DEDICATED TO CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
THROUGH A GREATER A. C. C.
ABILENE CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, FRIDAY, MARCH 1 2013
Vol. CI
Number 41
Horizon Team Turns in Final Report to President, Provost Barret residents find new use for coffee shop space
Students interested in adding kitchen to new Barret lobby The Den, Barret Hall’s Java City coffee shop, closed down in December, and now that space will serve a different purpose. According to an email sent to the residents of Barret by Ryan Randolph, Area Coordinator from Barret and Smith Adams Halls, the open area is now being used as a lobby for the residents of Barret. Residents will have access to it through the use of their ID cards and it is open 24/7. Students will now have a place to watch movies, play games, and hang out with their friends of the opposite gender. Randolph said the lobby is currently equipped with an ice maker, microwave and a few industrial fridges. Other appliances are still in the works. Residences are allowed to keep their food in the lobby fridges, they are just asked to label everything with their names. The classroom next door to the lobby is also going to be open for residents who need a quiet place to study. The Den was a coffee shop that offered customers a variety of coffee choices along with smoothies and other snacks. It opened in January of 2006 and patronized by many Barrett residents because of its proximity, but was closed down by Business Services because it wasn’t receiving enough business. “I was really sad to see The Den close down. I loved not having to wait in lines for drinks and it being so close to my room,” said Taylor Brown, sophomore Ad/PR major from Southlake and Barret Hall resident. “But I am pretty excited that we’ll now have an open lobby area and access to kitchen supplies.” In addition, Randolph also said there will be free coffee served at 7 a.m. during the week. It’s bring your own cup, but coffee, cream and sugar will be supplied. “Students can come get some coffee on the way to class and not have to worry about waiting in lines,” said Allye Foster, senior communications major from Lubbock and Barret Hall RA. As far as future plans go, nothing official has been said, but it has been thought to make this area into a kitchen space. “There’s a lot of counter space in Barret so incorporating a stove and some refrigerators in there would be nice,” said Foster. “Most other dorms have a kitchen with those utilities so it would be nice for Barret to have one.” –Story by Margo Herrera
ACU, HSU students to stand for total of 27 hours for charity According to the “End It Movement,” 27 million people are in slavery today. College students across the country are partnering to raise awareness by stand for 27 hours next week. On Monday, ACU students will set up in the McGlothlin Campus Center to stand together from 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. as part of the “Stand for Freedom” event. They will do the same on Tuesday until they’ve stood together for 13 and a half hours. Hardin Simmons University students will do the same, at the same time of day, on Wednesday and Thursday so that the groups together reach 27 hours. Megan Thurman, freshman Bible and ministry major from Cedar Park, said the students’ goal this week is to raise awareness and get 1,000 signatures, which they will send to President Obama. They are also planning to host a benefit concert on April 9. Thurman said all the money they raise in the events will go to to the International Justice Mission, the group that organized the event. –Story by Mark Smith
Edition 2 of 4 of Throwback Series In case you missed the Wednesday issue, the re-
OME, BSA to present 14th BHP
Rodney, played by David Owens, holds a prop gun up at Acadia, played by Elizabeth Oyetunde, in the Black History Production, ‘Ruth.’ Photo by Adrian Patenaude.
Black History Production, ‘Ruth,’ written by ACU grad Shows to take place Friday and Saturday in Cullen Auditorium
The Office of Multicultural Enrichment and Black Students Association will present “Ruth,” the 14th annual Black History production, March 1-2 at 7:30 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium. The play was written by ACU Alum, Vincson Green (’12), theatre major living in Abilene. Vince wrote a skeleton of the play in Dr. Adam Hester’s play writing class his senior year. “I have a desire to write about characters who have authentic relationships with God,” said Green. “I want to tell stories Vincson Green, the writer of ‘Ruth’ that usher people into an experience with characters who have different perspectives of God based on their experiences with Him.” Green wrote his story about a female character who is perceived in many different ways by the other characters in the play. “[The characters] relationships change, their perspectives on God change,” he said. “They themselves
also go through a process of transformation all because of one choice that this female figure makes.” Elyse Bryant, freshman Nursing major from Desoto, will play Ruth, the main character of the play. “‘Ruth’ is not your typical play,” Bryant said. “There is a story behind every word, every action and every prop. I cannot wait to show the ACU community what we, Black Students Association, are capable of. I pray and hope that the ACU community will not only gain a better understanding of people of different ethnicities and different backgrounds, but also better knowledge of accepting people, living in harmony with one another and growing spiritually with God.” Byron Martin, Director of Multicultural Enrichment, will be producing the play and acting as a co-director alongside Green. Byron has been a part of the Black History production for several years. “This year’s production gives [students] the opportunity to express themselves in a venue that’s normally not open,” said Martin. “It is an opportunity to share with the campus a culture that’s not the main one on campus.” Their goal is “to put on an incredible show that tells a story about how God is always in the process of reconciling us to him.” Tickets are $5 presale and $7 at the door. Students can buy tickets in the Campus Center or come to the office of Multicultural Enrichment in McKinzie Hall. –Story by Katie Williamson
