With the beginning of a new semester comes the begin- ning of a new chapel series. The fall 2011 Chapel theme, “Life in the Spirit vs. Life in the Flesh,” will tackle the idea of giving in to one’s own will versus following God’s will for one’s life. Centered on a passage from the book of Romans chapter 8, among other selections from the New Testament, this fall series “helps to face the challenge of ‘How do I deal with this? God’s way or my way?’” said Mark Lewis, the self- titled “Chapel Guy.” “The text really lays it out very clearly,” he said. “We’ll go through different aspects of this constant struggle between the flesh and the spirit, and relate that to students’ lives.” The theme expands on the verses found in Romans 8:8-9, which states, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” “We’re going to talk about both tackling this is- sue in the moment and in the future,” Lewis said. “We want students to be able to take what they learn from this and use it now in their everyday life, and in future situations after they’ve left college.” The “Spirit vs. Flesh” series will be taught every Monday, beginning the third week of the semes- ter. This week’s schedule see theme page 4 inside page 7 page 6 page 8 page 3 Core gives Cornerstone new look this semester. Rick Perry’s campaign slogan, according to Ben Miller. Texas A&M can’t leave the Big 12; Texas needs its rival. Jason’s Deli opens new location much closer to campus. vol. 100, no. 1 wednesday, AUGUST 31, 2010 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES Abilene Christian University Man in Black: Bible’s Randy Harris takes mission seriously Features page 5 news opinion sports news Opening Notes As he began the university’s 106th year, Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, urged students and others who packed Moody Coli- seum Monday for Opening Chapel to find ways to out- live their lives. “As we begin this 106th year of Abilene Christian University together, stu- dents, I ask you to do this: keep your Christ-centered focus – or get one; find a mentor – or be one; find a worthy cause that you can support – or create one; and find a church that you can plug into – or start one.” Schubert also began his opening address by welcom- ing the more than 800 mem- bers of the freshman class. “This year’s freshman class represents a new wave of students who share our vision here at ACU,” Schubert said. “They want to live Christ-centered lives and be the global leaders of tomorrow, starting today.” Making references to his last year’s inaugural ad- dress, the President even challenged students’ lives by providing inspiring words. “Determine that today is the day that you’ll begin to outlive your life or improve on the way you do it. Thank the people who made it possible for you to attend ACU and make them proud of you. Decide to have a great school year.” The ceremony included several traditions – many of which date to the foun- dation of the university in 1906, including the Parade of Flags. This year’s parade represented 62 countries and 50 U.S. states and terri- tories. And continuing with tradition, Dr. Odies Wright, associate professor of ex- ercise science and health, led the singing of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” Dr. Rusty Towell, chair of the Department of Phys- ics and chair of the Faculty Senate, read the scripture of Paul’s Sermon on Mars Hill. Both of these tradi- tions have been part of ev- ery Opening Chapel since the beginning of ACU. Also, the Grand Chorus as well as the Big Purple Band to- gether performed “The Old Hundredth Tune.” Dr. Jeanine Varner, pro- vost, led the call to order and reminded those in attendance of the university’s mission. “Today we begin our 106th year of educating stu- dents for Christian service and leadership throughout the world,” Varner said. “Today and every day we call our students, faculty, staff and alumni to change the world in large ways and small.” Mark smith managing editor marissa Ferguson managing editor contact ferguson at [email protected]daniel gomez Staff Photographer Associate director of bands, Jason Missal, closes his eyes as he conducts the Big Purple band in playing “March Grandioso” at the ACU 2011 Opening Assembly. daniel gomez Staff Photographer The state flag of Texas is waved with pride at the Parade of Flags at the 2011 Opening Assembly as part of the 106th session in Moody Coliseum on Monday, Aug. 29. Opening Chapel ceremony begins 106th school year “Spirit vs. Flesh” to be chapel theme Mark lewis Asst. dean for spiritual life and chapel programs in student life We’ll go through different aspects of this constant struggle between the flesh and the spirit, and relate that to students’ lives.” “ CHAPEL
Transcript
With the beginning of a new semester comes the begin-ning of a new chapel series.
The fall 2011 Chapel theme, “Life in the Spirit vs. Life in the Flesh,” will tackle the idea of giving
in to one’s own will versus following God’s will for one’s life.
Centered on a passage from the book of Romans chapter 8, among other selections from the New Testament, this fall series “helps to face the challenge of ‘How do I deal with this? God’s way or my way?’”
said Mark Lewis, the self-titled “Chapel Guy.”
“The text really lays it out very clearly,” he said. “We’ll go through different aspects of this constant struggle between the flesh and the spirit, and relate that to students’ lives.”
The theme expands on the verses found in Romans
8:8-9, which states, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
“We’re going to talk about both tackling this is-sue in the moment and in the future,” Lewis said. “We want students to be able to
take what they learn from this and use it now in their everyday life, and in future situations after they’ve left college.”
The “Spirit vs. Flesh” series will be taught every Monday, beginning the third week of the semes-ter. This week’s schedule
see theme page 4
inside
page 7 page 6 page 8 page 3
Core gives Cornerstone new look this semester.
Rick Perry’s campaign slogan, according to Ben Miller.
Texas A&M can’t leave the Big 12; Texas needs its rival.
Jason’s Deli opens new location much closer to campus.
Man in Black:Bible’s Randy Harris takes mission seriously
Featurespage 5
news opinion sports news
OpeningNotes
As he began the university’s 106th year, Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, urged students and others who packed Moody Coli-seum Monday for Opening Chapel to find ways to out-live their lives.
“As we begin this 106th year of Abilene Christian University together, stu-dents, I ask you to do this: keep your Christ-centered
focus – or get one; find a mentor – or be one; find a worthy cause that you can support – or create one; and find a church that you can plug into – or start one.”
Schubert also began his opening address by welcom-ing the more than 800 mem-bers of the freshman class.
