The Optimist Print Edition 3.24.17

WHAT'S INSIDE

NEWS

Students organize a suicide prevention walk, set to take place on April 1 at Elmer Gray Stadium.

Page 2

FEATURE

OPINION

A Rwandan student shares his perspective on his time at ACU and in America.

Page 4-5

Is freshman pledging actually a good idea? The Editorial Board weighs in to the campus discussion Page 6

SPORTS

Tickets for the first year of Wildcat Stadium beginning the first week of April.

Pages 8

v

Friday, March 24, 2017 Vol. 105, Issue 25

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

ALL THAT JAZZ

EMILY GUAJARDO VISUALS MANAGING EDITOR Students spent the afternoon feeling the rhythm of a Jazz Dance Master Class at the Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center with guest instructor Kiera Amison.

TEDxACU brings big ideas to campus

BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF

Twelve speakers will present "ideas worth spreading" at the third annual TEDxACU on Friday from 8:30 a.m - 5 p.m. in the Fulks Theatre at the Williams Performing Art Center.

This year's speakers will cover a variety of topics from coffee to millennial feminists

to black college football players to outer space.

TEDx is a self-organized event connected to the global TED conference initiative which began in 1984. Presenters must give their talks in 18 minutes or less.

The dozen presenters will address the theme of what's "Next" through their perspectives, industries and

disciplines. This year's lineup includes several students, alumni and visitors from around the country.

Special events during the day include a performance by Disability Resources' handbell choir, the Bell Peppers, and a speed painting performance by alumni Chera Chaney, a 2016 art and design graduate.

Chandler Graf, a senior

biochemistry major from Georgetown, will give a video presentation titled "How Science Can Help You Brew a Better Cup of Coffee". Graf was asked to present after Dr. Lauren Lemley, organizer of TEDxACU, overheard him training a new barista at Beltway coffee, where he works as a barista. "[She] thought that the

same information baristas learned could help everybody drink better coffee," said Graf.

"I was super excited to do it because I'm passionate about the idea that coffee doesn't just have to be a boring drink that wakes us up, it can be a speciality drink that is unique each time you make it."

SEE TEDx PAGE 3

Justice Week sees lower participation

BY TORI ALDANA COPY EDITOR

Justice Week brought speakers to campus to highlight issues of injustice throughout the world. The week, sponsored by the Office of Spiritual Formation and the on-campus chapter of International Justice Mission (IJM), featured several forums and special events all relating social causes.

Catlin Young, junior communications major from Dallas and co-president of IJM on campus, was in charge of organizing the week.

This year’s Justice Week included these chapel speakers: Brad Voss, executive director of Made in the Streets, Dr. Steven Moore, ACU professor of language and literature, and Danny Sims, the executive direc-

tor of Global Samaritan in Abilene.

Groups like Red Thread Movement has participated in Justice Week the past couple of years, as well as other organizations. However student organization participation was low this year, said Emily Counts, ACU IJM co-president.

“We had a hard time this year getting people involved,” said Counts, junior

communications major from Abilene. Counts also said was hard to find representative of student groups or when they did make contact the groups may have seemed interested at first but did not follow through.

An event called “Careers for the Common Good” took place Monday evening and was a discussion between students and current leaders in non-profit orga-

nizations on how to get a career in the field of justice.

Tuesday night there was a showing of the film “Salam’s Neighbor,” a movie about Syrian refugees and the reality they are facing.

ACU IJM hosted a benefit concert at Mezamiz Coffee Shop on Thursday evening, which included

SEE JUSTICE PAGE 3

Pour Man’s brews up expansion plans

BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF

Pour Man's flagship coffee shop will soon occupy the former Bitsy's Flowers space on Campus Court.

Pop-up coffee stand founders David Neill and Daniel Sotelo, recent ACU graduates, have brought on two new partners as part of their expansion plans: building owner Harley Burnett and real estate agent Alex Whitten. Neill and Sotelo have managed to work out what they called a lucky deal that came together in the last few weeks, beating out several other groups looking at the space.

Pour Man's is slated to open its nearly 4000-square-foot shop in September after extensive renovations take place over the summer. Neil and Sotelo plan to expand their coffee offerings from just pour-over coffee to include espresso-based drinks, plus pastries and other cold beverage options. The space is the only non-ACU-owned property on the strip across from Hardin Administration building.

Neill and Sotelo didn't disclose how much they'd pay in rent to Burnett, the building's owner, or how much they were spending on the renovation. When

the idea of a shop first came to the table, the pair figured they could get approved for a loan in the $60,00070,000 range. Now, they plan to spend that much on coffee-making equipment alone.

The Pour men plan to purchase a Slayer brand three-group espresso machine. For those who don't speak coffee-shop talk, that means they'll be getting one of the best machines in the industry and a hefty price tag to match. A Slayer Three-Group machine checks out at $22,575.

"We are not going to cut corners with anything," Neill said. "We are the luck-

iest people ever."

After initially talking with the realtor for the Bitsy's space, Neill and Sotelo got connected to building owner Burnett, who also owns both Tea2Go locations in town. Neill said the three clicked right off the bat.

Burnett liked their vision so much, he made an offer to come on as a partner and help them renovate the shop space. Whitten also came on as a partner to the business and will help Neill and Sotelo make connections as they move forward with the project.

The new space will be a big jump for Pour Man's, which opened last April as

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

a mobile stand that set up around town. In their first year open, Neill and Sotelo estimated they did roughly $6,000 in sales.

Where some might be a little nervous for that big of a jump, Neill and Sotelo said they aren't scared or worried about competition from other shops. They are banking on their close proximity to the university to boost their sales. In addition to starting their stand, Neill and Sotelo were both a part of launching Beltway Coffee.

"We've been thinking about opening our own SEE COFFEE PAGE 3

Study Abroad students safe after London attack

BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF

Students studying abroad in England checked in safe in Oxford after Wednesday’s terrorist attack in London. In light of the incident, students are paying extra close attention to safety while traveling around Europe.

