the optimist - 03.22.13
DESCRIPTION
A product of the JMC Network of student media at Abilene Christian University.TRANSCRIPT
The Student Alumni Asso-ciation will be reigning in spring today with a carnival and concert.
Campus will play host to SpringFest, an event similar to JamFest in the fall. SpringFest is being fi-nanced by SAA along with the Student’s Association. Admission will be free. Zack Morgan, SAA president, said SpringFest is an enjoy-able opportunity for stu-dents.
“SpringFest is a fun, laid-back time for people to
come and enjoy the chang-ing weather, entertainment and Cajun Cones,” said Morgan, senior biology ma-jor from Keller. “There is
plenty to do in a fun envi-ronment.”
Abilene Christian University
ArtsPage 5
vol. 101, no. 45 friday, march 22, 2013 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
Film FestivitiesSix entries to compete in annual moviemaking event
zack morgansaa president
We have some solid performers from previous
years as well as some promising new groups.”“
SAA to put on carnival, concertcampus
Adrian patenaude stafF Photographer
Students file in to Cullen auditorium for the Global Poverty Project chapel forum.
see concert page 3
Res halls name student RAs, ADs
This week, 75 students re-ceived news they will be part of next year’s Resi-dence Life staff after a competitive application process involving 200 ap-plicants.
A larger number of ap-plicants applied this year than ever before.
“The growing interest is due to our students having really meaningful experi-ences with their RAs [resi-dent assistants] and dorm communities,” said Shan-non Kaczmarek, assistant
director for Residence Life and area coordinator for McDonald and Nelson Halls. “Applicants desire to give that same experi-ence to incoming students through a position in Re-sLife.”
Maria Morrell, RA in Nelson Hall and junior nursing major from Bryan, became a part of ResLife for this reason.
“I applied because of the great experience I had with my RA freshman year,” Morrell said. “She helped me while I adjusted to college life and living in a dorm. I wanted to be that kind of support for anoth-
er group of girls.”Carly McClung, assis-
tant director of Morris Hall and senior nutrition major from Grants Pass, Ore., ap-plied in past years to im-pact incoming students.
“While the process is highly competitive, I ap-plied the past three years because it is the most in-fluential way I can impact younger ACU students,” McClung said.
Rebekah Perry, RA in Nelson Hall and junior youth and family and mis-sions major from San An-tonio, applied for the com-munity ResLife offers.
“I applied and reapplied
because ResLife gives me the opportunity to foster community on the hall,” Perry said. “I also love working with an incredible staff of women who desire to make the dorms a safe and welcoming place.”
All applicants were informed via email on Wednesday of the final staffing decisions. New staff members will fill 60 RA positions and 15 assis-tant director positions.
Of those 75 open po-sitions, returning staff members filled 40. This left the remaining 160 first-time applicants vying for 35 spots.
While not every appli-cant could be hired, Re-sLife aimed to be sensitive to all who are involved.
“We do our very best to be sensitive to those who don’t get positions and do our best to honor those who do,” Kaczmarek said. “The leadership in our department truly seeks to find people jobs that fit their talents, and the staff members coming in are each incredible leaders.”
reslife
SINGLE FILE
theoxfordcommablog.wordpress.com
Marissa Jones, our Oxford correspondent, details her latest experiences abroad
INSIDE
acuoptimist.com
Watch the JMC Network’s weekly newscast
Page 6
Page 6
Thrower’s long journey takes him from Oklahoma State to ACU
Women’s basketball team ends LSC career with conference title
Page 6
acuoptimist.com
Social justice groups to create seventh annual Justice Week on campus
Page 3
ONLINE
flickr.com/acuoptimist
Check our Flickr for more shots from this week
Page 4
Family, faculty to start endowment in honor of late professor
Page 3
Violent video games, in moderation, don’t cause violent crimes
Local priest reacts to election of pope
Football team begins first spring training practice
OPINION
NEWS
VIDEO
PHOTOS
OXFORD
NEWS
NEWS
SPORTS
SPORTS
SPORTS
acuoptimist.com
Comet ISON could be visible at end of the year
NEWS
josh garciamanaging editor
jocelyn nederhoffstudent reporter
The Students’ Association is seeking a new executive president, vice president and treasurer for the next school year.
The term period for these positions will be com-plete at the end of the se-mester. They are currently respectively occupied by Rebecca Dial, Dylan Benac and Joseph Austin. Dial and Austin will graduate this May.
Congress reviewed and passed the 2013 Election
Rules and Procedures for Executive Officer Elections in its meeting on Wednes-day, which outlined the standards candidates must adhere to. Austin and Nick Tatum, who is not an SA member, will be leading the Election Chair. Tatum,
senior family studies major from Plano, also served in the same role last year.
“He’s a really stand-up guy,” said Austin, senior ac-counting and pre-law major from Houston. “He’s really involved with Students’ As-sociation and knows a lot
about the services it pro-vides.”
Dr. Jeff Arrington, SA adviser, asked Congress to encourage students to run.
“Think about the people who will be effective and go after them,” said Arrington, associate vice president for student life. “Persuade them about the value of leading the campus through roles of SA leadership.”
SA will conduct an inter-est meeting for these posi-tions on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the SA office. The term for each is per school year and has a salary of $4,320. Candidates for treasurer
and vice president must be juniors next fall; candidates for president must be se-niors next fall.
Congress also wrapped up this semester’s confer-ence requests Wednesday by splitting the remaining $848 between four student groups. The conference re-quest fund is a line item in the congressional budget for students taking trips this semester. Though the fund was $6,500, SA had over $48,000 in requests.
The Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
SA to conduct elections for officersstudents’ association
optimist file photo
The Dogwoods perform in SpringFest last year. They will take the stage at 8:30 Saturday evening.
see SA page 3
contact the optimist [email protected]
josh garciamanaging editor
Dr. jeff arringtonSA adviser
Think about the people who will be effective and go after them. Persuade them about the value of leading
the campus through roles of SA leadership.”“
22 23 24 25friday saturday sunday monday
All Day - Golf - UALR/First Tee Classic
9 a.m. Women’s and Men’s Tennis St. Mary’s
1 p.m. Baseball at Texas A&M Kingsville
2 p.m. Women’s Ten-nis at San Antonio
3 p.m. Men’s Tennis at San Antonio
All Day - Eucharist and Ecclesiology
11:30 a.m. The “Hot Seat” 83rd Legislative Session
6 p.m. Softball vs Tarleton
7 p.m. Baseball at Texas A&M Kingsville
7 p.m. Young Profes-sionals Empowerment Banquet
7:30 p.m. Keeli Swim/Clint Perdue junior recital
All Day - Track at Bobby Lane Invitational
12 p.m. Eucharist and Ecclesiology
10 a.m. Baseball at Texas A&M Kingsville
9 a.m. Women’s Tennis vs UTEP
1 p.m. Baseball at Texas A&M Kingsville
1 p.m. Softball vs Tar-leton
3 p.m. Men’s Tennis at Austin vs University of Texas
Police Log
59 40@acuoptimist
The Optimist
friday 3.22.13 2
1 1 15 5 5 110103121 18182 1121131
9 3 7 1956 6
6 7 18 171122211
Police log
Announcements
Abstract submission for the Undergraduate Research Festival is now open. The 5th annual ACU Undergradu-ate Research Festival will be Apr. 4-5. To submit your ab-stract or get abstract writ-ing tips and information on the review of abstracts go to the Research Festival Blog at blogs.acu.edu/researchfest.
The ACU Career Center is now on Pinterest. Go to pin-terest.com/acucareercenter to begin following the boards from the ACU Career Center Pinterest today.
A student body officer in-terest meeting will be held March 26 at 5 p.m. in the SA office. Students interested in running for student body president, vice-president or treasurer should attend.
Women for ACU are offering a scholarship of $2,000 to men and women who have sophomore or higher status. The application is due March 22. For more information visit acu.edu/WACUscholarship.SA is accepting entries to
The Greatest Idea Challenge. Videos must be shorter than three minutes explaining why your idea is the best. The top video submission will ad-vance on in the competition. Cash prizes will be given out.
This semester’s graduation fair is March 25 from 12 p.m.-6 p.m. and March 26 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in the campus store. Caps and gowns, of-ficial graduation announce-ments and official ACU rings can all be ordered here.
Lost & Found, ACU’s annual film festival, is March 22. For more information or questions email [email protected].
The Hot Seat at ACU will be in the Hunter Welcome Cen-ter from 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. for a conversation series about the 83rd legislative session. A light lunch will be provided. Reserve your seat at texastri-bune.org/events.
3/12/2013 12:49 p.m.Officers responded to a fire alarm on the 3rd floor of Brown Library. It was de-termined to be an accidental pull of the alarm.
3/13/2013 12:05 a.m.ACUPD officers responded to a burglar alarm at UCC, assisted church personnel check the facility. It was determined to be an alarm set malfunction.
3/14/2013 12:25 a.m.Officers spoke to a citizen about neigh-bors dogs barking. The matter was re-ferred to City of Abilene Animal Control.
3/14/2013 10:27 a.m.ACUPD responded to a report of a stalled vehicle. Officers found both occupants of the vehicle to be intoxicated, one to be in possession of marijuana. Both subjects were arrested and transported to Taylor County Jail.
3/18/2013 7:00 a.m.WFF employees reported seeing a suspi-cious male walking around campus build-ings acting suspicious. Officers were un-able to locate the person, but all facilities were checked and found to be secure.
3/18/2013 ACUPD assisted APD with multiple reports of vehicles being burglarized overnight on off-campus side streets and residential driveways. A total of 7 reports were taken by ACUPD and several taken by APD. Police Tip of the Week: Multiple car burglaries occurred around campus this past weekend. Most vehicles targeted were unlocked. Don’t be an easy target! Remem-ber to always lock your car and remove or hide valuables.
Volunteer Opp0rtunities
Chapel checkup
The Center for International Education is looking for conversation partners for international students to practice English, conversations and cultural learning. Partners meet for one hour each week at a time and place determined by the partners. For more informa-tion contact Laura McGregor at 325-674-2821 or [email protected].
St. John’s Episcopal School is seeking volunteers to paint metal playground equipment anytime Monday-Friday after 3 p.m. and Saturday anytime. For more in-formation contact Rebecca McMillon at 325-695-8870 or [email protected].
Center for Contemporary Arts needs a gallery assistant to greet patrons, answer phones and answer basic questions about the Center and its programs. This opportunity is open Tuesday-Friday. The Center for Contemporary Arts is located at 220 Cypress Street. For more information contact Jessica Dulle at 325-677-8389 or visit: http://www.center-arts.com/.
Rescue the Animals is seeking volunteers to take pic-tures and videos in preparation for the launching of their new website as well as maintenance of the site after the launch. This opportunity is open Monday, Tuesday, Thurs-
day and Friday from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. For more information contact Kathy Walker at 325-677-7722 or [email protected].
The National Center For Children’s Illustrated Literature is looking for volunteers to greet patrons, assist with art activities, sell books and make visitors feel welcome. Help is also needed for special events like Artwalk and exhibit openings. The NCCIL is located at 102 Cedar St. For more information on times and dates contact Debby Lillick at 325-673-4586 or visit: http://www.nccil.org/index.htm.
