OPTIMIST
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THANKSGIVING Students leave for a five-day break to celebrate Thanksgiving before preparing to wrap up the semester.
A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
Friday November 16, 2018
Volume CVIII, Issue XIII News
Sports
SGA prepares for the holidays by offering a tree lighting event in the mall of the campus center for students to decorate Christmas cookies and ornaments to live music..............................................Page 2
Football plays their last home game against the UCA bears after clinching a winning season last weekend defeating Sam Houston State, and Volleyball plays in the conference tournament against HBU.........Page 6
F S S M T W T Feature Many people have a fear of things both creepy and crawly, but Maxwell Hicks works to change this perception as well as shed light upon misconceptions of local snake events.......................Page 4
Fire destroys Reporter-News roof, displaces staff LAUREN FRANCO EDITOR IN CHIEF
Dozens of firefighters responded to a fire that destroyed the roof of the Abilene Reporter-News building in downtown and forced the newspaper’s staff to evacuate. John Burnett, Abilene Fire Department deputy chief, said it is too early to determine the cause of the fire and the extent of damages. Water flooded the basement and the roof was burned through. “Anytime you get an older building downtown, which has been renovated and remodeled several times over the years, it gives us challenges,” Burnett said. “Downtown Abilene has narrow streets and the water supply down here has also given us some challenges, and that’s why we sent all the crews we brought in.” The fire was first reported at the newspaper building at 9:20 a.m. Thursday. Burnett said the department received numerous calls about the structure fire, and when fire crews arrived on scene, smoke was billowing from Photo by the top of the building. LAUREN FRANCO | EDITOR IN CHIEF “They quickly laddered the building and deterEight firetrucks fought a fire that broke out on the roof of the Abilene Reporter-News Thursday morning due to an electrical issue. The fire blazed for more than five hours, and took mined that there was an over 60 firefighters to control. electrical fire at that time,” Burnett said. for hot spots and determine rehydration was key to fight minutes later, here come Through the fire is under the Reporter-News on and Before fighting the fire, the stability of the building. exhaustion from exertion. the firefighters. They gave control, but there is water off since 1976, and has served crews waited for the pow- Our investigators have not Burnett said crews will start me the boot, and I needed and smoke damage. Jakle- as editor for 18 months. er company to disconnect been inside yet.” collapsing the scene later in to get out of there. I went wicz said the final step is “As journalists, you get power. The fire quickAround 12:45 p.m., the afternoon. downstairs and grabbed planning what they have to in that vibe. You’re covly grew in intensity and eight crews with five enReporter-News editor my laptop, my camera and do. The website is still open ering, and it hits you latstarted to catch the roof gine companies and three Greg Jaklewicz said the my charger.” and reporters will still attend er,” Jaklewicz said. “It’s assembly on fire. Crews ladder companies were on experience was similar to Jaklewicz said the first sporting and other events. been my place that I’ve inside the building and on the scene. About 60 fire- that of a summer incident step was to make sure ev“It’s a busy time of year, come back to time and the roof were evacuated fighters assisted. Burnett in which a transformer eryone was accounted for. and everything got suspend- time again. You never after about an hour when also said it was quickly de- blew. Lights were flick- Because the fire was so high ed today.” know where things like this Fire Chief Cande Flores termined that assistance ering in the office, TVs up, he said he wasn’t worried The newspaper has are going to happen. arrived and determined it would be needed and called turned off and someone about immediate danger. been published since 1881, “We had so many offers was unsafe to continue op- for a second alarm and ad- next door alerted the two “Then the next step was and, according to Jakle- already for us to work. It’s erations, Burnett said. ditional ladder truck. in the newsroom that the to cover the news. It’s in- wicz, there was a fire early a competitive world in the “At this time, we went Though there were no building was on fire. teresting watching your on in history. media but I think there’s defensive and our aerial lad- signs of collapse, crews did “I went up to our roof, building burn and interest“We’re the news,” Jak- solidarity in that. A lot of ders, using master streams, take precautions and move and there it was,” Jaklewicz ing being on the other end lewicz said. “There’s a lot people are pulling for us distinguished the fire,” Bur- Engine One out of the col- said. “It looked like elec- of it.” We’re taking pictures of history in this building, and we appreciate that, it nett said. “Right now the lapse zone. No injuries were trical fire sparks you’d see and video and camped out a lot of archives.” will get us through today crews are working to look sustained, but Burnett said in a welding shop. A few on top of the Grace.” Jaklewicz has worked for and the days ahead.”
NEXT Lab fully funded by $3 million donation ALLAYNA FORD MANAGING EDITOR
The Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab is fully funded after the Robison Excelsior Foundation pledged $3.2 million dollars to the program. Doug Robison began the foundation and is a member of the President Ventures Council, where he learned about the NEXT lab program. He said his intention was to fully fund the program and allow students to carry out their research with the molten salt test loop. “It’s an incredible investment and opportunity for ACU,” Robison said. “The potential possibilities of this and other research NEXT is involved in is really incredible.” The molten salt test loop is a cooling component that can be implemented in reactors in the
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It is an extreme gift that allows us to focus on the lab work and not on the fundraising. It helps us move forward in a more efficient manner.” RUSTY TOWELL NEXT LAB DIRECTOR
future to make them safer and more efficient in creating clean energy and medical isotopes. Dr. Rusty Towell, NEXT lab director, said the funding allows students to work without worrying about not having enough funding. “It helps us move forward in a more efficient manner,” Towell said. “It really allows us to have continuity in the program.” The students began working on the lab a month ago by running molten salt through a loop. By running the molten salt, chemists can check if the metal
container is eroding before testing how the salt reacts at higher temperatures. “It’s a huge step,” Towell said. “You have to raise it to very high temperatures and then you have the challenges of the equipment that works in room temperature and see if that work when you raise it hundreds of degrees.” Towell said the upcoming goals are to continue pushing the current salt to higher temperatures and looking at other salts to test. He said he is grateful for the donors who support the NEXT lab and for the Robison Excelsior Foundation. “It is an extreme gift that allows us to focus on the lab work and not on the fundraising,” said Towell. Additionally, the NEXT lab is partnering with the Idaho National Lab (INL) and other universities to collaborate on a test reactor.
Noble Kings’ pledges perform during second annual probate ALLAYNA FORD MANAGING EDITOR
Nu Kappa Psi, also known as Noble Kings, is having their probate for the second time since they were officially formed on campus. The probate is an event where the newest club members who pledged perform chants, songs and dances in front of a crowd. The vice president of the club, Roland Campos, said it is how they can showcase the new pledge class in an entertaining way. “The reason for the pr0bate is to show off the cul-
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ture of Nu Kappa Psi, and to show what we are about” said Campos, sophomore information technology major from Dallas. In order to prepare for the event, the pledge class has probate practices where they work on their performance and study performances of national fraternity probates. This is one of the reasons why the event is held a few weeks after pledging ends. Last semester’s Nu Kappa Psi pledge class participated in the first probate of the club. Campos pledged with
the club last semester and was apart of the first probate they had and said it was exciting. “It was a rush of adrenaline, it felt great,” Campos said. “There were a lot of people there and I felt like the crowd was really into it. Every time they cheered us on it was an amazing feeling.” While the format of the event will remain the same, there will be new chants and dances displayed this year. The probate is at Beauchamp amphitheater on Friday at 9 p.m.