Hollywood lately Movie reviews on two recent releases Arts Page 5 vol. 103, no. 54
friday, may 1 2015
1 SECTION, 6 PAGES
what’s INSIDE NEWS ACU Clinic creates relaxation room for students to destress in Page 3
NEWS Web cam in library overlooking the Starbucks line quickly shut down
Page 3
OPINION Madeline Orr writes her last column as Editor-in-Cheif while Brittany Jackson writes her first Page 4
SPORTS Sophomore Agritelley earns first team all-conference honors Page 6
paige otway staff photographer
Seniors celebrate the culmination of their college experience at the Senior Candlelight Send-off on Tuesday night.
Seniors depart with familiar tradition betsy smith
OPINION
student reporter
It’s time for “basic” to see it’s way out of our vocabulary
Page 4
The senior class gathered one last time before commencement to walk a familiar path. Tuesday night, they walked from Moody Coliseum to the Beauchamp Amphitheater for this year’s Candlelight Devotional and Senior Send-off. In an ode to the Welcome Week tradition, the the Student Alumni Association and the Students’ Association partnered for the second year in a row to create a memorable conclu-
sion to each senior’s time at ACU. Alex Abston, vice president of the Student Alumni Association, explained how the Candlelight Devotionals for seniors and freshmen are similar in format. “The seniors will walk down the walkway from Moody into the amphitheatr at sunset, just like they did their freshman year, lined with singing students and faculty that have contributed to their four years here,” said Abston, junior pre-law and communications major from The Woodlands. “The seniors do not light their
candles until everyone has found their spot within the amphitheatre, and then we begin lighting the candles that eventually spread into an amphitheatre full of light.” At the freshman Candlelight Devotional, the light represents new light and the journey students are about to embark on throughout the next four years at ACU. At the senior candlelight devo, the message is different. “This year, the seniors will actually have the candles give off a purple light, instead of our freshman
year white light, as a symbol of the seniors’ soon-to-be alumni status,” Abston said. The Candlelight Devotional, to many students, is one of the many ACU traditions they keep with them throughout their time here. “I loved being a part of Candlelight Send-off for the seniors; it was the perfect way to end my time at ACU,” said Taylor Mounce, senior speech pathology major from Coppell. “Ending the year surrounded by people who have helped me get through school and helped strengthen my faith in the process is a great reminder
as to how the Lord is working in our lives.” Other undergraduate students and current faculty and staff helped to line the sidewalk leading to the amphitheatre. After a time of worship, Craig Fisher, director of alumni relations welcomed the senior class to the ACU alumni family and Jonathan Storment, preaching minister at Highland Church of Christ, offered words of encouragement and blessings. contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
Housing registration software quickly crashes
SPORTS ACU Athletics denied opportunity to shorten probation period Page 6
NEWS SAAC recreates annual sports banquet for athletes Page 3
what’s online
elijah evans online managing editor The women’s sophomore housing registration server quickly crashed Wednesday, just minutes after the registration process opened. The server was unable to handle the number of requests it received and crashed. The registration process was impeded only for female registrants, said Bob Strader, director of residence life education and housing. ResLife quickly identified the error,
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freshman class has a greater number of women than men. Second, the male contingent apparently inadvertently spaced their registration process out. The registration process was not only a hassle for staff, but for students as well. “It was frustrating because you want to know where you are going to live, and the semester is almost over,” said Hanna Riddle, freshman kinesiology major from Murphy. “Everyone was waiting to get the exact place that they wanted, and we didn’t know if it
worked, so we just kept trying.” Jayna Hanson, freshman kinesiology major from Live Oak, said she liked the new system, but wished it hadn’t given her such a headache. “I’ve never really had good experiences with technology,” Hanson said. “I was accessing it through my laptop and my phone, but neither worked. But I do think it was a good idea to use the software to register everyone instead of lining everyone up.” The update to the housing registration process
was engineered by ResLife, allowing freshmen to choose their roommate, residence hall and specific room. According to an email from the Office of Residence Life Education and Housing, students with special housing needs that had already worked with ResLife to secure housing may email reslife@acu.edu to confirm (their) housing assignment.
contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
COBA investigates possible cheating rachel Fritz
ONLINE
suspended female registration, wiped all registration requests and re-scheduled another female housing registration for Friday. The new registration plan uses a stratified, randomly-selected lottery system. Starting at 11 a.m., a computer program will select groups of 50 students to register. The system will select another group every 15 minutes after that until all students register, Strader said. The male registration process did not overwhelm the server for two reasons, Strader said. First, the
managing editor Students in the College of Business Administration are under investigation after a group was allegedly caught violating academic integrity. Several classes were reported to have participated in some form of cheating. According to ACU’s academic integrity and honesty policy, examples of academic dishonesty include acquiring answers for any assigned work or examination from any
source not authorized by the instructor for the specific assignment, gaining access to the content of any examination prior to its being given and informing any person(s) of the contents of any examination prior to its being given. Students who violate the academic integrity policy are subject to various consequences including, but not limited to, being dropped from the corresponding class, receiving a failing grade or redoing the assignment or exam with a penalized grade.
