the optimist - sep. 22, 2009

PHOTOS

Bid Night

Forecast InsideSTUDENTS CAN HEARwhat other students have to say at Summit. A handful of current students will lead classes and deliver lectures this year.

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WILDCAT FOOTBALLdefeated Southeastern Oklahoma 33 to 14 Saturday night. Get our sports team’s take on the action, and find out who made the big plays.

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West Texas Fair and Rodeo

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acuoptimist.comBREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENTVol. 98, No. 10 1 section, 8 pagesSunday, September 20, 2009

Miller in the Mirror

LOUDandCLEAR

PAGE 5

Linda BaileyOpinion Page Editor

The Women for ACU will celebrate their 40th an-niversary at their annual Summit dinner Tuesday. Dr. Caron Gentry, asso-ciate professor of po-litical science, will be the guest speaker; she will present a Christian viewpoint on war in her lecture, Hospitality and International Relations.

The organization has been planning the din-

ner for the past nine months. They will be honoring twelve schol-arship recipients, in ad-dition to the anniversary celebration.

“In the spring, the Women for ACU invite sophomores and juniors to apply for a $4,000 per year scholarship,” said Samantha Adkins, senior Alumni Relations officer and liaison. “The schol-arship is for students

A whirlwind of watermelons, Hawaiian leis, and milk jugs – also known as Bid Night – blew through campus Friday night, begin-ning the first phase of fall pledging.

The pledge cap for women’s clubs, set at 48 pledges last year, was raised to 51 this year. Most men’s and women’s clubs had a larger pledge class than last year. Gamma Sigma Phi, has 46 pledges, up from 29 last year.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve had a ten-dency to go low forties,” said GSP president Conner Halstead, senior youth and family ministry major from Odessa. “This is a very athletic pledge class. I think it’s a pledge class that’s going to help get our numbers up.”

Galaxy increased from 28 pledges to 33. Frater Sodalis more than doubled its num-ber of pledges from last year with eight.

“I think they are the perfect addition to Frats,” said Sean Smith, senior accounting ma-jor from Spring. “I think they have the ability to carry on what this club is all about.”

Club history is something the club’s officers

Staff Report

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

acuoptimist.com

Watch video of pledges inbid night activities and

hear from club members.

Liz SpanoManaging Editor

The Department of Art and Design will conduct an iron pour on Monday to demonstrate the pro-cess of melting and cast-ing molten iron. Sculp-ture students will heat, pour and cast scrap metal into a sculpture that will be exhibited on campus.

“Iron pouring is something that’s been done for centuries,” said Geoffrey Broderick, as-sociate professor of art and design. “Most peo-

ple haven’t seen it, so we do it out in the open as an interest thing.”

Broderick said metal casting dates to an-cient times, and al-though technology has progressed, he and his students use a method common in the mid-20th century.

The process involves creating a mold around a wax sculpture that is then placed in a furnace to melt the wax. This leaves an open space in the shape of the wax sculpture. Scrap iron – taken from old bathtubs

and other such items – is melted in a homemade furnace, heated to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and poured into the mold. As the metal cools, it hardens in the shape of the intended sculpture.

The event has become an annual tradition; in past years, students have sold their sculp-tures to benefit local charities. Broderick said he is tentatively plan-ning an event that would provide education for people in Afghanistan

Austin GwinAssistant Sports Editor

Kathleen Norris, four-time New York Times bestselling author, will be a featured guest at Summit this year. She will be speaking on her new book, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life.

Acedia is a Latin word meaning carelessness. It is also known as sloth or apathy, one of the seven deadly sins – a topic with which oversleep-ing college students are probably familiar. Norris understands the

relevance of faith in to-day’s society, said asso-ciate Bible professor Dr. Jeanene Reese.

“She is a qualified woman who addresses a Christian’s faith,” Re-ese said. “She definitely gives a unique spin as an author and certainly

has the credentials to be here.”

Some of Norris’ other works include The Clois-ter Walk, Dakota and Amazing Grace, all New York Times bestsellers. Dakota earned further acclaim as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

“When a book be-comes a New York Times bestseller, it is not only appealing to Christians, but to a lot of people with different backgrounds,” Reese said. “She will attract a different set of stu-dents, but those who go

to hear her speak will not be disappointed.”

Brady Bryce, director of ministry events, said Norris’ name came up re-peatedly in meetings with students and faculty

“When I hear a name several different times, that’s a clue,” Bryce said. “She might not be very charismatic, but she will hold the audi-ence just because of who she is.”

Norris speaking at Summit brings up the age-old issue of women speaking church, or in

Norris

ZAK ZEINERT Contributing Photographer

Students pour molten iron into a sand mold for last year’s Empty Bowls project.

see PLEDGE page 4

Best-selling author to address ‘Acedia’SUMMIT

see NORRIS page 4 see WOMEN page 4

SOCIAL CLUBS

Bid Night tests,unites pledges

WACU dinner toaward scholarships

SUMMIT

Sculpture students to pour ‘freedom’ ironSUMMIT

see POUR page 7

Nunu Carolina Williams, junior elementary education major from Plano, and nunu Kelsey Davis, sophomore from San Angelo, shout, “I will respect Kojie Park.”

ACU Police Tip Of The Week: Car burglaries are on the increase in the area. Always lock your vehicle and place valuables out of sight. Report all suspicious activity to ACUPD immediately.

Tuesday, Sept. 158:09 a.m. Subject called ACUPD to report that her vehicle had been broken into. APD took over case.

Visit acuoptimist.com for the complete log.

Announcements

CALENDAR AND EVENTS

Sunday, September 20, 2009

2CampusDay

4 p.m. ACU Soccer vs. UTPB

5 p.m.Women for ACU Summit dinner

22 Tuesday

3 p.m.Summit: Featured Guest Carlos Sepulveda

7 p.m.Summit: Theme Conversation God On the Mountain and In the Waters

21Monday

7 p.m.Summit: Theme Conversation God Hears and God Remembers

8:30 p.m.Summit, Late Night Events:The Day After Tomorrow, Stephen Christopher Johnson, Brown Library, Learning Commons

The Word In Motion, ACU Department of Theatre faculty and staff, WPA, Fulks Theatre

20Sunday

20Chapel CreditedChapelsto date:

Checkup 51CreditedChapelsremaining:

The West Texas Book & Music Festival will be-gin Monday at the Abilene Public Li-

brary Main Branch. There will be live music in Minter Park at noon and the opening recep-

tion will be from 6-7:30 p.m. at the temporary exhibit of the West Texas Music Hall of Fame

in the Rose Park Shopping Center at 2510 S. 7th St.

Volunteer OpportunitiesG. V. Daniels Recre-ation Center needs volunteers for their Fall Festival from 5-9 p.m. Oct. 31.

The College Heights Friendship House needs help with chil-dren’s activities from 3-5 p.m. Monday-Fri-day. Call 829-6514 for more information.

PoliceLog

The story in this Friday’s issue about the Outdoors Club’s Rock Your Face Off event mistakenly report-ed the clinic took

place Wednesday night. The clinic was Friday night.

Corrections/Clarifications

September 20, 2009 Campus News

Sondra RodriguezManaging Editor

Summit brings a wave of visitors to Abilene each fall and this year is no different. Local business-es are planning for an in-creased demand for food and accommodations.

The Holiday Inn Ex-press on South Clack Street, and Comfort Suites on Overland Trail see a significant increase in business, said Kemari Jackson, sales manager for the two locations.

Jackson said she was hired to manage such

events and plans to meet with ACU representa-tives Monday to hammer out plans for lodging so many guests. Jackson said she anticipates a higher occupancy at the Comfort Suites.

“It’s very good for busi-ness, and I’m sure we’ll have a pretty good occu-pancy, because it’s right there across from the uni-versity,” Jackson said.

Employees at the Civic Plaza Hotel, located on Pine Street, are also ex-pecting an increase in cus-tomers, said Scott Brown-ing, assistant manager.

Browning said he sees a 25 percent increase in bookings during Sum-mit weekend.

“We are not full, but we do have many reserva-tions,” he said. Browning said he expects the Civic Plaza to reach 80 percent capacity this weekend, and the hotel staff is preparing for the rush of guests.

“We have the house-keepers checking all the rooms and rechecking them to make sure every-thing is ready for all the guests,” he said.

Abilene restaurants are also making arrangements

for Summit.Jason’s Deli, situated

at Catclaw Drive, is add-ing extra staff members to work weekend shifts, said Jessica Gollihar, catering manager.

“We’ll usually have slow times from about 3 to 5 p.m., but we’ll be staffed up to have extra people here throughout the day,” Gollihar said. “It’s going to be busy.”

The restaurant will not offer any special deals for guests this weekend, and Gollihar said aside from sched-uling additional staff,

there are no strategies to deal with the weekend’s anticipated rush.

Visitors are encour-aged to ask for the “ACU Summit” rate when mak-ing reservations.

ACU will also offer a free shuttle service to further accommodate visitors. Pick-up and drop-off locations are as fol-

lows: Hillcrest Church of Christ, University Church of Christ, Biblical Studies Building, the Williams Per-forming Arts Center and Moody Coliseum. To ar-range transportation, call 674-3744.

Local businesses anticipate influx of visitorsSUMMIT


Professors and visiting speakers will not be the only teachers during Summit. Students will teach specialized classes aimed at other students on campus.

Wilson McCoy, gradu-ate student from Clarks-ville, Tenn., will speak about faith and doubt. His lecture, Redeeming the D-Word: Finding a Place for Doubt in the Walk of Faith, will begin Monday in the Biblical Studies Building, Room 127.

McCoy said the ses-sion will explore the role of doubt in our faith journey, an important is-sue for Christians.

Much of the material

from the class will come from McCoy’s personal experiences, and he said he hopes it will resonate with some students.

“The topic that I’m speaking on is some-thing that is rooted in my own experience of faith,” McCoy said. “When I was an undergraduate stu-dent, that was a time for me when my faith was pressed and pulled in ways I had never allowed it to be before.”

During the first half of the class, McCoy plans to discuss those experience and how they brought him to where he is now. He will open up the discussion in the second half, providing a forum for those in atten-dance to ask questions or share their own stories.

Jordan Bunch, gradu-ate student from Sunny-vale, plans to teach us-

ing a similar format. In his class, The Punk Monk and Persistent Widow: Transforming a Nation Through 24/7 Prayer and Worship, Bunch will talk about the history of the 24/7 prayer movement, de-scribe how it came to ACU and answer any questions. The class will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday in BSB 250.

Bunch started a week-long prayer event in a tent in front of Moody Colise-um during Summit a few years ago, and was asked to speak about it for the first time this year.

“The reason we did the prayer week during Sum-mit was because we knew people were coming from all around the world,”

Bunch said. “We thought that we would also do a class on it to teach people some of the things they need to do to bring this back home.”

