The Optimist Print Edition 2.10.17

NEWS

WHAT'S INSIDE

As the stadium nears completion, parking concerns arise again. The solution? Deal with it.

Page 2

OPINION

Professors, can you give students a break for the next week? Entertain the thought.

Page 4

Friday, February 10, 2017 Vol. 105, Issue 19

FEATURE

To Gillian on her 37th Birthday...

Theatre students prepare to open their winter play.

Page 5

SPORTS

The Escobido brothes hope to take ACU Rugby across the world.

Pages 6

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

SEND MY ROSES TO MOODY

JOHN GREER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The women of Zeta Rho are selling roses and carnations through Valentine’s Day to raise money for a local charity. The club, rechartered in 2011, has a spring pledge class of 13 women.

Halbert-Walling reopens after flood

BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF

Halbert-Walling Research Center reopened Monday with some damage to the building after a hot water pipe burst Friday.

Dr. Tom Lee, chair of the biology department, discovered the leak Friday morning around 8 a.m.

Lee said he was walking to his wife’s office on the second floor to put his lunch

in her refrigerator when he noticed water coming from under a door and windows of a classroom fogging up.

He initially thought the hot water was coming from chemistry labs on the third floor, but after running upstairs to check, he determined the problem was on the second floor.

Lee followed the hot water and found ceiling tiles falling while water

poured from the ceiling of a classroom in the building. After the pipe burst, it hit the sprinkler system pipes, causing even more water to be released into the building.

“All the while, I’m running making phone calls,” Lee said. He immediately called maintenance because he didn’t know how to turn off the water.

The alarm didn’t start going off for roughly five

minutes after the pipe ruptured.

“It seemed like forever to me before anyone showed up but in reality, it was about 10 minutes before people came,” Lee said.

One class was meeting on the first floor in classroom 101, and Lee said fortunately, few people were in the building at the time of the incident.

Lee said the pipe burst

due to a weakness in the soldering.

Little equipment was lost in the incident, but several scales were completely damaged. Lee said the microscopes in the labs seem to be working fine.

“The pipe has been repaired, but I’m really leery about the long-time future of this building,” Lee said.

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

Congress votes to give students more cowbell

BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

Students’ Association passed a resolution Wednesday to begin working with university administration on an athletic tradition which would provide cowbells for every student.

Students could bring cowbells to all outdoor athletic events, said Colton Powell, professional development representative. Each student’s graduation year would be on the handle and

the four sides of their cowbell could be painted with the logos of their academic department, social club or other student organization.

“By the time you graduate, you have four sides of a cowbell that uniquely show your time at ACU,” said Powell, sophomore finance major from Nashville, Tennessee.

Powell wrote the resolution because he said the university lacks athletic traditions which have succeeded at other universities

such as the Baylor Line and Texas A&M’s Midnight Yell. He said he wanted a unique, West Texas tradition for ACU to show support for athletics but also create individual keep sakes which could be passed down through generations.

“We have a lot of traditions at ACU, and that’s what makes ACU really great,” Powell said. “But we’re lacking that in athletics. If we don’t capitalize on the momentum now and the excitement around the foot-

ball program and the baseball program and all that, we might not have another chance to do it.”

To paint the bells, Powell said a Wildcat Venture business could be started so students who paint bells could be paid and each organization’s logo could be available in a template.

Student Congress voted unanimously to pass the resolution which will show the university administration that students support this idea. Powell said the next

step is to work with administration to get the cowbells to students by the first game in the football stadium this fall. The cowbells could be distributed to all freshmen at Wildcat Week, and the campus store, social clubs, Wildcat Reign, and SA could distribute cowbells to upperclassmen.

Congress also passed a resolution to ask the Hunter Welcome Center to waive the fee for the International SEE COWBELL PAGE 3

Zeta Rho sells flowers for club scholarships

BY ADRIENNE BARRICK STUDENT REPORTER

Zeta Rho is selling roses and carnations in the Campus Center in time for Valentine’s Day to support the rechartering of their club.

Since the club’s recharter in 2011, the proceeds of this annual fundraiser have gone towards charity. This year, Zeta Rho has decided to take on another service project this month and will be keeping the proceeds of this fundraiser for themselves.

Catherine Finney, Zeta Rho social chair and a sophomore marketing major from Southlake, said they have “decided that in order to build and make the Abilene community better, we need to build ourselves as well.”

The roses will be on sale through the Feb. 14 and will be available for delivery on Feb. 13 or for pick up that week.

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

Three clubs accept spring pledge classes

BY LAUREN FRANCO STAFF WRITER

Spring pledging started on bid night last Friday for three social clubs on campus.

In order for clubs to be eligible to accept pledges in the spring semester they must have less than 50 active members. Frater Sodalis, Pi Kappa and Zeta

Rho accepted a cumulative number of 32 students.

Joel Childers, Frater Sodalis president, said the club has 40 active members and accepted 14 pledges, an increase from last spring’s pledge class of three. This is the largest spring pledge class for the club in over 30 years, and the second largest overall in the past 10.