All violations of academic integrity result in a three-phase response from the university. The first phase involves an investigation that determines if the action was done within the department. The second phase determines consequences, and the third phase determines how the incident is reported to the Office of Student Life and takes a look at the student’s previous history. Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of COBA and professor of marketing, is in charge of the pending investiga-
Abilene Christian University
“
We’re determining the consequences as well as administering couseling and advice on a studentby-student basis.”
classes were caught in the act at the same time. “It’s not a rigged scandal or anything like that,” he said. “It all just happened to come to our attention at the same time.” Lytle said they are still Dr. Rick Lytle in the discussion stages of Dean of COBA Professor of Marketing what steps to take next. As of now, students are being dealt with one-by-one by faculty members accordtion. “There was a situation ing to whose class they where we’ve had a few are enrolled in. “We’re determining professors discover some cheating,” Lytle said. “We the consequences as well don’t tolerate cheating – as administering counseling and advice on a at all.” Lytle said it was just a see dance page 4 coincidence that multiple
friday 5.01.15
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friday
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saturday 6:30 p.m. Baseball at University of New Orleans
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sunday 12 p.m. Softball at Houston Baptist University
Last day of class
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monday 1 p.m. Baseball at University of New Orleans
Dead Day (no classes)
2 p.m. Baseball at University of New Orleans
12 p.m. Brown bag concert in Cullen Auditorium 2 p.m. Softball at Houston Baptist University
Announcements
Chapel checkup To date:
Remaining:
67 0 @acuoptimist The Optimist
Sublease at University Park Apartments for $395 per month for the summer! Apartments are fully furnished! Tendollar electricity coverage per month. Some extras such as lamps and some kitchen supplies may be included as well! Let me know if you are interested via email at nlj10a@acu.edu. Phone ER can fix your cracked screen, broken charger, broken home button and even change the color of your phone! Better yet, you are able to charge repairs to your ACU student ac-
count! Come by the Campus The cost is $5 for single playStore or email us at phoneer@ ers and $10 per doubles team. acu.edu for more information. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. at Hole 1. Meet us at the ballpark at 7:05 p.m. June 4 at Globe Life Park Midnight Breakfast is Dead when the Texas Rangers take Day at 10:30 p.m. in the World on the Chicago White Sox. Ar- Famous Bean. Come for panrive early to meet ACU coaches cakes and breakfast food at the Wildcat Club Caravan at sponsored by the ACU Alumni 5 p.m. on the third floor of the Association and ACU Student Hall of Fame inside the park. Alumni Association. For more information, visit http://acu.edu/alumni. Start packing up your unwanted items now. SALT presents ACU Dead Day Disc Golf Tour- its annual Dead Day recynament will be 10 a.m. Monday cling project May 4. Donate at the Wildcat Disc Golf Course. the items you don’t want to
take home and get a free Cajun Cone in University Church parking lot from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Email questions to mr.mortonsalt@gmail.com. The ACU Career Center is located on the 2nd floor of the Hunter Welcome Center. For help with resume reviews, interview preparation, job search, career advising, mock interviews and networking tips, contact us at careers@acu.edu.
optimist@acu.edu police log SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 04/25/2015 10:31 p.m. ACUPD investigated a resident’s report of lights blinking and garage door opening/closing in the 2500 block of Madison Aveunue. Officers determined that power surges were occurring in the area. 04/29/2015 12 p.m. A student reported the theft of his iPad from a McKinzie Hall dorm room. Investigation is ongoing. 04/29/2015 11:30 a.m. A student reported the theft of their wallet from the Onstead Packer Biblical Studies Building. Investigation is ongoing. 04/30/2015 1:06 a.m. ACUPD and APD units responded to a report of a loud disturbance inside a residence located in the 500 block of East North 23rd Street. An ACU student resident of the house was subsequently arrested for assault involving his attack on his roommate. Stats for the Week of April 23 - 30, 2015 - Total: 411 ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY 24 ALARM 4 ANIMAL CALL 1 ASSAULT 1 ASSIST 1 BARRICADES 6 BICYCLE PATROL 1 BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK 9 BURGLARY: RESIDENCE 2 CHECK BUILDING 196 CITATION ISSUANCE 1 CRIMINAL TRESPASS 1 DIRECT TRAFFIC 1 DISTURBANCE 1
DRUG ACTIVITY/OFFENSE 1 ESCORT 1 EVENT SUPPORT 2 FOOT PATROL 12 FOUND PROPERTY 1 HIT-AND-RUN 2 INCIDENT REPORT 1 INFORMATION REPORT 3 INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP 11 MAINTENANCE UNIV. ASSETS: CCTV 2 MEDICAL EMERGENCY 1 MONITOR FACILITY/LOT 4 MOTORIST ASSIST: INFLATE TIRE 2 MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMPSTART 4
MOTORIST ASSIST: OTHER 3 MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK 9 NOISE VIOLATION 3 OTHER 5 PARKING LOT PATROL 26 PARKING VIOLATION 5 PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTENANCE 3 PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL 9 PROWLER 2 RANDOM PATROL 20 RECKLESS DAMAGE/DESTRUCTION 2 REPORT WRITING 10 SOLICITING 2 SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 2
SUICIDE (ATTEMPT AND ACTUAL) 1 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY 3 SUSPICIOUS PERSON 2 THEFT 4 TRAFFIC STOP 3 WELFARE CHECK Police Chief Tip of the Week: Please remember that parking regulations remain in effect next week during finals, as well as all summer.
