The Optimist Print Edition 5.1.15

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Hollywood lately Movie reviews on two recent releases Arts Page 5 vol. 103, no. 54

friday, may 1 2015

1 SECTION, 6 PAGES

what’s INSIDE NEWS ACU Clinic creates relaxation room for students to destress in Page 3

NEWS Web cam in library overlooking the Starbucks line quickly shut down

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OPINION Madeline Orr writes her last column as Editor-in-Cheif while Brittany Jackson writes her first Page 4

SPORTS Sophomore Agritelley earns first team all-conference honors Page 6

paige otway staff photographer

Seniors celebrate the culmination of their college experience at the Senior Candlelight Send-off on Tuesday night.

Seniors depart with familiar tradition betsy smith

OPINION

student reporter

It’s time for “basic” to see it’s way out of our vocabulary

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The senior class gathered one last time before commencement to walk a familiar path. Tuesday night, they walked from Moody Coliseum to the Beauchamp Amphitheater for this year’s Candlelight Devotional and Senior Send-off. In an ode to the Welcome Week tradition, the the Student Alumni Association and the Students’ Association partnered for the second year in a row to create a memorable conclu-

sion to each senior’s time at ACU. Alex Abston, vice president of the Student Alumni Association, explained how the Candlelight Devotionals for seniors and freshmen are similar in format. “The seniors will walk down the walkway from Moody into the amphitheatr at sunset, just like they did their freshman year, lined with singing students and faculty that have contributed to their four years here,” said Abston, junior pre-law and communications major from The Woodlands. “The seniors do not light their

candles until everyone has found their spot within the amphitheatre, and then we begin lighting the candles that eventually spread into an amphitheatre full of light.” At the freshman Candlelight Devotional, the light represents new light and the journey students are about to embark on throughout the next four years at ACU. At the senior candlelight devo, the message is different. “This year, the seniors will actually have the candles give off a purple light, instead of our freshman

year white light, as a symbol of the seniors’ soon-to-be alumni status,” Abston said. The Candlelight Devotional, to many students, is one of the many ACU traditions they keep with them throughout their time here. “I loved being a part of Candlelight Send-off for the seniors; it was the perfect way to end my time at ACU,” said Taylor Mounce, senior speech pathology major from Coppell. “Ending the year surrounded by people who have helped me get through school and helped strengthen my faith in the process is a great reminder

as to how the Lord is working in our lives.” Other undergraduate students and current faculty and staff helped to line the sidewalk leading to the amphitheatre. After a time of worship, Craig Fisher, director of alumni relations welcomed the senior class to the ACU alumni family and Jonathan Storment, preaching minister at Highland Church of Christ, offered words of encouragement and blessings. contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Housing registration software quickly crashes

SPORTS ACU Athletics denied opportunity to shorten probation period Page 6

NEWS SAAC recreates annual sports banquet for athletes Page 3

what’s online

elijah evans online managing editor The women’s sophomore housing registration server quickly crashed Wednesday, just minutes after the registration process opened. The server was unable to handle the number of requests it received and crashed. The registration process was impeded only for female registrants, said Bob Strader, director of residence life education and housing. ResLife quickly identified the error,

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freshman class has a greater number of women than men. Second, the male contingent apparently inadvertently spaced their registration process out. The registration process was not only a hassle for staff, but for students as well. “It was frustrating because you want to know where you are going to live, and the semester is almost over,” said Hanna Riddle, freshman kinesiology major from Murphy. “Everyone was waiting to get the exact place that they wanted, and we didn’t know if it

worked, so we just kept trying.” Jayna Hanson, freshman kinesiology major from Live Oak, said she liked the new system, but wished it hadn’t given her such a headache. “I’ve never really had good experiences with technology,” Hanson said. “I was accessing it through my laptop and my phone, but neither worked. But I do think it was a good idea to use the software to register everyone instead of lining everyone up.” The update to the housing registration process

was engineered by ResLife, allowing freshmen to choose their roommate, residence hall and specific room. According to an email from the Office of Residence Life Education and Housing, students with special housing needs that had already worked with ResLife to secure housing may email reslife@acu.edu to confirm (their) housing assignment.

contact the optimist at jmcnetwork@acu.edu

COBA investigates possible cheating rachel Fritz

ONLINE

suspended female registration, wiped all registration requests and re-scheduled another female housing registration for Friday. The new registration plan uses a stratified, randomly-selected lottery system. Starting at 11 a.m., a computer program will select groups of 50 students to register. The system will select another group every 15 minutes after that until all students register, Strader said. The male registration process did not overwhelm the server for two reasons, Strader said. First, the

managing editor Students in the College of Business Administration are under investigation after a group was allegedly caught violating academic integrity. Several classes were reported to have participated in some form of cheating. According to ACU’s academic integrity and honesty policy, examples of academic dishonesty include acquiring answers for any assigned work or examination from any

source not authorized by the instructor for the specific assignment, gaining access to the content of any examination prior to its being given and informing any person(s) of the contents of any examination prior to its being given. Students who violate the academic integrity policy are subject to various consequences including, but not limited to, being dropped from the corresponding class, receiving a failing grade or redoing the assignment or exam with a penalized grade.

All violations of academic integrity result in a three-phase response from the university. The first phase involves an investigation that determines if the action was done within the department. The second phase determines consequences, and the third phase determines how the incident is reported to the Office of Student Life and takes a look at the student’s previous history. Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of COBA and professor of marketing, is in charge of the pending investiga-

Abilene Christian University

We’re determining the consequences as well as administering couseling and advice on a studentby-student basis.”

classes were caught in the act at the same time. “It’s not a rigged scandal or anything like that,” he said. “It all just happened to come to our attention at the same time.” Lytle said they are still Dr. Rick Lytle in the discussion stages of Dean of COBA Professor of Marketing what steps to take next. As of now, students are being dealt with one-by-one by faculty members accordtion. “There was a situation ing to whose class they where we’ve had a few are enrolled in. “We’re determining professors discover some cheating,” Lytle said. “We the consequences as well don’t tolerate cheating – as administering counseling and advice on a at all.” Lytle said it was just a see dance page 4 coincidence that multiple


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