WEDNESDAY October 17, 2007 Vol. 96, No. 15 1 section, 10 pages www.acuoptimist.com
OPTIMIST THE
Abilene Citizen of the Year award goes to Money President Money receives honor from Chamber of Commerce for service, page 8
Pledges no more
Sub T pledges admitted to club without probational period, become full members, page 5
Still kicking
After splitting conference games over the weekend, the Wildcats still have playoff hopes, page 10
Without land, Frats left to cancel haunted house By Laura Touchette Student Reporter
A long-standing fundraising tradition for Frater Sodalis will not be happening this year because of conflicts with land. The Frats’ haunted house
has been a fundraiser for the men’s social club since the 1980s and has always been a highly anticipated event by the members. But this year, the haunted house will not be taking place. “The land where we had the haunted house last year
is now under new ownership, and the owner feels like having a haunted house there conflicts with this ministry he wants to use the land for,” said Luke Jackson, senior management major from Fryeburg, Maine. The owner plans to use the
land for a children’s ministry and feels like a haunted house on the same land is contradictory to his mission, Jackson said. They had a verbal commitment from the owner, but last week he felt like it was not the best way to promote the children’s ministry he
wanted to use the land for. “I’m disappointed, like a lot of the guys are, because we were all looking forward to doing it,” Jackson said. “We are pretty sure we are not having it because we have not found a location,” Brandon Monroe, senior youth and
family ministry major from Arlington, said. “And with it being two weeks away there is just too much to do.” Frats say they have been looking around Abilene for different locations to have See
HOUSE page 7
Heartbeat launches T-shirt line By Mallory Edens Page 2 Editor
Todd Piersall STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ron Sider, author and President of Evangelicals for Social Action, spoke about the role of the church and government in the fight against poverty Monday night in Chapel on the Hill.
ACU gets dose of Sider at Chapel on the Hill By Laura Acuff Student Reporter
Christian speaker, author and theologian Ron Sider spoke Monday night at Chapel on the Hill about solutions to poverty in America, advocating faith-based programs in partnership with government to address both the spiritual and material needs of the economically disadvantaged. “I think it’s true, my friends, that Biblical Christians have an extraordinary opportunity to lead the way,” Sider said. “The secular leaders are almost begging us, in fact, to do this. We’ve got a historic opportunity to lead the way that I don’t think we’ve had in many decades.” Sider’s plan includes the development of additional, more specific
ministries and improved public policies on the part of the government, in conjunction with various monetary rewards for working steadily and responsibly. “I think that most Americans agree that people who are able to work have a moral obligation to work, and, if they do, work responsibly,” Sider said. “You can be as born again as you want, but if you can’t get a job that pays a family wage, and if the schools don’t work for your kids because you’re black or Latino, you’ve still got big problems.” Animal and environmental science professor Dr. James Cooke appreciated Sider’s proactive stance. “I’ve heard him speak before, and I’ve read his book, and I think he’s right on target,” Cooke said. “The
Christian response should be much greater than it is. It’s a Biblical mandate. I think we need people like him to come and encourage us to be the best we can be and to make a difference. He is influential, and we need to think about these things. We kind of get complacent and content with our lifestyle, and we don’t see that we can really do anything, but the fact of the matter is that we can.” Though Meghan Clark, freshman political science major from Olney, agreed that faith-based rehabilitation and charity programs have an important place in American society, she disagreed with Sider’s recommended close partnership between government and faith-based organizations. “I didn’t agree with a lot of his views,” Clark said. “I thought they
were overly idealistic, and I very firmly believe in the separation of church and state — that the government should never interfere with church policy or church programs and, on the other hand, that religion should not try to infiltrate the government. I think [faith-based programs] are great, and they’re definitely doing a great service in America and across the world. I just think that when the government begins to give you money or support, then you become accountable to the government to some extent, and if you really want to make this a faith-based initiative, then you want churches to be in control of it, not the government.”
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SIDER page 7
The Campus Store now carries HeartBeat T-shirts, a new line of Fair Trade fashion. The Campus Store held a Grand Opening event Tuesday for the clothing line. As of 5 p.m., 14 shirts had been sold. The main idea behind the HeartBeat clothing line was to offer students an option to spend their money on something that will go toward a good cause, said Scott Harsh, assistant director of the Campus Store. More specifically, according to the HeartBeat Facebook group, HeartBeat exists to “empower ordinary people with the opportunity to purchase high-quality clothing products that benefit their neighbors throughout the world in three ways: equitable compensation for the laborers of the product, providing for the business that markets the product and providing for the global poor through the product.” HeartBeat T-shirts are Fair Trade Products, which means no one was taken advantage of during production of the product, Harsh said. According to the Facebook group, a surge of outsourced labor among major clothing companies has caused an increase in poor living conditions for outsourced workers. This practice has contributed to a third of the world living in extreme poverty. Many times, the purchases people make only contribute to increasing the wealth of the wealthy and the poverty of the impoverished, which has caused “an economic divide where just a few people have anything they want in seven different colors, and some people can’t even afford to feed their families but once a day.” With the slogan, “Give a Beat,” the HeartBeat clothing line at ACU will be used
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BEAT page 7
PovertyLink offers chance to ‘Venture into India’ By Val Valle Online Editor
PovertyLink hosted “Venture into India,” an event where Indian cuisine was served, and two featured guests spoke about bringing relief to poverty in India. Linda Engle, founder of Eternal Threads, and alumnus Zack Robinson shared their experiences with the group about the two different organizations they are a part of, which strive to provide relief to families in India that are impoverished. Engle began the non-profit organization Eternal Threads in
2000 to bring relief to women and their families in southern India who typically live on $1 a day. Around 200 women from Indian villages use their crocheting skills to create totes made of colorful nylon twine. After completion of the totes, they are purchased directly from the women, and the women are able to use the proceeds as a means of income to help them purchase such things as water buffalo for milk, food and medicine. Another portion of the proceeds is used to educate girls in the villages. Engle said that oftentimes it is the females in the
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
families who do not get to school because there is no money to send them or to purchase books. Not only do the totes serve as a way for women to receive an income to help their families and fund their education, but Engle said it also has the effect of reducing the social injustices in India such as child labor, prostitution and sex trafficking of women and children. This is because insufficient incomes and debt oftentimes lead to these circumstances. Engle said customers are “buying hope for women” when they purchase a tote. Like Engle, Robinson has spent
time helping the people in India through a different organization. Last summer, Robinson worked for a Christian MicroCredit institution, Society for Micro Economy Development Activities, SoFMEDA. According to its Web site, SoFMEDA began in 1994 in response the wide-spread poverty of northeast India. SoFMEDA disperses loans primarily to women, who usually use the money for their families. These loans give women the opportunity katie Gager CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
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LINK page 7
Abilene Christian University
Linda Engle, president of Eternal Threads, spoke Thursday night at PovertyLink on her experiences.
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