volunteer opportunities Big Brothers Big Sisters “Lunch Buddy” program is looking for volunteers. Each volunteer is matched with an elementary-age child. Volunteers spend just 30 minutes per week eating lunch with their “little brother” or “little sister” at local elementary schools, while mentoring through the simple act of friendship. Participants can
enjoy playing card games, reading books and visiting during lunch. The waiting list has 138 children. Contact Jamie Bearden at 325-674-3113 or jbearden@bbbstx.org for more information. Communities in Schools needs 10 to 20 reading and lunch buddies at Ortiz Elementary. Volunteers are needed anytime between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. weekdays. Contact Sheila Ashford at 325-671-4945 ext.5351 or sheila.ashford@abileneisd.org for more information. Girl Scouts is seeking volunteers to help make a difference in the life of young girls. Girl Scouts offers several flexible ways to volunteer. You choose how: a one-day event, six-week series or year-round troop. Contact our office at 325-670-0432 and mlawson@gs-top.org. Keep Abilene Beautiful is looking for volunteers to help with litter clean-ups. Small and large groups are both needed. Contact Nicole Eaves at 325-734-3301 and nicole.eaves@abilenetx.com for more information. REACH @ Abilene North Apartments is seeking volunteers. Volunteers will be a part of building relationships with at-risk kids and their families through a unique and developing apartment ministry. The program takes place Mondays from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Contact Caroline Thompson at 281-782-2956 or crt12a@acu.edu for more details. 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. 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. 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 325-6700246. 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 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 325690-5235. 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.
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news
friday 5.01.15
Library cuts live stream of Starbucks line daniel block intramurals editor A year after its intended shut down, the camera enabling students to see how long the Starbucks line is was finally turned off. A camera with a live video feed of the Starbucks line was taken offline Tuesday, one year later than intended. In April 2014, the Brown Library received a grant from the Texas State Library to install cameras as a mobile initiative to help students know whether the library common area was full or if computers were available. One of the cameras recorded the line at Starbucks. Dr. John Weaver, dean of library services and educational technology, said
the decision was made to discontinue streaming the live feeds one month later after strong debate among library faculty. “People disagree on whether it is a helpful service or intrusive and a violation of privacy,” Weaver said. “If we erred, it was on the side of caution. I think we made the proper decision to discontinue the video feed.” While the live feeds on the cameras in the common area were cut, the feed on the Starbucks line somehow went overlooked. Weaver said he only found out it still existed upon being contacted by the Optimist within the last week. The live stream was discontinued Tuesday. Upon receiving the state grant, the library contacted ACUPD, which helped co-
ordinate the implementation of the cameras as required by the university and ACUPD. ACU Chief of Police Jimmy Ellison said the cameras were not part of the university-wide surveillance system monitored by police for campus safety, but were managed by the library. ACUPD’s surveillance network on campus includes approximately 525 cameras. “Any kind of camera system on campus is coordinated by the ACU Police Department,” Ellison said. “We coordinate the installation, the control and the usage of the cameras.” Once the live feeds were discontinued, the cameras became part of ACUPD’s system. Ellison said the library faculty’s decision to discon-
tinue the live stream did not hinge on legal privacy issues in any way, as the library is a common public area. “We looked at legal issues,” Ellison said. “We looked at the benefit to the university in terms of promotion and awareness, and that’s what the grant was centered around. And we didn’t see any issue with having a very limited number of promotional cameras tied to live feeds.” Neither Ellison nor Weaver was able to definitively answer why the live feed of the Starbucks line went overlooked for a full year. “Basically, in a nutshell, as a result of a little bit of miscommunication and a little bit of breakdown, the cameras were still able to be viewed even after the library staff thought they had
been terminated by cancelling the web feed service subscriptions,” Ellison said. “However, that only killed the subscriptions, not the technical feed to the web. ACU Information Technology, who controls the feed and web aspects, never received the request to pull the plug on web access for the Starbucks line camera, and that wasn’t discovered until Tuesday.” Weaver said the debate and ultimate decision to discontinue the live streams was contested. “Video live streaming is a challenged practice in contemporary culture,” Weaver said. “Some people love the greater insight it gives into the world they live in; other people feel like it’s a violation of privacy. Library leadership here decided at first that it could be
a valuable service, and then changed its mind based upon user feedback. It was an experiment that we decided to pull the plug on.” The primary reason the feeds were cut was to be courteous to library users. “We value patron privacy when they’re asking questions or using resources,” Weaver said. “We believe that someone should have access to information and not feel like there’s a Big Brother watching what they’re interested in. As we began to see what the cameras showed in terms of what people were reading sometimes, we sensed that violated information privacy.”
