Optimist Print Edition 09.13.19

ACUOPTIMIST.COM | Friday, September 13, 2019 | 1

Find out what’s happening at ACU Summit Film Fest 2019

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

PAGE 2

BY ALLISON HARRELL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, congratulates ACU faculty and staff for ACU’s record high ranking at 12th place from the U.S. News & World Report.

ACU outranks other Texas schools

BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

ACU has outranked other Texas universities in U.S. News & World Report’s new benchmark and climbed nine spots in the regional rankings from last year.

The university received its highest overall Western Region ranking in history at 12th in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 “America’s Best Colleges.”

Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, announced the news to faculty and staff at an impromptu celebration

meeting on Monday.

“In some ways, I’m not surprised because I know we’ve been about those things,” Schubert said. “In some ways, I am a little surprised that the visibility of what we’re doing is so widespread that I could not be more thankful.”

The university also achieved status in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Top 20 in three of eight categories.

U.S. News aims to highlight the best institutions in the nation for exceptional commitment to student success. ACU placed 4th in the category of Service Learning, above Stan-

ford, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and several other well known institutions. ACU placed 9th in the category of FirstYear Experience and 11th in Learning Communities.

“I think it just really reinforces the core focus of what we’ve been trying to do for years,” Schubert said. “To be recognized in those areas in an unprecedented way, being the only school in Texas to be listed three times in the Top 20 and in five categories overall, suggests that at a national level people are recognizing ACU as an institution that puts students right at

the center and core of what we’re doing.”

ACU was ranked in the Top 50 in the nation in the categories of Study Abroad at 35th, and Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects at 42nd.

Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost of the university, addressed faculty and staff at the Monday celebration.

“It doesn’t happen by accident,” Rhodes said. “I think it also happens when we’re all working together. When we’re at the top of our game in each area, it makes a difference.”

Other Texas universities recognized in the Top 20 of

this benchmark are Baylor University, Rice University and The University of Texas at Austin. ACU is the only Texas institution to be ranked in five categories and the only Church of Christ-affiliated university besides Pepperdine University to be included in the benchmark.

“These type of experiences and the focus on student success has been right at the center of our strategic platform for a number of years,” Schubert said. “So we’ve made tremendous strides in all kinds of different areas that focus on

the student experience. I think as an organization, as we continue to focus consistently on those themes, it just begins to develop a broad level of visibility and a certain culture that people are beginning to see. So once U.S. News stopped and asked the question, ‘Who’s the best at student success?’

I think there was almost a pent-up understanding that maybe there hadn’t been a vehicle for others to say, ‘Oh, Abilene Christian.’ But this vehicle gave them the chance to do that and we’re really proud.”

NEWS

Austin Channing Brown speaks on racial injustice

PAGE 2

SPORTS

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Larry Henderson, adjunct professor of Bible, missions and ministry and director of World Wide Witness, falls from the sky to Anthony Field in pre-game show at Saturday’s football game.

113th annual Summit to focus on Psalms

BY RACHEL CROSSNOE COPY EDITOR

The 113th annual Summit will begin this year on Sunday evening and end on Wednesday during Chapel.

“The purpose of Summit is to be a place where conversation is held for life and faith and so it is a time of spiritual renewal,” said Dr. David Wray, director of Summit.

Summit began in 1906 around the name Lectureship. Through the years it has been primarily aimed at ministers, preachers, Bible teachers and other congregational leaders. However, more recently it developed to be more inclusive for students and faculty on campus.

Planning for Summit is a year-long process, Wray said. The theme is normal-

ly a book of the Bible and alternates between the Old testament and New Testament. This year Summit will explore the Old Testament book of Psalms. The theme is “Sorrow, Hope, and Joy: Life in the Mountains and Valleys of the Psalms.”

“The world is broken, and because of that there are some really hard things we all face as Christians in the world,” said Leah Andrews, assistant director of Summit. “The psalms give us beautiful language and beautiful history of how to get through those times and how to reach from the sorrow to the hope and to the joy.”

Mike Cope, former adjunct professor in Bible, missions and ministry, will begin Summit Sunday night, with an overview of Psalms.

Other theme speakers will speak during Chapel in Moody auditorium. Beverly Ross, founder and executive director of Wise County Christian Counseling, will speak on Monday about sorrow, Shane Wood, author of “Between Two Trees,” will speak on Tuesday about hope and Dr. Steven Moore, associate professor of language and literature, will speak on Wednesday about joy.

This year Summit will again be organized into pathways. Over the three days, Summit will feature 21 different pathways. Each will contain five classes. All classes and events are free except for the Enneagram Next Steps session on Tuesday.

“We are not just trying to reach congregational lead-

ers, we’re trying to really focus on students as well,” Wray said.

The pathways have several benefits. First, they provide better organization of the conference compared to past years. Instead of 100 different classes, pathways allow attendees to find classes they are interested in without much difficulty.

They also allow speakers to dive deeper into the subject matter.

“We decided let’s go deeper with more quality than quantity,” Wray said. “Let’s focus this thing into 21 pathways instead of just standalone classes in all directions.”

Second, pathways allow for collaboration with the different majors to create pathways suited for different fields.

