OPTIMIST THE
WEDNESDAY November 7, 2007 Vol. 96, No. 20 1 sections, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
The ACU intramural equivalent to Brett Favre Sheets continues playing for fun as an 11-year intramural veteran, page 5
Hello ladies
ACU women get the chance to choose their dates during Sadies Week with help from the Campus Activities Board , page 4
Exhibition test
Wildcats start season with exhibition game loss against Stephen F. Austin, page 8
iTunes U site reaches outside Abilene By Mallory Edens Page 2 Editor
ACU’s Math and Science Centennial Conference lecture with Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek was No. 13 last week on the iTunes U top 20 downloads list. This lecture was featured in a special section on iTunes U called “Nobel Laureates on iTunes U.” The ranking shows the high visibility and viewers ACU has gained since becoming a featured iTunes U university on Oct. 1. ACU is alphabetically placed before 27 other featured universities, making it the first university on
the iTunes U list. In the past three weeks, the number of public visitors to the ACU iTunes U Web site has tripled, going to 8,260 from 2,643. The total tracks downloaded increased to 2,099 from 1,145. The total number of tracks previewed has gone to 1,094 from 520. ACU not only has increased viewers with this selection but also has been academically placed among some of the country’s top educational institutions, including Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California at Berkeley and Vanderbilt University. Only three Texas universities are on the list;
Texas A&M and Texas Tech are the others. ACU is the only private Texas university featured. Carmen Foster, director of Web communication, said being selected as a featured university is important because now people can access the ACU iTunes U Web site more easily. “We were public, but people didn’t know how to get to us,” Foster said. “Now, we can put our content up, and anyone can get to it. It’s given us a tool to dispense great information about ACU and the great academics we have here. Anybody anywhere can see ACU’s academic excellence and be a part of it.” ACU’s iTunes U site offers free
educational content provided by many university professors. It also features a variety of student life content that is created by students to showcase the abilities of this university’s student body. Speeches, lectures, academic programs, professors’ podcasts, student media publications and videos, as well as campus life information, ACU history and student music, can all be downloaded to an iPod, PC or Mac. Foster said the material on the site shows the caliber of faculty, alumni and student expertise. “We are all very interested in See
Southern Hills conference addresses racism By Mallory Edens Page 2 Editor
Southern Hills Church of Christ conducted a conference on Friday and Saturday called “Erasing Racism: Reconciliation of the Races in Christ” to talk about ways to fix issues of racial division in the church and to network. Dr. Foster, professor of church history, said this is a continuing issue in American society. More than 90 percent
iTUNES page 4
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RACISM page 4
Starey night at the Paramount Starey steals six awards at FilmFest By Colter Hettich Student Reporter
Audience members at ACU’s third-annual FilmFest saw everything from trigger-happy evangelists to a paranoid, bank-robbing widower Friday at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene. Grant Starey, junior biology major from San Marcos, won six awards, including Best Film, for his action film “In Sheep’s Clothing.” What started as a mere idea at Sonic turned into a reality and ended up winning Best Production Design, Best Technical Director, Best Producer, Best Writer, Best Director, and the aforementioned Best Film award. “As a kid I just loved messing around with [my family’s] video camera and watching movies,” Starey said. “In Sheep’s Clothing” is only Starey’s second film. He considers himself an amateur. “I didn’t even think I would get nominated for anything,” Starey said. Rob Thomas, FilmFest judge and executive director of Igniter Media Group, shares Starey’s excitement for film. “I was ecstatic when they asked me to be a judge,” Thomas said. “Media is my life, so I get into this.” Five hundred people turned out for this katie gager CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
See
Grant Starey, junior biology major from San Marcos, receives an award with judge Randy Brewer standing behind him Friday at FilmFest in the Paramount Theatre.
Judges stress determination
FilmFest Awards Thirteen judges working in media — from music video production to podcasting — judged FilmFest this year.
By Sharon Rapelje
n Best actress: Leah Liggins
Student Reporter
n Best actor: Tanner Anderson n Best Production Design: Grant Starey n Best Sound Designer: Haley Pilling n Best Technical Director: Grant Starey n Best Producer: Grant Starey n Best Writer: Grant Starey n People’s Choice Award: Circles todd piersall STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
n Best Director: Grant Starey n Best Film: “In Sheep’s Clothing”, Grant Starey
FILMFEST page 4
Six of the 13 judges give feedback to participants at this year’s FilmFest Symposium on Saturday in the Campus Center Living Room.
Six of the 13 FilmFest judges stressed the importance of determination and working toward a goal despite occasional hardships at Saturday’s FilmFest symposium. Rob Thomas, founder and executive producer of Igniter Media Group, said a superior once told him he did not have what it took to be a video editor. Thomas heeded this advice and left to work for his dad. However, he said he soon realized that was not right for
him and began editing again. Musical artist Jill Parr told students, “Find your passion, and don’t let anyone stop you.” Parr also encountered trials in her music career. One of the record companies producing her CD went bankrupt, which cost her a large amount of money. She also had to pay to perform at different venues to get her name out. Parr said success does not happen overnight. Unlike television characters that achieve success in a half See
JUDGES page 4
Faculty have chance to shine at Thursday’s downtown ArtWalk By Pete Koehn Student Reporter
For the first time, an exhibit from ACU will take precedence at ArtWalk, filling Cockerell’s 2nd Street Gallery. ArtWalk, which involves several area galleries, including Cockerell’s 2nd Street Gallery, the Grace Museum, the Center for Contemporary Arts and the National Center for Children’s
Illustrated Literature, will take place from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in downtown Abilene, and the Biennial Faculty Art Exhibit that was shown in the Shore Art Gallery in October will be on display. Jack Maxwell, chair of the Department of Art and Design, said he is grateful for the opportunity to showcase the work of ACU professors. “Members of the community
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
don’t know the work because they don’t visit campus,” Maxwell said. “This would be a forum for our faculty to show the quality of their creative work.” Carolyn Cockerell, director of Cockerell’s 2nd Street Gallery’s shows and events, said attendance at ArtWalk has increased throughout the past few years. The gallery has been open since 2005, and during the last three years, interest has grown.
Cockerell, who counted more than 300 people at last month’s ArtWalk, said the gallery has been lucky and fortunate. “Coming from having nothing to what we have now, in three years, I think that says something,” Cockerell said. Cockerell said she appreciates all types of art, from paintings to music. “Well, we love art,” Cock-
erell said. “My whole family loves art. I’ve grown up with it. It’s not just coming and looking at it. It’s participating.” Cockerell said she looks forward to the possibilities that art will create in Abilene. “Abilene deserves to be considered a destination point for people that love art, and I want this gallery to contribute to that.” Likewise, Maxwell stressed
Abilene Christian University
he importance of the ACU community attending the November ArtWalk. “I would encourage our students and our faculty to attend, not just because it would be beneficial for them to observe the art, but also because it shows support for the arts in Abilene,” Maxwell said. E-mail Koehn at: optimist@acu.edu
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