The Christian Ministries of Abilene: Food Pantry is searching for volunteers to greet and interview neighbors, do computer entries, shop with neighbors, take grocer-ies to vehicles, bag, stock and pick up orders on Mondays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. The Food Pantry is located at 701 Walnut St. For more information contact Becky Almanza at 325-673-1234 or [email protected].
The Christian Service Center is seeking volunteers to help assist with filling requests for items such as clothing, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc. from the donation center, sort and organize donations and occasionally pick-up donated items. Volunteers are needed every weekday and the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. For more information contact Roberta Brown at 325-673-7561 or at [email protected]. For more information on the program visit: http://www.uccabilene.org/ministries/csc.htm.
The Food Bank of West Central Texas needs volunteers to help sort and stock food and other items any week-day Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The Food Bank is located at 5505 N. 1st St. For more information contact Janice Serrault at 325-695-6311 or [email protected].
Meals on Wheels Plus needs volunteer drivers to deliver afternoon meals to seniors and adults with disabilities Monday-Friday between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Drivers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license. Training is provided. For more information contact Sa-mantha Barker at 352-672-5050 or visit: http://mealson-wheelsplus.com.
The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers for a variety of needs including sorting and pricing items in the thrift store, helping in the kitchen and/or doing yard work. Times are flexible. Volunteers are needed throughout the week Monday-Saturday. The Salvation Army is located at 1726 Butternut St. For more information contact J.D. Alonzo at 325-677-1408 or visit: www.satruck.com.
The House That Kerry Built is looking for volunteers to assist in the day care of medically fragile children any day Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Contact Keith Loftin at 325-672-6061.
The International Rescue Committee is seeking volun-teers to work with refugees who recently moved to the U.S., teaching English, helping with homework and men-toring. Contact Susanna Lubango to make an appoint-ment at 325-675-5643.
The Covenant Place of Abilene is seeking volunteers to lead singing and/or play piano for residents. For more information contact Ann Erwin at 325-793-1144.University Place is seeking volunteers to help with the resident birthday party for residents the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30 p.m. For more information con-tact Linda Tijerina at 325-676-9946.
For additional volunteer opportunities visit: www.acu.edu/campusoffices/ccsl/ministry-service/volunteer-opportunities/
Weekly Stats for week of March 10-March 20
911 callAccident Administrative activity Alarm AssistAttempt to locate Building lock/unlock Check building Criminal mischiefDisturbanceDomestic disturbanceDrug activity/offenseEscort Event supportFoot patrol Found propertyHit and runIncident reportInformation report Investigation follow upLost propertyMaintenance: University assetsMedical Emergency
Monitor facility/lotMotorist assist: Inflate tire Jumpstart Other UnlockNoise violationOtherParking lot patrolPatrol vehicle: Maintenance Refuel ProwlerRandom patrolReckless driving Report writing Sex offenseSpecial assignment Suspicious activitySuspicious personTheft (non vehicle) Traffic stop Unauthorized motor vehicle use
Total Events: 241
Friday 03.22.133 news
SA: Conference request fund drieswas granted $400 of its requested $10,542 for its mission trip to La Es-paranza, Honduras on May 20-26.
ACU College Republi-cans was granted $100 of its requested $212 for the State College Republi-can Executive Committee State Convention in Aus-tin on April 20.
The National Student Speech-Language and Hearing Association was granted $348 of its re-quested reimbursement of $2,450 for the Texas Speech and Hearing As-sociation Convention in Dallas on March 7-9.
Because it provided no
detailed budget and had no present members, an argumentative and di-vided Congress granted the Fellowship of Chris-tian Athletes none of its requested $575 for the National Collegiate Camp in St. Joseph, Mo., on May 24-27.
Students’ Association meetings are conducted Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m. in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building Room 114. Meetings are open to the public and anyone interested is wel-come to attend.
contact garcia [email protected]
Friends, faculty support Jinkerson endowment
The ACU College of Business faculty is working with the Jinkerson family to create the Darryl and Cindy Jinkerson Study Abroad Endowment.
Dr. Phil Vardiman, associ-ate professor of management in the College of Business, approached the Jinkerson family with the idea to start a study abroad scholarship in Dr. Darryl Jinkerson’s honor. Jinkerson died on October 12, 2012 of a heart attack. Vardiman traveled with Jink-erson on COBA study abroad trips to England, Honduras, and China.
“We’ve been good friends for 10 years, so when he passed away, I just knew he had a passion for study abroad,” Vardiman said. “I thought, what a great way to recognize his contributions and help students.”
Vardiman has teamed up with COBA recruiter and marketing manager M.C. Jennings, professor of finance Dr. Terry Pope, as-sistant professor of market-ing Jennifer Golden as well as the interim director of the Center for International Education Stephen Shew-maker. Vardiman has also teamed up with Jinkerson’s daughters Rachel Goodman (11) and Amanda Carpenter, a senior elementary educa-tion major from Abilene.
“My hope is that it will continue his legacy and help students do something they might not have expe-rienced,” Vardiman said. “He believed in doing things good. He wanted things to be done really well: he would call it ‘top shelf.’”
By Dec. 2013, the goal is to have $30,000 in the en-dowment fund. Right now, $15,000 has been raised. This year’s Sing Song winners do-
nated a portion of their win-ning money to the Jinkerson Study Abroad Endowment.
“We really want to turn around and help students in the future,” Goodman said. “Our goal is to have enough money raised to give out a scholarship next year.”
