The Optimist - Sept. 26, 2008

Optimist the

a product of the JMC

network

Friday, September 26, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 10 :: 1 section, 6 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

Inside This Issue:

Pg 3

Pg 5

Blowing Hot Air: Balloons to soar into Abilene skies Friday

Pg. 6 No. 4 Wildcats looking for fourth-straight win Pg 6

Transfer students react to freshman iPhones and Mobile Learning Initiative

ACU soccer team to open Lone Star Conference play Friday

Bringing the Heat

D.C. writer to speak at News Lab opening

By Michael Freeman Managing Editor

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer Adriana Planes, sophomore art major from Spain, Jessalyn Massingill, junior art major from Abilene, and Cameron Broderick, freshman at Abilene High School, pour iron in a grassy area in front of Teague Special Events Center Monday. The students use traditional cupola furnace techniques to make iron bowls and skillets as part of the Summit Empty Bowls project and presentation.

Exodus, ‘Mountaintop’ to be Summit ’09 focus

By Lydia Melby Arts Editor

Wednesday night concluded an event-filled four-day Summit with a lecture by keynote speaker Chris Seidman, whose message calling for acceptance within the church came from Romans 15.

Brady Bryce, director of ministry events, introduced the last speaker of Summit 2008, commending those in attendance for their interest and attentiveness, saying, “It has been a great summit… we cannot leave this place unchanged.”

Bryce also introduced the theme planned for the 2009

Summit, which he called “On the mountain with God.” The mountaintop theme will tie in to the idea of Summit both visually and spiritually, and the key messages will be taken from Exodus.

Bryce “I wanted Exodus, and it fits well to have a visual image of Summit…

Mountains throughout Scripture are a place to be with God,” Bryce said. “It will emphasize spirituality and really emblazon the Summit theme in people’s minds.”

In the past, it has taken almost all year to prepare for Lectureship, and next year’s Summit likely will follow suit.

Bryce confirmed he had spoken to several speakers who had been requested by students and had “between 10 and 20 others in mind.”

A theme verse has not yet been picked, but Bryce said he was considering a verse from Exodus 15 that would follow the theme of meeting God on a mountaintop.

Bryce also said that planning his second Summit will be facilitated, not only by the connections he has made and the leads he already has for speakers, but also by the suc-

cess of this year’s series. “[Summit] went really, really well. The theme speakers and featured guests were each phenomenal. The student participation was amazing as well… they were respectful and attentive; I felt like the students did a great job and I couldn’t have asked for more,” Bryce said. “ACU lived out Romans 15 this week…it’s difficult to listen to people you disagree with, to enter into those conversations, to welcome someone to campus that you don’t know everything about. But those welcoming times help us grow in Christ, and it just adds to our humility.”

Bryce was not sure whether

any changes to the new Summit format would be made for 2009, but said he would wait for feedback from students, speakers and other attendees.

Bryce also said he felt the new Summit format had been fairly successful, and although attendance seemed high, Bryce said he would keep the focus on quality for Summit 2009.

“I’d love to have as many people as possible…but I’m not really a numbers guy,” he said. “If we have 100 people come, and they leave encouraged and equipped to be ministers in their real-world lives… then I’m happy.”

While testing audio speaker levels for his Chapel forum Thursday, Washington Post staff writer Hamil Harris playfully grabbed a microphone and broke into singing Amazing Grace with Wade Huggins, junior worship ministry major from Abilene Harris and Cullen Auditorium sound technician. Harris’ friendly personality bubbles over to almost everyone he meets, and his message of enjoying life and being thankful was one of the topics he covered during his lectures at ACU. “I’m so blessed,” Harris said.

“I’m just trying to bring a message of hope and optimism.

It doesn’t make sense to be a prophet of doom and gloom.”

Harris, who is in Abilene as a special guest of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication for Friday’s Grand Opening of the JMC Network Student Media News See

Lab page 10

new News Lab Washington Post staff writer Hamil Harris will speak Friday in Cullen Auditorium as the special guest at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Grand Opening of the JMC Network Student Media News Lab. When: 11:45 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Where: Morris Center Why: Grand opening of JMC Network Student Media News Lab

E-mail Melby at: lgm05e@acu.edu

SA votes to award funds to society

Westheimer fire forces students to relocate

By Daniel Johnson-Kim

A house caught fire Wednesday afternoon in the 1400 block of Westheimer Road, leaving two ACU students, one Cisco Junior College student and a married couple safe but with their residences gutted and burned.

The house was a duplex with a double-sided dividing wall that separated the two halves. ACU students Philip N. Greer, junior finance and marketing major from Colorado Springs, Colo., and Justin W. Isham, fifth year senior from Colorado Springs, Colo.,

Editor in Chief

The Students’ Association Congress voted to give a group of ACU physics students a little help Wednesday.

Daniel Jumper, engineering physics major from Richardson and president of the Society of Physics Students, came before Congress to request $2,200 to help pay for the society’s trip to the Sigma Pi Sigma Quadrennial Congress conference in Chicago.

