Optimist Print Edition 2.21.20 - Sing Song Special Edition

ACUOPTIMIST.COM | Friday, February 21, 2020 | 1

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

SING, SANG, SONG.

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PHOTOS BY DAVID MITCHELL, MEGHAN LONG AND LEAH FIKES

Top Left: Weston Weast waves goodbye to the audience at the end of the finale.

Top Right: The women of Sigma Theat Chi perform as caterpillars.

Middle: Lauren McDonald hits the last notes of “Love Will Come and Find Me Again.”

Bottom Upper Left: Upstage act directors lead the audience in “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” Bottom Lower Left: The senior class performs as pilots.

Bottom Right: Caleb Crisp sings “Cry Me a River.”

2 | Friday, February 21, 2020 | NEWS

Saturday show schedule to feature annual block party

BY DILLON DANIEL MANAGING EDITOR

Sing Song 2020 will take place from 8-10:30 p.m. on Friday and from 2-4:30 p.m. and 8-10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The hosts and hostesses include: Caleb Crisp, sophomore graphic design major from Abilene; Kasey Birchfield, senior theatre major from Lubbock; Tat Cordts, senior biology major from Rockwall; Alex Kitten, junior middle school education major from Lubbock; Lauren McDonald, junior theatre major from Houston; and Weston Weast, senior music major from Edmond, OK. The order of the acts and their themes, according to SK Hall, junior computer science major from Schertz and student director, will be: Tri Kappa Gamma “Skiers,” led by Cassie Christian, junior social work major from Round Rock Ko Jo Kai “Christmas Lights,” led by Abby Ware, junior communication disor-

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

The Freshman Candyland sing about their journey through Candyland. ders major from Hurst Alpha Kai Omega “Lifeguards,” led by Bri Burns, senior nursing major from Cypress GATA “Little Red Riding Hood,” led by Hannah McIntyre, junior multimedia major from Keller Delta Theta “Tinker-

bell,” led by Allie Foster, junior social work major from Grapevine Sigma Theta Chi “Caterpillars,” led by Jessica Overton, senior music-teach. voice-all level major from Arlington Galaxy “Werewolves,” led

by Jax Pimentel, senior engi-

neering major from Abilene Pi Kappa “Spies,” led by Theo McCracken, junior music major from Abilene Gamma Sigma Phi “Remember the Alamo,” led by Mitchell Bradford, senior theatre major from Abilene Frater Sodalis “Magicians,” led by Tyler Cepica,

senior biochemistry major from Abilene Freshman “Candyland,” led by McKenzie Losher, freshman communication major from Sunnyvale Freshman “Penguins,” led by Spencer Kasselman, sophomore bible and ministry major from Abilene

Sophomore “Clue,” led

by Jackson Scott, sophomore communication major from Keller Senior “Pilots,” led by Sloan Polvado, senior marketing major from Sugar Land The acts will be judged on costumes, sets and props, choreography, overall entertainment and vocals.

The Sing Song block party will take place during the break before the performances on Saturday.

“The Block Party will have food trucks, live music, and booths from some on-campus sponsors and organizations from around the community,” Courtney McGaha, upstage coordinator, said.

McGaha said that this year’s Sing Song is one of the best acts that has been done in a long time.

“Every act, every host and hostess, the dance team, the jazz band, everyone is so talented and has put together a fantastic show,” McGaha said.

Taylor Elementary construction to be complete by late summer

BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

Construction on the new Taylor Elementary School building on North 10th is expected to be complete by September, with a school opening scheduled for January 2021.

At last week’s Abilene Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting, the architecture firm hired to design Taylor Elementary, Huckabee Architects, reported on the updates in the timeline of construction at the site.

Lance Fleming, AISD chief communications officer, said

the report was positive.

“They are on schedule as of right now,” Fleming said.

“Their schedule that they gave us... shows that everything should be complete by sometime in September, probably by the time everything is done. So we’ve got plenty of time, even if there’s any other weather this spring, to get that completed.”

Fleming said Huckabee Architects received all the structural steel needed for the project, delivered to the site three weeks ahead of time. The school is projected to open for the second

SCORING BREAK DOWN

semester of next school year.

“So they’re well within that target range,” Fleming said. “One of the guys from Huckabee was asked... by one of our board members if it’s possible that Taylor would catch up to Austin and they would both open in August and he said, ‘I don’t know if that is possible, but the challenge has been laid out to the construction crews.’”

SEDALCO Construction Services have received that challenge.

“Obviously, we’re not counting on that,” Fleming said. “We’re still looking at

COSTUMES

SET

the January 2021 move-in date, but they’ve done great work so far. I think everyone is pleased with where they are in the construction time line.”

There are several possibilities as to what will happen with the old Taylor Elementary School building and land once the transition happens.

Fleming said it could be sold or used for other purposes in the district, like storage.

“We’ve begun talking to the board about what will happen with that campus, but I think we’re in the very early stages of what we’re going to do with that cam-

CHOREOGRAPHY

pus,” Fleming said. “There’s still some things we’re looking into and deciding how best to proceed, but definitely over the next six months to a year we’ll be looking into what we’re going to do with that campus, that building and that land.”

Kevin Campbell, senior vice president for operations, said the university’s ground lease with AISD on the intramural fields next to the old Taylor Elementary School will remain intact through any transition of the property. The lease has been ongoing for 20 years.

Taylor has access to the fields

ENTERTAINMENT

before 5 p.m. and ACU has access to the fields after 5 p.m. and on weekends.

“Any time land becomes available near campus, we will explore the potential and price,” Campbell said.

“Land provides us with flexibility, both in the present and future. When the acquisition of land makes sense, we will look to exercise our ability to acquire it. We look forward to learning more about the process, timeline and potential cost. It will likely be later summer or early fall before we have full clarity on Taylor.”

VOCALS

15% 15% 15% 20% 35%

Judges prep to score Sing Song performances in five categories

BY SYDNEY VARNER STAFF WRITER

The annual production of Sing Song is well underway and all aspects of the show are getting in order and ready to go, including the judges.

Sing Song judges are chosen new every year and are placed into different categories to judge the show from.

Those five categories, vocals, entertainment, set and props, choreography

and costumes, have a total of 29 judges spread out for all three of the shows.

The judges are chosen based on their expertise and their connection to ACU and Sing Song.

Liz Wong, senior interior design major from McKinney, is one of many students working to put the show on this year.

Working as a Student Director and Co-Director of GATA’s club act, Wong is also in charge of helping reach out to

choose judges.

“I am in charge of helping recruit and contact judges for Sing Song. This involves reaching out to alumni, staff, and faculty who I think would be a good fit for Sing Song. I help gauge their expertise and place them in the category that best suits their talents and Sing Song experience,” Wong said.

For each category, there are seven vocal and entertainment judges, five costume judges, five set and

props judges and five choreography judges and all of which have been picked because they are qualified to do so.

Acts are graded based on a point accumulation system in each category.

Costumes, set and choreography are each worth 15 percent total. Entertainment is worth 20 percent and vocals are worth 35 percent of the total score.

“Judges are chosen based on their expertise and Sing Song experience.

“Judges are chosen based on their expertise and Sing Song experience. For example, we have a judge who directs musicals, judges who are choir directors and judges that have directed club or class acts.”

LIZ WONG SENIOR INTERIOR DESIGN MAJOR FROM MCKINNEY AND DIRECTOR OF GATA ACT

For example, we have a judge who directs musicals, judges who are choir directors and judges that

police log SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK: •

A student reported that her roommate had been attempting to steal her medication. 02/11/2020 9:24 a.m.

•

A tenant reported hearing loud music playing near his apartment. Officers responded, located the loud music and spoke with the tenant who then turned the music down. 02/14/2020 9:55 p.m.

•

A student reported an unknown person stole an HDMI cord from his room while he was away. 02/17/2020 9:55 p.m.

•

A student reported an unknown person stole his red Mongoose 21 speed mountain bike from outside the Onstead Science Center.