To meet this goal, the in-augural Jinkerson Scholar-ship Scramble, an 18-hole golf tournament will take place April 19 at the Abilene Country Club. Tee-off is at 8:30 a.m. Students and non-students can register online and pay the registration fee the morning of the tour-nament. This fee includes breakfast, lunch, the green fee, range balls, and a golf cart.
“Golf was dad’s favorite,” Carpenter said. “I think he would be excited about it.”
There are opportunities for students to volunteer by keeping score or handing out water at the tournament.
“It’s supposed to be a fun day,” Goodman said. “We just want everyone to come out and hang out. You don’t have to play golf to come.”
Jinkerson made a lasting impression on the ACU com-munity.
“I think what makes me really happy is when I see the response that people have to this,” Goodman said. “We miss our dad every day, but when we see that other people miss him and want to honor his memory and loved him so much, that just brings me joy.”
For more information about the Jinkerson Scholar-ship Scramble or to donate money to the Cindy and Dar-ryl Jinkerson Study Abroad Endowment, go to www.acu.edu/coba/scramble.
scholarships
megan robinsonstudent reporter
contact the optimist [email protected]
Priest reacts to pope
After the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the in-augaration of Pope Francis paving the way for change in the Catholic church, around the world and in Abilene.
This past Tuesday, St. Pe-ter’s Square in Rome was crowded with thousands of witnesses to the Catholic Church’s inaguration of its first Latin American poin-tiff, Pope Frances, previously known as Cardinal Jorge Ma-rio Bergoglio from Argentina.
“I think the change is all positive,” said Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s Father Bush. “He looks like he’s a good man.”
Father Bush said he did not know much about the newly elected pope aside from what has been pub-lished in the papers, but
Pope Francis’ younger age and South American nation-ality will set him apart from his Pope predecessor.
“He will be the first non-European elected to the posi-tion for the past 1,300 years,” Bush said. “It will certainly bolster the perception of the church with regard to the fact he’s from South America rather than Europe.”
Though not even a week into his inaugural week, Francis has already made an impression as a pope con-cerned about the well-being of the poor. His chosen name of “Francis” without numer-als following was Pope Fran-cis’ intention of honoring St. Francis of Assisi, an advo-cate for those in poverty.The Pope’s principle was exhibit-ed at his ordaining ceremony Tuesday, where instead of donning a solid gold symbol-ic Fisherman’s Ring like that of popes before, Francis had
his made of gold-plated sil-ver, demonstrating a desire for simplicity.
The impact on the Abilene Catholic commu-nity of the newly appointed pope is hard to measure at this point, Father Bush said,
though he brings a new per-spective and opinion that is sure to make an impact on the 1.2 billion members of the worldwide Catholic church.
local
Concert: New, veteran groups to perform
The carnival, to be located on the south-side lawn of the Hunter Welcome Cen-ter, will begin this after-noon at 4 p.m. and con-tinue until 7. Features will include a mechanical bull; a petting zoo; a faculty dunk tank; Cajun Cones served in glow-in-the-dark cups; hamburgers, hot dogs and popcorn; and student-run booths and games.
The concert, to occur next to Faubus Fountain Lake, will begin at 6 p.m. and continue until 10:30. The concert will feature eleven
bands, all of which are com-posed of current of former or current ACU students.
“I’m very excited about the groups that we have for the concert this year,” Morgan said. “We have some solid performers from previous years as well as some promising new groups.”
campus
contact garcia [email protected]
curtis Christian staff Photographer
Chase Inman, senior elementary education major from Georgetown, speaks with a representative at the Teacher’s Job Fair in the Abilene Civic Center.
gabi powellfeatures editor
continued from page 1
continued from page 1
contact powell [email protected]
Several representatives were absent in the meeting on Wednesday
Spenser Lynnsenior class president
Bo Braddockjunior class treasurer
Colton McCoysophomore class vice president
Kaitlyn Tuiasosopo Gardner Hall representative
Emily O’RearSherrod representative
Stevon Carr COBA representative
The following groups will be performing during the concert
Micah Bynum 6 p.m.
Mighty Kong 6:15 p.m.
No Face6:32 p.m.
Super Silly Schubert Squad 6:50 p.m.
Kaleigh and Matt 7:15 p.m.
Parabe Records 7:37 p.m.
R.E.D. College 8:02 p.m.
The Dogwoods 8:30 p.m.
Clayton Stewart 9 p.m.
Sunset at Ivry 9:30 p.m.
Jane & The Gentlemen 10:10 p.m.
zack morgansenior biology major
from keller
I’m very excited about the groups that we have for the concert this year.”“
students’ association
Father Bushsacred heart catholic
church
He will be the first non-European elected to the
position for the past 1,300 years.”“
Many of the top selling vid-eo games in recent years share one prominent as-pect in common: violence. Multiple Assassin’s Creed, Halo and Call of Duty (among other) games flood the gaming stores and many young people’s con-soles. These games primar-ily focus on killing charac-ters, most of which portray
humans.Many point to frequent
use of the violent games as a possible main reason why some people commit real-world violence. Game ad-vocates defend the games as outlets for aggression, among other things.
The Entertainment Soft-ware Association, an orga-nization dedicated to the
public affairs and business of companies that pro-duce computer and video games, has published some research that refutes the implication that violent video games directly cause users to commit violent crimes.
Numerous authorities, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Trade Commission, found no casual link between me-dia content and real-life violence.
In Brown v. EMA/ESA, the Supreme Court struck down a California law cre-ated in 2005 that banned the sale of some video
games to children. The law, introduced by California state senator Leland Yee,
was intended to end a sup-posed connection between violent games and aggres-sive behavior in children.