Bunch said he hopes the class will enable people to begin implementing weeks or months of prayer at their home congregations.

Ben Upton, junior biology major from Abilene, also plans to provide students with take-home lessons. Up-ton will talk about what it is like to live in a com-munity that practices new monasticism in his class, A New Face for an Old Tradition: Exploring the New Monasticism.

“New monasticism is about looking for a life-style that is more mean-

ingful and that will do more for people around you,” Upton said. “One aspect is being hospi-table with anyone you come in contact with.”

Upton said he com-mends ACU for giving students the opportuni-ty to speak at Summit.

“I think it involves students in the whole event,” Upton said. “It gives them a say in what goes on, so that Sum-mit as a whole is more student-friendly.”

Students prepare lectures for SummitSUMMIT

STUDENT SPEAKERS Lectures, times and locations:

n Wilson McCoy, Redeeming the D-Word: Finding a Place for Doubt in the Walk of Faith4 p.m., Monday BSB 127

n Anna Peters, Women Are From Venus, Men Are From Mars4 p.m., MondayBSB 129

n Jordan Bunch, The Punk Monk and Persistent Widow: Transforming a Nation Through 24-7 Prayer and Worship10 a.m., Wednesday BSB 250

n Ben Upton, A New Face for an Old Tradition: Exploring the New Monasticism10 a.m., WednesdayBSB 127

We have the housekeepers checking all the rooms and rechecking them to make sure everything is ready for all the guests.Scott BrowningAssistant Manager at the Civic Plaza Hotel

contact Bailey [email protected]

contact Rodriguez [email protected]

September 20, 2009From Front

through the Eternal Threads organization.

This year’s pour does not involve a charity, but Broderick said he hopes the finished sculpture will inspire spiritual freedom.

Each student will take part by creating footprints and a link in a chain. Brod-erick will weld the pieces togethe, and students will receive a grade in their sculpture classes based

on their level of involve-ment, he said.

John Sherwood, fifth-year senior and sculpture major from Orrville, Ohio, has participated in the past and will take part with his advanced sculp-ture class this year.

“My favorite part about the iron pour is the glow of the metal,” he said. “Seeing it in liquid form is pretty cool.”

Broderick acknowl-edged the danger, but said

the pour will be an enjoy-able, safe event and a way for interested students, faculty, staff and visitors to learn more about this unknown art form.

“It’s an insight as to some of the things we do in art and design and rais-es interest levels,” Brod-erick said. ”We do more than draw pictures in arts; we do exciting things.”

active in the commu-nity or school and lasts one year, but if recipi-ents maintain qualifi-cations, the scholar-ship can be kept for two years.”

WACU was founded in 1969 by Dewby Ray. Ray graduated from ACU in 1950 with a degree in music education and worked for the univer-sity until the late 1980s. Since then, she has vol-unteered for the organi-zation continually.

“The organization was founded because we felt like we needed women to come togeth-er and support ACU,” Ray said. “At the time, other Christian colleges had women’s organiza-tions, but we didn’t.”

The Women for ACU organization has local and national chapters. The Abilene chapter was first, and it op-

erates the McKinney House Museum, a mu-seum documenting the history of ACU. The na-tional chapter, which also meets at Summit every year, has begun to bring in more financial support for the universi-ty. The two chapters are very different, and they have different responsi-bilities, but supporting ACU is a common goal.

“We want to raise money for the school in any way we can, not only for scholarships, but for the entire cam-pus,” Ray said.

WACU sells food from noon until 5:30 p.m. every Thursday at the McKinney House Museum – across the street from University Church of Christ – as a way to raise money. Food items include homemade casseroles, cakes and pies.

The Women for ACU have focused in the

past primarily on cel-ebrating women who helped build ACU, but Tuesday, they will hon-or the men, too.

“This is the first time we’re inviting men to our dinner,” Adkins said. “The dinner is open to the public, and tickets are still on sale.” Tickets are $12, and they can be pur-chased through Adkins or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

In addition to Gen-try’s lecture, WACU will present a brief his-tory on its beginnings and eat birthday cake to celebrate its anni-versary. The dinner will begin at 5 p.m. in the McCaleb Conference Center in the Hunter Welcome Center.

“It’ll be something new for me, because I am not used to hearing women talk in a church environment,” said Tara Holland, freshman in-terior design major from Atlanta. “I’m open to the idea and excited to hear what she has to say. I don’t base good information or knowledge off of gender.”

Many members of the ACU community have strong opinions, whether positive or negative, about the issue of women speak-ing in a Chapel setting. Junior English major Jona-

than Sanders is in favor of Norris speaking.

“Under God we are all created equal, so I don’t understand why women shouldn’t be in that sort of role,” Sanders, a na-tive of Henderson, said. “If we are not attracting the women crowd to ACU, then we are not doing our job as Christian leaders and Christian ministers throughout the world.”

Reese, director of the Center for Women in Chris-tian Service, has dealt with this issue many times. She summed it up simply.

“We are a university, and we should be able to

talk about any issue,” Re-ese said. “If you can’t talk about this at Christian uni-versity, then where are you going to discuss it?”

Norris will speak in Moody Coliseum at 3 p.m. The title of her lecture is “Got Acedia? Who Cares?”