Duncum Center to host first Conference on Peace The Duncum Center for Conflict Resolution and the ACU student chapter of Mediators without Boarders will host the ACU Conference on Peace Monday Students, faculty and alumni will make presentations throughout the day. The keynote speaker, Dr. Kenneth Cloke, international mediator, will make three presentations. Cloke has mediated conflicts around the world. The primary organizer of the conference is Dr. Garry Bailey, academic director for the Duncum Center. Bailey said he will provide introduction for the main speaker and will also making a presentation. Pam Horn, assistant to the executive director of the Duncum Center, is helping to coordinate the conference. “This is our first year to hold the conference,” Horn said. Horn said the keynote speaker, Cloke, will speak in Chapel on the topic “What You Can do to Stop Injustice.” Cloke will then speak at a Chapel forum at 3 p.m. in Hart Auditorium on the topic “A Conflict Revolution: Mediating Evil, War, Injustice and Terrorism.” He will conclude his presentations by speaking at a dinner in the University Church of Christ Family room at 6 p.m. His final presentation is titled “The Crossroads of Conflict: A Journey into the Heart of Dispute Resolution” Bailey said the purpose of the conference is to “to encourage ACU students and faculty to be advocates for peace and justice around the world.” He also said he hopes the conference inspires conversations around campus about what students
disign of the front page is a part of our “Throwback Series.” This is the 101st volume of the Optimist; One hundred school years ago, the first edition of this news publication made
and faculty can do to prevent injustices. Bailey described Cloke as a “wellknown scholar and practitioner of global peace and justice work.” Bailey said other conference presentations will begin in the Campus Center Living Room at 9 a.m. He said students in the Masters Program who are members of the ACU Mediators Beyond Borders Chapter will conduct a silent action of items from around the world. “With the auction, students hope to raise funds for projects they are working on to do peacemaking work in places like Uganda, Croatia, Egypt and the Philippines,” he said. Check in for the conference begins Monday at 8:30 a.m. in the Campus Center Living Room. Cloke’s first two presentations are free. Tickets for the dinner at UCC can be purchased at acu.edu/conflict. Registration includes dinner and lunch and discounts are available for students and alumni. Bailey said anyone interested in peacemaking, mediation or global conflict intervention should attend the Conference on Peace. He said the conference should have a positive effect on the ACU and Abilene communities. “Conflicts are plentiful everywhere, but people with good peacemaking skills are not,” Bailey said. “ We hope the conference will bring awareness to ACU and Abilene of the importance of these skills. We also hope that the conference will demonstrate the value of opportunities participants have for education and training.” –Story by Melany Cox and Katie Greene
its appearance at Abilene Christian College, and this is our tribute to those who did this work before us. Today’s issue is a throwback to the Optimist’s of the 1920s-’40s. The logo
Students’ Association continues conference request funding The Students’ Association granted $1,835 to four student groups for trips this semester in its meeting on Wednesday. The conference request fund is a part of the overall SA budget for this Spring. Though the fund started at $6,500, approximately $40,000 has been requested by various student groups. Congress has granted a total of $4,942, with $1,558 remaining. After brief presentations by students and little debate, Congress helped fund four trips. The ACU Fishing Club was granted $375 of its requested $1,815 for the Big Bass Bash Tournament in Branson, Miss., on March 21-23. Lambda Pi Delta was granted $300 of its requested $1,700 for the Eastern Communication Association Convention in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 24-28. The Association for Information Systems was granted $250 of its requested $1,842 for the Americas Conference on Information System in Chicago, Ill., on August 15-17. Alpha Psi Omega was granted $91o of its requested $5,760 for the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Louisville, Ky., on March 6-10. Last week, SA funded five trips, in an argumentative and lengthy session, with $1,331 in the budget. Three different groups received the funds: the ACU Wildlife Society, the Student Association for Nutrition and Dietetics and the Alpha Chi National Honor Society. SA meetings are conducted Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m. in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building Room 114. Meetings are public and anyone is welcome to attend. –Story by Josh Garcia
at the top of this page was used for the longest period of time in our history: 21 years. Every other logo has only been used for 11 or fewer years. This is the second of
Abilene Christian University
four issues of our “Throwback Series.” Parts three and four will come next week, leading us up to spring break. –Mark Smith, Editor in Chief
Team finishes research on higher education’s future The Horizon Team finalized its report to the university and disbanded shortly thereafter. The team was created in the fall of 2011 by President Phil Schubert to conduct research on the future of higher education. Dr. Mark Phillips, assistant professor of management, chaired the team, which consisted of five members pulled from a variety of departments on campus. Phillips said the team looked specifically at ACU and its future, including potential threats and opportunities, within the context of broad research on higher education. “We looked at a bunch of different things that are going on, and identified things we thought were relevant for ACU,” Phillips said. “We spent a great deal of time around campus; we met with many, many people on campus to hear what they thought ACU was good at.” Phillips said the Horizon Team did not limit its research to information it could gather from ACU. “We also met with people from other universities,” Phillips said. “We also did a bunch of reading, both of books and articles, and spent an awful lot of time in discussion.” The Horizon Team submitted its final report in February and it includes detailed information regarding its understanding of higher education and the future of ACU. “That went to the president and the provost, and from there that’s been distributed out,” Phillips said. “It’s now available for the entire ACU community to look at.” The Horizon Team was not created as a long-term project. Phillips said its research will be incorporated into the university’s strategic plan. “ACU’s in the middle right now of a process of revising and rewriting its plan for the next five years and you’ll see lots of information from us that’s worked into the various pieces of that,” Phillips said. Dr. Susan Lewis, associate professor of journalism and mass (Continued on page 3)
NEWS BRIEFS Making a Splash Noa Dowl and the cast of “Metamorpheses” to bring Greek myths to life. Story on page 5.
New Blood Football team adds recruits to defense, optimistic about next season. Story on page 6.
Freshman Defense First year student offering free Karate lessons in Rec Center. Story on page 3.
‘Lynda.com’ ACU gives all students free membership to tutorial website, which features more than 80,000 video tutorials on many different subjects. Story on page 3.
Finding a Mentor Students’ Association Vice President Dylan Benac writes a guest column on the importance of finding a mentor. It’s not too late, and he or she may not be who you expect. Column on page 4.