A product of the JMC Network of student media at Abilene Christian University.
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Man it feels good to watch a gangster Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in the movie based on a true story, American Gangster, page 3 Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Abilene Christian University Serving the ACU community since 1912 November 9, 2007 FRIDAY Vol. 96, No. 21 1 sections, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com THE Bowl for kids sake SA will sponsor two bowling teams this weekend to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters, page 5 Final Countdown ACU faces Midwestern State in the final LSC game to ensure a playoff berth, page 8 O PTIMIST By Laura Acuff STUDENT REPORTER Nineteen directors were chosen Nov. 2 for the 14 acts in Sing Song 2008, “World Tour.” The produc- tion will consist of customary per- formances by classes and social clubs in addition to a combined performance by Essence of Ebony, Hispanos Unidos and the Interna- tional Students’ Association. One director, Rebecca Hopkins, said she loves this responsibility. “I heard about the director spot, and it just sounded like something I would love to do — organizing something this big,” said Hopkins, a communication sciences and disor- ders major from Edmond, Okla. According to Hopkins, 11 people applied for the two freshman direc- tor positions, submitting a written application, interviewing and sing- ing for the spots. Matt Greenberg, Sing Song co- chair in charge of all stage activi- ties, said directors who are chosen by class senators for class acts and by the clubs themselves for club acts, must complete significant Directors named for class, club acts By Lauren Hyde STUDENT REPORTER The Alumni Chorus has do- nated $15,000 to the ACU vo- cal department in the Williams Performing Arts Center. The Alumni Chorus is a group of people that graduated from ACU in the past two to 40 years ago. The group gives back to the vocal department at ACU by donating money mainly for scholarship purposes. The alumni have donated since the mid to late 1980s and would like to continue donating. The $15,000 donation was given to the vocal department for students who are singers and interested in joining the chorus at ACU but do not have the funds to do so. The money also helps the chorus go on tour throughout the semesters and helps to buy the instru- ments needed for practice and performances. In the last four years the Alumni Chorus has donated $16,000 to $20,000, so the $15,000 donation this year is important for the vocal de- partment, said Dr. Gregory Straughn, chair of the Depart- ment of Music and assistant professor of music. Because the budget has not increased in the last few years in the music depart- ment, the alumni are there to fill in the holes. “Without it we would be in very bad shape,” said Mike Scarbrough, director of choral activities. “All of the choral alumni care very much for the stu- dents,” Scarbrough said. “They would like to see them suc- ceed and achieve a high level of education.” The Alumni Chorus con- gregates several times throughout the year. It has a reunion every two years and puts together CDs for people at ACU to buy. At the reunion last Au- gust, the chorus made a CD titled “Sweet Will of God” that is now available. The fees from that reunion, past CD sales and donations went toward the vocal depart- ment and will be the way the Alumni Chorus is able to do- nate each time. In January the Alumni Cho- rus and A cappella will join to record another CD to be an ac- cumulation of old hymns, Scar- brough said. Vocal department receives $15,000 By Kelsi Peace MANAGING EDITOR The Students’ Association dis- cussed Chapel, dipped into the Con- gressional discretionary fund and created a temporary Chaplain posi- tion on Wednesday in another mara- thon meeting. Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president of student life, fielded re- sponses from Congress members, telling them now is the time for change in Chapel. “We’re really trying to understand what will connect for you,” Thomp- son said. A recurring theme throughout discussion was the need for speak- ers and messages to challenge the student body. “We need it to be worth our time,” sophomore senator David Vander- pool said. Some representatives lauded Tuesday’s campus conversations for the hard-hitting discussions, but many agreed the constant change left them slightly baffled and feeling they had no place to go. “Chapel to me has become a mov- ing class,” Rep. Tony Godfrey said. Representatives also called for a return to campus-wide Chapel more often in Moody Coliseum, agreeing that the sense of community cre- ated there becomes an invaluable memory at ACU. Some blamed the stringent attendance requirements for the lack of attention, while oth- ers said the often-repeating mes- sages and themes that skirt tough or taboo issues bores students. Thompson fields questions over likes, dislikes of Chapel format KATIE GAGER CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Rachel Harris, junior family studies major from Midland, receives two free tickets for free Starbucks coffee from Hannah Anderson, junior elementary education major from Waco, for Sadies Week in the Campus Center on Thursday. KATIE GAGER CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Vice president of student life, Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, listens to feedback about Chapel from Students’ Association Congress and students at Wednesday’s meeting in Hart Auditorium. SA voices Chapel concerns Tall, dark and handsome ... coffee that is See DIRECTORS page 7 E-mail Hyde at: [email protected]See CHAPEL page 7 n Freshmen — Rebecca Hopkins and Bobby Kelly n Sophomores — Wade Huggins and Chris Herrington n Juniors — Carrie Gallman n Seniors — Jessica Jennings and Shaley Lucas n Sub T-16 — Sheldon Busch n Ko Jo Kai — Jamie Lyn Spires n Alpha Kai Omega — Josie Shepherd n Delta Theta — Erin Bracken n Frater Sodalis — Evan Anderson n Galaxy — Bradley Steele, Ryan Stephen n Gata — Allyson Keker and Lyndsay Ice n Gamma Sigma Phi — Cash Teague n Sigma Theta Chi — Randy Yeats SING SONG CLASS AND CLUB DIRECTORS
Transcript
Man it feels good to watch a gangsterDenzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in the movie based on a true story, American Gangster, page 3
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Abilene Christian University Serving the ACU community since 1912
November 9, 2007
FRIDAY
Vol. 96, No. 21
1 sections, 8 pageswww.acuoptimist.com
THE
Bowl for kids sakeSA will sponsor two bowling teams this weekend to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters, page 5
Final CountdownACU faces Midwestern State in the final LSC game to ensure a playoff berth, page 8
OPTIMIST
By Laura AcuffStudent RepoRteR
Nineteen directors were chosen Nov. 2 for the 14 acts in Sing Song 2008, “World Tour.” The produc-tion will consist of customary per-formances by classes and social clubs in addition to a combined performance by Essence of Ebony, Hispanos Unidos and the Interna-
said she loves this responsibility. “I heard about the director spot,
and it just sounded like something I would love to do — organizing something this big,” said Hopkins, a communication sciences and disor-ders major from Edmond, Okla.
According to Hopkins, 11 people applied for the two freshman direc-
tor positions, submitting a written application, interviewing and sing-ing for the spots.
Matt Greenberg, Sing Song co-chair in charge of all stage activi-ties, said directors who are chosen by class senators for class acts and by the clubs themselves for club acts, must complete significant
Directors named for class, club acts
By Lauren HydeStudent RepoRteR
The Alumni Chorus has do-nated $15,000 to the ACU vo-cal department in the Williams Performing Arts Center.
The Alumni Chorus is a group of people that graduated from ACU in the past two to 40 years ago. The group gives back to the vocal department at ACU by donating money mainly for scholarship purposes. The alumni have donated since the mid to late 1980s and would like to continue donating.
The $15,000 donation was given to the vocal department for students who are singers and interested in joining the chorus at ACU but do not have the funds to do so. The money also helps the chorus go on tour throughout the semesters
and helps to buy the instru-ments needed for practice and performances.
In the last four years the Alumni Chorus has donated $16,000 to $20,000, so the $15,000 donation this year is important for the vocal de-partment, said Dr. Gregory Straughn, chair of the Depart-ment of Music and assistant professor of music.
Because the budget has not increased in the last few years in the music depart-ment, the alumni are there to fill in the holes.
“Without it we would be in very bad shape,” said Mike Scarbrough, director of choral activities.
“All of the choral alumni care very much for the stu-dents,” Scarbrough said. “They would like to see them suc-
ceed and achieve a high level of education.”
The Alumni Chorus con-gregates several times throughout the year. It has a reunion every two years and puts together CDs for people at ACU to buy.
At the reunion last Au-gust, the chorus made a CD titled “Sweet Will of God” that is now available. The fees from that reunion, past CD sales and donations went toward the vocal depart-ment and will be the way the Alumni Chorus is able to do-nate each time.
In January the Alumni Cho-rus and A cappella will join to record another CD to be an ac-cumulation of old hymns, Scar-brough said.
Vocal department receives $15,000
By Kelsi PeaceManaging editoR
The Students’ Association dis-cussed Chapel, dipped into the Con-gressional discretionary fund and created a temporary Chaplain posi-tion on Wednesday in another mara-thon meeting.
Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president of student life, fielded re-sponses from Congress members, telling them now is the time for change in Chapel.
“We’re really trying to understand what will connect for you,” Thomp-son said.
A recurring theme throughout
discussion was the need for speak-ers and messages to challenge the student body.
“We need it to be worth our time,” sophomore senator David Vander-pool said.
Some representatives lauded Tuesday’s campus conversations for the hard-hitting discussions, but
many agreed the constant change left them slightly baffled and feeling they had no place to go.
“Chapel to me has become a mov-ing class,” Rep. Tony Godfrey said.
Representatives also called for a return to campus-wide Chapel more often in Moody Coliseum, agreeing that the sense of community cre-
ated there becomes an invaluable memory at ACU. Some blamed the stringent attendance requirements for the lack of attention, while oth-ers said the often-repeating mes-sages and themes that skirt tough or taboo issues bores students.
Thompson fields questions over likes, dislikes of Chapel format
katie GaGer CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rachel Harris, junior family studies major from Midland, receives two free tickets for free Starbucks coffee from Hannah Anderson, junior elementary education major from Waco, for Sadies Week in the Campus Center on Thursday.
katie GaGer CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Vice president of student life, Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, listens to feedback about Chapel from Students’ Association Congress and students at Wednesday’s meeting in Hart Auditorium.
Sadies Week is this week. Pick up tickets in the Campus Center each day after Chapel.
Thanksgiving holidays will begin at 8 a.m. on Nov. 21, rather than on Nov. 20 as the ACU student planner says. This means all Tuesday classes, including evening classes, will meet that day.
The Intercollegiate Celebra-tion Service Day is Saturday. Join Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University in a service day for the community. Look for signups this week in the Campus Center.
Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is holding an Etiquette Dinner
and Fashion Show on Tuesday in the Campus Center Living Room. Cost of attendance requires two meal plans.
Not sure what to do this summer? How about spending the summer in New York working at Camp Shiloh? Camp Shiloh is a Christian summer camp where chil-dren from New York City’s toughest neighborhoods enjoy games, camp-outs and other activities that enrich their lives socially and spiritually. Camp Shiloh is now accepting appli-cations for its summer 2008 staff. For more information or to download an application, visit www.shilohnyc.org or e-mail [email protected].
Program deadline for the December Commencement.
7:30 p.m.The Paramount Theatre will show the classic film “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
10 a.m.The Jostens Ring Event for se-niors will take place in the Campus Store until 2 p.m.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Calendar Events& The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.
To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.
Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.
About This Page
Friday, November 9, 2007
Announcements
12 Monday09Friday 10 Saturday 13 Tuesday
CreditedChapelsto date:
CreditedChapelsremaining:
Chapel Checkup5020
Volunteer OpportunitiesProvide Thanksgiving meals to
families in need. Collect donations and turn them into the Volunteer Service-Learning Center by Nov. 14. Meals will be delivered Nov. 19.
Love and Care Ministries, in partnership with Arrow Ford, will hold its annual Mission Thanks-giving on Nov. 16. Volunteers are needed from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. to unload and load donations of food, clothing and money at the Arrow Ford dealership, which is located at 4001 S. 1st St. These goods will benefit the homeless and needy in the Abilene community. Volunteers are also needed from 8 a.m.-noon on Nov. 17 to help unload trailers at Love and Care Ministries, which is located at 234 Fannin. For more information, contact Aubi Martinez at (325) 692-9500, ext. 239.
The Salvation Army needs volunteers to help with a Thanksgiv-
ing lunch on Nov. 22 from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Salvation Army. Volunteers will assist with setting up, serving lunch and cleaning up. For more information, contact Cecilia Barahona at (325) 672-1408.
The Veterans Administration needs help with a Thanksgiv-ing lunch on Nov. 22 from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the Abilene Civic Center. Volunteers will help serve lunch and clean up. For more information, contact Jim DeFoor at (325) 674-1328.
Hendrick Hospice Care needs volunteers to accept donations at its “Light up a Life” tree, which will be located at the Mall of Abilene in the courtyard in front of Dillard’s for men. Shifts are available seven days a week in two-hour increments from Nov. 19-Jan. 5. For more infor-mation, contact Jennifer Forrest or Brooke Hearon at (325) 677-8516.
9:30 a.m.Virtuous African Heritage Sisterhood (VAHS) will meet at Nelson Hall for “Pancakes and Prayer.” Bring a Bible and sides like bacon, hash browns, eggs and various kinds of syrup. Come dressed in pajamas.
2 and 7:30 p.m.The Paramount Theatre will show the classic film “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
8 p.m.An interest meeting will be held at Monks coffee shop for anyone interested in participating in mis-sion work in Russia.
10 a.m.The Jostens Ring Event for se-niors will take place in the Campus Store until 2 p.m.
Be watching for the new ACU emergency alert system signup links coming soon. The service is free and helps get emergency information out to everyone immediately.Report all suspicious activity to the ACU Police Department at (325) 674-2305.
Mon., Oct. 29, 20072:51 a.m. Suspicious subject in the courtyard of University Park Apart-ments, was student cooking1:30 p.m. Theft of a bicycle4:45 p.m. Student reporting harass-ment at Smith Hall, no report made5:15 p.m. Suspicious vehicle at 600 EN 16th, checked, no one around
Tues., Oct. 30, 2007 3:59 p.m. Report of suspicious male at 2200 Campus Court
Wed., Oct. 31, 20071 a.m. Report of noise violation at 500 EN 21st, checked unable to locate8:18 p.m. Received call in reference to party at 500 College, checked, no party 10:28 p.m. Noise violation at 1400 Cedar Crest, contacted resident, did comply 11:47 p.m. Noise violation at 500 EN 20th, spoke to resident, did comply
Thurs., Nov. 1, 2007 12:36 a.m. Discovered vehicle with door open at Sikes Hall, contacted owner 3:20 p.m. Vehicle hit and run accident at Sherrod Apartments, no report 3:30 p.m. Issued criminal
trespass warning to student at McKinzie Hall 4:45 p.m. Theft of bike at Mabee Lot
Fri., Nov. 2, 2007 12:13 a.m. Report of suspicious vehicle at University Park Lot, un-able to locate 2:55 a.m. Report of noise viola-tion at courtyard of University Park Apartments, unable to locate 3:20 p.m. Burglar alarm at McKinzie Hall, checked, all okay3:30 p.m. Report of alcohol law violations off campus 4:08 p.m. Assisted Resident Direc-tor at Mabee that was locked out of his room 5:10 p.m. Vehicle hit and run ac-cident in the Campus Center Lot11:10 p.m. Recovered stolen bike
Sat., Nov. 3, 20072:19 p.m. Medical emergency at Campus Center Lot 3:37 p.m. Medical emergency at Mabee Hall7:15 p.m. Report of open fire in the backyard of 600 EN 18th, fire was extinguished
Sun., Nov. 4, 20078:50 a.m. Assisted Abilene PD with disturbance at Kentucky Fried Chicken on Judge Ely
Police LogEdited for space
ACU Police Tip of the Week
Page 3November 9, 2007
ArtsFridAyOptimist
BOX OFFICE statsNewly released movies and gross rates for Nov. 2- Nov. 4.
n American Gangster (R): $46.3 Million
n Bee Movie (PG): $39.1 Million
n Saw IV (R): $11 Million
n Dan in Real Life (PG-13): $8.1 Million
COmIng sOOnMovies opening Friday:
n Fred Claus (PG), starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins and Miranda Richardson. It’s not easy being the brother of a beloved saint, Nicholas Claus (Giamatti). Fred Claus (Vaughn) struggles for years to try to live up to his brother, but has finally given up. Fred ends up in jail for stealing and repossessing items. Nicholas will not stand for his brother in jail, so he agrees to set bail if Fred will go to the North Pole and help make toys for the upcoming Christmas season. Fred isn’t nearly as productive as any of the elves and decides to test his brother’s patience and how far the saint can be pushed before he reaches his breaking point.
n P2 (R), starring Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols. A workaholic decides to work late on Christmas Eve to close one last deal before the holiday. Finished with her work and already late to her family dinner, she rushes down to the parking garage to race home. She tries to start the car but it will not turn on and she has no phone signal. Thankfully, a security guard appears and offers to help. During their conversation the security guard is flirtatious and invites her to have Christmas dinner with him in the parking office. The next thing Angela knows, she is tied up in the security office on level P2. Angela struggles to escape and make it out alive to live to the next Christmas.
n Lions for Lambs (R), starring Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Michael Pena. Two university students follow the inspiration of their professor, Dr. Malley (Redford), and do something important with their lives and join the battle in Afghanistan. Both students lives rely on the decisions made by the government. In Washington D.C., Senator Irving (Cruise) is about to give a bombshell story to a TV journalist (Streep) that may affect Afghanistan. All the stories impact each other.
By Lydia MelbyContributing Writer
The question American Gangster, Ridley Scott’s new-est film continuously asks its audience throughout its length of 137 minutes is “Who are you? When every-thing else is gone, when no one else is around, when all you have is yourself, who will you be?”
The movie, based on a true story, chronicles the rise and fall of 1960s Har-lem drug lord and criminal Frank Lucas (played by Den-zel Washington), and the struggle of the outcast de-tective Richie Roberts (Rus-sell Crowe) fighting to bring justice back to the streets.
Scott tries to offer an in-trospective look into the crime and drug situation of the 1960s and the corrup-tion of the enforcement sys-tem that lead to it.
Nearly three-quarters of the men in the police force in New York City are un-principled rats, taking drug-money bribes and sides in the drug-wars, and Frank Lu-cas has no difficulty coming to power as the biggest drug distributor in New York in the midst of all the turmoil.
One of the main themes running through this mov-ie is one of identity. Wash-ington’s character tells his brothers “You are what you are in this world... Ei-ther you’re somebody, or you ain’t nobody,” and this memorable quote high-lights the stress the movie places on staying with your identity and values.
Crowe’s character is a beaten-down detective and womanizing, absent father going through a divorce that may take away his son. His only redeeming quality is the honesty and justice he determinedly clings to. Within the first half-hour of the movie, Roberts and his partner discover $1 million of unregistered bills in the trunk of a drug-runner’s car and, despite his partner’s pleading that they keep it, Richie turns it in to his superiors, and the rest of his action in the movie is defined by this critical choice. It is fre-quently referred to, with many characters asking if he really did what they’ve heard and why. Though he answers sheepishly that he sometimes wishes he hadn’t turned in the mon-ey, he still holds that it was the right decision.
The film also provides an interesting dichotomy between the two main char-acters, as it seems that Lu-cas is a great leader, caring son, brother and husband, a gentleman, a philanthropist and generally all-around nice guy whose only bad point is that he is a violent, stone-hearted crime-lord. However, for all Lucas’ fam-ily values and generosity, he loses his loved ones and ev-
erything he was working for because of the choices he makes. Roberts, on the other hand, is eventually vindicat-ed and triumphant because he chooses to be one thing above all — honest.
This film is impeccably acted and capably directed. Washington turns in a solid performance with his usual controlled power and silent fury; Crowe is outstanding as a desperate, tenacious
detective on the edge and about to hit bottom. All the supporting cast is sur-prising and perfectly un-derstated, especially Josh Brolin in his role as the sleazy, depraved Brooklyn cop. However, the running time is more than two and a half hours, and in some parts the pacing drags. Also, the film is meant to be a historically suspense-ful drama, not some slick
mafia thriller, so some-one looking for a gangster film like “Scarface” or “The Godfather” will probably be disappointed.
Don’t go to Scott’s film expecting a fast ride with cheap thrills and shoot-em-up violence. Rather, go for a carefully crafted story of choices, redemp-tion and justice.
‘American Gangster’ examines choices, character
Courtesy of rottentomatoes.ComDenzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a Harlem drug lord, in American Gangster.
Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Josh Brolin. n Running time: 137 minutes.n Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content, language, nudity and sexuality.
“Too bad,” Doug Darby said, laughing, when asked about not having to shave his head after FilmFest.
The FilmFest director promised he would shave his head if 25 complete films were ready and if the Paramount Theatre was sold out on the night of the awards show. Neither one of these conditions was ful-filled. Darby walked away with a full head of hair.
“The show this year was smaller than in the past,” Darby said. “About 500
people attended the awards show, which is smaller than last year and only fills up al-most half of the Paramount Theatre. There were also nu-merous other events, such as Freshman Social, that were going on around town at the same time.”