But the facts proved that link wasn’t as concrete as the state had thought. In the majority opinion, jus-tice Antonin Scalia said, “Psychological studies pur-porting to show a connec-tion between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children do not prove that such ex-posure causes minors to act aggressively.”
According to a Wash-ington Post research story, a comparison between 10 countries, including the U.S., suggests little to no relationship between video games and gun murders. The U.S. has much higher
gun-related murders than the other nine countries, which included Canada, China, Germany and Aus-tralia, but the U.S.’s video game spending per capita was lower the most of the other countries.
Playing these games in moderation is not a main cause of aggression or vio-lence in the real world. When used too much, they can desensitize and nega-tively affect users, but they don’t create violent crimes in the real world.
The Roman Catholic Church has a new spiritual leader. During spring break, Jorge Mario Bergoglio ascended to the papal throne after a vote from his peers.
As a member of the “con-clave,” the session that led to the election of the new pope, Bergoglio was a cardi-nal (though he didn’t have to be, as I incorrectly reported in my previous column on this subject). The American media hyped the possibility of the next pope being from Ghana or even America, but Bergoglio is breaking all kinds of history on his own. He is the first non-European pope since the Apostle Pe-
ter; he hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is the first pope to be a Jesuit, an intellectual religious order within the Catholic Church. Even his papal name is sig-nificant and symbolic—no other pope has chosen to name himself after St. Fran-cis.
St. Francis of Assisi was an Italian friar who swore himself to poverty and min-istry. In becoming Francis I, Bergolio demonstrated a new commitment to serve the poor. Greed has been a major criticism of the Cath-olic Church in recent times; it seems inappropriate for the Vatican City to be seem-
ingly snuggled in luxury and wealth while a largely Catholic country like Haiti is drowning in poverty. Francis intends to change things; media outlets like National Catholic Reporter and The Guardian report that Fran-cis has stated his interest in creating a church of and for the poor, for peace and pro-tection.
But Pope Francis isn’t en-tirely progressive; he strug-gled relentlessly against gay marriage in his home coun-try of Argentina. His oppo-nents have even suggested the language he used in his arguments caused more
support for gay rights. Like-wise, there is little to indi-cate that Francis will spend time addressing the in-equality of men and women in the Church.
The election of Francis represents a shift in the con-centration of Catholicism. As Europe secularizes, the Roman Catholic Church has largely moved to places like South America. Pope Benedict XVI’s resigna-tion at age 85 was because of an unhealthy old age that caused a confessed in-ability to properly lead the Church. Laughably, his suc-cessor is 76. In spite of his age, electing Bergoglio was no mistake; the Church has acknowledged its need to address the issues of poverty and the future of its mem-bership.
By Joseph Austin, Students’ Association treasurer
This past spring break Mireya Reyes and I led a group of nine people to Los Angeles to work with the Dream Center. The Dream Center is a volun-teer driven organization filling the needs of more than 50,000 people every month. The Dream Cen-ter does it all from mo-bile hunger relief, medi-cal programs, residential rehabilitation programs to a shelter for victims of human trafficking. Our team was able to put on a kids’ camp in Comp-ton and feed hundreds of homeless on Skid Row near downtown Los An-geles.
One of the great things
as well was their disciple-ship program, which is a yearlong program that gives men and women the opportunity to get help in a number of ways, many for drug addictions.
This program caught my attention for a number of reasons. One of which was the sheer number of people in the disciple-ship program. There were more than 200 men and women who were giving up their lives voluntarily to be a part of these pro-grams. Another reason is that my dad got clean from drugs in a similar
program in Los Ange-les nearly two years ago. When I saw the disciples I saw my dad. I saw the pain in their eyes and the hope for healing and reconcili-ation they were seeking. I knew a lot of them didn’t have anywhere to go, be-cause my dad didn’t.
One day, I was able to share my testimony to a small group of the dis-ciples and what an amaz-ing audience I had. When I told my story, I was able to tell what it was like having a father addicted to cocaine, breaking a family apart and what the consequences were of his actions, but a tes-timony never has an end. It’s always going some-where. God is always do-ing something. I was then able to tell them all about my dad getting clean in Los Angeles and putting drugs and addiction be-hind and letting grace and love drown his past. I was able to share that hope and reconciliation is possible, and God has shown me that in more ways than one.
Today, my dad works at Impact Church of Christ and is a part of the recov-ery home where he men-tors those going through situations that were all too common to him. My prayer for all of the people we met and the experi-ences we shared was not for them to remember the name Joseph or Genna or Gao, but the name Jesus.
EVAN’s marks evan marks
4Friday 03.22.13Opinion
contact the optimist [email protected]
column
guest column
Editorial
Video games not the root of violent crimes the issue
Many point to violent video games as a root cause for violent crimes.
our take
There is not necessarily a link between violence in video games and real life.
LA Spring Break Campaign joins the dream team
CROOK IN THE GUT
JOSHUA GARCIA
Pope pledges papacy of poverty
hashtagACU
@elihoover @JorMoore13@connor_dale
1:49 p.m. Mar. 20
10:57 a.m. Mar. 2111:39 a.m. Mar. 21
@sadiedrew@chrisjohn210
3:39 p.m. Mar. 20
2:19 p.m. Mar. 20
To the girl taking pic-tures of yourself in rec.. STOP.
I always look at who President Obama picks to win the Final Four, and then I don’t pick those teams #dontqui-tyourdayjob #thanksa-lotobama
Tucked away in a corner of the library watching vamp dia-ries until my next class #Thisisthelife
Note to self....chapel swiper doesn’t accept Bank of America
High of 85 today. Come Lord Jesus.