Annie Hill, sophomore nursing major from Bedford, said she was in Oxford when the attack happened but didn’t quite understand what had happened until later in the day. Hill still plans to travel through London during the remainder of her semester abroad.

“It was shocking because two from our group were actually in London on Monday, so it’s weird to think about,” Hill said.

“But as for traveling, it hasn’t scared me off.”

Hill noted some students a part of her group have hesitated to go to France or Germany because of unrest.

“I really do not think [unrest] is unique to these places. Unrest and violence are everywhere including the US,” Hill said. Really the only way to avoid it is to live in a secluded bubble and that’s not what I want to do. Yes, there is still very much a need to be careful and remain consciously aware of the political and social situation of where you travel, but just because one event has occurred, does not make the whole place tainted.”

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

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NEW S

FRIDAY | MARCH 24, 2017

Pre-health majors Suicide Prevention walk scheduled for upcoming month accepted into Care Center Steve RowEvery life is important and those that Suicide Prevention and land helps students who brought their fundraising struggle with the thoughts of suicide need medical schools The American Foundation have suffered with depres- “ event the Out of the Darkto know they matter and there is hope," ness Community Walk to sion and anxiety.

BY DAVIS DENTON STUDENT REPORTER

BY ABBEY BOWLING FEATURES & ARTS EDITOR

The Pre-Health Program so far has a total of 19 students going on to various medical schools and programs after graduation, including ten students into medical school, four into dental school, two into pharmacy school, one into podiatry school and two into physician's assistant programs.

Cynthia Powell, director of the pre-health professions program and pre-med advisor, said this is a moving target, because some students receive acceptances in February and some may not get acceptances until as late as May or June.

"We're just excited the kids have applied and they're getting to go into professional programs," Powell said. "They have an excellent opportunity to get a great education and to serve their communities well."

Powell said the students are going to a variety of different schools, both in Texas and out of state. There are also students going into Doctorate of Medicine programs and Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine programs, as well as others.

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

for Suicide Prevention will host a walk 11 a.m. Saturday April 1 at Elmer Gray Stadium to raise awareness and help prevent suicide.

Registration will begin at 10 a.m. with lunch served after the walk concludes.

Suicide is one of the top three causes of death among people ages 18-24 and the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. For every one successful suicide there are 25 attempts. Director of the Medical and Counseling

"Every life is important and those that struggle with the thoughts of suicide need to know they matter and there is hope," Rowland said.

According to afsp.org, 44,193 Americans die by suicide every year and the financial impact is $44 billon annually. On average, there are 121 suicides per day.

"This is only the second time we done this walk," said Counselor Michelle Overman. "We started be-

STEVE ROWLAND DIRECTOR OF THE MACC

cause a student came to us who was passionate about suicide prevention and we partnered with her and her mom."

While women are three times as likely as a man to attempt suicide, males are four times as likely to die from it. Men are three-anda-half times more likely to

commit suicide than women. Males made up seven out of 10 suicides in 2015.

"When I was two years old, I lost my father to suicide," Kalie Dame, sophomore animal science major from Olney, said. " My mother came across an organization called the American Foundation for

our area."

"AFSP offers a campus walk to bring awareness to the 1100 college student suicides each year and I have now brought one to our campus with the hopes of reaching anyone who may be suffering. If you are struggling I encourage you to reach out to someone, anyone because your story isn't over yet," Dame said.

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

Student starts new Tuesday night yoga class at SRWC

BY ASHLEY ALFRED STUDENT REPORTER

The Student Recreation & Wellness Center has recently added a yoga class at a later time for the convenience of students with one of ACU’s own students as the instructor.

ACU junior Karen Baker recently brought her passion and knowledge of yoga to the ACU community through her new evening class. Baker began teaching yoga as a junior in high school and currently has

her 200 hour license, meaning that she had to teach and practice 100 hours of yoga prior to receiving her certification.

“I love to share my passions with other people.”

Said Baker, sports management major from Austin.

“I joke and say yoga heals everything.”

Baker teaches Vinyasa, which is a higher intensity style that incorporates stretching, strength, and conditioning. She says that it is also a mind-body practice that requires concen-

“

Karen’s a great instructor and we’re excited that her class is doing so well!”

JOEL SWEDLUND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SRWC

tration on the muscles to reach the full potential of the practice.

Baker’s ultimate goal is to have a full class for every session and an hour-long class rather than her current 45 minute sessions.

“I want to always teach yoga, I love it” Said Baker.

“I don’t know if I will ever have my own studio, but I love to teach.”

The attendance level of “Yoga with Karen” has shown a strong start to the class, and has influenced the rec staff to look into adding additional late classes depending on the future class attendance.

“We’ve been very pleased with the level of attendance at Karen’s classes.” Said Joel Swedlund, Executive Director of the Student Recre-

ation and Wellness Center.

“Karen’s a great instructor and we’re excited that her class is doing so well!”

Karen Baker’s class is held on Tuesday nights in Studio B of the Rec from 77:45 p.m. The cost of one session is $5, and a semester pass is half off for the remainder of the semester. All passes can be purchased at the Member Services Desk or online at acu.edu/srwc OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 03/14/2017 11:12 p.m.

ACUPD investigated a reckless damage/destruction incident in a tenant’s UP apartment.

03/16/2017 5:55 p.m.

A student reported that an unknown person had scratched an obscene image on his vehicle.

03/19/2017 11:51 a.m.

A student found a live bat hanging from the ceiling in Smith Hall. ACUPD captured the bat and disposed of it.

911 CALL ACCIDENT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY ALARM ANIMAL CALL ASSIST BARRICADES BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK BURGLARY (ATTEMPTED) CART PATROL CHECK BUILDING CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

1 1 27 4 2 1 2 14 2 1 255 1

FIREWORKS VIOLATION FOOT PATROL FOUND PROPERTY INFORMATION REPORT INTOXICATED PERSON INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP MEDICAL EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH CONCERN MONITOR FACILITY/LOT MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMP-

1 19 3 3 1 1 1 1 2 3

START MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK OTHER PARKING LOT PATROL PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTENANCE PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL RANDOM PATROL RECKLESS DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION REPORT WRITING

5 1 34 11 9 30 1

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT STAND BY SUSPICIOUS PERSON SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE THEFT WELFARE CHECK

1 1 3 3 1 1

TOTAL: 456

POLICE CHIEF TIP OF THE WEEK:

Springtime is severe weather season in Abilene.

