-2-0 2-2-0 2-2-0 1-3-0 1-3-0 1-3-0 1-3-0 1-3-0 0-4-0
page otway Staff Photographer
Redshirt Freshman Kate Seay dribbles away from a UTEP defender. The Wildcats moved to 2-2 over the weekend.
Seniors hit their stride
Schoch, Browns find nets in pair of weekend wins daniel zepeda sports director The women’s soccer team moved to 2-2 after the weekend, with wins over Texas Wesleyan and Wayland Baptist. The Wildcats earned their first win of the season with a 3-0 decisive victory over Wayland Baptist and then defeated Texas Wesleyan 2-1 in overtime. “It felt great to get that first win,” said Madison Brown, senior midfielder. “We’ve had a few games that have slipped by despite playing well, so I think getting that win was important for our confidence as a whole.” Three Wildcat seniors scored in Friday night’s game, as Sarah Schoch, Taylor Brown and Madison Brown registered their first goals of the year. All three goals came in the first half, as Schoch found the back of the net
in the 23rd minute. Taylor Brown was the next Wildcat to score just six minutes later in the 29th minute. Madison Brown’s goal would be the final of the game, as it pushed the lead to three in the 36th minute. The game was played at Hardin-Simmons Soccer Complex after a 70-minute weather delay postponed the start of the contest. Sydney Newton, sophomore goalkeeper, continued her impressive play of late, as she stopped two shots and was credited with her second career clean sheet – a complete game shut-out. “The main factor in our win over Wayland Baptist was consistent effort,” Madison Brown said. “The weather presented some adversity, but I think we did well at focusing back in and finishing the game. The first goal by Sarah Schoch was also huge. It put us on the scoreboard
and opened the flood gates for other shots on goal.” Sunday afternoon’s game proved to have a little more flare for the theatrics, as the Wildcats battled back to force overtime and eventually earn the win in Fort Worth. ACU fell behind in the early going with an allowed goal in the 37th minute. The team was able to battle back in the second half after Emily Sumrall, senior midfielder, assisted the goal by Lindsey Jones, junior forward and midfielder, which tied the game at one goal apiece in the 58th minute. Both teams continued battling as neither found a go-ahead goal in regulation time. Baylee Mitchell, freshman forward and midfielder from Flower Mound, became the hero as her gamewinning free-kick goal in the 95th minute sent the Wildcats home as victors. “The game against We-
selyan definitely became a mental one,” Schoch said. “Once we knew we were having to go into overtime we knew we had to mentally lock in to be able to come out of the game with a win. It took a lot of heart, a lot of focus and a lot of composure to keep our heads right for the game. I knew we could win, we just had to keep fighting until the end and we did.” The team will take its brief two-game winning streak to Denton to take on the University of North Texas. The Mean Green are 3-0-0 with one of its wins coming against Southland Conference rival Lamar. “We just need to keep this motivation going into our practices this week so we can get ready for the upcoming weekend of games,” Schoch contact zepeda at djz11a@acu.edu
Sims returns for fresh start Shera Niemirowski sports multimedia director Former Abilene High School football star Herschel Sims is gearing up for his first return to Shotwell since the 2010 AHS football season. Sims was born and raised in Abilene and graduated from Abilene High in 2011. He played at Oklahoma State University for a year and was released in the summer of 2012. He then attended Lamar, but quickly transferred to ACU in the middle of the season. Because of NCA A regulations on transfers, Sims had to sit out the 2013 season. “I’m glad that I’m back here in Abilene just because its great being able to be home with my family and friends I grew up with,” Sims said. Sims’ personal life was put in the spotlight as a freshman runningback at Oklahoma State University when he got into team and legal trouble. Sims was removed from the team after he was charged with two accounts of second-degree forgery. Former teammate Jeremiah Tshimanga, accused Sims of accessing his banking account and making two transactions worth $700. Sims pleaded not guilty at the time, but the damage had been done. “The past is the past and all I can do is move forward,” Sims said. “The hardest thing for me was to just stay positive and once I got to Lamar I thought everything would pass but I was miserable and I just have to forgive myself for what happened and move forward.” Many people in Abilene know and have long supported Sims,
Austin Kilcullen Staff Photographer
Junior running back Herschel Sims returns to Shotwell Saturday for the first time since his senior season at AHS.
including his family and some of his closest friends. “Being able to play with them and see them on a daily basis is an incredible feeling and to be able to play for my home crowd from high school is a great feeling, so I’m looking forward to that,” Sims said. After his troubles at OSU, Sims is glad to be back home with a strong support system. “Having my family there to watch all of my home games is a great feeling as well, knowing they are there supporting me,” Sims said. “I’ve let them down in the past
and they’re still there standing behind me 10 percent.” Head coach Ken Collums spoke highly of both Sims’ character and ability as a player. “He is a solid person, he has a really good knack for the game of football and is very instinctive,” Collums said. Collums is a firm believer in raising men, not football players, and Sims agrees and ref lects that mindset. “The coaches help tremendously,” Sims said. “For example, at OK State, it’s all about football but here it’s no pass, no play and you actually have to
learn, so I’ve learned a lot. Football is not going to last forever, so I got on the right path, took that advice and ran with it.” The transition from playing at a well-established Big 12 school to an up-and-coming recent Southland Conference member posed its challenges for Sims. “I’m good now, but before, it was stressful because every day I used to think, ‘I should be in Oklahoma starting right now,’ and now I’m back in Abilene and that was hard for the longest time,” Sims said. “But Coming back to Abilene and being with my family and friends helped a lot, and I got my mind off of it.” This October, the Wildcats will take on Southland Conference foe, and Sims’ former home, Lamar, in Abilene. “I’m excited, hopefully we’ll have a real big crowd and get the adrenaline pumping. It’s going to be fun,” Sims said. “I have two really good friends at Lamar from Oklahoma State who transferred with me and they’re both on the defensive side of the ball so we’ll see.” Sims has his work cut out for him this season as ACU struggled to get the ground game going in the Wildcats’ season opening loss to Georgia State. Sims carried 14 times for 37 yards and left the game in the second half with an apparent ankle injury. Sims will return this week for his first game in Abilene since high school. “I’m just going to go out there and play the game I love and just do what I do best, and that’s play football,” Sims said. contact niemirowski at Snn12a@acu.edu
volleyball Standings
Team
Div.
SHSU TAMU-CC MSU Nicholls St. NSU NO SELU UIW SFA ACU UCA HBU Lamar
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
Ovrl 4-0 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-3 0-3 0-3 0-3 0-3
Who’s Hot Freshman soccer player Baylee Mitchell came up big for the Wildcats mitchell on Sunday. Mitchell scored the game winning goal in overtime in the team’s 2-1 win against Texas Wesleyan. The goal was the first of Mitchell’s ACU career and sent the Wildcats home happy.
briefings ACU football’s opening game against Georgia State featured two quarterbacks with more than 400 yards passing. The two offenses combined for 1,067 yards. ACU quarterback Parker McKenzie was named Southland Conference offensive player of the week. McKenzie went 30-for-41 with 403 yards and four touchdowns against Georgia State. Be sure to follow @OptimistSports on Twitter for more stories and the latest ACU sports news coverage.
Upcoming Women’s soccer will travel to Denton to face the University of North Texas. Kick -ff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night. Cross country competes in its first meet of the year this Saturday. The Wildcats will participate in the West Texas College Open in Snyder on Saturday. Volleyball will take on the Universtiy of North Texas in San Marcos at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and Texas State at 2 p.m. Football is scheduled to play its first home game of the year against Northern Arizona at Shotwell Stadium this Saturday at 6 p.m.