The Optimist Print Edition 4.28.17

WHAT'S INSIDE

NEWS

The Key City Rhythm and Blues festival will rock downtown this weekend. Check out the lineup.

Page 2

FEATURE

OPINION

Emotions run high at the end of the semester. Read our columnists' thoughts.

Page 4

The incoming SA prez and VP share their dreams for their upcoming term.

Page 5

SPORTS

Women's Rugby has grown since it began in the fall and will host a tournament in May. Page 6

v

Friday, April 28, 2017 Vol. 105, Issue 30

A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912

Oh Dear Christian College Senior class sent off with candlelight devotional

BY MAX PRESTON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Alumni Association hosted a candlelight sendoff for all graduating seniors Thursday evening in the Beauchamp Amphitheater.

The event mirrors the freshman candlelight devo which welcomes new students to the university, and serves as a goodbye to the senior class.

Samantha Adkins, assistant director of the Alumni Association, said she hopes this event would help motivate seniors to spread the word of Jesus and follow the right career path.

"It's kind of a book end," Adkins said. "There is no better way to end your senior year being blessed and sent off into the world to make a difference."

Faculty, staff and parents

“

ERIKA BOLADO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Seniors gather in the Beauchamp Amphitheatre for Candlelight Sendoff, an event hosted by the Alumni Association. Faculty, alumni and family members lined the walkway from Moody as the seniors prepare to graduate and leave ACU in two weeks.

There is no better way to end your senior year being blessed and sent off into the world to make a difference.

were able to attend and students that attended earned a Quest credit. Dr. Stephen Baldridge, assistant professor of social work, spoke at the event.

"I love that we start and finish our college career with the same thing," said Ben Johnston, Alumni Association employee and junior advertising and public relations major from Fort Worth, Texas. "It's my favorite part of Welcome Week and it's a great way to send the seniors off with a spiritual experience."

MJP14B@ACU.EDU

Enrollment Office anticipates strong incoming class

SA appoints new executive treasurer, passes 4 bills

BY LAUREN FRANCO STAFF WRITER

BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

ACU’s Office of Enrollment looks forward to May 1, National Candidates Reply Day. Although there won't be an accurate rough estimate of freshman enrollment for 2017 until about May 4, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Engagement Kevin Campbell says he is optimistic about the future of ACU enrollment.

The incoming freshman class, while not being the biggest, will be the strongest academic class

by GPA. Since 2013, the now senior class, freshman enrollment charts have looked similar to a mountainous landscape.

In 2013, freshman enrollment was just over 1,000 students.

2014 brought in 974 high school

year, but T-shirts will be available for $15.

"I don't think it's fair to tell someone if they couldn't afford it that they can't come," Short said, "so formal is free."

The event is funded through SA class alloca-

Students' Association Congress approved the appointment of next year's executive treasurer Wednesday night.

Congress had to approve the appointment because no one ran for the position during the executive cabinet elections. Danny Burke, executive president, and Julia Kennedy, executive vice president, appointed Ruhika Roy, junior engineering and political science major from Toronto, Canada.

Roy said she served as a treasurer in student government at the schools she attended before transferring to ACU in the spring. She said she has experience with computer coding and did engineering research at the University of Mississippi and Princeton University.

"She's been a treasurer

SEE FORMAL PAGE 2

SEE TREASURER PAGE 2

SEE INCOMING PAGE 2

JOHN GREER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Students model Betty and June clothing and Eternal Threads jewelry at Tuesday night's Red Thread Fashion Show. The show was on the rooftop of the Grace Museum and all funds raised went towards the Red Thread Movement, an organization fighting human trafficking around the world.

Freshman Formal no longer hosted by FAC

BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

Students' Association freshman class officers will provide free admission to Freshman Formal. The formal will be at 8 p.m.

Friday near the GATA Fountain.

This is a departure from

previous years when the Freshman Action Council hosted the event in the Hunter Welcome Center and cost $20 per ticket.

FAC was discontinued in the fall.

With the theme "Deep in the Heart of Texas," the formal will feature mini pies, Texas Tea and a DJ.

Shelby Short, freshmen class president, planned the event with help from Abbey Moses, SA executive president, Tom Craig, director of student activities and productions, and Alyssa Ellison, student activities coordinator.

Short said she wanted the event to be free this

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

2

Incoming: Class academically strongest in school history CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

seniors, 2015 brought in the second largest class in ACU's history at 1,068 students, and the most recent class brought in 1,047.

As for transfer students, Campbell said enrollment usually averages about 115 to 120.

“Our goal is not to get the most students ever,” Campbell said. “Our goal is to try to get as many students as we can within the constraints we have.”

These constraints are noted as dormitory space, class space, and students who are academically prepared and desire and appreciate the culture and mission of ACU.

“

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

NEW S

Our goal is to try to get as many students as we can within the constraints we have.”

