Students plan spring break trip for Hurricane Harvey relief Page 2
SPORTS
A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
Friday, January 26, 2018 Vol. 106, Issue 17
WRIGHT LEADS WOMEN TO BEAT A&M CORPUS CHRISTI Page 6
PRACTICE PRACTICE
PRACTICE
COLE WIDDER AND AJ CARTER VIDEOGRAPHERS Weston Weast, sophomore music major from Edmond, plays piano during Sing Song practice for the men of Gamma Sigma Phi.
CALENDAR 1/26 •
Aaron Watson at the Taylor County Expo Center
1/29 • •
Pi Kappa Rush at 5 p.m. Zeta Rho Rush at 6 p.m.
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Nu Kappa Psi Rush at 7 p.m.
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Opera -Hidden Jewel at 7:30 p.m.
1/30 •
Deadline to register for spring pledging
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Trojan Rush at 7 p.m.
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Opera -Hidden Jewel at 7:30 p.m.
BOX OFFICE JANUARY 19-21 1. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $19,505,170 2. 12 Strong
$15,815,025
3. Den of Theives $15,206,108 4.The Post $11,716,960 5. The Greatest Showman $10,644,824
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BY HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF
Prentice Ashford, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, will leave the university after spring break to serve as dean of intercultural development at Lipscomb University in Nashville. Ashford grew up in Abilene and graduated from ACU in 2013 with a degree in family studies. He served in the Center for Building Community for a year before taking the role of the director of the Office of Multicultural Enrichment, as OMA was
DAYS UNTIL
FEATURE
STUDENTS REFLECT ON #METOO
called in 2014. Since he started the job only one year after graduASHFORD ating, Ashford said he faced the challenge of earning the respect of his peers and other older staff members. He also said his education in family studies helped him understand how people come from different backgrounds and walks of life that influence how people interact with the world.
“It helped me realize you can’t be mad at how people were raised,” Ashford said. “You can only challenge them and then kind of judge based off of how they respond once they’re open to new ways of life and people.” He said his goal was to make the purpose of the office clear and to get student groups to make their purposes clear as well. “It’s for student support and education,” Ashford said. “The past two years, I’ve had more people reach out to OMA as a resource.”
Conversations about racial issues began to change as early as 2013, after the shooting of Trayvon Martin brought national attention to racial issues, Ashford said. His role became more about “peacemaking,” he said, teaching students conflict resolution and how to respond in conversations about racial tension. The Adams Center for Teaching and Learning and other departments on campus began asking for assistance to understand diversity issues. Ashford helped creSEE ASHFORD PAGE 3
COBA fund beats national benchmark
BY EVAN RODRIGUEZ WEB EDITOR
The student managed investment fund, STAR, has seen remarkable growth since its inception in 1999. In 2017, the fund posted returns of 25 percent compared to the S&P 500, which posted returns of 21 percent. “All money managers have some benchmark, so our benchmark is the S&P 500 index, which is a common measure of stock
market performance,” said Dr. Terry Pope, professor of finance. The fund began in 1999 with a little over $110,000 from the university endowment and now, 19 years later, has an approximate valuation of $1.2 million. The fund earns money for the endowment and crossed the $1 million threshold in June of 2017. Dr. Terry Pope advises the students who run the fund, but has no control
of which stocks students buy or sell. Students are assigned to the 11 different sectors of the stock market, such as the energy, healthcare or financial sectors, to do research and evaluate stocks within their sector for buying or selling. “Each student will be assigned to a couple of those sectors, and what that means is that they need to have higher expertise in their sectors,” Pope said.
The fund is typically managed by 15 students per semester. These students have complete autonomy in choosing which stocks to buy and sell. The fund currently holds stocks in 36 companies, including Amazon, BlackRock and Microsoft. Most who participate do so for a class though many stick around beyond the class period. EMR16C@ACU.EDU
ACUPD detains teens for car break-ins BY MADISON FICHTNER STAFF REPORTER
SING SONG
Page 5
OMA director to leave for Lipscomb Couple hired
The ACU Police Department took two juveniles into custody last month and charged them in connection to vehicle breakins on campus. ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said ACUPD responded to a report of suspicious activity in the Smith-Adams parking lot in the early morning of Dec. 7. He said the officers took two juveniles into custody and charged them with engaging in organized criminal activity.
“Rather than charge them simply with burglary with a motor vehicle,” Ellison said, “because there were multiple individuals engaged in a series of crimes of burglary to a motor vehicle, we are able to enhance the charge to engaging in organized criminal activity.” Their cases will be handled in juvenile court, and because both are minors, police did not disclose their identities. ACUPD is still investigating the break-ins and trying to recover any items
that they may find. Ellison said 80 percent of motor vehicle break-ins occur because the vehicles aren’t locked. “Preventing a crime is easier than solving a crime,” said Ellison. To prevent this crime from happening, Ellison encourages students to take precautions by following these simple steps: 1. Always lock your vehicle. 2. Whether you are away from your vehicle for two minutes or two hours, always lock your vehicle.
W W W. A C U O P T I M I S T. C O M
3. Always hide any possessions that may be in your vehicle. 4. Living in a college town, when a burglar sees a backpack they are going to think electronics, and your vehicle is more likely to be broken in to. 5. Always park in a well-lit area. 6. Always report suspicious activity
OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU
as university chaplains
BY HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF
The university hired a married couple from the Dallas area, both Pepperdine University graduates, to serve as the first university chaplains in a new position created as part of the Strategic Plan. Travis and Harmony Weber will begin work Feb. 5 and will speak in Chapel on Feb. 7. Dr. Cliff Barbarick, co-chair of the spiritual formation task force, said the chaplains will focus on spiritual formation campus-wide for students, faculty and staff. “Some of this remains to be spelled out,” Barbarick said, “that’s both the exciting, and what I would expect is the intimidating, part for Travis and Harmony. They’re going to be SEE CHAPLAIN PAGE 2
Sealey heads to Tarleton BY JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS DIRECTOR
Dallas Sealey, the Wildcats’ starting quarterback in 2016 and the majority of last season, has transfered to Tarleton State University and will use his final year of eligibility at the public Div. 2 university in Stephenville. Sealey yielded the starting job to redshirt freshman Luke Anthony after the Wildcats’ 56-21 loss to Southeastern Louisiana. At that time, Sealey had recorded 1720 yards passing with six touchdowns and six interceptions. SEE SEALEY PAGE 6