The Optimist Print Edition 01.18.19 (Volume CVIII, Issue XVI)

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OPTIMIST

@acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist

MLK DAY Campus closes to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Abilene hosts the annual MLK march.

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

Volume CVIII, Issue XVI

Friday January 18, 2019

News

Sports

The Hudson Wade 5k is set for the spring semester, and the MakerLab is hosting an Adobe Illustrator class. Theatre students will perform in the 24-hour musical.......................................................................Page 2

Men’s basketball returns Jalone Friday and continues a successful season, while the women defeats the HBU Huskies on the road. Women’s tennis begins their season on the road..........................................................Page 6

F S S M T W T Feature After overcoming self-doubt and the challenges of being a single mother of two, Courtney Bradford is set to become the black first female paramedic in Abilene................................................Page 4

The women’s basketball team celebrates a successful play during a timeout against Arkansas. (Photo by Nicholas Cromwell) CAMPUS NEWS

Student arrested on child porn charges LAUREN FRANCO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Abilene Police Department Cyber Crimes unit, alongside ACUPD, arrested Jacob Hutchison for second degree felony distribution of child pornography and third degree felony possession of child pornography. Hutchison, a sophomore nursing major, targeted social media apps popular with teens, such as KiK, TikToc, SnapChat and Dropbox for distribution, according to a police report issued on Jan. 16. He was also found to be in possession of videos containing child pornography. “Detectives with the Cyber Crimes Unit received information that led them to believe a subject in Abilene was distributing child pornography. Detectives worked closely with the ACU Police Department to identify the subject and to develop a safe plan to apprehend him,” said Rick Tomlin, public information coordinator, in the press release. Both departments were investigating for about three weeks when they discovered that images of child pornography were being accessed through various social media sites by someone using an ACU IP address, according to ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison. SEE ARREST PAGE 2

Cooke leaves behind legacy of passion DILLON DANIEL STAFF WRITER

Longtime ag riculture and environmental professor Dr. James “Jim” Cooke Cooke passed away Jan. 13 in Abilene after a short illness. He was 69 years old. Jim Cooke was not just passionate about his work, but passionate to drive others in their work as well, said family and friends. “His two favorite things were working and playing,” said his wife, Cynthia Cooke. “As a professor, he worked hard to provide courses students would be challenged by. He wanted students to learn through their own lenses.” Although passionate

about his work, Jim Cooke made time to do the things he loved, mostly involving being outdoors and spending time with grandkids, nieces and nephews. Cynthia Cooke said raising his children, having a loving family and finding ways to serve other people were Jim Cooke’s most significant accomplishments “He leaves a great legacy in that way. The impact he’s had on thousands of students is something he would cherish. Former students have reached out back to him in appreciation, some even calling him a mentor.” She said her husband lived a life representative of his favorite passage of the Bible, Luke 10:27: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your

Dr. Jim Cooke organized a Cedar Creek Waterway cleanup project in 2013.

mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” “He loved the Lord and wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth, and he believed others should be good stewards of the planet God put us on.” Cooke is survived by his wife and their three

children, Emily and Jacob Wardell and their children, Witten, Jackson and Ella, Jennifer and David McMillian and their children, Brooklyn, David and Maddy, and Jonathan and Emily Cooke, as well as his “adopted” daughter, Anita Vigil. He is also survived

by two sisters, Cate Dudley, and her husband Mike, and Cary MacMahon and her husband, Ray, and by several nieces and nephews. Cooke’s legacy will be continued by his family and friends through the Jim and Cynthia Endowed Scholarship.

SGA cancels tentative awareness week LAUREN FRANCO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Despite planning a new awareness week since November, SGA decided to cancel the events. Ty Kelley, executive president, said SGA had plans to host an awareness week where each day, a topic trending in society would be highlighted including, mental health awareness, cultural awareness and sexual assault awareness. Each day was planned to have relevant Chapel speakers

alongside organizations pertaining to each topic. Because Christmas break cut into planning time, and their desire to give proper attention to each subject, SGA decided to cancel awareness week. “We didn’t want to diminish any of the topics, so in order to preserve the importance of each one, we decided against hosting the event because it was going to be so soon,” Kelley said. “To come back from break and try to find qualified speakers that were go-

ing to speak into the topic in a Christlike manner and actually impact students, we didn’t want to rush that process.” Kelley said administration agreed with the decision. “We don’t currently have any plans to continue awareness week because the time frame of the spring semester, especially with Sing Song and freshman pledging,” Kelley said. “We figured it would be better for us to let another cabinet take it on.” SGA is still planning a

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partnership with the online service, TimelyMD, who just launched counseling services online 24/7. It was supposed to be part of awareness week, but Kelley said they still wanted a mental health awareness day, tentatively before Sing Song. “It’s a tangible way that students can get help immediately,” Kelley said. Kelley also said when they were making the decision to cancel, they felt that all of the bases were covered.

The Title IX office hosts events and speakers during Sexual Assault Awareness month in April, the Office of Multicultural Affairs is hosting and sponsoring events during Black History Month in February and the International Justice Mission hosts Justice Week toward the end of February. “A lot of organizations on campus are already spearheading this, and we didn’t want to interfere with the work that they were already doing,” Kelley said.


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The Optimist Print Edition 01.18.19 (Volume CVIII, Issue XVI) by ACU Optimist - Issuu