contact block at djb13a@acu.edu
Banquet changes scenery, adds speaker reese gwin student reporter The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has revamped its annual sports banquet. A notable speaker and a new venue will headline the event on Monday night. For the first time, the ACU athletics banquet will be in the Hunter Welcome Center rather than the Teague Special Events Center. The banquet will also feature a speaker from outside the department. Mikado Hinson, the director of player devel-
opment at Texas A&M University and former chaplain for the Houston Rockets, will be the keynote speaker. “With the department moving to Div. I, it was time to bring the banquet up to that standard as well,” said Kyle Karnei, president of SAAC and golf team member. “There should be a certain level of professionalism that is exemplified in how we conduct events such as these, and I think we will have accomplished that this year.” The plan to overhaul the banquet has been in the
works since last year, said Karnei, sophomore accounting major from McGregor. After the conclusion of last year’s event, the SAAC officer team began brainstorming better ways to celebrate the end of the athletic year. The search for a speaker began in August as did an alternate venue to the usual Teague set up. “Lee De Leon has been crucial in improving every aspect of how business is done in the athletic department,” Karnei said. “I think that fact alone is evident when you look at something
like the athletic banquet.” Landing Hinson as a speaker was entirely the work of De Leon. The two worked together at the University of Houston from 2006 to 2008. Hinson has spent his entire career around athletes at every level and began his career working as the chaplain for the Houston Rockets and UH. He transitioned in 2010 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes before taking his current job with Texas A&M University. The new speaker and venue are not the only changes to the athletic ban-
quet. Now, athletes will be allowed to bring dates much like a social club formal. A department-wide vote led to the decision to invite guests. “I think it is a great idea to allow athletes to bring dates,” said Natalie Throneberry, sophomore kinesiology major from McKinney and soccer player. “This way, we can show off the athletic department to non-athletes, celebrate the end of the year with friends and hopefully build more support for our teams.” Karnei said the decision to bring dates ultimately
came down to a public relations decision. The vote amongst the athletes was split nearly 50-50. “It was a tight decision, but we are going to try it for a year and see how it goes,” Karnei said. “In the end, we just want people to come out to our games. If bringing dates to our banquet somehow bridges the gap between student-athletes and non-athletes, then SAAC has served its purpose.” contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
Relaxation Room opens to stressed students abby runnels copy editor The Medical and Counseling Care Center (MACCC) is offering students, faculty and staff the chance to unplug and relax, just in time for finals. The Relaxation Room offers a zero-gravity massage chair, several playlists and some alone time for anyone feeling stressed or overworked. “This has been a service that we’ve provided now for the last few weeks,” said Abby Pimentel, administrative assistant in the MACCC. “We’ve just started opening it up and just started advertising it. We wanted to open it up to the students and let
them know what it is.” The MACCC staff first started talking about the Relaxation Room to students during Meditations Chapel, and word spread quickly from there. “People are really liking it a lot,” Pimentel said. “It’s been surprising to me. Several people have already made return visits and want to keep something scheduled. Just having a place on campus where you can shut the door and not be interrupted at all has been helpful to people.” Katrina Karnes, freshman kinesiology major from Oceanside, California, is one of the students who has taken advantage of the Relaxation Room. “It really helped relieve
tension in my muscles that have resulted from the school year,” Karnes said. “The room was a very nice place to relax in peace for a little under an hour.” During sessions, an iPad is available for students to choose a playlist of worship music, mindfulness meditation or nature sounds. However, the massage chair is arguably the best part of the experience. “The massage chair is really interesting,” Pimentel said. “It is different than the ones you see in the mall that just kind of shake. It actually gives a pretty deep massage. It’s a much higher quality chair than what you would see in other places.” The chair has adjustable pressures and massage per-
COBA: Cheating under investigation from page 1 ment is reached between the professor of the class and the student. “There’s a code of conduct in the syllabus, so we go by that to determine what happens to the student,” Lytle said. “Consequences are typically determined on a faculty-by faculty-basis.” One concern Lytle has is administering punish-
ment fairly. “You find yourself wanting to tighten up, but you don’t want to penalize the honest students,” he aid. “We and the faculty are working with students to see that justice is served.” Moving forward plans to help prevent the issue from occurring again are in place. “We’re trying to determine why the problem happened and how we are going
to remedy the problem,” Lytle said. “We want to figure out how we make a difference moving forward.” Lytle plans on emphasizing the issue at the first departmental Chapel at the beginning of next semester.
contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
cussions that help relax muscles and relieve tension. “All I had to do was sit down and relax while the chair massaged me,” Karnes said.
This semester, sessions 674-2626 to book a 45-minin the Relaxation Room are ute time slot. free of charge, but that may change in the fall. Students contact runnels at can call the Medical and arn11a@acu.edu Counseling Center at 325-
Opinion
4
FRIday 5.01.15
editorial
It’s time to stop blaming women for being ‘basic’ the issue The term “basic” is applied to girls and women with a negative connotation, while there is no equivalent label given to men.
our take Accusing girls of being “basic” is labeling the buying into things that are marketed specifically to them. These labels are one hashtag away from being rooted in misogyny.
Walking around in yoga pants, hair in a messy bun, eyebrows on fleek and Starbucks in hand, any girl would labeled as “basic” right off the bat. But please,
for the love of all things just, let’s eliminate this label from our vocabulary. “Basic” has spread through our vernacular similar to LOL and JK, at
hashtagACU
first as a joke, and then it became so ingrained in our minds that it slipped into every sentence. It’s fun, it’s casual, and it’s making fun of a large portion of the population for no valid reason. New York Magazine worded it perfectly when it said, “Basic rolls beautifully off the tongue. It’s a useful insult. Like trashy or gauche, it derives its power from the knowledge that if you can recognize someone or something as basic, you probably, yourself,
aren’t it.” Basic is another way to divide oneself from others, to assert a social hierarchy, and a way to turn girls and women against one another. The term just means someone is into the latest trends, and the unforgivable indulges in them. The problem with this is that it attacks women, especially young girls in middle and high school, for the very things that are being marketed at them. In the first 15 images
to pop up on the “Uggs” Google search, only three have men in them. Most of them are, admittedly, white women in trendy clothing hugging their boots. And with about 5,000 similar ads being thrown at these young women each day, it’s no wonder they’re giving into the trends. These “basic” girls are being criticized for adapting to the culture around them. So what? Boys aren’t criticized like this for wearing backwards hats, or all getting
pickup trucks, or for wearing polos with khaki pants and calling it “dressy.” No matter how prevalent these trends are at ACU, no one seems to point that out to the men on campus. So next to the next person who looks at a woman in the Starbucks line and feels “basic” about to roll off their tongue, please stop and figure out why that’s a temptation. contact The Optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
DAILY doodle dosage
Ben Todd
April 30 2:40 p.m.
