WEDNESDAY November 14, 2007 Vol. 96, No. 22 1 sections, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
OPTIMIST THE
What is homework compared to racial genocide?
Cross country standout Serge Gasore’s past makes competition more like a walk in the park, page 5
Mind your manners
SIFE’s etiquette dinner offers a look at business fashion, meal etiquette, page 4
Homeward bound
ACU’s 42-41comeback win Saturday gives Wildcats a home playoff game, page 8
Groups make meal possible for some By Sondra Rodriguez Student Reporter
The Service Action Leadership Team (SALT) and the Volunteer Service Learning Center are preparing for the annual Thanksgiving Meal Project, an event where students and faculty donate money and time to provide families in Abilene with a Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving meals are provided by the food bank of Abilene, collected on campus and distributed to families in need. Taylor Elementary identifies these families. “We ask them to identify families that they know are in need of meals,” said Nancy Coburn, director of Volunteer and Service-Learning Center. “Every year, they give us a list of families who have either
asked for help, or that they know need help. Funds are distributed accordingly, and any extra meals are sent to “211- A Call For Help. If we get enough money for 70 meals, and they only give us 50 names, we’ll call 211 and tell them we’ve got 20 more. We’ll get the addresses and deliver those as well,” Coburn said. Meals cost $55 and are made to feed a family of five to eight.
“Even if it’s a small family, they’ll have enough food to get them through the week,” she said. Once the meals are retrieved from the food bank, they are delivered to the families. This is done by student volunteers on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. See
MEALS page 3
Candid conversation
todd piersall STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Mike Yankoski shares his experiences as a homeless man at Monday’s final Faith Alive Chapel forum.
Chapel forum speaker shares lessons learned on the street By Kelsi Peace Managing Editor
katie gager CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
State Representative Susan King speaks at an open-community forum Tuesday night at Texas Tech University at Abilene.
Rep. King hears constituent concerns at forum By Daniel Johnson Sports Editor
Texas highway construction, public education and whatever else was on a handful of constituents’ minds were the main topics discussed at a local forum conducted by State Representative Susan King on Tuesday. The Abilene Chamber of Commerce hosted the event, which King said was meant to be informal. The public forum — which is one of many that King appeared at throughout her first year in office — was to learn about constituents’ problems and concerns now, and not just be a politician who reacts
to problems when it was too late. “To get influence and have access to an elective official prior to something blowing up, to me…is important,” King said. “And quite frankly when I was growing up in Houston, I couldn’t tell you who my state representative was…but it is important to know who they are because they are a direct access to you and the state government.” And in the candid environment at Texas Tech University at Abilene site on 302 Pine St., more than 20 attendants were given a public forum to discuss whatever issue was on their minds. King admitted she was not an expert on some of the subjects
discussed but was eager to hear where her constituents stood on issues she may be able to do something about. A bulk of the discussion was about the Texas Department of Transportation and the Trans Texas Corridor, a new transportation network that is still in the planning and early construction stages. A large part of the conversation moved onto public education and King, a former Abilene school board member, said she was fighting for the area’s list of schools. “Education is always a concern for everybody because that is the basis, I believe, of our democracy and how we will proceed,” King said.
Larry Sanders, executive director of the Abilene Association of Independent Business Owners and senior sponsor of men’s social club Frater Sodalis, said he was impressed with King’s openness. “This is a very real risk area for an elected official, and events of this type are very rare,” Sanders said. “Representative King is showing an access that politicians wouldn’t usually be open to.” King said she plans to continue local forums like Tuesday’s every other month, with the next forum planned for January.
Mike Yankoski’s desire to understand homelessness led him to take action — not in a soup kitchen, but on the streets of Denver, Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Phoenix. A sermon about living compassionately rather than learning about compassion spurred Yankoski — who was in college at the time — to give everything up and hit the streets with his friend, Sam. After living as a homeless man while in college, Yankoski returned to write “Under the Bridge,” a memoir of the experience and challenged Christians across the nation to take action. “If you and I as followers of Christ are willing to be free with our money and available with our time, imagine what God can do with us,” Yankoski challenged students at Monday’s final Faith Alive Chapel forum. “It’s easier to pray someone’s needs are met than to actually meet those needs.” After his time on the streets, Yankoski knows about the needs of the homeless. He told students about his experiences in churches but said some of the greatest compassion he encountered came from unexpected sources: children and the homeless. Yankoski recalled an evening spent panhandling in Georgetown, a wealthy area near Washington, D.C., where four hours of stringent panhandling saw only $1.18. A group of young boys approached Yankoski and his friend, Sam, asking for money to purchase baseball uniforms for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. When Yankoski offered his $1.18, one boy recognized his need, and instead tossed $1.25 to Yankoski, saying, “Don’t worry about it man — I got you covered.” In Oregon, a fellow homeless
See
E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.edu
FORUM page 3
New text alert system gives immediate, important information By Kelsi Peace Managing Editor
The university launched its new text message alert system, ACU ALERT, Wednesday morning, aiming to further pursue a commitment to safety. “It is amazing how fast of a response you get with this system,” said Lynne Bruton, Campus Emergency Response Team member. The university purchased the system in October, and
since the purchase, there has been pre-testing and planning to encourage students, faculty and staff to register for the system. ACU ALERT, a product of OMNIALERT’s e2Campus text message alert system, will send text messages for emergency or urgent situations — but users must register themselves annually. “It makes sense for everyone to want to be a part of this system when it could potentially save your life,” said
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
ACU Police Chief venues. Bruton Jimmy Ellison. said the registraRegistration tion process will opened at 8 a.m. require users to Wednesday mornhave their cell ing, and any memphone available ber of the ACU and to enter their community can user ID. The sysregister through tem works for all the ACU homepcarriers, and trouCourtesy oF CREATIVE age, in a permaSERVICES bleshooting must nent box at myA- The ACU ALERT text be directed to the CU and through messaging system logo. user’s carrier or the ACU Police e2Campus. Department Web site, as The response team opted well as through additional for a system that would uti-
lize e-mail and text messages — the fasted methods to reach a community of people who admittedly always have a cell phone with them. And the immediacy of the system offers a solution “when seconds count,” as the slogan says. Proponents of the system cited the Virginia Tech shootings and last winter’s campus closure due to severe weather as instances when urgency is vital. “Sometimes we just don’t have the luxury of time,” said
Abilene Christian University
Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president of student life. Thompson said the system will be required for Campus Life staff — including residence assistants and residence directors, and ACU ALERT will be incorporated into emergency planning. “It’s not going to be used and abused for announcements,” Thompson said, “I think it’s a must-do.”
See
TEXT page 3
Serving the ACU community since 1912