Pour: Set in iron

Women: Summit dinner

Norris: Featured speaker

SUMMIT

Continued from page 1

SUMMIT

SUMMIT



LAURA ACUFF Features Editor

Asa Kumasa, sophomore computer science major from Annadale, Va., practices bouldering at Abilene High School during the annual rock climbing clinic, Rock Your Face Off, on Friday.

Pledge: Class size growsSOCIAL CLUBS


contact Gwin [email protected]

contact Garvis [email protected]

contact Spano [email protected]

something the clubs’ offi-cers said they want to pass on to their pledges, some-thing they often do on Bid Night, said Beca Clifton, keeper of the crown for Al-pha Kai Omega.

“It’s a chance to in-troduce them to tradi-tions of the club,” said Clifton, junior art major from Ocoee, Fla.

Alpha Kai Omega Sec-retary Katie Ferguson, senior family studies major from Lubbock, fo-cused on one tradition in particular. “I feel like the main tradition is estab-

lishing our motto, ‘Unity in Christ,’ from begin-ning to end,” Ferguson

Bid Night is also a chance for pledges to bond with each other and current club mem-bers, said Ko Jo Kai president Lanna Arm-strong. Kojies maxed out on pledges with 51.

“During Bid Night, you get a sense of unity, and you get to feel proud of something,” said Armstrong, accounting graduate student from Dallas.

Delta Theta has 11 pledges – one of which

was added on Bid Night – down from 19 last year.

“We had problems with girls accepting bids this year, but Mauri was able to make some ex-ceptions for us,” said DT bid mom Meredith Gray, junior account-ing major from Abilene. “They’re all very excited about DT, and that’s go-ing to make them a great pledge class.”

Sigma Theta Chi declined to comment on Bid Night or its 2009 pledge class.

contact the Optimist [email protected]

FocusSeptember 20, 2009

Grace Hall dashed down the length of the typically tranquil Biblical Studies Building on September 4 to the Graduate School of Theology offices where Brady Bryce, director of ministry events, held a manuscript of Donald Miller’s newest – and at the time, unreleased – book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

Hall, a first-year English master’s student from Campbell, Calif., was the first to arrive at Bryce’s office, making her the winner of the manuscript.

“Oh, my gosh,” Hall said. “Dude, I’m so stoked. No one is going to believe this.”

The manuscript was the 29th of 60 manu-scripts hidden across the country as part of what Miller calls on his blog “the hidden manuscript campaign.” To promote his book tour, Miller “hid” a copy of his book in every city scheduled as a stop on the tour. He then hinted at its where-abouts on his Twitter account the day before he revealed the location, and the first person to arrive received the signed manuscript, complete with a contact number so the winner could call Miller and give him feedback after reading the book.

Hall says she has been a fan of Miller’s for years and has read all of his books except his memoir, To Own a Dragon. She said this new book is definitely on par with his other works.

“I thought it was really, really great,” she said. “It had some amazing points about choosing what kind of life you want to live … kind of, how are you going to look back on your life? ”

At the time of the interview, Hall had not been able to contact Miller to talk about A Million Miles – the number was out of order when she tried. But she wasn’t fazed.

“I just figured that will give me more time to read his book again and have even better in-sights,” she said.

Hall isn’t the only student talking about Don-ald Miller these days. Although he has been a popular author for years, the buzz about him has increased noticeably this fall for two reasons: the Freshman Common Reading and Summit.

The Freshman Common Reading is a new program coordinated by the First-Year Program that invites freshmen, their professors and anyone else who wants to join in to read as a community a book chosen by the FYP. This year’s book is Miller’s Searching for God Knows What, which has been integrated into several classes.

Ellen Smith, a freshman English major from College Station who read Searching as part of the program, said she had never read anything by Miller before this. Though she disagreed with him at times, she said she enjoyed reading the book and discussing it in class.

“Our freshman Bible class is trying to help us think of Jesus in more human terms, even though he is holy,” Smith said. “I think the book does the same thing; it forces us to think about religion in different terms than we’re used to … that more than going to church ev-ery Sunday, we need God as a friend, because that’s how he created us.”

Another freshman who read the book for the FCR, Rebecca Dial, a political science major from Lexington, S.C., said Searching helped her see things from a new perspective.

“Honestly, I liked it all,” Dial said. “It opened me up to a new viewpoint, a different way of seeing things. Even if I didn’t agree with everything he said, I don’t think it’s bad to look at different viewpoints.”

Although people react differently to Miller’s work, most agree that his easygoing tone and contrastingly bold statements help start discus-sion, opening people up to new ideas regardless of whether they ultimately agree with them.

“He’s very easy to read and has a very conver-sational tone,” Smith said. “He brings up issues that he has thought about.”

One of the criteria for the Freshman Common Reading is that the author of the selected book is still living and will be available to speak on cam-pus. Donald Miller will do just that Wednesday.

“From student speakers to Kathleen Norris and Donald Miller, we have a great run of speak-ers this year,” said Brady Bryce, director of min-istry events, in this case, Summit.

Miller seems to be the perfect choice for speaking to students because of his outspoken, yet relatable, style. But many are concerned about older, possibly more conservative generations that will attend Summit. What will they think of Miller’s audacity?

“I think he’s going to be a bridge-builder, because he’s talking about things that all of us are thinking and that some people refuse to think about,” Bryce said. “The neat thing about Donald is that his style really relates to a younger generation, because it’s very con-versational and free-flow. At the same time, there’s a lot of thought and structure behind it. He didn’t just sit down and write it off the cuff. There was a process that he went through, and I think that’s going to connect with all the generations.”

