news
wednesday 05.01.13
4
fundraising
Least: Students give away extra Bean Bucks continued from page 1
Mandy lambright chief photographer
Taylor Langston, senior broadcast journalism major from Lubbock, and Layne Sharp, senior interdisciplinary major from McKinney, two-step in the arena at the Taylor County Expo Center as they await the start of their event.
bottle of water and were then passed out to homeless people around Abilene. “Our Bean Bucks don’t get refunded so we might as well do something with them,” said Janessa Beach, sophomore math education major from Van Alstyne. “As college students we don’t have a lot of means financially, but especially freshmen and sophomores with meal plans, we have this opportunity to do something for the least.” Brinkman and Beach are working with Anthony Williams, chief auxiliary services officer, to create a way in which students can swipe their Bean Bucks directly into an account that goes to the organization’s bulk purchases. Donations will be collected at a table in McGlothin Campus Center towards the end of finals week.
“If that doesn’t work out, then we will have a Facebook group where students can pledge how much money they wish to donate and then they will have a time to come to the Campus Center and buy the food that we have pre-ordered,” Brinkman said. Beach said For the Least of These is inspired by the passage in Matthew 25 and Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats, where he encourages his followers to serve “the least of these.” “This is something that us as ACU students don’t have to go very far out of our way to help,” Brinkman said. Beach said this is an easy way for students to serve. “It’s a simple concept, but a big way to help,” she said. contact orr at mco10b@acu.edu
chapel
Cullen, Chapel on the Hill get card readers linsey thut student reporter Much to the joy of students and faculty alike, new card readers have been installed in both Cullen Auditorium and the Chapel on the Hill. Mark Lewis, assistant dean for Spiritual Life and Chapel Programs, said the new card readers will make signing in and out of Chapel forums easier. “It’s a lot more effi-
cient than having to hand enter them or physically upload the physical readers,” Lewis said. “It’s just smoother.” Lewis said the card readers were installed in Cullen and the Chapel on the Hill because these are the two most frequently used venues for Tuesday/ Thursday Chapels and forums, and also because the old methods of signing in were inefficient. “The portable readers and signing in by hand just take longer,” Lewis
said. “With these built-in dedicated readers, it will just be so much quicker for the students.” Jack Hodge, freshman political science major from Dallas, said the old portable card-readers were annoying. “It was just kind of a hassle because you’d have to wait in line and sometimes they wouldn’t work,” Hodge said. Caroline Gafford, sophomore biochemistry major from Dallas, said she became worried be-
cause it took so long for the office to manually enter all the students that all of her Chapel credits were not showing up. “I was like ‘Where are all my Chapel credits?’” Gafford said. “I’ve been going every day.” The portable readers and sign-ins were not only interfering with students trying to get to Chapel on time, but it also affected those leading Chapel. The Seekers of the Word Drama Ministry
ran into troubles during their Chapel forum, because students were not aware of the new card readers and had to sign in manually. Gafford, who is a member of Seekers, said they started the forum late because students were still signing in when it came time to start. “We had planned for an hour performance, but we started late so we went over,” Gafford said. Meghann McLeskey, junior nursing major
from Burnet, said she views the new card readers as a chance for more fellowship among students. “With more chances to swipe in, you won’t be crowded around the door at the front,” McLeskey said. “You’ll get to sit down sooner and you’ll get more time to talk to your friends.”
contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu
administration
CFO: Administrators conducting interviews continued from page 1 -ties with ACIMO will be finding four or five large parcels of land owned by ACU that are near to campus. “Our vision for these developments varies depending upon the land and the location,” Young said. “Some we hope to develop into ‘mixed-use,’ including dining, retail and, perhaps, entertainment. Some will likely be developed as residential and some commercial/ professional.” He said the guiding principles are to enhance the land around ACU, turn
undeveloped land into income producing assets and partner with the city of Abilene to create a “vibrant first-impression” for the city while improving economic development on the north side of town. As CFO, Young is responsible for all of the university’s financial operations, facilities, risk management, construction and business services. He said the new CFO must have a strong financial background and success in leading the financial operations of a large organization. “He or she will need excellent communica-
tion skills to be able to express complex financial strategies to diverse audiences,” he said. “Perhaps most especially, they will need to be creative as they work through the challenges and opportunities currently found in higher education.” Young said these challenges include making tuition rates more competitive, bringing down student debt and becoming more productive and efficient. Dr. Allison Garrett, executive vice president of the university, said ACIMO has been “very understanding” while the uni-
versity searches for a new CFO. “They’ve allowed us to continue our search while we try to find the right person to take Kelly’s place,” she said. Garrett said the position has been advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education, on the human resources website and through the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. “We’ve received a number of applications,” she said. “So far we’ve brought four people to campus to interview, and we have another one or two who we’ll be interviewing over
the next few weeks.” Garrett said she hopes the position will be filled over the summer, but timing is flexible and based on when the right person is identified. “The ideal candidate would be someone who is a CPA, who also has a master’s degree and who has a substantial amount of supervisory in high education experience,” she said. Garrett said a number of individuals have interviewed each candidate and provided feedback. Candidates will be narrowed down by comparing feedback, then she
and Schubert will confer about the final selection. “I have been really grateful to Kelly because he has been so helpful with candidates and talking with them about the staff and the duties of the position, challenges, areas where things are going really well and areas where we need to do some additional improvement,” Garrett said. “He’s been so gracious to spend his time helping candidates get up to speed, and I appreciate that a great deal.” contact cox at mco10b@acu.edu
reslife
Sophomores take a gamble at housing lottery laura benson student reporter Last Thursday all ACU freshmen were required to participate in the sophomore housing lottery. The mood in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center at 9:30 p.m. was chaotic. Almost 800 soon-to-be sophomores pushed and shoved their way through the halls to feel closer to the front of the line. The line wound its way through the gyms and up the stairs like a fat python. However, no matter how close the students pushed towards the door, they were still held back by their little lottery number, whose digits determined their fate for next year. Although they all knew that the number determined where they must stand in line, they all forged closer to the door. There was a shared vibe that one could only describe as sheer anxiety. It could be felt in the air. The building was dripping with distress. It was contagious. The front of the line,
however, was more at peace. Some students were sitting, some standing, listening to iPods or watching movies on their laptops, waiting for the process to begin. Smiles on their grim faces, knowing karma was in their favor on the night they pulled their tickets. However, towards the tail of the fat python, the faces changed. Eyebrows were lower, smiles upsidedown. Elise Brimberry, freshman social work major from Austin, drew number 259 for her lottery ticket. She was going for one of the most popular dorms, Barret Hall. “Because my number wasn’t super low, the whole time we were freaking out because we thought we weren’t going to get it,” Brimberry said. “We ended up getting the last two rooms in Barret, so that was kind of crazy. We got really lucky … it doesn’t seem like the most efficient way, but it’s definitely fair. No one can complain about it being unfair because of how random it is. I don’t think there’s any other way to do
it that would be as fair.” Brimberry was at the housing lottery until 11:20 p.m. Sikes Hall was the most popular dorm for the girls and it filled up the fastest. Barret was the most popular for the boys, and it too filled up first. Brimberry knew of few people who didn’t get the housing they wanted. “It was especially hard for girls because most girls wanted to live in Sikes, so Sikes filled up really fast,”
she said. “If you didn’t have a really low number then you basically had no chance of getting into Sikes. I knew of a couple people who didn’t get what they wanted, but if they didn’t get their first choice, then most of them got their second choice. It really all just depends on your number.” Addie Schmitz, sophomore family ministry major from Grapevine, is a resident assistant in Gardner Hall. She was put in
charge of the back of the line during the housing lottery. “It was fine during the first part but then as dorms started to fill up, people started getting sassy because their first picks and even second picks weren’t available anymore,” Schmitz said. “I had someone tell me that they would not live in Smith-Adams over their dead body… I had to leave a little early, but apparently I missed all the cry-
ing.” Schmitz said if she could describe the housing lottery in one word she would call it “hectic.” However, Schmitz also thinks it’s the fairest way. “There’s going to be people that argue that its not fair, but how else are we supposed to do it? I think it’s the best way.”
contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu