The Optimist Print Edition 09 08 17

McNair Scholars hosts conference to discuss racial issues in politics and culture Page 2

NEWS

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

Friday, September 8, 2017 Vol. 106, Issue 03

COUPE’S WELCOMING PERSONALITY Page 3

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT

ALLISON CRIST STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Nil Santana, associate professor of art, and Dr. Brent Reeves, the executive director of Information Technology, use a mobile app to control the ACU Lightwalk on the Quad.

Electronic art display lights up campus

BY LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR

The knee high sticks that spontaneously popped up by the Onstead Science Center brought the common question around campus, “What are those things in the Quad?”

ACU Lightwalk, as the project is named, is more than just a new installation of colored lights, it’s also de-

CALENDAR 9/10 •

Social Club Women’s Teas

9/11 •

Alpha Kai Omega “Candyland” Rush

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Sundaes on Mondaes

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Nothing BunDT Rush

9/12 •

Cabinet: Football Meet N Greet

9/13 •

Student Organization Fair -Campus Center

9/14 •

Cabinet Bowling Night -PrimeTime

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DAYS UNTIL

WILDCAT STADIUM OPENS SPORTS

WILDCATS PREPARE FOR COLORADO STATE Page 6

signed to inspire community gatherings, said Nil Santana, assistant professor of art and design and director of the Maker Lab. The fixtures are made out of LED-filled plastic tubes controlled by a small computer. The entire installation is composed of 35 clusters, with 10 stalks each.

There are over 20,000 lights throughout the Lightwalk.

Almost three years ago, a family made a donation in honor of Ray and Kay McGlothlin was given to the university to create a modern, cutting-edge sculpture that would combine and involve a broad spectrum of disciplines in the STEM and art fields.

As a result of collaboration between the Maker Lab, 22 ACU faculty and students and Viget - a com-

pany that combines design and engineering to create products and experiences, the ACU Lightwalk was completed at the beginning of this semester. Although, Santana said there will be minimal updates to the app periodically by Dr. Brent Reeves, the executive director of Information Technology and other students who have contributed to the project.

“Like many other projects in our campus, I expect The Quad to not only become an important ACU landmark, but also an attraction for the Abilene community and certainly a meeting point for our students,” Santana said. “Even during initial testing, it has been amazing to witness families bring their kids, let them play and interact with the light reeds. To me,

Contested SA races decline from last year

BY HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF

Only four races for Students’ Association Congress were contested, which is down from last year’s five contested races.

Freshman involvement also declined from last year and the only contested race on the ballot was for freshman class president. Jacob Pakele, ministry major from Burleson, won against Jaley McKinney, biology major from Amarillo.

The SA cabinet would not disclose the vote count or the number of students who voted in each election. SA executive president Julia Kennedy said the candidates can personally ask the cabinet what the numbers were.

Races for freshman vice president and treasurer were uncontested, with just one candidate for each position. This is less than last year when three freshman ran for president, four ran for vice president and only one ran for treasurer.

Kennedy said the decrease in freshmen involvement could be a result of having elections during the second week of school. Last year, elections took place on the third week of school, so freshmen had more time to prepare than they did this year.

“I think they feel overwhelmed,” Kennedy said.

“They’re like, ‘I’m not ready to be in student government, I don’t even know where my classes are.’”

“I don’t think a bunch of people know about it,” said Jaley McKinney, freshman biology major from Amarillo, who ran for freshman class president.

McKinney said she received the information for elections in a flyer during Wildcat Week then sought out more information because of her high school student government experience.

“Its been a part of my life for the past four years so I wanted to carry it over to the college level,” McKinney said. “I want to be a voice for the students and just help things get heard.”

In total, only four races were on the ballot for Wednesday’s election.

Kennedy said students pe-

titioned to run for other positions, including hall representatives, academic representatives and athletics representatives. However, those races were not on the ballot, Kennedy said, and those candidates instead went through an interview process.

“I think it’s better to have quality over quantity,” Kennedy said. “I would rather know them personally, and interview them, get to know what their goals are, and then decide myself, because I am the executive congressional chair.”

Adam Andrade won senior class president against Alexandria Warren. He served as the College of

The Black Students Association will host a Black Student Orientation facilitated by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

BSA’s Black Student Orientation will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday. An email from OMA said, “The goals of the Black Student Orientation are to facilitate a smooth transition into

college life, acclimate students to on and off-campus resources, address the specific needs and particular needs of African/African American students at ACU, and build community with Black students, faculty, staff, and other black organizations on campus.”

BSA president Summer Thompson, who serves as state president of the Texas National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Youth

and College Division, said other NAACP chapters at predominantly white institutions, such as Baylor University, also host orientations for black students.

As part of BSA’s mission to facilitate growth for black students, Thompson said she and other officers thought the orientation was needed.

“The years that I’ve been here, the growth and success of black students has been very stag-

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LMF14A@ACU.EDU

Sophomore seeks to start immigrant group

BY ASHLEY ALFRED COPY EDITOR

nant,” said Thompson, junior communications major from Missouri City.

“When you’re bringing minority students here, what are you offering them? What else are you doing? When it comes to foster the growth of black students on campus, it becomes a BSA issue.”

All black faculty and staff were invited to speak at the event, Thompson

A sophomore student is working to bring Define American, a non-profit organization targeted toward international students, to ACU’s campus.

Jenna Leigh Bonner, sophomore history major from Pampa, is pursing to bring a Define American chapter to campus. She first discovered Define American while scrolling through Twitter, and began doing research.

Their mission statement reads: Define American is a non-profit media and culture organization that uses the power of story to transcend politics and shift the conversation about immigrants, identity, and citizenship in a changing America.

Bonner decided she would work toward building the organization at ACU for immigrants that may need or want to share their stories.

“I want to create a community for immigrant students from all nations and cultures,” Bonner said.

“Even though there are groups on campus that

SEE ORIENTATION PAGE 2

SEE IMMIGRANT PAGE 2

SEE ELECTIONS PAGE 2

BSA to host first Black Student Orientation

BY ADRIENNE BARRICK AND HALEY REMENAR

seeing their reactions and listening to their comments has been fulfilling. Working on this collaborative project has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me.”

Students can interact with the ACU Lightwalk by going to lightwalk.acu.edu.

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FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

McNair hosts ‘Race in the Age of Trump’ conference

BY HALEY REMENAR EDITOR IN CHIEF

McNair Scholars will bring two guests to campus for a conference titled “Race in the Age of Trump” Sept. 12-13.

Dr. Steven Moore, director of McNair, said the program staff picked the topic so students could have a place to discuss racial tensions in the current political climate. He said during the last few years the McNair staff planned the conference because students said they wanted more lectureship events like Summit.

“It seems like when you pay attention to what was going on in the election, it was evident that we are a divided

SA elections CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

College of Business Administration representative the last three years and said he was ready to take on a bigger role in Congress.

“I just felt like I could better serve our class and I felt like it would be a great time to step up,” Andrade said.

Andrade, a political science and management major from Fort Worth, said one of his initial goals in SA Congress will be to bring up the issue of parking. He said many seniors told him they wanted to

Immigrant CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I want to create a community for immigrant students from all nations and cultures,” Bonner said. “Even though there are groups on campus that share an overlapping focus on immigration and immigrant students’ issues, there is no group that specifically focus-

Orientation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Thompson said. Others who will speak include Chris Riley, vice president for student life, and Shannon Kaczmarek, director of student advocacy programs, Alpha Scholars and Residence Life. Thompson said each of these people will describe resources available to black students. The Residence Life segment of the orientation will include a discussion on how to handle issues like the blackface incident that took place last year, in which a student posted video of herself wearing a mud mask to SnapChat. Thompson said the blackface incident did not prompt the orientation, but it will be discussed as part of the agenda.

The orientation is also directed toward African students, Thompson said, because BSA works with the African Students’ Association and African students can

country on so many levels,” Moore said. “Particularly on the subject Moore of race ... So we thought, ‘why not tackle this issue for our first official conference?’”

Moore said the title of the conference is not meant to blame President Trump for racial issues, but rather to show how the president defines the current era. For example, Moore said he’s seen scholarly research titled “Terrorism in the Age of Bush.”

“There’s something going on in the air right now, and I think it’s a fitting title,”

Moore said. “When people see ‘Trump,’ it just divides people. There’s something about that name that gets people riled up. We’re just examining the issue of race because this is the age that we’re living in right now.”

The conference will feature 2008 alumnus Camari Carter-Hawkins and Texas Tech University professor Dr. Dave Louis. Carter, author of a poetry book, will read her poems and speak about her life experiences. Moore said the conference may become an annual tradition and he wants various artists to be included no matter the topic.

“We would love to do something every year where

be able to park closer to their classes. He also said he wants to work on making sure the school is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act in honor of Drew Kirk, a disabled student who died in August.

Rachel Jones won junior class president against Tyler Hasenjaeger. She served as the Dillard Hall representative last year and said she believes she will do well as a class representative by listening to the student body’s needs.

“This isn’t a title to stick on a resume but I truly see it as an opportunity to serve the

student body,” Jones said.

Her goals include getting students to support athletics more and working on changes to Title IX implementation.

Max Preston, journalism major from Amarillo, will serve as the junior class vice president. The new sophomore class president is Sloan Polvado, marketing major from Sugarland. Mikaela Clinton, advertising and public relations major from San Antonio, will serve as the sophomore vice president.

es and advocates on these.”

Although Bonner is not an international student, she says that many of her friends are immigrants – some of which are undocumented. This also motivated her to move forward.

“Simply caring about the struggles of my friends first got me involved, and it evolved from there as I learned and listened more,” have similar experiences to African-American students.

“I think BSO will be beneficial to African students,” Thompson said. “They’re coming from a background where the majority is black to a place where the majority is white.”

Orientation for other minority groups, like Hispanic or Asian students, would need to be facilitated by Hispanos Unidos or the International Students’ Association, Thompson said.

“That’s what their mission statement challenges them to do,” Thompson said. “For BSA, our primary goal is to foster the growth of black students on campus.”

OMA oversees five student organizations: African Students Association (ASA), Black Students Association (BSA), Chinese Students and Scholars’ Association (CSSA), Hispanos Unidos (HU), and Third Culture Kids.

Presidents from each organization will begin meeting

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

said Bonner.

In order to move forward, Bonner continues her search for an ACU staff member who might be interested in sponsoring the organization, and confirm that there is interest among the student body.

AMA14B@ACU.EDU

together as a council monthly to unite the subgroups in OMA as a whole. Thompson said the new council will be “a force to be reckoned with.”

“I foresee this group of individuals using their internal and external lenses to challenge and provide fresh ideas ... as it relates to the advancement of minority students on campus,” she said.

OMA’s new council will meet with the Students’ Association once a month to work on plans and events.

Upcoming events will include BSO in addition to OMA’s Sundaes on Mondaes event. OMA will be participating in Cultural Awareness Week on campus at the end of October.

“Last year was a good pace and schedule,” said OMA Director Prentice Ashford, “this year we’d like to increase campus awareness and see a lot more engagement.”

we focus on an issue,” Moore said, “and then invite some well-known Carter- s p e a k e r s , Hawkins musicians and artists and then just have them participate with the students and engage our minds on the current issue of the day.”

Carter-Hawkins studied political science, but she said after taking Moore’s African-American literature course she became inspired to write. Now she works at World Stage Press in Los Angeles and recently published a book of poems. She sent the

book to Moore last year and he invited her to do a reading and speak on campus.

“I write a lot about my experience as a black woman in America, not just related to race,” Carter-Hawkins said. “Basically my experience through poetry, sharing stories and interweaving that throughout my story.”

Her style includes spoken word and prose. She said she would also talk about her grandmother’s life experiences.

“I’m just really excited to be invited and hopefully my words and poetry can incite some real change,” Carter-Hawkins said. “Change for the ACU community but

once they graduate, it is more of a world-change. [To] really incite a positive change, promote awareness in the political climate and spark some unity.”

Students, faculty and staff can attend the event which begins with Carter-Hawkins presenting in a small group Chapel in the Hardin Administration Building Tuesday. She will also do a poetry reading Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Bible 114. Louis will speak in the Brown Library at 11 a.m. and in Bible 120 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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Elected Congress Members 2017–18 CLASS OFFICERS Freshman Class President Jacob Pakale Freshman Class Vice President Oswaldo Garcia Freshman Class Treasurer Shelby Barclay Sophomore Class President Sloan Polvado Sophomore Class Vice President Mikaela Clinton Sophomore Class Treasurer Ashleigh Crawford Junior Class President Rachel Jones

ACADEMIC COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVES Arts & Sciences Kevin Shultz Liberty Grace Bland Meagan Benson Business Administration Taylor Spencer Evan Rodriguez

RESIDENTIAL REPRESENTATIVES Gardner Hall Karla Mendoza Nelson Hall open McDonald Hall open Mabee Hall Michael Bubolz Aaron Gasca

Biblical Studies pending Education & Human Services open Nursing pending STUDENT ORGANIZATION REPRESENTATIVES

McKinzie Hall Arnold Chorles Sikes Hall Ivria Bunner Barret Hall open Dillard Hall Sara Grosz

Athletics Jaryd Lara

Morris Hall open

Arts Christian Winter

Smith Adams Male open

Junior Class Treasurer Matthew Williams

Professional Development Bethany Dor

Smith Adams Female open

Senior Class President Adam Andrade

Multicultural Mafer Hernandez

Edwards Hall pending

Service & Activism Anastasia Luck

Off Campus Megan Bonnell

Junior Class Vice President Max Preston

Senior Class Vice President open Senior Class Treasurer open

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

STEM open Men’s Social Club Reed Denton Women’s Social Club Kate Hegi

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 09/01/2017 11:15 p.m.

While on foot patrol outside Dillard Hall, an officer observed an unaffiliated male subject near a darkened alcove window area next to the building. The subject provided a false name to officers and was arrested for Failure to ID and also issued a Criminal Trespass Warning for ACU properties.

09/03/2017 12:31 p.m.

ACUPD assisted APD officers on a traffic stop of three suspected armed subjects in the 300 Block of Ambler. Subjects were reportedly involved in a drive-by shooting at a residence at another location.

09/03/2017 12:32 a.m.

Res Life staff reported an alcohol violation at Gardner Hall.

911 CALL ACCIDENT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY ALARM ALCOHOL INCIDENT ARMED SUBJECT ARRESTED SUBJECT ASSIST BARRICADES BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK BURGLARY (MOTOR

1 1 20 1 2 1 1 2 4 10

VEHICLE) 2 CART PATROL 1 CHECK BUILDING 272 CITATION ISSUANCE 6 CRIMINAL TRESPASS 2 CRIMINAL TRESPASS WARNING 2 DIRECT TRAFFIC 1 DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE 1 ESCORT 2 FINGERPRINTING SERVICE 1 FOOT PATROL 26 FOUND PROPERTY 2

HIT & RUN 1 INFORMATION REPORT 2 INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP 8 LOST PROPERTY 3 MONITOR FACILITY/LOT 6 MOTORIST ASSIST: INFLATE TIRE 1 MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMPSTART 9 MOTORIST ASSIST: OTHER 1 MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK 6

PARKING LOT PATROL PARKING VIOLATION PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTENANCE PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL PROWLER PUBLIC SERVICE

RANDOM PATROL REPORT WRITING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY SUSPICIOUS PERSON THEFT TRAFFIC STOP

27 15

WELFARE CHECK TOTAL

3 8 1 1 11 15 1 6 1 4

POLICE CHIEF TIP OF THE WEEK:

1 537

Remember to keep a record of the serial number, brand/model info for valuables such as laptops, tablets, game systems. This helps ACUPD greatly when things get stolen.