A motion to give the Society of Physics Students the amount requested passed

35-0-1. The amount given reduced the overall amount in the Student Request fund—a sum set aside in SA’s budget for Congress to distribute among the student body and student groups—from $10,389.79 to $8,189.79.

The motion passed only after Congress debated the issue for nearly an hour.

Jumper explained to the student congress how the conference would benefit the students who attended and was in line with the ACU mission. Jumper said the See

SA page 5

By Kelline Linton Chief Copy Editor

See

Fire page 5

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer Firefighters hose down a house that caught fire in the 1400 block of Westheimer Road Wednesday afternoon.

aCU wEaTHER

Online Poll :

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

High: 88 Low: 60

High: 88 Low: 59

High: 88 Low: 59

See a special section the Optimist staff printed to commemorate Friday’s Grand Opening of the JMC Network Student Media News Lab inside this issue of the Optimist.

To find more information about the JMC Newtork visit www.jmcnetwork.com or www.acuoptimist.com.

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication ::

Abilene Christian University

What did you think of Summit 2008?

a. It was more student friendly. b. The presentations were dull. c. I was happy to get Chapel credit. d. Too many old people.

acuoptimist.com ::

Serving the ACU community since 1912

2

Campus Day Friday, September 26, 2008

Calendar and Events

26

Friday

9 a.m.

8th Annual West Texas Book and Music Festival

27

28

Saturday

9:30 a.m.

Pilates for Pink

Monday

3 p.m.

The Soldier’s Tale in the William Performing Arts Center Recital Hall

4 p.m.

ACU Soccer versus Angelo State

2 p.m.

ACU Volleyball versus Eastern New Mexico

6 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Entra a la Plaza by the GATA Fountain.

6 p.m.

ACU Football versus Eastern New Mexico State

acuoptimist.com

29

Sunday

7 p.m.

An Evening with the President.

Contact the Admissions office at 1-800-460-6228 for information.

7 p.m.

Sundaes on Mondays.

Call 674-6562 for more information.

Online Newscast

Webcast

Check out videos highlighting the Empty Bowls Project, Summit and Bid Night.

Log on to www.youtube.com/acuvideo to see the changes to on-campus cafes, the Empty Bowls Project and the making of the Optimist, Newscast and Sportscast.

About This Page The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.

Groups may send announcements directly to jmcnetwork@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at mab07d@acu.edu.

To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.

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

Volunteer Opportunities Key City Kiwanis’ annual fish fry needs volunteers Oct. 3 and 4 at the Abilene Civic Center. Help is needed Oct. 3 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with cooking, serving, cleaning tables and trash pick up.

Volunteers receive a meal ticket to eat meals while working. All proceeds benefit local organizations.

ACU’s radio station KACU-FM needs volunteers to act as ushers Oct. 18 for the Prairie Home Companion performance in Moody Coliseum. Help is needed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Breakfast on Beech Street is an opportunity to help set up, prepare and serve breakfast to homeless/lower income people.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to talk to those in attendance.

Serving time is 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 a.m every weekday with cleanup afterward. Volunteers should be finished no later than 7:30 a.m.

The annual Optimist Club Balloon Fest needs volunteers Thursday through Sunday to help in a variety of ways. Help is needed between the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to put up tents, string lights and banners, sell tickets, help in kids’ area and pick up trash.

For more information regarding any of the above opportunities, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

Announcements Virtuous African Heritage Sisterhood will conduct a blood drive from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Living Room Tuesday.

Students can join other students and faculty for a time of unified intercession Mondays at 7 a.m. at Jacob’s Dream. For more information, e-mail kdl04a@acu.edu.

Pilates for Pink is an event during which Ever FIT and Sigma Theta Chi sponsor a free pilates class Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the

grass lot across from Jacob’s Dream.

For more information, contact Ever FIT at 320-1945.

ACU Wildcats Volleyball will play against West Texas A&M Saturday at 2 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. Come support the ladies as they battle the nationally ranked team. Free T-shirts will be shot out of the air cannon, and students will have the opportunity to win food from Papa John’s.

Corrections/Clarifications In the Freshman Follies photo spread Wednesday, it incorrectly

stated the freshman class as the class of 2013, instead of 2012.

ChapelCheckup Credited Chapels to date:

23

Credited Chapels remaining:

43

Dance, food, festivites make up fourth Entra a la Plaza celebration

By Michael Freeman Managing Editor

Every year, Hispanos Unidos showcases the cultures and traditions of Latin American countries through music, dance and food at Entra a la Plaza. The cultural celebration will be Friday around the GATA Fountain from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

“I think it’s going to be great,” said Stephanie Robles, president of Hispanos Unidos and senior psychology major from Mesquite. “Last year’s was great, and we’re looking to step it up even more.”

Entra a la Plaza debuted in 2005 and was a huge hit. This year will be the fourth year for Hispanos Unidos to host the event. Rosa’s Tortilla Factory, Ta Molly’s, El Phoenix Café, Hernandez Bakery and Alfredo’s will provide food. Attendees can enjoy piñatas and face painting, as well as a mariachi band from Lubbock and the

“

“Last year’s [Entra a La Plaza] was great, and we’re looking to step it up even more.” :: Stephanie Robles, senior psychology major from Mesquite and

president of Hispanos Unidos

ACU Milonga Latin Dancing group. The event is free and open to the Abilene community. Robles said she expects 200-400 people to attend.