SOS does anyone have a lot of bean bucks left?
@graysondampier
April 30 12:39 p.m.
I walked into Wal-Mart wearing a blue polo and khakis and immediately regretted my morning decisions.
April 27 8:42 p.m.
WE MADE IT! @benrector: “We like you, ACU!”
@caleb116orr April 28 2:05 a.m.
ACU: a school that’s so small that whenever there is an event it’s all over your news feed of all social media sites for at least 2 days.
@damarysperez_ April 30 12:07 a.m.
Does crying in every movie count as a talent
@ErickaTisdale April 30 1:13 p.m.
How are finals next week, where did this semester go? #timeisflying
@Macie_Liptoi “Tries to Yak about how bad SuddenLink is* *Can’t connect to internet becase uses SuddenLink*
YikYak New mix tape called GPA and it’s about to drop
@SoyTophu April 30 10:54 a.m.
I just got really sad about graduating, mostly because it means no more la pop
@sbeckendorff April 30 10:47 p.m.
“if you ever need anything I want you to understand we are friends for life” -Professor Terry Pope
Column
5 tips on surviving the studypocalypse
@marynevans April 30 10:36 a.m.
“Is that a hot dog donut?” -clearly not from Texas #kolache
I’M SORRY VAGABONDAGE MISS JACKSON SAMANTHA SUTHERLAND BRITTANY JACKSON
@SamanthaSharp12 At this point in time, my life feels like an Avery Monsen and Jury John book. To be more specific, All my friends are dead, with everybody disappearing to the theology room and other such places to drown themselves in study guides. Scattered across campus with blood-shot eyes and Starbucks in hand, we all barely made it through pre-finals week. Now, we get to prepare for our finals. Dead Day will live up to its name, reaping the hollowed shells of what used to be known as students. We are, as the senior Sing Song act so properly predicted, zombies. OK,
I want to run a marathon before I die, but then that would probably kill me.
YikYak College must have been so much easier when you didn’t have Netflix to distract you ALL THE DAY LONG
YikYak YikYak
so they thought the plague would hit only seniors, but that was just about their only miscalculation. So, to protect us all from the apocalypse, here is some advice on how to survive the zombies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On the Center for Disease Control’s blog, they write “You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.” And here we are, folks, at a real emergency – finals. So let’s take a look at that advice.
To stock up on: 1. Water – Prepare the Camelbaks. Maybe buy three more. 2. Food – Make sure it is non-perishable, because no one knows how long they’ll be studying for Historical Books of the Old Testament. 3. Medication – Everyone is getting sick, pick up some Airborne before heading to the library. 4. Tools and supplies – Coffee, pens, paper, computer, computer charger, etc. 5. Sanitation and Hygiene – Please put on deodorant. Also, please brush your teeth. 6. Clothing and bedding – Just kidding, no one is going to sleep. Grab some blankets to keep warm. 7. Important documents – Like the syllabus that everyone threw in the bottom of their backpack the first day of class. Yeah, it would be nice to know if
the final is comprehensive. 8. First Aid supplies – Basically just coffee. Lots of coffee. Identify the types of emergencies that are possible in your area – such as mental breakdowns and hissy fits. Avoid those at all costs. Pick a meeting place for your (friends) to regroup – just to make sure you’re all still alive after not seeing one another for several days. Identify your emergency contacts – who in the class would know the answer to question 11 on the study guide? Plan your evacuation route – it’s always good to have a backup plan if college doesn’t work out. And with that, my fellow students, you will survive the studypocalypse. contact Jackson at BKJ12A@acu.edu
Column
Being editor-in-chief changed me for the worse VAGABONDAGE THE ORRACLE
SAMANTHAMADELINE SUTHERLAND ORR
Being editor in chief of the Optimist this year changed me for the worse. For obvious reasons, this job made me a worse student. Lines were blurred between the work I was doing for class and the work I was doing for the next day’s paper. I couldn’t remember what would affect my GPA and what would show up on tomorrow’s front page. This led to both some bad grades and some newspa-
pers continually missing deadline. It also made me a worse roommate. I’m the roommate who would loudly come home late, jingling keys and knocking things over in the dark, after working on the paper all night in the newsroom or being M.I.A. for 24 hours at a time. Perhaps a more drastic change, this job made me worse at having opinions. I
used to be fairly stubborn in my views, but being editor put me in a place where I had no choice but to listen to others’ perspectives. This threatened my own beliefs in a way that was uncomfortable. This job robbed me of pride. I made mistakes that were not just public, but often shared on Facebook with my name by it. Being editor means being responsible for everything, good and bad, and taking credit for every decision, even when they’re not your own. I became worse at my habit “not backing down,” that I had practiced for so long. This job made me a worse boss. I’ve always
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exact same way. Because I may be worse at a lot of things I knew how to do, but getting worse at those things has changed me in ways that I didn’t know I needed to change. And as a result, changed me for the better. Being a worse student made me better at balancing responsibilities and commitments. Being a worse roommate made me better at communicating with those who love me and want to know when I’ll be home. I’m better at saying “I’m sorry,” which has given me no choice but to find humility and empathy where I previously had none. I’m
better at listening to others and I’m better at understanding that some opinions are neither wrong nor right. I’m a worse boss, but I’m a better leader. I’m tired, and I’m burnt out, but I’m a harder worker, faster learner and stronger writer than I was nine months ago. So, as I clean out my small editor’s office and begin the search for a new job, I can only hope I find something else that’s challenging enough to make me worse at some things for the sake of being better at others. contact ORR at MCO10B@acu.edu