Mark Smitheditor in chief
josh garciamanaging editor
Mark Smithopinion page editor
melany coxonline managing editor
asia todddesign editor
lindsay palmerarts editor
gabi powellfeatures editor
taylor langstonsports video director
john edward isaacssports editor
Matt sloanassistant sports editor
Madeline Orrcopy editor
Cara Kramarcopy editor
katie greenepage 2 editor
mandy lambrightchief photogrpaher
Deanna Romerostaff photographer
curtis christianstaff photographer
Paige Otwaystaff photographer
Adrian Patenaudestaff photographer
Lucius Patenaudechief videographer
Brance armstrongstaff videographer
JP Festastaff videographer
Denzil Limstaff videographer
Stephen Reyesstaff videographer
evan markseditorial cartoonist
leanne kawahigashipage designer
marissa jonesoxford correspondent
Wyatt morganarts writer
anne-marie coffeepage designer
cheryl baconfaculty adviser
cade whitefaculty 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 university or its administration.
Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.
The Optimist encourages reader response through 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
E-mail letters to: [email protected]
published by the department of journalism
and mass communication
editorial and management board
editorial and Letter Policy
contact the optimist [email protected]
I saw the pain in their eyes and the hope for
healing and reconciliation they were seeking.” “
contact garcia [email protected]
@DarciHalstead @samanthafword @erportt@nikkiwilsonn
9:31 a.m. Mar. 21
2:23 p.m. Mar. 20
11:59 a.m. Jan. 17
Another day has passed and I still haven’t used Calculus.
@jNAV12@Alainaw1992
5:05 p.m. Mar. 2011:10 a.m. Mar. 21
I want a girl that will love me more than Obama loves the big 10
The bat is back. #chapelmemories
I’ve already seen 2 let-terman jackets being worn today. THIS IS COLLEGE. AND LETTER JACKETS WERE NEVER COOL. GO AWAY.
Lifetime wellness: pointless busy work that kills your GPA.
You guys, I couldn’t hear the bass on the praise team in chapel today. #saidnoone #ionlyheardbass
3:55 p.m. Mar. 20
Many point to frequent use of the violent games
as a possible main reason why some people commit
real world violence.”“
@Quarters3
11:18 a.m. Mar. 21
there goes the mu-sic... oh, and her stand just blew over. #OutsideChapelProbs #AbileneWind
The election of Francis represents a shift in the
concentration of Catholi-cism.”“
friday 03.22.135 arts
Red Rubber Ball deals with discovering one’s dreams and the inevitable tri-als that arise while in pursuit of them. Do we give up in the face of defeat or persevere? The books Rules of the Red Rubber Ball by Kevin Carroll and The War of Art by Steven Pressfield served as inspiration for this film. - Lucius Patenaude
Rubber Band Ball
“Nerf Wars: A Mocumentary is a comedy movie that uses the production staff for the film as the actors. This film within a film is an inside look at the process of making a big budget movie and all the antics that happen when the cameras aren’t rolling. From the nutty main star to the overly stressed producer, these are characters everyone can re-late to and laugh at. Nerf Wars: A Mocumentary teaches a lesson in not taking yourself too seriously and knowing what things “can really just make you hate everyone around you”. -Stephen Estrada
Nerf Wars: A Mocumentary
Hope on Fire is a compilation of music by E5 Krew. A few years ago, five ACU students found a com-mon passion for Christ-centered music, forming E5 Krew: Brandon Bolden, Joshua Bonnett, Vinc-son Green, Brady Robinson and Demarco How-ard. In this music video, they present the best of their work from various projects. These songs ulti-mately work together towards a common theme: Hope. We live in such a broken world where peo-ple are longing for significance and a purpose for living. With so many negative things going on, it can be hard to have any hope. This video com-municates that there is hope through knowing who we are in Christ and being affirmed by His everlasting love. We don’t have to live empty and purposeless lives. We can live in the fullness of the abundance that God desires for us. The men of E5 Krew have experienced God in ways that have radically transformed their lives. Through this mu-sic video, they hope to express how God has given them hope. -Adrian Patenaude
Hope on Fire
“This film is a documentary about two best friends and one dream. One lonely night in Abilene, we decided to make a shuffling video filled with the best dancing and flipping ability anyone has ever seen. This dream soon became a reality opening up new doors to places we couldn’t even imag-ine. We set out to be YouTube legends but instead found a gateway to glory through a contest put on by a radio station. Now, we embark on a mission to find a once in lifetime chance to make our mark on history. Follow the journey of this most memorable tale about how one dance could change the world. Chase and Bob, with their adventurous spirits, talk about what lies ahead in the near and distant future. First came the “ricky bobby,” then the “soulja boy,” and now, “The Shuffle.” -Bobby Kyle Holden
Lost in the Music:The ballad of Chase and Bob
My entry for Film-Fest13’ is a music vid-eo for the song R.I.P (Recovery is Possible), written by For Adam’s Sake (my compos-ing name). The idea for the music video developed around of the idea of finding
yourself and coming back to life when you hit a dead end. When I wrote a demo for the song the chorus was different but when time came around to re-track the whole song I was going through a part of my life in which I went to some dark places. Friends helped me wake up and realize that I could recover from that and anything that will test me later, I had to decide if I wanted to recover. Like most music videos, I have a story and band performance blend. Good friends of mine were willing to stand in as my bandmates as I don’t have a performing band and we had a blast filming and making memories. Couldn’t have pull this project off without them. -Xavier Strong
R.I.P (Recovery is Possible)
“The Mover features a strong female character who runs a lucrative teleportation business for criminals. The unnamed woman is fascinated by the idea of luck and various events from the past. We tried to create a film that tells a story that continues beyond the first and final frames. The score, composed by Abilene native Michael Perkins, could be described as Western elec-tronic noir and helps inspire the seductive mood of the film.” -Caitlin Bradford
The Mover
Annie Cooper is an average college student starting a new semester. She is a creature of habit, whether she likes it or not. While going about her daily routine of early mornings and long days, she sees something odd--a young man with a red umbrella and a book in the middle of a field--every day on her walk to campus. Curbing her curiosity, she goes about her usual pattern day in and day out until it becomes too much to bear. She finally decides to break the monotony and find the answers to the questions she’s had for so long about “The Umbrella Man.” -Lauren Mesaros
The Umbrella Man
FILMFEST
THE
GUIDE a d e f i n i t i v e g u i d e
M.A.Double
Lost in the Music:The ballad of Chase and Bob
Hope on Fire
The Mover
Rubber Band Ball
The Umbrella Man
b i o s s t r a i g h t f r o m t h e c r e a t o r s
The softball team will host Tarleton State over the weekend. The first game of the series is Friday at 6 p.m. The team also plays a double-header starting at 1 p.m. Saturday
The baseball team will travel to Texas A&M Kingsville this weekend for a four game set. The Wildcats play Friday night at 7 p.m. before they play a double-header Saturday and one game Sunday afternoon.