“It’s a continuation of

the momentum our fall pledge class helped bring, and a sign that Frats isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” said Childers, senior biblical test major from Abilene. “We’ve been here since 1943, and even though there’s been times we’ve been fairly small, we’ve never been truly afraid of being too small to continue because we know

what we offer is something no one else can offer.”

Frater Sodalis is pledging freshman, sophomores, and juniors. McKennon Cecil, a sophomore sport and recreation management major from Eastland, said he looked forward to pledging Frats because of the members’ willingness to work with him.

“I assumed that all social

W W W. A C U O P T I M I S T. C O M

clubs wanted their pledges and members to fit a profile and be a certain person,” Cecil said. “After meeting the men of Frats and (I) learned that they valued individuality, that perception was changed.”

Zeta Rho offered bids to 13 women. This is also an increase from their spring pledge class last year of eight. Vice President Ciara

Beck, a senior interdisciplinary major from Colleyville, said they reached out to freshman, sophomores, and girls who studied abroad that did not get to pledge last semester.

Megan Lavallee, a sophomore communication sciences and disorders for speech pathology major SEE PLEDGING PAGE 3

2

NEW S

Art professor designs emojis

BY ABBEY BOWLING FEATURES & ARTS EDITOR

Art professor Ryan Feerer designed new Texas themed emojis for the iPhone and Android app TexMessages, which is available on the app store for free.

Fe e r e r said he got involved with the project after Jeff Blagg, who is originally from Abilene, FEERER contacted him and asked if he would be willing to design 30 emojis for the app, which features designs from six different Texas based artists. The emojis range from barbecue and queso to football and the Alamo, among other unique Texas designs – even an Abilene one, which was Feerer’s favorite to design.

He also said it was easy to work inside the theme because there’s a lot of rich culture within Texas. “The whole concept behind it is that these little emojis/stickers are Texas themed and designed and illustrated by Texas artists,� Feerer said. “[Blagg] approached me to do a series of those and he gave me a list of some of the things he wanted me to do and on top of that, he gave me some freedom to play around with a few others, so I was able to bring in Abilene centric illustrations into the project.�

Feerer said he used both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create his designs, and the creative process took two weeks to complete. He also said this was the first time he had designed emojis or done anything similar. “I definitely try to do work that is appropriate for the client or job I am working on,� Feerer said. “Sometimes the look and feel can vary greatly from project to project. However, I do have a style that I think have developed unintentionally. A lot of that is a combination of lettering, interesting typographic lockups and texture. This, by nature, has a Texas vibe I think. Almost reminiscent of old vintage signage and labels.�

His favorite design work involves branding and logo development and he’s completed several projects around Abilene, like the logo for Pappy Slokum and the branding for AbiHaus.

AKB12A@ACU.EDU

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2017

Student follows Sing Song act for Film Fest

BY ASHLEY ALFRED STUDENT REPORTER

An ACU student will be working on a project for FilmFest that’s never been done before-documenting a women’s social club throughout Sing Song.

FilmFest is a production run by ACU students that plan to work in the film industry. The students involved are provided with the equipment and workshops necessary to make the film that they have envisioned.

The production itself

gets the students involved in their fields and allows each team member to gain experience in their preferred area of expertise.

The night of FilmFest the students who entered have the opportunity to see their production on the big screen.

As for Laurel Drain, sophomore multimedia major from Keller, working with a team is not part of the plan. Since this has never been done before, Drain is pursuing her vision and setting a goal for her documentary on TKG

“

I saw the opportunity to do a film that was an honest video to show everything that really happens.�

LAUREL DRAIN SOPHOMORE MULTIMEDIA MAJOR FROM KELLER

Sing Song. “It’s hard to combine practicing the act while also taking care of filming,� said Drain. “But I saw the opportunity to do a film that was an honest video to show everything that

really happens.�

While Sing Song “video diaries� and references in short films have been done, there are no full documentaries focusing on a specific group performance. The documentary will focus on TKG’s Sing Song act from day one to the final performance. “It seems to me that documentaries don't get enough respect, because they don't use typical film production techniques. They have their own unique challenges... and their story structure is

much more intimate.� Said John Puckett, junior multimedia major and FilmFest co-chair from Amarillo.

With both Sing Song and FilmFest approaching, Drain continues to balance the work behind her documentary with school and sing song.

"It’s stressful putting it all together right now, but I am excited to get to editing after Sing Song is over.�

Drain said.

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

Shinnery Review now accepting submissions

BY MAX PRESTON STUDENT REPORTER

The annual Shinnery Review opened for submissions on Feb. 3 and will be taking them all the way through March 24.

T h e Shinner y is the student-r un literary magazine of campus whose publicaMOORE` tion on April 23 will be celebrated with a release party called "The Black Tulip."

All submissions for the magazine come from undergraduate students and include writings, paintings, photography and even sketches from interior design students.

Shinnery editor Kelsey Maple, senior English major from Kemah, organizes the magazine and gets the word out for submissions alongside her assistant editor, senior youth ministry major from Smyrna, Tenn., Shelby Fair.

"When people submit stuff, we decide as a group what we want to go in the magazine," Maple said.

"Me and my assistant editor will then go through and edit everything and then put it together."