Darby said the quality of the films was great and keeps getting better throughout the years. He has received positive and assuring feedback from the judges this year and judges from the past.
“We did everything we need-ed to, to make this a great event. We just need more awareness and more university involve-
ment to make for the best Film-Fest,” Darby said.
But not all student-cre-ated films were permitted for competition. The film, “The Legend of Stormin’ Mormon,” which featured a Christian, a Mormon and a Jew comically fighting over their different religious beliefs, was removed from the running after it was previewed by members of the administration.
“From my personal point of view, I did not have a problem with this film, but we, as a whole, have to abide under ACU standards and policies,” Darby said.
Darby said when making
a film, they look for two things — does it fall within a G to PG rating, and does it follow ACU guidelines.
“I understand why this film was not allowed in com-petition when looking at ACU’s guidelines, but I don’t like to hamper with the cre-ative process,” Darby said. “Laughter is a healthy ap-proach to positive dialogue.”
In order to avoid situa-tions like the “The Legend of Stormin’ Mormon,” those involved with FilmFest are planning to work on ACU’s and FilmFest’s guidelines that are more clear and dis-tinct, Darby said.
Although last year Film-Fest was not featured in the spring, this year a spring FilmFest is in the works and is planned to take place later so participants have time to make quality films.
“Right now we do not have enough resources to put on a spring show, but we are hoping resources will come along, so we can put on another FilmFest,” Darby said.
A formal announcement will be made sometime in November about the show next semester.
Darby is not sure if he will continue to lead Film-
Fest for the 5th year in a row next year.
“It is a passion and love of mine, but I want to give it my full attention and not just half-hearted,” Darby said. “It is something anyone can do. I want to make it successful in the years to come whether it is me running the show or someone else.”
If you would like to help out with making FilmFest possible in the spring or next year send an e-mail to [email protected].
Director dubs FilmFest a success, keeps hair – for now
By Beki HamiltonstudEnt rEportEr
Saturday night, several ACU clubs will partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters to help raise funds for the organiza-tion by bowling. Students’ As-sociation, the track team, the Bible Department and several social clubs from ACU are among those participating in Bowl for Kids’ Sake.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake is one of Big Brothers Big Sisters biggest annual fundraisers. Students and clubs from ACU get together to form teams for this event and fundraise in the process.
Teams will bowl from 4 to 6 p.m. or from 7 to 9 p.m Saturday at Abilene Bowl-ing Lanes.
It costs $75 per person to enter or $350 per team. The teams raise money individu-ally and as a group.
Last year, entry fees were $50 per person, but because of the event’s success, Big
Brothers Big Sisters decided to raise the entry fee.
Elizabeth Russell, senior communications major from College Station, is involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“It costs about $1,000 per child for a 12 month period,” Russell said.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake is a way to fundraise for those costs as well as raise awareness of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
As for student involve-ment, Russell said they are always looking for more people to be a part of the organization.
“We want to increase the amount of people involved in it,” Russell said.
Right now, Big Brothers Big Sisters is preparing for the event by contacting spon-sors as well as arranging with Abilene Bowling Lanes.
The giveaways and T-shirts that all participants will receive are made possible primarily through donations.
Russell said the event is
a way to say thank you to the student body and let them know they are “appre-ciated for their help.”
“I’m glad SA can help out an organization such as Big Brothers Big Sisters,” said Spencer Hemphill, ju-nior accounting major from Longview and the chief fi-nancial officer of SA.
This is the first year SA is involved in the event. Hemp-hill said he heard about it through a friend and then proposed the idea to Con-gress. He asked if they wanted to donate, and they responded positively.
Hemphill said SA does no fundraising because Con-gress sponsors SA’s two teams, but he believes Con-gress is using funds wisely by getting involved.
Individual students can still be a part of Bowl for Kids’ Sake by contacting Elizabeth Rus-sell at [email protected].
Bowling night to beget funds
By Todd PiersallstudEnt rEportEr
For those who are jeal-ous of computer savvy In-ternet surfers who can look up contact information on ACU students and faculty with ease — there’s hope.
ACU’s Society of Profes-sional Journalists will sell Hello Books for $10 in the Campus Center on Nov. 12-16 from 10-2 p.m.
Hello Books are designed to be a quick reference guide for contact information on current students and facul-ty. Information in the book includes name, hometown address, current address and e-mail address. Also in the Hello Book are several maps of surrounding areas and schedules for ACU ath-letic events.
The book can be charged to your ACU account.
Stephanie Carlton, ad-ministrative coordinator of the Journalism and Mass Communication Depart-ment, said about 880 Hello Books have been distribut-ed so far.
Although some contact information can be found online, Carlton says having hard copy information is still useful.
“There is still something to be said about the convenience of having it right at your fin-gertips,” Carlton said.
Hello Books are produced by ACU’s chapter of the Society
of Professional Journalists. Kelsi Peace, junior print
journalism major from Whitefish, Mont., and pres-ident of SPJ, said the books are the only fundraiser for the organization. The pro-ceeds help send members of SPJ to journalism con-ferences and competitions.
SPJ is a national journalism organization that “promotes press, journalism ethics and Freedom of Information,” ac-cording to the SPJ Web site. The organization is based in Washington, D.C.
A small group of students including Brad East, senior Biblical text major from Austin, gives breakfast to Mika Shiga, senior psychology major from Japan, as an act of love to students passing by.
“There is still something to be said about the convenience of having it right at your fingertips.”
A new tanning salon in Abilene, Sun Seekers, has students curious about what this new establish-ment has to offer.
Already in its fourth week of business, this two-story complex offers tanning, mas-sage therapy, facials and other types of beauty treatments.
“My roommate and I saw it at the beginning of the semes-ter,” Caitlin McCurdy, sopho-more integrated marketing communication major from Garland said. “We went in to get more information on it, and we were surprised, and also excited, by all that it has to offer.”
Not only does Sun Seek-ers provide a variety of skin treatments, it also offers wax-ing options and distributes Bare Minerals cosmetics.
Owner Jennifer Hallford said Sun Seekers is among
the few salons in Abilene to offer airbrush tanning. As opposed to tanning beds that have a 20-minute long tanning period, Sun Seekers uses 10-minute, low-pressure beds. This results in the same kind of tan for half the amount of time. Sun Seekers is also the only salon in the state to of-fer the Acclaim high-pressure tanning bed.
Since its opening a month ago, Sun Seekers has seen steady business so far. Al-though a majority of its cus-tomers have been female students, they are welcom-ing everyone.
“We would like to see a range of people and ages,”
Hallford said. Not far away from campus,
Sun Seekers is located on 566 East Ambler between Hillcrest Church of Christ and Pizza Hut. Hallford said they chose this location because there aren’t many tanning salons on this side of town, and they knew having ACU close by would be good for business.
Beginning in November, they plan on offering spe-cials that will vary with each day. Sun Seekers also offers gift certificates for their services, which are a great gift idea for the up-coming holiday season.
Sun Seekers closer, more convenient
By Scott StewartStudent RepoRteR
The 2008 Spring Break Campaign committee is looking for students to fill remaining openings.
This year’s Spring Break is March 15-22.
Among the locations that are still available are Laredo; Abilene; Libby, Mont.; Vir-ginia Beach, Va.; and Wash-ington, D.C., said Adam Dittemore, junior business
management major from Everett, Wash.
Dittemore is a part of the SBC committee and is an SBC leader this year for the Nicaragua campaign. SBC is a fully student led organization ministry, Dittemore said.
“We are looking to fill more spots, and we want them to be committed,” Dittemore said.” Pray and make sure it is right for you.”
Last year, more than 500 students attended Spring Break Campaigns. Filling up driving campaigns is not as important as filling up fly-ing campaigns because it is
harder to get plane tickets, Dittemore said.
The next step for SBC is SBC group Chapel, which begins Thursday.
The purpose of SBC group
Chapel is to provide build-ing and bonding among the campaigners that will be going together.
“The purpose of SBC is to give students the opportunity to take on leadership roles and put the ACU mission state-
ment into practice,” Dit-temore said. “The purpose of Spring Break Campaigns is to impact lives through student-led, short-term mis-sions that are dedicated to
Christ-like service through-out the world.”
Students interested in go-ing on a Spring Break Cam-paign should either stop by the SBC War room located in McKinzie Hall Room 129 or check out the Web site at www.acusbc.org.
There is also a Facebook group called Spring Break Campaigns.
Spring Break Campaign office searches to fill openings
By Tanner AndersonStudent RepoRteR
The Abilene Philharmon-ic’s annual Christmas per-formance, presented by a professional symphony or-chestra at the Civic Center, has added a 3 p.m. matinee to its Dec. 1 performance because of an increase in attendance throughout the past two years.
The Philharmonic is a Christmas concert that is comprised of professional musicians from all over the region.
“Sixty percent of the people are musicians from outside of Abilene,” said Tim Graham, marketing and development director for the Abilene Philhar-monic Association.
The performance is currently in its 57th sea-son and stands as one of the older non-profit or-ganizations in Abilene. It has served to entertain the Abilene community throughout the years.
“I went all the time growing up,” said Jenny
Dodd, sophomore market-ing communications major from Abilene. “I remember hearing the different styles of music and learning to appreciate each of them through the show.”
The concert continues to provide entertainment for Abilenians during the holiday season.
“I really like going to a concert like this within the small Abilene community,” Dodd said. “It’s really enjoy-able because it’s done by a group of musicians who are truly willing to devote their time to this performance.”
Performances through-out the past two years have been sold-out, resulting in the Philharmonic adding its first matinee show.
“With this concert, we’re opening it up to people who might not be able to see it otherwise,” Graham said. “People who aren’t willing to go to a later show can go in the morning, as well as peo-ple from all over the region.”
This will allow those traveling to Abilene for the show more time to re-
turn home and, in turn, provide a more convenient commute. The matinee will also allow families to bring young children, whereas the evening show had an age requirement of six years.
The matinee and evening shows will be the same, each consisting of clas-sic Christmas music and guest performances. These guests include the 70 sing-ers from the classical cho-ruses of Abilene and Shuf-fles and Ballet II, a dance group from Arkansas.
“It will be a comfort-able concert with familiar music to inspire the soul,” Graham said.
Both performances will cost $20 for adults and $10 for children and students. Tickets can be purchased at the Philharmonic office located at 402 Cypress, Suite 130, or by telephone at 325-677-6710.
Philharmonic orchestrates new show
Megan Lowe STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Lara Morgan, senior English major from Oxford, England, reads poetry at Monks Coffee Shop Monday for The Shinnery Review’s open mic night.
“The purpose of SBC is to give students the op-portunity to take on leadership roles and put
the ACU mission statement into practice.”
adam Dittemore, junior business management major from everett, wash.
“We went in to get more information on it, and we were surprised, and also excited, by
all that it has to offer.”
Caitlin McCurdy, sophomore integrated marketing
communication major from garland
A Shinnery star
ViewsFridayOptimistPage 6 November 9, 2007
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Editorial Board and News Staff
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Jordan BlakeyCherry Waves
The problem:The government takes too long to respond to requests for copies of federal agency documents.
Our view:A new bill proposed by two senators needs to have as much Congressional support as necessary.
The solution:Write your Congressman, and let him know that this bill needs his support. Americans need to be able to hold their government accountable.
Congress should support open records bill Our country stands on the
right to know.Citizens can question the
government and access certain federal agency documents. However, the government has allowed darkness to hover over these rights by not responding to such inquiries within a le-gally set time frame.
Under The Freedom of Infor-mation Act, citizens can see fed-eral agency documents unless they fall under the act’s nine ex-emptions. Legally, agencies must respond to a record request within 20 days, but unfortu-
nately they have fallen short.
Sadly, five agencies have requests 15 years older or more, and 10 agencies gave Congress incor-rect information regarding their oldest pending requests, according to the 2007 Knight Open Government Survey.
Citizens need to know about the government’s se-vere lack of promptness be-cause it marks the start of a downward spiral.
Senators John Cornyn (R-Tex
as) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) did something constructive about it by introducing the OPEN Gov-ernment Act of 2007.
“This legislation will pro-vide the American people more information and make our great democracy even stronger … that our govern-ment is based not on the need to know, but upon the funda-mental right to know,” Cornyn
said on his Web site.
Under the act, agencies must put a
tracking number on each re-quest, so the requester can fol-low its progress. If an agency fails to do this within 20 days, it must face severe conse-quences, which include the in-ability to assert any of the FOIA exemptions except in the case of national security and disclo-sure of private facts.
The act offers hope that it will illuminate the darkness.
The Senate has passed the bill, and Americans can take responsibility in holding their government accountable by writing their congressman in approval of the bill.
To find your congressman, go to the House of Represen-tatives Web site at www.house.gov, find his address, and en-courage him to vote “yes” on this bill.
The government has allowed darkness to hover over these rights by not responding to inquiries.
In the interest of clarifying your understanding of the Marketplace of Ideas Theory as you represented it in your Wednesday editorial “Golden Compass not so golden for Christians,” I rejoin the ex-change in your forum.
Your writer was informed before publication in a cri-tique of the editorial for Opinion Writing about a problem in your declara-tion that “Christian groups
… trying to stop the movie’s release cripples [sic] the marketplace of ideas.”
In direct response to this observation, I wrote to the writer: “Illogical. The mar-ketplace of ideas comes down on the side of releas-ing the movie and permits people to oppose the re-lease of the movie. … The ideas are grappling in the marketplace. No one is go-ing to stop the film. And no
one is going to stop people from trying to stop the film. That’s the way the market-place of ideas work.”
The editorial writer an-swered: “We’ve all looked over it … and think it’s okay. I don’t have time to fix it because I have an obli-gation to the Reporter-News in 45 minutes. …”
You’ve shared your posi-tion on the Marketplace of Ideas Theory with the read-
ers in your forum; I would like for you to share my po-sition with your readers.
While ACU students trudge back and forth between the
Campus Cen-ter and the Administra-tion building Monday, the rest of the country will be celebrat-ing Veterans Day.
And while the major-ity of the mil-lions of vet-erans in this
country are honored, 195,800 will spend their national holi-day on the streets — without a job, without a home and twist-ed by the tragedy of war.
According to a report re-leased by the Na-tional As-sociation to End Home-l e s s n e s s ( N E A H ) , n e a r l y 200,000 vet-erans have turned to the streets, and tragically little is being done to amend the situation.
Of the sample of home-less veterans, Texas is third. The NEAH counted 15,434 homeless veterans in the Lone Star State in 2005 and 15,967 homeless veterans in 2006 — .96 percent of the 1.6 million veterans in Texas.
In the admissions depart-ment terms, that would be about three times the number of students attending ACU.
The NEAH estimates the number of homeless veterans will increase dramatically with the hoards of traumatized Iraq War veterans returning to their homeland. And because there is a larger chance for post-traumatic stress disorder in our current war’s veterans, the chance for chronic homeless-
ness increases dramatically.Although Nov. 11 is a
day reserved for reverence and veneration of the men and women who protect our freedoms, almost 200,000 veterans are looking for a place to sleep and wonder-ing why no one cares about the sacrifice they made. We cannot let this continue.
A day to appreciate our country’s veterans is impor-tant, but a handful of homeless veterans want more than a day, they want a second chance.
This war is unjustified and never should have been fought, but its soldiers do not deserve the fate of homelessness. We should welcome our soldiers with open arms, and our gov-ernment should do its duty:
helping the people who are so dam-aged they cannot help themselves.
After fight-ing a war that the majority of the coun-
try does not back, do we really want our soldiers to be forced to scrounge for survival on our rich country’s judgmental streets? Have we become so indifferent to the people sacri-ficing for us?
Do not let the homeless veterans be forgotten; tell our congressman Randy Neugebauer to support ini-tiatives that make sure our veterans get a shot at having a normal life.
Monday when you’re watching “Saving Private Ryan” and putting off your project due Thursday, re-member our veterans.
But more importantly, re-member the abandoned sol-diers living on the streets.
Remember the forgotten veterans
OpinionShouterDanielJohnson
Although Sadies Week ends tonight with a free date at The
Skatin’ Place, single or tak-en guys can still take ad-vantage of the final activity of the week.
The Cam-pus Activities Board gives ACU girls free activities to promote Sa-die Hawkins’ Week every
year. And every year I look forward to it.
As a single guy, I would look forward to Sadies Week every year in hopes some cute girl with a crush on me would approach me out of the blue to take me on a date. I love a
gutsy girl who isn’t shy. Unfortunately, that never
happened. At least a reason existed to get my hopes up.
Even with a girlfriend, Sa-dies Week brings the same ex-citement, but more fun.
Here’s why it’s fun to be a guy who has a gal.
First, go to your Facebook page and unlist your relation-ship. It doesn’t mean it’s can-celled, it’s just that it doesn’t show up on your profile.
This opens you up to get-ting asked to a date. If a girl wants to go skating and doesn’t know if you’re taken, she merely goes to your Face-
book page, sees it say you’re not in a relationship and pro-ceeds to ask you out.
The likelihood of actually getting asked out is low, but that’s not the goal or the re-ward. The goal is to get your girlfriend to think she has some competition and needs to work for your devotion. Tell her you’ll accept the first offer you get for a date, and she will be the first person in line after Chapel to get a free date coupon to make sure no one else gets you first.
It works perfectly. The guy gets four free dates four nights in a row and then
feels pursued. The girls don’t enjoy a ben-
efit outside of the four pos-sible free dates like the guys. Unless they plan out their dates with four different guys for the four different days.
That’s a smart girl. Regardless of my luck, or
lack of it, when it comes to Sadies Week, it’s refreshing to see CAB giving the students something worthwhile with the date packages.
So girls, go take advantage of a free date. You don’t get the chance often.
And guys, enjoy the one week you don’t have to pay.
Sadies Week gives guys deserved break
Fields of DreamsJaredFields
Regardless of my luck, or lack of it, it’s refreshing to see CAB giving the students something
Mu Sigma, ACU’s math club, is spreading their gift of math around Abilene by offering free tutoring to lo-cal Abilene Schools as a ser-vice project.
Last Friday, the first ser-vice project was conducted. The project involved going to Abilene High School and tutoring during a study hall. Mu Sigma members hope to
travel to other local Abilene high schools throughout the year and continue to spread the joy of math.
“We want to get the mes-sage around that you don’t have to hate math, and that math can be fun,” said Ra-chel Pinson, sophomore math major from Abilene and president of Mu Sigma.
Pinson said the main rea-son lots of people struggle with math is because they are lacking to see the fun.
Mu sigma emphasizes that you don’t have to be afraid of math and that you can have fun. When math be-comes enjoyable, it becomes less frustrating and from there the learning process can begin, Pinson said.
Mu sigma members have been given a gift and they want to serve God with their talents, Pinson said.
Mu Sigma has been inac-tive for a while and now the members want to get the
word out about their orga-nization. Ryan Cloninger, sophomore math major from Cabot, Ark., and mem-ber of Mu Sigma, said the organization is open to any current student at ACU.
Mu Sigma encourages students from all corners of ACU, not just math majors, to participate, Pinson said.
Meetings are conducted once a month and Mu Sigma also participates in fun events. “We want this organization to
grow, we want people to get involved, get the word out,” Cloninger said.
Mu Sigma is a student led organization devoted to fostering a greater under-standing of mathematics, encouraging undergradu-ate activity in mathematics research, providing service opportunities in the com-munity, and enriching the social, intellectual, and spiritual environment for all students interested in
mathematics, according to the mission statement of Mu Sigma.
By going around to local schools and tackling the is-sue at the core with one-on-one tutoring, Mu Sigma is accomplishing its objective.
For more information about Mu Sigma contact Rachel Pin-son at [email protected].
Math club aims to make math fun, serves local kids
By Todd PiersallStudent RepoRteR
A single volunteer is cur-rently helping to tutor chil-dren after school at the Abilene Child Centered Edu-cational Support Services.
Brett Hines, senior el-ementary education major from Denver said he needs help with the after school tutoring program that tutors about 10 kids. Right now, Hines is the program’s only staff member.
“The more volunteers there are, the more individu-al help the kids can get,” said Hines. “If there are nine kids in the room and all the kids need something different, it can be difficult.”
Hines said he started vol-unteering at ACCESS as a freshman for a developmen-
tal psychology class. “I started out by check-
ing homework and I did well enough that they asked me if I wanted a job,” Hines said.
Hines said he was given the task of revamping a chil-dren’s tutoring program that had been dwindling due to lack of staff.
“When I walked in my sophomore year the program had been dormant,” Hines said. “So I restarted it.”
The tutoring program is free and offered to any stu-dents in third, fourth or fifth grade. Hines said usually a new student comes in about every two weeks, but only eight or nine kids come dur-ing a session.
The majority of the stu-dents at the tutor program are from Ortiz Elementary School, Hines said. One of
those students is third-grad-er Jesus Mora.
“We get to do fun things. We get to go to the computer and play games,” Mora said.
Hines said at the end of ev-ery session the students are allowed to play on the com-puter for a little while.
Although officially the program is for tutoring, Hines said it’s more of a mentoring program because the majority of the students who come in struggling with school also come in strug-gling at home.
“Its not just academics it’s giving them social skills that they will need for the rest of their life,” Hines said. “The best way that you can help someone is prevention, and this is prevention.”
Student tutors, changes lives
groundwork well before the show’s performances Feb. 15-16 in Moody Coliseum.
“There’s so much prep work, choosing songs, lyr-ics, coming up with cos-tumes,” said Greenberg, senior political science major from Grand Prai-rie. “All that is done be-fore Christmas break. The foundation is laid before Christmas, because when you come back, you start practicing immediately.
And then Sing Song is five weeks later.”
Sophomore Linly Stowe, Spanish major from Nash-ville, Tenn. and the direc-tor of the combined act by Essence of Ebony, His-panos Unidos and the In-ternational Students’ As-sociation, attributes her position as director largely to her previous Sing Song experience as a freshman and plans to appoint assis-tant directors from each of the three groups her act represents.
“Now that I’ve seen how much support I’m going to get, I’m really excited about it,” Stowe said. “It’s not like I’m going to do everything by myself. I’m really excited, because it’s really a team ef-fort with this [group].”
Directors will decide group themes within the overall “World Tour” theme this weekend at a retreat through a bidding system and submit song selections by Nov. 19.
“You make each individual big Chapel be as powerful as it can be,” chief development of-ficer Matt Greenberg suggest-ed. “Those speakers that keep the crowd quiet – those are the ones you want.”
Representatives suggested inviting more speakers from outside the university to speak, and members of Congress ap-plauded when one representa-tive suggested allowing women to take a larger role in Chapel.
Thompson and Dr. Jeff Ar-rington, associate dean of cam-pus life, will compile the re-sponses and, Thompson said, plan to make adjustments for next semester as while as long-term. Administrators will meet Nov. 14 to discuss Chapel as well, Thompson said, part of what he called a continuing dialogue on Chapel.
Congress created a tempo-rary chaplain position to be implemented immediately and continue in the spring semes-ter. President Matt Worthing-ton will appoint the chaplain, who cannot fill any other po-sition on Congress. Congress must approve the nomination by a two-thirds vote. Next fall, Congress will vote to keep the position, terminate it or make it permanent.
The move comes after se-
nior senator Nathan McKen-zie presented a bill to amend the Constitution and create a permanent Chaplain position. Congress tabled the bill until the next meeting, and after rep-resentatives raised concerns about a permanent position, McKenzie withdrew the bill.
“I think this will be a positive thing,” McKenzie said, present-ing the new bill to Congress.
The bill created the posi-tion but did not include spe-cific job duties, an ambigu-ity proponents say allows for experimentation. In previous discussions, McKenzie sug-gested the chaplain should work with class and club chaplains, and seek unity among the spiritual leaders.
Several representatives ex-pressed concern over the lack of structure given in the bill, and said they were unsure how Congress could evaluate the temporary position with-out a standard.
“This can be a testing pe-riod,” Rep. Kyle Moore and an author of the bill told Con-gress. “But I think now you should look at this testing pe-riod to see what is for or what it can be.”
“It will allow us to get a grasp on what this is going to entail,” said an author of the bill and senior senator Seth Copeland.
Senior senator Perry Har-
rison also authored the bill, which passed with 34 votes supporting, one opposing and seven abstaining.
In a festive move, Congress passed Rep. Charles Gaines’ bill to appropriate $300 from the congressional project fund to purchase Christmas lights for the trees skirting Edwards Residence Hall.
As the Edwards Hall repre-sentative, Gaines will be respon-sible for the lights, which will then become property of the residence hall for future use.
“The inside [of Edwards] is already decked out,” Gaines said.
Congress passed the bill with 34 votes supporting, six opposing and two abstaining and with no debate.
Keeping with the holiday spirit, Congress unanimously passed a bill to provide $220 from the discretionary fund to purchase Thanksgiving meals for four families through the Service-Action Leadership Team’s meal delivery project. Junior senator Kelline Linton and Rep. Samantha Popp ini-tially requested $110 to spon-sor two families, but Congress amended the bill.
SA still has $3,500 budgeted for conferences with none on the horizon and the majority of the $250 class budgets.
AdriAn cruz-luyAndA STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Jill Parr performs in the Bean Sprout Nov. 3. Parr was one of 13 judges invited to judge this year’s FilmFest, Revolutions. Parr’s latest album, Me Again, was released on Whiplash Records in 2006.
Five ACU volleyball players named to Lone Star Conference
All-Conference Teams
n The ACU volleyball team had five players named to LSC All-Conference teams this year. Senior outside hitter Abbie Lowry was named to the LSC first team. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Curry and freshmen Shawna Hines and Ijeoma Moronu all received the honor of being on the LSC second team, while junior middle blocker got a conference honorable mention award. Lowry and senior libero Liz Snoddy were also named to the LSC All-Academic team.
Optimist
spOrtsFridayNovember 9, 2007Page 8
Friday
VOLLEYBALLLone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Semifinals, TBA
Saturday
FOOTBALLACU at Midwestern State, 1 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALLACU vs. Lubbock Christian, 2 p.m. (exhibition)
Thursday
VOLLEYBALLNCAA II Southwest Regional Quar-terfinals, TBA
n Home games listed in italics
Standings
Upcoming
FootballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUTarleton St.ACUMSUAngelo St.
TAMU-K
5-04-14-13-21-41-4
10-09-18-28-22-72-8
ENMU 0-6 4-6
For complete intramural scores and schedules
visit:w w w. a c u o p t i m i s t . c o m
INTrAMUrAL rOUNd-Up
n The intramural schedule in the Optimist is subject to change and is not permanent. Any changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.
Cameron 6-6 13-15Tarleton St. 5-7 13-15SW Okla. 5-7 14-19Angelo St. 4-8 6-21TAMU-C 3-9 9-19SE Okla. 2-10 7-20ENMU 0-12 4-25
Briefs
FLAG FOOTBALLThe Novas defeated the Siblings Monday to take the Men’s Pledge championship, while the Nunu’s beat the Biddies for the Women’s Pledge crown.
By Michael FreemanAssistAnt sports Editor
The ACU women’s bas-ketball team takes to the court in Moody Coliseum Saturday at 2 p.m. to play Lubbock Christian in an ex-hibition game.
ACU officially begins its season next Friday on the road against Incarnate Word, but the team will be gaining some game experi-ence before then.
“It’s the first time we re-ally get to put on our uni-forms and play out game situations,” said head coach Shawna Lavender. “We’re definitely using it to get us prepared for the year, and we’ll treat it as if it’s a real game for us.”