02/18/2020 2:08 a.m.

911 Call Abandoned vehicle Administrative activity Advice Alarm Alcohol incident Animal call Assault Assist Barricades Building lock/unlock Burglary (vehicle) Burglary (residence) Cart patrol Check building Citation issuance

2 0 51 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 19 0 1 0 317 0

Clery Disturbance Domestic Disturbance Escort Fire Foot patrol Found property Hit and run Harassment Information report Investigation follow up Lost Property Maintenance: univ assets: cctv Maintenance: univ assets Medical emergency Missing person

MESSAGE FROM POLICE CHIEF ELLISON:

4 0 2 3 0 3 6 0 1 2 21 2 21 0 1 0

Monitor facility/lot Motorist assist: inflate tire.

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

27 3 6 0 8 5 30 9 6 7 1 1 28 0 12 3

Special assignment Stalking Suspicious activity Suspicious person Suspicious vehicle Theft Traffic hazard Training Vehicle Collision Welfare check Total

1 1 3 4 3 3 1 11 4 1 642

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

“ACUPD wishes everyone a great Sing Song weekend. Please comply with all parking controls and plan for heavy parking congestion Friday and Saturday.”

have directed club or class acts,” Wong said.

During each of the three shows, different awards will be awarded each night. For example, best costumes and sets will be awarded at the end of Friday’s show, best choreography will be awarded during Saturday afternoon’s show and entertainment, vocals and the overall winner will be announced at the conclusion of Saturday night’s show.

A national leader in student success

4. Abilene Christian 5. Duke / Stanford 8. Boston College

9. Abilene Christian 14. Yale 19. Princeton

11. Abilene Christian 13. Rice 17. Dartmouth

ACU is the only Texas institution nationally ranked in 5 student success areas Many universities promise to deliver a quality education, but Abilene Christian takes that promise a step further. Not only are its students prepared to compete successfully in today’s global marketplace, but they leave ACU with a clear sense of their purpose in life and the tools they need to live it out.

The university’s commitment to student success was recognized on a national scale in September when U.S. News & World Report released its 2020 “America’s Best Colleges” rankings.

A new benchmark measuring eight high-impact areas focused on student success put ACU in more categories – five – than any Texas university. ACU was in the top 11 in three categories among U.S. schools, ranking in some areas above Duke, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Rice and Dartmouth universities.

Schools were ranked on the following programs that have been

proven to enhance learning outcomes and a student’s academic experience: first-year experiences, co-ops/ internships, learning communities, senior capstone, service learning, study abroad, undergraduate research/creative projects and writing in the disciplines.

To create the new benchmark, U.S. News surveyed college presidents, chief academic officers and deans of admissions at public and private universities throughout the nation, asking them to nominate institutions with stellar examples of each program.

“It is gratifying to receive these accolades from our peers because they reflect our strategic vision, spirit of innovation, and collaborative living and learning environment,” said ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert. But even more importantly, he said, “Our focus on student success comes from our desire to offer an exceptional education

deeply rooted in Christian values and reinforced by a foundation of faith.”

Specifically, ACU was recognized in these categories: • No. 4 in Service Learning, ahead of Duke, Stanford and Boston College.

• No. 9 in First-Year Experience, ahead of Yale and Princeton.

• No. 11 in Learning Communities, ahead of Rice and Dartmouth.

• Tied for No. 35 in Study Abroad • Tied for No. 42 in Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects ACU also received its highest overall regional ranking ever – 12th – in the U.S. News report, a jump of nine places over 2019. The university was specifically recognized in the categories of Best Undergraduate Teaching and Best Colleges for Veterans.

acu.edu

4 | Friday, Febuary 21, 2020 | FEATURES

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Travis Mack, senior graphic design and advertising major from Abilene, and Sloan Polvado, senior marketing major from Sugar Land, dresssed in their pilot attire to direct the Senior Sing Song Act.

SENIORS CLEARED FOR TAKE OFF A joke between Travis Mack and Sloan Polvado turned into a reality onstage

BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

Sing Song act directors Travis Mack and Sloan Polvado decided to turn a joke into reality when they took on the job of directing the Senior Pilots.

Polvado and Mack have been involved in a Sing Song act each year, though neither of them admit to musical experience. For their first introduction to Sing Song, they were put in the same act.

“Freshman year, I was on leadership with Sloan but in charge of set,” Mack said. “We thought we were so good. We were like, ‘We’re gonna win.’

And then we didn’t.”

Their freshman act won second place, second only to the seniors.

“We got beat by the seniors, so that’s why we had always joked like, ‘Oh, it’d be so fun if our senior year we got to make the freshmen feel how we feel,’” Polvado said.

The Senior Pilot act was the design of the original directors, Marlee Painter and Jessica Roff. When they had to step down for unexpected reasons, Mack wasted no time calling Polvado.

“Literally a week before Sing Song was supposed to start, I’m in ‘Frozen 2’ and he’s texting me, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you, I need to talk to you,’” Polvado

said. “I was like what is going on? And he was like, ‘Okay what are the chances that I’d convince you to direct the senior act.’”

Polvado, already committed to assisting with the Ko Jo Kai Sing Song act, spent some time thinking about accepting the offer.

“I was prayerful about it for a few days and I had called the senior director from last year because I’m good friends with her, and she was like, ‘Sloan, you have to do it,’” Polvado said. “But honestly, if I were to agree to do this last minute with anyone, [Travis is] honestly the only person I would’ve said yes to. I’ve known him for all of college and depend on him and trust him.”

“Literally a week before Sing Song was supposed to start, I’m in ‘Frozen 2’ and he’s texting me, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you, I need to talk to you.’”

SLOAN POLVADO SENIOR MARKETING MAJOR FROM SUGAR LAND AND DIRECTOR FOR SENIOR PILOTS

The previous directors had already prepared the act.

The theme was picked, the lyrics were written and the costumes were designed.

“We just had to make it happen,” Polvado said.

“It was interesting to take someone else’s vision and make it our own. I love the

theme, I love the lyrics and felt really confident in it, so that made it really easy.”

Mack and Polvado picked up the act with about 85 senior participants.

“All these people signed up expecting different directors, and so they’ve shown us a lot of grace,” Polvado said.

Polvado said the mix of participants are split between never having participated in Sing Song before and have a big enthusiasm for their senior-year-lastact, or they love Sing Song so much they are participating in multiple acts.

“It’s just meant a lot to see the amount of people who are literally willing to do Sing Song practice five nights a week, on top of their club stuff,” Polvado said.

Mack said one of the biggest challenges of stepping into this position has been their lack of musical knowledge and experience.

“Just being able to hear problems in the music, but not knowing how to fix it,” Mack said. “Because that’s not me at all. I know nothing about music. I can’t read sheet music. I can match pitch and that’s it.”

Polvado, though involved in an on-campus a cappella group, said neither of them are “the most musical” so trying to explain music to almost 100 people is really interesting.

“Our section leaders have

been extremely helpful and they’ve had experience doing this for years in their club acts too,” Polvado said.

“They definitely knew what they were doing. We had a very stacked group of section leaders and this literally could not have happened without them.”

The section leaders that assist with teaching the sheet music for the act to the different vocal divisions are Mitchell Bradford, Kellum Harris, Cailin McDaniel, Mikaela Clinton, Chels Derbyshire, Ella Wasser and Cassie Dale. Polvado said it’s been a team effort.

“We told them from the beginning, ‘Don’t be afraid to speak up. If you hear something wrong, say it.

That’s what’s going to help us most,’” Mack said.

Mack and Polvado agree that their pilots have a chance of winning the show.

“We definitely have a chance, but, honestly, I will say that every act could win, like there’s not an act where we’re like, ‘Oh we definitely have them beat,’” Polvado said. “Everyone is so good this year.”

This year “Class Trade Night,” a Sing Song tradition last practiced in the 60’s, was brought back.

For Class Trade Night, all the class acts meet and perform for one another.