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been the one in charge of things. Even when I try not to be in the leadership position, it thrusts itself upon me. That’s probably how I became editor in the first place. But after managing a staff of 40 very different personalities and skill sets, I became worse at being that boss. I learned it doesn’t work to just tell people what to do, but I have to make them want to do their job and do it well. To say I’m a different person after leaving this office is an understatement. I feel more exhausted, more defeated and more burnt out than I ever have before. And yet, if I could do it all over again, I would do it the
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5
arts
FRIDAY 5.01.15
photo courtesy of The au review
photo courtesy of Breit Bart Reviews
The age of disappointing movies and acting Catherine blakemore arts editor
photo courtesy of comingsoon.net
The Age of Adaline was more of a stylistic film of fashion and promise of history than it was a film for the purpose of telling an interesting story. Somewhere, somehow a cross between The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Time Traveler’s Wife, and About Time came out of Holly wood with a gorgeous cast, but not quite as great of acting. The information about the details of the storyline of the film came from a narration in a deep voice over cheesy special effects all compounded by unfounded and relatively inexplicable “science.” Young and beautiful Adaline Bowman, played by Blake Lively, is the only thing that keeps the movie trudging along. After a tragic car accident and a mysteriously sparkly lightening strike, Adaline never ages and lives 60 years as a constant 29-year-old. But what is any good movie without a few cheesy lines and a bad male actor whose looks are the reason women f locked to the theater? It seems that the previews of Age of Adaline give more credit to the main male character than deserved. Ellis Jones, played by Michiel Huisman, was the epitome of arm candy. He didn’t serve as an interest in the story but was more of just a vending machine for bad pick-up lines and barely funny jokes. The two bond over what are assumed to be dates but are, in their en-
tirety, a three-minute clip of the two characters balking over some inconsequential piece of history that has little to no relevance to the storyline. Ellis is not the tall, dark and handsome man the previews for the film made him out to be but instead is a cheesy, all-over-the-place, over-emotional representation of a man with stalker tendancies. The biggest turning point of the relatively f lashback-style film is when young Ellis takes Adaline home for his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, and there we have the love triangle that transcends decades and incestuous lines. The focused character development on Adaline leaves Ellis empty and boring in what is assumed to be emotional points of the film. Though, the over-sexualized nature of Ellis while he tells an 89-year-old in 29-year-old-body that he’s falling in love with her after only a week doesn’t make the viewer empathize with his seemingly emotional act. The film promises romances that surpass all limits of time, incomparable women’s style and a deep, lifechanging, final romance; the film fails on every front and then some. If you don’t want to think or have a thought-provoking film experience, Age of Adaline will fulfill exactly that viewer need.
contact Blakemore at crb13a@acu.edu
Woman in Gold deserves five gold stars
photo courtesy of The telegraph
Catherine blakemore arts editor Woman in Gold is a marvelous and perfectly artistic approach at depicting a famous art restitution case from the Nazi invasion in Austria. The film is not without inherent faults of bias and the occasional cringe-worthy line, but as a whole, the movie f lows like an ornately crafted chronological court case with just the right balance of f lashbacks from W WII Austria. Helen Mirren plays Maria Altmann, a present-day woman in her early 80s attempting to recover lost art from when it was unlawfully taken during
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W WII by the Nazi party. What a gleeful joy was created with a fussing older, woman character teaching a young man of Austrian descent about the history of his grandparents whilst his attorney service guide her through appeals, trials and up to the Supreme Court. Based on a true story, Woman in Gold captures the emotion of individuals affected by art restitution and Mirren is extraordinary in her acting as scenes transition from present day to the 1940s in the war. The stylistic portions of the film in both the scenes from Austria and the f lashbacks of the well-to-do family of Maria Altmann are rich and captivating.
Sadly, though, the film seems to think the mere presence of Mirren as a wisecracking widow will be enough for us to forgive it a multitude of sins. tim robey The Telegraph
photo courtesy of comingsoon.net
The Klimt painting in question, a portrait of Maria Altmann’s aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer, is depicted perfectly as both the portrait of Adele and as a sign of elegance of the time that was ripped from the Austrian people. Though the film’s biggest strengths are the quality of style, the perfectly fit cast and witty and emotive dialogue, the movie has faults in the depictions of other parties. The issue with this film is the demonization of not just the Nazi party, but the current Austrian people in charge of restitution. The restitution committee in the film and the individuals addressed as characters are depicted to be greedy individuals unwilling to admit to the
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crimes of the past. The blatant disdain and disregard for those individuals’ part in the story for individals make the otherwise captivating film difficult to watch. Ryan Reynolds and Helen Mirren’s witty banter throughout the film is both endearing and keeps the lengthy film at a comfortable pace.
contact Blakemore at crb13a@acu.edu
It remains for Ms. Mirren to salvage a film that without her would be a laborious slog down a welltrodden path. Stephen Holden new york times
sports
Friday 5.01.15
6
standings 2015 Baseball Standings
Team
Div.