The Wildcats were picked to finish second in the Lone Star Conference South Divi-sion this season after fin-ishing last year with a 17-12 overall record. ACU fell in the first round of the LSC Post-Season Tournament to the University of Central Oklahoma last season, but is looking to improve with the return of stellar players such as senior point guard Alex Guiton and junior cen-ter Audrey Maxwell. Other returning players include junior forward Kristee Da-vidson, senior forward Ash-lee Barr, sophomore guards Kat Kundmueller and Kelsey Darby and sophomore for-wards Jamie and Jody Mey-
er. All of the returners have been practicing for Satur-day’s game.
“One of the things I’ve liked about practice this year so far is it seems like we work a lot harder every single day,” Lavender said. “Obviously, we’re nowhere near where we want to be, but we’re getting there every day.”
During the offseason, the Wildcats added some fresh-men players including cen-ter Jenna Simmel, forward Jamie Miller and guards Jensen Knickerbocker and Autumn Whitaker.
“They’re just solid players. Shawna does a great job re-cruiting,” assistant head coach Lynsie Blau said. “They’re re-ally sweet, nice girls. They’re going to get along really well
with the team.”Lavender is entering her
fifth season as the ACU wom-en’s head coach, and is eager to coach Saturday’s game.
Lubbock Christian is ranked No. 10, according to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics pre-season polls.
Saturday’s game will count towards Lubbock Christian’s overall record, but not for ACU’s. Still, the Wildcats are going into the game looking to win.
“It’s definitely not a game that we’ll take lightly,” Lav-ender said. “It sets a tone for how you want to start your year, I think.”
Women test team in Lubbock Christian exhibition
MATT NEWHOUSER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Junior running back Bernard Scott, who holds the ACU single-season and single-game records, drags along two Texas A&M-Kingsville defenders during ACU’s 59-31 win over the Javelinas on Saturday.
By Daniel Johnsonsports Editor
Travis Carpenter has played football since junior high school, and Saturday could be his last game.
If the senior defensive end and the rest of the Wildcats do not win their final regular season game against Midwest-ern State in Wichita Falls, No. 17 ACU’s chances of making the playoffs may be over.
“That’s eleven years of football, and to think it might be over, you’re going to do everything you can to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Carpenter said.
ACU is ranked fifth in the NCAA Division Southwest Re-gion and must win its final regu-lar season game against the No. 19 Mustangs to secure a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs by remaining in the top six of the regional rankings.
Meanwhile, 8-2 Midwestern is ranked near the bottom of the regional poll at No. 10 and is also seeking to steal a playoff berth from the Wildcats.
The playoff implications aren’t the only thing mak-ing ACU’s final game a high-profile one. Saturday’s game will be the meeting of the top two offenses in Division II football.
ACU averages 543.4 yards a game and moved into the No. 1 spot after its 675-yard effort against Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday. Midwestern is
close behind at No. 2 with a game average of 538.9 yards.
ACU and Midwestern are two of only seven NCAA teams — in any division — to record more than 5,000 yards this season, the two LSC teams are one of six NCAA programs that have scored more than 60 touchdowns this season, and each team averages more than 40 points per game.
As high profile as the game may seem, head coach Chris Thomsen said his team is not focused on the pres-sure to win.
“That’s the main thing as a coach, not to make this big-ger than it is,” Thomsen said. “Just approach it like you nor-mally would.”
The main reason Midwest-ern’s offense is so potent is quarterback Daniel Polk. Polk leads the Lone Star Conference in total yards with 3,072 and is second in total yards per game with an average of 307.2.
Midwestern prefers the run — Midwestern is ranked No. 4 in the nation in rushing offense — and Thomsen said the Wildcats defensive goal is to slow down the Mustangs.
“You don’t really go in trying to stop anything with an offense like this. You just try to limit their guys,” Thomsen said.
ACU has the most produc-tive offense in the history of the program.
With one game left on the schedule, the Wildcats’ sea-son total of 468 points al-ready set an ACU single sea-son record, ACU’s average of 7.8 yards per play set a new school record and the Wild-cats’ total of 5,434 yards is the second-best single-season total in school history.
“We know our offense is gonna score points,” Car-penter said.
ACU running back Bernard Scott, who already broke the single-game and single-sea-son ACU rushing records
this season, is the sixth best rusher in the nation with an average of 155.9 yards a game. The transfer is second in Division II and third in the NCAA overall in touchdowns (27) and points scored (162) and has scored at least one touchdown in every ACU game this season.
Scott will face one of his toughest tests on Saturday though, as he takes on a Mid-western rush defense that is No. 1 in the LSC and No. 2 in the nation.
Midwestern successfully held run-happy Eastern New Mexico quarterback Michael Benton to only 50 yards on the ground in a 63-7 win over the Greyhounds on Saturday and allows an average of 85.3 yards a game.
“They have the No. 1 de-fense in the league and certain-ly have the potential to slow us down,” Thomsen said.
ACU quarterback Billy Malone is only 22 yards away from breaking the 3,000 pass-
ing yard mark this season. If Malone throws for over 3,000 yards this season, he will be the first ACU quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards twice.
Behind one of the most dominant offensive lines in the nation — ACU’s line has only allowed .5 sacks this sea-son — Malone averages 297.8 passing yards per game and has thrown 26 touchdowns this season.
Malone’s two favorite tar-gets, senior wide receiver Jerale Badon and junior wide receiver Johnny Knox, both rank in the nation’s top 50 for receiving yards per game and catches per game.
Badon is just 30 yards away from breaking the LSC record for all-time receiv-ing yards. Knox, who has 51 catches for 12 touchdowns and 965 yards in his first season at ACU, could become the first ACU receiver to go over 1,000 receiving yards since 1977 when Cle Mont-gomery caught 57 passes for 1,168 yards.
Regardless of the statis-tics and pressure, Thomsen said ACU should be in top form for its final regular season game.
“It won’t be easy in any shape, way or fashion, but it’s a game number 11, so you should be playing your best,” Thomsen said.
putting it on the line
In ACU’s regular season finale Saturday, the nation’s top two offenses in NCAA Division II football will face off in Wichita Falls. Midwestern and ACU are both nationally ranked and seeking playoff berths.
No. 17 Abilene Christian No. 19 Midwestern State
n No. 1 total offense (543.4 yards per game) n No. 2 total offense (538.9 yards per game)
n No. 2 scoring offense (46.8 points per game) n No. 3 scoring offense (44.8 points per game)
n No. 4 rushing offense (301.4 yards per game) n No. 19 rushing offense (232.9 yards per game)
n No. 6 passing offense (310.5 yards per game) n No. 44 passing offense (237.5 yards per game)
n Intramural softball begins this Saturday. Games will be played on the south softball fields by the Edwards parking lot. All matches will be played during the day due to the absence of lights. Game times will be posted on the intramural bulletin board.
n Due to water damage to the Bennett Gym floor, free time and reservations will not be available for the fall semester. The Gibson double gyms are still open. For times, see the intramural bulletin board.