Maple said because paintings or drawings can't be edited, they go with a point system and select the top-rated pieces to put in the magazine.

The Shinnery requested funds from Student Congress – specifically asking for $3,000 for printing and $200 for The Black Tulip party.

SA didn't fund any money towards their party, however, they did give them $1,800 for their printing.

"We're pretty happy with what we got," Maple said. "This year, we pretty much have enough to print The Shinnery to

our liking."

Aside from the editor and assistant editor, the Shinnery Review has other members who help assemble the magazine.

Staff member Valerie Kocsis, senior english major from Littleton, Colo., gave her positive look on being involved.

"The Shinnery is a good chance for students to challenge themselves to

“

This year we pretty much have enough to print The Shinnery to our liking."

KELSEY MAPLE SHINNERY REVIEW EDITOR

create something meaningful and then to have the courage to share it with others." Kocsis said.

While the Shinnery Review is mainly a student-run organization, it is also co-sponsored by Dr. Steven Moore and Dr. Jeremy Elliott.

"All we do is try to provide guidance to them along the way," Moore said. "They come up with dreams and visions and we try to help them achieve those dreams and

visions."

Shinnery Review began as the Pickwicker in 1906, and the name was changed in 1995.

The Shinnery Review releases 100-200 copies of the issue and can be found on the second f loor of the Administration building once it is released.

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

_ -2%6B'$//$6#QDY\ PLO

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 02/01/2017 3:45 p.m.

ACUPD has conducted an investigation into a student who reported an incident of being videotaped without consent. Case was dropped by the reporting party.

02/02/2017 12:52 a.m.

Officers responded to a report of suspected marijuana use in Edwards Hall and subsequently arrested a student for Class B possession of marijuana and issued a municipal citation for possession of drug paraphernalia.

02/04/2017 3:40 a.m.

An officer stopped an intoxicated driver on Campus Court who had just been involved in a collision with a parked vehicle. The subject was arrested for DWI. 911 CALL ACCIDENT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY ADVICE ALARM ANIMAL CALL ASSIST BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK CHECK BUILDING CITATION ISSUANCE DISTURBANCE DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE DRUG ACTIVITY/OFFENSE

3 1 24 3 4 1 2 7 331 1 2 1 2

FINGERPRINTING SERVICE FOOT PATROL FOUND PROPERTY IMPROPER PHOTOGRAPHY OR VISUAL ECORDING INFORMATION REPORT INTOXICATED DRIVER INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP LOST PROPERTY MAINTENANCE UNIVERSITY ASSETS: CCTV

1 27 5 1 6 2 18 2 1

MAINTENANCE: UNIVERSITY ASSETS MEDICAL EMERGENCY MONITOR FACILITY/LOT MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMPSTART MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK NOISE VIOLATION OTHER PARKING LOT PATROL PARKING VIOLATION PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTE-

3

NANCE PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL 6 PROWLER 3 RANDOM PATROL 5 RECKLESS DRIVING REPORT WRITING 11 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY SUSPICIOUS PERSON 3 SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 2 TRAFFIC STOP 29 WELFARE CHECK 3 2

10 1 21 1 23 1 6 2 4 1

TOTAL: 582 POLICE CHIEF TIP OF THE WEEK:

ACUPD encourages all students to make good (legal) choices regarding alcohol and marijuana possession. Criminal records last a lifetime.

N E WS

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2017

3

Stadium completion raises parking concerns

BY ERIKA BOLADO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The best cure for the common parking problem among campus is to take your daily dose of “get over it.”

The Wildcat Stadium, expected to be completed

by September, is starting to raise concerns if there will be enough parking spots for everyone on game days, but even before construction started students have been constantly frustrated with finding a parking spot.

Emily Moreno, senior business management major from Uvalde, Texas, said parking for her is stressful because she usually has to get to class 30 minutes early.

Morgan Jones, senior DET major from Austin, said it takes her between three to seven minutes to drive around and find a parking spot near campus.

“It stinks to waste a cumulative 30 minutes a day just finding parking and getting to class,” said Jones.

However, she said there are limitations to building new parking lots and appreciates that less parking encourages students to walk to campus.

To solve the parking problem, Moreno and Jones said a new lot or a parking garage would be the best solution.

However, there are many

students, including the public that don’t know how much time and thought is actually put into the parking issue.

Jimmy Ellison, chief of police for ACU Police Department and also the director of public safety, said he hopes people don’t think the police department are inadequately planning for the parking.

“In non-game days the football stadium isn’t really going to have effect on parking or traffic,” said Ellison. “In game days, however, that’s a different story, we think that on game day parking and traffic will be a significant event in terms of planning and coordination.”

There is a lot of traffic control to conduct on the perimeter in addition to parking lots, Ellison said.

There might be a lot of perimeter traffic issues around Ambler, Judge Ely, Campus Court and 16th street.

“We have some plans in place of how we think parking and traffic flow will go but I always preface with everyone that we haven’t had a football stadium in the modern era,” said Ellison.

“We can adapt some plans to what we think is going to happen.”