SELU 17-4 NSU 16-7 UCA 13-8 SHSU 13-8 MSU 14-10 HBU 12-9 Nicholls St.11-10 TAMU-CC 10-11 SFA 9-14 Lamar 8-13 ACU 8-13 UIW 6-15 NO 3-18
Ovrl 33-13 24-18 23-15 23-21 25-20 22-20 24-16-1 20-20 15-28 19-24 10-31 15-27 15-30
2015 Softball Standings
Team
Paige otway Staff Photographer
Sophomore Nico Agritelley dominated the competition in conference play as he deafeated all Southland opponents in straight sets. Agritelley carries a singles record of 38-14 in his first two years at ACU.
Sophomore Superiority
Agritelley earns First Team All-American Accolade Collin thompson sports reporter With a 19-7 singles record over the season and a perfect 5-0 record versus Southland opponents, sophomore tennis player Nico Agritelley earned his first All-Conference First Team award. The decision came last week from the Southland Conference. The Laurel Springs Academy alum went 6-0 competing at the No. 2 spot this season and finished the year on a seven-match win streak. Agritelly hasn’t lost a match since March 15 to No. 9 Texas A&M University’s A.J. Catanzariti, the best streak for any player on the team this season. The honor is Nico’s first since he was named to the All-Conference Second Team last season as a singles and doubles player with junior Jason Proctor. “Last year, winning Second Team All-Conference and as a freshman, that was a big deal, so going into this season, it was kind of a goal to reach even higher and achieve something even better,” Agritelley said. “That’s what I did when I reached my goal.”
With the level of Southland opponents, Agritelley said he had to be more diligent in his practice and effort toward learning the game if he wanted to get into the conversation of the conference’s six best players. “I just practiced hard every day,” Agritelley he said. “Even if the day’s a little rough or you’re not enjoying practice, instead of tanking or not focusing, it’s just about staying focused, giving everything you’ve got and putting it all out there every day at practice, so when the match time comes around, I’m mentally sharp.” Being named to the conference’s First Team is one of the highest accomplishments a Southland athlete can achieve, especially when that list includes Lamar University’s sophomore Nikita Las and conference powerhouse Texas A&M-Corpus Christi University’s three-time Southland Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Year senior Peter Nagy. “It’s cool,” Agritelley said. “They’re all really good players, and that really shows the level of tennis that I was playing throughout the season. That shows that I’m up there and I was the best line three in the Southland Conference so, not to sound cocky, but I
was playing good tennis and I was on my game.” Agritelley gives a lot of credit to coaches for helping him do as well as he has this season and as well as helping every player on the team become better over the course of the year. “The coaches have just been so supportive,” he said. “They’ve been lot more hands-on and personal, which I really feel helped us out a lot.” Agritelley said he thinks the team is headed in the right direction, though each team member has their differences. “My game’s a little different than everybody else’s; I’m not typical,” he said. “But they’ve been supportive, and I’ve just been producing results. They’ve been trying to work with me and help my game style out instead of trying to change how I play. They’ve been working with me and what I do, improving what I’m already good at and also improving my weaknesses at the same time.” After earning his spot with Proctor last season, and as the only Wildcat to receive recognition on either All-Conference team this season, Agritelley said he hopes to use this experience to make his teammates better next
season and hopes they do the same. “Hopefully, they look at me and – I don’t want to say that they get jealous or anything – use it as motivation and it inspires them to drive and work harder so they can get similar recognition,” Agritelley said.” Hopefully it helps them and their drive, and they don’t take it in a negative manner, but encourage me and keep trying to do the same so the future freshmen Wildcats will aspire to do as well.” Despite a team record of 10-16 and a 1-4 Southland record this year – compared to a 17-10 overall record and a 5-1 conference record last season – Agritelley said this year made the team better and more familiar as a unit. “I had fun and enjoyed it,” Agritelley said. “We didn’t do nearly as well as we did last year, but I feel like the team’s a lot closer this year. The team felt kind of separated last year, and I mean, we were close, but not nearly as close as we are this year and so everyone’s better friends, and I feel like that really helped us.” contact thompson at cnt13c@acu.edu
On the Fast-Track to Nowhere
ACU athletics denied chance at shorter probation period Hannah Null sports reporter
ACU athletic programs are no longer able to take advantage of a system that once allowed the opportunity for a sports team to compete for a conference championship. Kelsey Dombrowski, sophomore goalkeeper, was not expecting this when she committed to be a Wildcat. “When I first committed to play soccer, they were still a Div. II program, and I was really excited about the opportunity to maybe win a NCAA championship,” Dombrowski said. “But that was shot down when I found out we were moving to Div. I.” With the introduction of new NCAA rules, ACU and other reclassifying programs are no longer able to fast track their teams into postseason play. When a school moves up in competition to a Div. I conference, the athletic programs are required a suspension period in which they are ineligible for post-conference play. This suspension ruins the chances of players such as Dombrowski of ever competing for a NCAA championship. “When you go through all the pains during season and do well enough to move on to playoffs, it’s like a big slap in the face,” Dombrowski said. “Especially when you know that it will be like this for you all four years.” However, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) was able to use the “fast-tracking” system as a way around the reclassification suspension. Transferring from the Div. II Great Lakes Valley Conference into the Ohio Valley Conference in 2008, the program was expected to sit