“This year’s freshman class represents a new wave of students who share our vision here at ACU,” Schubert said. “They want to live Christ-centered lives and be the global leaders of
tomorrow, starting today.”Making references to
his last year’s inaugural ad-dress, the President even challenged students’ lives by providing inspiring words.
“Determine that today is the day that you’ll begin to outlive your life or improve on the way you do it. Thank the people who made it possible for you to attend ACU and make them proud of you. Decide to have a great school year.”
The ceremony included several traditions – many
of which date to the foun-dation of the university in 1906, including the Parade of Flags. This year’s parade represented 62 countries and 50 U.S. states and terri-tories. And continuing with tradition, Dr. Odies Wright, associate professor of ex-ercise science and health, led the singing of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” Dr. Rusty Towell, chair of the Department of Phys-ics and chair of the Faculty Senate, read the scripture of Paul’s Sermon on Mars
Hill. Both of these tradi-tions have been part of ev-ery Opening Chapel since the beginning of ACU. Also, the Grand Chorus as well as the Big Purple Band to-gether performed “The Old Hundredth Tune.”
Dr. Jeanine Varner, pro-vost, led the call to order and reminded those in attendance of the university’s mission.
“Today we begin our
106th year of educating stu-dents for Christian service and leadership throughout the world,” Varner said. “Today and every day we call our students, faculty, staff and alumni to change the world in large ways and small.”
Associate director of bands, Jason Missal, closes his eyes as he conducts the Big Purple band in playing “March Grandioso” at the ACU 2011 Opening Assembly.
daniel gomez Staff Photographer
The state flag of Texas is waved with pride at the Parade of Flags at the 2011 Opening Assembly as part of the 106th session in Moody Coliseum on Monday, Aug. 29.
Opening Chapel ceremony begins 106th school year
“Spirit vs. Flesh” to be chapel theme
Mark lewisAsst. dean for spiritual life and chapel programs in student life
We’ll go through different aspects of this constant
struggle between the flesh and the spirit, and relate that to students’ lives.”“
CHAPEL
31
03 68
01 02 03Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Aug. 31
10 a.m. Dancing by the Light of the Moon: the Art of Fred Marcellino will be on display at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Litera-ture. Admission is free.
Sept. 1
10 a.m. Dancing by the Light of the Moon: the Art of Fred Marcellino will be on display at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Litera-ture. Admission is free.
7:30 p.m. “Noises Off!” will perform in Fulks Theatre in the Williams Performing Arts Center on the ACU campus. Tickets cost $15 per person.
Sept. 2
7:30 p.m. “Noises Off!” will perform in Fulks Theatre in the Williams Performing Arts Center on the ACU campus. Tickets cost $15 per person.
7:30 p.m. Mario Santoso will perform a piano concert in the Williams Performing Arts Center Recital Hall as a part of the ACU Guest Artist Series.
Sept. 3
1 p.m. The HSU Cowboys will play Coe University at Hardin Simmons University. Tickets cost $5 - $10 per person.
7:30 p.m. “Noises Off!” will perform in Fulks Theatre in the Williams Performing Arts Center on the ACU campus. Tickets cost $15 per person.
11 p.m. The Movin’ at Mid-night: 5K Run, Walk, Wheel will take place at Texas Sport & Spine. Cost is $23 for each participant.
5 p.m. ACU Women’s Soccer vs. Dallas Baptist
7 p.m. ACU football at TSU
7:30 p.m. “Noises Off!” in Fulks Theatre
11 a.m. Dr. Stephen Moore and student Emily Hood - Chapel 101 in Moody Coliseum
11 a.m. Grand Opening of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center in Moody Coliseum
The Grand Opening of the Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center will take place Sept. 2. The Grand Opening will be in Moody Coliseum at 11 a.m. RecFest will take place that night 11 p.m.- 6 a.m. RecFest includes Open Recreation (leisure pool, walleyball, basketball, shuffleboard, table tennis, air hockey, foosball, Wii and board games), demo classes, a movie and a pizza party. Students also can sign up for team tournaments. For more informa-tion go to acu.edu/srwc. Students can also sign up in the Campus Center Aug. 30. The deadline to sign up is Aug. 31.
Mario Santoso will present a piano con-cert on Sept. 2 in the Williams Performing Arts Center Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. This performance is a part of the ACU Guest Artist Series Concert.
“Noises Off!” will perform in Fulks Theater in the Williams Performing Arts Center, Sept. 1-3, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at acu.edu/theatre.
Anyone interested in pledging a social club can register online at acu.edu/socialclubs. Women must be registered by Sept. 4. Men
must be registered by Sept. 18. A mandatory information meeting will take place in Hart Auditorium on Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.
An informational meeting for anyone interested in being a Sing Song Host or Hostess will take place in Cullen Audi-torium on Sept. 7 at 11:30.
The Omega Dance Company will con-duct auditions Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. in the Rec Center. An informational meeting will take place Sept. 6 at 9 p.m. in Bible Building Room 103. A workshop will
also take place Sept. 9th at 6 p.m. in the Rec Center.
Shades will conduct auditions Sept. 12-15 from 8 - 10 p.m. in room 115 in the Bible Building. No experience is necessary.
A Part-Time Job Fair will take place at the Hardin-Simmons University Pond Area on Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. This casual fair will provide students with the opportunity to apply for jobs all over Abilene. For more information contact the Career Center at [email protected].
Volunteer Opp0rtunities
Volunteers are needed for the annual Ben Richey Boys Ranch Chili Superbowl on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3 - 4, between noon and 6 p.m. Help is needed in The Kid’s Place with games and activities for the children. Contact Dede Morris at 325-518-9536 or email [email protected].
The Service-Learning & Volunteer Resources office will host a Service Expo on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 8 - 9, from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on the main level of the Campus Center. Rep-resentatives from area agencies will be avail-able at their displays to discuss with students ways that they can vol-unteer and seve in our Abilene community.
Abilene Youth Sports Authority needs volun-teers for the Big Country
Mudslinger Fun Run on Saturday, Sept. 10, in shifts between 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Volunteers will help with parking, water stations, helping runners with various obstacles, and clean up at the end of the day. The event will take place at Seabee Park, FM 600 or Westlake Rd. Contact Katie Miller at 325-692-2972.
The Office of Minis-try Events is looking for student workers to help during Summit. Volunteers are needed to help with childcare, technology support, registration, labor, and rePlay recording. Shuttle service drivers (must be 21 or older) and recep-tionists/dispatchers are also needed. For more information or to sign up visit the ACU website.
The Big Brothers Big Sis-ters program is looking for volunteers to participate
in Lunch Buddies. Bigs and Littles wil enjoy lunch together at the child’s school once a week. Since visits are during chapel, students will receive chapel credit for each visit. Big Brothers Big Sisters is also looking for volun-teers for its community-based program. Bigs are matched with littles in a one-on-one relation-ship and spend four to six hours per month together in the community. A back-ground check is required. To sign up or learn more contact www.bbbstx.org or call 325-674-3113.
The Old Town Abilene Neighborhood Asso-ciation is looking for volunteers on Sept. 10 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. to help with their annual cleanup. Lunch will be provided. Contact Lydia Long at 325-676-4068 or 325-733-8345 or email [email protected]
read the optimist
iPad
iphone
online
ipod
Wednesday 08.31.113 campus newsNew Jason’s Deli opens near campus
Jason’s Deli has opened at a new location closer to campus.
The 35-year-old sandwich chain, founded in Beaumont, has had a location in South Abilene for six years.
The old location’s popu-larity often led to long lines and lack of seating.
“I think I ate there three times [in the last year],” said J.J. Blass, junior busi-ness management major from Arlington.
But with a new location in the Wal-mart parking lot on highway 351, students have a new option for quick,
convenient service.“Their service is pretty
good, and it is more con-venient than going across town,” said Blass.
The menu offers a selec-tion of salads, subs, specialty sandwiches, pasta and baked potatoes ranging from $5-8.
“I like it better than Sub-way,” said Blass. “It might be a little more expensive, but you get a different type of sandwich.”
The majority of customers are students at ACU, Hardin-Simmons and McMurry.
“We put this one closer to the colleges because that is what a majority of our busi-ness was,” said Rob Walthour, assistant manager.
The northside deli is still in its first two months of business. “It was slow up until about a week ago when schools got in,” said Wal-thour, “and since then we have been extremely busy.”
Jason’s Deli does not currently offer any student discounts, but it does offer perks through online order-ing. Customers can place pick up or delivery orders through jasonsdeli.com or their iPhone app. A per-centage of online orders is credited to accounts as “deli dollars” to be redeemed on future purchases.
ACU staff added 18 new faculty members to their ranks this semester.
Eleven departments have made additions to their faculty. These new members have come from all over the country, and over half of the new addi-tions previously attended ACU. According to some of these alumni, return-ing to ACU to work is like coming home.
The total number of new professors, 18, is down from the 24 additions last year and 20 in 2009.
Although several of the new faculty members did not go to school at ACU, they are just as excited to be a part of the university.
Dr. Libby McCurley, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutri-tion, became aware of ACU when she relocated
to Abilene with her hus-band. Although she did not previously attend the university, she is enthusi-astic about beginning her work.
“The primary reasons I decided to come to ACU are the affiliation the school has with the Church of Christ, the spirit of pride that seems to be present in both students and faculty and staff, and the excite-ment of the changes taking place in relation to kinesi-ology and nutrition, which is where I will be working,” said McCurley.
Ryan Jessup, assistant professor of management sciences and former ACU student, is returning to Abilene to teach this year
after living in California, Indiana and Ireland.
“It is both strange and wonderful to come back to ACU on faculty,” Jessup said. “Faculty members that I looked up to several years ago have now be-come my colleagues and friends.”
Jessup made the deci-sion to come to ACU be-cause of the university’s faith-centered environ-ment, an element he sought in a university.
“I think it is important for Christians to test and refine their faith through the crucible of a universi-ty which wants to prolong rather than suffocate the faith,” he said.
Jessup expounded on how the addition of new faculty is evidence that the university is continu-ing to be innovative. The new members are excited about becoming a part of ACU’s learning environ-ment.
“It’s wonderful to be here because Abilene has so many wonderful peo-ple,” Jessup said. “It truly is like a family on this campus.”
Ryan JessupAssistant professor of management sciences
Faculty members that I looked up to several years ago have now become my colleagues and friends.”“
The Cornerstone course re-quired for incoming fresh-men will take on a new look this semester in response to feedback from last year’s freshmen students.
Gregory Straughn, assis-tant provost for general edu-cation, said the new course would be focus on science, social science, art and theol-ogy and will have more co-hesion with the topics dis-cussed from week to week.
Straughn said faculty rep-resenting all departments voted on the concept of Cor-nerstone before it was impli-mented. Their goal was to de-velop a course that enabled
students to focus on the foun-dation of critical thinking.
“Students were the larg-est voice in the conver-saion,” Straughn said. “We owe the students the best experience possible and best preparation in their majors as possible.”
Carley Crawford, fresh-man English major from Hut-to, is enrolled in the course and said the class would focus on thinking critically, globally and missionally. She believes she will enjoy it throughout the semester.
“I like the people in it,” Crawford said. “I think it’s going to be really relaxed.”
Straughn said the week by week structure of last year’s Cornerstone did not effi-cently establish a clear con-
nection between topics. Also, the writing did not fit the scope of the class, he said.
“Last year we were build-ing the course as we went along,” Straughn said. “The fact that the entire course is completed and ready this year puts us in a much bet-ter place.”