Coliseum way, the stadium parking lot and the Teague parking lot have al-

ways been difficult and congested, said Ellison. But over the summer as part of the final stages of the football stadium project, Ellison said those parking areas will be redesigned and redone.

Ellison said he’s heard criticism from people saying there should have been a big parking lot but because ACU is landlocked, he said “that’s just not the reality of campus geography and land availability.”

Ellison said on most college campuses, people have to park all around campus such as parking lots, side streets, church parking lots,

and front yards.

Parking garages are expensive, not attractive and could bring security issues, said Ellison. However, if enrollment at ACU continues to grow, Ellison said eventually there would be a parking problem and a parking garage would be the best permanent solution.

Overall, there are 3,700 parking spaces available on campus, but that’s not counting side street parking and the property on Ambler across from Hillcrest church, said Ellison.

Samantha Adkins, assistant director of Alumni Re-

lations, helps with tailgates or any athletic event that might have an activity before or after.

A stadium task force with people from Student Life, Alumni Office, University Events and the marketing department was put together since last spring to brainstorm ideas and decide what game days will look like on campus, said Adkins.

The stadium task force has visited Baylor, SMU, TCU and Liberty University in Virginia to see what those schools game days look like.

As for the parking prob-

experience.”

After the budget meeting, Kevin Shurtz, SA representative and junior computer science major from Southlake, talked to Lim about the lack of sufficient funds and this week he presented the resolution to waive the Welcome Center fee.

Lim said she had never met Shurtz before, and was surprised he wanted to help even though he doesn’t represent the multicultural groups.

“I’m really thankful that he did it, but it’s like out of nowhere,” Lim said. “I’m really thankful that there are people in SA who care enough to figure this out.”

Each year, ISA plans for the food festival to have 150 guests, but Lim said more people always show up for the event, so this year 200 guests will be expected.

Congress passed a bill to fund 50 discounted student tickets to the ACU Theatre production of The Mountaintop which will open

March 2. The tickets would be discounted to $10 per ticket. Taylor Crumpton, senior class president and senior social work major from Oakland, presented the bill.

Congress did not pass a resolution proposing an amendment to the Students’ Association, which was presented Wednesday.

Caitlin Walker, junior class vice president, wrote the resolution and said she explained the resolution for more than 30 minutes but when a vote was called for, about 25 Congress members abstained from voting, so it could not be passed. If it had passed, the resolution would call for an amendment to the constitution to be voted on by the entire student body in April.

The resolution would “better the communication gap between the ACU Students’ Association and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) through the creation of a minori-

ty counsel, to be called Bridge,” according to the resolution document.

Walker said she worked on the resolution with Prentice Ashford, director of OMA, Abbey Moses, SA executive president, and Chris Riley, vice president of Student Life.

“This is our first year having a multicultural rep,”

Walker said. “We’ve seen that it doesn’t work, and so I want to change it.”

Walker said the resolution would require the multicultural representative to be a member of an OMA group to better represent those groups.

“After last night the tension that was in the room of SA, people think I’m gon-

that Pi Kappa was a smaller club, so it would have been easier to connect to the members better and it made it easier to be on that level with them,” Sikes said.

“They have a good sense

of brotherhood and community within the small group that they have so that makes it nice.”

MAGGIE FARIAS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER With the construction of the football stadium underway, there are many concerns about the congestion and parking problems in Moody's parking lots.

lem, Adkins said she doesn’t think it’s an issue compared to other schools they visited.

Adkins said she encourages people to come early and be prepared to park further away.

Adkins said they can’t share any details of the exact location of the future tailgates because of final budget money and final decisions still being made.

“We would love for it to be as close to the stadium as possible but with parking being an issue on game days, we’re taking that into effect as well,” said Adkins.

As for the tailgating experience, Ellison said he expects the police department to make sure tailgating is safe by getting officers on foot and bicycle control.

Ellison said parking may be challenging for a few hours but the excitement of an on-campus stadium will hopefully help everyone make the best of it, just like with Sing Song and other major ACU traditions.

“At the end of the day it’s a beautiful stadium,” said Ellison. “It’s going to be a great addition to campus, it’s going to bring a new element and a new dynamic to our campus.”.

EXB14A@ACU.EDU

Cowbell: SA passes resolution, waives rental fee for ISA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Students’ Association’s upcoming food event, the International Food Festival. Last week, ISA president Christi Lim requested $6,350 from SA so the group could rent the Hunter Welcome Center. She said the Welcome Center charges about $400 per section and the group needed four sections for the event.

ISA also needed money for 14 student cooks to prepare an international meal.

During the budget meeting, she worked with her multicultural representative to ask for more funding because the group only received $1600 from SA. “Our representative, the multicultural representative, she was pretty new, “ Lim said. “When she tried to make amendments and stuff she said it was her first time doing that and she was pretty shaky on stuff. I kind of just felt like the representatives should have more

na give up on this,” Walker said, “but I’m not.”

Walker said she plans to work on reducing confusion and getting more support from Congress members so the resolution could be passed later.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

Pledging: Frats sees largest pledge class in 30 years CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

to reach out to women individually.

“I’m just really looking forward to the community with these awesome women, Lavallee said.