“So we’ve already seen all of the other acts,”

“We told them from the beginning, ‘Don’t be afraid to speak up. If you hear something wrong, say it. That’s what’s going to help us most.’”

TRAVIS MACK SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ADVERTISING MAJOR FROM ABILENE AND DIRECTOR FOR SENIOR PILOTS

Polvado said. “And that was fun because everyone hyped each other up.”

Mack said the performances also gave them motivation in realizing that everyone else was really good. The seniors practice only twice a week for a total of four hours a week.

“Which is crazy because you’re supposed to practice eight,” Polvado said. “That was definitely a challenge because we literally had to learn all of our music in three practices and all of our choreography in two practices.

And then we blinked and it was our Moody night and we were still learning half the choreography. So I think we’ve definitely felt a little behind from the other class acts, especially freshmen because that’s all they’re doing.”

Though, Polvado said since they have people that for them this is their fourth go-around, they already know how to do the Sing Song face and basic choreography moves. She said this has helped the

process to go a lot faster.

“Travis and I, definitely have a better idea of what we’re doing than we did freshman year,” Polvado said.

Polvado is mainly in charge of onstage directing and Mack has come up with and taught the choreography.

Mack also comes in at the last song to direct onstage.

The team agrees the act has a mixture of funny, entertaining and sentimental affects. Mack warns there are some really cheesy lines.

“My favorite part is when we sing Survivor

by Destiny’s Child and it talks about a bunch of ACU references,” Mack said. “It’s definitely one of those acts that is funny and cute.”

Besides the act itself, Polvado said the “team chemistry” is what makes the act special.

“It’s been sweet to see how excited people have become about the act, because at first we didn’t really know if we would be any good or what was happening,” Polvado said. “I think the more and more we practice, the more people we’ve gotten to know.”

Mack said directing for the senior pilots is just really fun.

“Everyone is so flexible,” Mack said. “I find myself just laughing more.”

Polvado said she hopes to have the audience laughing with them.

FEATURES | Friday, February 21, 2020 | 5

BY RILEY FISHER | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Back, left to right: Weston Weast and Caleb Crisp. Front, left to right: Tat Cordts, Kasey Birchfield, Alex Kitten and Lauren McDonald.

MEET YOUR HOSTS, HOSTESSES CALEB CRISP I am a sophomore graphic design major from Abilene.

I’m currently involved in Hilltop A Cappella and have been a part of leading worship in Chapel for two years now. I am a member of Frater Sodalis men’s social club, and a camp counselor for ACU leadership camps during the summer. My favorite part of sing song so far has been getting to perform on stage with the band and the other host and hostesses. I have had the pleasure of coming to Sing Song ever since I was in elementary school, so being up on stage with so many talented individuals had been a dream come true.

TAT CORDTS I am a senior biology major from Rockwall. I am involved in Ko Jo Kai women’s social club and was recently involved in the TEDxACU series.

WESTON WEAST I am a senior music major from Oklahoma City. I have been involved in Sing Song since freshman year, directing for Freshman Olympics (‘17) and GSP Robin Hood (‘19). I recently released my first album ‘22 Years Young’ with my band mates, Weston & the Evergreen, in late January. The debut album has over 14k streams on Spotify. I’m grateful this year to entertain and show off my musical prowess. I came to ACU knowing that being a musician and performer is what I aspired to be, and now I have a platform to show others that same passion.

KASEY BIRCHFIELD

LAUREN MCDONALD

ALEX KITTEN

I am a senior musical theatre and business management major from Lubbock. I am heavily involved in the theatre department, performing in shows and serving as house manager for many of the theatre performances. Sing Song is literally a dream come true. I have been wanting to be involved in this since before I came to ACU and now, finally getting to be able to perform, is absolutely breathtaking. I have loved every single minute of this process. My fellow host and hostesses are incredible and I couldn’t think of a better group of people to enjoy these moments with than them.

I am a senior musical theatre major from Houston. I am the current chaplain of GATA women’s social club and was recently seen playing the role of Belle in ACU’s homecoming musical. I’ve dreamed of being a Sing Song hostess since freshman year. Being a part of such a rich tradition here on campus is so surreal.

I am a junior, middle school science education major from Lubbock. I am a part of Ko Jo Kai, Hilltop A Cappella, REACH and a university tour guide. My favorite part about Sing Song is how many people come together and are involved in the show and making it all happen. It makes all of campus buzz with the Sing Song spirit. It feels like there is a lot of unity built on campus even though all the acts are competing against each other.

EDUCATORS AIM HIGHER Ten faculty and staff are presenting at Texas LEAP Conference

BY DILLON DANIEL MANAGING EDITOR

The LEAP Texas program “is a collaborative of higher education institutions with the capacity to reach more than 600,000 students,” the LEAP Texas website said.

The program prides itself on not being controlled by a particular institution or party, but rather it is a partnership of institutions “with common issues and shared purpose.”

“The mission of LEAP Texas is to provide a structure through which Texas public and private institutions of higher education can communicate, organize, and develop plans and policy recommendations,” the website said, “that address their common interests of student success and the improvement of higher education in Texas.”

But rather than just discuss student success, everyone representing at the conference, held by the program, is working to provide new and better methods that promote student success.

The vision of LEAP Texas is “To provide Texas students with consistent high quality higher education through implementation of outcomes-focused general education, authentic assessment, high impact educational practices, inclusive excellence, improved access to higher education, and similar initiatives.

Through this, the program is committed to the success of the students and the various institutions represented through, Upholding the commitment of faculty across our various institutions— to provide a strong educational foundation for an increasingly diverse student body—one that prepares them for work and citizenship in the twenty-first century, well aligned with stated goals of employers, Adhering to the required Texas Core Curriculum for Higher Education, facilitating rigor and transferability, within a context of innovation, Responding to the increasing national focus on student learning out-

comes; and Applying the scholarship of teaching and learning.

There are 10 ACU faculty and staff members presenting in three of the six tracks offered at the LEAP Texas Conference this year. The presentations include, “Creating a Center for Careers and Experiential Learning,” presented by Dr. Susan Lewis and Derran Reese “Fostering Global Awareness and Local Engagement: How HIPs converge in Leipzig, Germany, and Oxford, UK,” presented by Dr. Susan Lewis and Dr. Laura Carroll “Creating Globally and Socially Engaged Business Students: The Case of a Social Enterprise Consulting Course in a Global Context,” presented by Dr. Sarah Easter “Cultivating Campus Innovation: ACU’s Envisioning the Future of Education Grand Model,” presented by Joyce Haley, Dr. Cliff Barbarick and Dr. Laura Carroll “‘Producing’ the Freshman Seminar: 10 Years of Cornerstone at Abilene Christian University,”

presented by Dr. Trey Shirley “Supplemental Instruction in high DFW Math Courses,” presented by Liz Brown and Dr. Laura Carroll “Propelling students to success: a model of Engineering Innovation,” presented by Dr. Tim Kennedy and Dr. Lori Houghtalen In his “10 Years of Cornerstone” presentation, Shirley said it was created as a seminar for freshmen to grow intellectually and spiritually.

“Cornerstone is a rigorous, academically-centered orientation seminar designed to serve as a foundation for first semester students by introducing them to the values of a liberal arts education, teaching them to conduct research across disciplines and inviting them to think purposefully about meaning and vocation,” Shirley said.

Shirley presentation will highlight how the program, which utilizes spotlight presentations, serve to present common issues and situations the fresh-

“Cornerstone is a rigorous, academically-centered orientation seminar designed to serve as a foundation for first semester students by introducing them to the values of a liberal arts education, teaching them to conduct research across disciplines and inviting them to think purposefully about meaning and vocation.”

DR. TREY SHIRLEY DIRECTOR OF CORNERSTONE AND INSTRUCTOR OF ART

man body will come across.