The student featured

speaker this year will be Mo Isom, author of “Wreck My Life: Journeying from Broken to Bold” and “Sex, Jesus and the Conversation the Church Forgot.” She will speak at 8 p.m. Sunday and at 11 a.m. Monday in Cullen auditorium.

“I love having campus visitors come to campus, then being in a class with a student and watching the two generations start talking and seeing the barriers come down, and I think it’s beautiful to see generations mix like that,” Andrews said. “I think that’s how we grow more understanding and compassionate with each other.”

The ACU connect app has a guide for Summit and all presentations as well as evening activities will have QR codes for Chapel credit.

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2 | Friday, September 13, 2019 | NEWS

Author’s visit to campus highlights racial justice

BY SYDNEY VARNER STAFF WRITER

Author and activist Austin Channing Brown spoke to students Monday after faculty and staff read her recently published memoir during different reading groups.

Several faculty members read Brown’s memoir “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” as part of a small reading group last spring. Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost, then recommended the memoir to all faculty and staff.

Brown is a graduate of North Park University and Maygrove College. She has worked at Calvin College and topped the Amazon Bestsellers “Christian Social Issues” list with her memoir released in 2018.

Dr. Laura Carroll, executive director of the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning, said Brown writes for people who already care about racial justice and brings to light how privilege can sometimes get

BY MEGAN HOLLEY | PHOTOGRAPHER

Austin Channing Brown delivers a message to the audience. in the way.

“We got really excited about the possibility of her coming and speaking, because we felt like she knows our context and probably intuitively knows a lot of the issues that we struggle with as we move toward ra-

cial justice as a campus and as we work on anti-racist policies,” Carroll said.

Brown spoke to students in Moody Chapel about her experiences of racial injustice through a Christian lens. She also gave a presentation at a faculty lunch

Monday and had a meeting with senior leadership Tuesday. Carroll hopes that Brown brought a different kind of representation to campus in efforts for students to hear and understand a new perspective.

“I think it’s two-fold.

One, I want all of our students to hear her, because I think she is a prophetic voice, and I think she is speaking important truths.

I also think for our students of diverse ethnicity, seeing a woman of color on the Chapel stage is really pro-

found.” Carroll said.

Rachel Puckett, freshman advertising and public relations major from Fort Worth, sat in on Chapel Monday and said she felt as though it was something students across campus needed to hear.

“I found it interesting that people sitting around me reacted uncomfortably, and I think that uncomfortable feeling is important because it’s what’s going on in our world,” Puckett said. “I think a lot of us are blinded by our privilege and once we realize that, we can better serve our neighbors and our communities.”

Carroll also put emphasis on the idea that Brown’s speech played to the important ideas of liberal arts education and understanding the whole human experience.

“She really challenged us to think about what ways our curriculum can represent more voices and that we have to be creative and be excited about what we get to learn from news voices,” Carrol said.

113th annual Summit to feature Film Fest documentaries

BY ANDREW TOOTHMAN STAFF WRITER

Film Fest will partner with the 113th Summit to feature true story documentaries.

Charles Smith, a retired minister who is leading Summit Film Fest this year, said he is excited to see the good news of the gospel being spread to students on a different level of film and documentaries. His goal in featuring the films is to spread awareness and open the eyes of the student body to sorrow, hope and joy, which are the themes of Summit 2019.

Smith believes we can re-

late to these traits by true stories put into film, and these films will be featured are a series of sad stories that give us an opportunity to show love and compassion for others.

One film that will be featured in the Film Fest is “Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which is a true story of a boy in Africa who lived in poverty as he constructs a windmill that pumps water out of a bicycle.

Smith said he took up the opportunity to organize Summit Film Fest with lots of interest and passion even though he does not work for the university.

“I had been retired for two years, and this was a neat way to get connected, and I was fascinated on how powerful ‘the screen’ was in the culture and can be helpful to us and in Christianity,” Smith said.

One of the films that will be featured is made by alumnus Matt Maxwell who is a media minister at Golf Course Ranch Road Church of Christ in Midland. He produced “Finding Home in Boomtown” which is a story of a married couple that sells their possessions and begins to build houses for the homeless in Texas.

This film was also featured

in the 41st annual Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The film will be shown on Tuesday night in the Onstead Packer Biblical Studies Building in room 114.

“ACU is not only my alma mater but my home... Also storytelling is vital to changing the world and we need all the storytellers we can get from ACU” Maxwell said, as he is excited to be back in Abilene.

These featured films relate to the theme of ACU Summit rather than the competition that takes place at the ACU FilmFest.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT MAXWELL

Matt Maxwell, ACU alumnus and filmmaker, sits with the family that stars in “Finding Home in Boomtown” around the dinner table.

Delta Theta seeks to relieve financial barrier for pledges

BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

Delta Theta is making a “Biddie Closet” to provide the uniforms and items needed for any pledges who are financially unable to do so.

The Biddie Closet is a new idea Delta Theta plans to implement by providing any girls that receive a bid from their club with necessary

items and apparel needed for their pledging process.

The club will take donations from current active and inactive members and store items in a storage unit for future use.