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FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

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THE WARMEST WELCOME Caddie Coupe has become the vision behind making ACU home

BY LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR

Although she stands only 4 feet 11 inches tall, her role on campus is large.

The spunky and energetic director of student and parent activities, Caddie Coupe, organized Welcome Week and oversaw through the drastic transition to Wildcat Week.

Despite some pushback and opposition from the campus community, Coupe and her student-leaders focused on making each event about the students rather than the transition itself.

The advancements were inspired by the understanding that students attending the university are not “onesize-fits-all.” Wildcat Week creates options for students of all different personalities through over 70 different activities. Some for introverts looking for smallgroup coffee time or for an extrovert seeking interpersonal energy from Mentor Group Olympics.

From “Thrive” or “Awake” to simply, “Wildcats,” Coupe said the transition discarded the idea of a theme to recognize that every student comes in with a different experience – whether from a legacy family, or not seeing ACU at all.

Out of the new events, Coupe’s favorite was ACU Fest, in which incoming students interact with some of the clubs on campus.

Although the tailgate was rained out this year, the ex-

LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR Caddie Coupe poses in front of the Paramount Theatre at the Block Party on Cypress Street during Wildcat week.

citement of Wildcat Week and positive attitudes of leaders continued through the ‘90s dance to show freshmen all of the things they can look forward to being involved in.

Another driving force for the change was the desire to become a “strengths” campus. This year during Wildcat Week, students’ top five strengths were listed on their lanyards, and icebreakers in mentor groups were based on the StrengthsFinder personali-

ty traits.

Deeply rooting her identity in her strengths: discipline, connectedness, futuristic, strategic and relator, Coupe said, “I’m very proud of my top five, they explain my drive, being able to see what could be and executing large projects.”

Looking forward, Coupe said she is excited for freshmen and transfer students to acquire a sense of ownership at ACU as she directs Family Weekend for the fourth year.

Church plant finds home in new Cinemark complex

BY HAILEY REMENAR EDITOR AND CHIEF

A new Assemblies of God church will begin services Sept. 17 in the Cinemark movie complex.

Called Transformation Church, the new church will take place in a 150-seat theater with one service at 10 a.m. Manny Lundy, the worship pastor and a 2017 graduate, said New Hope Church is planting Transformation Church, but the churches have separate funds and staffing. The lead pastors, Michael and Carolyn Chandler, previously served at New Hope Church.

Lundy served as a worship leader for Immersed Chapels in his sophomore through senior years. Although he had been leading worship at New Hope for several years before that, he said leading in Moody Coliseum helped him overcome nervousness.

“Immersed really stretched me as far as getting over the fear of people,” Lundy said. “Now it’s like second nature. I’m still nervous for sure. I think I’d be worried if I wasn’t nervous because I don’t want to bring in that attitude that’s like ‘I got this.’

I’m leaning on God in this whole experience.”

Transformation advertised to freshmen during the Wildcat Week church fair and has used social media, flyers and billboards to inform the city about its first meeting. About 50 people from New Hope Church will join the initial volunteer team. Lundy said the church has a non-denominational atmosphere although it follows Assemblies of God doctrines.

The church does not have plans yet to move to a brick-

and-mortar church building, and Lundy said being in a theater will help new attendees feel comfortable.

“A lot of people feel church is a place where they get judged or criticized,” Lundy said. “If we bring the church inside of a movie theater, something that looks nothing like a church building, people are going

to become curious.”

Michael Chandler, the lead pastor, served as a worship pastor at New Hope Church for 12 years, according to the church website.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

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“In those first four weeks, we transition to – ‘this is my bed, this is my room, this is my home.’ Having parents get a first-hand glimpse of that is really exciting. Hopefully that gives parents and families the opportunity to feel like their son or daughter is in the right place.”

The driving force for the love of her job is the pressure she feels to have something for everyone.

Her desire is to meet students where they are, but also challenge them to step

out of their comfort zones.

Showcasing “how awesome ACU is, how cool we are” is something Coupe said she takes seriously.

Although she serves the incoming class, she regularly works alongside upperclassmen like Megan Fridge, a junior marketing major from Houston.

“Caddie is so strategic about planning a variety of events that include people of different interests, majors and backgrounds,” said Fridge, who works

year-round with Coupe planning events. “That has always been so important to her. I don’t think anyone would think of her as a traditional boss. She’s super fun, leads by example, and puts in 100 percent every day so that the students that work for her are motivated to do the same.”

Whether handing out extra food vouchers during Block Party, speaking in front of students at a congress meeting, or – as most of the time – watching her hard work pay off behind the scenes, Coupe shows her passion through her optimistic and leading attitude.

“The most important aspect of my job is that I’m mentoring students to make wise choices, to think outside the box, to push boundaries in a good way,” Coupe said. “That when I work with students, I’m encouraging them to be their best selves and give their best selves to this campus.

I really want the students to shine, not myself. Wildcat Week – I don’t need to know the freshmen to know who I am. I want the freshmen to know our upperclassmen leaders and they can learn about me later on. I think student to student is so much more valuable than staff to student.”

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OP I N I ON

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ED IT O R IA L

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

What SA Congress does, what it should do THE ISSUE The editorial board answers what we think SA does and what they should possibly do differently.

OUR TAKE People believe SA does good and bad. Read what we think below.

RATED R Haley Remenar What SA does: Freshmen in SA Congress typically think they are going to do great things for the student body, but they soon realize the bulk of their job involves long meetings, voting on wordy bills and helping plan overrated events. Meanwhile, upperclassmen in business or political science realize SA Congress allows them to practice administration skills, so they get involved with the minimum effort required. By the end of the spring semester last year, attendance was so low, Congress didn’t have the numbers to vote on anything. They had to start doing absentee voting via Google Forms.

What SA should be: All SA Congress really needs is a consistently good attitude about serving the student body. In the past, I’ve noticed only two groups of SA representatives actually showing that they care about the work: the executive cabinet and a small group of interested, outspoken Congress members. The rest of Congress just yawns through the meetings, votes quickly and leaves. SA already has the resources and the diverse pull of the student body to do great things. If every member shows up with a good attitude, they could do a great job.

QUITE FRANCO-LY Lauren Franco What SA does: I served in

SA as a representative of the College of Arts and Sciences for three semesters. It started mostly as a resume-builder, but it quickly turned into a family. Although people assume SA is supposed to be a mini-government, it’s also a way to make connections and lifelong friendships.

I also volunteered more in my time serving with SA and I got involved with football games and immersed myself in the culture of different student groups.

What SA should be: Supported. Respected. Two things that they are not. They put on events and concerts that thousands of people don’t recognize (nor attend). SA has a lot of stepping up to do this year, especially in transparency with the student body, but I don’t doubt what they’re doing is meaningful. Sometimes I question some of the bills and resolutions that I hear about (and participated voting in), but I urge the upcoming Congress members and Executive Cabinet to focus on things they are passionate about, regardless of how small. To Congress: from smelly bathrooms to bean food, and cowbells to racial issues on campus, pursue what you consider valuable. You will do great things this year.

ONE IN EMILLION Emily Guajardo What SA Does: SA is just a resume bullet point. I served as the representative for my dorm during

my freshman year. I can honestly say that my time in SA wasn’t made by the amounts of time we spent “debating” bills that really never made a difference to students. The truth is SA never made anything for me. SA is sitting on money and they don’t know how to manage it (or at least they haven’t in years past).

SA is simply another medium organizations need to go through; simply another obstacle. I can see why idea of having peers serving peers can seem innovative and creative. However, the relationships have always seemed to turn sour and distrust begins to form.

Their concerts, cookouts, tailgates or “reforms” do not suffice.

What SA should be: A group of qualified individuals. I cannot put my trust in a peer to make the decisions for me if they don’t even know me or haven’t even put forth the effort. The people who run for SA positions fall into the three categories; those who are interested in careers within the government, those who just joined for their resumes sake and those who simply are in in for the power (and money). SA needs to be run by qualified individuals who have previous experience in student government, money management and exposure on campus instead of their personal bubbles.

EXAGGER-RAITZ Jonathan Raitz What SA does: I think SA is selling themselves short. I honestly think it does a great job with the resources it has, but it could potentially have more than just a voice in where the money for student organizations go. I have had many friends involved on a large scale with SA, so I know how hard they work and it means well, but SA should really help

Ernesto Guajardo, Guest Cartoonist Students look for the “change” the SA candidates promised. themselves out. It seems to be very focused with things here on campus, yet there is little progress made. I know money is allotted to different organizations and things are done to add bike accessibility around campus, but SA often limits itself to the ACU bubble.

What SA should be: A unified front. First and foremost those within SA have to be unified, not necessarily in all their thinking but in what the important issues are.

There are a lot of organizations at the college level that work close with political movements and reform and I think SA should look into partnering with them, and move from a larger scale than just ACU. At ACU we struggle to look beyond the bubble we put ourselves in. If SA can activate the platform it has been given to match the goal with which ACU so happily displays, to be world leaders rather than just campus leaders, SA could change how it’s viewed and enhance the effect and influence it has.

I’M JESS SAYIN’ Jessica Clark What SA does: When I think

QUITE FRANCO-LY @KENCARHAR 9/5/2017 1:07 P.M. my art history professor just said pyramids of Giza and I thought he said pyramids of Yeezy....I have never been more disappointed in myself

LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR Junior psychology and convergence journalism major Fort Worth, Texas

@OG_TOM_ 9/4/2017 10:54 A.M. Happy Monday to the girl who pulled out a calculator for a conversation about jurisprudence and the morality of law in my Business Law class @ERICKATISDALE 9/2/17 11:08 A.M. I hit a butterfly with my car and cried that’s the emotional state I’m in

“They may not see the incredible in you right now.

Keep shining. They will,” reads a tweet by @OsteenOrPanda.

This is probably my favorite Twitter account of all time despite not posting any new content since 2015. It’s satirical, but pretty realistic at the same time. I’m also convinced Osteen stared himself down in the mirror and spoke these words every morning during Hurricane Harvey. After his “unwillingness” to open Lakewood Church’s doors to flood victims, Twitter raged with comments against him and his $60 million worth.

Attacks on Christianity

@SAVETHEDARBEES 9/5/2017 11:24 A.M. My life is infinitely better becasue I am dating someone who can get me into the bean @REALSLIIMSHADYY 9/4/2017 7:42 P.M. Praying for a snow day tomorrow

@CARLEESTAPP 9/5/2017 10:14 P.M. told myself I was gonna go to bed early, but then I put on HSM2

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

weren’t hard to find. I’d come across them just by simply opening the app. I became defensive over myself and my faith, unfortunately falling victim to the hatred toward this man within seconds of finding out that he didn’t offer the stadium-sized megachurch immediately when the flooding started. A mattress store, of all places, refused to let homelessness reign over Houston. So why couldn’t a “Christian” man do so without having to be asked?

A few years ago, when attending youth group at a megachurch slightly smaller than Osteen’s, I made a sarcastic remark to a distant friend about one of

T H E

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

Phone numbers will not be published.

What SA should be: When I say small reforms, I don’t mean to demean those issues. In fact, I think SA should be more driven toward passing those bills. In my three years at ACU, I can only vaguely remember SA passing two such bills, one on recycling and one to fix the handicap automatic door buttons all around campus (none of them worked my freshman year). SA should be more focused on these small issues that make a huge difference. There are probably more that I don’t know about, so make sure to tell us when you do change something like that - we appreciate it. In fact, I would argue there are times when we appreciate it a little more than we appreciate what our student activity fee goes to.

body in the betterment of ourselves. They help create events and deal with issues to address things that divide us as a whole. Sometimes we view SA as doing things that we don’t like, but they are only taking all opinions into account. They work to make the school a place where people of all identities can come together and have at least one thing in common.

What SA should be: I think SA should become a place that students feel safe turning to if they have something to say. We often feel as though others won’t accept our ideas if they differ from the norm.

SA should be a place where those ideas go, so that they can fully account for the ideas of the student community. Face it, it would be extremely boring if we went to a school where our ideas and opinions were all exactly the same. SA should be a place where ideas, aside from how different they may be, are welcome and considered.

BAR-BARRICK Adrienne Barrick What SA does: I believe that SA helps the student

Joel Osteen or Panda Express?

#ACUrandoms

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

of SA, I think of social activities. Class parties, tailgates, concerts - these are the most visible things SA coordinates throughout the year. Once in a while, they pass a bill about recycling or other small reforms on campus.

his retweets. I questioned how he could be ok with posting something that is critiqued so openly by various religious groups, mainly Christians. I embarrassingly got the serious response – “I’m not going to question who God gave authority to, but trust that something good is going to come out of it.”

That frustrated me. But it resonated. How can we believe that statement when we have seen awful powers do awful things? I don’t really have an honest answer.

As much as I wanted to write about how wrong Osteen is, and how glad I am that the world finally sees how unrealistic his prosperity gospel messages are, it’s a waste of my voice to recognize the things that are already considered true (to most people). I will share numerous Babylon Bee articles about him and retweet the sappy Panda Express fortunes, but the misrepresentation of who

Christ is was not just on the part of Osteen.

I don’t agree with his decisions, nor will I associate myself with a vast majority of the things he says, but one fact remains true that makes him the same as me. We are human. We fall short daily. I didn’t keep my doors shut in the face of thousands of people, no. But I have hurt myself and others, and that is not OK, whether one person or 10,000.

To hate and threaten is just as much a sin as not opening a house of worship to be a sanctuary. Change cannot come when sin fights sin, nor when responses to mistakes are hate and exclusion.

Grace has the final word. Anyone who wants to represent the body of Christ must understand and act on that truth.

LMF14A@ACU.EDU

O P T IM IST

published by the department of journalism and mass communication staff and management board Haley Remenar Editor in Chief Lauren Franco Content Managing Editor Jonathan Raitz Sports Director Jessica Clark Video Director Emily Guajardo Arts and Features

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FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 8 2017

F E ATUR E

A B I L E N E

5

Sept. 8,9 Paramount Theatre

Traveling through time and space in the DeLorean, join Marty McFly, Doc Brown and Biff Tannen back in time in the ‘80s hit classic Back to the Future. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office.

Sept. 8-17 Abilene Expo Center

The West Texas Fair and Rodeo returns to the Big Country with some classic carnival rides, rodeo and pet shows, and fried food galore. Grab your pocket change and head over to this family friendly event.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate.

SEPTEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER EDITION

Sept. 17 Abilene Civic Center

SEPTEMBER

Sep. 15,16, 22,23 Paramount Theatre

August: Osage County presented by Paramount Productions. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box.

Abilene Philharmonic presents Gershwin’s Concerto in ‘F’ featuring pianist Joel Fan.

Sept.22 Hunter Welcome

Entra La Plaza presented by Hispanos Unidos

Sept. 17 Abilene Convention Center

Sept. 22,23 Red Bud Park

17th Annual West Texas Book Festival

Oct. 31 Hardin Simmons

Oct. 20,21,22 Abilene Civic Center

The Jellicale Cats are coming out in the most purrfect way. Bringing catchy songs and intense dance numbers, CATS is a must see show. Tickets can be purchased online.

Civic Orchestra of Abilene Halloween concert

Watch as dozens of hot air balloons fill up the night sky at the annual Big County Balloon Festival. This free family event is filled with great food, good music and members from across the community. Get there early to get a good spot.

OCTOBER Oct. 17 Paramount Theatre

Oct. 21 The Elks

Shine your dancing shoes and get ready to swing dance the night away with the ACU Jazz Ensemble.