“The class structure employs a hybrid approach that involves both the delivery of large forum lectures paired with small classroom instruction. Led by expert lecturers representing multiple departments across campus, Spotlights are largescale, media-rich, interactive presentations given to the entire freshman body in a high-capacity auditorium on campus. Carefully created with both high production value and specific learning objectives in

mind, each 45-minute talk provides an opportunity for the entire freshman class to unite through a shared and repeated common experience throughout the semester.”

Shirley’s presentation focuses on the highlight of the program being a top-rated first-year program and the analyzing of data collected to measure Cornerstone’s success and impact.

“Recently recognized

by US News and World Report as a top-rated program in the category of First Year Experiences, Cornerstone is a flagship program for ACU reflecting its deep-seated commitment to high impact practices This presentation will share years of collected evidence supporting Cornerstone’s ongoing success and provide the methods used to implement, maintain, and “produce” such an ambitious class.”

This year’s LEAP Conference is themed “2020: The Promise of a New Decade for Higher Education” and will be held on March 29-31 in Houston.

6 | Friday, February 21, 2020 | PREDICTIONS

2020 SING SONG PREDICTIONS

KO JO KAI: CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

PI KAPPA: SPIES

ALPHA CHI OMEGA: LIFEGUARDS

FRATER SODALIS: MAGICIANS

HAL HOOTS IS BACK!

GAMMA SIGMA PHI: TEXAS REVOLUTION

TRI KAPPA GAMMA: SKIERS

GALAXY: WEREWOLVES

SIGMA THETA CHI: CATERPILLARS TO BUTTERFLIES

SOPHOMORES: CLUE THE GAME

DELTA THETA: TINKERBELL

FRESHMAN: PENGUINS

PREDICTIONS | Friday, February 21, 2020 | 7

GATA: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

FRESHMAN: CANDYLAND

This Optimist tradition dates back to the year 1920, with the original column called “Hoots of the Owl.” Hal the Owl reappears each Sing Song to make some predictions before the final show. Hal has gotten a bad rep, but he uses a calculated system to rank the same categories the judges are looking at: vocals, entertainment, choreography, costumes and set. We love him as much as we hate him. Take a look at this year’s Top 3 and Honorable Mentions, as predicted by Hal. Editors note: Staff members participating in a Sing Song act did not partake in the prediction process for their prospective division.

MEN’S CLUB DIV. 1. GAMMA SIGMA PHI GSP came in with a BANG-literally. Their impressive vocals and stage entertainment made them as memorable as the Alamo. Davy Crockett would be proud. They’ll be riding off into that “perty” Texas sunset with victory!

2. FRATER SODALIS The Frats will have to use their magic to move up from second place. Their set dazzled the crowd and their card tricks mesmerized the audience. However, on the vocals category, they didn’t nail the trick. If they don’t pull something out of their sleeve quickly, their take to the stage might end in laughter instead of awe.

3. PI KAPPA Pi Kappa just snuck their way onto the board. They are good spies but better entertainers. They totally blew their cover when the secret agents had on-lookers rolling in laughter, but if they don’t take careful steps, they must beware of the booby trap of Honorable Mention.

WOMEN’S CLUB DIV. 1. SIGMA THETA CHI These caterpillars inched their way to the top with a story the audience can chew on. After five years, the Siggies are ready to come out of their cocoon and take first place. On the wings of a butterfly their vocals hit the stratosphere and their costume change is a sight to see. The Siggies will fly away with victory!

2. KO JO KAI Christmas lights, camera, action! But where are the Kojies? Sitting in second place. Their Carol of the Bells performance was impressive and made everyone ready for Christmas. Too bad it’s another year away. If Santa gives them the gift of sharp choreography they may just pull the sleigh all the way.

3. GATA Riding into the top three is Little Red. Her flashy hood makes everyone stare. Their diction could be heard through the dense wood. Little Red Riding Hood escaped from the wolf but can she stay away from Honorable Mention?

CLASS ACTS 1. SOPHOMORE CLASS Get a CLUE! The Sophomore act is IT. They played the game well with entertainment and prop pieces, but they must choose their cards wisely in choreography to be sure. From what we have seen, they seem to have solved the mystery of how to win Sing Song.

2. SENIOR CLASS Up, up, and... not quite there yet. This aircraft is stable but not increasing in altitude on solely the wings of their set. Vocals are ready for take off, but if the choreography doesn’t get cleared, this plane might crash into second place.

3. FRESHMAN CANDYLAND Who still plays Candyland? Oh right, freshmen. They got a spot on the board with their yummy set and sweet notes. A first taste of Sing Song is always sweet, but will third place make the freshmen sour or hungry for more?

HONORABLE MENTIONS GALAXY

ALPHA KAI OMEGA

FRESHMAN PENGUINS

In this graveyard it looks like the Lumberjacks came up from the dead. Their vocals are howling but the orginality lacks surprise. These werewolves must beware of the full moon AND Honorable Mention.

Throw a life preserver, the lifeguards are drowning! With a dynamic set, the lifeguards put on a good show. They may find a way to save the act if they can remember proper choreography protcol. However, we’re not sure their ready to swim with the big fish quite yet.

The penguins slipped down the snowy hills right into the jaws of Honorable Mention. The audience can’t resist their cute faces but the sharpness of their flippers isn’t there. If they can huddle together for vocal unity, they might have a chance at waddling their way up.

SENIORS: PILOTS

8 | Friday, February 21, 2020 | NEWS

Four clubs to accept spring pledge class

BY ALYSSA HIGH STAFF WRITER

This year’s spring pledging class will include the most social club involvement in years, with women’s club Alpha Kai Omega and men’s clubs Pi Kappa, Trojans and Nu Kappa Psi. Social clubs were encouraged to add a spring pledge class to provide more opportunities for students who couldn’t pledge in the fall.

“In terms of why we are pushing spring pledging, it all really comes down to “onramps for community.” We want as many opportunities as possible for our students to get connected to good relationships and know that social clubs provide that opportunity and that’s why we believe in them and promote them,” said Scott McDowell, vice president for student life.

Adding pledge classes in the spring also provides more opportunities for students

who may be studying abroad in the fall.

“We saw it as the right direction for our club. We really wanted to expand to those who were studying abroad in the fall and also to freshman so they’d have more time in club,” said Sierra Sumner, Alpha Kai Omega president.

Spring pledging isn’t new to every club, however. Nu Kappa Psi has had a spring pledge class since its first in 2016.

“We try to take a pledge class every semester because Nu Kappa Psi’s goal is to bring together male African American students, not exclusively, but our target is male African American students, and to build them up and to grow together to become successful in life and school,” Roland Campos, Nu Kappa Psi president, said.

The rushing season will begin on March 2, with dates for individual rushes pending.

OPTIMIST FILE PHOTO

Alpha Kai Omega hopes to add a spring pledge class this semester.

Students participate in loading containers for Zambia

BY ANDREW NORSWORTHY STAFF WRITER

Twenty-five ACU students and 15 Cisco college students partnered to load a container loaded with humanitarian supplies bound for Namwianga, Zambia in central Africa on Feb. 8.

This volunteer effort is part of the Zambia Medical Mission. Two containers in total have been sent from Abilene.

This first container, in

particular, was filled with hundreds of bags filled with clothes meant to act as stuffing to protect an X-ray machine to aid the medical facilities. This is in addition to many other humanitarian supplies meant to help the area. It takes approximately six weeks for these containers to reach their destination.

The Zambia Medical Mission is now in its 26th year. Every July for three

weeks, a staff of men and women from nations like the United States and Canada journey to southern Zambia in central Africa.

This mission is based in a small village of Namwianga, a year-round mission point for those associated with the Church of Christ.

This area of Africa has very few medical clinics and is devoid of doctors.

The main purpose of this mission is to provide

health services to the surrounding villages.

Dr. Neal Coates, chair of the department of political science and criminal justice, said, “The Zambia Medical Mission is one of the finest humanitarian efforts that I am aware of and because it’s been going in for more than two decades, it has quite a reputation.”

Joshua Loughren, a junior political science ma-

“It’s really a great opportunity for real good and change.”