Kenzie Maxson, junior education major from Decatur and Delta Theta pledge mom, said they are also accepting financial donations for additional items or additional

clothing to fit various sizes.

“We’re a working club,” Maxson said. “So a lot of the girls that are in club work multiple jobs. As a club we understand that not everybody always has the money to do pledging and rushing. So for us we wanted to come up with a system where we can actually help pledges rush so financially that’s something that they

won’t have to worry about.”

The closet will be stocked with T-Shirts, binders, purses, passed down uniforms and other Delta Theta merchandise. The closet will be available for any girls that reach out in need of financial help or do not have access to something needed for pledging.

Grace Duinick, junior speech pathology major from Fort Worth, said the

Biddie Closet is needed because pledging is expensive.

“It’s important to supply these items so that the girls are equal and no one has better stuff just because of finances,” Duinick said. “We just don’t want finances to be a reason why girls can’t do club.”

The Biddie Closet will allow girls seeking community, to not be restrained by financial demands.

“The main idea behind it is that it’s sisters helping sisters, not only sisters in club but sisters in Christ,” Maxson said. “Because that’s a big thing that we like to center our focus around, that we all love one another just as Christ loves us. He did everything He could for us, so we just want to extend that and continue to do everything we can for each other.”

FRI., SEPT. 20

SAT., SEPT. 21

WHAT’S HAPPENING? MON., SEPT. 16

TUES., SEPT. 17

WED., SEPT. 18

THURS., SEPT. 19

12 p.m.- Luncheon to honor Lynn Anderson 7 p.m.- Delta Theta Rush 7 p.m.- GSP Rush 9 p.m.- Nu Kappa Psi Rush 9 p.m.- Tri Kappa Gamma Rush

7 a.m.- U.S. Constitution

Reading 11:30 a.m.- Adobe Workshop 7 p.m.- Trojans Rush 7 p.m.- Alpha Kai Omega Rush 9 p.m.- Frater Sodalis Rush 9 p.m.- Sigma Theta Chi Rush

7 p.m.- GATA Rush 7 p.m.- Pi Kappa Rush 9 p.m.- Ko Jo Kai/Galaxy Rush

Abilene Chamber of Commerce Membership Awards

6 p.m.- Hispanos Unidos Entra A La Plaza 7 p.m.- Soccer vs. Houston Baptist 8 p.m.- Freshman Follies Performance 1 Family Weekend

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK: •

A student reported damage to his vehicle while parked in the Stadium Lot. 09/04/2019 7:40 p.m.

•

A student reported a suspicious person sitting in a car at the UP Lot. Officers contacted the male subject and he checked OK. The subject was waiting for someone. 09/05/2019 8:00 p.m.

•

An off-campus student called ACUPD Officers about noises outside her house. Officers helped secure her garage door and checked the area, nothing located. 09/08/2019 4:07 a.m.

•

A student reported that someone struck her vehicle while parked in the Campus Center lot. Report taken, being investigated.

09/09/2019 4:00 p.m.

Accident Administrative activity Advice Alcohol incident Animal call Assault Assist Barricades Building lock/unlock Burglary: motor vehicle Cart patrol Check building Citation issuance Criminal mischief Dating Violence Discharge of firearm

0 42 1 1 1 0 1 1 8 1 15 256 1 1 3 0

Disturbance Domestic disturbance Drug activity/offense Escort Fight Foot patrol Found property Harassment Hit & run Indecent exposure Information report Intoxicated person Investigation follow up Lost Property Maintenance: univ assets Medical emergency

MESSAGE FROM POLICE CHIEF ELLISON:

0 0 1 5 0 3 11 0 5 0 1 1 21 4 25 10

Mental health concern Missing person Monitor facility/lot Motorist assist: inflate tire.

Motorist assist: jumpstart Motorist assist: unlock Noise violation Other Parking lot patrol Parking violation Patrol vehicle: maintenance Patrol vehicle: refuel Public service Random patrol Report writing Report writing (follow up)

1 0 12 4 9 10 2 3 24 15 6 9 2 13 22 3

Sex offense Suspicious activity Suspicious item Suspicious person Suspicious vehicle Theft Traffic stop Training Vehicle collision Wanted subject Welfare check

1 1 1 4 0 2 0 1 2 1 3

Total 582 *List of selected statistics of this week’s ACUPD activity report.

“Faith is a good thing, but not when it comes to crosswalks. Drivers need to YIELD to pedestrians within a marked crosswalk and pedestrians need to remember that there is no magic force-field protecting them when they step out on faith in front of approaching cars.”

11 a.m.- Freshman Follies Performance 2 6 p.m.- Football vs. McNeese

FEATURES | Friday, September 13, 2019 | 3

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Marcia Straughn, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Nursing

NEW DEAN EMPOWERS CREATIVITY Dr. Marcia Straughn becomes dean of the School of Nursing

BY DILLON DANIEL MANAGING EDITOR

Dr. Marcia Straughn has been made the new dean for the school of nursing, working in this role since June 1.

Her role as the dean of nursing is a duel role, meaning she also has the position as the director of the BSN program.

Straughn said she is excited to be in the position once filled by Dr. Becky Hammack, who she credits to be a wonderful leader and wants to continue building the program from where Hammack left off. “[It is] really exciting to be able to be in this role now building upon previous work and maybe even move us into a role of more influence and attracting students to ACU and expanding on its mission through the lens of how we do that as professional nurses,” Straughn said.

One aspect of her role she said she appreciates is the freedom of creativity to set a positive atmosphere in a department that requires structure.

“We have a lot of structure in the school of nursing… and to say within that, ‘You

are that structure,’ empowers you then to be creative in the way you meet these requirements,’” Straughn said.

“Being creative is what is exciting to the students.”

She has worked with the school of nursing since the fall semester of 2012, a year before upperclassman nursing students began taking junior and senior-year courses at ACU. Before the fall 2013 semester, junior and senior nursing students took courses at Patty Hanks Shelton school of nursing.

By coming in a year before the move, Straughn worked with the transition of the nursing program to the Zona Luce building by writing course syllabi and getting approval of the program by the board of nursing.

On the first day of class, juniors entering the school of nursing went through an orientation where parents were invited which she said she believed was very momentous for her when looking back at her time working with the school and how the ACU mission is being fulfilled in the school of nursing.

Prior to her position as the

dean, Straughn was working on and finishing her doctorate as a faculty member for the school. She then moved to a departmental chair role for the BSN program in January 2017.

She was also selected as a fellow for the Leadership of Academic Nursing program through the American Associated Colleges of Nursing in Summer 2018, which she said helped her see she could be fit for further-level leadership.

Even while having an extensive background in nursing, Straughn graduated from ACU with a bachelor’s degree in music education.

“Although I was twothirds of the way through my degree, I started re-evaluating what I wanted to do,” Straughn said. “About immediately after I graduated, I started taking prerequisites for nursing school.”

Even though Straughn graduated with her master’s in nursing at TWU and worked at hospitals in the Dallas area, she said her move back to Abilene and working in hospitals around ACU made her realize a passion of working with students.

“Sometimes the local uni-

versities would send nursing students to some units at the hospital,” Straughn said.

“And I loved to work with them and asked to be assigned to them specifically.”

By getting to see students work with patients and have more time to dedicate to them, she saw the impact it had. Because of this, she said she appreciates her role as a faculty member where she can impact multiple people and see that stretch out.

“I’m glad I can be apart of how we impact each and every one of our students and see that translated to each and every patient they come to,” Straughn said.

This takes part in Straughn’s main goal for her influence and the school of nursing’s mission for students: “To inspire and educate students for excellence in professional practice in preparation for Christian leadership and service as professional

spiritual influence of the students’ professional work.

Challenges and goals Straughn said she would be facing this year in her new role is the changing of certain licensing exams, the progress of her own scholarship and the influence and reach of the school of nursing within medical practice.

Dr. Marcia Straughn and her husband, Dr. Gregory Straughn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, serve as the first husband-wife dean duo at ACU.

“[It is] really exciting to be able to be in this role now building upon previous work and maybe even move us into a role of more influence...”

DR. MARCIA STRAUGHN DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF NURSING

nurses throughout the world.”

She said she wants the school to create students who fit the mission not just because she wants to, but it would feel like a disservice if she didn’t work on the

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SORROW, HOPE AND JOY Life in the Mountains and Valleys of the Psalms

September 15-18, 2019 Abilene Christian University acu.edu/summit

4 | Friday, September 13, 2019 | OPINIONS

Who’s at fault: Bad guns or bad people?

EDITORIAL BOARD

Aug. 31, 2019, a shooting spree was unleashed on the citizens of Odessa Texas, leaving in the shooter’s wake seven dead and twenty two people injured. Just a few weeks prior in El Paso Texas, gunman Patrick Crusius, left twenty two people dead in his spray of bullets that he unleashed on innocent bystanders just attending their local mall.

The United States unfortunately has a pretty unhealthy resume of mass shootings. These events occur leaving families heartbroken and in a constant state of mourning. Leaving them with one question that haunts them for the rest of their lives. Why? Due to the unfortunate tragedies that have taken place over the years, it has caused an increase in debating about having laws against gun control. Should we have them or should we not? There are valid points to be had on both sides of the laws. Should we have them or should we not?

We would like to present you with the facts regarding this controversial topic and let you, the reader make your

own decision.

The first point we want to make is that no matter if you are for against gun control laws, there is one commonality that we can not deny about guns. Their purpose is to protect and save lives. A gun can take a life as well as save one.For instance, while Patrick Crusius was using

his gun to take the lives of “Mexicans” with his horrendous evilness, while Glendon Oakley, an off duty servicemen was able to use his gun to help protect the lives of young children that were separated from their parents.

The next question we ask, does having stricter gun control laws really help de-

crease the amount of deaths caused by guns?

According to the Chicago Tribune in 2015, 2,843 people were victims of just being shot. In 2016, 4,287 people were shot by a gun and in 2017, 2,803 people were shot. These numbers combined come out to a total of 9,933 victims of only

just being shot in a span of two years. The death toll comes to heartbreaking amount 20,366 people that have died at the hand of a gun by another person. This number almost doubles the amount of victims that were just shot.