“When I went to Bid Night last Friday, I knew I was home. I’m so ready to be a part of a social club that truly cares for each individual in the club.”

Pi Kappa currently has 22 active members and accepted five pledges. This is down from last spring’s pledge class of nine. President Benjamin Kimble, a senior youth and family ministry and family studies major from The Colony said despite the decline in numbers, it is ultimately about quality and not quantity.

With four freshmen and one graduate student, the club is proud to represent the extremes of the classification spectrum. Hunter Sikes, a freshman business management major from Fort Worth, said although he knew most of the guys already through band, he was excited to grow in the close-knit community.

“I saw the other guys social clubs last semester who were pledging and I knew

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

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FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2017

Sing Song: The ultimate group project

THE ISSUE

As we prepare for Sing Song week on campus, we are balancing class loads, the growing mid-semester homework load, and the onset of exhaustion. Is our time at ACU more about our classes or our student experiences?

OUR TAKE

Sing Song, in all of its weirdness and ridiculousness, is an importnat part of our campus and can teach us in ways classes can’t.

Dear Professors who assign 50 percent of the grade during Sing Song week, We know we are paying thousands of dollars to learn from you. We know your wisdom and experience outweighs our own.

We know our grades are important.

But we didn’t have to come to this school.

Unless our parents literally forced us to attend their alma mater, most of us chose this school for a variety of reasons besides academics. We could’ve gone to a state school, a different private school or a community college. We

chose to come here for something more than a diploma, so as we approach the chaos of Sing Song week, we ask you to consider what we value.

We value community, something Sing Song helps build through long hours and working toward a common goal. You can give us lots of group projects, but your group projects will never teach us the value of teamwork the way Sing Song does.

We want to get out of our comfort zones and do something new. Yes, you could give us a presentation or a creative writing assignment, but could

you make us dress up as an alien and paint rosy red cheeks on our faces?

What’s more outside of our comfort zones than that?

We want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. When that curtain rises and the crowd cheers, every student on stage feels this rush of joy.

All of a sudden, we are a part of generations behind us, screaming in the crowd. We entertain future Wildcats sitting in the audience giggling at our sparkly fireman costumes.

At the end of the show, we put our arms around our neighbor’s shoulders and sing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” There’s no research paper we could write or book we could read that connects us with the past and the future as strongly as that moment does.

Sing Song is an experience unique to ACU and our community. People

Daily Doodle Dosage don’t perform in Sing Song just to learn how to harmonize or perform perfect choreography – they do it for the simple act of spending time with their fellow classmates and being part of a new chapter of a his-

BEN TODD CARTOONIST

This is what happens when teachers participate in Sing Song.

toric ACU tradition.

So before you assign that 12-page research paper, 20-minute group presentation or 10-chapter test, please consider our education as a whole. Consider the people we are becom-

ing and the community we are building.

Sincerely, A few distressed students OPINION@JMCNETWORK.COM

COLUMN

hashtagACU

Thoughts from a former Sing Songer

@acuoptimist

KRAZY KASSIE

@ASHLEE_BOONE

It’s week 3 or 4 of school, maybe 5. I’ve lost count. and I’m in the fetal position eating a box of triscuits.

College is not fun anymore.

KASSIE KIM VIDEO NEWS EDITOR

@93MADISONAVE

A week and a half until Sing Song and I’m coughing like every three seconds so that’s how my life is going.

@GIDEONLUCK

Shoutout to the real heroes: the Whataburger night shift. @POSSIBLY_TROY

Just left my car running and unlocked outside the gym for an hour. Thx to everyone that didn’t steal my car or my wallet @LAUREN_FRANCO1

ACU is so generous that they refunded me $9 today.

I can’t wait to pay off my loans with this incredible, selfless gift.

@TAENJOHNSON

when ur in a class w/ ur boyfriend & the teacher unknowingly drafts u to debate w/ him...

@ALLENTMARTIN

If you love me, let MIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS

Junior multimedia major San Antonio

It’s February, which means only one thing on campus.

Sing Song. The good thing is that Sing Song is next week.

Bad thing is, Sing Song is next week.

With the show quickly approaching, all the acts are rushing to perfect their songs, costumes and props in order to blow the judges away and win the competition. Which means sleepy students in class who most likely cannot wait to not sing for hours on end anymore.

The exhaustion will set in very soon, if it hasn’t already, and I’m sorry to all the professors who’ll see these students sleeping in their classes. It’s not because they’re bored, it’s just because their sleep schedule is currently on the rocks and they’re most likely not getting more than five hours of sleep when they have practice.

I do remember quite fondly those long nights of practice, especially as the show got closer and closer freshman year. I was a proud member of the freshman bunnies act and I definitely don’t regret doing it. It was a lot of fun, I learned a lot and my parents and grandparents even made it up from San Antonio to see me perform. But I swore I’d never do a Class Act ever again after it was all said and done.

I knew the only time I’d be able to do it was freshman year, so I did. But the memories of those months, starting way back in late November with auditions all the way to the competition, are some of the greatest memories I have.

These past few months will be forever ingrained in your memories. Whether good or bad, they’ll be there.