Bob Gomez, retired coordinator of Student Multicultural Enrichment and Spiritual Life, will be one of the people present. Hispanos Unidos will honor Gomez with a plaque for his contributions to the ACU community and his help in promoting Hispanos Unidos.

“We’re still here mainly because he helped us,” Robles said. “Everyone appreciates all of his help.”

Gomez retired in 2004, but

HIspanic Celebration

”

his influence still is present.

Robles said Hispanos Unidos is considering producing a “Bob Gomez Award” to present every year.

“When I was a student, we didn’t know what was going on out there in the Hispanic community,” said Jorge Daniel Garcia, Multicultural Enrollment Marketing Specialist and Hispanos Unidos sponsor. “I think it’s really important for students to see role models like Bob Gomez.”

Entra a la Plaza, which translates to “enter the plaza,” already has been promoted via local television, the Abilene Reporter-

Hispanos Unidos will provide several forms of entertainment at Entra a la Plaza Friday.

What: Entra a la Plaza.

When: Friday from 6-11 p.m.

Where: Near the GATA fountain

News and several Hispanic publications. Hispanos Unidos also has worked on service projects at Dyess Air Force Base and the Abilene Chamber of Commerce in the past week, which may motivate people from these organizations to attend Friday’s event.

“When this event comes, everyone is really happy to come and be part of this event,” Garcia said.

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

Page 3

CAMPUS NEWS

Friday, September 26, 2008

Annual balloon fest raises money for charity

By Brandon Tripp Student Reporter

The Optimist Unlimited Club of Abilene will conduct its 14th annual Big Country Balloon Fest this weekend. The Festival is the club’s largest fundraiser and largely determines what activities it can put on throughout the year.

The event begins Friday and will conclude Sunday with the final balloon launch and a celebration sponsored by Southern Hills Church of Christ.

People from all over the state and even some from out of state come to take part in this event. Some of the pilots of the hot air balloons also come from out of state, including Pat Harwell from Louisiana and Ron and Brenda McKinney from Oklahoma.

Police estimate 30,000 people come through the festival, said Robin Hicks, coordinator of the Big Country Balloon Fest.

The festival itself is free, but many activities inside the event help raise money for the Optimist Unlimited Club.

The balloons are mostly reserved for sponsors, but one balloon is designated for paying flights.

“

It’s not just our fundraiser. It’s something we do for the community of Abilene. :: Robin Hicks, Big Country Balloon Fest coordinator

”

Even though the event is named for its biggest attraction, the hot air balloons, other sources of entertainment will be available. The festival provides concessions, a 10-kilometer race, a 1-kilometer fun run for kids and many other activities.

The balloons will travel, literally, wherever the wind

blows them. To land, the pilots look for an open field to bring the balloon down and then have to truck the balloons back to the start.

Tim Durham, a hot air balloon pilot who has helped conduct the event for four years, said, “The only means of navigation we have is to go up or down and find a wind current that will take us in the general direction we want to go.”

The Optimist Unlimited Club provides activities and scholarships for youth around the area. The money raised from the balloon fest allows the club to sponsor Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, Special Olympics, Little League Baseball and Softball teams and many other programs and activities throughout the year.

“It’s not just our fundraiser,” Hicks said. “It’s something we do for the community of Abilene.”

E-mail Tripp at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Matt Newhouser :: file photo Hot air balloons light up the night sky at last year’s Big Country Balloon Fest. The Optimist Club Unlimited sponsors the festival, the proceeds of which will fund programs like Boy and Girl Scouts and little leagues.

Transfer students adjust to classes requiring iPhones Heather Leiphart Student Reporter

“Which of the following qualities best describes Jesus?” Professor Jeanene Reese asked the 30 students in her Bible 101 class, Life and Teachings of Jesus.

However obvious the question might have seemed, Virginia Booker sat quietly in her seat as the rest of her classmates responded electronically. Booker, sophomore biochemistry major from Fort Worth, is one of many transfer students who were ineligible to receive an iPhone or iPod touch.

“I find it frustrating; I can’t

do exactly what the other students are doing,” Booker said.

“My opinion and my vote doesn’t count. If you don’t have the tools, you can’t participate, and it’s like you’re not even there.”

Students who transfer to ACU with more than 22 transferrable credit hours are exempt from taking U-100, the required criterion to be eligible for a mobile learning device this year, said Bill Rankin, associate professor of English and member of the LINK Team. But transfers must take some other freshman-level courses.

Rankin said, ideally, the team would love to have dis-

tributed the devices to everyone, upperclassmen and transfers alike, but complications stalled any such plans.