Now let’s take a look at our home state Texas. Tex-

as has the least amount of gun control laws. According to PBS News Hour, there have only been five mass shootings that resulted in the death of victims of eight people or more.

Sept. 10, 2017 in Plano, nine people were killed and one injured. November 5, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, 27 were killed and 20 injured. May 18th, Santa Fe, 10 were killed and 13 injured. August 3rd, El Paso, 22 killed and 24 injured.

Finally, August 31, Odessa eight killed and 22 injured.

This totals 76 deaths and 80 injured.

So with comparing the statistics from Chicago, Illinois known for being one of the most violent cities in the United States with strict gun laws. Then compare the stats to a state like Texas who does not have strict gun laws, it just does not add up.

So even if gun laws are super strict and enforced, they do not prevent evil people from using a gun with ill intent. Sadly, gun control laws do not prevent bad people from being bad.

So now that you have read all the information that we have presented to you, what do you think? You decide.

Office of Multicultural Affairs deserves appreciation

BY ALEX HILL OPINIONS EDITOR

As a freshman entering into Abilene Christian University, I was super excited about setting foot on campus and starting a new chapter in my life.

However during my first few

weeks my excitement quickly started to fade. All because of this question “What sport do you play for ACU?” When I was first asked this, it was coming from a student that I had never met. I kind of thought it was a compliment.

Since I had been an athlete for a long time, it felt kinda nice to hear someone could tell that I was an athletic individual. However, I continued to receive this question more frequently.

From the likes of students, professors and even faculty members. At this point I was becoming frustrated. Surely not everyone who saw me on this campus just assumed that I am an athlete for this campus. So as I continued to get

“It was not until the later half of the 20th Century many people, even believers, started focusing their questioning on legitimacy of the rules laid out by God and the authority of the leaders of the old church in the extreme is they are today.”

asked this question, I started to respond with “I’m here for the academics, to get a degree.”

When I started to respond in this way, the response of peers, professors and faculty that were either startled, awkwardly chuckling and or very upset.

This I found quite amusing due

to the fact that I was not going around campus asking my white peers about what church camp they worked at or what mission trip they went on. That seems pretty stereotypical right?

So how come it was so hard for others on campus to to believe that I my academics is what got me here and not my physical capabilities?Were minorities only good for entertaining on the field or on a court?

Then something outrageous happened my sophomore year. There was a freshman in Gardner Hall that had applied on a charcoal face mask, while her roommate recorded her on Snapchat saying, “I’m a strong black woman,” then proceeds to put on big fake red lips, with

chuckling being heard throughout the video. The infamous black face incident of Fall 2016.

Something that somehow was supposed to be funny, ended up causing a lot of pain for a group of people on campus.

Seeing that video brought up old memories for being bullied for having “big lips” and or any other part of me that I could not control or change. At that moment I was ready to leave ACU. I felt that the university did not care about students who looked like me unless they were wearing the schools athletic apparel.

Then something monumental happen that helped me changed my mind about leaving ACU. The Office of MultiCultural Affairs (OMA), hosted an

Fear of faith exists within students

BY DILLON DANIEL MANAGING EDITOR

Christianity isn’t an oppressive religion; young believers are just unsure and insecure about their faith.

There are many stigmatisms tied to the faith: “Christianity is demanding”, “It’s too patriarchal”, and “The faith should evolve with society”.

Understandably, the un-

believer would feel this way as they are not under the same guidance as this community. However, modern [young] believers have fallen to societal expectations of a heavenly system.

Since the creation of the church, most arguments and debates were focused on legitimate issues including the Jew vs. Gentile debate as well as the function of salvation. It was not until the later half of the 20th Century many people, even believers, started focusing their questioning on legitimacy of the rules laid out

by God and the authority of the leaders of the old church in the extreme is they are today.

Although we do not think like God, as believers we should be inclined

“It was not until the later half of the 20th Century many people, even believers, started focusing their questioning on legitimacy of the rules laid out by God and the authority of the leaders of the old church in the extreme is they are today.”

to trust his thinking over ours. Yet our own arrogance does not recognize this.

Many young believers that claim they know the faith and do not extend their knowledge towards biblical scholarship and personal devotion to the text tend to put God inside of a bubble when it is us inside of his snow globe

we call the universe.

They find solace in the belief that Christianity was created to have “good morals”, yet they continue to choose what morals they want and don’t want.

Assuming God exists and he sent down his only son to die for our sins, we should be moved physically and emotionally to believe whatever he spoke to us and the church forefathers for us to continue the path to serenity.

God’s word is not malleable. Unlike the constitution, this isn’t a debate we should be having. As believers, we should be willing to investigate the text thoroughly, however, we should not be looking for reasons to disregard the clear teachings.

open mic in front of the campus center, allowing any and everyone to speak about how this incident made them feel.

Many students spoke (including myself), and it was such a relief to see professors, faculty and Phil Schubert himself, listen to the heartache of students. Seeing them emotional and comforting other students showed me how much they really care about all students on this campus. If it was not for OMA putting that open mic together and giving us that opportunity to share our hearts, I can tell you that I would not still be here now.

In that moment, I knew I could stay. I knew I could still call ACU home.