Nov. 11 Center for Contemporary Arts Chaos Theory presented by Russell Ellison and Julia Six.

NOVEMBER

Abilene Community Band fall concert

Nov. 10,11 Paramount Theatre

Nov. 3,4 Paramount Theatre

Movie premiere: The Sound of Music

Showcasing 30 international films, attendees can watch some of the years best documentaries, short films and animations from dozens of small film companies. The International Film Festival stretches throughout the weekend with ten films shown per showtime.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office.

Nov. 17,18,19 Paramount Theatre

The Abilene Ballet Theatre presents the 30th anniversay of The Nutcracker. Filled with high jumping dancers and beautiful sugar-plummed choreagraphy, this Tchaikovsky masterpiece will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit.

Nov. 28 Downtown Abilene

City Sidewalks Downtown Parade and tree-lightning

Dec. - Jan. The Grace Museum

Visit the Grace as Mary Vennon and Allison V. Smith showcase both their photography and original drawings in their joint exhibition titled “Painting is Drawing” and “Plain View”.

DECEMBER Dec. 10 First Baptist Church Vespers Christmas concert

Dec. 8,9 Paramount Theatre

Movie premiere: White Christmas

EVERY SECOND THURSDAY Art Walk | Cypress St | 7 P.M. | Free admission to selected museums

6

SPORTS

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Wildcats gear up for more FBS football

BY MAX PRESTON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The football team finishes its non-conference schedule this weekend as it travels to Fort Collins, Colorado to play Colorado State University, a week before the Wildcat Stadium opener.

The Wildcats took on New Mexico last weekend and lost 38-14 dropping them to 0-1 start to the season.

Colorado State has already played two games this season resulting in a one-sided 58-27 season opening win over Oregon State and a 17-3 loss to rival Colorado University.

Redshirt junior QB Dallas Sealey said his team will have to be on its A-game against the Rams.

“Their defense is really good,” Sealey said. “They held Colorado, which was a team that finished in the top of the Pac-12 last year, to 17 and also shut down a good Oregon State offense, so we know they’re disciplined and well coached.”

Sealey leads the team offensively going into the

matchup against the Rams as he posted 240 yards passing on 33 completions out of 55 attempts with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Lobos last week.

Senior outside linebacker Bryson Gates leads the Wildcats defensively after picking up four tackles and 1.5 sacks and tackles for a loss last week.

Colorado State returns two of its offensive stars from last year in redshirt senior QB Nick Stevens and senior wide receiver Michael Gallup.

In 2016, Stevens completed 129 passes on 201 attempts for 1936 yards and 19 touchdowns with five interceptions. Stevens has also completed 50 of his 86 attempts for 643 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions this season.

Gallup recorded 76 receptions for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2016. He finished 14th in the nation last year with those 1,272 yards. He has also caught 16 passes for

Nicholls SHSU ACU UCA HBU Lamar NWSU SELU SFA UIW McNeese

CHRISTI LIM STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Tracy James, sophmore running back, blocks for Dallas Sealey, junior quarterback, as he makes a throw during the game against New Mexico.

201 yards and no touchdowns this year.

Head coach Adam Dorrel said it will be a tough environment to play in on Saturday, considering Colorado State just opened a brand-new stadium.

“They’re a tough foot-

LAUREN FRANCO CONTENT MANAGING EDITOR Lauren Walker, junior middle blocker, reaches for the ball as she tips it over the defender.

ball team,” Dorrel said. “I want to see us learn from our mistakes last week, when we get a chance to make plays Saturday I want to see us make those big plays.”

Kickoff against Colorado State is scheduled for

2:30 p.m. Central time (1:30 p.m. MDT) and can be heard on Abilene’s 98.1 FM or watched on Mountain West network.

2–1 and ultimately win the match in game four.

After falling in the first game against Rice, the Wildcats battled to a 26– 24 game two victory, but the Owls proved too much in the rest of the way.

Smith said in future matches where ACU competes early one the team has to keep control if they want to come out on top.

“We talked a lot about control, just as a team, controlling our side of the net, and controlling the net in general,” Smith said. “So I think just taking every point and Angela always says forcing our will against other teams and kind of be in control of the match.”

In the final match of the tournament, ACU struggled to get anything going against the undefeated Buffaloes. And in Monday’s Labor Day match up against head coach Angela Mooney’s former team, the Red Raiders, the Wildcats looked every bit like a team that had played four consecutive days, falling 25–12, 25–20 and 25–20.

Sophomore Amanda Chapa continues to be a bright spot of the Wildcats’ defense. She dug out 82 attacks over the four games and is averaging 5.65 digs per set. Chapa also earned Southland Conference Honorable Mention Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row.

Freshman Katelyn Mueller has also provided a much needed offensive burst for ACU. Mueller was one of the top hitters in the Wildcats’ lone win against Wyoming two weekends ago, and she also posted nine kills in three short games against Big 12 powerhouse Texas Tech on Monday.

ACU returns to action this weekend when it travels to Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso for the Borderland Invitational. The Wildcats are 1–6 so far this season, but the schedule should get easier when they begin conference play at home Sept. 23.