Make sure you’re registration with ACUALERT is current.

Go to acu.edu/acualert Contact ACUPD with any questions acupolice@acu. edu

9

Innovation Fridays Inspiring Innovation, Teamwork & Technology at ACU All students, faculty & staff are invited!

Fridays @ Noon - Bring Your Lunch

iF: Innovation Foundry Top Floor of ACU Brown Library

Check us out online for more information!

blogs.acu.edu/innovation_foundry

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GENDER ROLES & RELATIONSHIPS IN CHURCH & FAMILY PRESENTED BY DR. CLAIRE SMITH You're invited to the annual Friends of ACU Library spring banquet featuring Jay Moore, author of Abilene History In Plain Sight.

Thursday, March 30 • 6 p.m.

Abilene Christian University Hunter Welcome Center The evening will benefit the construction of Brown Library's Reading Commons, a book gallery and centrally-located reading room promoting awareness and enjoyment of new and recommended literature, with inviting spaces for small group and individual use.

Tickets $40 per individual Table Sponsors ($1,000) will receive a table for eight, event recognition and four autographed books.

Contact Molly Scherer 325-674-2340 • library@acu.edu

www.acu.edu/library

MONDAY, MARCH 27 4:00-5:30 PM AT CHAPEL ON THE HILL Australian biblical scholar Dr. Claire Smith will discuss her book, God’s Good Design: What the Bible Really Says About Men and Women.

The book interprets key Bible passages about men and women and their relationships at home and in church. Dr. Smith also narrates the story of changes in her life when she noticed parts of the Bible that challenged previous views.

Dr. Everett Ferguson, ACU Professor of Church History Emeritus, will offer a response.

This event is sponsored by the Center of Heritage and Renewal in Spirituality (CHARIS) at ACU and is open to the public.

A reception will follow the discussion.

The views presented during this event are those of the respective scholars and are not intended to represent a position taken by ACU.

N E WS

FRIDAY | MARCH 24, 2017

TEDx: speakers to flood campus CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

After Graf's video presentation, a break will follow where conference attendees can try six unique coffees provided by local shops in Abilene.

Madeline Dayton, sophomore global studies major from Katy, will present "What Do Millennial Feminists Owe Their Great-Grandmothers?" She said she arrived at her topic after a history class with Dr. Kelly Elliott her freshman year. For her first time on the big stage, Dayton said she's feeling all the pre-presentation butterflies.

"I think I’m scared of being judged, or disagreed with," Dayton said. "But that’s the amazing thing about TED talks at the same time, is people really appreciate them even if they have a different opinion.”

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

Coffee: alums purchase location CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

shop since we helped start Beltway," Sotelo said. "We've had grand openings before, we've had time to prepare.

Now it's about executing."

In the coffee business, location is everything for the success of a shop, Neill and Sotelo said.

"We knew we needed to be by college students if we wanted to be successful," Neil said.

They plan to stay open late, host music shows and create a customer experience that will keep business coming year round, even when school is out.

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

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My Sister’s House hosts annual thrift sale

BY ERIKA BOLADO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

My Sister’s House, a semi-annual consignment sale in Abilene, still going on strong after seven years.

My Sister’s House is run by two sisters, Kate Stover and Summer Walters, who both graduated from ACU and always had a passion for thrifting.

The sale in Abilene takes place at the Display Building at the Taylor County Fairgrounds and offers clothes for women, men, juniors and home goods.

All the items are brought in by cosigners. The event goes on for six days and attracts men and women of all ages.

“It’s really a creative community, it’s entirely run by volunteers,” said Summer Walters. “We’ve become really good friends with all the volunteers and it’s kind of a neat community of women - kind of a sisterhood.”

This year, the sisters added a presale for the public at five dollars and brought volunteers from The World’s Backyard, the

money from the pre-sale night went to the organization that helps refugee children in Abilene. Shoppers also had the option to pay for a stylist who could assist them for a few hours, Walters said “it was like a personalized stitch fix but on a budget.”

Before the sisters moved to the big space at the Taylor County Fairgrounds, the sale started out small at a downtown building with around 100 cosigners but after a few years the sale outgrew the space, which led the sisters to move to the Display Building about a year and a half ago. The sale now has about 330 cosigners and thousands of items are brought in.

“So we moved here and there’s better parking and it’s room to breathe and room for people to shop a little easier, so we have really liked it here and we plan on staying here,” Walters said.

Walters said she usually starts three or four months before the sale starts. Some marketing campaigns are started, gathering cosigners and getting the word

MANDY LAMBRIGHT STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER My Sister’s House is run by two sisters, Kate Stover and Summer Walters, who both graduated from ACU and always had a passion for thrifting.

out is what those months consist of before the sale.

“From the time we move in through the sale and until we’re done is ten to eleven days,” said Walters.

The location wasn’t the only thing that changed for the sisters, at first the sisters partnered together for the first five or six years but Kate Stover went back to teaching full time at Abilene High, so now she helps on nights and weekends. “[Kate] is still highly

involved because it’s My Sister’s House, but we’ve kind of taken on different roles,” said Walters.

Walters said she loves sharing good deals with people because everybody has a budget, so My Sister’s House helps people get rid of things they don’t need but also get new things they do need at an affordable price.

Tracy PettiJohn, a volunteer at My Sister’s House for over five years, likes to co-sign and shop

at the sale because she has teenage daughters.

“I know this is an amazing way to have a new wardrobe, basically at just pennies on the dollar for what you would spend at a retail store, so I think it’s fantastic. I look forward to this all year,” said Pettijohn.