Tweets Almost Christian University @ChristianAlmost Which chapel serving free food? Asking for a friend Traces of Texas @TracesofTexas This is Big Tex on the only occasion he’s ever been seen outside the state fairgrounds in Dallas. This photo was taken at the Abilene Christian College campus in the fall of 1955.

He was there to “oversee” the college’s 50th annual homecoming celebration.

THE OPTIMIST STAFF ALLISON HARRELL

SARAH BLANKENSHIP

JALEN GARRETT

KENNETH PYBUS

DILLON DANIEL

ASHLEY LANG

LEXI KIRGAN

CADE WHITE

OWEN SIMPSON

DEVON HILLARY

RACHEL POE

CELESTE KINKADE

TAVIAN MILES

EMILY PERRYMAN

TYLER HENDERSON

ABBEY LEE

WILLIAM HEYEN

CLAIRE SHIPLEY

RILEY FISHER

ANDREW NORSWORTHY

DAVID MITCHELL

ALEX HILL

ANDREW TOOTHMAN

MEGAN HOLLEY

ERNIE GUAJARDO

BRYCE LURKENS

EMILY SHAFER

LEAH FIKES

SYDNEY VARNER

KAUY OSTLIEN

RACHEL CROSSNOE

AVERY JACKSON

EDITOR IN CHIEF

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SPORTS | Friday, September 13, 2019 | 5

Record Toney kills propel volleyball to first victory

BY LEXI KIRGAN SPORTS WRITER

The Wildcats finished 1-2 in the Rice Tournament this past weekend.

ACU went up against Loyola Marymount, which is currently 3-3 on the season. It was a rough start for the Wildcats, as they lost the first set, 13-25. The next two sets the Wildcats came up shy by two points losing the 3rd and 4th set, 23-25.

The next matchup in the tournament for the Wildcats was against the Rice Owls. The Owls are picked to finish first in conference play and are currently 6-0 in the season.

T h e f i r s t t wo s e t s the Wildcats lost 1225 and came up short on the 3rd set losing 23-25. The Wildcats lost 0-3 to the Owls o n S a t u r d ay.

The last game was the best for the Wildcats. They played Prairie View A&M and won the matchup, their first of the season, 3-1.

Sophomore setter Madison Rohre said despite the score in the first two games, they did really well and wanted to bring those positive things into the last game against Prairie View.

“We came into this game with a fire,” Rohre said. “We really wanted to end on a good note this weekend because we played really well and had really good sets against LMU and Rice, so we wanted to continue that through Prairie View.”

“I think some key takeaways were just our ability to keep working even though we lost to LMU and Rice.”

LINDSEY TONEY SOPHOMORE VOLLEYBALL PLAYER

The first set, the Wildcats lost 22-25 but quickly turned it around winning the second set, 26-24, the third set, 25-19, and winning the fourth, 25-14. Sophomore outside hitter and right side hitter Lindsey Toney had a career-high of 23 kills along with sophomore libero Makenzie Harris’s 24 digs.

Toney said the things they got from this tournament were encouraging and will propel them into further games.

“I think some key takeaways were just our ability to keep working even though we lost to LMU and Rice,” Toney said. “They were really tough teams and are both ranked really high and were really good. So just our ability to compete and to keep up with them was something that we really needed to keep our mindsets on like we can to this and be one of the top teams and the mindset of just continuing to encourage each other and keep a positive attitude on the court no matter what is going on.”

The Wildcats will host Fullerton, North Texas and Prairie View A&M in the Wildcat Classic this weekend. Their first game will be at 6 p.m Thursday vs. Fullerton.

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Volleyball will return to Moody action this weekend at the Wildcat Classic.

FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Michael Benavides prepares to return a serve.

FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Riley Tran was named 2019 First Team All-Southland Conference.

New head tennis coach looking forward as 2019 season nears

BY AVERY JACKSON SPORTS WRITER

After coming off a strong season last year, the university promoted John Walker to director of men’s and women’s tennis as the new head coach.

Last year, Walker was voted the league’s head coach of the year after taking the ACU women’s team to a 10-1 conference

record. This conference record was the best since the 2011 season when ACU went 7-0 against the Lone Star Conference.

“We expect to be right back in the conference tournament and expect to get to that next step of winning conference allowing us to compete in the NCAA tournament,” Walker said.

“You learn from the past

to advance, and you do that by adding addition and improvements.”

Walker’s philosophy for this season is to work harder on unity and getting to the next step that ACU missed last season allowing them to advance to the NCAA tournament.

Walker has built up a reputation at the ACU tennis program and had a 643251 as the head coach of

the women’s team for 15 years. “[The team is] just going in with no expectations and that’s the best thing we can do,” Jonathan Sheehy, senior from Arlington said. “We just have to let our team believe we can win. If they believe it the sky’s the limit.”

Both Sheehy and Walker said the main thing that the team is working on

“[The team is] just going in with no expectations and that’s the best thing we can do.”

JONATHAN SHEEHY SENIOR FROM ARLINGTON TENNIS PLAYER

this year is finding a passion for improving and building unity between new team members. They

both expect to practice harder than last year and learn from their mistakes, which they hope will take them to the tournament in the spring.