jarred schuetze chief Photographer
With most universities in the past able to use the fast-tracking program, the Wildcats were denied the opportunity to advance two sports to post-season play. out its normal four-year suspension. But two sports were “fast-tracked” out of this program. Softball and men’s soccer were chosen by the NCAA in the 2011-12 season and were able to compete in post-
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When you go through all the pains during the season and do well enough to move on to playoffs, it’s like a big slap in the face.” Kelsey Dombrowski sophomore goalkeeper ACU soccer
season play. This enabled teams to improve their skills so they had the possibility to play against stronger teams at a quicker date. Lance Fleming, associate director of athletics for media relations at ACU, said he understands the luxury would offer great benefits to ACU’s reputation if it were
still applicable. “Fast-tracking was created with intentions to give athletic departments an option to move two programs up one year in the transition process, making that program eligible for conference and NCAA post-season play one year earlier than the other programs in the department,” Fleming said. “The only exception to that rule was that the program couldn’t be football, men’s basketball or women’s basketball.” The athletic director of a program has the ability to decide which of the remaining teams will represent the school best while going against the competitors of the conference. Unfortunately, SIUE is the last program that will be able to take advantage of this reclassification luxury. The reclassification rules, as of 2014, state: “A school cannot compete in Div. I championships – at any level – until reclassification is complete.” “When the NCAA opened
up the re-classification process a few years ago and reconfigured the application process, it took away an institution’s option to fast track a program,” Fleming said. “So that option is no longer available to ACU or any other program in transition.” The ‘Cats went under reclassification in the 2012-13 season, meaning the athletic programs will be under suspension until 2017-18 season. Michelle Hosick is associate director of public and media relations for NCAA Div. I sports. “Div. I members believe that schools transitioning to Div. I should be thoroughly prepared for all the expectations of Div. I membership,” Hosick said. “Additionally, the timeline allows both the Div. I membership group overseeing transitions and the schools themselves the opportunity to evaluate their progress.” This change can greatly affect recruiting possibilities and can potentially lower the
amount of talented athletes ACU is able to bring in. While soccer cannot even compete against all their conference opponents, track is able to participate in Southland tournaments but is still unable to compete in nationals. Ray Walker, assistant track coach, explained the only alternative to this is to find top tournaments in the country to compete in. “When you are recruiting some of the top athletes in the world, they want to compete against top people,” Walker said. “The only way to do that is to go to the national championship, where the best are, and compete.” When players are recruited by a Div. I program, they expect to have a challenging experience. Once they find out the experience is not available, it leads them away. “It’s hard to pitch the idea of having some of the world’s best athletes attend this school without being able to compete at nationals,” Walker said. “But we still do get some of them.” By going to big tournaments across the world, the ‘Cats can’t claim a national championship, but they can compete in the national championship. Although athletes like Dombrowski would like the opportunity to play in a NCAA tournament, they still see their education excelling at ACU. “I came to ACU because it was the right fit for me,” Dombrowski said. “I am definitely happy with the decision I made because I have some of the best teammates that I couldn’t imagine going through life without.” contact Null at Hln12a@acu.edu
Div.
NSU 20-2 MSU 18-5 UCA 16-5 SELU 14-8 Lamar 12-9 TAMU-CC 12-11 Nicholls St.11-12 SFA 10-13 SHSU 8-14 HBU 5-17 ACU 5-19 UIW 4-20
Ovrl 31-15 33-18 31-16 20-26 22-25 17-26-1 25-20 18-30 17-27 13-29 11-33 12-36
Who’s Hot Sophomore outfielder Taylor Brown hit over .500 against conference Brown opponent Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend. Brown went 7-for-12 at the plate recording her team leading 10th triple of the year as well. Brown is hitting .373 in 2015 to help out the Wildcats’ .287 team batting average.
briefings Sophomore Nico Agritelley was selected First-Team All-Southland Conference. In singles, he went 17-9 overall and 5-0 in conference play. The ACU tennis team came back from the Ojai Tournament with impressive hardware. Freshman Erin Walker defeated senior Brittney Reed to take the singles title. Walker also picked up the doubles championship with her partner freshman Lucile Pothier. Senior golfer Corbin Renner was named Second-Team AllSouthland. Renner scored an average of 73.04. He earned a single title this year at a tournament and helped the Wildcats grab two as a team. Freshman shortstop Peyton Hedrick trails only Southeastern Louisiana junior outfielder Katie Lacour for the Southland batting average lead. Hedrick is hitting .434 with 11 home runs, nine doubles, five triples and 41 RBIs. Lacour is hitting .485 with just one double, zero triples, zero home runs and four RBIs. Be sure to follow @OptimistSports on Twitter and like the Optimist Sports Facebook page for more ACU sports news and updates.
Upcoming Track heads to Lubbock Thursday to participate in the Red Raider Open. Softball travels to Houston Friday for its final series of the season. The first game of the doubleheader starts at 2 p.m. Baseball heads to Louisiana Friday to take on New Orleans. The first game starts at 6:30 p.m.