Pettijohn said her favorite thing about the sale is the variety of clothing sizes, because there’s something for everybody.

My Sister’s House takes away a “smaller percentage of sales than a traditional consignment store,” which “allows co-signers to set their own prices.”

The sale started this Wednesday but will continue until Sunday. The half price sale for Military, University, and Teachers starts at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, which includes a two dollar fee that goes to charity. The public half price sale is on Sunday, March 26, from 12p.m. to 5p.m.

EXB14A@ACU.EDU

Justice: Participants raise awareness at annual event CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

performances by Kaitlynd Satterfield and Weston Weast. Students also had the opportunity to write letters to national legislatures on the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act. The act was passed two years ago but never received funding. The letters encouraged funding in order for the act to work and showed an interest among constituents for social justice.

IJM is a global organiza-

tion that helps pull people out of slavery and human trafficking situations. They prosecute those who are instigating trafficking and help police forces in places that have high trafficking rates so the activity doesn’t continue.

The campus chapter of IJM aims to raise awareness on slavery as well as the sex and human trafficking. Counts said most people know about these problems, but they are not pleasant to talk about.

“It’s easy for college stu-

“

[Justice Week is] kind of a gut check and a reminder to all of us that we live a very privileged and a very blessed life.

MICHELLE NIX SENIOR INTERIOR DESIGN MAJOR FROM DALLAS

dents to live in a bubble where they are worried about passing classes and balancing social life,” she said. “But it is sometimes easy to forget that there are people who are having struggles in the world exponentially greater than

those experiences.”

Counts said it is a duty for Christians to help people who are in dangerous or hurtful situations and use their privilege to help them.

“I think Justice Week is important. It’s kind of a

gut check and a reminder to all of us that we live a very privileged and a very blessed life. And because we live a such a blessed life, we need to use our life to help others who weren’t born into the same situation as we were,” she said.

ACU IJM helps the global IJM organization, based in Washington D.C., spread awareness, gain funding and get legislation passed.

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

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FRIDAY | MARCH 24, 2017

F E ATUR E S

8,000 MILES FROM HOME

Rwandan Iryamukuru adapts to U.S. culture as an international student

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FRIDAY | MARCH 24, 2017

F E ATUR E S

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FRIDAY | MARCH 24, 2017

8,000 MILES FROM HOME

Rwandan Iryamukuru adapts to U.S. culture as an international student

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Olivier Iryamukuru, sophomore math and actuarial science major from Rwanda, poses with the flag of his homeland.

BY ABBEY BOWLING ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR

O

livier Iryamukuru is from a “little bitty country in central Africa” – Rwanda.

He found out about ACU in a program called Reach to Rwanda that takes students in Rwanda and helps them find universities in the U.S. – so when he finished high school, they helped him find a Christian university.

“I decided to come here because ACU is a Christian school,” said Irjamukuru, sophomore math and actuarial science major. “When I was looking for a school where to go in college, I was most looking for a Christian school where I would be able to grow intellectually and at the same time, grow spiritually and learn about Jesus.”

There are about 130 international students, including graduate students, enrolled this semester. Students come from all corners of the globe – including Korea, Japan, Uganda, Jamaica, Singapore, China, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, France and Germany – so it’s an incredibly diverse group of students, said Veronica Whitt, international student services coordinator.

“Students get passed on to me from admissions once they have confirmed that they are coming to attend ACU,” Whitt said. “At that point, I start corresponding with them to make sure they have all their ducks in a row in terms of pre-arrival arrangements and whatnot. Prior to their arrival, I also try to connect them with current international students form their same country/culture so they can ask them questions about life as an international student at ACU... I also take care

of orienting them on student life in America, classroom culture, and anything else pertaining to adjusting to the American way of life. “ eaving home and coming to college is certainly a big transition for any student, but it’s especially tough for international students entering a new culture while living thousands of miles away from familiarity.

Iryamukuru said it was challenging trying to learn a new language and at the same time, trying to adjust to a new social life and school in Texas.

“Growing up in Africa, and coming here to a different country, you get a new experience and meeting new people,” he said.

“But at the same time, it’s kind of difficult to be away from home ten months, or a year or two years. On that part, on the social part, it’s kind of difficult because you don’t get to see your friends, the ones you grew up with, or your family. But then, on the other part, it’s good because you’re getting a new experience meeting new people and learning a different language.

We grew up speaking French in Rwanda, so coming here, I get to learn English. I’m having a great experience.”

Another struggle is feeling like he doesn’t belong to U.S. culture, since his home is 8,000 miles away.

“When I was back home, I wasn’t used to people asking me where I’m from,” Iryamukuru said. “I feel like I belong to Rwanda, so I don’t have anybody asking me where I’m from. So when you go to a different country and people ask you where you’re from, you feel like that sense of not belonging to the place. This is not home. I don’t belong to this place. That’s kind of challenging, feeling like you’re not belonging where you’re at.”

In October, he got the opportunity to

L

travel to Washington, D.C. for the National Student Leadership Forum after his advisor, Mark Riggs, nominated him for the program. Once he was accepted, he received enough financial aid to afford plane tickets, a hotel room, and the program itself.

“Mainly the whole forum is about teaching leadership, about Jesus’ leadership,” Iryamukuru said. “For nonbelievers and us who believe in Jesus Christ, the best leader of all time was Jesus. He’s been gone for 2,000 years now but still people believe in God and believe in Jesus. So no matter what your religion is, Jesus Christ still can be the role model. That’s what the conference was about, teaching us about the leadership of Jesus and how he was able to accomplish his mission in the world so that we can apply the same leadership strategies he used in our real lives.” e was also able to visit D.C. again in February for the National Prayer Breakfast, a yearly event since 1953, typically attended by several thousand guests. Every U.S. President since Eisenhower has participated in the event – this year, it was led by President Trump. The breakfast is organized by the same people who organized the leadership forum, and that’s how Iryamukuru was chosen to attend.

