The Optimist Print Edition 02.02.18

Pruett Gerontology Center partners with advocacy group for town hall meeting Page 2

FEATURE

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

Friday, February 2, 2018 Vol. 106, Issue 18

HOSTS AND HOSTESSES PREPARE FOR SING SONG Page 5

SLAM DUNK

LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR Junior point guard Jaylen Franklin goes up for a dunk against the Lamar University Cardinals Wednesday night. The men won 74-69.

CALENDAR 2/2 •

Bid Night

•

Deadline to apply for the Undergraduate Research Festival

2/3 •

Chocolate Safari at the Abilene Zoo

2/5 •

Voter registration deadline for primaries

2/6 •

Texas Silver Haired Legislature Town Hall

2/7 •

SA budget meeting

2/9 •

ACU Theatre performs Sense and Sensibility

BOX OFFICE JANUARY 26-28 1. Maze Runner: The Death Cure $24,167,011 2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $16,144,874 3. Hostiles

$10,110,739

4.The Greatest Showman $9,550,367 5. The Post $9,107,141

14

DAYS UNTIL

SING SONG

NEWS

MIDNIGHT WORSHIP CHANGES LEADERSHIP Page 2

Free throws key in late win over Lamar

BY JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS DIRECTOR

In a battle of two teams tied for seventh place, the Wildcats came away with a 74-69 win over Lamar after converting 9-of-10 free throws in the final 43 seconds “[Lamar] knew how important this game was, and I thought we got their best shot,” Head Coach Joe Golding said. “Credit to our guys, it was a back-

and-forth game. They kind of took the lead early, we settled in a little bit, got the lead right before half, and the game was kind of back and forth in the second half.

ACU started sluggish, spotting Lamar as big as a seven-point lead just five minutes into the contest, but the Wildcats broke off the first of several scoring spurts to tie the game at 15 with 12:03 left in the first half.

However, over the next seven minutes the Cardinals controlled the pace and the game, building a 28-19 lead after two free throws from Colton Weisbrod. At that point, ACU came alive for good.

The Wildcats rattled off a 17-4 over the final 5:20 of the half to take its first lead of the game and a 36-32 advantage into the break. Ten of those 17 points came from sophomore center Jalone

Friday, as he finished the first half with 12 points and would carry that momentum into the second half. Friday matched his first half output with 12 points after the break to finish with a game-high 24 points. He also recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.

Lamar tied the game at 37 right out of the half, but ACU quickly responded with a 9-0, accented by

a breakaway slam from junior Jaylen Franklin.

The Wildcats would never again relinquish the lead.

“We were able to stretch the lead, but it’s never going to be pretty down in the end, especially playing a team like that, that’s going to fight to the end for 40 minutes,” Golding said, “but we were able to close it out and make some big plays.”

Because departments on campus and donors for endowed scholarships may have specific qualifications and restrictions for their scholarships, said Lori Herrick, director of Student Financial Services, it can sometimes be difficult to find students for these scholarships. The questions that students answer on AcademicWorks help the university match students to these scholarships. In addition, different departments can have their own specific application, and in the past, Herrick said, those applications were completely separate from applications for endowed scholarships from donors.

“With this new pro-

gram,” she said, “what we’re trying to do is merge all of that so the students basically have a one-stop shop. They may have to fill out a couple of different applications depending on what their major is, but it’s all in one place.”

Several benefits come with the new program, Herrick said. For one, it’s more transparent than the way the university has done it in the past because it allows students to easily see the scholarships they are applying for.

“This whole system is also going to allow us to be better stewards for the donors,” Herrick said. When students are notified through the system that

they are to be awarded a scholarship, they must complete a thank-you note before they actually receive the award, she said. With the program, the donors will get more information about the students who receive their scholarships along with updates about the scholarship itself.

Herrick said as of this week 257 students have completed the online questionnaire and been matched to scholarships they can then apply for. She expects about 500 or 600 more to complete by the April 1 deadline.

While AcademicWorks is open to any continuing student, the majority of scholarships in the system are for undergraduate students.

The office had been looking for a program to use to help students find scholarships for a while, Herrick said. Eventually, it came down to two providers, and AcademicWorks won because it was more robust than the other program and was able to do everything they wanted, not only for the students but also for the donors, she said. Herrick and her team worked in tandem with the university’s stewardship team to get the program off the ground.

To complete the questionnaire and be matched to scholarships, go to acu.academicworks.com.

SEE WILDCATS PAGE 6

New scholarship search platform launches

BY STELLA WIESER COPY EDITOR

Student Financial Services last month unveiled a new online platform called AcademicWorks for matching students with scholarships.