If this is your first time in

Sing Song I cam promise you it’s not that scary or intimidating at all. Standing on that stage with an almost completely blacked out arena with thousands of people there to cheer you on is not as scary or intimidating as it sounds. Take it from someone who had quite the terrible stage fright and had to close her eyes during her audition just to get through it.

Standing up there on those nights of practice were more intimidating than the actual show. The show itself is so much more fun when you just go out there and do your best.

The worst thing that can happen to you vocally is getting sick, or having a random allergy attack, the week of Sing Song. It’s not the best, so I wouldn’t recommend it.

So as the competition creeps up on us, please take care of yourself. Without you, the act is one less person complete. The act won’t be the same without you. Each member brings something different to the show, and if one is missing, it just isn’t the same. So please, take care of yourself. Drink plenty of wa-

ter, eat three times a day and rest whenever you can.

Just remember this, Sing Song is almost over. The feeling of being on that stage performing a routine that you’ve been working on for the past few months will be worth the countless all-nighters to get that paper done or to study for that test. Because once you are on that stage, you’re what the whole of Moody is watching. So, just perform what you’ve been practicing to the best of your abilities, and if you mess up just go with it and recover. Don’t pull attention to yourself, just smile and find your place in the song again.

And remember,it’s almost over. The blessing of sleep will soon be upon you once again. You’re evenings can be focused back on school work and you’ll have your social life back, which your friends will be glad to see you on a normal basis again. I believe in you all. Good luck and break a leg next week everyone!

KMK13DACU.EDU

COLUMN

Is Christian leadership and service still the priority?

EXAGGERAITZ JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS EDITOR Junior convergence journalism major Bandera

The first line of the mission and vision statement of ACU reads, “Our mission is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.”

One of the ways ACU has been able to foster Christian leadership and service in students over the past several decades is through intentional living and Christ-centered community. Some would say it has become its identity. But

has ACU’s recent focus been more on the spectacle of success than the sentiment of the experience?

In the span of three months ACU has seen the exit of two head coaches, in head football coach Ken Collums and head volleyball coach Jason Bibler. Although these firings cannot be directly correlated to wins and losses, it is clear the Christ-centered mindset is

no longer enough to cut it at the Div. 1 level.

Wildcat Stadium is also on tab to have the fourth-largest video board in the FCS upon completion. While this is exciting, each of the four schools with larger video boards more than double ACU’s enrollment, with James Madison University enrolling more than five times as many students. This is a sign ACU could be expanding too quick.

The changes and workings within the department of athletics are not the only representation of this across campus. The Div. 1 transition has affected various parts of campus, unrelated in most senses to athletics. State-ofthe-art buildings and facili-

personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy. Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79609 E-mail letters to: optimist@acu.edu

ties like Halbert-Walling and Bennett Gymnasium have gone up on campus and will provide students with incredible opportunities. However, with another year where freshman retention declined from last fall to this spring, is it possible these multi-million dollar structures might be more than what ACU needs to accomplish its vision and mission?

T H E

EDITORIAL AND LETTER POLICY Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing

“

Is it possible these multi-million dollar structures might be more than what ACU needs to accomplish its vision and mission?

While all of these advancements and changes can be considered beneficial to the university’s future, what is ACU doing to foster and carry out its Christian identity along the way? And is that still the priority and mission, or is expansion and growth the new central focus?

There is something to be said about giving your best and even being the best. In

fact, Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” But if the best compromises Christ’s identity, is it still worth it?

Baylor and ACU are part of a handful of universities with Div. 1 athletics and Council for Christian Colleges and Universities accreditation, as SMU and TCU are no longer accredited. And with Baylor’s recent compromises of faith for success, I hope ACU is able to keep it’s Christian identity of service and leadership as its priority.

JMR13BACU.EDU

O P T I M IST

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F E ATUR E S

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2017

5

‘To Gillian’ – 25 Years Later

Department of Theatre explores faith, grief and renewal in its winter play

BY ABBEY BOWLING ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR

T

he Department of Theatre will debut its winter play, To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, this Friday amidst the beaches of Nantucket.

The show, written by Michael Brady, is about a woman named Gillian who dies on her 37th birthday.

Her loved ones – including her husband, daughter, sister and brother-in-law – gather in Nantucket and struggle through the grief caused by Gillian’s death.

The show is particularly special to the director, Dawne Meeks, because she felt profoundly impacted by the play when the department performed it in the spring of 1992. She said several alumni who were involved in the production in the 90s are planning on coming back for opening

weekend. Meeks said she was drawn to the play because Gillian is fearless in her faith in many ways.

“The part that I want the audience to walk away with is the statement of faith, of relationship, of renewal. What it means to walk through a profound loss, what home means – I say that in a broader sense of home and family, sense of security and self-identity,” said Meeks, associate professor in the department of theatre. “Those faith issues as you walk through those things. I feel like that is what is going to profoundly impact our audience, and I think each audience member will identify with one particular character or many of them.”

Meeks said it’s been a quick rehearsal process with three weeks of rehearsal and one week of dress rehearsals to put on

the finishing touches before opening night. As the entire play is set in Nantucket, the set designers – Gary Varner and Savannah Ochran – created the beach in Culp Theatre with three tons of sand. The audience and stage are almost completely integrated, as the seats wrap around three sides of the set, which will place the audience intimately close to the action.

“I love that our patrons will walk in and be in Nantucket, they’ll be in that environmental world immediately,” Meeks said. “I think it’s such a beautiful show, it’s a show about the human heart, about loss and healing. It’s a faith story, it’s about human connection and I think about all of us, myself included, how we can get so caught up in our technical devices. We get so lost in that world and sort of lose sight of the human

one-on-one.”

Though the rehearsal process has been short, Meeks said she’s proud of the cast and crew in the show and their willingness to engage in very vulnerable ways. With such a small, intimate theatre, the cast has to be honest with emotional moments as they walk through the show right in front of the audience.

“I hope it will be a healing experience for our audience,” Meeks said. “I think that’s the beauty of theatre, is through our storytelling – it’s a vehicle that allows people to process things in ways that maybe they might not be able to walk through, but by experiencing that live stage version, even that can be a human to human experience, when you’re seeing that live for the first time. There’s something that’s so profoundly beautiful about that.”

“

The part I want the audience to walk away with is the statement of faith, of relationship, of renewal.”

DAWNE MEEKS DIRECTOR

The show will also be part of a showcase for the graduating seniors. For the past 12 years, the theatre department has worked with theatrical agents and casting directors from Los Angeles and New York to show the work of the seniors in the department, where they showcase monologues, songs and scenes in hopes of gaining representation once they start their career.

Nancy Carson, who is the agent and owner of the

Carson-Adler theatrical agency, has worked with the department for all 12 years and will be in town during opening weekend to support the students.

Since showcase normally happens while the department is not doing a production, this will be a different way for Carson to see the students perform, Meeks said.

Performances include Feb. 10-11, 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 12 and 19 at 2 p.m in Culp Theatre.

Students can get half price tickets in advance through the box office or 30 minutes before the start of the show. Students will also be able to receive one Spiritual Formation Credit by attending one of the two Sunday matinee shows on either Feb. 12 or Feb. 19.

AKB12A@ACU.EDU

LYDIA LAWSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The ACU Theatre Department presents its new play, “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.”

6

S P O RT S STANDINGS

TRACK

Bingham transitioning smoothly at the helm

BY TREVOR WYATT SPORTS WRITER

Ten months after coming to ACU in relief of coach Keith Barnier in April, track and field head coach Lance Bingham said he’s settled in nicely, and credits his time at Liberty University for the positive transition period.

Bingham was a long-time associate coach for Liberty University, spending 18 seasons as associate coach and associate head coach.

When he came to ACU to take the head coaching job for track and field as well as cross country, he brought Jarvis Jelen and his son Cody as assistant coaches, both of whom were coaches at Liberty University. Jelen said that being with familiar people made it easier on all of them. “[Coach Bingham] and Cody being here with me definitely made this transition a lot easier for both sides,” Jelen said. “But it’s been really good. It made the transition like I expected it would be, pretty easy.

And it’s all thanks to Coach Bingham. He and I had a close relationship before I got here, which is how I got this job in the first place.”

Coach Bingham attributes his time at Liberty to spiritual growth, but says that his transition to ACU

M Basketball Team

SHSU UNO SFA Lamar SELU TAMU-CC UIW HBU UCA Nicholls ACU McNeese NWSU

Ovrl. Div. 17-7 8-3 13-9 8-3 12-11 7-4 14-9 6-4 13-11 6-5 12-9 5-5 10-12 5-6 9-12 5-6 6-18 5-6 11-13 4-7 10-12 4-7 7-15 4-7 9-12 3-7

W Basketball Team

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Left: Bingham spent 18 seasons at Liberty University before coming to ACU. Under the direction of Bingham, the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished ninth at the conference meet last fall, despite four of its best runners using their redshirt. Right: Bingham coaches redshirt freshman Chartia Hurt.

made a larger positive impact on his faith. He credits having familiar staff, as well as getting the respect of his peers early on.

“I think my time at Liberty was certainly a helpful part of my spiritual life, and coming to ACU just made everything better,” Bingham said. “To go from one place to another and be able to grow spiritually, as well as getting the respect and love of your peers is something that made my transition period at ACU a positive time, rather than wondering

what was happening. It also helped that my son and [Coach Jelen] were able to join me on this journey.”

However, the experience that stands out the most to Coach Bingham had nothing to do with track and field, but happened before he started his job, when his family suffered a loss over the summer.

“We lost our granddaughter over the summer,” Coach Bingham said.

“And the staff here showed how Christ-like they were in their manner, reaching out sincerely and genuine-

ly to us, and it allowed us to grow closer quicker, and made the transition with all the staff that much easier. So obviously knowing my son and Coach Jelen helped, but meeting them before our loss and seeing how they reacted after it really helped smooth the transition period.”

Bingham names staff members, and then mentions the final part of his transition that settled him in: meeting with alumnus of the athletics program.

“Starting to connect with some of the alumni real-

ly helped,” Bingham said.