“In the forum, they pulled us from each group because they had to choose one or two students who would get to go to the National Prayer Breakfast, and I was one of them,” he said. “It was called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, because that’s when the president meets different leaders from the country and prays for the country. I got to be part of that, and got to be in the same place as the president, so it was pretty neat.”

H

“

When I was back home, I wasn’t used to people asking me where I’m from. I feel like I belong to Rwanda...when you go to a different country and people ask where you’re from, you feel like that sense of not belonging to this place.”

OLIVIER IRYAMUKURU SOPHOMORE MATH AND ACTUARIAL SCIENCE MAJOR FROM RWANDA

I

ryamukuru is full of gratitude for the opportunities he’s been given here at ACU and the people who have helped him along the way.

“I just want to thank the math department, they helped me pay some of the things I needed,” Iryamukuru said. “I want to thank the Vice President [for Advancement], Jim Orr, he’s the one who helped me pay the plane ticket and the hotel, so he’s been playing a great role in me being able to go to the prayer breakfast and being able to go to the student leadership forum.

I also want to thank the provost, Dr. [Robert] Rhodes, he also helped me this year when I was going for the prayer breakfast.”

He also wants to encourage people to find out more about the National Student Leadership Forum because it’s an opportunity to learn about leadership while meeting people to help build your spiritual life.

AKB12A@ACU.EDU

“No matter what your religion is, Jesus Christ still can be the role model.”

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O PI N I ON

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ED IT O R IA L

FRIDAY | MARCH 24 2017

Freshmen pledging might not be best for all clubs There’s two ways to distinguish a freshman from an upperclassmen.

1. Are they wearing their ID and their room key on a lanyard around their neck?

2. Do they look alive and happy?

When freshmen come to campus, they lack the experience of becoming independent and have many expectations about college life. They’re worried about making friends, getting to class on time and learning how to use Canvas all in the first couple of weeks.

Now the university is exploring the idea of allowing freshmen to pledge any club in the fall or spring.

This would change the entire experience of freshmen year, from dorm life to Sing Song.

Pledging usually affects people’s grades, sometimes drastically. Although freshmen classes aren’t as difficult as upper-level classes, many freshmen don’t yet

know how to balance time and homework. If they were pledging at the same time, their grades could suffer and could affect their trajectory for the rest of college.

Waiting one year to pledge allows freshmen to get involved with activities like multicultural groups, Students’ Association, World’s Backyard, Treadaway Kids, Young Life and more. Many freshmen get experience, service and leadership opportunities in these groups. By allowing them to start getting involved in such groups, freshmen are able to grow as first-year students instead of being conflicted with upperclassmen at such an early point in their college career. By making them wait until their sophomore year, freshmen are able to focus on relationships based on mutual interests instead of a club order. If they were to pledge right away as freshmen, they might not be as inter-

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I just realized the dress i ordered for formal was my sisze but the petite version lol rip prayers pls

ested in these groups at all.

Waiting one year to pledge also allows students to become and remain independent even if they are choose to be in a club.

They learn that they can have friends in different clubs, which makes club rivalry more lighthearted.

They can also learn who they are as an adult before choosing who they are in club. Many freshmen change, lose friends and significant others during their first year because their personality, situations and even majors changes frequently. If they had to pick a club right away, they wouldn’t know what club fits their personality best.

What each season means in Abilene Fall - crickets Winter - stickers Spring - wasps Summer - mosquitos

EMILLION HERE, EMILLION THERE

EMILY GUAJARDO VISUALS MANAGING EDITOR Junior convergence journalism major San Antonio

Ladies, what happened!?

Right from the get-go of 2017, you strived to make a name for yourselves. You marched around the White House in protest, wore pink hats to represent our bodies and held signs that read ‘I am a woman and proud. Here me roar’ all for the sake to it be labeled as a hype, a trend, a fluke.

The sun was beginning to turn a shade of hot pink and fiery red until you let the flame burn out. On January 21, 2017, women across the world left their heels at home, went out into the freezing or scorching temperatures and held their heads up high in defiance against the patriarchy, inequality and for basic human rights. Over 500,000 women marched in Washington, D.C. alone with over 4.2 million people marching across 600 cities on the seven continents combined.

It is considered the largest single-day demonstration in U.S history, but like

Is there a Christian + coffee joke about Hebrews?

I’m gonna make one. Be on the lookout.

@RACHELMELTO

Can I give up organic chemistry tests for Lent?

Our formal theme is “City of Stars” @RyanGosling do you want to come to Abilene and go with me? :)

uary. Even the small push on International Women’s day made no real significance- be honest, it was sad to watch unfold. The only actual significance that has come out of the “rebellion” or “feminist movement” is that office supplies and poster sales went up because of how many people went to buy a poster and some markers just to write a phrase that would eventually be thrown away.

According to the Business Insider, office supplies sales in January rose 42% and over 6.5 million posters were sold across the United States calling it the ‘Trump Bump’.

The feminist wave is dying and it’s because women have become satisfied with what they’ve already achieved. They have lost the urge to fight. And for that I am disappointed.

They have decided to head home after winning just one battle. And for that I am disappointed. They have allowed for small girls to see that history can be made, but women can only make some much of it. And for that I am, again, disappointed.

Should I hang up my sign and let the dust of pain and inequality cover the words

“

The feminist wave is dying and it’s because women have become satisfied with what they’ve already achieved.

They have lost the urge to fight. And for that I am disappointed. They have decided to head home after winning just one battle.

that once meant something bigger than myself? Should I tell my future children that I was a part of another version of Woodstock- an event where women actually seemed to want to change something, but accomplished nothing?

Perhaps, I’ve mistaken this movement for just another terminal hashtagone that I knew would eventually die out. Little did I know that it would only took 24 hours for an entire idea to be thrown out by the very people who started it.

EAG13A@ACU.EDU

COLUMN

ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF Senior convergence journalism major Midland

I am a victim of a problem – more of an epidemic actually.

You hear it every time you ask someone how they are doing.

Picture this, a typical interaction between two humans who run into each other, perhaps in passing in the library: Human 1: “Hey how are you?”