Students can log onto the AcademicWorks website using their myACU username and password and complete a questionnaire with specific questions to match them with appropriate endowed and departmental scholarships.

The system also pulls information from Banner, such as GPA, majors and concentrations, to narrow down the scholarships that may apply to the person looking.

ECW13B@ACU.EDU

Search continues after chaplains decline offer

BY HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF

The search for the university’s first chaplain is headed back to the drawing board.

Dr. Chris Riley, vice president for student life, said a search committee of faculty and staff will restart the process after the Fort Worth couple hired by the university to take on that role opted not to take the position after all. Riley informed students, faculty and staff on Monday that Travis

and Harmony Weber had decided not to accept the job of co-chaplains, just six days after announcing they were hired.

The Webers were scheduled to begin work Feb. 5.

They have not responded to requests for a comment.

“After much prayer and consideration, the Webers have decided not to assume those roles,” Riley said in an email to the student body on Monday. He said in an email to Optimist staff that he could not give any more

details about the situation.

Riley also said the search committee will try to have the position filled before next fall. The search committee that chose the Webers may remain the same or change.

“I will be asking the current members if they are still willing and able to serve, and will consider any additions to the committee after I receive that feedback,” Riley said.

Dr. Cliff Barbarick, cochair of the spiritual formation task force, said in

W W W. A C U O P T I M I S T. C O M

an email to Optimist staff that he did not know what the next steps for the search committee will be.

“I’m saddened that the Webers won’t be part of our community,” Barbarick said, “but I respect their decision and hope their ministry can flourish wherever they end up.”

The university has not had a chaplain before, but last year Dr. Jan Meyer, former dean of Spiritual Formation, served as the leader of spiritual formation on campus.

Since she left the university in the spring, David Moses, director of Leadership Camps, has served as the coordinator of Moody Chapel events and Susan Cooper, Leadership Camps registrar, has been coordinating Quest small group events. All exemption requests and faith-in-action credits are coordinated by graduate students in the Office of Spiritual Formation.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

2

NE W S

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Midnight Worship appoints new leaders Student starts

BY BRIAN SWEET STAFF REPORTER

Un iversit y attend each Midnight Worship is week. changing its tune.

Gonzales Nick Gonzales, sophsaid what omore worship ministry he hopes to major from Odessa, has maintain Gonzales taken over from worship is the heart leader Michael Guillot, that midnight worship has who was the worship lead- had for years. er the last three years.

“Midnight Worship Midnight Worship is a isn’t an organization that service that takes place is meant to preach on at midnight most Fridays Friday night,” Gonzales at The Well in Abilene. said. “It’s not meant to do Students can get a spiri- anything other than give tual formation credit for students an opportunity attending the worship. to feel God’s presence at Between 250-300 stu- the end of the week.” dents from ACU, Hardin Keely Smith, a senior Simmons and McMurry music major from Fort

Worth, said Midnight Worship doesn’t follow any specific denomination, and anyone is invited to come be a part of it.

“Midnight Worship doesn’t specifically follow a certain type of worship,” Smith said. “However, if you were to ‘label’ it, it would be considered a contemporary, non-denominational worship service.”

New worships leaders were needed because Michael Guillot will graduate in May, and he wanted to help the new worship team step into their role while he was still in Abilene.

Smith said it was time for Gonzales to learn the ropes while Guillot was still in town.

“Originally Michael Guillot led worship, but being that he is a senior and will be graduating this May,” Smith said, “the worship leader who has assumed his position is Nick Gonzales, who is a sophomore and will be able to lead for the period of time that he is attending ACU.” Sarah Ross, a sophomore worship ministry major from Houston, said if students want to volunteer to help with midnight

worship they have positions available.

“There are a lot of opportunities to volunteer,” Ross said. “Right now, Midnight Worship is at The Well, and so every night we come in and put down tape where the chairs are, stack the chairs, run the slides, sweep the floor, make sure everything is clean afterwards, put back the chairs and take down sometimes the things we use on stage.”

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

Gerontology center to host intergenerational town hall

BY HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF

Students and the aging community in Abilene will discuss legislative issues at the Texas Silver Haired Legislature town hall meeting Tuesday.

The university’s on-campus center for aging studies, the Pruett Gerontology Center, will host the event. Emily Adams, student associate for the center, said the event will have more attendees than in previous years, with 300 community members and as many as 100 students. Students in gerontology classes will participate in the meeting by helping the community members discuss and record issues.

“We want to really encourage people that even if you might not exactly know what issues are being faced,” said AdseADAMS ams, nior communication disorders major from Frisco, “getting out there and just sharing your opinion on what you experience in day-to-day life is really important.”

