OPTIMIST THE
FRIDAY December 7, 2007 Vol. 96, No. 27 1 sections, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Vacations, school, cartoons alone time and musicals
Arts Editor Sara Snelson examines her top six Christmas movies of all time, page 3
There’s no break in basketball
Textbook buyback
Students can sell their books to The Campus Store beginning during finals week, page 4
Basketball won’t get much of a break playing a tough schedule while students are home, page 8
ACU considers renovations to Gibson By Denton Josey Features Editor
Gibson gymnasium could undergo renovations as soon as 2008. As a part of the 21st Century vision, Gibson would transform into the Student Recreation and Fitness Center (SRFC), pending sufficient funding. A committee of students, faculty, staff and adminis-
trators is working with Tipton and Associates on the center’s conceptual architectural design. Additionally, the committee consulted student focus groups, residence assistants and the Students’ Association to gain feedback on the project. Dr. Nikki Rippee, chair of the project, said the committee formed in May. In addition to the student feedback, the committee researched
fitness centers at other universities around the country. “It’s going to be a facility where students can improve their health and wellness, so it improves quality of life for our students, faculty and staff,” Rippee said The construction plan includes renovating existing parts of Gibson and adding several thousand square feet. The total footage would range from 85,000 to
100,000 square feet upon the project’s completion. Once construction begins, the estimated completion time is 18 months. Several options are under consideration for inclusion in the SRFC. The potential options include improved weight rooms, additional basketball courts, racquetball courts, multipurpose areas for indoor intramurals and open gym times, a
community lounge with TV space, new locker rooms, a smoothie bar, an aerobics room and a pool with an outside area for sand volleyball and outdoor basketball. The fitness center would create a variety of jobs for students. Rippee said the Department of Exercise Science and Health would eventually See
GIBSON page 7
Getting serious
Woodruff trial date unsure By Jared Fields Editor-in-Chief
Brandon Dale Woodruff, a former ACU student charged with killing his parents in 2005, still awaits his jury trial and is held on a $1 million bond. Woodruff, 21, had a trial date set for Oct. 31 of this year, but has had it delayed when the Hunt County District Attorney’s Office asked a state district judge to be recused, for the judge to be taken off the case, according to the Rockwall County News. No trial date is set, and a gag order is placed on all parties involved with the case, including the judge, the prosecuting and defense teams, people answering phones at the county and district See
WOODRUFF page 7
Cockerell Gallery opens door for Artwalk By Colter Hettich Student Reporter
photo courtesy of abilene police department
Officer Jeff McCoy’s patrol car hit a street light pole after being run off the road by a drunk driver during the early morning on June 5. McCoy was killed in the wreck.
Death brings attention to alarming drunk driving numbers By Karie Schmidt Student Reporter
Sandy McCoy remembers vividly how the night played out — the doorbell rang, and she saw all the faces at her door so early in the morning. A police sergeant, a lieutenant, a Chaplin, a best friend and his wife and a pastor all came to support her and to bear bad news. “It was almost like I thought I was dreaming, and I turned around, and I thought, ‘This is a dream,’ and I turned back around, and I knew it wasn’t, and I could not believe what I
heard…my stomach, I can feel it right now, imagine the sickest feeling that you could ever feel.” This summer McCoy lost her husband Jeff, a father, a man of faith and an officer in the Abilene Police Department, when he was killed in a drunk-driving accident. On June 5 around 3 a.m., Officer McCoy was out on patrol near South 14th and Barrow when Marcos Suarez, who was under the influence of alcohol and driving at a high rate of speed, lost control of his vehicle and ran Officer McCoy off the road and into a light pole. McCoy was pro-
nounced dead at the scene. Officer McCoy has become a tragic statistic in a rising trend. The ACU Police Department and the Abilene Police Department both have been working to keep drunks off the streets through task forces, grants and just keeping an open eye for suspicious drivers. Abilene has around 4,000 accidents a year, and approximately 350 of these accidents are related to drunk driving, said Sergeant Doug Wrenn, the traffic division’s commander of the Abilene Police Department. Since 1990 about 13 fatalities
occur per year relating to motor vehicle accidents, and one out of four are due to drunk driving. Although these statistics have changed in the last year, now about 50 percent of motor vehicle fatalities are due to drunk driving. The Texas law defines legally intoxicated as blood alcohol level of .08. Wrenn said it does not take too much to reach this state and for younger students, “18-25 [year-old students] still have enough immaturity to believe they are invincible.” See
DWI page 7
Abilenians will have a new stop to make downtown during the next Artwalk. On December 13 at 5:00 p.m., ACU will unveil its latest, 2,600 square foot expansion: the ACU-Cockerell Art Gallery. A $3,000 grant from the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council opened the doors for the new downtown gallery. The ACAC acts as the city’s art council, funding exhibits at the Grace Museum and the Center of Contemporary Art and generally promoting the arts in Abilene The new ACU-Cockerell Art Gallery, though free of charge, is currently available by appointment only, but Dr. Garlan Jenkens, professor and curator of the on-campus Shore Gallery, hopes it will soon be open to the public. Jenkens, who personally pursues art, songwriting and poetry, has a vision. “We want the gallery to be about much more than just See
GALLERY page 7
SA pushes for even attendance policies By Kelsi Peace Managing Editor
The Students’ Association Congress called for uniformity and reform in the attendance policy on campus at Wednesday’s meeting, passing an act asking professors to reconsider stringent policies. Senior senator Brandon Smith authored the act, which aims to eliminate “varying degrees of restrictiveness and academic punishment,” according to the legislation. The act recognizes the necessity of an attendance
policy, but criticizes the array of enforcement. Some instructors penalize students full letter grades for missing more than two classes, a far cry from the 20 percent attendance policy that is generally the standard, Smith said. Congress agreed with the policy of dropping students from a course if they miss more than 20 percent of class meetings, but requested instructors seek a common standard — and not necessarily the current 80-percent standard. Smith said he presented
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
the legislation at the end of the semester in the hopes that professors would revise their attendance policies over the break. Despite urging from Rep. Tony Godfrey and Rep. Casey Bingham that Congress uniformly support the act, the legislation passed with 37 votes for and one vote abstaining. “The ambiguity of the policy makes it difficult for students,” SA president Matt Worthington said. And representatives across the board agreed – many shared instances of being
dropped from courses for missing more than 20 percent of class because of schoolsponsored activities, losing a grade for being sick or earning a poor grade in a general class simply because of attendance. With the support of Congress, the act will next be turned to the Faculty Senate and Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president of student life, to open dialogue, Worthington said. Also at Wednesday’s katie gager CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
See
SA page 7
Senior senator Brandon Smith presents the attendance reform act to the Students’ Association Congress at its meeting Wednesday.
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