However, Bryce said the audience has as much responsibility to be open to Miller’s mes-sage as Miller does to present it in a loving way.

“If you’re only listening to your one stripe of Christianity, it’s easy to just pat yourself on the back,” Bryce said. “If you’re willing to lis-ten to people from other backgrounds and other traditions, it’s going to enhance your faith as well as challenge you to think about your faith in a real way.”

Hall echoed Bryce’s hope for willing listeners and said Miller may help achieve that.

“I think that he has so many valuable things to say,” she said. “If people just come ready to be rocked, they will be rocked.”

S E A R C H I N G

F O R D O N A L DM I L L E R

“I think he’s going to be a bridge-builder, because he’s talking about things that all of us are thinking and that some people refuse to think about.”Brady Bryce, director of ministry events

Renowned author inspires discussion at Summit

contact Melby [email protected]

Lydia MelbyFeature Writer

Opinion September 20, 2009

Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

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Optimistthe

By Jordan BlakeyAtaraxia

Social clubs are a promi-nent part of the ACU culture. Students in-vest time, emotion and money to experience the community and spirit that come with becom-ing a member of a social club. They also agree to accept the possible dis-appointment of rejec-tion the day they don’t receive their bids.

From an outsider’s point of view, social clubs seem to be a rewarding experience as members create memories and form bonds that last even after college is over. Grubs and socials are exciting for the students involved, and

they represent the effort and commitment of stu-dents and leaders within each group.

However, it seems posi-tive – and negative – expe-riences make it easy to be consumed by the whirl-wind of pledging activi-ties, and it becomes easy for students to lose per-spective and balance in their effort to enjoy this new period of their lives.

Small gatherings of extremely excited and equally heartbroken women convened with bids in hand at their club’s chosen meet-ing place when rush-ing hopefuls became

“Nunu’s” and “Squigs” Thursday night. Some ran and hugged each other in relief, while oth-ers seemed less enthusi-astic about the results.

It is apparent from these encounters, and from speaking with friends who are look-ing forward to pledging, clubs can easily influ-ence a person’s concep-tion of his own value and worth, whether a club extended or refused him a bid.

We encourage stu-dents to balance pledg-ing and outside life as this new journey begins.

Social clubs are a

great way to become involved, create friend-ships and be a part of a community of peo-ple who share a com-mon interest. However, when it starts to define someone’s feelings of self-worth and belong-ing, students should be reminded to think of pledging in the context of a lifetime of other priorities and commit-ments.

You might not have received a bid to the club you hoped for; you may not have received a bid at all. Or you still may be reveling in the excite-ment of being accepted.

Just remember to main-tain perspective as the thrilling, yet emotionally and physically draining events of pledging begin. As you laugh and roll your eyes at ridiculous pledging requests and matching outfits, remem-ber you are not defined by a club. Social clubs are a

way to enhance your col-lege experience, but they are not the answer to the question of the meaning of life – or even college.

Perspective key to emotional healthEDITORIAL

Pledging confused with spiritualityCOLUMN

Self Examination Ryan Self

There seems to be an anonymous editorial questioning the merits and values of the pledg-ing pro-cess ev-ery year. And ev-ery year, members of social clubs ar-gue out-s i d e r s c a n n o t judge the pledging pro-cess based on what they do not know.

I pledged a social club last year.

I returned from Bid Night with scratches, scrapes and bruises all over my body. I woke up later that morning to a text message from a member that read, “Congratulations, men. You’re one step closer to becoming the man God wants you to be.”

It should be stressed that the message, al-though strange, was from one member, not the entire club. Still, the implication of the mes-sage — and in fact, the

entire week of pledging I endured – was that pledging and spiritual growth are connected.

It would be incred-ibly foolish to draw a line down the middle of the student body with members of social clubs on one side and non-members on the other and say one side is more spiritual than the other. Those that pledge a social club have reasons for doing so. I know many strong Christians from both sides and many of the men I pledged with, as well as the members themselves, are great Christian leaders. It’s what attracted me to the club in the first place. But it is distressing when pledging is made out to be a “Christian” activity, not by adher-ing to high standards of moral conduct but by using Bible verses as catchy slogans.

I doubt God swells with pride when he sees intramural games where one group is holding a banner that reads, “We’re better than you,” and the other has “vol-unteers” jump through

a flaming hoop in order to gain respect. That’s not Christianity.

Many will argue club helps them form deep, meaningful, Christian relationships. That is valid, but it is not something exclusive to social clubs. After I “de-pledged” last year, I began to spend more time with close friends. I was able to focus more time on my education – the reason I came to college. These were all things I believed I had been deprived of during the pledging process.

Some amazing peo-ple in social clubs, and clubs certainly do not lack potential. Members of social clubs take an enormous amount of pride in the club itself, but also in the universi-ty. Clubs are a tradition that keeps alumni and ACU families returning year after year. I know many people that have benefited greatly from their time in club, but

the atmosphere that surrounds the pledg-ing process is not by definition conducive to spiritual growth.

Integrity is not a by-product of the number of pushups one does. Honor should not be judged by how willing one is to en-gage in activities that are potentially dangerous, such as jumping through fiery hoops. Moral charac-ter is something endowed by God, not by traditions, and that is something I don’t think I could have learned sweating in an old suit from Goodwill with a watermelon in my hands.

THE ISSUEPledges often define themselves by their social club, which can damage their relationships outside of club.

OUR TAKESocial clubs provide a way for students to become involved, but students should balance life in and out of club.

System thwarts Galaxy legacy

COLUMN

Little Linda Linda Bailey

My dad pledged Galaxy in 1979. As a child, I can re-member hearing stories about club friends, club intramu-ral teams and crazy club ad-ventures. Frequent-ly when I’m talk-ing about f r i e n d s I’ve made at ACU, my dad men-tions he was in club with their dad.

My mom, on the oth-er hand, decided not to pledge during her years at ACU, putting me in a tricky situation.

You see, my father has no sons to carry on the Bai-ley legacy, and I’m his last daughter to attend ACU. So what’s a girl in my situ-ation supposed to do?

Women’s clubs are great, but they don’t pro-vide the family history I’m yearning for.

A large part of pledg-ing social clubs is carrying on a family tradition, but because of pledging rules about gender, I’m unable to take the Galaxy torch from my father and pass it on to one of my children.

I realized this fact over the summer – when I had a

lot of time on my hands for thinking – and I immedi-ately decided that in some way, somehow, I would be-come a Moonie.

I thought this year was my year. However, I was unable to attend any rushes, and I forgot to fill out the paperwork. But I thought, “Oh, well, I’m a legacy. They’ve got to let me in.”

When I didn’t receive a bid Thursday night, I knew I was wrong.

I have one more year before that torch burns out forever, so I’ve begun thinking of reasons why I’m qualified for Galaxy.

I only drank coffee out of my father’s Galaxy cof-fee mug over the summer, and I frequently shopped online for Polo shirts and Sperry shoes. I also spent four years running high school cross-country and the better part of my freshman year of college training for and running a marathon – all to prepare for Galaxy’s annual Kirk Goodwin Run.

I know receiving a bid from Galaxy would take a massive overhaul of the pledging system, but I’m still holding out hope that maybe someday, I’ll be a Moonie.

Email the Optimist at:[email protected]

contact Bailey [email protected]

contact Self [email protected]

Moral character is somethingendowed by God, not by traditions.

Bailey

Self

Dickie Hill, professor of health and exercise science

Fact No. 1: Many ACU students have already caught the flu.Fact No. 2: Cases of the flu are appearing much earlier this year than in past years.Fact No. 3: The number of cases of all types of the flu has been predicted to be much higher than usual by the medical community.Fact No. 4: ACU is obviously concerned, evidenced by actions already taken.Fact No. 5: A significant increase in the num-ber of sick students can be expected during the pledging period.

Perhaps a moratorium on pledging activities would be in order to reduce the risk of additional students getting sick. It might not be a popular decision, but it would be a good decision.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

national championships outdoors, including the women’s 200-meter in 1998 and 1999 and the 400 in ’96, ’98 and ’99. She anchored the na-tional champion 4x400 relay teams in 1996 and 1998. Her NCAA Divi-sion II record time of 50.67 seconds in the 400 still stands.

ACU is organizing a 10-year reunion of the 1999 men’s and wom-en’s track and field teams to coincide with the induction of Ennis-London and Barnes. The

two teams won a total of four national champion-ships that season.

Jim Reese, currently an assistant baseball and football coach at Abilene High, will also be inducted next month. Reese took over quarterback duties for the Wildcats from Clint Longley in 1974. In his three years as starting quarterback, Reese was 23-8-1 and earned honor-able mention all-Ameri-can honors as a senior in 1976. Reese is seventh on the ACU all-time career-passing list in yards and touchdowns, with 5,946 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Reese led the Lone Star Conference in passing in 1975 and 1976. Reese will join his father, Leon Re-ese, in the Hall of Fame to become only the second father-son pair inducted; Ted and Chuck Sitton were the first, inducted in 1994 and 2001, respectively.

Vince Jarrett coached the Wildcat men’s golf team to seven LSC cham-pionships in his 11-year career: 1986-89, 1991, 1993 and 1995. Jarrett coached the 1993 team, led by Jeev Singh, to an NCAA Division II nation-al championship; Singh is now a professional

golfer. Jarrett was named LSC Coach of the Year in 1989, 1991 and 1993. 27 Wildcat players earned 40 all-American awards while he was coach, and 14 of his student athletes were named to academic all-American teams.

Wes Speights became ACU’s first full-time professional athletic trainer in 1976. He was an assistant trainer at the NBA pre-draft rookie camp in Chicago in 1988 and served as assistant trainer for the San An-tonio Spurs’ annual Mid-west Revue tryout camp from 1988-92.

Dr. Jerry Strader gradu-ated from Abilene Chris-tian in 1952 and is a long-time supporter of ACU athletics. Strader is on the ACU Board of Trustees and served as president of the Alumni Association from 1984-88. He received ACU’s Alumni Citation Award in 1982 and was named ACU’s Outstand-ing Alumnus of the Year in 1991. Strader served his country for more than 40 years as deputy assis-tant surgeon general for dental services/Offices of the Surgeon General in the Army Dental Corps and was promoted to briga-

dier general, the highest possible rank for an Army reservist in the Army Den-tal Corps, in 1988.

Tickets to the 25th an-nual Hall of Fame festivi-ties are $20 and can be purchased by calling the ACU athletics office at 674-2353. Reunions for letter-men in all sports will begin at 8 p.m. in the Welcome Center. There is no admis-sion fee for the reunions.

games, including seven in the loss against West Texas.

Junior Jordan Schilling had 10 kills and 10 digs, validating Head Coach Kellen Mock’s decision to move her to the outside

hitter position. Schilling leads the Wildcats in kills, points and service aces.

The win put the Wild-cats at 10-4 overall and 1-1 in the Lone Star Con-ference; the Zias dropped to 4-11 overall and 0-2 in the LSC. ACU will play its first LSC home game

against Angelo State Uni-versity at 7 p.m. Thursday in Moody Coliseum.

Rebound: Cats rally after WTAMU loss

VOLLEYBALL

September 20, 2009 From Sports

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff PhotographerRB Daryl Richardson runs past SE Oklahoma defenders in the first half.

Hall: Track stars head ’09 classHALL OF FAME


contact Knauth [email protected]

Storm: Offense startsearly, defense holds late

FOOTBALL




contact Cantrell [email protected]

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff PhotographerRB Justin Johnson baffles defenders on an outside run in the first half as the ACU offense jumped out to an early lead.

GAME BREAKERS

Optimist picks for players of the game and the play of the game.

n Co-Offensive Player of the Game, Daryl Richard-son, 17 rushes for 91 yards, 1 TDn Co-Offensive Player of the Game, Zach Stewart, 15-26 for 187 yards, 2 TDn Defensive Player of the Game, Tony Harp, 9 tacklesn Play of the Game, Kendrick Johnson returns a punt 72 yards for a TD to give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

a good field position. The Cats drove down to the Savage 3-yard line before missing a short field goal opportunity.

After another stop by the Wildcat defense, the offense went 81 yards to score its first touchdown, a 14-yard pass reception by Edmund Gates. Kend-rick Johnson returned an-other punt by the Savage 72 yards for the second Wildcat touchdown.

The Wildcats added two more touchdowns in the first half to bring the score to 28-0 at halftime.

ACU drove the ball down to SE Oklahoma’s 6-yard line before kicking a 23-yard field goal in the second half. The Wildcats had a controlling lead at 31-0 before the Savage was able to rally somewhat, scoring 14 points.

Another Wildcat drive took the ball to the Sav-

age 1-yard line, where they were stopped on a fourth down. However, the de-fense forced a safety by sacking quarterback Justin Pitrucha in the end zone, bringing the score to 33-14.

The ensuing Wildcat possession allowed the offense to nearly run the clock out with its next drive. Although SE Okla-homa outscored ACU 14-5 in the second half, the Cats were able to hold on for a 33-14 victory.

The defense’s per-formance was on par with previous games; the Cats gave up only 14

points. Defensive end Ash-ton Whiteside, in particu-lar, made a big contribu-tion, with one sack and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

“Man we played fast, very aggressive,” White-side said. “We came out this week just wanting to play fast and aggressive. I was just trying to get to the quarterback to try and help the secondary out.”

ACU will take on East-ern New Mexico University at 2 p.m. Saturday at Shot-well Stadium.

Sports September 20, 2009

Angelo St. 1-0 2-1

MSU 2-0 3-0

Tarleton St. 1-0 3-0

Standings

MONDAY

GolfACU at The Territory Classic

TUESDAY

GolfACU at The Territory Classic

SoccerACU vs. Texas-Permian Basin, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY

VolleyballACU vs. Angelo State, 7 p.m.

HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS

Upcoming

SATURDAY

VolleyballACU 3, Southern Arkansas 0ACU 3, Dallas Baptist 0

FootballACU 20, TAMU-Commerce 14

TUESDAY

SoccerACU 1 vs. Hardin-Simmons 2

THURSDAY

SoccerACU 1 vs. Hardin-Simmons 2

Scores

FOOTBALLTeam Div.

ACU

VOLLEYBALL

TAMU-K

Central Okla.

WTAMU

1-0

1-0

1-1

0-1

SE Okla. 1-1

ENMU 1-1 1-2

Team Div.

SE Okla.

East CentralAngelo State

1-0

1-01-0

ACU 0-1 9-3

WTAMU 1-0 12-2TAMU-C 1-0 13-3

WOMEN’S SOCCERTeam Div.

MSUTAMU-C

0-00-0

WTAMU 0-0 5-0-1

Angelo State 0-0 4-2

East Central 0-0 1-1-1

NE State 0-0 2-3

Central Okla. 0-0 3-3-1

SW Okla. 0-0 2-4-1TX Women’s 0-0 2-3

ENMU 0-0 2-4

Cameron 0-1

Tarleton St. 1-0MSU 1-0 3-12

Central Okla. 0-0 6-7ENMU 0-0 4-9SW Okla. 0-0 3-12MSU 0-0 2-12

NE State 0-2 0-3East Central 0-2 0-3

SW Okla. 0-2 0-3TAMU-C 0-2 0-3

n In volleyball, junior middle blocker Shawna Hines was named LSC Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Hines has received the honor in consecutive weeks.

n The Wildcats volleyball team didn’t lose a match at last weekend’s Dal-las Baptist Lady Patriot Invitational thanks in large part to senior rightside hitter Michelle Bacon and junior setter Ijeoma Moronu. Both players were rewarded for their efforts by being voted to the all-tournament team.

Briefs

3-0

2-11-2

0-3

10-4

10-69-5

5-9

10-3

3-0-15-1

ACU 0-0 2-3

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

3-0

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

RB Daryl Richardson takes off toward the sideline as he outruns CB Welton Johnson Saturday night at Shotwell Stadium.

Ryan CantrellAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcats stomped Southeast Oklahoma State University in a 33-14 victory Saturday. ACU improved to 4-0 with the

win, while the Savage Storm fell to 2-2.