Straughn said the writing assignment for the course now parallels the structure of the class and utilizes data and statistics as well as the point of view of arts and theology.
Kristina Campos will act as the hostess for the weekly lectures. She will introduce speakers and help the stu-dents make clear connec-tions from week to week while showing how the topics connect to the larger
picture, Straughn said.The course is now more
intent, focused and stream-lined than it has been pre-viously, Straughn said. Ad-ditionally, all the other core classes will be examined this semester to improving them for the spring semester.
The Cornerstone course will address what it means to think about assumptions, evidence and implications, Straughn said.
“Developing the thought process is something that really has to be practiced,” Straughn said. “Those ex-periences in Cornerstone class ... will serve anyone in any major.”
wednesday 08.31.11 4news
Pledging registration Sunday for women
Morgan Myer, psychology major from Richardson, was not entirely sure she wanted to pledge to a so-cial club when she signed up for rushing during her sophomore year at ACU.
Yet through rushing, Myer came to realize that social clubs were much more inclusive than they were credited to be, Myer said. She created lasting bonds with women – even if they didn’t join the same club that she did.
Now in her senior year
and serving as the presi-dent of GATA, Myer says she is excited to meet an-other new group of stu-dents as this year’s rushes begin. She looks forward to passing on the tradi-tions that have endured on campus for decades.
The deadline to regis-ter for pledging is Sunday for women and Sept. 18 for men, with teas for women taking place Sunday and rushes for all prospective pledges beginning Monday.
Rushes are an opportu-nity for students with soph-omore hours or higher to explore the different social clubs on campus without
the pressure to commit to any, said Mark Jackson, as-sociate director of student activities and programs.
Each of the eleven social clubs has about four rounds of rushes, Jackson said. Stu-dents who are registered for rushes can attend any and all of the clubs’ first rushes and get to know the clubs and their members. The lat-er rushes are by invitation only, Jackson said.
Social clubs give students an opportunity to experience everything that ACU has to offer, Jackson said. They par-ticipate in campus activities and outreaches and foster bonds that transcend normal
relationships. Jackson said he hopes every student will con-sider signing up for rushes.
“There’s a social club for each and every student who wants to pledge,” Jackson said.
Rushing was the time when Galaxy president Gra-ham Sensing, senior market-ing major from Abilene, was able to explore the social clubs and discover firsthand which club members and officers he most respected. He hopes students will take the oppor-tunity to form their opinions of social clubs based on their own personal experiences.
“Rush is a time to be open minded and meet all the
clubs and to try to see where your best fit would be,” Sens-ing said. “Set stereotypes aside and meet the guys at the social clubs yourself.”
Women have the oppor-tunity to become acquaint-ed with all of the female clubs at the Teas, which will take place from 1:30-5 p.m. on Sunday in Hart Audito-rium. Those rushing will be able to rotate through the clubs and spend 35 minutes with each, said Delta Theta President Chelsea Bayer, se-nior elementary education major from Carrollton.
Students must have an accumulative GPA of 2.5 to qualify for rushing. Rushes
will last from Monday-Sept. 16 with bids to be announced on Sept. 22, Jackson said.
Myer said she has never regretted her decision to sign up for rushing. GATA has been a family to her, and Myer said the friend-ships she has made there are worth all of the time and energy she has spent with the club.
“I met a whole group of girls I know I’d have never met,” Myer said. “We really became sisters.”
features special chapel ser-vices, and next week, Sept. 5-9, has been set as “Mis-sion Keeper’s Week.” Sum-mit follows a week after that, Sept. 18-21; afterward the regular Chapel schedule
will remain consistent.“I’ve always thought that
Monday chapels have been interesting,” said sophomore Meredith Beier, an informa-tion technology major from Flower Mound. “I’m looking forward to this semester.”
Monday’s will feature “Spirit vs Flesh,” and Tues-day’s are “Campus Con-versations.” Wednesday’s traditional “Come to the Quiet” precedes small group chapels on Thursday’s, and, Praise Days will continue to end the work week.
Throughout the semes-ter, students are required to obtain 55 Chapel credits out of more than 90 available.
Lewis encouraged stu-dents to check the chapel website, acu.edu/chapel, for all the available information on upcoming chapel news, schedule and policies, as well as referred to their email address and phone number for any further questions.
Randy Harris said he has known he wanted to be a profes-sor since his teen years.
“I tended to be one of the nerdy scholar types in high school,” Harris said. “I really liked reading books and liked learning, and I
had an insatiable curiosity about things, so the notion you could get paid for pursuing those pas-sions was really appealing to me.”
Known around campus as “O Great One” and “the Man in Black,” Harris has left his mark on many of the people he has encountered. Harris is an instructor in the De-partment of Bible, Missions and Ministry and is the spiritual direc-
tor of the College of Bible. But, he can be seen filling various other informal roles on campus, from a preacher to a practical jokester to a group mentor. Last year, students chose Randy Harris as the recipient of ACU’s Teacher of the Year award.
However, Harris’ influence does not end in the classroom. He said the best learning takes place outside of the classroom.
During his time in college, Harris was most deeply impact-ed by professors who invested in him outside of class. His graduate school teachers taught him rigor and how to ask hard questions.
“Ages 18 to 22 is a very form-able time in life. You do a lot of formation for better or worse dur-ing that time,” Harris said. “Being a critical thinker and an authen-tic follower of Jesus are the two things that I really want to instill in students, and I try to do that in class and out of class.”
Harris had a desire to form a community among students that nurtured commitment to follow-ing Jesus more radically. He be-lieved there were a number of men and women out there who would like to see how far they can go in their relationship with Christ, and he knew the near impossibility of taking that on alone.
He started mentoring a group of guys on campus with the hope that they will collectively act as salt and light where they are now while de-veloping an approach to life that will create habits and disciplines that can stay with them after they leave.
Seth Bouchelle, junior mis-sions major from Amarillo, is a member of the group and said that Harris is very good at facili-tating the kind of conversations that develop growth. Bouchelle said Harris tends to bring about more questions than answers in those discussions.
“I always get the sense that he’s really deeply invested in the people around him,” Bouchelle said. “If I could describe him in one word it would probably be the word ‘available’.”
Bouchelle said that Harris’ office doors are always open to students and that Harris will always be very upfront and honest about how he is growing as a Christ follower.
Harris mentored Casey McCol-lum, director of leadership camps and instructor in the Bible de-partment, when he was a student and now mentors a group of guys alongside him.
“He helped me right after I changed my major,” McCollum said. “Randy was the one that helped me embrace my call to ministry; he was just in my life at a really important time.”
McCollum said that Harris has a passion for the spiritual formation of college students and has an abil-ity to communicate with students in a way that is appealing to them.
“The thing about Randy is that, when he’s teaching to you, it has a conversational element to it,” Mc-Collum said. “Inside and outside of class he talks to you the same.”
In graduate school, Harris read a book by Richard Foster entitled
“Celebration of Discipline,” which he said was really the only book on spiritual disciplines at the time. He said it moved him and essen-tially saved his life at a time when he was in a tough situation.
Harris spent 40 days on a si-lent retreat with hermits, which also proved to be a life transform-ing experience. The lifestyles of monks caught his interest, and their approach to prayer trans-formed his thinking.
“There is a balance and a sanity to it which my life largely lacks,” Harris said. “In an envi-ronment like ours, workaholism is considered a virtue instead of a sin, but they embrace silence in that environment.”
Harris said he has spent the last dozen years trying to find people who can teach him more about prayer and he has gone all over the world trying to find those people.
“I try very hard not to have an American-centered vision,” Har-ris said. “We think America is the center of the Christian universe, and there are certainly more Christians in Africa, and the big-gest church in the world is in Ko-rea. We lose sight of all the work God’s doing in other places.”
Overall, Harris is unafraid to take challenges toward self-improvement that many would deem too difficult.
“I want to know what it’s like to experience a relationship with God that’s one level deeper than I’m currently experiencing and, when I find that out, what I want to know is one level be-yond that,” Harris said. “Every time I get drawn a little closer to the reality of God’s love, life im-proves significantly.”
Teacher of the year embraces humility Samantha sutherland
features editor
Top Right and Above: Randy Harris’ collection of monk figurines displayed in his office.Right: Randy Harris lecturing in his Tuesday morning class.
the issueRick Perry has taken the place of frontrunner in the race for GOP nomination.
our takeWhether Texans like Rick Perry or not, they must consider him a serious contender in this race.
Texans weigh options with Perry
wednesday 8.31.11 6Opinion
Hannah barneseditor in chief
Mark smithmanaging editor
jozie sandsopinion page editor
marissa fergusononline editor
christina burchmultimedia editor
daniel gomezchief photographer
david ian singer arts editor
samantha sutherlandfeatures editor
austin gwinsports director
bryson shakesports editor
john edward isaacsassistant sports editor
ellen smithcopy editor
christianna lewiscopy editor
ben miller cartoonist
melany coxpage 2 editor
amanda lambrightstaff photogrpaher
destiny hagoodstaff photographer
adrian patenaudestaff photographer
marcus bowenvideo project editor
kyle kramervideographer
philip miranda videographer
lucius patenaudevideographer
farron salleynews producer/anchor
taylor langstonsports producer/anchor
kristen goodspeedsports producer/anchor
blaine singletaryaudio broadcast reporter
cade whitefaculty adviser
kenneth pybusfaculty adviser
cara lee cranfordadvertising
newsroom
(325) 674-2439
sports desk
(325) 674-2684
photo department
(325) 674-2499
advertising office
(325) 674-2463
multimedia desk
(325) 674-2463
subscriptions ($40/Year)
(325) 674-2296
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the uni-versity 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 let-ters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing
personal attacks, obscen-ity, 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 27892Abilene, TX 79609
I never wanted to be the center of attention, so I’d cry every time friends and family sang “Happy Birth-day” to me. I was afraid to speak aloud in class, so my kindergarten teacher would let me whisper my answers in her ear. And my name? Oh, my name. It was different than ev-eryone else’s.
When I started going to school, though, people began to get it wrong. Of course, my family got it right, but everyone else said it wrong. I was thrilled. Finally, I had a normal name that other girls had. I became one of the Ashleys and Megans, normal girls with normal names.
When my parents called me my given name, I’d correct them. I did not want to be that girl with the weirdly pronounced name. My mom would argue with me and ex-plain that she gave me my name for a reason. I disregarded my mother’s words and continued in-troducing myself by what I wanted to be called.
But, when I began my junior year of high school, I began to realize some-thing. I did not want to be like everyone else – I want-ed to be different. I know, I know. Most high school kids come to this realiza-tion sooner or later. Nev-ertheless, it took me two years in which I forfeited my unique name pronun-ciation to understand that I no longer wanted to fit in.
How would I rename myself in the middle of high school? The truth is, I couldn’t.
I could not go back and tell all my friends that my name was not really what I had said it was. So I wait-ed.
Finally, college came. I wanted things to be dif-ferent. I wanted to stand out, in a good way. I de-cided to be myself, name
pronunciation and all.So I went for it during
Welcome Week with in-teresting results. People stopped me when I intro-duced myself, asked me to repeat my name and then questioned me about it.
“So it’s Hännah, not Han-nah?” people would ask.
“Yes, Haaaannah,” I’d re-ply. “It rhymes with Donna.”
“I’ve never heard it said that way before,” they’d say.
Then, I’d smile and take it as a compliment. I am proud to have a name that others have not heard before. After years of denying it, I finally came to my senses and realized my mom truly did have a reason for giv-ing me my name.