JOSHUA LOUGHREN JUNIOR POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR FROM TROPHY CLUB

jor from Trophy Club and 2019 participant said, “When I did it last year, we packed the container full, readjusting things to get it

as compact as possible.”

A second container loading, volunteer opportunity took place this morning at 9 a.m. at Bontke Brothers Construction Co. “It’s really a great opportunity to work for real good and change,” Loughren said.

“God’s love for people is world-wide and so to bee able to help is pretty moving,” Coates said.

Sophomore men to occupy Morris Hall for fall semester

BY OWEN SIMPSON SPORTS DIRECTOR

Morris Residence Hall, which is occupied by 60 sophomores women this school year, will transition into a men’s hall for sophomores next school year.

Over the past several years, Residence Life has made changes to occupancy. This upcoming semester, it’s switching Morris to offer men another option.

Residence life director

“There was some conversation about a year ago of possibly doing this, and our male occupancy is pretty tight.”

SHANNON KACZMAREK RESIDENCE LIFE DIRECTOR

Shannon Kaczmarek fully supported the decision and believes it will be a nice change in the fall.

“There was some conversation about a year ago

of possibly doing this, and our male occupancy is pretty tight,” Kaczmarek said. “We have more wiggle room with our females, and to give us a little bit of breathing room with our men, we thought this would be a really good idea this year.”

This current school year, Smith-Adams and Edwards Halls are the only residence halls for sophomore men.

With the addition to Morris, men will also now have the

choice of having a kitchen in their rooms.

“There was a lot of conversation around offering males a space to cook,” Kaczmarek said. “Over the past few years, females have had that opportunity, so it offers our men a little bit of the same option as our females have been experiencing.”

She said the possibility of Morris to remain a men’s hall going forward is still up in the air. ACU Residence

Life has emphasized taking the process one year at a time.

Juli Moses, housing manager, hopes current freshman men are interested in Morris for housing next year.

“We’ll be identifying the space we have available, and we’ll be setting up a lottery process for our men who would want to live there in the fall,” Moses said. “We’ll go from there and see where the interest level is.”

“There was a lot of conversation around offering males a space to cook. Over the past few years, females have had that opportunity, so it offers our men a little bit of the same option as our females have been experiencing.”

SHANNON KACZMAREK RESIDENCE LIFE DIRECTOR

Sign-ups open for rodeo team, individual intramural events

BY JADEN RAMIREZ GUEST WRITER

One of the longest running events, the ACU Rodeo, has been known for its ability to help people get involved with all types of livestock such as, calves, chickens and goats.

The annual event willtake place this year at 6 p.m. on March 26 at the Taylor County Expo Center. ACU’s Agriculture and Environmental Science department helped grow the rodeo into quite the event over the years bringing with it many traditions, supporters, and participants.

Kaitlyn Smith, senior animal science major from Mesa, Arizona., and second year co-president of the ACU rodeo, said the rodeo is important to the university.

“It’s a great way for peo-

“It’s a great way for people who are looking to gain experience working in agriculture and livestock.”

KAITLYN SMITH SENIOR ANIMAL SCIENCE MAJOR FROM MESA, AZ. AND CO-PRESIDENT OF ACU RODEO

ple who are looking to gain experience working in agriculture and livestock,” Smith said. “One of my favorite things about the whole event is that the week of the rodeo we also host a small petting zoo, and it’s always a great experience being around so many different people.”

Along with the mentioned petting zoo, the ACU rodeo has a variety of events that teams can participate in. Some of the main events include: dou-

OPTIMIST FILE PHOTO

ACU Rodeo will take place March 26. ble mugging, calf branding with flour, mutton dressing, calf scramble, chicken relay and the rope and ride.

The rodeo is completely

intramural and anyone interested has the opportunity to sign up whether they have a team or are just looking to join solo.

The event costs $25 per person on a team of four and people interested in watching the events can pay $5 per person or $8 for

two people.

A list of all events and registration for teams will be at the Campus Center on March 2.

Support group Voice continues Chapel, events for LGBT students

BY SYDNEY VARNER STAFF WRITER

Voice, a support group and community for LGBT students, continues to offer its weekly Chapels as well as addition events for students.

Voice has existed since 2012 and was recognized by the university as an LGBT peer-support group for students in 2016. Most known for its Chapel events, Voice has functioned as an organization

for students to share testimonies and grow in their faith while engaging in the community, said Kit Myers, president of Voice.

In the last two years, numbers of students attending Voice Chapel has increased, with about 200-300 people particuipating in the group, Myers said. Community has always been a focus of Voice, but now is even more so than it used to be, she said.

“More people are show-

ing up and when more people show, more community is formed, and there’s a great atmosphere,” said Myers, senior art major from Franklin.

“One thing I’m really proud of is that we have a very warm and very familial atmosphere. Even though we’re in Bible 114, and over 100 people come to Chapels, it still feels close and it still feels personal.”

In addition to the weekly Chapels, Voice hosts multi-

“Every other week faculty members will open up their home to Voice and we will have dinner.

We don’t always have to talk, sometimes it’s just fun and community.”

KIT MYERS SENIOR ART MAJOR FROM FRANKLIN AND PRESIDENT OF VOICE

ple events, including movie nights, small groups and its staple, Voice dinners.

“Every other week, fac-

ulty members will open up their home to Voice, and we will have dinner,” Myers said. “We don’t always have a talk; sometimes it’s just fun and community.”

Sarah Morgan, sophomore Bible and ministry major, said Voice’s goal is to provide a space where students can feel completely themselves and be loved and supported.

“I know that sometimes ACU people have really strong opinions about

the LGBTQ+ community, sometimes pretty negative, and I like that Voice gives a place for them and allies to not be treated poorly but to be heard and seen and loved,” Morgan said. “I want LGBTQ+ students to know that I love and support them and a good way to to show that is by seeing them in Voice on Wednesdays.”

Voice Chapels take place at 11 a.m. every Wednesday in BSB 114 and are open to all who wish to attend.

OPINIONS | Friday, February 21, 2020 | 9

A SING SONG WITHOUT SUB-T EDITORIAL BOARD

You won’t hear any two words mentioned together more this week than “Sing” and “Song.” The entire campus is in high anticipation for this singing competition that is considered one of ACU’s most quintessential functions and is nationally recognized as one of the largest a cappella events in the nation.

As some know men’s club Sub T-16 will not compete in Sing Song this year. The group is banned from the competition as a part of its suspension for the 201819 school year. In April of last year the club was found to be seriously offending the hazing and general conduct club regulations.

Sub T, as it is are more commonly known, is restricted from this event and others for an undetermined amount of time.

After the initial decision of Sub T’s punishment that was decided in September, conversations

BY ERNIE GUAJARDO | CARTOONIST

have since quieted in anticipation of the official report.

With the performance so close, it’s important to remember that the consequences of Sub T’s behavior are an appropriate reaction to the misconducts.

The official report was

released in Dec., stating that the incident occurred during a club tradition in which a member was seriously harmed.

The report further confirmed that the club is on “indefinite suspension,” confirming that the club will not be in this Sing Song and perhaps not

in future performances either; that decision remains to be made as of now.

In addition, the club members were assigned significant service hours, restricted from accepting new members and banned from larger events, the most noticeable this week

being their novel Sing Song act of course.

“While I’m still new to the ACU community and still getting a feel for Sing Song, my sense is that they will very much be missed,” Dr. Scott McDowell, vice president for student life, said.

Besides the obvious

disadvantages of Sub T’s absence, a major dose of the event’s humor and nonchalance will now be missing without the club’s reliable, haphazard performances.

“Last year’s show was my first one to attend and it was obvious that Sub T has a special place in the Sing Song atmosphere,” McDowell said.

“Toward the end of the show when the awards were being given out, the entire student body was chanting for Sub T and it’s clear that their whole carefree approach makes them a fan favorite and adds a uniquely fun dimension to the show.”

