Optimist the
Vol. 98, No. 9
Rocketboys Return
PAGE 5 1 section, 8 pages
Friday, September 18, 2009
BREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
acuoptimist.com
STUDENT LIFE
Political groups merge to counter partisan trend Kimberly Wolford Student Reporter Political interest groups will play a larger role on campus this year as the ACU chapters of the College Democrats and Young Republicans
combine to form a new group, the ACU Political Alliance. “We decided in the spring that it would be better for the ACU community to work together as one group,” said Jared Perkins, sophomore environmental
science major from Waco. Perkins, current president of the College Democrats, said he and Aaron Escobedo, president of the Young Republicans, worked closely together in the spring to make their vision of tolerance and
collaboration a reality. “Because of a lot of partisan divisiveness at the national level, we thought it would be best to unite the campus community to influence people who care and want to make a difference,” Perkins said.
Perkins said the Alliance will be a chance for students who don’t want to “pick a party” to get involved in the political scene. “We saw that over the last year, the two groups were not a force on cam-
pus,” said Escobedo, junior history education major from Lamesa. “So, we decided that if we could work together, people would realize who we are individually.” see ALLIANCE page 4
ATHLETICS
FOLLIES
Acts spread peace, love
Hockey flies under radar David Soto Student Reporter
HEATHER LEIPHERT Staff Photographer
A chorus of freshmen perform the classic Beatles’ hit ‘All you need is love’ during Freshmen Follies on Thursday.
Brittany Brand Student Reporter Freshmen prepare for a night of entertainment as Freshman Follies kicks off the 2009-10 school year to the tune of “Peace, Love and Follies” this weekend. “Students are taking that in all different directions,” said Tom Craig, director of student productions. “It is going to be a lot of fun and a lot of energy. Everybody will enjoy the show.” Four freshman co-chairs are re-
sponsible for ensuring the show runs smoothly: Carly Branscum, journalism and mass communication major from Fort Worth; Zak Kroeger, exercise science major from Tempe, Ariz.; Allison Roche, youth and family ministry major from The Woodlands; and CaroleMarie Wiser, youth and family ministry major from Richmond. The co-chair positions were publicized during Welcome Week, and interviews were conducted during the first week of school. Student productions
personnel selected the final four. Kroeger said the co-chairs are responsible for holding auditions for the specialty acts, planning rehearsals and getting props and music together. They are also allowed to participate in the acts if they choose. “Once it all gets put together, it’s going to be fun,” Kroeger said. There will be 14 hall acts and seven specialty acts this year. Specialty acts
Not many students know that for the last 10 years, ACU has had a hockey team in addition to its laundry list of more traditional sports. Because the team is not a university-sponsored organization, but a club team, it does not get as much publicity as other sports, such as football. “We have a hockey team?” said Zac Watters, finance major from Clayton, N.M. “Wow, never knew that. I probably won’t ever go to a game, but it’s good to know we have a hockey team, I guess.” The hockey team plays in the Southwest Collegiate Hockey League along with three other schools in the Division II bracket; its competition includes schools such as the University of Texas at Dallas and Stephen F. Austin University. Last season, the team came in third overall, finishing 9-10-1. Philip Greer, ACU alumnus, served as team
see FOLLIES page 4 see HOCKEY page 4
SUMMIT
Speakers, Chapel credits draw student interest Bailey Neal Student Reporter The banner is up, and so are students’ expectations as the 92nd ACU Summit week approaches. ACU has invited a series of renowned speakers to lecture on topics and struggles Christians may face. The consensus is that many students at-
tend Summit solely for the Chapel credits, said Alena Weeks, sophomore psychology major from Abilene, and Tyler Nolen, junior information technology major from Flower Mound. Whether that is the case, event coordinators have tried to make Summit more relevant to students in the past couple of years, while still ap-
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I won’t lie; more Chapel credits would be awesome. But it would be nice to just go to hear what these people have to say. ALENA WEEKS Sophomore psychology major from Abilene
pealing to the community at large. Weeks said she is excited about the event and curious about seeing the advertised changes to the series.
“This is only going to be my second Summit,” Weeks said. “I thought last year was pretty good, so I’m hoping that this year is going to be even better.” She said she
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CBS PRODUCER Lance Barrow visited with students Wednesday about working in the world of sports and the powerful ministry it can be. Page 8
is most looking forward to hearing from Donald Miller, the author of Blue Like Jazz. Nolen said he is also excited about listening to Miller’s lectures.
“I go to Summit to listen to certain speakers – this year, Don Miller is a big one.” Donald Miller is the author of several books, many of which are studied in ACU courses. One of his books, Searching for God Knows What, was this year’s Freshman Common Reading. see SUMMIT page 4
Online EDITORIAL Administrators have tried everything but begging to get students to behave in chapel. We propose a few unconventional methods. Page 6
VIDEO
LOUDandCLEAR
PHOTOS
Have you had enough rain? West Texas Fair and Rodeo
Visit acuoptimist.com to see what the ACU community is saying.
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