In the 16 days after Rick Perry announced his can-didacy for the GOP nomi-nation in the 2012 presi-dential race, he pushed his way to the front of the pack. Twenty-nine per-cent of Republicans and Republican leaning inde-pendents say they would vote for Perry. Mitt Rom-ney follows at 15 percent.
Perry is proving him-self to be a real contender in the race. Most national polls rank Perry within five or six percentage points of Obama when they are put side-by-side in a general election match-up. Gallup shows they are tied.
A UT/Texas Tribune poll found that a week before he announced his candidacy only four per-cent of Texans picked him as their preferred Repub-lican presidential nomi-nee. With Perry’s steep cuts in education spend-ing, veto crazes and his mega prayer rallies, it isn’t hard to see why some Tex-ans might be wary of the idea of handing over the nation’s reigns to him.
Perry’s case isn’t helped by the fact that the office of the Governor of Texas is designed to be weak, that the oil business is the reason Texas’ economy is
strong and that Texas is unable to go into debt (it’s written into the state’s Constitution).
But Texans do have to realize that, like it or not, he is a viable – but not guaranteed – candidate for the GOP nomination.
Polled Republicans who support the Tea Party are falling fast for Perry’s conservative spending and stance on governmental power. These give him 35 per-cent of their support in the latest Gallup Poll, in which Michelle Bach-man, U.S. Representative from Minnesota and Tea
Party darling, is coming in at 17 percent.
Perry is also starting to leach away Republicans who emphasise business and economy from Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts.
Social issue and mor-al values voters, though they are a small group, are gung-ho for Perry.
But the Texan Gover-nor’s success in the polls is partly due to his late entry into the race. He can only avoid the grim fate of past late-entering candidates if he can keep his recognition on the rise and remain a viable
candidate into the early primaries. His Tea Party friendly politics, appar-ently clean past and West Texas charm have created a front-runner who won’t be taken down easily.
Texans have known him as governor for 11 years and elected him three times, making him the nation’s longest serving governor.
Whether a Texas voter
has supported Perry in the past, he can’t count him in or out, yet. Voters need to weigh their op-tions and start planting signs and making phone calls for someone.
1:35 p.m. Aug. 2910:48 a.m. Aug. 29 9:55 a.m. Aug. 29
12:05 p.m. Aug. 29 2:16 p.m. Aug. 30
10:51 p.m. Aug. 28Finding out I was in the Optimist today made me a little less sad. And also kind of concerned about ACU news. Thanks
@overheardACU “Have you taken sex-ed yet?” “I’m just reading the bible to learn how to do it”
Why must the men at abilene christian uni-versity be so got dang attractive?:)
This morning a fresh-man asked if I was the professor of the class. Not quite. #ACUteach-ersdontweartanktop-sandshorts
send your tweets @acuoptimist, or #aCU, to get your tweets printed in the Optimist.
well, this is awkwardmark smith
LOL, u rly shud read this, its FTW :)))
Call me old-fashioned, but I like talking to people.
In person.This may seem “weird” or
“ancient” or “individualis-tic,” but hear me out on this.
See, there’s something about face-to-face interac-tion that Facebook and tex-ting just can’t quite offer. Computers and phones are all the rage right now (just wait till this Internet fad is over), but they can’t replace the perks and features ex-clusive to face-to-face com-munication.
Exclusive is a fancy word. I’m going to write my next column about that. Not the word exclusive, but big, fan-cy words in general.
This might seem choppy,
but that’s mostly due to my short attention span. This is an exclusive (whoa, there’s that word again) look at how my brain functions. It takes some getting used to.
You can’t include genuine facial expressions in text. Whilst sad, add a little :( to your message. If you can’t decide how you really feel about a certain situation, simply add :/. Of course, if you’re really, really happy, add in some extra chins :))).
Do people really stick their tongues out as much as they do on Facebook posts?
You can’t do a sing-song voice or a confused face or a hug through texting (some-how, “*hug” just isn’t the same).
The reader may think, “But Mark, you text me all the time!” Or “Mark, you post stuff on Facebook as much as a lot of people!” Or “Hey, you never text me! Jerk!” Yes, I text and Face-book with the best of them, but I’d much rather talk to you in person. These medi-ums are merely adjuncts.
I understand the appeal of shortening words so as to improve typing speed. But shudnt jus lernin how 2 type usin propr grmmr mo fastr B mo enticing?
There is a difference between there, their and they’re. We learned this in kindergarten, and it is still truth. Same with your, you’re and the ever-popular yore.
Don’t get me started on LOL, ROFL, and SMH. I’ve never felt compelled to risk injury by laying down on the floor so that I can roll around because something is funny. I’ve also never told
anyone, “I’m shaking my head at what you said, see-ing as how I disagree.”
Also, is “I love you” really so ridiculously long that we needed to shorten it to ily? I wouldn’t really want to tell my girlfriend “Ily so much that I didn’t bother to write out all ten letters.”
Of course, I don’t have a girlfriend.
Maybe it’s because I don’t say ily.
Now that I’ve reached the end of this column, I’ve re-alized how critical it is of the written word, which seems self-defeating. You couldn’t catch my use of inflection. You didn’t hear my tone of voice change with the new sentence.
Come find me and I’ll read it to you with full facial expressions and hand motions.
ACU quarterback Mitchell Gale begins his junior campaign in a tough envi-ronment at Tarelton State. The Texans will look to exact some revenge after last year’s 65-3 beat down at the hands of the Wildcats.
When awards were doled at the be-ginning of the 2011 football season it wasn’t a surprise to see Wildcat de-fensive end Aston Whiteside’s name on the list.
In the last five seasons, ACU head coach Chris Thomsen has certainly made a name for himself. Since going 4-6 in his first season with the Wild-cats, Coach T. has a record of 43-18.