As a political advocacy group, the Texas Silver Haired Legislature hosts meetings across the state to hear what policies matter to the aging com-

munity. The issues are then presented to state lawmakers at the next legislative session. Adams researched the event last year and found six out of ten issues discussed at the Abilene town hall became state legislation that year.

Some of the top issues from last year included transportation from rural homes, healthcare for veterans and more events to build community among the aging population.

The town hall meeting will be dedicated to Chris Kyker, a TSHL leader who died in September. Kyker, whose late husband Rex chaired the Department of Communication for many years,

t a u g h t speech and directed theatre at ACU from 1 9 4 6 1950, according KYKER to the Abilene Reporter News. In the 1970s, Kyker became an advocate for the aging population in different organizations throughout Texas. She was also the founding president of Disability Resources Inc. Adams said the town hall also helps students have positive interactions with the older generation. She said the event sparked her own interest in researching the aging

population.

“I did not realize how overlooked the aging population is,” Adams said. “I want to start addressing these problems.

I want to work towards fixing it because the Baby Boomers are getting older, and as that population continues to grow, those problems are just going to get worse if we don’t fix it now.”

Local policy makers will be present at the event, including Abilene Mayor Anthony Williams and U.S. Rep. Stan Lambert.

The event will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Hunter Welcome Center.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

composting company

BY DAVIS HILL OPINION SECTION EDITOR

The Wildcat Venture program of COBA has given way for a new student-run company called Earthworks Compost.

Bryson Jennings, senior agribusiness major from Azle, started his composting company in May 2017, to better the environment.

“People think too much into recycling as taboo,” Jennings said.

Many recycling initiatives at ACU have failed or never got off the ground, so Jennings said he had to work to gain the trust of various facilities on campus for his composting materials. The company started with getting coffee grounds and food from The Bean and has grown into a business with the hopes of selling the compost to different facilities on or off campus.

Composting works by collecting Carbon-rich brown materials, such as grasses, hay and egg shells, and nitrogen-rich green materials, such as vegetables and other food waste. Microorganisms begin to break down the material, which increases the decomposition speed. Finally the product left after this process is a great source of nutrients for plants and other green life.

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

ACU for Life wins award for ‘Most Tabling’ Tennis facility construction continues

BY HANNAH JOHNSON STAFF REPORTER

Twelve people attended the Boots on the Ground conference and received the Socrates award for Most Pro-Life Tabling.

ACU For Life earned the award for spending the most time tabling out of all the universities in Texas. Tabling refers to the group promoting their cause, discussing pro-life topics with students and selling t-shirts.

Members of ACU For Life set out their table in the campus center once a week.

Rachel Bush and Veronica Arnold, both in charge of education for Texas Right to Life, gave out the award.

Texas Right to Life organized the Boots on the Ground Conference. The

pro-life event is in Austin and takes place every January and lasts for two days - Saturday and Sunday - to discuss the prolife issues. This year, the speakers discussed the development of the baby throughout pregnancy.

Most of the 200 - 300

attendants were students from different Texas colleges.

Marissa Trujillo, a sophomore theater education and design tech major from Forney, is the ACU For Life president. Trujillo says the group is gaining recognition for discuss-

Photo courtesy of ACU For Life.

ing the pro-life movement through tabling.

“It makes me excited that we’re being super proactive,” Trujillo said. “We’re one of the universities that’s being really active on campus and sharing our pro-life views and trying to educate other people.”

ACU For Life organized events such as having speakers, such as Lisa Smiley and Rachel Bush, give their testimonies.

“Even without them giving us an award, I would still do it,” said Trujillo, “because it’s so good talking to people.”

For more information, contact Marissa Trujillo at mlt15c@acu.edu.

HVJ11A@ACU.EDU

BY LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR

Construction on the new tennis facility next to the outdoor courts will resume despite a break to complete Wildcat Stadium and the accompanying parking lot.

Drew Long, associate athletic director, said the facility will be completed around the end of June 2018, ready for next season. At two stories high, it will contain new locker rooms for both men’s and women’s tennis, new offices for the tennis coaches, a small training room and a classroom setting for small events and daily teaching.

As for the space located behind the bleachers, it will continue as a storage facility and stringing area.

The facility will be named after Head Coach, Hutton Jones’ father.

Because Hutton wanted

to do something to honor his dad and his family, he orchestrated a fundraising effort to pull together the money to make it happen.

“It’s going to be a good building for us and our athletes, and will serve men’s and women’s tennis. It’s going to be a good addition for us.”