Campbell also dispelled the “6:1 girl-to-guy ratio” rumor, saying ACU's gender ratio is similar to private schools across the nation, including Baylor and TCU, usually staying around 60% female and 40% male.

Thinking forward, recruitment will be vastly different than it has in the past. Because the Vision in Action projects will be completed, families will get to experience the new buzz on campus rather than just hearing about the concepts.

Game day experience will play a large role in next year's recruitment, according to Campbell.

In addition, the science buildings will attract larger numbers of hard science majors.

Engineering is also poised to receive accreditation this summer though the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

LMF14A@ACU.EDU

FRIDAY | APRIL 28, 2017

Key City festival lines up eclectic mix

BY TORI ALDANA COPY EDITOR

United Way is bringing an eclectic mix of rhythm and blues to Abilene this weekend. The third annual Key City Rhythm and Blues Festival will begin Friday night and last through Sunday afternoon at Nelson Park Festival Gardens.

Two new faces to play this year are Jimmy D. Lane from Chicago and Malina Moye, who is based in Los Angeles.

Lane grew up in the blues filled home of his father, Jimmy Rogers. At the age of eight, Lane received an acoustic Gibson guitar from John Wayne himself.

However, it wasn't until the mid 1980s that he really got serious about learning to play. He hasn't stopped since then. Lane has worked with the likes of Mick Jagger, B.B. King and Van Morrison. Eric Clapton has even called him an “incredible guitarist.” With a sound comparable to Stevie Ray Vaughn, or even Jimi Hendrix, his sets are sure to be incredible.

Attendees may be surprised to see Moye playing her Fender guitar upside-down and backwards. This is because she is a unique lefty guitarist. Moye has pushed against boundaries as a young black woman by performing on tours and festivals around the world. She has opened for Robin Thicke and Boyz II Men and her single “Alone” peaked at number 10 on the Billboard R&B charts.

She should bring exciting energy to the festival Friday night.

Others artists who will be performing are Ill Lobo, Kirk House, Albert Cummings, KT and the Blues Scientists, Dave Hobbs, Damon Fowler and Samantha Fish.

One day passes to the festival are $25 each. There is a $40 bundle for Friday and Saturday, as well as a $60 weekend pass that includes Sunday brunch.

Weekend VIP admission is $250. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate.

FESTIVAL LINEUP FRIDAY

Gates open at 5 p.m.

5:15

Ill Lobo

5:30

Kirk House

6:30

Jimmy D. Lane

7:45

Albert Cummings

9:00

Malina Moye

SATURDAY

Gates open at 4 p.m.

SUNDAY

4:15

Ill Lobo

4:30

KT and the Blues Scientists

5:30

Dave Hobbs

6:30

Damon Fowler

7:45

Jimmy D. Lane

9:00

Samantha Fish

Gates open at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday will be a special gospel brunch. Gates open at 10:30 a.m. and there will be a performance by Kirk House & the New Light Baptist Church Choir at 11.

EXB14A@ACU.EDU

Candidates for mayor outline goals

BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

Students who are registered to vote in Abilene can vote in the election for mayor May 6.

Early voting locations include the Taylor County Plaza, the Mall of Abilene, United on North 10th and Willis Street and Abilene City Hall.

The candidates are Anthony Williams, the university chief business services officer, Robert Briley, owner of the local Aaron’s furniture rental stores, and Richard Kennedy, director of the 180 House.

Q. What are your goals for college students or college graduates?

Williams: “I want to work very, very hard with others to try to create

an opportunity to grow Abilene, to grow our economy and to provide good paying jobs. For college students, we want to be sure that we hold fast to things that make Abilene, Abilene, but always be flexible and elastic enough to listen to the expectation of those younger than us.”

STUDENT THOUGHTS ON LOCAL ELECTION BASED ON A TWITTER POLL WITH 120 VOTES

33% Need more info first

Kennedy: “My goal is to help as many people as we can to stay here in Abilene.

We have more talent coming out than we can truly keep. We want to be attractive to people getting done with their college degrees.

We really have to work on growing industries that will give them a reason to stay here.”

14% From Abilene, Plan to vote

Briley could not be reached.

40% Couldn’t care less

13% It’d be fun to vote

OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

Treasurer: Congress approves addition to SA cabinet CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

HOLLY DORN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ruhika Roy will be the next SA executive treasurer for the 2017-18 school year.

Mississippi and Princeton University.

“She's been a treasurer before but also her ideas of how she wants to revamp the allocation process made her stand out,” Burke said.

Roy said she plans to create a system that decreases human errors when the treasurer creates

the budget. The treasurer is responsible for allocating a budget of more than $100,000 to student groups.

SA also passed two bills and two resolutions Wednesday.

The resolutions, authored by Ty Kelley, junior information and technology major from San Antonio, would request that the university administration install more electrical outlets at desks

in classrooms and install two water fountains on the Lunsford Trail.

