OPTIMIST
The Vol. 95, No. 47
IN THIS ISSUE CAMPUS Kojie or Siggie?
Students thinking about pledging next fall met Monday evening to learn what to do, page 3
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1 section, 10 pages
Despite claims that the bowling alley would be torn down for the Campus Center renovations, Anthony Williams said it won’t because of cost, page 3
FEATURE
Being bold in China
Ryan Campbell spent a year teaching English at a university in China. His experience changed his view and made him want to live across the world in part three of our Christianity in China series, page 5
SPORTS
Setting the pace
Intramural soccer for men and women began April 2 with several changes added this season, page 10
CAMPAIGN
n The Theatre Department’s Spring Dinner Theater begins Thursday with ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ a tale of a plant gone wrong set in the 1950s. By CASSIE LEHMANN The cast and crew of “Little Shop of Horrors” are polishing up and ready to lift the curtain Thursday for their opening night.
The university’s Theatre Department chose “Little Shop” to be the show for its Spring Dinner Theatre as a fun, light-hearted end-ofthe-semester performance, said director Dawne Swearingen, assistant professor of theatre. “Little Shop,” set in the late 1950s, is the story of a young man, Seymour Krelborn, played by Seth Bazacas, who works in a flower shop
April’s Easter snow sets records
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and falls in love with his co-worker, Audrey. But Audrey, played by Alyssa Vidos, freshman theatre major from Waxahachie, has a boyfriend dentist named Orin Scrivello, played by Caleb Todd, senior theatre major from Mesquite. In the flower shop, Seymour finds a strange plant and names it Audrey II. Seymour nurtures the plant that becomes large enough to speak, move and sing. Audrey
II convinces Seymour to kill by promising him everything he always wanted. But the plant is not an average botanical wonder; it came from space with a plan for world domination. “It’s a fun spoof on those ’50s monster movies,” Swearingen said. “You can escape for a couple of hours. ‘Little Shop’ appeals to all ages, but See
PLAY page 8
cast & crew Seth Bazacas : Seymour Alyssa Vidos : Audrey Caleb Todd: Dentist Orin Josh Martin: Plant voice Jake Harbour: Mushnick Jazz Richardson: Ronette Jessica Patterson: Ronette Michelle Alexander: Ronette Terence Lindeke: Plant Jeremy Varner: Every Man Gary Varner: Set Design Travis Eason : Plant Designer Sandy Freeman: Costumer Ashley Sutphen: Hair and Make-up Shae Candelaria: Stage Manager Katelyn Whitlock: Asst. Stage Manager
The great debate
n Abilene weather set new records this weekend with the coldest temperatures in April, although the temperature drop may not be the last cold front the Big Country sees. By NATHAN STRAUS Staff Writer
Over the Easter weekend, Abilene was hit with a rare spring sight: snow and recordlow temperatures. White powder drifted softly to the ground most of the day Saturday and perhaps startled some who were settling into warmer spring weather last week. Dr. Donald Isenhower, professor of physics, said every few years something like the recent spring chill happens. “There’s an old saying,” Isenhower said, “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” While the drop in temperature was forecast, the recordbreaking nature of the chill was not easy to peg. Dan Edwards, chief meteorologist for KTAB, said the front produced two records Saturday. The first was the lowest high temperature, 36 degrees, ever in April. The second was the lowest, 28 degrees, ever recorded in April. Simply put, the record maximum high, set Saturday morning at 12:01, was the warmest it got on a really cold day. The record low for April was set just 12 hours later as temperatures fell throughout the morning. “The lowest we got in April was 28 degrees, occurring just past noon at 12:05,” Edwards said. See
SNOW page 8
Counting down
As the race for a Students’ Association position ends this week, each candidate spent a lot of time and effort on their campaigns, page 4
emily smith CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Daniel-Paul Watkins, running for vice president, talks about what he wants to do if elected at the Students’ Association Debate on Monday night in Chapel on the Hill. Treasurer candidate Kyle Moore and president candidate Brandon Smith wait their turn.
Six candidates discuss goals, platforms n Voting for the Students’ Association election ends Wednesday. Candidates informed students of their views at the debate. By KELSI PEACE Features Editor
SA executive office candidates spent a lot of time agreeing with one another and laying out their accomplishments at Monday’s debates in Chapel on the Hill. When treasurer candidate Kevan Kirksey, sophomore finance major from Tyler, said the budget that is currently in place does a good job of utilizing the limited funds, his opponent agreed.
brian schmidt CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
what the other said. “I know what it takes to love a community, a community that has problems, issues that you can’t fix overnight,” said Matt Worthington, junior English major from San Antonio, citing his experience as creator of Jesus and the Hip Hop Prophets. Presidential candidate Brandon Smith, junior international relations major from Kansas City, countered that a president is not judged by his or her personal achievements but by the vision they present to the body they govern. See
DEBATE page 8
Students begin Gmail switch
iTunes U offers podcasts
n Wednesday marks the first day students and faculty can switch their accounts from the Sun Java System to Google’s e-mail system, Gmail.
n Apple’s new program allows universities to utilize podcasts by posting interviews and lectures online. The distance education program uses it now.
Student Reporter
Fenohasina Randrianjafy, senior environmental science major from Madagascar, takes a break from her deck job in McDonald to enjoy the snow on Saturday.
“We do have a great process,” said Kyle Moore, junior management major from Double Oak. “But I think we need more.” This seemed to be the theme for much of the debate. When vice presidential candidate, Daniel-Paul Watkins, sophomore political science major from Fredericksburg, Va., said he plans to be in “constant communication with all student groups,” his opponent, Ryan Stephen, sophomore finance major from Spring, countered. “I’ve already made those connections.” Even the presidential candidates began the debates by building off
Tech support launches programs
By KARIE SCHMIDT
Endorsements
The Editorial Board on the Optimist staff interviewed each candidate and choose to endorse one for each position, see who was selected and why on page 7
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April 11, 2007
Cast debuts ‘Little Shop’ Thursday Student Reporter
Have no fear
WEDNESDAY
Seniors only have a year to access ACU e-mail accounts once they graduate, but after joining Google’s email system, Gmail, alumni might have the opportunity to stay connected to the ACU family. Google has offered educational institutions the chance to join its new email service to universities, and the best part is that the services are free, said Kay Reeves, director of technol-
ogy support services and customer services. ACU will be one of the first universities in the nation to use Gmail. Reeves said they did not plan to switch because of more data space and additional storage, but the simple fact that, Google is an “e-mail expert.” In joining Google’s Gmail, Dr. James Langford, director of Web Integration and Programming, said, “We’ve wanted to offer either lifetime e-mail or an @acu.edu alias to alumni for a long time. This may provide the opportunity to do that.” Elizabeth Tarrant, class See
GMAIL page 8
Abilene Christian University
By KRISTA MEYER Student Reporter
ACU launches its public side of iTunes U on Wednesday. With Wednesday’s launch, students will be able to view the SA debates that took place Monday night incase they missed the opportunity to view them or if they just want one more opportunity to hear each side before casting their votes. On Jan. 25, 2006, Apple announced it’s release of iTunes U; a program its Web site calls a “free hosted ser-
vice for colleges and universities that provides easy access to their educational content, including lectures and interviews, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Doug Darby, creative and media specialist at ACU, said the World Wide Distance Education program has already been using iTunes U as it’s sole means of distributing content. “iTunes U is meant to work as a companion tool with programs such as Blackboard,” Darby said. “Blackboard has more of a learning format where as iTunes U is designed as a means to distribute content quickly and easily.” See
PODCAST page 8
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