Josh Sheehy, a junior financial management major from Arlington, said the new facility will benefit current players as well as prospects.

“I’m excited for the new tennis facility because of all the benefits it will have for ACU tennis,” Sheehy said.

“It will be a great place where the team can have a central place to be established. In addition, it greatly enhances the look of the facility and adds another tool that Hutton can use for recruiting to bring stronger recruiting classes in the future years.”

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 01/23/2018 2:10 a.m.

Officers investigated and identified two suspicious persons reported to be shining flashlights into parked vehicles.

01/24/2018 12:58 a.m.

Officers investigated the report of a woman screaming on the disc golf course: checked the area, unable to locate anything.

01/24/2018 1:41 p.m.

A student residing off-campus reported the theft of two blue antique chairs from her front porch.

01/25/2018 5:41 p.m.

ACUPD officers intervened in a domestic disturbance involving a foster mother and foster child; no offense, the incident was resolved.

1/26/2018 11:10 p.m.

Officers responded to an accidental overdose. Student was transported by ambulance to Hendrick ER. 1/27/2018 6:05 p.m.

Officers responded to a reported trespasser inside Wildcat Stadium. Student athlete was advised to leave due to facility being closed.

1/28/2018 1:47 a.m.

A student was transported to Hendrick ER for an alcohol-related medical issue.

1/29/2018 3:30 a.m.

A witness notified ACUPD of a hit and run vehicle collision that occurred in the west campus south lot; investigation continues ACCIDENT 0 ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY 24 ADVICE 0 ALARM 0 ANIMAL CALL 2 ASSIST 1 BARRICADES 1 BICYCLE PATROL 0 BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK 20 BURGLARY (RESIDENCE) 0

CHECK BUILDING 354 CITATION ISSUANCE 1 CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 0 DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE 2 ESCORT 2 EVENT SUPPORT 0 FIRE 0 FOOT PATROL 25 GRAFFITI 0 INFORMATION REPORT 5 INVESTIGATION

FOLLOW UP 6 MONITOR FACILITY/LOT 6 MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMPSTART 3 MOTORIST ASSIST: OTHER 3 MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK 4 OTHER 3 PARKING LOT PATROL 27 PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTENANCE 0

PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL PROWLER PUBLIC SERVICE RANDOM PATROL REPORT WRITING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY SUSPICIOUS PERSON THEFT TRAFFIC HAZARD TRAFFIC STOP

11 0 1 21 2 2 2 1 0 6

TOTAL

613

POLICE CHIEF TIP OF THE WEEK: Be safe and courteous, remember to YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY to anyone crossing streets in pedestrian crosswalks.

N E WS

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2018

3

ART IN ABILENE

Opera premeires war-inspired show

BY ALLAYNA FORD VIDEOGRAPHER

Students performed in the premiere of an opera called “Hidden Jewel” Monday and Tuesday. Set in Nazi-occupied France, the opera tells the story of a Jewish girl falling in love with a German captain during World War II. Kaytlin Millikin, junior music major from Forney, performed in the show.

“We are trying to make the point that no matter what, differences aside, we’re people, we’re all humans,” Millikin said.

“And we should have love instead of separation between us.”

This is the first installment of a series of three operas that will be performed with topics focused on the dark moments of history.

Joram Alford, senior vocal performance major from Abilene.

Teonna Murphy, vocal performance major from Houston.

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OP I N I ON

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Immigration practices don’t reflect values THE ISSUE

Current immigration policies are impractical because they don’t reflect the values of the American people.

OUR TAKE

Immigration procedures need to better reflect the principles we all have in common.

Our nation was founded on immigrating for a better life, to escape a vicious ruler and to pursue freedom from inequality. But when it comes to immigration, our nation can’t seem to find practices that reflect these principles.

Our current practices are at odds with our history. America, in principle, stands for everything great in the world. We stand for freedom, we stand for equality and we stand for justice.

No matter which party you side with, most Americans can agree that people from other nations should have a reasonable way to come to the country legally. So then why does our immigration system seem so unreasonable?

Immigrants must find their way through a maze of regulation and bureaucracy. The first step to becoming a U.S. citizen is achieved through one of five ways: family, employment, investment, the “Diversity and Lottery” program or through “The Registry.” The path to permanent residence is dictated by how wealthy or experienced you are in a craft, and the only way for somebody without familial connection or money is the “Diversity and Lottery” program, which is threatened in today’s politics. This route takes three to five years for an immigrant to gain legal status.

Another hoop immigrants must jump

through is the U.S. citizenship test, which only one in three native-born Americans can pass. We expect immigrants to know everything about our history, our language and our government, but we hardly know the information ourselves. The process to move from permanent resident to full citizen could take up to seven years.