The first problem arose when ACU stepped into brand-new territory as the only campus in the country to initiate a mobile learning program. With 660 iPhones distributed in one day, the freshman class’ iPhones and iPod touches alone required wireless nodes saturating the campus for everyone to be online. In the future, when thousands of students in Moody Coliseum are hitting the Internet at the same time, an enormously robust network will be required, and ACU has

not quite figured out how that will work yet, Rankin said.

“If we did it for everybody, it would be even more unmanageable, so we had to choose a smaller group to start with, which wasn’t ideal,” Rankin said.

ACU plans to provide devices for incoming freshmen and transfer students each year so that eventually every class can participate in the Mobile Learning Initiative.

“Even then, we’ll have to figure out what to do with the transfers or students who are non-traditional and may just be taking one class at a time,” said George Saltsman, director of the Adams Center for

Teaching and Learning.

The most probable solution at this point is for ACU to have a pool of loaner devices available for part-time students to check out for a semester and then return once they have finished the course, Saltsman said.

Rankin said efforts were made to keep any iPhone and iPod touch designs compatible with other technology, like laptops.

“We did not go to iPhonespecific programs,” Rankin said.

In addition, at this stage of the process, no graded work is associated with using the devices; professors are uti-

lizing the devices in class for participation purposes only, Saltsman said.

In the meantime, five mobile learning specialists are researching usage patterns and applications to better understand how these devices can be utilized in the classroom, Rankin said.

“Our hope is not that transfer students will feel walled out,” Rankin said. “In fact, at this point, everybody except freshmen are walled out, but what we hope is that everyone will help us think through what we need to do and where we need to go next.”

E-mail Leiphart at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

SPORTS JUMPS

Friday, September 26, 2008

Page 4

Football: Undefeated team to face Greyhounds Continued from page 6 Defensively, ENMU has given up 418 yards a game, over 100 yards rushing and 300 yards passing, while giving up an average of 27 points a game. Linebacker Jeremy Hibbler leads the Greyhounds with 56 tackles and one interception. Defensive tackle Ronald Green, 34 tackles, and defensive end David Reed, 14 tackles, have recorded two sacks on the season and will lead the Greyhound’s defensive line.

The Wildcats enter the game 3-0, led by the secondranked offense in the nation, averaging 552 yards a game.

The Wildcats also rank No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense at 49 points a game.

Quarterback Billy Malone ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 200.8. Malone

has thrown for 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns, setting the LSC and ACU record for career-touchdown passes last week in ACU’s victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State after throwing for 317 yards and three touchdowns.

Running back Bernard Scott ranks second in the nation in rushing, averaging 153 yards a game; Scott also has scored six touchdowns on the season. Scott runs behind an offensive line that has given up only three sacks on the season and is helping the Wildcats over 210 rushing yards a game.

“Offensively, I think [the offensive line] is making progress,” said center Sam Collins. “I think we’re a little bit younger because we had a lot of older guys last year, but we have made progress and we are getting everybody on the same page; I

think we’ve made strides in that area.”

Defensively, ACU has given up an average of 303 yards and 17 points a game.

Over the last two weeks, the defensive has scored three touchdowns and produced five turnovers. Linebacker Mike Kern has led the Wildcats the past two weeks, returning a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown against Texas A&M-Commerce and returning an interception 99 yards for a touchdown against Southeastern Oklahoma State last week.

“He’s taken over the leadership role on defense and has a lot of experience there and is a very smart guy and works extremely hard,” Thomsen said. “He’s a highcharacter guy, and I’m really proud of what he’s doing.”

Linebacker Eric Edwards leads the Wildcats with 21

tackles and one forced fumble in front of safety Nick Fellow, who has recorded 16 tackles and one interception. Safety Tony Harp has 16 tackles, and defensive end Aston Whiteside and Vantrise Studivant lead the team in sacks with two and a half.

“I think there’s areas we have to come along quickly in because we’re going into South Division play this week, and it’s going to get tough,” Thomsen said. “We have to continue to improve and get better fundamentally and know what we’re doing with our scheme. We’ve only played three games and we have a long way to go to get better.”

Photo courtesy of Creative Services

Defensive end Aston Whiteside recorded three tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two sacks in the Wildcats’ win over Southeastern Oklahoma State.

E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

Soccer: Cats 4-2-1 in ‘08 Tennis: ITA provides Continued from page 6

Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer

The Wildcats will face Angelo State at home to open LSC play Friday. The Wildcats are 4-2-1 overall this season.

couple of minutes into overtime,” Wilson said. “I think we match up well this gameand the team that has more focus will end up on top.”

After finishing eighth in their inaugural season last year, the Wildcats look to improve on that record this year. Their offense was not lacking, ranking third in the Lone Star Conference in goals and fourth in shots; however, the defense ranked eighth in goals allowed.

This season could be a different story, though.

The defense has highly improved, allowing only four goals in seven games, en route to recording four shut outs. Nevertheless, the game against Angelo State should be a serious test; the Rambelles rank third in both

goals and shots per game.

The Wildcat offense started slowly early in the season, only posting three goals in the first four games even though it returned all of the offensive weapons from last season. The offense has improved during the Wildcats’ win streak with seven goals in their last three games.