With the results of last season, Walker has a lot in store for both the men’s and women’s team. The first men’s and women’s tennis matches will be Friday-Sunday in Midland.

Soccer shut out by Tech Lady Raiders, 3-0

BY RACHEL POE SPORTS WRITER

ACU faced off with the Big 12’s Texas Tech last Friday night as the Wildcats fell 3-0 to the Lady Raiders.

The goals were all scored in the first half of the game, one at two minute mark and the last two during the 28 minute mark.

The Wildcats have gained a lot of exposure in that past two games, facing two strong “power-five” schools, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Abilene Christian has one more match with a “power-five” school (Big

Ten, Big 12, Sec, ACC, Pac-12) against Baylor for Senior Night on Sunday, Sept. 15th.

Last season, Abilene barely let the Lady Raiders escape with a 1-0 victory. Texas Tech now has a 4-0 lead over the Wildcats, playing matches in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

The Lady Raiders came into Friday night’s game with a record of 4-0, winning all home games, while ACU came in 3-1, just recently falling to the TAMU Aggies.

Although the Wildcats fell, they were able to shut out Texas Tech in the second half. ACU had four shot attempts, while

two were placed on frame, and TTU had 11 shot attempts in the 90 minute game.

Junior forward Christina Arteaga had three shot attempts, two that were placed on frame. Arteaga is off to an excellent start in her junior year. She leads the team with three scores so far.

Junior goalkeeper Erin Smith had three saves against Texas Tech. She is now 3-2 in net with 18 saves in this season so far.

Head coach Casey Wilson said this was something that they have done in the past, playing really tough, highranked competitive teams that

always exposes the different weaknesses that the Wildcats can build and grow from.

“We are mainly going to continue and tactically improve the way we move the ball, build confidence, gain more momentum.” Wilson says, “and work on finishing and getting back into the game for Sunday’s upcoming game.”

The Wildcats traveled to Portales, New Mexico, to face Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds Sunday, but the game was cancelled. Their next matchup is Friday at home against North Alabama at 7 p.m.

BY MEGAN HOLLEY | PHOTOGRAPHER

Caylen Wright, freshman forward, battles the Mustang defender to keep possession of the ball.

6 | Friday, September 13, 2019 | SPORTS

STANDINGS Football Team UCA Lamar SELU ACU HBU Mcneese SHSU UIW Nicholls NWSU SFA

Ovrl.

2-0 2-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 0-2

Conf.

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Soccer Team Nicholls ACU Mcneese SFA SELU TXAM-CC HBU SHSU UIW Lamar NWSU UCA

Ovrl.

2-1-1 3-2 2-3 2-3 1-3-1 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-5 1-5 0-4-1

Conf.

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Volleyball

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Branden Hohenstein, junior wide receiver, fights off a defender near the endzone.

Why the Cowboys will win a title within three years

BY OWEN SIMPSON SPORTS DIRECTOR

Before eyes start rolling and the Cowboys’ haters overlook this, let’s take some time to realize that the Dallas Cowboys are arguably the best they’ve been since the last time they won the Super Bowl in 1996.

Firstly, let’s take a look back at this summer. It seemed as if this offseason would never end, primarily because of the holdout with Ezekiel Elliot wanting a contract extension.

Despite being tied down with Dallas for two more seasons, Elliot chose to remain absent from the team. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones even appeared to think that this holdout would go into the regular season.

“I’m operating as though right now he’s going to miss regular-season games,” Jones said after the team’s final preseason game.

Despite struggling negotiations and frustrations for both parties, Sept. 4, Elliot and the Cowboys finally agreed to a six-year, $90 million contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys. This keeps him in Dallas until the 2026-27 season.

That means eight more years with America’s team.

Securing a running back who’s led the NFL in rushing yards two out of his first three years playing professionally is an enormous feat.

With Elliot locked away, the Cowboys also extended contracts to key players including Defensive End Demarcus Lawrence (five-year, 105 million extension) and offensive tackle La’el Collins (five-year, 50 million extension).

Lawrence, since 2017, is tied for fourth in the NFL (25) and eighth in tackles for a loss (29). He also has the third-most sacks in the first five seasons in team history.

Collins, on the other hand, struggled early in his NFL career but has shown a significant rise in talent.

With this extension, the Cowboys’ offensive line, arguably the most dominant in the league, is set through the 2024 season.

Another key piece of the defense is linebacker Jaylon Smith (five-year, 64 million extension). Smith was a projected top-five draft pick in 2016, but injured his knee,

tearing two ligaments and suffering nerve damage.

Despite the devastating injury, the Cowboys took Smith with the No. 34 overall pick, and it’s turned out to be a huge plus to their defense. The 24-year old Smith started every game last season, recording 121 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles.

So needless to say, Dallas has been busy spending during the offseason. Last Sunday, the hard offseason work finally showed.

The Cowboys blew over the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium, 35-17.

Quarterback Dan Prescott threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns in the convincing win.

So here we are. Dallas is coming off a season where they were knocked out of the playoffs by the Super Bowl runner-up. They’re a young team with key players

set to stay with the Cowboys for the next five years minimum. They also fully showed their capability to pass the ball, something that has often been a weakness of theirs.