Even legal citizens face the annoying red tape from the legal system when we get a driver’s license, file for a passport or register our vehicles.

When our ancestors immigrated to America to seek a better life, and when our founding fathers declared independence from an oppressive

CARTOON BY ERNESTO GUAJARDO

government, there was no red-tape regulation to keep them out.

In the early days of America, George Washington once wrote in a letter: “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respected stranger, but the oppressed and

persecuted of all nations and religions whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges.”

This is the principle that America likes to boast about, but the life for immigrants in today’s society does not ref lect that same mindset. Amer-

ica may be the greatest country in the world, but we must remain conscious of our history and where we came from in order to make sure the American Dream stays alive and well.

EDITOR@JMCNETWORK.COM

Snapchat will define post-millenials

@acuoptimist

Researchers have lots of theories about the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials, but they don’t know much about the post-millennial generation yet. I propose that Snapchat will be the defining technology for the next generation.

freshmen are the first group of adults in the post-millennial generation. But why make the cutoff at 1997?

What separates those born before and after that year?

It could be argued that the rise of smartphones should define this new generation.

Snapchat was invented in 2011 when most college students were ages 12, 13, 14, and 15. Adolescence is full of rapid changes, so there’s a huge difference between a 12-year-old and a 15-yearold. Between these ages, we begin to develop identities and world views. As we began to understand the world, we looked at it through a filter -and for those born in 1998 or later, that would have been a Snapchat filter.

Although it was invented in 2011, Snapchat really started to become popular in

According to the Pew Research Center, Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1954, Generation X was born between 19651980 and millennials were born between 1981-1997.

That would mean current college juniors are the last of the millennials to be born, and current sophomores and

Smartphones took the world by storm after 2007 when the first iPhone was released.

Most college students were ages 8, 9, 10 and 11 when the iPhone was invented.

We all had the shared experience of coming of age with an iPhone. But compare this to the invention of Snapchat.

2012 and 2013. This means current sophomores and freshmen experienced all of high school with Snapchat, and current juniors and seniors did not. This is what separates the millennials from the post-millennials.

How does Snapchat define us? Well, Snapchat gave us instant picture mes-

RATED R @cl4yt0n_c00p3r 01/31/18 11:53 A.M. The bean is really slacking when the vegetarian line starts looking better than other food @marysa_travieso 02/01/18 11:40 A.M. Gotta love it when the wind makes your hat dramatically fly off your head right in front of three boys (as well as the rest of the people leaving chapel) who proceed to say “you better get it!!” and “cinch that thing on there” while laughing.

HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF Senior convergence journalism major Albuquerque, New Mexico

im never wearing a hat again. @KelseyMaple 01/31/18 09:00 P.M. I just really miss Oxford, okay? Like every day of my life, I miss it. It just never truly goes away. @Megann_Mc 02/01/18 12:08 A.M. Venmo is great until you accidentally pay your three housemates for bills when you were actually meaning to charge them. @atownbman replying to @ Megann_Mc 02/01/18 10:08 A.M. Or worse, paying someone you don’t know on accident...twice

saging. Snapchat is visual and temporary. It allows us to store hundreds of images or lose them in an instant if we don’t hit “Save.” It allows us to show the world the little details of our lives, whether we’re on the toilet or at a concert. It allows us to quantify our best relationships by the lengths of our “streaks” with those people.

Snapchat stories are so popular that other social media sites like Instagram and Facebook decided to copy the idea. Every single event in our lives can now be instantly shared with our followers-friends and complete strangers alike. Think about how strongly this app would effect anyone who began using it during their formative teen years.

Thus, the post-millennial generation can be defined by those born in 1998 or later. This may be good news to some who would prefer not to be defined as a millennial. But then again, some of you might prefer not to be defined by your generation at all.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

Think twice before picking the Eagles in Super Bowl LII HOT OFF THE PRESTON MAX PRESTON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Junior Convergence Journalism Major Amarillo, Texas

You may think the Eagles have a whole lot of momentum coming into the Super Bowl this Sunday and will simply beat the Patriots; however, you’re going to want to consider that mindset.

Sure, Eagles fans are rallying behind their team and are excited to see Nick Foles handle the pressure of replacing Carson Wentz as the starter, but you have to still be worried about Foles and the fact that he’s going up against a team that includes the greatest coach of

all time, Bill Belichick, and the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. Also, not to mention the duo’s experience of seven previous Super Bowls together.

The Eagles path to the Super Bowl was, in my opinion, not very difficult.

