WHAT'S INSIDE
NEWS
Homecoming Queens kidnapped by Steering Committee. Is your clubs president nominated? Page 3
FEATURE
OPINION
One alumna is busy sewing her way to Etsy success. Check out her latest fashions. Page 5
Voter registration, killer clowns, and mainstream music. All in one place. Page 6
SPORTS
Junior Chloe Fifer stands out with her prolific passing on the soccer team. Pages 8
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Friday, October 7, 2016 Vol. 105, Issue 08
A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
FLAME OUT
ERIKA BOLADO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER GATA pledges, called Flames, line up for inspection at their after-Chapel meeting. GATA is one of the oldest social clubs on campus, founded in 1920. The Flames are required to respect the GATA Fountain each time they walk by during teh day, and if you haven’t heard them yelling that they “G-A-T-A want to be a GATA”, you will.
Hoax text not connected to ACUPD BY EMILY GUAJARDO VISUALS MANAGING EDITOR
A hoax text message was sent out to several students on Wednesday night directing them to calmly evacuate buildings because of an emergency on campus. ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said the message was initially sent as an alert to students at the Lone Star College campuses in Houston because of a gas leakage. The message was later sent out to
students at several different universities across the nation, including Baylor, Harding, University of Texas at Austin and Texas State. When the message was brought to their attention, ACUPD officers immediately began to check if it was a hoax or a hacking of their alert system and software. However, after investigating this possibility, they determined it was an outside message that reached specific students on campus. Minutes later, police
sent an alert message asking students to disregard the text. “Many students are receiving a hoax text message,” the message said. “THERE IS NO EMERGENCY ON CAMPUS. The messages are not from ACUPD.” Ellison said the message has no connection to ACUPD. “The message that went out was not related to ACU alert system or the software used for the system,” Ellison
said, “and we really want to make that clear to our students”. Other universities, like Harding had similar experiences with the hoax. Craig Russell, director of public safety at Harding, and Jana Rucker, vice president for communication and marketing, said their department started receiving phone calls related to the message around 8:45 p.m. After contacting administrators, an official alert was sent
to clear up the confusion via email, Twitter and Pipeline, Harding’s alert system. “Communication with our students was of the highest priority and we really tried to get the information out as soon as possible,” said Russell. Ellison said any message from ACUPD will always be headed with ACUPD at the top “to ensure it comes directly from us.” EAG13A@ACU.EDU
Frater Sodalis membership doubles BY LAUREN FRANCO STUDENT REPORTER
Frater Sodalis is doubling its club size this year, bringing in a pledge class of 25 sophomores and juniors. The club, founded in 1943, is recognized as the oldest standing men’s social club on campus and has never been banned nor
suspended. “I’m extremely excited about this year’s brats, and I consider myself lucky to be a part of it,” said the club’s president Joel Childers, senior biblical text major from Abilene. “Having a pledge class so much bigger than we’ve had for the last few years is also a testament to the work of our officer team
and club as a whole, as we’ve been giving our all to show guys why we think Frats is so valuable.” Both the pledges, known as brats, and the current club members said they pride themselves on the diversity of the club. “One of the unique things about this pledge class is the number of guys we have that are heavily in-
volved all over campus as athletes, in theatre, choir, as RAs, in student organizations, and in a ton of other ways,” Childers said. “We always have guys involved around campus, but this group seems like there’s a really high number of guys who really want to be involved in the ACU community as a whole, along with club.”
Allen Martin, sophomore English and political science major from Abilene, said the club’s inclusive feeling drew him to pledge the club. “I noticed the laid back nature of the guys and the way conversations with them came naturally,” Martin said. “Nothing felt SEE PLEDGING PAGE 3
Abilene non-profit sends aid to Haiti BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF
Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti with 145 mph winds on Tuesday morning, causing major devastation to the country, and an Abilene non-profit is ready to send aid to the Haitian people. Global Samaritan Resources, Abilene-based non-profit led by Danny Sims (‘85), will send aid to
one of its partner organizations with ACU connections, LiveBeyond. LiveBeyond, run by ACU alumni Dr. David (‘82) and Laurie Vanderpool (‘81), focuses on humanitarian and medical relief work in Thomazeau, Haiti. As the hurricane approached the island, Sims and his Global Samaritan team formed a plan of how to send help to the Vander-
pools once the hurricane struck. Global Samaritan will be sending financial aid, clean water straws, and later on fortified food to LiveBeyond. “We have partnered with [LiveBeyond] before, and our help will be totally defined by their needs,” said Sims, executive director of Global Samaritan Resources. “We want to come along side and help however we
can. We have the logistics to send supplies however they need it.” According to United Nations official Mourad Wahba, the Hurricane Matthew is “the largest humanitarian event” to hit Haiti since the devastating earthquake in 2010. While many around the country are facing heavy flooding and displacement from their homes, the Van-
W W W. A C U O P T I M I S T. C O M
derpools haven’t seen as much damage as they initially anticipated. In a video posted on the LiveBeyond Facebook page Wednesday morning, David Vanderpool shared an update with followers. “We are happy to report we have had very little damage here in our area,” SEE HAITI PAGE 2
Cheer squad thinks pink BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
The Wildcat cheerleading squad will wear pink items for Saturday’s home game in honor of breast cancer awareness month. Madison Sweet, co-captain of the squad, said the team does a “pink-out” game each year for a home game, not Homecoming, in October. Sweet, junior marketing major from Plano, said her high school cheer team also wore pink for breast cancer awareness every year. Her grandmother overcame several bouts with breast cancer, so her whole family participates in the stands. “It’s really about the fight because it’s mostly women, and women aren’t really seen as fighters,” Sweet said. “So I think the pink and the whole October and everyone standing together just makes it a fight for women.” The cheer squad will have pink fingernails, wear socks dyed pink and use pink pom-poms borrowed from Hardin Simmons University. Sweet said the tailgate will participate in the pink-out and her social club, Tri Kappa Gamma, will require pledges to wear pink. “It’s definitely awareness cause it’s pink everywhere so how could you miss it?” Sweet said. Another member of the team, Alyssa Padilla, freshman biology major from SEE PINK OUT PAGE 2