A bill authored by Shelby Short, freshman class president and kinesiology major from Caddo Mills, would put any remaining funds in the SA budget in the Katie Kirby Memorial Fund at the end of the year.

The fund provides financial assistance to students through

the Student Opportunities, Advocacy and Resources (SOAR) program. Taylor Crumpton, senior class president and social work major from Oakland, California, authored a bill to allow class officers to send surveys to their constituents.

She said it will help class officers, especially for the OPTIMIST@ACU.EDU

POLICE LOG SELECTED ACUPD CALLS FOR THE WEEK 04/24/2017 2:05 p.m.

A student witnessed an unknown driver strike his parked car in the University Church parking lot, then leave the scene without leaving information as required by law. Investigation underway.

04/24/2017 4:55 p.m.

ACUPD worked with an Aramark supervision to address threatening and abusive calls that were being directed to an Aramark employee.

04/24/2017 9:20 p.m.

Officers attempted to locate a suspicious female soliciting students for a ride in the WPAC lot. Officers were unable to locate.

911 CALL ACCIDENT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY ADVICE ALARM ASSIST BARRICADES BUILDING LOCK/UNLOCK CHECK BUILDING CRIMINAL TRESPASS DISTURBANCE DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE ESCORT

1 4 30 1 2 1 3 11 289 1 2 2 2

FINGERPRINTING SERVICE FOOT PATROL FOUND PROPERTY GRAFFITI HARASSMENT HIT AND RUN INFORMATION REPORT INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP LOST PROPERTY MAINTENANCE UNIV ASSETS: CCTV MOTORIST ASSIST: IN-

1 29 2 1 1 2 4 14 5 5 1

FLATE TIRE MOTORIST ASSIST: JUMPSTART MOTORIST ASSIST: UNLOCK NOISE VIOLATION OTHER PARKING LOT PATROL PATROL VEHICLE: MAINTENANCE PATROL VEHICLE: REFUEL RANDOM PATROL REPORT WRITING

STAND BY SUSPICIOUS PERSON SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 11 THEFT TRAFFIC STOP 2 TRAINING 2 TRESPASSER 36 WELFARE CHECK 1 4

10 16 TOTAL: 553 21

1 4 1 1 4 2 1 2

POLICE CHIEF TIP OF THE WEEK:

Final Sexual Assault Awareness Month Tip for April: Most reported sexual assaults at ACU involve dating situations and issues of non-consent. Set boundaries early, understand consent early, and always report sexual assault to ACUPD.

N E WS

FRIDAY | APRIL 28, 2017

3

Lucky 13 brings Olympic athlete to campus “ If somebody has a passion for something, then we want them to be open in sharing what that is so we can act on it."

BY HALEY REMENAR ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

Lucky 13, an all-women service organization, hosted an Olympic athlete to raise funds for the Katie Kirby Memorial Fund.

Shelby Short, president of Lucky 13, said one of the group members knew Bradley Adkins, an olympic high jumper, and invited him to come speak Tuesday night in Chapel on the Hill about his experience. Short had the idea to raise money for the memorial fund which provides financial help for students through Student Opportunities, Advocacy and Resources (SOAR).

SOAR helped her after she got in a car accident and she said she believes the money will be used to help students

LEKSI VASQUEZ VICE PRESIDENT OF LUCKY13

in need.

"Whether it be financially, whether they need an advocate for them due to medical circumstances, SOAR is phenomenal for that," Short said.

Tickets to the event cost $2 in advance and $3 at the door. About 40-50 people attended, Short said. She said the event drew athletes and other students and Adkins answered questions at the end of his presentation.

He stayed in Abilene to

Outdoors Club sets up camp at Abilene State Park

BY EVAN RODRIGUEZ STAFF WRITER

Over 50 ACU students celebrated Earth day by attending Abilene State Park on April 22nd. The ACU Outdoors Club sponsored the event, handing out 75 tickets for free admission to the park during the prior week.

The ACU Outdoors Club is a relatively new group, and hopes to be formally recognized as a student organization next semester. It began as a small group of likeminded students who enjoyed hiking and exploring, but has since grown to include an email list with over 25 students. They hope to be able to receive funding next year in order to encourage student engagement with state parks and hiking trails across West Texas.

"I mean, who doesn't like being outdoors?" said Joe

“

compete Thursday in the ACU Wildcat Open meet.

He finished 21st at the Rio Olympics in 2016, according to the Texas Tech University website.

Other Lucky 13 service projects included writing letters to veterans and meeting with residents in the Chisholm Place nursing home.

"If somebody has a passion for something, then we want them to be open in sharing what that is so we can act on it," said Leksi Vasquez, vice president of Lucky 13 and sophomore biology major from Wichita Falls.

Lucky 13 plans to recharter the women's social club Delta Theta.

HRR13B@ACU.EDU

U R G R A D UAT E W I T H A H O N O R YO

SENIOR AD

IN ACU’S CAMPUS NEWSPAPER The Optimist - Commencement Edition 2017

I mean, who doesn't like being outdoors? It's the easiest club to be apart of."

JOE CUTHBERT JUNIOR FINANCE MAJOR FROM SAN ANTONIO

Cuthbert, Junior Finance major from San Antonio.

"It's the easiest club to be apart of."

The Outdoors Club provided water and food, as students hiked through the park and played volleyball.

The tickets were provided

by Ryan Hunter, the superintendent of Abilene State Park. Hunter is also the husband of Dr. Rebecca Hunter, an associate professor of biology.

MAGGIE FARIAS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bradley Adkins, Olympic high jumper, spoke on campus to raise money for the Katie Kirby Memorial Fund. Adkins was brought in by Lucky 13.

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Formal: Freshmen plan free class event CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

tions. The event was supposed to be in the Teague Special Events Center, but it was already booked for Friday night so they moved the event to the GATA

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Short said she also booked a gym in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center in case of bad weather.

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OP I N I ON

&

ED IT O R IA L

hashtagACU @acuoptimist @ELLIECORNETT

My roommates bet I would be in a relationship by April 2017. Am still single - 4 days left in April. Please date me and make my dreams come true.

FRIDAY | APRIL 28, 2017

Student Life should bring back Freshman Action Counsel “ THE ISSUE

Student Life discontinued the Freshman Action Counsel this year.

Activities once planned by a team of 30 are now in the hands of a few class officers.

@ELLENJOHNSON13

I'm at the point in the semester where I just had to blow dry a tshirt

OUR TAKE

Student Life should bring back FAC to provide more students with the opportunity to get involved in their first year on campus.

@BRICLOSE

I have one chapel credit and it's the proudest day of my ACU career.

@RACHESCOTT

Freshman year, I could have been awake for a week and been fine. Last night I was up till two and now I have arthritis and indigestion.

@EMMALULU96

If you go into a coma, do you have to take finals?

Asking for a friend

@MARIELDELGADO_

Four weeks left in the semester and my professor doesn't know my name

@SAVANAHNICHOLEE

I'm trying this new thing where I don't nap.

It's horrendous.

It used to take 30 students to put on Freshman Formal.

Now the Students' Association is trying to do it with just one freshman.

Freshman Action Council, a group of freshmen charged with planning events for freshmen, was discontinued by the Office of Student Life in the fall.

FAC duties were given to the SA freshmen class officers this year. But how can three officers -president, vice president and treasurer -effectively provide activities for 1,000 freshmen?

Since freshmen can't pledge, they need another way to participate in the Homecoming parade and have a Christmas social and

spring formal. The FAC provided that for the last few years and gave freshmen the chance to test their organizational skills among their own peers. When FAC was discontinued, Student Life thought freshmen could still get that opportunity by serving on the ACU Cabinet, formerly the Campus Activities Board. However, most of the Cabinet student workers are upperclassmen and the Cabinet didn’t plan any events for just freshmen.

Freshman Action Council should be reinstated next year. Even if it has less than 30 members, it could still provide a better experience for freshmen than the SA officers can do alone.

A large council allows for multiple voices to be heard. Former FAC members represented different groups as some went on to pledge social clubs while others didn't. If things went wrong, freshmen couldn’t point the blame at one person because an entire group was behind the different events.

Many freshmen might not feel comfortable jumping into leadership in SA, or even OMA groups or World’s Backyard etc. They need a place where they can lead other freshmen without the pressure of planning events for upperclassmen.

FAC also allows students to participate who wouldn’t necessarily want to be in SA. SA usually attracts political science majors or those who want to be active in a political atmosphere. SA officers have to balance bills and voting while planning events at the same time. Few people want to deal with the politics. But FAC only handled

Student Life needs to reconsider the purpose of freshmen activities and freshmen SA officers.

events, so freshmen who didn’t want the politics of SA had a chance to simply plan events.

Student Life needs to reconsider the purpose of freshmen activities and freshmen SA officers. Freshmen need to be represented in SA, but they also need to be united as a class before the split up into clubs and other groups sophomore year. FAC provides a place where freshmen can unite, learn to lead and of course, dress fancy and dance the Nae Nae or whatever kids do these days.

OPINION@JMCNETWORK.COM

COLUMN

@_KYSTHELIMIT_

I know i skip my 8 a.m. a lot but I just got counted absent for being there so

Clocking in & checking out: Two weeks from hell

@MNALLISON97

I just saw a dead bird and the first thought that came to mind was "same."

EMILLION HERE, EMILLION THERE

EMILY GUAJARDO VISUALS MANAGING EDITOR

FOLLOW

Junior convergence journalism major San Antonio

ON SOCIAL MEDIA @ACUOPTIMIST WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ACUOPTIMIST WWW.ACUOPTIMIST.COM

By the time you start reading this short column on your way to the bean or your god-forsaken class that you've been dreading since day one, left me just enlighten you that over the last 66,600 seconds I have been to the brink of boiling with hot anger. Spring 2017 needs to be come to a drastic close.

I'm pretty sure that if hell existed, Satan would make his prisoners relive the last two weeks of a college semester over and over again.

The constant nagging of professors hovered over your ear reminding you

over and over again about the importance of your research paper because god-forbid it's even a second late or else Canvas will look straight at you and scream "Canvas is watching you" as your perfectly good work is labeled late.

Or how about the constant activities piling up on your google calendar one on top of the other only to serve the purpose an elaborate, mourning goodbye for seniors that really can be done over a short email.

Let's not forget about coworkers hanging over your shoulders like wet rags

dragging you down into an abyss of pure anger and solitude until you finally explode with sass, rudeness and ruthless comments.

All of this stacking on top as you try to remember the last time you called your mom, ate a meal or watered your dead plant outside your door facing the constant dusty Abilene wind. Your poor plant facing all the trails of the environment and watching your zombie-like body walk in and out of the door in a constant rhythm; clocking in and checking out. Like a child, your plant waits for attention and wants you to be happy as its little leaves crumble and dry-up, but it still holds on. It's waiting for you to wake up and finally snap, so that maybe one day you'll realize that nothing you do now matters.

Your research paper about how corn was one of

the most profitable crops in Australia during the 17th century will never come in handy unless you have consciously decided to dedicate your entire small life to Australian crops- to which I say, good luck. Your never ending cycle of senior farewell activities will come to an end on May 13 (and then start again next spring).

Your coworkers will be jerks until the day you quit, so what are you waiting for?

Life seems to really be taking its sweet time these past few weeks and it's okay to be mad at the world and snap when you need to. You are human. You deserve to be mad. I deserve to be mad. Now, if you excuse me, life has some business to take care of and I doubt it's going to be anything less than chaotic.

OPINION@JMCNETWORK.COM

COLUMN

Popularity fades, so shut up and dance with yourself KRAZY KASSIE

KASSIE KIM VIDEO NEWS DIRECTOR Senior multimedia major San Antonio

I understand. Dancing with yourself sounds crazy, but just hear me out for a moment.

In today’s society, I feel like not enough people are happy being by themselves and embracing who they truly are. Society is pushing us, especially girls, to be sociable and is always giving us tips on “How to be Popular”. What’s the point? Popularity fades over time.

Plus, it’s quite pointless.

Why waste energy trying to keep up an image of

a perfect person, when in actuality you love to wear sweatpants and your hair in a literal messy bun, not one of those cute ones you can find tutorials how to do on Pinterest. Pretending to be someone you’re not is exhausting.

But, embracing yourself and being who you really are is not. In fact, it’s a freeing feeling.

For a long time in elementary and middle school, I tried to fit in. I wanted to be popular. I had the chance to be in

Fourth Grade and I went for it. I became friends with the most popular girls in our class and hung out with them during recess and lunch. But, I wasn’t happy. I was an introvert pretending to be an extrovert. That went on for a few years, though I never did get into the “In-Crowd” in middle or high school. I just felt awkward trying to make myself known, even if I wasn’t in the popular crowd.

But, once Sophomore year hit and I decided that I should only care what I feel about myself, I started to feel different. I embraced who I really am, which is a comic book-loving, anime-watching, video gaming, tomboy girl that has the smallest feminine side that comes out only for

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

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

special occasions and the occasional shopping trip.

I stopped trying to find approval in other people and sought it out in myself and started finding out who I truly am both personality wise and who I am as a Daughter of God. The less I spent worrying about how others looked at me and more on how I saw myself and learned to embrace who I was made to be by God, the freer I felt.

Now, I’m an unashamed Princess of God who will geek out with you if you bring up one of my favorite anime shows or start talking about Harley Quinn. I know, some people will think I’m crazy, and yes, I am a little crazy.

I’ve learned to embrace it and love myself for who I am.

Learning to love every little detail about yourself is something beautiful. Be happy with you, because you are the only you on this planet.

So, go ahead and treat yourself.

Get yourself that large pizza.

Buy the largest froyo cup at Nikki’s and throw all your favorite topping on it.

Binge watch that one Netflix show you’ve been meaning to for months.

Spoil yourself and buy one of those cute Self-Love Pinky Rings because you honestly deserve it. Let your hair down, shut up and dance with yourself because that’s just who you are and embrace it.

Because by the time you leave, the grades you made won’t matter. The

all-nighters pulled to ace that test won’t matter.

What will matter is who you are.

Yes, you will fail and you will fall. That’s life. But as my Modern Dance instructor, Jackie Beth, once said, don’t be afraid to fall.

So, don’t be afraid to fall, because you never know just how the dance will go from there. Falling is not the end of everything, but the beginning of a new phrase in your dance called life. Own it and live unapologetically as your true self!

OPINION@JMCNETWORK.COM

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F E ATUR E S

FRIDAY | APRIL 28, 2017

The Heart of Campus

The new Students’ Association executive president and executive vice president prepare for the upcoming school year

LYDIA LAWSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Danny Burke, junior marketing major from Seymour, Indiana, and Julia Kennedy, sophomore English major from Lubbock, were elected as the new SA president and vice president, respectively.

BY ABBEY BOWLING ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR

A

s most students prepare for finals week, graduation, the end of another semester and the start of summer break, two students are already planning for the new school year.

The student body elected Danny Burke, junior business marketing major from Seymour, Indiana, and Julia Kennedy, sophomore English major from Lubbock, as the new Students’ Association president and vice president, respectively.

And though their official appointment doesn’t begin until the fall, they’ve already begun to work.

Both students have been involved with SA in previous years, as Kennedy was the Gardner representative her freshman year, and this year she’s served as the sophomore class president, and Burke served as the student activity officer this year – a liaison between the cabinet and SA – which put him in Abbey Moses’ presidential cabinet. Both candidates said previous involvement – in SA and in other organizations – helped prepare them for their new roles.

“Since I have been involved for so long, and seeing both the positives and negatives in congress, and SA in general, there’s

so many things that it can be and so many things that I feel like I have the abilities to really pour into and grow,” Kennedy said. “I’d set myself up pretty well being involved freshman and sophomore year and I just went for it, thinking that if this is where I’m supposed to be, then I have lots of plans for congress for how we can grow. I do have the skill set and the experience and I’m passionate about it, so I decided to run for a bigger position.”

For Burke, he saw the vast opportunities that ACU presented the moment he set foot on campus as a freshman – and he knew he wanted to take advantage of them.

“I really wanted to, my senior year, hopefully bring so much of that together and unify the students in a way that hasn’t been done before,” Burke said. “I have a heart for students and groups that have maybe not been proactively sought after, and just really raising the excitement level and really letting students fall in love with the university.”

The campaign was, in one word, stressful. Burke ran against one opponent – junior classmate Abraham Enriquez – and even had a team of people to help promote his campaign through social media and on campus. However, the real journey to SA presi-

“

We will never deserve this, but we will keep that in mind as we’re working.”

JULIA KENNEDY SOPHOMORE ENGLISH MAJOR FROM LUBBOCK

dent began years ago.

“Something that my mom actually told me afterwards, she said, ‘I feel like you really started campaigning your freshman year whenever you first stepped foot on campus. As people get to know you, it’s not just the week leading up to the election, but people get to know your heart over the years and everything that you’ve invested in,’” Burke said.

“Whether I won or lost the election, I still had a dream to serve and pour into the student body... I didn’t want it to be this inauthentic week where I over-pour myself into everything, but trusted in that I had loved and served and gotten to know so many people through the years that I’ve been at ACU – so that when the time came, I was well prepared and it wasn’t a last second scrounge to find votes. People knew me and knew my heart, and trusted that I would do a good job.”

Burke said he has prayed for this consistently since his freshman year. As far as

SA is concerned, it’s been immersed in prayer and his involvement in SA has been strategic and intentional, he said. And though Kennedy ended up running unopposed as vice president, she realized she still needed to campaign to win over the students and prove that she was the right person for the job.

“The debate was when my opponent told me she would no longer be running,” she explained. “So from then on, I decided, ‘OK, technically I’ve won, but I haven’t really won the students.’ I continued to prove to them that I love this place, and I love y’all, and I would like to earn this, not just be given it – even though that wasn’t my decision to be given. But when I did run, and I used it more of a forum of why SA is important, not why me being vice president is important.” ne thing both students want to focus on is explaining the overall goal of SA. Many students don’t know what SA is or what it does, Kennedy said, so she wants to clear up confusion and explain how SA can help the student body.

“A lot of my plans go down to the congress – how I’m going to have meetings differently, how that’s going to look, the res-

O

olutions and bills that are going to be passed and the ones that are going to be written,” she said. “I think, overall though, my vision is to make SA more relevant on campus, to let people know what it is and how they can truly seek it out for personal help.”

Burke agreed.

“SA is a phenomenal resource,” he said. “It’s this special place – it’s the only place on campus where the faculty administration is on one end and students on the other, and it’s this magical medium. It’s the only place...” He trailed off as he struggled to find the words to accurately describe it.

Kennedy pitched in to help. “SA is the heart of campus.”

“And that’s super exciting, and a little bit daunting,” Burke picked up again. “But what a phenomenal opportunity to be able to hear from students and then be the voice of students, be the face to the administration, and then get feedback and wisdom from faculty who have been here long before we have. Being able to work together to accomplish the student’s vision is super exciting for me.”

Another thing they want to address is the negative perception of SA that some students have. And though that can be a scary task, both Kennedy and Burke are excited by the prospect

of improving SA’s image.

“I think the fact that a lot of people have a negative connotation or a negative perception of SA tells me that at least if they have a perception of SA’s doing this or this wrong, then they at least look up to SA as a place where things can get done,” Burke said. “If all we have to do is change the angle a little bit, so it’s moving in a positive direction, then it’s totally possible.” urke also said he’s incredibly humbled to hold this leadership position for his final year at ACU. No student deserves the opportunity to be the face of the entire student body, but the opportunity to represent them is an honor and a privilege, he said.

“We will never deserve this,” Kennedy added, “But we will keep that in mind as we’re working toward knowing that this in an honor, and our decision will be made through the knowledge: ‘Man, I don’t deserve this, but how can I work with the place I’ve been given?’ Because it is such a gift.”

And a few moments later, when asked if they wanted to add anything else, Kennedy laughed and said: “Scratch ‘em. I’ll always add that.”

B

AKB12A@ACU.EDU

6

S P O RT S

Scott blanks Baker ahead of Kansas State

BY TREVOR WYATT SPORTS WRITER

ACU takes on Kansas State in a battle of Wildcats this weekend after playing two non-conference games during the week.

In the first game of non-conference play, ACU took on Dallas Baptist University at Crutcher Scott Field on Tuesday.

Both the offense and pitching looked good at the start as, junior transfer Luis Trevino hit a single to score senior Russell Crippen, who led off the game with a double off the left field wall. Freshman Anthony Dominguez then laid down a sacrifice bunt that the catcher overthrew to first, allowing sophomore Derek Scott to score from third.

BASEBALL

LAUREN FRANCO LEAD STAFF CONTRIBUTOR Sophomore Derek Scott pitched eight scoreless innings on Wednesday against Baker.

Senior Brandon Lambright threw two innings, allowing one earned run, which came on a passed ball. However, Lambright was taken out to conserve pitches for this weekend, and Nick Skeffington went just 3.2 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits. Although

the Wildcats scored in the fifth on an error and brought home three in the ninth off of a wild pitch and a two-run homer from Crippen, the Wildcats fell to the Patriots 11-7.

In the second non-conference game of the week, Scott took the mound

against Baker University, whose mascot is also the Wildcats. ACU struck early as Trevino again drove in Crippen in the first inning, and the offense didn't stop there. Junior Hillin Warren had a breakout game where he went 2-for-3 with a two RBI triple in the fourth inning, which lead to a run when he scored off of a sacrifice fly from sophomore Mark Pearson.

This prompted the exit of Baker University pitcher Dylan Vilaros after just four innings as he gave up four runs on four hits and walked three.

Scott, however, pitched a gem as he went 8 innings, allowing only 5 hits and no runs white striking out 8 and walking two. Fresh-

man Ryan Kotulek came on in the ninth inning and struck out two to close the game out as ACU won 7-0.

The Wildcats now face Kansas State in a three-game weekend series in Manhattan, Kansas. ACU is still struggling in conference, but since breaking its losing streak they have won three out of its last six. K-State has struggled in conference as well, going 4-11 against other Big 12 teams. ACU will have to watch out for Will Brennan, who is hitting .357, and slugging 1B Jake Schudder, who is hitting .290 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI on the year.

TMW13A@ACU.EDU

RUGBY

STANDINGS Softball Team

Ovrl. Div.

McNeese 33-16 28-18 ACU Nicholls 30-17 23-24 Lamar 20-22 SHSU 17-27 SFA 20-27-1 NWSU 19-30 UCA 23-25 SELU 15-22 HBU 9-36 UIW TAMU-CC 9-30

18-3 16-5 14-7 13-8 11-10 9-9 10-11 10-11 9-12 6-15 4-17 3-15

Baseball Team

Ovrl. Div.

McNeese 28-11 18-3 SHSU 27-14 13-5 SFA 25-18 13-5 HBU 20-16 12-6 SELU 25-15 12-9 UCA 22-19 10-8 Lamar 25-17 11-10 Nicholls 21-22 8-10 UNO 19-21-1 8-10 TAMU-CC 14-27 6-12 UIW 17-24 5-13 NWSU 15-25 5-13 ACU 12-26 2-19

BREAKING Junior Lucile Pothier earned her second straight Southland Conference Player of the Week award after she helped the women’s tennis team to a 7-0 victory of Stephen F. Austin and a second-place finish in conference.

Head tennis coach Hutton Jones was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year after leading the men’s and women’s teams to first and second place finishes respectively. This is his first time to be honored by the Southland Conference, but was recognized multiple times competing in the Lonestar Conference.

LAUREN FRANCO LEAD STAFF CONTRIBUTOR The ACU women’s rugby team emerged at the beginning of this semester as an idea from Alexandria Soto, who started for the men’s rugby team last fall. The women will host a tournament at ACU with the men May 6.

A league of their own

Women field rugby team, look to compete nationally

BY LAUREN FRANCO LEAD STAFF CONTRIBUTOR

"When it comes down to it the only thing that separates this family is that we play girls and they play men."