Prescott is the last key player that needs a new contract. And according to Jones, that new contract is “imminent.”

So with all that being said, the Cowboys have placed themselves in a solid position to be super bowl contenders for the next few years. They are off and running on offense and have key factors on defense that makes any opposing quarterback look twice before throwing.

While no team is guaranteed a Super Bowl victory, the Cowboys are surely in the mix for the next few years. The Lombardi trophy is heading back to Dallas soon.

FOOTBALL MATCHUP PREVIEW 2019 SEASON 48.5

POINTS PER GAME

304

RUSH YPG

275.5 22.5

29.5

SPORTS DIRECTOR

Ovrl.

7-0 5-0 6-2 4-3 4-3 4-4 4-4 3-4 3-4 2-4 2-5 2-5 1-5

Conf.

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

SCHEDULE Football Week 3 ACU HBU SELU SHSU Nicholls Alcorn St. Lamar NWSU SFA

v v v v v v v v v

UCA South Dakota Ole Miss North Dakota Praire View A&M McNeese TXAM LSU Southern Utah

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Volleyball

Toney Freshman outside hitter Lindsey Toney helped the Wildcats attain their first win of the season Sunday afternoon in Houston. Toney finished with a career-high 23 kills in the win against Prairie View A&M. Up next, ACU is currently hosting their first Div. I invitational in Moody. It runs from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon.

26

PASSING YPG

Football

343.5

POINTS ALLOWED PG

22 University of Central Arkansas 2-0)

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSIT Y (1–1)

Owen Simpson

Team SFA Nicholls NWSU UCA Lamar HBU Mcneese TXAM-CC UNO SHSU SELU UIW ACU

Tavian Miles

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Lexi Kirgan

SPORTS REPORTER

The Bears are entering week three hot. They’re coming off a 24-16 win against Austin Peay and a season opening victory over Western Kentucky, 35-28.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were also successful on offense this past week, scoring 45 points in the first half. Translating Saturday’s success to this week will prove much more challenging for ACU. Last year, it was a matchup ruled by the defense for the majority of the game as ACU fell, 16-7. Junior Quarterback Luke Anthony struggled, throwing two interceptions, and the run game was halted to just six rushing yards. Based off of the two team’s performances thus far this year, I highly doubt to see a similar offensive result. ACU finished with 703 total offensive yards last week. Meanwhile, the Bears are averaging 400 yards of offense a game.

I’d expect a high-scoring, highly contested matchup. The underlying factor, in my opinion, is that ACU struggled last season on the road against tough conference foes. ACU drops to 1-2.

Coming off of one of the most dominating performances in ACU football history, look forward to the wildcats to capitalize on such momentum as they travel on the road to face The University of Central Arkansas this Saturday. Last year these two teams faced off in a defensive battle where ultimately ACU fell 16-7 to close out there season and ultimately missing the playoffs. This year I expect for there to be more of an offensive battle between the two teams. The bears are returning 17 starters and are looking to defeat the wildcats on their own turf this season.

This year’s game will definitely be one more focused on offense. ACU totaled 700 plus yards of offense last week and the bears are averaging around 400 yards of total offense. Expect for both teams to come out hot and taking shots towards the endzone early. One thing that has me picking UCA to win it this is year is the fact that ACU tends to let conference opponents hang around and that’ll be the case this Saturday.

The game this weekend against Central Arkansas will be an interesting one. Central Arkansas is ranked first in the conference which they should be because they are a really good team. ACU is ranked 6th but I have hope for our guys. They have been playing really well on both sides of the ball in the past two games and I feel like that is going to come out in the game against Central even more.

Especially since we came off a really good win against Arizona Christian. This will be the first conference game for the Wildcats so I feel like there will be a lot of energy coming into this game. Central Arkansas is currently 2-0 overall, and it is obvious that their offense is significantly better than their defense. So I feel like if Tracy James and Billy McCrary can run the ball as well as they have been in the past two games, the Wildcats will come out on top.

FINAL SCORE: ACU 23 UCA 27

FINAL SCORE: ACU 21 UCA 35

FINAL SCORE: ACU 24 UCA 14

Jalen Garrett SPORTS REPORTER

ACU was unstoppable last weekend against Arizona Christian, blowing them out the water with over 700 yards of total offense.. The Wildcats struggled in their last matchup against UCA producing only 231 yards of offense and turning the ball over four times. UCA holds the number one spot in the Southland Conference with a 2-0 record. Averaging almost 30 points a game, their main offensive weapon will be sophomore wide receiver Lujuan Winningham, who already has 16 receptions, 358 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. However, ACU has the upper-hand in this matchup. Their offensive personnel is much more dominant and UCA’s defense will need to come with a gameplan to stop ACU’s high-powered offense. Junior quarterback Luke Anthony will have a big game this weekend and show his consistency with throwing the ball.

ACU will come into this game with vengeance and win this game by a margin.

FINAL SCORE: ACU 35 UCA 21

Anthony Junior quarterback Luke Anthony had himself a stellar performance last Saturday against Arizona Christian. He threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half. Anthony sat the bench for the second half after building a monumental lead. ACU heads east to play Central Arkansas Saturday.

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