There is no doubt that Sub T will be missed; it is truly unfortunate that they cannot participate in such a rooted tradition. However, what must come first for these social clubs before dressing up as a mass of Tinkerbells or Werewolves, this week and always, must be exemplifying Christian strength and fellowship.

How to battle stress in the middle of Spring and Sing Song

BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF

Sing Song and the middle of the Spring semester is the perfect mix of events to cause the peak of stress in the mind of an ACU college student. But we must fight the feelings of doubt,

fear and overwhelmingness that stress ensues to stay true to what is really important, other people.

When we are overwhelmed by the weight of stress we are most likely thinking about our own circumstances, our own schedule, our own needs and our own wants. We get so caught up in these thoughts that we fail to realize how self-focused we have become in those times.

After returning from Christmas break, going into the Spring semester, many students may feel as if they’ve lost all motivation.

Christmas break gives you that taste of freedom from

assignments and responsibilities, but it is short lived.

Now the common phrase is, “If I can just make it to summer.” But the classes don’t head to this student-wide feeling, the classes are the same in nature and rigor.

On top of this mentality in the classroom, Sing Song hits and pushes new routines of three hour long practices and weekend set and costume work. Sing Song is crazy and Sing Song can make you go crazy if you don’t take a step back from it all. Everyone puts so much time into their acts that they want them to win, so much so that it can put

unnecessary pressure on the individuals involved.

We see this when we find ourselves getting upset or resentful at thoughts of the other group winning, forgetting that everyone put in many hours and has the same hopes of winning.

When camaraderie is gone, there is no fun left to be had.

It all comes down to our ability to refocus. Refocus from ourselves, our personal troubles, our to-do lists, and look to the person next to us.

When is the last time you’ve stopped to ask the person next to you, do you need anything? How can I

better serve you this week?

Our biggest struggle is not allowing our natural pessimism and insensibility during our mundane routine blind us from seeing the needs of others. Stress is one of the biggest enemies for a Christian, because it turns us from being people-centered to self-centered. Stress can blind us from our purpose and the truth that God is our great provider.

Stress is also a good indicator that we are looking at things from an earthly perspective, instead of a heavenly one. We turn to a perspective of self help, instead of a perspective that

Leave people feeling like they have met Jesus

BY ABBEY LEE VIDEO DIRECTOR

What makes Sing Song so great are the memories and the experience you share with your friends. If you took the community aspect out of Sing Song, it would not be as much fun or worth all the hard work we put into it.

This weekend will be full of reminiscing old memories and creating new ones but, what we will remember more than what we

did are the people we were with. ACU has brought me many great friendships that I know will be strengthened and grown long after we graduate.

Some things that I have learned about friends are that they will celebrate victories with you, be encouraging, grieve with you, remind you of who you are, speak truth over you, and love you unconditionally.

Good virtues of a friend are kindness, intentionality, understanding, honesty, and availability. They do not do these things because they are required to, they do them simply because that is who they are.

Jesus said that He calls us His friends. What a friend we have in Jesus! Sometimes I wish we lived in a time when we were able to walk and talk with Jesus in person like friends do but, I believe

He gave us the next best thing.

Bob Goff puts it this way, “I think His plan all along has been for us to meet the people He made and feel like we just met Him”. My friends are the best examples of Jesus for me and I feel like I’ve met Him when I walk away from them.

Each one is made in His image and they love as He does.

Friends set aside their own self-interests for the good of another, John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

When we come upon hard times and words escape us, we can trust our friends to be the ones who will get us through them. One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than

a brother. - Proverbs 18:24.

When we need wisdom, discernment, or edification, our friends are the iron that sharpens us.

My friends have always been there for me when I needed them the most. They continue to make me a better friend who is more like Jesus and I appreciate them dearly for that.

I encourage you to start this weekend, to be a friend who leaves people feeling as if they have met Jesus.

Friends are the kind of people that pick up right where you left off no matter the amount of time that has passed.

Welcome old friends with open arms and leave new friends with a smile on their hearts. Let people know that you love them as Jesus does and that you are willing to go with them wherever the Lord takes them.

recognizes that no matter what, our God is already there. We can trust him with the future and step into the unknown.

Another helpful tip to battle this feeling of stress, is a matter of prioritizing.

Ask yourself, ‘Will this matter five years from now?’ If the answer is no, stop worrying about it.

As the semester continues and the classes don’t get easier, remember the faithfulness of God in past situations similar to your current situation. Find peace.

Perservere. Good things are happening and soon enough, it will be summer again.

Tweets Almost Christian Uniersity @ChristianAlmost It’s a skip every class kinda day also known as Thursday Owen Simpson @OSimpson00 Before everyone loses their minds tomorrow, just remember that the Optimist’s sing song predictions are pretty accurate every year. practically christian university @practicallychr1 I GET IT, moonies are werewolves for sing song and they are moondogs.....I’m slow:/ Tavian Miles @tavianmiles Ready to get my friends back from sing song The Men Of Pi Kappa @pikappa96 Wouldn’t it be kinda quirky IF...Pi Kappa placed in Sing Song!Just kidding, just kidding! Unless...

Nashville Nick @Popcornsensei Is there really a difference between Almost Christian and Practically Christian?

THE OPTIMIST STAFF ALLISON HARRELL

ASHLEY LANG

CARRIE JOHNSTON

KENNETH PYBUS

DILLON DANIEL

DEVON HILLARY

DAVID MITCHELL

CADE WHITE

OWEN SIMPSON

EMILY PERRYMAN

MEGHAN LONG

CELESTE KINKADE

TAVIAN MILES

WILLIAM HEYEN

EMILY SHAFER

ABBEY LEE

ANDREW NORSWORTHY

KAUY OSTLIEN

RILEY FISHER

ALYSSA HIGH

HENRY ERICKSON

SYDNEY VARNER

ERNIE GUAJARDO

AVERY JACKSON

LEAH FIKES

JALEN GARRETT

RACHEL CROSSNOE

TYLER HENDERSON

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10 | Friday, February 21, 2020 | SPORTS & NEWS

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior guard Anna McLeod protects the goal from senior guard Imani Robinson.

Wildcats return to winning form, clinch tournament bid

BY CARRIE JOHNSTON SPORTS WRITER

The Wildcats clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament with an 84-79 win over Houston Baptist Wednesday.

“This was a really good offensive game for us,” said Head Coach Julie Goodenough.

“Having six players score in double digits is phenomenal and so tough to defend. We fouled too much in the fourth quarter though, but other than that our team defense was good.”

Two of the six players who found themselves in double figures were ju-

nior forwards Alyssa Adams and Makayla Mabry.

Adams scored 11 points for the Wildcats, as well as tallying five rebounds, four assists and one block.

As for Mabry, she brought in 12 points while shooting 83 percent from the

“This was a really good offensive game for us.”

JULIE GOODENOUGH HEAD COACH FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

field and 67 percent from 3-point range.

Also among the six were senior guards Dominque

Golightly and Breanna Wright, as well as senior forward Lexie Ducat.

Ducat totaled 15 points along with two rebounds and one assist.

Golightly scored 14 points, while also filling the stat sheet with seven assists, five rebounds, three blocks and one steal. Wright once again led both teams in scoring with 16 points but also had four assists and two rebounds.

Junior guard Anna McLeod also had a strong game for the Wildcats.

McLeod scored 16 points along with tallying two assists, one block and one steal. That one steal hap-

pening at a crucial time in the fourth for ACU. “She was so aggressive,” said Goodenough. “She stole an inbound pass in the fourth quarter that led to a Mabry 3-point shot.

That was the play of the game.”

Up until the fourth quarter, ACU and Houston Baptist played a tight game with five lead changes. Both teams were making strong plays but also making mistakes. This led to a tie game at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Wildcats made a run to retake the lead, and they never looked back. ACU took over the game and shot

an impressive 73 percent from the field while holding Houston Baptist to 39 percent shooting.

