WHAT'S INSIDE
NEWS
In cased you missed the happenin' weekend in Abilene, check out our recap. Page 2
ARTS
OPINION
How to avoid burn out at the end of the semester: make one sandwich at a time. Page 4
ArtWalk hits the streets of downtown. New shows and music drop on Spotify and Netflix. Page 5
SPORTS
Football concludes spring practices and looks ahead to fresh start in upcoming season. Pages 6
v
Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Vol. 105, Issue 28
A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
WE TALK TOO MUCH
LAUREN FRANCO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Indie pop band COIN performed Friday, April 7 at a free concert on campus. The show was organized by The Cabinet (formerly the Campus Activities Board). COIN's No.1 song on Spotify is titled "Talk Too Much"
Meyer accepts job at summer camp BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF
Dr. Jan Meyer, former director of spiritual for m at ion and execuMEYER tive director of ACU Leadership Camps, has taken a new job as communications director for the Camp Eagle family of camps in Glorietta, New Mexico. "This group of Christian camps exists to effect life change through adventure," Meyer said. "I have begun to dig in and develop the first stages of a communication plan for the internal, external and media stakeholders that the Camp Eagle family of camps has." Meyer began working for the university right after she graduated in 1987. "So just one month short of thirty years!" Meyer said. Meyer worked in a variety of positions on campus, from residence life to spiritual formation. But for her, the most significant job was the eighteen years she spent directing Leadership SEE MEYER PAGE 3
SA task force advocates for LGBT policy change BY ALLISON BROWN EDITOR IN CHIEF
Students’ Association Congress will vote Wednesday on whether to urge the university to change its sexual stewardship policy to remove punishment for students showing expressions of same-sex attraction. The resolution being voted on provides student feedback to university administration and focuses particularly on LGBT student conduct with regard to current policy. If passed,
the resolution would submit documents to administration to be taken to the Board of Trustees. In addition to submitting survey results, SA will propose to remove the term “behavioral expressions” from the Sexual Stewardship policy and will recommend the board remove punishment or dismissal of students in same-sex relationships or marriages. SA’s resolution is based largely on results of a student survey regarding LGBT student conduct, as
well as small group discussions and town hall meetings related to the policy. SA sent out a survey in late March to gauge the student body’s thoughts on the issue and 1,015 students responded, roughly 25 percent of the student body. Overall, an average of 79.3 percent of the respondents indicated the university should not prohibit students in same-sex relationships from attending ACU or punish current students in same-sex relationships.
Evan Rodriguez, sophomore management major from Sugar Land and member of Students’ Association and the LGBTQ+ Student Feedback Task Force, said these conversations have been ongoing since the fall. Rodriguez worked alongside Julia Kennedy, sophomore english major from Lubbock, and Ty Kelley, junior information and technology major from San Antonio, to write the resolution. “We wanted to be very
specific in the response,” Rodriguez said. “In the survey, a lot of students had a lot of questions about what the changes would mean.” The first half of the resolution details the board’s guidance on the issue and indicates the majority of survey respondents were against the policy as it stands. The last point of the resolution offers three actions: (1) that the resolution and accompanying documents be submitted to SEE RESOLUTION PAGE 3
Fire claims part of St. Ann’s hospital BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
A fire destroyed part of the abandoned St. Ann's hospital, which had been purchased by CitySquare, Sunday afternoon. The fire started at about 2 p.m. Sunday on the southeast side of the building. A neighbor across the street from St. Ann's, Diana Longoria, said her husband saw the fire and told her to call the Abilene Fire Department. She said the fire started on the southeast side of the building, then spread north to the two-story stone
portion of the building. Winds were blowing from the south, pushing the flames north, but Longoria's house stood across the street on the east side. "I was worried about the people that live on the other street," Longoria said. Abilene Fire Department deputy chief Mike Burden said no one was in the building at the time of the fire. He said the crews contained the fire before the wind could blow it toward the houses to the north. Highland Church of Christ provided funds when CitySquare purchased the
former hospital in the fall with plans to turn the building into a homeless housing initiative. Ben Siburt, executive minister at Highland, said the fire did not damage the main part of the structure. The cause of the fire is unknown as there was no electricity in that part of the building, Siburt said. "It may adjust the nature of the project in positive or challenging ways," said Siburt. "I do not anticipate it hindering the restoration project in any significant way at this point." SEE FIRE PAGE 3
W W W. A C U O P T I M I S T. C O M
HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR