WEDNESDAY October 31, 2007 Vol. 96, No. 18 1 sections, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
OPTIMIST THE
The lawyer Quanah Parker, not the Native-American ACU alum and local attorney Quanah Parker creates his own legend, page 5
Playoff Shootout
Playing the lottery
Spring Break Campaigns lottery system helps students and campaigns, page 3
ACU keeps playoff hopes alive with recordbreaking win over Tarleton State, page 8
Conference addresses racial issues Spell leaves Grove By Sharon Rapelje By Denton Josey Features Editor
Southern Hills will host a conference on racism and reconciliation this weekend. The event, ‘Erasing Racism: Reconciliation of the Races in Christ’ takes place Friday evening and Saturday. Jack Walker, former missionary in residence at ACU and Bible professor, is one of the organizers of the event, as well as Dr. Jerry Taylor, assistant professor of Bible, missions and ministry. Walker, who spent 20 years as a missionary to Uruguay, is the missionary in residence at Southern Hills
and director of Bridges to the World, a ministry that works mainly with Latin America. Walker and Taylor are part of an ethnically diverse group of 15 people, students and faculty, who have planned the event for several months. The group from ACU that meets every month to discuss race and the church is known as United By Faith. The group began as a reading group, and after reading both “Divided By Faith” and “United By Faith” the group decided to name itself after the latter book. The conference at Southern Hills is the result of the group wanting to do more than just discuss
the issues within the group. “It’s just a natural outflow of what we’ve been doing on a monthly basis,” Taylor said. “We didn’t want to be just a discussion group, but do something in addition to that.” “This is the first stab at getting out of our group and into the churches,” Walker said. Walker said the focus is inward and outward. “This is an attempt to get churches to discuss how we can, No. 1, internally have better relationships with Christians in the Church of Christ, and secondly, become better agents in the commu-
nity to promote better relations between ethnicities,” Walker said. Though only Church of Christ congregations received invitations, the longterm goal is to include more people in the community. “That’s the natural place where we start, and we thought it would be a good place for us to start,” Taylor said. “It’s not where we’re going to finish; we hope to do something next year that would have a broader outreach in the community.” One of the goals of the See
RACISM page 4
Student Reporter
The Grove’s general manager Mike Spell resigned this month. His resignation comes after construction was delayed in August and several contractors filed liens against the corporation earlier this month. Spell, who was unavailable for comment, took care of students’ needs, responded to complaints, supervised staff and other daily operations. Michelle Runyan, western region operations manager, said things will continue to run at the Grove. The Grove will interview applicants this week and begin training next week.
Ted Gonzales, general manger at the Greeley, Colo., location will assist in the training. Runyan said she expects to fill the position in two weeks. Amy Finn, junior psychology major from Southlake, said she spoke with Spell on Friday and thought everything was going well with the grand opening of the clubhouse. The clubhouse was originally slated to open in August with the rest of the complex. Finn said things have calmed down at the complex since the beginning of the semester, but her apartment still needs base boards painted and paint spills removed. E-mail Rapelje at: optimist@acu.edu
Opportunities abound for Halloween Local car wrecks kill two By Colter Hettich Student Reporter
KATIE GAGER CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Erin Gray, senior elementary education major from Lubbock, dressed as a nurse, attempts to throw around Claire Matthews, junior pre-nursing major from Manhattan, Kan., dressed as a lion at Ultimate Frisbee’s Halloween game.