The team faced a Falcons squad in the divisional round that was exhausted as it traveled to Los Angeles for its wild card match up the previous week against the Rams, then traveled to Philadelphia after.

Meanwhile, the Eagles were at home for four straight weeks dating back to week 16 against the Raiders until the divisional against Atlanta, with a bye week included during the wild card round. Philadelphia was obviously in a more comfortable position than a Falcons team that barely made the playoffs, and had to get through the Rams while the Eagles sat back to watch.

However, Philadelphia managed to squeak out only a 15-10 win over Atlanta that really should have went the other way, if the Falcons would have made better play calls when it couldn’t convert on a touchdown from first and goal to fourth and goal towards the end of the game.

T H E

EDITORIAL AND LETTER POLICY Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or

invasion of privacy. Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes.

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Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79609 E-mail letters to: optimist@acu.edu

This showed that the Eagles were mediocre. But Max, what about the debacle of the Vikings in the NFC championship? Let me just say, when you’re a team that has a dome home field and goes on the road to face a cold weather team in the cold with a quarterback making only his second playoff start, the game most likely won’t end well for that team.

Don’t get me wrong. I like the Abilene native Case Keenum; however, when adding all the factors to the match up, it fell out of his and the Vikings’ hands. I’ll also give it to the Eagles for hanging 38 points on the number one regular season defense, but the team was in another comfortable position being at home for a

fifth week in a row.

Now comes the boss.

The ultimate challenge.

Whatever you want to call it, the Patriots are coming for the Eagles.

The Patriots earned a hard-fought victory in the AFC championship over a Jaguars team that defeated a much more experienced playoff team than the Steelers the previous week. People might argue that the Jaguars were an easy way out for the Patriots, however, you’re wrong if you think a team that beat the Steelers would be an “easy” game.

Speaking of AFC teams, the Eagles faced four of them during the regular season.

The Broncos, a 5-11 team, the Raiders, a 6-10 team, the Chargers, a team that missed the playoffs at 9-7

and the Chiefs, which the Eagles lost to 27-20.

The fact of the matter is Philadelphia didn’t see exceptional AFC talent on the field this year. The Eagles haven’t faced a Patriot or Jaguar caliber team.

The Patriots have a system that’s won five Super Bowls, hoping to make it an unbelievable six this Sunday. Unless you’re Eli Manning, it’s nearly impossible to beat the system.

Before you go and confidently pick the Eagles to run over the Patriots Sunday, think long and hard about the details of what’s happened over the past weeks. Don’t ever count out the G.O.A.T.s.

MJP14B@ACU.EDU

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FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2018

F E ATUR E

5

THE WONDER KIDS

After auditioning alongside dozens of talented performers, six selected students prepare to embark on the legendary journey of being called a Sing Song host and hostess.

BY EMILY GUAJARDO ARTS AND FEATURES EDITOR

A

s class and club acts practice for the event of the season, six fresh-faced students have already begun perfecting the necessary vocal exercises, choreography and solo arrangements as part of one of Sing Song’s highest honors – serving as a host and hostess.

Starting from scratch, this team begin by learning a classic one-hit wonder and turn it into a harmonized and dramatically different tune. Followed by impressive choreography and costume changes, the team practices for weeks as they follow in the legendary footsteps of the hosts and hostesses before them.

Barrett Lewis, senior management major from Abilene, said while pressure is on to produce a good show, the honor of being named one of the hosts exceeds the fear of being compared to previous hosts or his fellow co-hosts.

“There’s not pressure to be better than one another because we’re all a team,” Lewis said. “There isn’t a competition between singers in the way that it would appear in a more professional setting. I’ve never watched Sing Song in the mindset of comparing singers from previous Sing Song’s. I guess there could be some people in the audience that could be nit-picky like that, but overall no. I don’t think there’s any pressure like that.”

Although each singer has special talents and unique vocal ranges, the team is learning how to give and take the spotlight.

Reuben Byrd, senior physics major from Abilene, said the entire process is a learning experience and learning what talents you do and don’t have.

“One of my biggest fears is not being as good as the people I’m singing with,” Byrd said. “Like, I know I’ve been singing for a long time and it’s whatever, but in songs with all six of us, we each have our own part. And I’m afraid to be compared to my fellow singers. Or what if I majorly screw up my part and, yes, we’ve been practicing, but I’m realizing what it’s like to just trust one another.”

Compared to singers like Kristen Gillis, junior vocal performance from Hutto, Byrd said while he has sung for quite some time with choir groups on campus, the pressure of singing alongside vocal majors was something he had to learn to overcome.