Human 2: “Hey, you know, I’m so busy, but I’m good.”

Human 1: “Oh yes, same here! Let’s get lunch sometime!”

Lunch? Yeah right, let’s grab lunch when we are all not busy in some alternate universe that involves Spring Break year round.

We are all busy people, living busy lives being busy doing something but what

are we actually doing? Some nights, I lay awake haunted by the fact that yeah, I was “busy” all day, but am somehow left with an empty feeling that I accomplished nothing worthwhile. But I wear my busyness like a well-deserved medal of honor as I emerge from the trenches of my fouryear university experience at my nice little school.

I read an essay about busyness by Tim Kreider, an author and cartoonist, and I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s made me stop and wonder what exactly I’m doing with my time, and it’s made me want to stop saying I’m busy.

Tim says, “It’s not as if any of us wants to live like

T H E

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a good party or joke, its time of prominence ceased.

Now the world has moved on and you have placed yourselves back into your seats. You have reverted back to our old, primitive, stable and unchanging ways of looking at life as a woman- the little moment of defiance and rebellion seemed like only a phrase. The wave is ceasing and the hype was died down. The feminist movement has failed to execute a real plan for change.

The spark has faded.

And I am really disappointed.

I am disappointed that the phrases of ‘over one million women stood’, or ‘it’s my body and my right’, or even ‘this is for the girls beside me’ has made little to no significant value.

Because it turns out that women only care about the burst of national attention, but were never ready to pull through. It’s been over 63 days and not a peep has been made since Jan-

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Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79609

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The feminist wave is dying out

URGENT: just made realization that I’m 23 and still shop at American Eagle Someone help me

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dual credit hours, so they graduate early and don’t necessary get the whole experience being in club for three years. It’s sad that they don’t get a full three years in club, but that’s the choice they made.

In the end, freshman coming in the fall are still trying to figure out what’s the difference between Hart Auditorium and Hardin Administration building or how many chapel credits they need. Do they really need the pressure of picking what club to be in for the next four years?

Probably not.

COLUMN

@ANNELISEGILMORE

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

After all, we should have known that they are still trying to figure out themselves before what club to pledge.

Spring pledging would help with many of these issues, but it would be difficult with the spring calendar. Sing Song takes place just 6-8 weeks after the semester starts and Spring Break cuts through the middle of the semester. This would limit the amount of time clubs could actually spend on pledging or building a tighter club which is one of the many reasons people decide to pledge in the first place. At the same time, many students come to school with

I’m busy, but what am I doing?

@LEAHJANE14

@MORGAN_45

Any club member will tell you that it’s best to choose the club that fits you instead of the club in which you mold yourself to fit. If it’s already known that freshman change from one day to the next, how would you expect a freshman to pick the right club on the first try? It’s impossible and it will hurt them in the end- forget about retention rates.

If a higher retention rate is the only thing that is truly motivating this motion, then maybe it should be reconsidered. If this passed and someone picked the wrong club, who is to blame? Surely, we wouldn’t blame the freshman, right?

this, any more than any one person wants to be part of a traffic jam or stadium trampling or the hierarchy of cruelty in high school; it’s something we collectively force one another to do. It may not be a problem that’s soluble through any social reform or self-help regimen; maybe it’s just how things are.”

This “busyness” thing is so widespread that a new academic research project has determined it to be a new symbol of social status.

Saying we are busy leads to affirmation. There’s now even academic research that argues busyness is now a sign of high social status in America.

Maybe you’re in 18 hours and working a part time job, maybe you’re entering a new relationship and can’t figure out how to balance your time, maybe you’re still behind on sleep from Sing Song, or you just haven’t found your groove even

eight weeks into the semester. But maybe, it’s time to stop wasting our breath saying the same thing as everyone else and use those breaths work hard and rest well. Maybe it’s time to stop tweeting out our scheduled complaints one-upping our friends because obviously, we’re each more busy than everyone who’s ever tried to balance school, work, sleep and a social life.

If you’ve seen me lately, I’ll go out of my way to tell you I’m not busy. Because for the first time ever, I’m actually not. I’m in one class a week.

I graduate in seven weeks.

And then I’m off to the races again at graduate school.

While it takes nearly everything in me to resist filling every waking hour with some sort of task or appointment, I’m really glad I’m learning to remove the word “busy” from my vocabulary.

AKB12B@ACU.EDU

O P T I M IST

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SP ORTS

FRIDAY | MARCH 24, 2017

7

Sheehy, Walker lead tennis to sweep over Nicholls

BY MAX PRESTON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The men and women’s tennis teams hosted a conference match up against Nicholls State Sunday and each cruised to a 7-0 sweep.

This was the men’s first conference matches of the season and with the win they improved to an overall record of 13-8.

Nicholls was the women’s fifth conference opponent of the season and moved their Southland record up to 4-1 and their overall record to 12-4.

For the men, senior Nico Agritelley, juniors Hunter Holman and Henry Adams, sophomores Josh Sheehy and Sebastian Langdon, and freshman Jonathan Sheehy participated in singles and all earned a victory.

Josh Sheehy and Holman remained tied for the team lead in singles wins at 12 a piece as Sheehy picked up a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Bernard Wezeman and Holman defeated Max Sinn 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

The doubles teams included Agritelley and Adams, junior Paul Doman-

TENNIS

ski and Josh Sheehy and Langdon and Jonathan Sheehy.

Agritelley and Adams match went unfinished, however Domanski and Josh Sheehy won 6-2 while Langdon and Jonathan Sheehy won 6-4 giving them the doubles point.

“I felt really good about my performance and I was proud of my teammates for their performances as well, not letting up on them at all.” Langdon said For the women, senior Erin Walker, juniors Whitney Williams and Lucile Pothier, sophomore Jordan Henry, and freshmen Sarah Adams and Autumn Crossnoe played singles.

Walker played a tough match in the number one spot against Lingfeng Gu and fell in the first set 6-3, but came back and won in the next two sets 6-3, 10-6 giving her a singles winning streak of three matches.