This year Tarleton will get quarterback Nick Stephens back under center. Last year, due to injury, Stephens missed the game against ACU, contributing to the lopsided score. The Wildcats will also get a key player back in running back Reggie Brown. Brown missed all of in the 2010 with a knee injury after having a breakout 2009 year. He, along with Daryl Richardson and Charcandrick West, will form a three-headed beast in the ACU backfield.
After last year’s embar-rassment and with the home crowd at their back, the Texans want to get even. Too bad this year’s ACU team might be just as good as 2010’s. I don’t expect another 62 point drub-bing, but I don’t see this one ever being close, as Gale will begin a cam-paign for the Harlon Hill award.
Junior quarterback Mitchell Gale begins his second year at the helm of the Wildcat offense with a bang. While the name appeal of teams past is not there at the skill posi-tions, the depth and speed of the offense will prove deadly to the Tarleton defense. ACU will show its teeth in impressive fashion.
Tarleton State is try-ing to avoid last year’s embarassing 65-3 de-feat at the hands of the Wildcats this season. 2011’s game will be no different. Mitchell Gale will have a monster game, and the ACU defense, lead by senior Aston Whiteside, will keep Tarleton on it’s heels offensively.
In last season’s game against the ‘Cats, it was almost as if the Texans forgot to show up. While Tarleton is certainly hoping to redeem them-selves from last year’s thrashing, it still won’t nearly be enough. As Mitchell Gale returns with even more experi-ence, it’s safe to say ACU will win this battle eas-ily.
He is first team all-American and the Lone Star Con-ference’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The LSC award is Whiteside’s second straight as he led the ‘Cats last year with seven sacks. The Texans struggled last season on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 30 or more points eight out of eleven games. ACU’s D was much more solid allowing only 30+ points twice. The Wildcats get the edge thanks to last year’s stellar play. Don’t expect the Texans to go down easy, however.
He has won four LSC South Coach of the Year titles in his six seasons and cemented his legacy as a Wildcat. For the Texans, head coach Cary Fowler will enter his second season. His rookie year didn’t go well, as Tarle-ton only won three games. This season will be the first for Texan offensive coordinator Lee Hays. Hays was previously at the University of Huston as an offensive assistant. With the unproven aspect of TSU’s staff, the edge clearly goes to ACU.
Pick: ACU 48-14 Pick: ACU 35-14 Pick: ACU 34-13 Pick: ACU 45-10
“We’ve developed a very good relationship with Sud-denlink,” said Houser. “It’s a win-win situation for both of us. We get the exposure for our athletic teams, and they, in turn get us driving customers to Suddenlink Cable.”
Houser then elaborated on the significance of the deal.
“This would be the larg-est deal we’ve ever had for our athletic department as far as I know,” he said.
When asked about the future, he commented, “Eventually we’d like to put live sporting events on tele-vision.”
The total number of Wildcat match-ups played on Suddenlink Digital Cable in the two years will be be-tween 40 and 50, and over
75 games will broadcast on the radio and on acusports.com.
The first Wildcat game Suddenlink will show will be the girl’s volleyball match against West Texas A&M University in Abilene on Sept. 22.
Those wishing to hear the Wildcat football games can tune their radios to Mix 92.5 FM, where you will hear the voice of ACU sportsbradcast-er Grant Boone on the mi-crophone reporting the play-by-play action for his fourth season.
All the other ACU ath-letic events on the radio can be found on KSLI 1280 AM.
In addition to these me-dia outlets, KTXS-TV will show The Chris Thomsen show, which is produced by ACU students and hosted by Boone and JMC/Net-work Sports Director Austin Grin, will air every Saturday beginning Aug. 27.
The ACU Coaches’ Show is also returning this year to KSLI 1280 AM starting Sept. 12. It is a one-hour show taking place on the back pa-tio of Buffalo Wild Wings ev-ery Monday night at 7 p.m.
The ACU baseball team announced the signing of 11 newcomers to its 2011-2012 roster in an effort to improve upon last year’s uncharacteristic season. This announcement is in addition to the 11 players that were announced earlier in the year that would be joining the Wildcats. Kyle Conwell is the standout among the class as he is junior college transfer and was a 22nd round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The ACU athletic department announced the ticket and sports pass prices for the upcoming yea in the ACU Athletics Office. The Fall Sports Pass can be purchased at a single rate of $49 and is good for admission to all home volleyball and football games.
Last year’s season included a 17-3 record, a Lone Star Con-ference tournament cham-pionship, and constant re-writing of the record book.
This season, the Wildcat womens’ soccer team may rightfully find living up to last year’s standard difficult.
But, the 2011-12 Wildcats will rely on depth and experi-ence to serve as catalysts this season in an effort to contin-ue building that resume.
“Expectations around here are high, and that is speaking strictly from a coach’s and player’s point of view, not encompassing anything the media is saying about us or the upcoming season,” Head Coach Casey Wilson said. “But that’s because we know what we’re capable of based on our success last season.”
Success would be an understatement.
In only the program’s fourth year of existence, Wilson and his staff led the Wildcats to a 17-3 record, a conference championship, national prominence, and a team that included two All-Americans and four first team all-conference players.
“Last year was the best year in our program’s histo-ry,” Wilson said. “The plan is to definitely build upon that this year.”
The team seems to have all the pieces of the puzzle in place to do just that with sev-eral integral pieces returning.
The Wildcats return 13 players from last year’s roster and plan on fully taking advantage of that, said Wilson.
“We had lots of young players contribute last year, and with a year un-der their belt now, they have grown in every phase of the game and should reap the benefits of expe-rience,” he said.
If the ’Cats are going to win, they will have to put points on the scoreboard, and statistically, the num-bers are in their corner.
ACU returns 84 percent of their offensive produc-tion from last year through returning players.