“My sister was a hostess at a different college that does things similarly, and she was a vocal major,” he said. “And I always

PHOTOS BY NICKOLAS CROMWELL (L-R) Reuben Byrd, Christian Winter, Keely Smith, Kendall Stubblefield, Kristen Gillis, Barrett Lewis

thought ‘oh, that’s not me. I’m not like that.’ But then, last year I was friends with all of the hosts, and I thought, ‘Oh, well maybe I can do it too. I can sing, and I can do the same things they can.’ So I thought about it for a while, and I was hesitant to audition, and I did it and now, we’re here.”

Keely Smith, senior music major from Fort Worth, said one of the greatest benefits to singing contemporary pieces is to see what other talents their voices have.

“Yeah, it’s been great,” Smith said. “I mean I live with Kristen and Kendall, and I have been in choir together and so, that relationship has already been there.

But, this is different because it brings a different style of singing to sing alongside with them and not just sing classical music. This is more chill, fun kind of singing, so it’s a little different. You don’t get to see that side of their voice as much, and I think that’s pretty cool. And it was really interesting to have Christian and Barrett in this group because I didn’t think or know them that well, so it’s been cool to sing with them and get to know them more.”

I

n the midst of blocking out their fears and figuring out who sings what, Christian Winter, senior theatre major from Escondido, California,

said one of the main components of being a host is knowing how to act the part. Whether it be acting in love in a duet or pretending to be lonely in a solo piece, Winters said one of the hardest things to ‘nail down’ is how to shift moods between songs.

“Being a theatre major, there is a lot of acting you have to do,” Winter said.

“You know, in one song you have to be really sad, and in another you have to sing like you’re going through hard times as a group, and that really takes a lot of acting in our voices to really pull it off.”

Like all Sing Song performances, the hosts and hostesses sing well-known songs from artists like Adele, Katy Perry and Michael Buble. Kendall Stubblefield, junior vocal performance major from Pearland, said although it’s fun to sing catchy songs, she is afraid people will negatively compare their version to the original.

“While they can compare us to each other, I’m more worried about what we’re singing to the original artist,” Stubblefield said. “I think that people who come to Sing Song have a pretty open mind about who’s on the stage. It’s just that whenever they hear that we’re going to be singing one of their favorite songs, they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s going to sound like this,’ and if we sing it a different way, they’re going to be disappointed, and that’s what I’m

worried about.”

“Yeah, it’s an automatic response to compare us and have people pick out their favorites,” Smith said.

Gillis said while she is proud to be on the team, she did feel a bit alone being the only woman of color in the group and is afraid of not sounding as impressive as previous black hostesses – maybe she won’t be picked as someone’s favorite.

Battling with the idea of feeling alone in the midst of a predominantly Caucasian team, Gillis said she hopes her efforts can encourage the production team and other students of color to audition in the coming years.

“I’m afraid of being lost in the crowd.

I know I’m struggling with this, but when I first auditioned, I thought I would see more people like me,” Gillis said. “And when I got here, and they picked me, I was kind of shocked to see that no one looked like me. I didn’t have someone else like me on the team. I know it shouldn’t matter, but to be honest, like I auditioned because of the past hostesses, and I didn’t want to be the token black person. That’s a real thing. It’s not a joke.”

“Yeah, like if you were to take a random sample of six people at ACU, you’d probably get a group of us,” Winter quickly replied.

“I mean, obviously the university won’t always be this way, and it’s definitely trying to be more diverse, so these are just some of the efforts we can do now,” Stubblefield said.

“I just wish more students of color can not feel so intimated to audition,” Gillis said. “If it wasn’t for the girls I knew, I probably wouldn’t have done it. I’ve never done Sing Song, so this is my first time.”

W

ith the hopes of putting on a great show in less than two weeks away, this unlikely team will begin costume changes and choreography memorization before the opening night on Friday, Feb. 16. Even though most of the singers come from a musical background, Lewis said he thinks students with any singing background should audition in the coming years.

“Sing Song really brings people together and the university together,” Lewis said.

“It doesn’t matter what your major is or where you come from, if you like to sing and want to be a part of this tradition, I say ‘Go for it.’”

EAG13A@ACU.EDU

6

SPORTS

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Wildcats move up in conference standings, outlasts Lamar 74-69 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Cardinals did bring the deficit within one at 70-69 after a bucket and the foul from Josh Nzeakor with eight seconds left. But it wasn’t for Lamar, as graduate transfer Tevin Foster and junior Jaren Lewis converted four-straight, game-clinching free throws to outlast the Cardinals.

Foster led the team with nine assists and contributed 12 points, while Lewis also had 12 points to go with eight rebounds.