After earning a starting spot on the men's club rugby team, interior design major, Alexandria Soto, decided it was time to start a women's rugby team.

"I wanted to start a women's team because I fell in love with this sport, but I wanted to see what I could do in my own league," Soto said. "I always thought of what it would be like to compete with girls and not be terrified to step on the pitch. So

once we had a team going, I couldn't wait to play."

Since the team started at the beginning of this semester, it has grown to 11 women, each having participated in sports, but none of which are rugby.

Despite being small in number, Soto said the team is large in perseverance. They have participated in two tournaments against teams such as the University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University and Sam Houston State University.

The team has not won a game, but continues to attract women to their open practices.

While talking with one

of the team members, Abby Kunkel, sophomore biochemistry major from Ranger, Kunkel said she was convinced to try it out due to the aggressive nature of the sport. In high school, Kunkel said she played every sport that was offered, but she never imagined trying rugby.

"I never thought that I would end up playing rugby, but I love trying new things," Kunkel said. "I am considering joining the team. I think that it would be a lot of fun to try something new like rugby."

In order to be considered to be an official club sport with ACU athletics,

the team must begin competing at the national level. But this hasn't stopped the team from bonding.

Kunkel said the women's team has a close bond just like any other athletic group on campus.

"The girls on this team are so strong and the practices are really intense," Kunkel said. "At the same time though, they are all really close friends and they are so encouraging. Practices can get pretty tough, but you can always look at the woman standing right beside you and encourage each other."

Soto encouraged women to come to open practices even if it is just for the experience.

"The biggest reward for me is seeing this vision of mine come to reality," Soto said. "I would hope and pray every single day that someone would show up to practice so they could learn and fall in love with this sport. It's a very scary sport to those who don't know much. So seeing someone new, and having my regular girls keep returning, is all I could ask for."

Both men's and women's rugby will host a tournament, May 6 outside the Williams Performing Arts Center.

LMF14A@ACU.EDU

Dooley shoots golf to eighth despite wind

BY JONATHAN RAITZ SPORTS EDITOR

It's always windy in Abilene, but the golf team got its fair share of wind and adversity when it competed at the Southland Conference Championships in McKinney at the beginning of the week.

"Conditions were very tough this week and it was a grind every hole," senior Kyle Karnei said. "We didn't play an easy hole all week, but I was proud to see us playing hard every shot."

Through the conditions the Wildcats battled to an eighth place team finish, posting a score of 958.

McNeese State came away

GOLF with the title for the second straight year, carding a three-round total of 918. It's worth noting ACU and McNeese posted identical scores of 310 on the final day of the tournament. ​"The weather made what was already a very difficult course even harder," head coach Tom Shaw said.

"The winds changed directions each day so we had to game plan and adapt effectively. You have to have a great deal of patience and temper expectations when playing conditions are like that."

The Wildcats were led by

the individual performance of freshman Bryce Dooley, who carded three-straight rounds of 79 for a total score of 237 and 22nd place finish overall. Dooley's fellow underclassmen, sophomore Garrett Glanton finished nine shots behind him and tied for 36th. "​Bryce Dooley starting to realize what kind of player he can become for ACU," Shaw said. "I asked a lot of him as a freshman and he responded to the challenge.

Garrett Glanton also had his typical strong spring and is poised to do great things next year.​" Playing in their final tournaments, seniors Ryan Be-

atty and Karnei recorded identical total scores of 239 which was good enough for 26th place overall. Junior G.K. Morrison finished just ahead of Glanton with a total of 245 and a 35th-place finish.

"It was a good year. We had a lot of guys get a lot better," Karnei said. "This is going to set us up for future success because of how hard everyone worked this season. We have three really fantastic golfers coming in who are going to make us even better next year."

Next season the team will welcome Alex Clouse from Flower Mound, Chase Allison from Robinson and Da-

niel Seibert from Waco.

"After a difficult fall, we improved each tournament in the spring and demonstrated the we can be a very good team," Shaw said. "We just have to become a stronger team under adverse conditions. Adding new players will help that process too."

Next season will begin the first year of eligibility for the Wildcats to potentially advance to the Div. 1 Men's Golf Championships, which McNeese earned an automatic bid to with its conference championship.

JMR13B@ACU.EDU

A Sheehy earned Southland Freshman of the Year honors for the second-straight season, as Jonathan Sheehy took home the honor after a 12-12 overall spring record.

MATCHUPS Baseball 4/25 ACU

7

DBU 11 4/26 ACU

7

Baker Univ.

4/28-30 ACU

0

(12-26, 2-19)

Kansas St. (21-20, 4-11)

Softball 4/28-29 ACU UCA

(28-18, 16-5) (19-13, 12-11)

Tennis 4/23 Women’s ACU 7 SFA

0

4/27-30 Men/Women Ojai Invitational Ojai, California

Golf 4/25-27 TX Finish:

McKinney,

Team Score:

8th 958

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