The women’s tennis team plays two matches Saturday at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. against the Univeristy of Texas at El Paso and UTPB. The men’s team plays at the University of Texas at 3 p.m.
The track and field teams will take part in the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational alll day Saturday in Arlington.
The football team will continue their spring practice Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m.
women’s tennis
standings
briefings
Who’s Hot
The ACU tennis team is planning an alumni weekend for April 5-6. The weekend will consist of a golf tournament at Diamondback Golf Club and various lunches for the alumni.
men’s tennis
TeamACUUIWCameronMSU
Div.11-98-311-17-4
Ovrl.2-01-10-00-1
Junior third base-man Kyle Guisti was recently named the Divi-
sion II National Player of the week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s As-sociation. Guisti hit .550 during spring break, and helped lead the Widcats to a 4-2 victory over Delta State, the number one team in the country. He drove in 7 runs and scored four more dur-ing the week to earn the award.
TeamACUCameronUIWMSUTSUTAMU-K
Div.13-57-27-66-47-71-2
Ovrl.3-01-11-21-02-00-2
friday 03.22.13 6sports
Guisti
baseball
TeamTSUTAMU-KACUWTAMUCameronUIWASUENMU
Div.4-03-1 3-1 2-2 2-2 1-3 1-3 0-4
Ovrl.15-7-1 19-5 15-10 15-8 8-12 15-8 15-9 12-10
softball
TeamWTAMUTWUASUMSUUIWTSUACUCameronWNMUTAMU-K
Div.5-15-15-14-23-33-32-42-41-50-6
Ovrl.21-221-712-820-717-1015-1218-149-158-2410-19
upcoming
From a Cowboy to a ‘Cat
Andrew Hudson lay in the middle of the field at Boone Pick-ens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. Trainers, doctors and coaches rushed to him, including Oklaho-ma State head coach Mike Gundy. Hudson had been struck in the head by a Nebraska player during a kickoff. He does not remember the hit or the game.
Hudson was in his second year playing Division I college football. OSU was playing the 16th ranked Cornhuskers. It was homecoming for the Cowboys who were also ranked (No. 14) and undefeated at the time (6-0).
“It was a big game for OSU,” Hudson said. “I don’t remember any of it.”
Hudson woke up in the training room with a concussion.
“I forgot so many different things that were going on with my family,” he said. “I was dating someone at the time and I forgot who she was.”
Hudson, who is now throwing the shot put and discus at ACU, had to drop out of OSU for about six weeks to recover.
During his recovery time, he received an article from his train-er. It was about Nathan Stiles, a Kansas high school football player who also experienced a concussion. Nathan returned to the football field a week after the injury and collapsed after scoring a touchdown. He was airlifted to a hospital where he died later that morning.
“His death was six days after my injury at Oklahoma State,” Hudson said. “I felt God was call-ing me to do something.”
Hudson contacted Nathan’s dad (Ron) on Facebook.
“I had no idea what I was going to tell this father who had just lost his son but I felt called and led to say something.”
Ron responded. He was more than happy to speak with Hudson.
The two talked on the phone then Hudson eventually drove up to Kansas to meet the Stiles family. He met Nathan’s mom (Connie or as Hudson says “Momma Stiles”), dad and sister.
“We didn’t know what to expect at all,” Connie said with a laugh. “We had several people call and say the same thing but they never followed through with it.”
“This big monster of a guy gets out and comes in the house and gives me a hug,” she said. “It was
like we’d known him forever.”Hudson said the Lord healed
both him and the Stiles through that event.
“The Stiles are my other fam-ily now,” he said. “I surprised Nathan’s little sister at her high school graduation last year and his mom went to several of my track meets at Oklahoma State.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Connie said. “I think God puts people in your path for a reason.”
After returning to OSU, Hud-son spent a year and a half in the training room preparing his body to return to the gridiron.
“It wasn’t the ideal college foot-ball experience at that point,” Hud-son said. “I faced a lot of adversity.”
Because of the head injury and a ruptured disk in his back during his freshman year which required back surgery, Hudson was told he might not be able to play the sport again.
With that news, he went back to his small hometown of Bushland and had an opportunity to speak one on one with Major League Baseball player Josh Hamilton.
“I saw how he used the adver-sity in his life to glorify the Lord,” Hudson said. “So I thought, I can’t give up football.”
Hudson met with Coach Gundy to talk about his future and was
disappointed to hear him and the doctors and trainers advise against playing.
