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Pg. 4A & 5A: See an array of photographs from Bid Night
Sunday, September 21, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 7 :: 2 sections, 16 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com
Inside This Issue:
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Students to lead, contribute to Summit throughout event
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Former ACU quarterback Rex Lamberti and others are inducted in Hall of Fame
For Rent: Movies one might have overlooked and shouldn’t have
‘Radical’ to launch Theme Conversations Sunday By Daniel Johnson-Kim Editor in Chief
When Dr. Leroy Garrett takes the stage at the Summit opening Theme Conversation in Moody Coliseum Sunday, it may be a moment of vindication for the 89-year-old scholar who was known throughout his life as a radical in the Churches of Christ. “During the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s I would go to the Lecture-
ships back in those days and I was a skunk at the garden party,” Garrett said of involvement in past Lectureships. The former “stinker,” a renowned scholar, preacher and historian Garrett from the Stone Campbell movement, will begin the
Theme Conversations at 7 p.m. Sunday with a lesson titled “Righteousness of God Revealed through Faith and for Faith.” Garrett said he will discuss Paul’s message in Romans 1:817 and how God’s righteousness encompasses all people. “You are not OK because of our selfishness and pride, and I am not OK but that’s OK because of God’s grace,” Garrett said.
After Garrett begins the Theme Conversations Sunday, David Fleer, Kevin Murray, James Thompson, Randy Harris, Eric Wilson and Chris Seidman will each speak throughout the week on various passages of Romans, tying into the Summit theme of the “Righteousness of God.” Brady Bryce, director of Ministry Events, said each speaker brings an original style to the stage that will provide variety
for the Summit audience. “Everyone needs to be who they are,” Bryce said of the theme speakers. “If the person is a scholar they don’t need to be cracking jokes pretending to be who they are not, if someone is a great orator, let them be that.” In an effort to make this a conversation and to step away from the old style of simply See
Theme page 7A
Theme Speakers Seven men will speak in the Theme Conversations in Moody Coliseum. n Leroy Garret n David Fleer n Kevin Murray n James Thompson n Randy Harris n Eric Wilson n Chris Seidman
Environment, Islam on slate for speakers
No Pain, No Entry
By Michael Freeman Managing Editor
One new session for this year’s Summit will include three featured guest speakers of national and international acclaim. Brian McLaren, J. Matthew Sleeth and Sam Solomon will discuss issues ranging from environmentalism to radical Islam. “Maybe the more exciting change is the featured guest slot,” said Brady Bryce, director of ministry events. “It perfectly lines up with the academic calendar.” Each lecture will start at 3 p.m. in Moody Coliseum and last 45 minutes. Students can earn three Chapel credits for attending each lecture. McLaren will speak Monday. He is an acclaimed author and church planter and has appeared on broadcasts including Larry King Live and Nightline. In Time magazine’s Feb. 7, 2005, issue, McLaren was recognized as one of the “25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.” He has written more than
10 books and is a leader in the “emerging church movement.” In Monday’s lecture, he will discuss how to reach Christians for Christ. “It sounds kind of strange,” Bryce said. “A lot of us assume that we’ve already been reached for Christ. But Sleeth what about our perspectives of Jesus aren’t quite realistic and what needs to change?” The Graduate School of Theology, the McLaren Youth and Family Ministry program and the Adams Center for Learning helped bring McLaren to campus. The Adams Center, along with the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and See
Featured page 7A
Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer Jonathan Sanders, sophomore English major from Henderson, leans back in pain while holding a watermelon as part of a Gamma Sigma Phi Bid Night activity at Beauchamp Ampitheatre Friday afternoon. GSP pledges, or Siblings as they are called by members, held watermelons for two hours.
Freshmen dance, Social clubs begin first phase of pledging sing in ‘iFollies’ By Colter Hettich
acuoptimist.com: See video of each clubs’ on-campus Bid Night activities.
Features Editor
By Emily Jorgenson After receiving their bids Thursday, students pledging a social club endured the first, and notoriously most strenuous, night of pledging: Bid Night. Although the administration has tightened the reigns on clubs for Bid Night and pledging as a whole, club members were determined to make it a night to remember. Alpha Kai Omega put two to three months of preparation into the night. Alpha Kai President Erin Chappell said each
club must have an approved, Bid Night agenda, so careful planning is essential. “You have to know exactly what’s happening every minute of the night,” Chappell said. Derrick Bibb, Sub T-16 president, said he and fellow club members started planning for Bid Night in May. Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Bibb’s promotion from “Gob,” a Sub T pledge, to an official member, or “Subber.” “This is our chance to show [the
pledges] why this is so important to us,” Bibb said. “It’s a brotherhood.” He said the night’s events were “exactly, 100 percent like we did it last year.” With rules forbidding classic, Bid Night ingredients, such as “any activity that requires pledges to recite knowledge orally” or “any activity that involves water unless in a swimming pool with appropriate supervision,” See
Bid page 7A
Student Track gives opportunity to attend By Laura Acuff Opinion Page Editor
With increased student participation as a goal of this year’s Summit, the Student Track received a facelift this year, said Brady Bryce, director of Ministry Events. “How it’s been done differ-
ently is I feel like we’ve really involved students even better this year—really taken their ideas and run with them,” Bryce said. “I think the greater student involvement in the planning is going to show up. For this past year, we involved student leaders. We tapped the shoulders of different
ACU WeATher
people and said, ‘OK, who are leaders on campus? Who would be good to involve?’” While in the future, Bryce said even more student input may be sought in an effort to increase student input in planning Summit this year, an ACU Student Planning Team offered feedback on ways to
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Inside This Special Summit Issue:
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engage students. The team included students of a variety of classifications and backgrounds. The team began meeting last semester to discuss topics and speakers that would interest students, said team See
Student page 7A
View the complete Summit schedule Race addressed in Summit class
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Department of Journalism and Mass Communication ::
Staff Photographer
The freshman class participated in the traditional Freshman Follies to vocalize its experience at ACU so far in its production of iFollies Friday and Saturday in Cullen Auditorium. Freshman Follies was themed “iFollies” to convey the distribution of iPhones and iPod touches to the freshman class as part of the Mobile Learning Initiative. Tom Craig, director of Student Productions, said the production team focused on what is current for these students and relatable. Although this year’s program has a few changes to this year’s production, the purpose of iFollies was the same. “Freshmen Follies is a way See
Follies page 7A
Class to focus on drug abuse
acuoptimist.com See freshmen dance, sing and show of their talents online at www.acuoptimist.com
Online Poll :
How do you feel about Lectureship’s name change?
a. It’s about time they changed it. b. It was unecessary. c. Hopefully, the new name sticks. d. Who cares? I still won’t go.
Highlight Classes offer insight
Abilene Christian University
Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer Lindsey Riley, freshman early childhood education major from Pampa, dances with McDonald Hall during Freshman Follies.
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