Head Coach Chris Thomsen said he was glad to get the victory, but the Cats’ performance did not escape critique.

“We still have a lot of

work to do,” Thomsen said. “I do not think we finished the game very well in the second half. We made some mistakes in the second half that I wish we didn’t make, but we are a team that

is learning how to win, and I think we did a good job tonight.”

The Wildcat defense held the Savage Storm scoreless in the first half, and the offense moved the ball better

than they did in the Cot-ton Bowl.

Reggie Mathis inter-cepted the ball on SE Oklahoma’s first pos-session, putting ACU in

Wildcats storm past SE OklahomaFOOTBALL

Tanner KnauthSports Editor

ACU will induct six new members into its ACU Sports Hall of Fame at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 in the McCaleb Conference Center in the Hunter Welcome Center.

Track stars Delloreen Ennis-London and Tracey Barnes head the 2009 in-ductee class. The other in-ductees are football stand-out Jim Reese; former golf coach Vince Jarrett; for-mer athletics trainer Wes Speights; and Dr. Jerry Strader, ACU alumnus and the 17th Lifetime Achieve-ment Award recipient.

Ennis-London is one of the most decorated ath-letes in ACU history. She is the only female athlete in NCAA history to win eight national titles in hurdles in

her career and still holds the NCAA Division II re-cord time in 100-meter hurdles at 12.71 seconds.

Ennis-London won the national title in the 55-me-ter indoor and 100-meter outdoor hurdles every year from 1996-99. She also ran on the Wildcats’ 4x100 re-lay teams at the national championships in ’98 and ’99. She was named to the NCAA Division II women’s track and field Silver An-niversary Team, selected by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coach-es’ Association, in 2006.

In her post-ACU career, Ennis-London, competed for her home country of Jamaica in the 2000 Olympic Games in Syd-ney, Australia, finishing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles. Although she

failed to make the finals at the 2004 Olympics, she finished fifth at the 2008 Games in Beijing. She has also competed in the track and field world champi-onships – she finished second in the 100-meter hurdles in 2005 and third in 2007 and 2009.

Tracey Barnes won an astounding 14 individual

Sports Hall of Fame class announced

HALL OF FAME

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Senior Jordan Reese dribbles past a defender as the Wildcats defeat Dallas Baptist 3-1 Thursday night.


The Wildcat offense has found their feet again, winning 3-1 in the match against Dallas Baptist University on Thursday.

Neither team scored in the first half, but ACU came alive in the second half when junior Lynd-sey Womack scored a goal just before the 63rd minute. Junior Katie Miller was credited with an assist on the play.

Courtney Wilson stole the show, however, when she scored the next two goals in less than two minutes. She scored the first with an assist from senior Alyson Thomas, and converted a penalty kick for the second goal after she was tripped.

Crissy Lawson was solid in goal for the Wildcats; she did not give up any goals, and she recorded three

saves. Lawson has 33 saves this season, put-ting her in second place in the Lone Star Confer-ence. Melanie Peterson of Angelo State Uni-versity leads the con-ference with 36. With 16 minutes left in the game, the win looked secure. Lawson was pulled and replaced by freshman Arielle Mon-cure. The Lady Patriots were able to score on a loose ball near the net four minutes before the end of regulation, but could not make up the difference in time.

ACU is now 3-3 for the season. The Wildcats play Texas Permian-Ba-sin at 5 p.m. Tuesday at home. The game will be the end of the warm-up for the Wildcats. They open LSC play against Angelo State on Friday.

Offense leads ACU past Dallas Baptist

SOCCER


ACU swept Eastern New Mexico University 3-0 Saturday in a 180-de-gree turnaround from its 3-0 loss against West Texas A&M University on Thursday. This is the Wildcats’ ninth win in 10 matches; their loss to WTAMU is the only blem-ish on their record.

The Lady Buffs, the Cats’ first conference opponent, came into the match ranked No. 7 in Division II. The Wildcats made some uncharac-teristic mistakes, com-

mitted 17 attack errors, five service errors, three serve-receive errors, one blocking error and a ball-handling error, which combined gave WTAMU 27 points. The Wildcats finally stormed out to a 7-1 lead in the third set, but were un-able to hold on, losing 19-25, 14-25, 20-25.

The ladies were deter-mined not to accept de-feat again, and came out fighting against Eastern New Mexico. ENMU took a 1-0 lead in the first and third sets, but the Cats quickly recovered. They took commanding

10-4 leads in all three sets, beating the Zias 25-19, 25-12, 25-15.

The Wildcats cut down substantially on attack errors, committing only eight, in contrast to the 17 against West Texas A&M – and the 28 com-mitted by ENMU.

Junior Shawna Hines continues to be one of the best defensive play-ers in the NCAA Divi-sion II with seven kills and seven total blocks. She leads the LSC in that category, recording 14 total blocks in two

ACU bounces back from lossVOLLEYBALL


QUICK FACTS

Six new members will be inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame next month at the Hunter Welcome Center

n Delloreen Ennis-Londonn Tracey Barnesn Jim Reesen Vince Jarrettn Wes Speightsn Dr. Jerry Strader*

*Recipient of ACU Lifetime Achievement Award

see HALL page 7

see REBOUND page 7

see STORM page 7

the optimist - sep. 22, 2009

Documents

year scholarship

pledge class thats

wrongwith bid night

larger pledge class

athletic pledge class

pledge cap

handful of current students

sculpture students