The match Friday against Angelo State starts at 4 p.m. at the ACU soccer field.

“We just want to take it one game at a time,” Wilson said. “The worst-case scenario for the end of the season is a post-season berth.”

E-mail Gwin at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

good test for Wildcats Continued from page 6 “It’s easier to start high, rather than having to work your way up through the rankings,” Jones said.

After the men’s tournament, the Wildcat tennis team will return to Abilene to prepare the ITA Women’s Central Regional, which will take place at ACU. The women’s team, top-ranked in the Central Region in 2007, will compete in the tournament as well.

Overall, Jones and Walker feel the team is prepared and should represent ACU well at the ITA Central Regionals.

E-mail Craig at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

2008 Men’s Tennis Team The Wildcat tennis team will play in the ITA Central Regional tournament this weekend.

Player

Classification

Joey Farias

Senior

Ryan Hudson

Senior

Hutton Jones, Jr.

Senior

Juan Nunez Bret Proctor

Senior

Senior

Luke Hawk

Junior

Henson Adams

Sophomore

Karl Bein

Sophomore

Eldad Campbell

Sophomore

Brian Joiner

Sophomore

Running for glory

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer The Wildcat cross country teams competed in the Red Raider Invitational last Friday. The men placed fourth overall while the women placed sixth overall in the team standings.

FROM THE FRONT/CAMPUS NEWS

Friday, September 26, 2008

Page 5

Fire: University gives Pledging rumors prove unfounded students housing

By Laura Acuff

Opinion Page Editor

Continued from page 1 and Cisco Junior College student Sean Greer, also from Colorado Springs, shared the right side of the house, while Mr. and Mrs. Reedy lived in the left half.

A friend called Mrs. Reedy to tell her about the fire. When she arrived at the scene with tears smearing her cheeks, she asked the firemen about her dogs.

They were in the backyard, and no one had seen them yet. After the firemen brought her the unscathed pets, she held one of the small dachshunds closely to her chest as she watched her home burn.

The fire started in a trash bin in front of the house and jumped to the eaves in the roof. From there, it spread to the attics. By the time the firemen extinguished most of the flames, it had destroyed one of the garages and both attics.

“It did quite a bit of damage to both attic areas,” said Lt. Greg Goettsch, public information officer. “Once it was in the attic, it spread easily because of the exposed timbers.”

Goettsch said the fire had the potential for causing injuries and widespread destruction.

“If we didn’t have such a rapid response to this, it could have spread to other properties,” he said.

Police received the first call about the fire at 3:53 p.m., and the first fire engine was on the scene at 3:55 p.m.

The firemen had the fire under control by 4:33 p.m.

“Within two minutes, it went up,” said Pam Chamberlin, who lived in the apartment complex across the street from the house.

By the time the fire was almost extinguished, the smell of smoke permeated the street, and piles of burnt rubble cluttered around the outside of the house. Water soaked the grass, and one ambulance and five fire operational units blocked the street as more than 10 firemen worked the scene.

Hundreds of ants swarmed the pavement in front of the students’ feet as the three men sat in a row on a step across from their house, watching the firemen work to battle the remaining flames.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” Greer said.

“I might have to leave school for the semester.”

Jan Meyer, assistant dean of Student Life, and Bob Strader, camp director of the ACU Leadership Camps, were at the Center for Conflict Resolution when they

acuoptimist.com Go online to see footage of firefighters putting out Wednesday’s fire on Westheimer Road.

saw the smoke behind the building. After arriving at the scene, they met the students and talked to them.

When Meyer heard Greer had left his cell phone in the house, she gave him her phone to borrow for as long as he needed and said to him, “If you need a place to stay tonight, we can make that happen.”

Meyer and Strader were ready to help in any way they could.

“Anybody would have done the same thing,” Strader said.

Neither Isham nor Greer wanted to use the phone to call their parents, until they knew exactly what had happened.

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Isham said. “I’m a little out of it right now.”

Greer, who moved out of his parents’ house when he was 18 years old, had everything he owned in the duplex.

None of the students had renter’s insurance.

“If you don’t have renter’s insurance and you have a fire, you are pretty much going to eat the entire loss yourself,” Goettsch said.

“The owner of the property will probably have insurance on the property, but that doesn’t insure the contents unless he is living there.”

When Dr. Joel-Neal Thompson, vice president and the dean of Student Life, arrived at the scene, he told the men he was there to encourage and support them. He arranged for the students to stay in Smith Hall for free as long as they needed. Thompson also is working on supplying them with meal plans and textbooks.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the investigators were still looking into the exact cause of the fire.

“It most likely is accidental in nature,” Goettsch said.

He said they do not suspect foul play.

“We have to rule out all causes, including manmade causes,” said Lt. Eddy Harris, an investigator at the scene. “We will sit down and look at the whole picture.”

E-mail Linton at: krl04b@acu.edu

A rumor circulating campus that 17 girls intending to pledge social clubs failed to receive bids Thursday night is unfounded, said Mauri Westbrook, director of student organizations and activities.