MJP14B@ACU.EDU

team knotted at a game apiece, the game was tied at 20 before the Demon Deacons scored five straight points to take a

JMR13B@ACU.EDU

FOOTBALL MATCHUP PREVIEW 2017 SEASON

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (0–1)

JONATHAN RAITZ SPORT DIRECTOR

Ovrl. SLC. 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1

Volleyball

Team

BY JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS DIRECTOR

but both times the teams stormed back to win in four games.

Against Wake Forest in game three, with each

Football

Team

Volleyball struggles in toughest stretch of season

It was a classic case of “no rest for the weary” as volleyball played four games in four days against teams that all boasted a Top100 RPI. The Wildcats lost each of the four matches, as they were swept by Colorado and Texas Tech, but came close to pushing both Wake Forest and Rice to a fifth game.

Junior outside hitter Jacey Smith said this weekend will help propel the team through the rest of preseason play and hopefully conference.

“I think we learned a lot about trust this weekend,” Smith said. “And trusting ourselves, our skills and our confidence in each other. We competed really well against really good teams in Colorado, so I think we can take that momentum into this next weekend and definitely into conference.”

The Wildcats came out strong against both Wake Forest and Rice, taking the first set against the Demon Deacons and second game from the Owls,

STANDINGS

14.0

POINTS PER GAME

30.5

8.0

RUSH YPG

139.5

274.0

PASSING YPG

321.5

38.0

POINTS ALLOWED

22.0 COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY (1–1)

MAX PRESTON

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

DAVIS DENTON SPORT REPORTER

TREVOR WYATT SPORT REPORTER

Against New Mexico, the Wildcats showed they had talent and are ready to compete this year. However, one of the worries heading into the game was the secondary. Heading into Colorado State, it’s no different. The Rams return a quarterback-receiver duo in Nick Stevens and Michael Gallup that connected 76 times in 2016 for almost 1300 yards and 14 touchdowns. And in two games this season Gallup already has 16 catches for 201 yards. If ACU wants to have any shot in this game, the secondary is going to have to find a way to slow them down.

The offense is going to find opportunities for success against a CSU defense that allows 400 yards of offense a game, but I think the Rams pull away late.

The Wildcats showed flashes of impressive play against New Mexico, but flashes won’t be enough against Colorado State. ACU is facing a high-powered offense in CSU, which means there is little room for error. The Wildcats also had three turnovers against the Lobos and two of them turned into points including an interception returned for a touchdown. The Rams returning redshirt senior QB Nick Stevens has already impressed with 643 passing yards and three touchdowns in two games. They also return senior wide receiver Michael Gallup who has caught 16 passes and gained 201 yards so far.

This game could possibly be an offensive battle, however, I think the CSU defense figures it out quickly and the offense takes the game by storm.

The Wildcats showed signs of life as they battled a very athletic UNM team last weekend in Albuquerque.

I think ACU battled well and is capable of succeeding as the transition to fully Div. I has closed. Unfortunately Colorado State has too many ponies in the stable offensively for the Wildcats to keep up.

A question mark defense for CSU means ACU will find the endzone but not enough to win

Colorado State had some bad calls thrown their way last weekend but still managed to pick up the win.

The main pieces of this offense are the QB-receiver combo of Nick Stevens and Michael Gallup– in two games the pair have managed to connect for more than 200 yards and 16 catches. I still think ACU’s secondary doesn’t have the pieces to stop a top-level offense like CSU, but CSU’s defense is one of the worst in the country, allowing a ton of yards per game.

Expect a lot of scoring in this game, but CSU’s offense will be just too much for the Wildcats to handle.

FINAL SCORE: CSU 52 ACU 28

FINAL SCORE: CSU 56 ACU 17

FINAL SCORE: CSU 48 ACU 21

FINAL SCORE: CSU 45 ACU 27

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

Team

1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1

Ovrl. SLC. 6–0 4–0 7–1 4–2 3–4 3–4 1–2 1–2 2–4 1–5 1–5 1–6 0–6

Soccer

0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0

Ovrl. SLC.

Lamar 4–2 McNeese 2–2–1 NWSU 2–3 SHSU 2–3 UCA 2–4 SELU 2–3 Nicholls 2–2 SELU 2–3 TAMU-CC 1–2 ACU 1–3 HBU 0–3 UIW 0–2

0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0

DORREL DAILY

“[Colorado State is] a tough football team.

I want to see us learn from our Dorrel mistakes last week, and when we get a chance to make plays Saturday, I want to see us make those big plays.”

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Football

Redshirt freshman quarterback, Luke Anthony was perfect in his collegiate debut.

Anthony Anthony entered the game with just under a minute to go in the game against New Mexico and completed two passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was the first of his career, and cut the score to 38-14.

Hunter Lees was on the receiving end of both of Anthony’s passes, including Lees the 34-yard touchdown pass he hauled in over the defender. The junior wide receiver had just one career catch heading into the season opener, but could see some more time after displaying an ability to elevate and make a play on the ball.

Cross Country

Returning to official competition after her 2016 redshirt, Hackett led ACU to two Hackett first place victories over TCU and Texas State at the Baylor Twilight Invitational. In the women’s 4K, Michaela led the Wildcats with a third-place finish, coming in behind Baylor’s unattached All-Big 12 honoree Lindsey Bradley and Bear sophomore Anna West.

Hackett was named as the 2017 season’s first Southland Conference Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week.