Pothier pushed her winning streak to eight

JOHN GREER III STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Senior Erin Walker and freshman Sarah Adams congratulate their opponents after a match. In last weekend’s competition against Nicholls State Adams earned a 6-4, 6-2 from the No. 4 spot and Williams defeated her opponent 3-6, 6-3 and 10-6 playing in the No. 1 spot.

matches while Adams kept the team lead of singles wins with 14 after her fifth consecutive victory.

The women’s doubles teams included Williams and Walker, Adams and Pothier, and Crossnoe

and Henry.

Williams and Walker won their match 6-3 while Crossnoe and Henry won 6-2. Adams and Pothier’s match went unfinished.

The men will be looking to win their second con-

ference match up Saturday against New Orleans who has a 5-6 overall record and a 2-0 conference record.

The women will take on a bigger load this weekend as they will have two con-

ference match ups against Southeastern Louisiana (3-8, 0-5) on Friday and New Orleans (10-3, 4-1) on Saturday.

MJP14B@ACU.EDU

Wildcats look to stay hot against struggling Huskies

BY DAVIS DENTON SPORTS WRITER

The softball teams prepares to travel to Houston Baptist after 2-1 series win over Northwestern State.

HBU has struggled as of late amidst a seven-skid after a 10-2 loss at Lamar on Saturday, and sits at 7-12 on the season. The Huskies boast an 0-6 record in conference while ACU is in a tie with Nicholls State in second place at 5-1.

Freshmen pitcher Sidney Holman said she feels good about how the season is progressing.

“We’re doing really good, we’ve played some tough matches.” Holman said. We’ve been really good at battling and our hitting is coming around.”

Holman earned her tenth win last weekend, and is tied for tops in the conference in wins by a pitcher.

“I think we can compete and we can play with anyone in the conference,” Holman said. “McNeese and Lamar are the top teams but Nicholls is also pretty solid.”

Freshman outfielder Caroline Adair said the tough non-conference season has prepared them well so far for conference play.

“We’re playing tough teams and I feel like we’ve started out very strong.”

Adair said.

The Huskies have struggled this season despite Cecilia Bauer batting .365 and Heidi Jacquez batting .349. The Huskies best pitching performances

“

We have to go there and play good softball. We have to take the outs they give us. We have to score runners when we get them in scoring position. ” BOBBY REEVES HEAD SOFTBALL COACH

SOFTBALL have come from Emily Mueller who is 3-8 with a 4.26 ERA. Head coach Bobby Reeves said he was pleased with how his team fared against Northwestern State and feels confident heading to Houston this weekend.

“Anytime you can go on the road and win 2-outof-3 to take the series you feel good.” Reeves said.

“Offensively and defensively Houston Baptist plays well, being at home always helps.”

Reeves game plan for this weekend is simple and should play in favor of a team that to this point has hit 21 home runs, which is good enough for thirdbest in the conference.

“I tell our players that if we score more than they do we will win.” Reeves said. “We have to go there and play good softball. We have to take the outs they give us. We have to score runners when we get them in scoring position. Pitchers have to cut down on giving them bases on balls and keep the ball in the park.”

Although each ranks in the top-five in batting average, with HBU edging ACU .276 to .256, the

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Wildcats have plated over 40 more runs than the Huskies at an advantage of 125 to 81.

Individually, junior Peyton Hedrick leads the team in hitting at a .326 clip. She also leads the team in home runs with nine on the season. Senior Taylor Brown is close behind Hedrick, hitting at .323 rate, as the two are tied for the team lead with three triples each.

In 2016 ACU swept the Huskies in the final conference series of the season, 3-0. In fact the Wild-

MAGGIE FARIAS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A Wildcat runner slides in safe, just ahead of the tag in a non-conference matchup against Texas Tech earlier this season.

cats are 7-2 against HBU in nine match ups since movin got Div. 1 competition.

Following this weekend

series the Wildcats return home on Wednesday to take on Baylor. ACU struggled against the Bears when they visited

Abilene a year ago, allowing 15 runs.

DMD14A@ACU.EDU

8

S P O RT S

Wildcat Stadium to feature reserved seating

BY JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS EDITOR

With the Chuck Sitton Tower in place as the tallest building on campus and the upper bowl of seating taking shape in the brand new Wildcat Stadium, director of athletics Lee De Leon said season tickets will become available to the general public during the first week of April.

The seating of structure in Wildcat Stadium will be divided into several different types of seating. De Leon said there wasn’t anything but general seating options, even for season ticket holders at Shotwell Stadium and the department of athletics wants the fans to be able to enjoy the game however, they choose.

“We wanted to have options for everyone,” De Leon said.

The premium options include ten suite boxes, which De Leon said have already been sold out at $250,000 each. The suite price will give its donors naming rights to the area as well as the ability to watch games there for the first five years for free.

These boxes will be located on the fourth floor and De Leon said there will be two more suites added on the fifth floor, which will be sold at $200,000 each.

STADIUM On the third floor the stadium is set to have loge boxes, covered outdoor seating on the third floor. The eight loge boxes have also been sold.

The final option of premium seating will consist of 860 seats on the second floor in the three center sections on the west side of the stadium. These seats will go on sale the first week of April and be available to Wildcat Club members. De Leon said these will be the only folding chairs on the lower two levels as the rest of the general seating will be aluminum benches. Owners of these seats will also have access to a common area on the second floor of the Chuck Sitton Tower.

The remaining seats on the west side will be available for purchase by the general public in packages of $75 or $250.

“Everything at Shotwell was general admission, so the reserved seating section is going to be completely foreign to our fans, and that’s going to take a lot of educating how that looks,” De Leon said.