The quarter also consisted of many plays similar to McLeod’s heads-up play, which secured the win for ACU. “It helped that we came out in the fourth quarter being aggressive on the offensive end, said McLeod. “We were able to make a little run to make Houston Baptist call a timeout, and we used that momentum to finish out the game.”

The Wildcats hope to continue their winning ways on Saturday against the Southeastern Louisi-

“Southeastern Louisiana is playing their best basketball right now. We have some work to do the next two days to get ready to defend them in their gym.”

JULIE GOODENOUGH HEAD COACH FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ana Lady Lions. The game will tip-off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcasting live on 98.1 F.M., the Ticket.

“Southeastern Louisiana is playing their best basketball right now,” said Goodenough. “We have some work to do the next two days to get ready to defend them in their gym.”

Debate team hosts first tournament in fifty years

BY EMILY SHAFER VIDEOGRAPHER

The debate team is looking forward to future opportunities after it successfully hosted their first invitational in over 50 years.

The first annual Joseph J. Cardot Forensics Invitational took place earlier this month. Students involved in the International Public Debate Association, or IPDA, traveled from all over to compete here on ACU’s campus over the course of three days.

“Most of the schools had to drive eight hours or more to get here,” said Sheila R itchie, director of forensics and debate.

“It says something about the support that we have.”

SHEILA RITCHIE DIRECTOR OF FORENSICS AND DEBATE

BY EMILY SHAFER | VIDEOGRAPHER

Debate team medal from Forensics Invitational.

“They had to choose to come here, so they saw some value in what we were bringing.”

With Abilene being so far west, it is unusual to

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Hosting an invitational on ACU’s campus was a huge first step towards the IPDA’s goal to move these tournaments to-

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The IPDA is an organization that helps debate students work on their ability to research, persuade, and cooperate with those around them.

ACU has been a part of this association since fall 2018.

Mark Shi, sophomore account ing and f inance major from Frisco and member of debate, said compet ing in these tournaments helps him improve his publ ic speaking and crit ical think ing sk ills.

When asked what these debate events entail, Shi summed it up by saying, “there are two sides to a debate and both must prepare cases to defend their side.”

If interested in getting involved with ACU’s debate team, contact Sheila Ritchie at sheila.ritchie@acu.edu.

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SPORTS | Friday, February 21, 2020 | 11

Golding, Wildcats poised to finish season strong

BY OWEN SIMPSON SPORTS DIRECTOR

Just five games remain in the men’s basketball season. Sitting at third place in the Southland Conference, the Wildcats are poised to make a run in the conference tournament.

ACU (16-10, 11-4 SLC) currently sits just halfa-game behind Nicholls (18-9, 12-4 SLC) for second place and three games behind Stephen F. Austin (23-3, 14-1 SLC).

Head Coach Joe Golding said the team is in a very similar situation to where they were last year.

“I think it’s really

Conference Tournament.

After an 82-68 win on the road against Houston Baptist, the Wildcats are riding a four-game win streak. Leading the way on this winning streak has been senior guard Payton Ricks.

On Feb. 8, the Wildcats took down Lamar handily. In that game, Ricks exploded for a career-high seven 3-pointers. He said he’s enjoyed the competition down the stretch as the Wildcats battle near the top of the standings.

“We can either give them the tip or go up from here,” Ricks said.

“I think we take every

“There’s a lot of teams bunched together at the top. But I think at this time of the year, you can look at that stuff, but you can’t get caught up in it.”

JOE GOLDING HEAD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

similar,” Golding said.

“There’s a lot of teams bunched together at the top. But I think at this time of the year, you can look at that stuff, but you can’t get caught up in it.”

Last season, the Wildcats won six of their last seven, clinching the second spot in the Southland

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game the same way, same approach.”

The Wildcats also have a challenging remaining schedule. Out of the five opponents, two of them defeated ACU earlier in the season and another almost took down ACU, but the Wildcats won in overtime.

“We’ve got three games at home against really good opponents, coming up,” Golding said. “We just have to take it one

“We can either give them the tip or go up from here. I think we take every game the same way, same approach.”

PAYTON RICKS SENIOR GUARD FOR MEN’S BASKETBALL

game at a time, and trust the process.”

In the month of February, the Wildcats were met with challenges but sit at 5-1. Golding be-

lieves their success can help them later in March.

“We want to continue to play good basketball.

February can be an ugly month, but we’re almost through February and March can be beautiful if you take care of February. I think this team has done a great job of that.”

The Wildcats continue their season at Southeastern Louisiana Saturday at 4 p.m.

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12 | Friday, February 21, 2020 | SPORTS

TCU triumps over Wildcats in Fort Worth, 14-4

BY TYLER HENDERSON SPORTS WRITER

The Horned Frogs’ bats came alive against a young ACU team, scoring in every inning but two and topping the Wildcats, 14-4.

ACU made the trip to the metroplex to take on nationally ranked TCU, the first Power Five matchup of the season for the Wildcats. The 20th ranked Horned Frogs’ bats were hot on a cool evening at Lupton Stadium, scoring in every inning but the sixth and eighth.

The Wildcats went down quietly in the first inning, with two groundouts to first base and the third to the catcher. In the bottom of the first, TCU came out swinging, scoring two runs right out of the gate.

Leadoff man Porter Brown reached base and advanced to second on a throwing error by freshman shortstop Cameron Cromer to begin the inning. Porter would score on a double by shortstop Tommy Sacco, who would steal third the

BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior forward Alyssa Adams blocks senior forward Lunden Henry’s shot. following at bat.

After a walk to first baseman Austin Henry, right fielder Gene Wood singled up the middle, putting TCU up by two.

TCU tacked on four runs in the second, three runs in the third, two runs in the fourth and another run in the fifth. By the top of the fifth, the Horned Frogs

led 12-1, but the Wildcats would not go down quietly.

Sophomore catcher Mitchell Dickson led the inning off with a hit-bypitch, giving the Wildcats only their second base runner of the night. Two batters later, senior second baseman Ryne Randle walked and was pinch run for by junior Seth Watts.

Freshman outfielder Hayden Clearman came up big with an RBI single up the middle, with Dickson scoring from second.

ACU found another groove in the top of the sixth inning, leading the inning off with a Cromer single and stolen base, followed by a Tommy Cruz walk. Junior outfielder

Colton Eager followed with a RBI double to the right-centerfield gap, bringing in Cromer from second and allowing Cruz to advance to third.

Junior first baseman Hunter Gieser came up with a two RBI single of his own, narrowing the score to 12-4. ACU would follow Gieser’s at-bat with three strikeouts.

The Wildcats would only allow two more runs in the seventh inning, extending the Horned Frog lead to 14-4. For ACU, Tommy Cruz and Mitchell Dickson lead the team in batting average at .400, with a minimum of two plate appearances per game and have played 75% of games to this point. Freshman Cameron Cromer is third on the team in batting average at .318.

ACU will head to California over the weekend for a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos are off to a 3-1 start, following a 17-7 victory over California.

Softball drops three games in North Texas Invitational

BY JALEN GARRETT SPORTS WRITER

The Wildcats’ softball team finished their trip to Denton Sunday to participate in the North Texas Invitational.

Other teams included the North Texas Mean Green, Creighton Bluejays, Missouri State Lady Bears and the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks.

The Wildcats lost three of their four games, de-

feating Missouri State 7-2.

“We have a lot of little areas within the game we need to clean up,” Head Coach Abigail Farler said.

“We felt like we were in a lot of ball games we were able to compete with, but not all of our areas were clicking.”

The Wildcats have been led by senior Blair Clayton this season, who leads the team in hits, home runs and batting average.

Clayton ranks 29th in the Southland Conference in batting average and 10th

in runs batted in (RBI).

She also has a slugging percentage of .075%.

“I am proud of her resilience and her ability to fight for her team,”Farler said.

“She stepped up and came up with some big clutch hits multiple times already this season. Its really exciting to that out of a senior and she’s put in a lot of work and its paid off.”