“The main thing is composure, just staying composed.” Foster said. “Just making the right plays, keeping the game simple, limit our turnovers and take good shots. I preached that

STANDINGS Men’s basketball Team

in practice, and in the games we still repeat it to each other, so that’s the big thing.”

The win comes at a good time for the Wildcats, moving them into sixth place and giving them a small, one-game cushion over Lamar, who falls to eight place. Last night also broke a two-game home losing streak for ACU and could give momentum with four of its final eight games being played in Moody Coliseum.

Wildcats will next travel to Hunstville to take on Sam Houston State, a team they defeated 7572 earlier this season and which is ranked fourth in the conference.

JMR13B@ACU.EDU

NICHOLAS CROMWELL STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jalone Friday elevates to score over the defense. He finished the game 24 points and 10 rebounds

BY TREVOR WYATT SPORTS WRITER

OPTIMIST STAFF Players meet at the mound before the pitch clear favorite, having won back-to-back Southland Conference Tournament titles, five of the 12 returning players earned all-conference selections. The picks include first-team selections senior Peyton Hendricks at shortstop, senior Holly Neese at second and senior Hannah Null at pitcher. Sophomore

12–10 18–4 13–9 13–10 13–10 14–9 12–11 13–10 7–12 7–12 5–18 5–14 3–18

9–2 7–2 7–2 7–3 7–3 6–4 6–4 5–5 4–5 4–5 1–9 0–9 0–10

Team

Ovrl. SLC.

Women’s Basketball

Softball picked for second-place finish Softball season hasn’t started yet, but the women are already getting accolades.

The women’s softball team received two preseason first-place votes on the season and was tabbed to finish second behind McNeese State. McNeese nabbed every available first-place vote for them, since coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team. ACU finished second behind McNeese last year with a record of 20-7 in conference play.

Head coach Bobby Reeves said although the team may have had a target on its back, it’s a good thing, as it just encourages the players to raise their goals.

Although McNeese is the

Ovrl. SLC.

NOU SFA Nicholls SHSU SELU ACU UCA Lamar TAMU-CC McNeese HBU UIW NWSU

Tori Poullard at third and sophomore outfielder Braegan Hamilton were named to the second team.

Poullard said her all-conference selection is humbling, but she didn’t know until after all of her other teammates.

“All of my teammates saw it on Twitter, but I de-

leted the app so I couldn’t see it myself,” Poullard said.

“But I’m in a group message, and that’s where it was sent to me.”

Tori said her father, who also was her coach growing up, taught her to be dedicated and have a hard work ethic.

“You know, I worked hard on this stuff,” she said.

“I would show up to practice every day, Monday through Friday, and work hard, but even after that I would work 10 or 15 minutes after practice fielding ground balls or whatever needed to be done. Even on days we didn’t have practice I would go and work.”

Personal accolades aside, Tori said the team’s goal this year is clear – winning conference.

“We’re kind of underrated this year compared to McNeese,” Poullard said, “But I think we can do it.

We have the team to be No. 1, and I definitely think, in my personal opinion, No. 2 in the conference is underrated for us.”

This will be the Wildcats first year of postseason eligibility, meaning a conference tournament title would earn them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats start their season Feb. 9 at the UTSA Softball Classic at the University of San Antonio and begin conference play in Hammond, Louisiana, against Southeastern Louisiana on March 9-10.

TMW13A@ACU.EDU

LEIPZIG, GERMANY • FALL 2018

ONE WEEK LEFT FOR EARLY APPLICATIONS Apply by Feb. 9 for a discounted application fee and to secure your place at ACU’s new villa!

After Study Abroad scholarships, the program fee is $2,500 for a semester abroad, which includes airfare and program excursions. Visit acu.edu/study-abroad or email camille.dickson@acu.edu for more information.

SFA 17–3 Lamar 14–6 UCA 15–6 ACU 13–7 NOU 11–11 TAMU-CC 12–8 McNeese 9–11 Nicholls 8–12 SELU 4–17 UIW 3–17 NWSU 7–14 HBU 6–14 SHSU 4–15

9–0 9–1 8–2 7–3 7–4 5–4 5–4 3–6 3–7 2–7 2–8 2–8 1–9

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Men’s basketball

In a hard fought win Wednesday evening, Friday put on a strong performance against LaFriday mar. He posted a double-double with an impressive 24 points and 10 rebounds. Friday also came up with two steals and a block. The men’s next opponent will be Sam Houston State Saturday in Huntsville.

For more, check out ACUOptimist.com Or follow us on social media @OptimistSports