The seats on the east side will be available on a first come first serve basis and accessible to students, who

STANDINGS Softball Team

Ovrl. Div. 6-0 6-0 5-1 5-1 3-3 3-3 2-4 1-2 1-5 1-5 0-3 0-6

McNeese 19-11 13-4 Lamar Nicholls 19-11 15-13 ACU 14-15 SELU 12-15 SHSU 10-20 UCA 10-17 SFA 11-19-1 NWSU 5-23 UIW TAMU-CC 5-18 7-13 HBU

Baseball Team

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

Ovrl. Div. 16-5 6-0 15-6 6-0 14-6 5-1 13-8 5-1 13-9 4-2 13-9 3-3 5-14 1-2 12-10 1-5 9-10 1-5 10-13 1-5 10-13 0-3 8-11 0-3 7-14 0-3

BREAKING JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS EDITOR With the upper bowl of seating and the outer structure of the press box taken care, construction has began on the interior of the stadium.

will still be able to attend games with a student ID. Along with the seating structure, De Leon said as of now

the university will not have to add any parking and students who live on-campus will be able to remain parked

on campus on gamedays.

JMR13B@ACU.EDU

BASEBALL

In addition to numerous games against FBS schools over the next several years, ACU has agreed to two games at AT&T Jones Stadium against Texas Tech in 2024 and 2026. The Wildcats will play another Big-12 opponent in Baylor in 2018, before a gauntlet of SEC competition in the likes of Mississippi State in 2019 and Texas A&M 2021. The meeting agains the Red Raiders will mark the first time the two teams have met since 1949.

Volleyball is set to take on its first competition under first-year head coach Angela Mooney, when it particpates in Texas Tech’s spring tournament. The Wildcats are apart of an eightteam field, which includes Texas Tech and Angelo State.

MATCHUPS MAGGIE FARIAS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER After not playing in any tournaments during the spring of his junior year, Karnei hit the course again this fall, playing in two of the four tournaments. In the opening tournament this spring Karnei led the team to a fifthplace finish as the top individual finisher for the Wildcats.

Trevino brings spark to offense

BY TREVOR WYATT SPORTS WRITER

When senior Russell Crippen found out there was a late signing he didn’t know what to expect.

“Coach Bonneau was excited, but I had never met him,” Crippen said. “Nobody had. It was a really late signing, he was supposed to go to Houston but it didn’t pan out. So we got him.”

But all doubt was shattered in the mind of the players, coaches and fans when Luis Trevino showed up to practice and shocked everyone with his talent.

“He was incredible,” Crippen said. “By the end of the first practice, I was thinking, ‘Alright, this kid can really play.’ I was excited to see him in action.”

It showed in the beginning of the season when Luis got a hitting streak going in Michigan State’s sweep of ACU. However, nobody expected the streak to last 13 games and Trevino said it could have lasted longer.

“I was at 13 games and was 0-3 at the plate, then walked and was hit by a pitch. They wouldn’t pitch to me. But we won that game so I wasn’t upset,” Trevino said.

Baseball has been Trevino’s passion since he was a child in Mexico. Born

in America, he moved to Reynosa, Mexico, about 20 minutes from the Mexican-American border.

There, he started playing baseball at the young age of three, and played in Mexico until he was 15. In fact, he was selected to represent Mexico in the Little League World Series in 2009, where they won third place in the international bracket.

Shortly before his 16th birthday his family moved back to America to the town of McAllen. There, Luis graduated from Sharyland High School in 3 years, despite knowing absolutely no English. After high school, Trevino decided to go to Navarro College, a junior college in Corsicana. It was there that Trevino said he experienced the growth to get him to the next level.

“Those Juco guys, they’re not just there because they can’t play baseball,” Trevino said. “They’re there to get drafted. They play just as well, or sometimes better than people in four-year schools.”

Trevino had many accolades to his name at Navarro, including 2015 All-East Freshman of the Year, 2016 All-East Player of the Year, 2015-16 All-East Conference, and 2016 All-Region XIV. However, his biggest

accolade from his time was breaking the two-year batting average record, hitting .388 over two seasons. The record was previously .373, and was held by now Red Sox All-Star Brock Holt.

When he came to ACU, Head Coach Britt Bonneau had nothing but positive things to say about Trevino’s fielding and hitting abilities.

His teammates now say the same thing. Trevino started in the three-hole in the first game, but his teammates weren’t upset about that.

“He proved in practices and scrimmages that he was the right guy to put there,” Crippen said. “And he proved it throughout the season, and he’s still proving it. I mean he’s been injured since the start and he’s still playing at another level.”

He’s been nursing his injury and plans on catching on Tuesday against UTPB, but says he wants to do whatever gets the team higher in the win column.

“If playing DH gets us wins that’s fine,” Trevino said. “But if catching and playing the field gets us more, that’s even better.”

Over the 13-game hitting streak, Trevino hit .420 with 21 hits and 15 RBI. Now, Trevino is hitting .382 with 29 hits and 24 RBI, 5 more than Crippen had all last

Baseball 3/21 Thru 5 Innings ACU 0 TCU 2 3/24-26 ACU SFA

(9-10, 1-5) (10-13, 0-3)

Softball 3/24-25 ACU HBU

(15-13, 5-1) (7-13, 0-6)

Track 3/24-25 Abilene Wes Kittley Invitational

Tennis

LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

season as the leader for the Wildcats. Crippen isn’t bitter though, he actually welcomes the RBI. “He’s in that three spot for a reason. Our one-two punch usually gets guys into scoring position and he brings them in, usually with an extra base,” Crippen said.

“And that’s when our team has his back, with myself or another person in the four and five spots. He just makes this team better.”

Although Trevino is playing well here at ACU, he has

his mind set on further aspirations, one that he has in his reach after playing with the La Crosse Loggers in both 2015 and 2016. The Loggers are a summer league team in Wisconsin for collegiate players, and it’s there he said his aspirations became clearer.

“I want to be a pro,” Trevino said. “On the way there, I want to help this team win as much as I can, but that’s the final goal.”

TMW13A@ACU.EDU

3/24 Women’s ACU (12-4, 4-1) SELU

(3-8, 0-5)

3/25 Women’s ACU (12-4, 4-1) UNO

(10-3, 4-1)

3/25 ACU

Men’s (13-8, 1-0)

UNO

(5-6, 2-0)

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