“This year, for 2008, what we can say is that every student that went through the ranking process was matched with a club, was given a bid from a club, an official bid to join that organization,” Westbrook said. “Those organizations want those students to be a part of their organization, and so through that matching process some people get their first choice, some people don’t get their first choice, but we can say that every student was matched with an official bid from an organization.”

Westbrook said that according to the Social Club Handbook, available online at www.acu.edu, every qualified student who puts forth a “good faith effort” in the rushing process can expect to receive a bid.

GATA President Lyndsay Ice, senior music major from Hurst, also said the rumor was inaccurate and every girl got a bid.

“

Girls really go into the pledging and rushing process and get their hearts set on that one club... when they don’t get it, it’s a huge disappointment. :: Lyndsay Ice, GATA President and senior music major from Hurst

“My feeling is that maybe they didn’t quite understand what happened,” Ice said.

“So like the girls that maybe didn’t get their first choice show up at this location to receive their bids, but maybe it wasn’t communicated clearly that that’s what it was. But every single girl who ranked and was eligible received a bid.”

While unsure of the rumor’s origins, Ice said confusion about GATA bids may have contributed.

Ice said that because GATA is a small club, Westbrook allowed them to have two separate meetings to announce bids: one for the girls who had ranked GATA first, and one for those who had not.

“We had all of the girls that ranked us first go to a location to meet with our vice president so that they could get pumped up and excited,” Ice said. “The girls

”

that maybe ranked us second or third or whatever went to a different location and talked to one of our sponsors in hopes that she could encourage them to really consider pledging us.”

Ko Jo Kai President Jamie Lyn Spires, senior communication major from Arlington, said she has not heard of the rumor and that every eligible girl is usually given a bid. Even girls found to be unqualified receive early notification.

Alpha Kai Omega President Erin Chappell, senior social work and biblical text major from Southlake, also said she has not heard of the rumor. Chappell said forgetting to rank was the only potential reason she could imagine that would keep a girl from receiving a bid.

The unavoidable nature of the pledging process can sometimes spark discord, Ice said.

“Girls really go into the

pledging and rushing process and get their hearts set on that one club that they just really feel like that is where they belong,” Ice said. “When they don’t get it, it’s a huge disappointment, and they are just upset about it.”

However, Ice said despite any glitches, she has faith in changes being made to the pledging system and the people behind it.

“I don’t know that it’s perfect yet but I really think that Mauri and the student leaders and other people on campus who have an influence over this are really trying to put together the best system possible,” Ice said. “Because either way you do it, some girls are going to get hurt and not get the bid that they want, so I think with this system they really are trying to figure out the best way.”

E-mail Acuff at: lka06a@acu.edu

Lab: ‘Post’ journalist to speak at symposium Continued from page 1 Lab, spoke Thursday in a Chapel forum in Hart Auditorium titled “I am a journalist.

I am a Christian. So what?” He discussed the importance of people’s lives and how journalists can balance unbiased reporting with their faith.

“Christianity is not what I write about; it’s who I am,” Harris said. “It makes me want to be disciplined.”

Harris will speak again in a symposium titled “Diversity and new media. Are you ready?” Friday at 2 p.m.

in Cullen Auditorium. He will lecture how the convergence of media is hurting the newspaper industry and how journalists can combat and adjust to the change.

“The media is in one big grocery store,” Harris said of readers’ choices in media. “If I’m going to a grocery store, I’m not just going to buy rutabagas because that’s not on my shopping list. Based on what my grocery list is, I’m going to buy what feeds my family. In media, we have to understand that

there’s always going to be bad stuff, but there’s still an opportunity.”

Harris joined the Washington Post in 1992, and worked as a staff writer while also producing news videos. In 2007, he won two Emmys with fellow reporter Ben de la Cruz for their video work on the Post’s series “Being a Black Man.” He has written the book Career Diary of a Newspaper Reporter, and contributed to the book Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril.

Harris has covered stories

on anthrax attacks, Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright, Pope Benedict’s U.S. visit, Hurricane Katrina and former President Gerald Ford’s funeral. He will be the first speaker in the JMC department’s lecture series this year that focuses on diversity in media.

“A camera can’t tell the story; a tape recorder is just a piece of equipment,” Harris said. “Media can’t drive people; people drive media.”

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

SA: Congress awards more than $2,000 Continued from page 1 the Society of Physics Students would pay more than $4,000 out of its own pocket, and they were only requesting a small portion of the trip’s total costs.

“It’s a great thing that happens only every four years,” Jumper said. “It’s a forum for scientists and students to have roundtable discussions about various issues in our field.”

But the decision to give nearly 20 percent of the Congress’ Student Activity fund, a sum of more than $10,000 set aside in the SA budget to

distribute to student groups for various needs, was not an easy decision for some congress members.

“We need to be consistent across the board,” Senior Senator Kyle Pickens told the Congress during debate of the motion.

Pickens’ largest qualm was the amount the group requested to help pay for hotel funds and gas costs.

Pickens said he did not believe it was fair, since the Congress did not give as much to other student groups for similar costs and trips. He said giving away

20 percent of the fund was not a good precedent to set for the rest of the year.