“We have offensive threats all over the board. From An-drea to Ashley, Lyndsey to Krysta, all of them can make you pay if given the opportu-nity,” junior midfielder Julie Coppedge said. “If you’re go-ing to focus on one of them, the others will find a way to
make you pay. That’s the true definition of teamwork.”
Forwards Andrea Car-penter and Ashley Holton will return as the main scoring threats for the Wildcat offense. Those two combined to score 54 per-cent of the team’s points last season, and defenses are sure to make them the focus of their game plan.
But there comes a prob-lem with that. And that prob-lem, according to Coppedge, lies simply in numbers.
“That’s fine if defenses key on those two. They have earned that respect. Andrea and Ashley are so great about passing and making opportunities for
others around them,” she said. “Everyone on the field is capable of con-tributing, and it’s simply a matter of finding them at the right time and making the most of the opportu-ites presented.”
Defensively, ACU will be strong as well. The team returns senior goalkeeper Elliott London along with defenders Brie Buschman and Lexi Stirling.
Last year, the defensive unit produced 10 shutouts and allowed less than one goal per game.
The Wildcats lost several players to graduation, in-cluding starters Bree Craig and Anastasia Nelson, but Coppedge says while their spots can’t be filled, the in-coming class has done well in bridging the gap and adding depth to the roster.
“Freshman-wise, we have some incredible talent. They have already started making a difference and all should see playing time,” she said. “We have a really talented group of girls.”
Wilson echoed Coppedge saying, “We were definitely blessed with a great freshmen class. All bring something to the table and contribute in different ways to the team.”
The No. 21 Wildcats will open their season Thurs-day at 5 p.m. against Dal-las Baptist at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch.
Danieal Manning saw a change of scenery as he was traded from the Chicago Bears to the Houston Texans this summer after a five-year stint in Chicago. He has two tackles in each of the first two preseason games so far.
Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox has started off his third season with Chicago on the right foot. He has three receptions so far and is coming off a near-1,000 yard receiving season.
Second-year running back Bernard Scott rushed for 63 yards on six carries and scored one touchdown for the Bengals in their third preseason game against the Panthers.
The women’s soccer team will host Dallas Baptist University Thursday at 5 p.m at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch.
Volleyball will play in the St. Mary’s Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday in San Antonio.
Football will travel to Stephenville Thursday to take on Tarleton State at 7 p.m. at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
Cross Country will compete at the Baylor Twilight Invitational Thursday in Waco.
football
volleyball
Women’s Soccer
standings
briefings
EX- FACTOR
Upcoming
Casey Wilsonhead coach,
acu women’s soccer team
Expectations around here are high...but that’s
because we know what we’re capable of.”“
The Big 12 Conference could be seeing a major change soon.
According to sources, Texas A&M University president R. Bowen Loftin talked with Big 12 Confer-ence board chairman Bra-dy Deaton Monday night about A&M leaving the conference.
A&M stated its desire to join the South East-ern Conference before this meeting.
Two weeks ago, SEC presidents and chancel-lors said they were happy with the current situa-tion of the conference.
However, they are open to expansion in the future. A&M will forfeit at least $20 million if they leave the conference. The Big 12 saw a shake-up in July when the Universities of Colorado and Nebraska both decid-ed to depart for the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively.
If Texas A&M does de-cide to scramble to the SEC, they will join power-house teams such as the University of Florida, the University of Alabama, and Louisiana State University. All these teams have won a national championship in the past ten years.
One reason for A&M’s desire to join the SEC could be because of the creation of The Longhorn Network for the University of Texas.The network is a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN and will just cover all Longhorn athletics.
As a diehard Long-horn fan, I am saddened by the Aggies’ wish for a new conference, even if it is the infamous SEC.Texas A&M and Texas have a rich rivalry dating back to 1894.
Since that date, the two teams have played a staggering 110 times, and the games between the Aggies and Longhorns are always intense.
This move would de-stroy over 100 years of emotion, sweat, blood, and tears left behind by play-ers like Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell, and Colt McCoy.
Not only would the move diminish the rivalry but Texas Tech and Baylor also have a history against the Aggies.
For the sake of the Big 12 Conference and Texas fans alike, seeing A&M leave would definitely be a sad sight.
Big 12 is WACCanadian CowboyEdward isaacs
daniel gomez chief Photographer
Sophomore forward Andrea Carpenter kicks a ball during practice. Carpenter will be a big part of the Wildcats’ offense.
Partnership brings more coverage
Nearly 50 ACU sporting events will be available for Suddenlink Cable subscrib-ers this year. ACU and Sud-denlink Cable have recently agreed to a partnership to broadcast Wildcat games on Suddenlink’s On-Demand Digital Cable feature.
ACU Sports Media Net-work also broadcasts on the radio, internet, and over-the-air television.
During the years 2011-12, fans have the oppor-tunity to view ACU on the internet, on This TV Abilene, and on Sudden-link On-Demand. ACU’s own sports website, acus-ports.com, will air the reg-ular-season home football games first. On the next day (Sunday), This TV will air them in the afternoon.
John Houser, assistant athletic director of opera-tions and the catalyst be-hind this operation, said of the deal with Suddenlink,
“We’re trying to expand the opportunities for our coaches and for our fans. This gives alumni of ACU, fans, and current students the opportunity to watch 40-50 games a year and still feel a part of the ACU community no matter where they are.”
Athletic Director Jared Mosley spoke of the mag-nitude of the deal and the opportunities it presents.
“John Houser deserves a lot of credit for getting the deal put together,” Mosley
said. “I think it’s great. It’s big for the athletic depart-ment. We’ll continue to talk with Suddenlink and grow this relationship and maybe other deals will flourish in the future.”
These sports, like foot-ball, will air live on acus-ports.com, and Suddenlink Digital Cable will later re-broadcast them. Only Sud-denlink Digital Cable sub-scribers will have access to these Wildcat games.
Suddenlink transmits its channels in what is known as the 19 Big Country counties and be seen around the state.