This season, the Wildcats are 11th in batting average and last in pitching percentage in the South-

“We are going to continue to be agressive and play to our strengths.”

ABIGAIL FARLER HEAD SOFTBALL COACH

land Conference. However, they are second in fielding percentage.

This season season has been to a rocky start for the Wildcats, but they are confident that these up-

coming games can prove their grit as a team.

“We are going to continue to be aggressive and play to our strengths,” Farler said.

“If we just do our part, we can put ourselves in a position to win ball games. There are some teams I think we matchup well with.”

For their next tournament, The Wildcats will travel to Louisiana Friday for the Mardi Gras Mambo tournament. They will play a total of five games in the tournament.

Ricks leads the Wildcats to fourth-consecutive win, 82-68

BY OWEN SIMPSON SPORTS DIRECTOR

Senior guard Payton Ricks caught fire early against Houston Baptist Wednesday and never looked back, scoring 24 points and draining six 3-pointers.

“Our guys stepped up and made plays that contributed,” Ricks said. “It was an all-around good win.”

The Wildcats (16-10, 11-4) came out on top, 8268, over the Huskies (3-21, 3-12 SLC). ACU, in fact, took down Houston Baptist a week prior at Moody Coliseum, 81-67.

“It’s been big for us all year. It really became the identity of our team early on.”

JOE GOLDING HEAD COACH FOR MEN’S BASKETBALL

Head Coach Joe Golding said he thought Ricks played a phenomenal game, and the rest of the team did a good job giving him opportunities to score.

“We did a good job of finding him,” Golding said.

“He also hit some tough

shots tonight, so he played well. The best part was his teammates believing in him and encouraging him to take shots like that.”

Feb. 12, the Wildcats held the Huskies to their lowest point total of the season. Wednesday night, they held them to their second-lowest total. Golding credited his defense, as he’s done all season.

“It’s been big for us all year,” Golding said. “It really became the identity of our team early on. I think we have so many guys in new roles, but we’ve played really well on the defensive

side all year long.”

Along with Ricks, sophomore forward Clay Gayman had an efficient evening with 11 points and four rebounds on 5-7 shooting.

Recently, Gayman has become a bigger impact on the court. Five out of the last six games, he’s scored in double figures.

Early in the first half, the Huskies managed to keep pace with ACU but never found the lead. Despite shooting 50% percent in the first half, the Wildcats managed to hold a 44-38 lead at the break.

Later in the second half,

however, ACU pulled away with a 15-6 run early in the segment.

Ricks said that the team and the rest of the staff is looking forward to getting back to playing games in Abilene “We’re kind of sick of all these away games,” Ricks said. “We’ll take advantage of that and hopefully play really well at home.”

But first the Wildcats have one more road game on their three-game road trip before returning. They’ll take on Southeastern Louisiana (6-20, 3-12 SLC) Saturday at 4 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL MATCHUP 2020 SEASON 75.9

POINTS PER GAME

68.2

64.3

POINTS AGAINST

77.5

44.8

FIELD GOAL %

41.0

33.9

REB/GAME

32.8

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSIT Y (16-10, 11-4 SLC)

Owen Simpson SPORTS DIRECTOR

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (6-19, 3-11 SLC)

Tavian Miles

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Tyler Henderson SPORTS REPORTER

ACU currently sits just half-a-game back from Nicholls, who has the second spot in the conference. If ACU managed to win every game left on their schedule, they would clinch a double-bye, since they have the head-t0-head victory over Nicholls. Needless to say, Coach Golding has his team focused on the game at hand. Southeastern Louisiana was throttled in Moody against ACU, 76-55 back in January. For the Lions, they’ve lost six games in a row, but their last four have been decided by 10 points or less. The key for ACU’s match Saturday should be the same as it has all year.

They have to rely on their defense to produce offense on the other end. Senior guard Payton Ricks is also catching fire recently, and they’ll need him down the stretch. Wildcats take this one on their way to five consecutive wins.

Senior guard Payten Ricks has led the Wildcats throughout this three-game road trip and is looking to close it out with a solid performance against Southeastern Louisiana this Saturday.

The Wildcats are going to need Ricks to continue his shooting performance in order to close out this road trip at a perfect, 3-0. Last time these two teams met, it was a lopsided affair as the Wildcats simply dominated Southeastern Louisiana, 76-55 at home. Everyone saw minutes in that matchup, and we should expect the same coming up this Saturday. The Lions have struggled this season and sit at 3-12 in conference, but that doesn’t mean anything because any team can win on a given night. Overall the Wildcats have been playing great basketball lately and expect them to win big on the road.

Senior guard Payten Ricks led the charge in a big win against Houston Baptist on Wednesday. Looking ahead, the Wildcats hope to take that momentum into Southeastern Louisiana, putting an end to their three-game road trip. ACU was lights out from the floor against HBU, shooting 52% from the floor, and looking to keep that production up against SELU. Looking ahead to this weekend, look for sophomore forward Clay Gayman to have another big game.

He has been a force to be reckoned with in the Wildcats this season, shooting just under 55% from the floor and 34% from the three-point line. Gayman paired with Payten Ricks, who led the team with 24 points against HBU, make a dynamic duo and a major threat for any opposing team.

Look for Gayman and Ricks to have backto-back big games against SELU, with ACU pulling ahead late.

FINAL SCORE: ACU 76 SELU 65

FINAL SCORE: ACU 78 SELU 63

FINAL SCORE: ACU 74 SELU 66

STANDINGS Men’s Basketball Team SFA Nicholls ACU SHSU NWSU Lamar UCA McNeese TXAM-CC UIW SELU UNO HBU

Ovrl.

23-3 18-9 16-10 17-10 12-13 14-13 9-18 12-14 10-16 9-17 6-19 7-18 3-21

Conf.

14-1 12-4 11-4 10-6 9-7 8-8 8-8 7-8 6-9 6-9 3-11 3-12 3-12

Women’s Basketball Team SFA SHSU TXAM-CC ACU UNO UIW SELU UCA Nicholls Lamar NWSU HBU McNeese

Ovrl.

20-4 18-7 18-7 19-5 14-10 12-12 10-14 11-14 9-16 9-16 7-18 6-18 5-19

Conf.

13-2 13-3 12-3 11-4 10-5 8-7 7-8 7-9 6-10 5-11 4-12 2-13 2-13

Softball Team McNeese SELU HBU SFA UCA NWSU UIW Lamar SHSU TXAM-CC Nicholls ACU

Ovrl.

10-2 8-3 7-3 6-3 7-4 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7 3-6 4-8 2-7

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

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

Ovrl.

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

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

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Softball

TIJERINA ACU softball received their second win of the season Friday night. The Wildcats beat Missouri State, 7-2.

Junior infielder Briana Tijerina was the fighting force for the Wildcats, scoring twice. Out of her three times at bat, her two hits ended in scores. The next home game for ACU’s softball team will be against Prairie View A&M Tuesday.

Men’s Basketball

Jalen Garrett SPORTS REPORTER

Coming off a win against the Houston Baptist Huskies, the Wildcats face the Southeastern Louisiana Lions to end their three-game road trip this weekend.

The Wildcats had one of their best offensive games against Houston Baptist, shooting 47.5% from the field and 41% from 3-point range. Senior guard Payten Ricks led the Wildcats with 24 points, shooting 56.5% from the field.

The last time the Wildcats faced the Lions, it was an easy victory for the Wildcats. However, the Wildcats shot poorly from the three, shooting 23% from three-point range. I believe this game will be an easy win for the Wildcats. Ricks and sophomore forward Clay Gayman have been the Wildcats’ driving forces during this February stretch. Wildcats win big on the road.

FINAL SCORE: ACU 70 SELU 60

RICKS Senior Guard Payten Ricks scored 24 points Wednesday night. He led the team in field goals and 3-pointers for the night, scoring nine field goals and six 3-pointers. The next home game for ACU’s men’s basketball team will be Wednesday against Sam Houston State.

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