But other congressmen said the fact the members of the Society of Physics Students raised so much money themselves and planned to hold a campuswide forum about issues they would discuss at the conference proved it was worth the money.

“I think this is an opportunity where we cannot use those guidelines, and it will benefit these guys,” said Kyle Moore, off-campus representative.

Colter Lane, Foster Sci-

ence Building representative, lobbied for his constituents, citing that backing this group was an opportunity for SA to help support students who would represent ACU at a national platform.

“I really believed in everything Daniel [Jumper] presented to us,” Lane said.

E-mail Johnson-Kim at: djj04a@acu.edu

SportsFriday

September 26, 2008

SCOREBOARD Standings Football Team Tarleton St. WTAMU ACU MSU TAMU-K Angelo St. ENMU

Div. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Overall 4-0 4-0 3-0 3-0 3-1 2-2 1-3

Volleyball Team MSU TX Woman’s TAMU-C ACU Angelo St. Tarleton St.

Div. 2-0 2-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-1

Overall 16-0 9-5 8-5 11-2 10-6 9-6

Women’s Soccer Team

Div. 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Angelo St. 0-0 East Central 0-0 MSU 0-0 SW Okla.

0-0 NE St. 0-0 ENMU 0-1 WTAMU TAMU-C TX Woman’s ACU Central Okla.

Overall 6-0-1 4-1-1 4-2 4-2-1 4-2-1 5-3-1 3-3-1 3-3 2-5 1-4-1 4-4

Page 6

Men travel to Maryville for ITA Central Regional

By Jeff Craig Sports Writer

The Wildcat men’s tennis team heads to Maryville, Mo., this weekend for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Regional Tournament at Northwest Missouri State University.

The match will include both a 64-team bracket singles tournament and a 32team bracket doubles tournament with spots to the NCAA Division II National Championship in Mobile, Ala., on the line. The ACU men’s tennis team finished last season ranked No. 19 in the nation and No. 2 in the region behind only Cameron

Tennis University. Assistant coach John Walker hopes his team can continue to build on last year’s success.

“We are hoping that again we can qualify an individual or doubles team to nationals,” Walker said. “The team of Juan Nunez and Ryan Hudson won doubles last year and we’d like to see that again.”

Head tennis coach Hutton Jones also believes in his doubles team’s chances this weekend and feels he has three doubles teams capable of winning the regional title.

“The teams of Ryan

Hudson-Juan Nunez, Luke Hawk-Brian Joiner and Hutton Jones Jr.-Quinton Peterson-Paul all have a shot,” Jones said. “I hope Ryan and Juan go out and act like they own the place,” he said of his defending regional champions.

Jones also believes many of his individual players have “as good if not a better chance of winning as any other school.” Senior and defending doubles champion Juan Nunez has made it to finals in singles each of the last two years and has a great shot at victory according to Jones.

Assistant coach Walker echoes Jones’ sentiments.

“I am anticipating that we

will have a singles player qualify at regionals,” Walker said.

The fall season serves as half of the tennis team’s schedule. The fall, and specifically the upcoming ITA Central Regional, is made up of individual events that have far reaching effects.

The spring is when schools compete head to head and tennis becomes a collegiate team sport, and individual results from this ITA Central Regional have great, potential ramifications on the team ranking in the spring. Coach Jones hopes to find success at regionals and ultimately a high ranking.

See

Tennis page 4

Cats to play No. 3 in the nation

Sports Writer

Saturday Football ACU 59, SE Oklahoma State 10

Volleyball ACU 3, Texas A&M-Kingsville 0

Upcoming Friday ACU vs. Angelo State, 4 p.m.

Saturday Volleyball ACU vs. West Texas A&M, 2 p.m.

Football ACU vs. Eastern New Mexico, 7 p.m.

Wednesday Volleyball ACU vs. Dallas Baptist, 7 p.m.

:: Home games listed in italics

NOTES n The ACU golf team won the Northeastern State Golf Classic behind the 1-2 finish of Patrick Hanauer and Cyril Bouniol. Look for more information in Wednesday’s issue of the Optimist. n Sophomore cross country runner Daniel Maina earned LSC runner of the week honors after finishing third at the Red Raider Invitational in Lubbock. Maina ran the 8-kilometer course in 24:44.05 and led the Wildcats to a fourth place finish in the overall team standings.

Photo courtesy of Creative Services

Michelle Bacon (12), Shawna Hines (7) and Britni Golden (13) get ready for a serve against Texas Permian-Basin. The Wildcats are 11-2 on the season.

By Chandler Harris Assistant Sports Editor

The ACU volleyball team came home this week for two matches in three days at Moody Coliseum. On Thursday, the team played Eastern New Mexico.

Eastern New Mexico was 4-11 in 2008 and had yet to play a conference match before playing the Wildcats.