By C.J. Pierson Student Reporter
Halloween, the only time of year when characters like Harry Potter, George W. Bush, and Captain Jack Sparrow gather, has arrived. For ACU students, there are many choices of how to celebrate All Hallows Eve this year. The Grove hosted a Halloween bash Tuesday in its newly opened clubhouse, featuring a costume party and pumpkin carving contest. Winners received gift cards, but only for residents, said Aubi Martinez, Community Assistant at The Grove. Martinez is in
charge of organizing the event and wanted to invite anyone out to The Grove on 2702 N. Judge Ely Blvd. after the grand opening of the clubhouse was such a success last week. Among several service opportunities on Halloween, students will join other volunteers at the 2007 Harvest Festival at the G. V. Daniels Recreation Center, located at 541 North 8th Street, from 6 to 9 p.m. Kelly Klinkerman, senior biology major from Eureka, MO, is leading the group going from ACU. She said the event is for youth and will provide a safe environment for neighborhood
children during the time most trick-or-treat. Activities at the event will include an air castle, cake-walk and a variety of games. Snacks will be available — including the Halloween candy. Students are asked to RSVP at the Volunteer ServiceLearning Center at ext. 2932 because there are a limited amount of spaces for students wanting to help. Students seeking a fright this Wednesday will join the community at the annual viewing of See
HALLOWEEN page 4
brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Two fatal automotive accidents in the ACU area remind students of the fragility of life and to drive with care. Just after midnight on Oct. 18, Veronica Muhle, 37, slammed into a car as it pulled out onto East Highway 80 in front of her. The impact threw her from her motorcycle and, without a helmet to protect her, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Five days later, a car ran a red light at the intersection of Ambler Avenue and Treadaway Boulevard. A northbound truck pulling a trailer collided with the car, throwing 42-year-old Jason Rene Walker into the street where the truck and trailer ran over his body, killing him instantly. The police recovered sealed alcohol containers from the car. Police are still waiting on blood test results to determine if anyone had been drinking. Despite these recent accidents, statistics show Abilene drivers are improving each year. Only 3,434 wrecks have occurred this year, and the city of Abilene is on pace for 3,800 automotive accidents for 2007, a 5.15 percent decrease from 4,006 accidents in 2006. Many recent developments, including Wal-Mart and The Grove, have contributed to a rise in traffic. “Any time you open a development such as The Grove, traffic naturally increases,” said ACU Chief of Police Jimmy Ellison. “There has been a moderate increase in traffic, but it has been very manageable.” Being very familiar with an area
Rebecca Wood, junior applied studies major from Garland, participates in a Halloween game at the UP Halloween Party on Tuesday.
See
WRECKS page 4
Chaplain position withdrawn, 21st Century Vision discussed at SA meeting By Kelsi Peace Managing Editor
The Students’ Association Congress examined the 21st Century Vision and continued a vacillating debate on the creation of a chaplain position Oct. 24. After moving to definitely table a bill to create a chaplain position in the Students’ Association last week, senior senator Nathan MacKenzie withdrew the bill Oct. 24. The move came after Congress ended debate time to vote on the bill, with questions and debates still hanging on some representatives’ lips. Some urged Congress to
pass the bill and turn to the student body for the final say, but others raised concerns about creating a permanent chaplain position, suggesting instead the position be created temporarily, much like the temporary chief advancement officer position. Parliamentarian Matt Greenberg said he would not entertain a motion to suspend the by-laws to extend debate on the subject, citing a concern for precedent set by overturning the governing document. A bill can only be presented to Congress once. Before debating or withdrawing the bill, MacKenzie yielded the floor to Mark Lew-
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
is, director of Student Life, who supported the creation of position. “Anything that offers a tangible opportunity for you to connect with student body [is good],” Lewis said. The position, which would oversee class and club chaplains, could provide muchneeded organization and unity, Lewis said. Also at the meeting, Phil Schubert, executive vice president, presented the 21st Vision to Congress, entertaining questions, concerns and feedback. “We’re about being faithful and relevant,” Schubert told Congress, if the vision was
boiled down. “There’s no reason ACU can’t move into that [premiere] position if we set our sights on that goal.” Representatives raised several concerns and asked for clarification. Among concerns raised were the different faces of the university presented to visitors compared with students, a change in the university tradition and values if broader Christian backgrounds are pursued and quality issues existing presently. “I’m concerned with what is still lacking today,” Parliamentarian Matt Greenberg said, citing poor conditions in Chambers. “I don’t neces-
sarily think we’re ready for that move.” “Things are never linear,” Schubert said. “You move forward on several fronts at the same time.” Right now, that move includes construction on the Bob and Shirley Hunter Welcome Center, plans for a student fitness center and plans for a $10 million building for history and English, Schubert said. Schubert told representatives the university recognized its Church of Christ roots as important and said any denomination expansion — especially among faculty — would be done in an “ap-
Abilene Christian University
propriate, deliberate and sensitive” manner. “That is the core aspect and makeup of our institution… our DNA. That will not change.” Representatives also expressed a concern that as the university pursues partnerships with corporations, social responsibility could go by the wayside. “I think we’re very aware of and sensitive to social issues that could come up,” Schubert said. And as the university seeks students of more diverse
See
SA page 4
Serving the ACU community since 1912