“Earl Young, of course being a big one. That’s something that really shocked me, that these people I’ve met in my career became friends and helped me after I got the job here.”

The spring season will close in May at the Southland Conference Championships in New Orleans, and the ACU track and field team will also introducing a 10K at one of its home meets.

TMW13A@ACU.EDU

RUGBY

UCA SFA Lamar ACU UNO McNeese TAMU-CC Nicholls NWSU UIW HBU SELU SHSU

Ovrl. Div. 18-4 10-2 18-4 9-2 16-5 9-2 15-8 9-2 11-10 6-5 10-12 5-6 9-14 5-7 8-15 5-7 10-11 4-6 6-16 4-7 5-15 3-7 4-19 2-10 1-19 1-9

WHO’S HOT Senior Suzzy Dimba led the Wildcats in scoring on WednesDimba day night and posted a career-high 33 points. Dimba was 12-of-15 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. She also added five rebounds in the Wildcats 80-70 road loss to Central Arkansas. With the 33-point performance Dimba has scored a total of 61 points in her last three games, giving her an average of 20.6 points per game over the last three.

MATCHUPS W Basketball

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Brothers Juan and Adrian have always been close, but their shared passion of rugby continues to strengthen that bond, as the two hope to represent ACU in New Zealand. The rugby team won its most recent match up 38-31.

Dynamic Duo

Escobedo brothers take passion overseas

BY LAUREN FRANCO STAFF WRITER

Two ACU brothers have been selected to play in an international rugby tournament in New Zealand.

Juan Escobedo, junior nutrition and exercise science major, and Adrian Escobedo, freshman health promotion major, are from Round Rock and have been playing rugby since they were in high school.

Their first exposure to the sport was through their older brother, who was asked to play rugby in high school and would come home raving about how much fun he had at practice. Juan, skeptical at first, ended up playing during his junior year of high school.

Adrian said he was introduced to rugby during a time in his life that he wanted to focus on baseball. Because rugby practices were so early, he decided to wait

and didn’t start playing until his sophomore year of high school. He made the athletic transition to rugby after being offered a leadership position at a Christian leadership group.

The brothers have been leaders on ACU’s club team, teaching players who have no experience. Head Coach Keith Goeddertz said the two have acted as coaches and stepped up to run drills when he is working one-on-one with new players. He said, paired with their leadership, passion has helped them excel.

“When people think of rugby players, they think of huge 230 pound plus guys on the field,” Goeddertz said. “Adrian and Juan are the two smallest guys on the team, but they have the biggest hearts and drive than anyone I know. Adrian and Juan have been able to use their body size to excel in their positions.”

The opportunity to represent the conference presented itself at a rugby combine in San Antonio. Eight of ACU’s team members tried out for the team.

“We are in the Lone Star Conference and, once we established ourselves as a team, we got an email from the conference director saying that there was going to be an all-star opportunity,” Adrian said. “The opportunity was to go play in New Zealand.”

Players from the Lone Star Conference can attend one of a few tryouts to get picked for the team that will go on the tour. Of about 70 people, only 25 will make the cuts.

“The best players get picked during tryouts,” Juan said. “You go to the tryout and they offer you the choice of joining the team. We were blessed with that opportunity.”

The trip will cost them $5000, which covers housing, air fare, food, equipment,

free-time activities and team building events. Because the cost is so high, Juan started a GoFundMe to help raise money in order for them to attend. In two months, they have raised a total of $765 through eight donors.

“We’ve been blessed that our passion for rugby has opened many opportunities for us and we want to continue to seize them,” Juan said.

Juan said his excitement is in meeting the guys on their new team and forming relationships within the Lone Star Conference. Adrian added to this, saying his excitement was found in the tools they will learn from professionals and bring back to expand ACU rugby.

Because the team is spread throughout Texas, a portion of the training must be done through the club team. Occasionally, practices are scheduled for all of the players to meet in one location to practice as a

group. Adrian said this kind of accountability and integrity is what it takes for them to reach their dream of eventually playing for USA Rugby.

“The big thing is integrity. Knowing what you want and reaching our dreams and trying to achieve it even when no one is watching.”

Adrian said. “We both have aspirations to be USA Rugby players, and this opportunity is going to help us with our rugby experience as well as just adding more tools to the belt.”

Despite setbacks such as finances and size, they are most excited to learn and challenge themselves so they can inspire others.

“Our dream is to shine a light on rugby and how, with our circumstance, we can prove that anything is possible with God,” Adrian said.

JMR13B@ACU.EDU

2/8/17 ACU

70

UCA

80

2/11/17 ACU

(15-8, 9-2)

NWSU

(10-11, 4-6)

M Basketball 2/9/17 ACU

(10-12,4-7)

UCA

(6-18, 5-6)

2/11/17 ACU

(10-12, 4-7)

NWSU

(9-12, 3-7)

Tennis 2/11/17 ACU

Women’s 2-3

HSU

1-0

2/11/17 ACU

Women’s 2-3

SNU

0-1

2/10/17 ACU

Men’s 8-5

TTU 2-5 2/10/17 ACU

Men’s 8-5

UT-PB 4-9

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