Vanessa Wilcox leads ENMU with 122 kills, while Karen McIntyre leads with 319 assists in 2008. The Zias are in the second season of coach Kim Falkenhagen’s tenure. “[ENMU] really started to play extremely clean volleyball in the past year,” Kellen Mock, ACU head volleyball coach, said. “They look a lot like us. They may not have been as successful as they had hoped to be this season, but I don’t think that has been because they aren’t a good team. They

Volleyball have a lot of new faces, and sometimes new faces can surprise you. We hope to have a good match.”

The Wildcats had won six straight matches against the Zias heading into Thursday, dating back to the 2004 season. Results for ACU’s match against ENMU were not available at press time.

The Wildcats will play West Texas A&M on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. WTAMU is 13-2 on the season and played its first conference matchup on Thursday against Angelo State. The Lady Buffs are ranked No. 3 in the nation.

“We play very similar ball,” Mock said. “We have multiple players getting a lot of balls and spreading things out and moving the ball around, just like West Texas A&M does.”

ACU has been playing

outstanding defense lately.

They lead the LSC in opponents hitting percentage (.108) and sophomore middle blocker Shawna Hines leads the LSC in blocks per set (1.1). Sophomore setter Ijeoma Moronu is third in the LSC in assists (10.14).

Coach Mock said Moronu’s outstanding play has become expected of her each game.

“You are always excited when someone plays well, but we just expect her to perform,” Mock said. “She is hard on herself, but she pushes herself to do great and she is a key difference maker on our team. She is a really outstanding player.”

Both of the Wildcats’ losses in 2008 have been followed by 3-0 victories.

Coach Mock said the team have been good at being able to forget about the past and move on.

“One of our goals this sea-

son has been to take things one game at a time, one match at a time,” Mock said.

“Out losses have proved to us that anyone can beat anyone on any given day. Both of those teams wanted it more on those days. We just have to get to the next match.”

Mock said the team is made up of several different kinds of leaders.

“We have some different things going on for us,” Mock said. Lauren Leone and Amy Wilson are our captains off the court. Ije [Ijeoma Moronu] is our leader on the court and Shawna [Hines] is one of our big, goto players. Shawna [Hines] is a big time motivator and is really making a difference this season.”

E-mail Harris at: tch05f@acu.edu

After a surprising 10day break, the ACU soccer team is ready to face its first conference foe on Friday. Both matches scheduled against Paul Quinn College on Sept. 19 and McMurry University on Monday were cancelled, leaving the Lady Wildcats well-rested to face Angelo State on Friday. “ [ T h e break] gave us a chance to get some p e o p l e healed,” said head c o a c h Casey WilWilson son.

“We have played some intrasquad games to make up for the two games we missed. I feel like we haven’t skipped a beat.”

The Wildcats have almost completed their nonconference schedule for the year and will finish it on the road Thursday against Dallas Baptist. Ten of their next eleven games will be against conference opponents. The game on Friday will also be the first conference game for the Rambelles, who come in with a record of 5-3-1. ACU has rebounded after a 1-2-1 start with three straight victories. Last season, ACU shut out the Rambelles in their only match against them, winning 1-0.

“Last year it was a tight game in which we scored a See

Soccer page 4

ACU looks to remain unbeaten against ENMU

By Grant Abston

Football

Sports Editor

Intramural Round-up 4-on-4 Soccer Starts: Tuesday, Oct. 28 Sign-up Deadline: Oct. 23 Cost: $125 per team

3-2 Softball Tournament Starts: Saturday, Nov. 8 Sign-up Deadline: Nov. 6 Cost: $80 per team

acuoptimist.com Check online for highlights from previous ACU games thoughout the year

Wildcats open LSC play with Angelo St.

By Austin Gwin

Scores

Women’s Soccer

Brien Schmidt :: file photo Joey Farias and the Wildcats will travel to Maryville, Mo.

Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer Linebacker Mike Kern (50) helps make a tackle against Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcat defense has scored three touchdowns in the past two weeks to help the fourth-ranked team in the nation remain undefeated.

The fourth-ranked Wildcats will travel to play Eastern New Mexico this weekend, looking to remain undefeated in their first Lone Star Conference South Division game.

ACU defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State last weekend to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Wildcats will travel to Portales, N.M., to play the 1-3 Greyhounds, who are coming off a 38-14 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcats defeated A&M-Commerce 45-14 in their second game of the season.

“They are like the Texas Tech offense and throw it 50 times,” said head coach Chris Thomsen. “They throw the ball a lot and are very complex on defense. They blitz a lot and try to hit you from a lot of angles, so it’s a big challenge this week.”

The Greyhounds come into

the game suffering losses from Southern Nazarene and Southeastern Oklahoma State before last week’s loss to A&M-Commerce. Their lone win came against Southwestern Oklahoma State.

The Greyhounds enter the game averaging 270 yards of offense a game, 246 passing and 24 rushing. Quarterback Cory Baker leads the Greyhounds offense, throwing for 151 yards a game and three total touchdowns this season. Baker has a 52-percent completion rate and has thrown nine interceptions on the season.

Running back Joseph Banyard leads the Greyhounds with 102 rushing yards on the season with one touchdown. Jessie Poku is the Greyhounds’ No. 1 receiving threat with 25 catches for 301 yards See

Football page 4