He decided to anyway. The next day Hudson had a headache and felt dizzy. He ended up falling in his room.
“After that I did a little soul searching,” he said. “I decided to let it go.”
Hudson’s days of putting on the shoulder pads and helmet may have been over but he refused to leave the athletic arena. He was involved with track in high school and he had offers after graduation to do that as well.
He walked on to the Cowboys’ track team and, at the same time, walked away from the scholarship he had with football.
“I did that for two seasons,” Hudson said. “Out of state tu-ition was a lot, so the Lord opened a door for me to come here to ACU.”
Hudson is now a freshman on the Wildcat track team and is hap-py the Lord led him to Abilene.
“I changed my degree plan (Pre-medical),” he said. “I love Abilene Christian. I’m so happy to be here.”
track and field
mandy lambright chief Photographer
Andrew Hudson tosses a discus during an afternoon practice at ACU.
edward isaacssports editor
contact isaacs [email protected]
Team leaves behind legacy in LSC
In their final year in the Lone Star Conference, the Wild-cats posted one of ACU’s greatest seasons. With a new head coach and new style of play, the Lady ‘Cats finished as LSC cham-pions and proved that ACU basketball is a legitimate program.
“Having a new coach and having to adjust to a new system was our biggest challenge,” sophomore Sa-die Dickinson. “But that set back forced us to take huge leaps to get to where we got. Our focus and determina-tion that came from the change was definitely a key in our successful season.”
The Wildcats, originally projected to finish seventh in the LSC preseason poll, were 7-3 in their first ten games and began to prove that they were a team not to be taken granted.
“No one thought such change could come in such a short amount of time,” Dick-inson said. “We were the only ones who believed we could actually become conference champions and attend the NCAA regional tournament. Because of this desire, we were able to make it happen.”
The Wildcats continued their exceptional play, and hit their stride in January. Af-ter the New Year, ACU went on an eight game winning streak, including a 90-43 win over Cameron University and a 108-21 win against South-
west Adventist University. The Wildcats won thirteen of fifteen games throughout Jan. and Feb. and were tied for the best record in the LSC.
Perhaps the greatest mo-ment of the season for the Wildcats came on Feb. 9 as they faced off against Tar-leton State who was ranked second in the conference.
The Lady ‘Cats dominated with an 86-70 win in Abilene. ACU then took on num-ber one ranked Midwestern State. Once again, the Wild-cats rose to the challenge and left Wichita Falls with the win, 85-72, snapping Midwestern’s eleven game winning streak and tying the two teams for first place.
The Wildcats finished out the season strong as they went 4-1 in their last
five games. In the final game of the season, the Wildcats defeated Texas A&M Kings-ville, 92-53, at home to se-cure ACU’s ninth Lone Star Conference Championship. The Wildcats finished the season with a 21-5 record, 16-4 LSC record.
Despite a remarkable regular season, ACU was knocked out of the first round of the LSC post season tournament by No. 7 Texas A&M Commerce, 80-79.
On Sunday, Mar. 10, the Wildcats were informed that they were selected into the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament in Colorado. The Lady ‘Cats took on No.4 Texas-Permian Basin and lost in the closing seconds, 70-68, to close out their amazing season.
“We’ve been so blessed with our fans, coaches, players and everyone else this season and it’s truly shown in how we’ve played this year,” senior Kelsey Smith said. “I’m so proud of this team and everything we have accomplished.”
The Wildcats will look to continue their success in the Division I Southland Conference next year. The switch to Division I will prove to be a challenge, but that won’t stop the Wildcats.
“This season was unfor-gettable,” Smith said. “I can’t imagine ending my basket-ball career on a better note than I did this year.”
women’s basketball
daniel zepedasports reporter
contact zepeda [email protected]
Practices come as breath of fresh air
The ACU football team hit the field for the first time in 2013 Tuesday to start spring practice.
After months of offseason workouts, the boys of fall are finally getting a chance to buckle up their chinstraps and get back on the gridiron.
“It was nice to get out there because we have been away from it for so long,” fullback Spencer Hittle said. “We are moving a lot of guys around and we have some transfers in but we hit the ground run-ning. Friday we are putting on the pads, so personally I am itching to get out there and hit somebody and get back in the flow of things.”
The ‘Cats will have 15 practices during their
spring practice.The players are also get-
ting a chance to build some comradery for the upcom-ing season before the bright lights come on again in August.
“It’s great to get back to it because that’ll always be the fun part,” quarterback Jacoby Clay said. “You can get back on the field and be around the people you call your brothers and family.”
Although the Wildcats will not have an official spring game this year, there is plenty of anticipation for the ACU players, as they get closer to facing their first Division I schedule.
“We are ready for next year to be here,” Hittle said. “We can’t wait to get it going and play in Division I.”
With a talented group of seniors leaving the Big Coun-
try behind, ACU fans will see some familiar faces in differ-ent roles.
“The energy and excite-ment from everybody has been good,” Clay said. “A lot of teaching and getting back into the groove of things.”
Quarterback John Da-vid Baker headlines a group of quarterbacks itching for a full-time job under center, while several Wildcats are learning new positions as well.
Justin Stephens will be moving from cornerback to safety with the departure of L.B. Suggs, and Cy Wilson will move from a crowded group of linebackers to fullback.
ACU’s spring practice will wrap up Tuesday April 16.
football
matthew sloanassistant sports editor
contact sloan [email protected]
mandy lambright chief Photographer
Defensive coordinator Darian Dulin motivates his players.
photo provided by andrew hudson
Andrew Hudson being taken off the field at Boone Pickens Stadium.