Arts Page 5
Big Purple Family vol. 101, no. 53
friday, april 26, 2013
Band grows close in brotherhood
1 SECTION, 6 PAGES
springboard INSIDE OPINION ‘ACU Appropriate’ requires moderation and preparedness
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NEWS New Master of Arts course in Theology hits the web
Navigation app wins Challenge josh garcia managing editor The College of Business Administration awarded $100,000 in prizes Tuesday for the Springboard Ideas Challenge. The Springboard Ideas Challenge is a mini-business plan competition across the Big Country region. Students present business proposals and receive cash awards to jump
start their plans. The competition is divided into two categories, community and college. Luke Luttrell, junior marketing major from Irving, won the $7,500 grand prize in the college category for his Right Route Navigation System, a mobile application. Luttrell said Right Route was inspired by his experience working at Little Panda. He said drivers take on several deliveries at a time.
“On those deliveries, we have to type in our phone individually each route, see all the routes, and guess the best route,” Luttrell said. “It was really inefficient and wasted a lot of gas.” Luttrell said Right Route would simplify traveling to multiple destinations. “Right Route Navigation System is a mobile phone app that allows you to type in as many addresses as you want and calculates the fastest route between all
those addresses,” he said. Luttrell said the application was originally called Do-Liveries and was planned to have been marketed exclusively for deliveries. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized there’s a huge market out there for Right Route Navigation,” he said. Luttrell said he was happy to win. “I’m glad that something came out of it, and
now I can use this money to launch this business,” Luttrell said. Dr. Jim Litton, director of the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy, served as master of ceremonies for the Springboard Ideas Challenge. “From a students’ perspective, they really get an idea of what it takes to put together a plan and how to launch a business,” he said. see ideas page 3
students’ association
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NEWS Students to present research in Austin Page 3
SPORTS
Softball team falls to Angelo State, still below .500 in the LSC Page 6
SPORTS ACU Golfer Alex Carpenter selected to Palmer Cup Page 6
SPORTS Matthew Sloan writes that we shouldn’t compare Brittney Griner Page 6
ONLINE NEWS Intramurals to end season with a bang acuoptimist.com
NEWS KACU manager, ‘Voice of God’ to retire at the end of July acuoptimist.com
VIDEO Trojans and Alpha Kai produce Fruit Smash Rush
acuoptimist.com
PHOTOS SHADES step team performed last weekend
mandy lambright chief photographer The ACU baseball team will face off against Angelo State on Saturday. Four LSC teams, including ACU and Angelo State, are tied for second place in the conference.
PARK PACKERS Laura benson student reporter ACU Athletics encourages everyone to “Pack The Park” at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Crutcher Scott baseball field. The first 150 people to arrive will receive a free “Pack the Park” tank top. The grill will be on and there will be free food, snacks and
Marissa Jones, our Oxford correspondent, details her latest experiences abroad theoxfordcommablog. wordpress.com
front of a large crowd,” O’Donnell said. “Seeing the stands full really makes us feel good because its always fun and exciting to play in front of a lot of people. also it shows that the students care about the baseball team and how we do during our season.” contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
Grads preparing for celebrations jocelyn nederhoff student reporter Graduation commencement ceremonies will take place May 11 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Moody Coliseum, honoring just under 500 students graduating from the university. Dr. Eric Gumm, registrar and director of the FirstYear Program and Academic Development, said 497 students have been cleared to graduate, with students split evenly between the two ceremonies. He projects over 6,000 individuals attending both ceremo-
nies. The featured speaker for the ceremonies will be Elise Mitchell (’83), owner of Mitchell Communications Group in Fayetteville, Ark. and recipient of many distinguished business awards, said Gumm. The event will gather students, families and friends together to celebrate the undergraduates’ accomplishments while at the university. “The most exciting part about graduation is that families and friends come together in celebration,” said Carly McClung, senior nutrition major from
Grants Pass, Ore. McClung looks forward to having her family at ACU for the first time. “Graduating is like finishing a marathon. It’s definitely an accomplishment,” she said. “There have been struggles and cheers, but you finish feeling kind of like you can do anything. It’s a good feeling.” Other seniors agree. “I’m most looking forward to taking the leap of faith that my professors have equipped me to do,” said Bethany Morgan, senior Ad/PR major from Nocona.
Commencement will be similar to past years, but the set up of the stage will be different. The stage this year will be lower to the ground, similar to the stage used for Chapel, and will use ramps to accommodate handicapped students. “One of the many reasons students should come to rehearsal is to understand how it will work, particularly with the new stage setup,” Gumm said. Rehearsal for commencement will take place on May 10. The 11 a.m. graduates will attend a 3 p.m. rehearsal, and the 3
p.m. graduates will attend a 4:15 p.m. rehearsal. All students are encouraged to participate. “I am looking forward to celebrating the last four years and this next phase of life,” said Allye Foster, senior communications major from Lubbock. “It’s an exciting time.” For more graduation information, visit www.acu. edu/campusoffices/registrar/graduation/.
contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
adams center
Lab to experiment with students’ learning student reporter
OXFORD
game is an important one for ACU baseball as we near the end of the season and look to make the playoffs.” Sean O’Donnell, sophomore business management major from Aledo, is an outfielder for the ACU baseball team. “Having lots of students attend the games is great because it helps us want to show the school that we are a good team, especially in
commencement
katie williamson
flickr.com/acuoptimist
drinks. ACU will be playing Angelo State; the two teams are tied for second in the conference. Dylan Benac, ACU’s new Students’ Association president for 2013-’14, will be throwing the first pitch of the game. “The event is happening to show the baseball team support and to draw fans out to the game,”said Benac, junior political science major from Boerne. “This
SA event to give away prizes to first 150 at game
The Adams Center, located in the Brown Library atrium, has plans to create a learning research lab to enhance learning across ACU’s campus. The Adams Center was born in 1992 and serves as a resource to faculty who want opportunities to enhance the way they teach and relate to students through a variety of different learning experiences and daily lunches.
“We have three areas in the Adams Center where we serve,” said Dr. Lesa Breeding, Adams Center executive director, “Faculty development, Instructional Design and Educational technology.” The Adams Center is where faculty comes when they want to integrate mobile learning into their classroom. The center provides a variety of devices and knowledge of how to use them most effectively. Currently, they are working to create a space where research can be conducted
in order to learn more about the effectiveness of specific teaching styles, including mobile integration. The lab is expected to be in use by Fall 2013. There will be a room in the Adams Center built like a classroom and equipped with cameras and microphones. Experiments will be conducted with consenting students to give the Adams Center staff a better chance to review the effects of specific teaching methods. All research will be processed through the internal review board, mak-
Abilene Christian University
ing it a safe place for human subjects to volunteer. “We exist to learn,” said Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker, associate professor of psychology. “We exist to challenge preconceived notions and say, ‘how does that really work?’ And so this gives us a place where we can do that when we think about human learning.” There will also be a smaller room across the hall that will be suitable for one student at a time. Here, researchers can observe the way a student interacts with an iPad or other mobile
learning device. This is an exciting time for the university as the Adams Center explores what technology and new teaching methods can produce in the classroom. Shewmaker said, “I think that it is super exciting to have a place where teachers can come and say, ‘I’m thinking about doing this but I want to see how it works and is it going to be a benefit to my students?’” contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu