OPTIMIST THE
TUESDAY February 22, 2005
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Abilene Christian University
Vol. 93, No. 40 2 sections, 16 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Serving the ACU community since 1912
Section F salute:
Manager on a mission:
Sweet sweep:
Students are attempting to bring spirit and enthusiasm back to basketball games. Page 1B
Anthony Williams, manager of The Campus Store, announced Feb. 11 that he will run for reelection to Abilene’s City Council. Page 3A
The Wildcat baseball team went 4-0 against Cameron last weekend. Page 1B
Change headlines opening event Lectureship will transition to September in 2006 By JONATHAN SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, announced Sunday night that Bible Lectureship will move from its traditional February timeslot to the third week of September in 2006. During that transition, the university will conduct two Lectureships within seven months of each other. Dr. Mark Love, director of Ministry Events, said several
factors converged that convinced him to make the change. One of the chief reasons for moving Lectureship to September, Love said, is to give it its own space on the university calendar instead of following on the heels of Sing Song. He said after the stress and work of Sing Song, many students do not participate in Lectureship activities. “As Lectureship currently stands, it really involves a small part of the ACU population,” Love said. “We feel like if we can
provide Lectureship its own space, we can involve more of the campus.” Love said a problem he has encountered is cynicism that Lectureship is only an event for the Department of Bible, Missions and Ministry. To counter that perception, Love said he would like to involve more of the campus and use more of the campus’ public, outdoor places—something he said he could not always count on doing in February. Love said he knows the weather in
September will not always be less extreme than in February, but it should be better. He also said if weather were the only factor in this decision, he would not have moved Lectureship. Love said moving Lectureship would also help organizers create a new image for the event instead of just being a time to listen to speakers giving lectures. “Lectureship right now feels See LECTURESHIP Page 4A
Speaker calls on crowd to remember its rescue By MALLORY SHERWOOD FEATURES EDITOR
Love
Money
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Billy Wilson, keynote speaker from Castlemilk Church of Christ in Glasgow, Scotland, speaks to more than 2,300 people at the opening session of the 87th annual Bible Lectureship in Moody Coliseum on Sunday night. His lecture, “He has rescued us,” focused on Colossians 1:1-14.
Trustees approve tuition increase Cost per credit hour will jump from $455 to $487 next year By JACI SCHNEIDER OPINION EDITOR
Tuition will increase by $32 per credit hour beginning next semester, said Phil Schubert, vice president of finance for the university. Each credit hour will cost $487 instead of the $455 students currently pay, which is a normal 7 percent increase. For a typical student living on campus, Schubert said the average cost of attendance will be about $22,000. The cost includes housing, food and books. The tuition increase will affect all students currently enrolled in the university and incoming students, Schubert said. The Board of Trustees decided on the increase this weekend See BOARD Page 5A
Songs echoed throughout Moody Coliseum on Sunday as more than 2,300 people gathered for the opening night of the 87th annual Bible Lectureship to worship with ZOE Group and listen to Billy Wilson, guest lecturer from Glasgow, Scotland. Guests also heard two important announcements regarding Lectureship and the university. Wilson, the preacher at Castlemilk Church of Christ in Scotland, opened his lecture, titled “He has rescued us,” by singing the first stanza and chorus of O Holy Night. The song should be musically to Christians what Acts 2:38 is to us spiritually, Wilson said. “This song should make the hairs on the back of our neck stand up,” he said. “... We were lost in sin; we had a noose around our neck and the chair kicked out beneath us, and then a thrill of hope came, a star of light. A child was born.” This child became our hope even though we didn’t deserve it, and we have hope even when we are too ashamed to come before him, he said. “A heavenly bloodhound has sought you out; he is bent on your rescue.” Wilson concluded his lecture by reminding the audience again of this child born long ago. “God tore the heavens apart to get to us,” he said, and the only significant thing about our rescue is our rescuer. “We know this,” Wilson said. “A child was born. The child, he saved the world. True story.” Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, said Wilson’s lecture is the “most important true story we’ll ever hear.” After the lecture, Money announced that Lectureship will be moved to the third week of September beginning in 2006 because the university desires to integrate Lectureship with the rest of campus and to integrate faith and learning, which is at the heart of the mission of ACU. Also, Dr. Jack Reese, dean of the College of Biblical Studies, announced the Jo Ann Walling Halbert Institute for Missions now has the opportunity for full-time staff to serve the students and nurture an interest for missions. He introduced five full-time mission coordinators in areas of the world such as Asia, North America and Africa. The institute’s goal is to train and send 200 men and women to plant churches in the next five years with four church-planting moveSee LECTURE Page 4A
University halfway to centennial goal School’s celebration will coincide with other local anniversaries By SARAH CARLSON ARTS EDITOR
About $77 million in gifts and pledges have been donated
to the “Called to Faith and Excellence” Centennial Campaign, which is a little more than halfway to the goal of $150 million to be raised by Dec. 31, 2006, said Phil Boone, director of the Centennial Campaign. “We’re pleased with our progress, and we hope to be well
on our way by the time we kick off the Centennial Celebration,” Boone said. Opening Day of ACU’s 100th year will begin Aug. 22, the first day of classes in the fall, and Boone said he would love to announce the campaign has raised more than $100 million by that day.
Aside from the monetary goal of $150 million, he said a participation goal has been set for at least 20,400 people to contribute to the campaign. Boone said the difference between this campaign and the previous campaign, “To Lead See CAMPAIGN Page 5A
Leeson honored at alumnus lunch ‘Dallas Morning News’ photographer named Alumnus of the Year By LORI BREDEMEYER MANAGING EDITOR
When David Leeson was younger and developing an interest in photography, he didn’t know people could get paid for doing something that he loved to do so much. He said he once saw a photographer at a graduation ceremony, and he asked the man why he had so many cameras and where he had gotten them. The man explained that he worked for the Abilene Reporter-News, and Leeson said
he couldn’t believe the man got paid for shooting pictures, and he thought, “Dude, I’d do that for free.” More than 30 years later, Leeson, who graduated in 1978 with a degree in journalism and mass communication, not only has been paid for his photography and videography but has led a career in the field that has earned him many prestigious awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, two Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award and an Emmy Award. The Alumni Association honored Leeson for his career achievements and service to See AWARD Page 4A
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
David Leeson, class of 1978 and ACU’s Outstanding Alumnus of 2004, talks with Dr. Charlie Marler, professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication, and Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, about the signed prints of his Pulitzer-Prize winning photographs he donated to ACU.