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February 11, 2009
Students should endeavor to enjoy Sing Song experience
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s the spring semester begins, so does one of the longest-standing traditions at ACU. Started in 1956 by Dr. Bob Hunter, Sing Song is the largest student production on campus, involving nearly one-third of the student body. But despite the high involvement, Sing Song does not necessarily bring the joy to students one might expect. Instead, some would describe Sing Song as a stressful waste of time that prevents students from accomplishing the things they are supposed to do, such as homework. While the time constraints Sing Song puts on students may seem overbearing, administration sets guidelines to reduce the stress students feel. Break times are built into Sing Song so students can enhance their time management, and prac-
tices are limited to eight hours a week. Social clubs are not allowed to practice on Tuesday nights, and students are required to finish practice before 11:15 p.m. These parameters are set up to ensure students are given time to manage their personal life and manage their Sing Song experiences. Most can agree on one thing: participation in Sing Song is not based on students wanting to spend eight hours a week practicing. Learning a three-and-one-half minute song involving props, costumes and intricate choreography is not high on the list for many students. However, participation can be attributed to the experience Sing Song gives the students as well as the relationships that are formed through the production process.
It is easy to get caught up in the competition of Sing Song, investing all your energy into the sole purpose of winning. Many participants in Sing Song would not put themselves through the sixweek long process to lose. Yet while winning might seem like the only reason for competition, it takes away from the ultimate goal of Sing Song — developing and furthering relationships with your peers while participating in a group goal that is bigger than any individual performer. “While competition is fun, when it’s all said and done, there are still those relationships,” said Tom Craig, director of Student Productions. “What you’re left with is the good relationships and the fun memories, and when you walk away, regardless of who has the tro-
phy, you still have valuable and important relationships that can last a lifetime.” A yearly split that stands out in Sing Song is the attitude taken by different clubs and group acts. Some attitudes suggest the only way to “do” Sing Song correctly is to work toward perfection, regardless of the experiences you have along the way. Others take a more laid-back approach, focusing on the social aspect of Sing Song and the sole purpose of entertainment. These more relaxed groups seem to have it figured out, sometimes even adding a victory like the senior class act in 2008. As we launch into the final phases of Sing Song, it is important to keep the experience in perspective. Whether you go to practice and ex-
The issue:
Sing Song, one of the university’s most long-standing traditions, is also one of its most stressful.
Our view:
While the experience can be important and rewarding, some aspects of students’ lives may suffer under the stress.
The solution:
Students must keep Sing Song in perspective, placing academics first and trying to enjoy the experience.
pect to have a fun time, or you are directing and shouting orders to participants, you should take a step back and appreciate Sing Song for what it’s worth. It is not a platform to enforce rules and manage every participant, but rather, a place for a group of students to join together and have a good time, making friends and memories that last a lifetime.
If you have fun participating in Sing Song or not, remember, more than likely there are people in the room who share your feelings. Good feelings or not, remember the common rule of Sing Song: always wear your Sing Song face. At least you’ll look like you’re having fun. E-mail the Optimist at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu
Efforts to save planet prove lofty, miniscule Superheroes can leap over skyscrapers, halt bullets in mid-air and save the world. We, on the other hand, cannot — no matter how many energy-efficient light bulbs we screw into our light sockets. Y o u would think that would be quite eviThe Power of dent, but an the Prattle e-mail I received last By Michael month from Freeman University Park apartments said otherwise: “Pick up an energy-efficient light bulb for your apartment! Save your place for next year and save the planet!” I could not tell whether they meant using energy-efficient light bulbs or renewing my lease would save the planet, but I assumed it was the former, especially considering some of ACU’s “green” initiatives. ACU recently purchased a premium bulb eater, which crushes fluorescent lamps and filters out the mercury for disposal. According to www.acu. edu/green, the 600 million fluorescent lamps sent annually to U.S. landfills produce an estimated 30,000 pounds of mercury waste, much of it in the form of mercury vapors that can travel more than 200 miles. The eater would combat this deadly mercury waste, which is definitely a good thing. Remember all of those news stories that ran recently about people getting poisoned by mercury vapors from landfills? Wait — you didn’t see those stories? Neither did I. Another environmentally conscious move the university made included building the pond in front of the Bob and Shirley Hunter Welcome Center to capture water runoff that can later be used as irrigation water. However, most of the water that would run off is effluent water ACU uses for irrigation purposes. I don’t know about you, but I’m canceling my pool party by the pond now. Finally, the university uses HEPA filters on the residence hall vacuum cleaners to help control airborne particles from being reintroduced into the air. Thank goodness for that because whenever I vacuum, I always worry about microscopic allergens floating through the
NAACP reminds nation of equality’s importance When it comes to political groups, one easily can get lost in the flood of acronyms. There is the Amendmentdefending ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union. Save yourself the embarrassment of confusing the ACLU In Case You with the Wondered Ronald Reagan-loving By Daniel the Johnson-Kim ACU, American Conservative Union. Then there is the army of discount-wielding seniors in the AARP, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons. You wouldn’t want to mix those seniors with the union-backing AFLCIO, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Further down the alphabet, one of the most influential political organizations in the history of the United States has more scars, scraps and skirmishes than even the toughest U.S. veteran who holds an AARP membership card: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. On Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009, the NAACP, a group dedicated to the fight to, “ensure the political, educational, social, economic equality of rights of all
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The NAACP may be 100 years old, but the need for its defense of equality is alive, even in the era of Obama.
persons and to eliminate racial hatred and discrimination,” will celebrate its 100th birthday. Although there could not be a more appropriate Centennial gift than the election and inauguration of the country’s first African American president, Barack Obama, the group that was behind the legislative lobbying and judicial battles in the fight against the status quo that segregation carries is needed today as much as its inception a little more than 100 years ago. In the midst of a two-day riot in the summer of 1908, more than 5,000 spectators gathered in Springfield, Ill., to watch the lynching of two African American men. The riot stemmed largely from a false rape accusation, and mobs of angry citizens set fire to black-owned businesses and buildings in President Abraham Lincoln’s hometown. More than 2,000 African Americans permanently fled Springfield, and news of the mess in Honest Abe’s city of origin reached Mary White Ovington, a white woman who was studying the social and economic obstacles facing New
Editorial and letter policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration. Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university. The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous
information or invasion of privacy. Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published. Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79699 E-mail letters to: jmcnetwork@acu.edu
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York City’s black community. Despite being almost 1,000 miles away from the Springfield tragedy, Ovington and some 60 activists met with one mission: creating a group dedicated to reviving the spirit of the abolitionists that helped abolish slavery. The National Negro Committee shared its first meeting with the day the country was celebrating a century since the birth of Lincoln — Feb. 12, 2009. The date was anything but a coincidence and carried a message with it: 100 years after Lincoln’s birth, his mission of equality of opportunity and equality before the law was overshadowed by the slavery’s scar: widespread acceptance of segregation. Their name changed. Their numbers grew. Their victories piled up. The most famous of these was in 1954, when Thurgood Marshall — later appointed the first African American Supreme Court Justice in 1967 — led the team of NAACP lawyers to victory in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. The unanimous decision desegregated America’s schools
and struck down the Plessey v. Ferguson “separate but equal” clause that was the basis for nation-wide segregation. Ten years later, the NAACP had more than 600,000 members, and today the group is more than 250,000 strong. With all the large battles won, the organization helps this country’s minority groups with aid for college, fights racial profiling and does other smaller, but important, things to defend equality. Since Obama’s election, the ignorant boss on NBC’s hit comedy The Office, Michael Scott, proudly touts to his staff at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company that, “Racism is dead.” That line always makes me laugh, but it was not until I began research for this column that I realized why Scott’s assumption was hilarious: it is foolish to assume this country’s racial tensions built on generations of inequality have magically disappeared simply because this country now has a non-white president. The NAACP may be 100 years old, but the need for its defense of equality is alive, even in the era of Obama. This group’s name carries the struggles and victories of citizens who simply want one thing: equality. It should be easy not to forget this acronym. E-mail Johnson-Kim at: djj04a@acu.edu
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air and not the big clumps of dirt on the floor. Now, nothing is intrinsically wrong with these initiatives. In fact, they promote good health and efficient recycling. The problem with environmental advocacy lies in looking at initiatives through “green-colored glasses.” Tossing a couple of plastic bottles or this issue of the Optimist in a recycling bin will not remove toxins from our drinking water or save an animal species or reduce carbon emissions. Even the world’s governments’ efforts of reducing carbon emissions are miniscule considering that carbon dioxide levels only represent 0.04 percent of the Earth’s
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The problem with environmental advocacy lies in looking at initiatives through ‘green-colored glasses.‘
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atmosphere. Get back to me when those levels have at least reached 1 percent, and maybe I’ll be concerned. Until then, I’m not worrying about saving the planet; it will be fine. As late comedian George Carlin so eloquently said, “The planet has been through a lot worse than us. It’s been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drifts, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages, and we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference?” So, go ahead and use your energy-efficient light bulbs; just don’t get too haughty about the supposed difference you’re making. The only people who can save the earth are superheroes like Captain Planet and the Planeteers…and Al Gore.
E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu
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