Department of Journalism and Mass Communication :: Abilene Christian University :: Serving the ACU community since 1912

Log on to www.youtube.com/acu-video to see Wednesday’s newscast from the JMC Network Newscast staff. In this week’s newscast: the Bean ribbon cutting ceremony, the noose incident, the West Texas Fair & Rodeo and the recent rain.

:JMC networkMore from the WebcastACU WEATHER

Wednesday ThursdayHigh: 85Low: 69

Friday

High: 89Low: 68

High: 90Low: 67

Online Poll :What action should be taken for the noose

incident?a. ACU should investigate.b. There should be open discussion.c. The culprit should be expelled.d. Forgive and forget.

acuoptimist.com

Pg 3InsideThis Issue:

Executive Perspective: Guest column by Daniel Paul Watkins

Newly renovated ‘World Famous Bean’ officially opens for business

The West Texas Fair & Rodeo will be in Abilene until Saturday

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Optimistthe

a product of theJMC network

Pg. 6 Take a spin around the rides at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo Wednesday, September 10, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 5 :: 1 section, 10 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

Students condemn act as hatred, wrong By Tanner AndersonPage Designer

Students across campus say they are filled with rage and frustration after Wednes-day’s noose incident, and they strongly desire to bring togeth-er ACU’s diverse community.

What baffles and surprises many students is that such an action happened on a Chris-tian campus.

“I’m a little disappointed that it happened in ACU. It’s sad that something of that caliber and hatred took place here,” said Kelsey Evans, se-nior interior design major from Gresham, Ore. “Hope-fully this will never happen again, and the community can come together and have a better Christian focus.”

Although most may not agree with the action, it has created a small wound within

the ACU community, students said. Several people are dis-appointed to see such racism shown in this day and age, and others are upset there exists a fraction of students attending a Christian university who put race before religion.

“I think our campus is smart enough to know that this action was caused by a

By Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

As the ACU Police Depart-ment investigates the noose discovered in the office of Students’ Association Presi-dent Daniel Paul Watkins, faculty members speak out against the event.

“I don’t think this inci-dent captures what we are all about,” said Dr. Steven Moore, associate professor of English. “Whether you’re black or white, I think it affected all of us.”

Moore said he and sev-eral faculty members he had spoken with were behind Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, and supported the decision to investigate the incident and treat it as a seri-ous matter.

“The investigation is be-ing taken very seriously, and I trust exactly what Dr. Money

said, and the faculty and staff I’ve been talking to also trust what President Money said in Chapel,” Moore said.

Dr. Neal Coates, associate professor of political science, said he was shocked when he heard about the incident in-volving Watkins, senior politi-cal science major from Fred-ericksburg, Va., whom he has had in class.

“I was astounded that someone could be so insensi-tive to American History and how African-Americans have been treated in the past,” Coates said.

Both professors said stu-dents in at least one of their classes discussed the event.

“We try to be careful to ex-plore issues of race and other issues that society suffers with,” Moore said. “I think

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

In Chapel Friday, Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, called the noose in Students’ Association President Daniel Paul Watkins’ office an “outrageous act, which flies in the face of everything this institution stands for.”

Episode initiates class discussion

‘An outrageous act’SA noose incident sparks investigationBy Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Students’ Association President Daniel Paul Watkins said he went through a rush of emotions after he discov-ered a noose on his office chair around 12:35 p.m. Sept. 3.

“It didn’t seem real,” Watkins said. “I didn’t believe that it was happening; that was my first reaction.”

Immediately, feelings of shock, anger, hurt and re-venge all crossed his mind, Watkins said. But then, he stopped on the idea of forgiveness.

“I realized that although that was what my flesh want-ed that it’s important to overcome that and react the way that God has called me to, out of love and forgiveness.” Watkins said. “Nothing positive would really come out of getting angry. My only hope for achieving anything posi-tive is to react in love and progress from there.”

Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, addressed the student body on the incident in Friday’s Chapel.

“Whether it was intended to be a thoughtless and in-sensitive prank or whether there was more serious in-tent, I see it as an outrageous act, which flies in the face of everything this institution stands for,” Money said.

See Noose page 4

See Students page 4 See Class page 4

Courtesy Daniel Paul Watkins SA Congress President Daniel Paul Watkins snapped a photograph of the noose he discovered in his deskchair in the Students’ Association office.

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It’s sad that something of that caliber and hatred took place here.

:: Kelsey Evans, senior interior design major from Gresham, Org.

acuoptimist.com

See an interview with Daniel Paul Watkins

about the incident and his thoughts on the

university’s reaction.

Virtuous African Heritage Sisterhood will have a cook-out Sept. 12 from 4 p.m.to 8 p.m. For more details, visit www.acuvahs.ning.com.

New Collegiate Cards have arrived in the Students’ Association office. Collegiate Cards are available free to every ACU student. Students can partner with other students, faculty and friends of

ACU for a time of unified interces-sion for the campus on Mondays at 7 a.m. at Jacob’s Dream. For more information e-mail kdl04a@acu.edu.

The deadline to rank all men and women’s social clubs is Sept. 12 in the Campus Center’s Living Room. Come anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

8 a.m.-11 p.m. West Texas Fair and Rodeo

7:30 p.m. ACU Fall comedy: Moonlight and Magnolias in the Fulk’s Theatre.

Fall 2008 Official Enrollment Announcement Celebration Students’ Association Elections

8 a.m.-11 p.m. West Texas Fair and Rodeo at the Taylor County Expo Center.

8 a.m.-11 p.m. West Texas Fair and Rodeo

5 p.m.-8:30 p.m. ArtWalk “ChalkWalk” will be in downtown Abilene. For more information, call the Center for Contemporary Arts at 677-8389.

8 a.m. 5K Run for the Heart to benefit the Cory and Lisa Stone Family. For information, call Jason Copeland at 674-2913.

8 a.m.-11 p.m. West Texas Fair and Rodeo

6 p.m. ACU football game versus Texas A&M Commerce (home).

Calendar and Events

Volunteer Opportunities

Announcements

Friday10

Wednesday Thursday Saturday

Meals on Wheels has an ongo-ing need for volunteers to deliver lunches. Delivery takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours, and it does it’s best to assign routes that are close. Brief training is provided, and if you are a student, a Chapel exemption can be given for one day a week if your delivery time conflicts with Chapel. If you are able to help, contact Mitzi McAndrew at 672-5050.

Sears Methodist Retirement Center Assisted Living needs vol-unteers every day of the week from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Volunteers will assist with activities such as music, singing, games and crafts.

The H.E.R.O. Program (Hendrick Equine Rehabilitation Opportuni-ties) needs volunteers to walk or jog alongside a horse on which achild with physical limitations will be riding. No experience with

horses is required. This is an eight week program beginning Sept. 30 and requires one hour per week. Volunteers can help Tuesday or Thursday afternoons between the hours of 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Vol-unteers will be required to attend a training session.

Find out volunteer opportunities by visiting the Volunteer and Ser-vice-Learning Center’s Web site at www.acu.edu/vslc and clicking on Volunteer Opportunities. For more information or to sign up to help, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

CreditedChapelsto date:

CreditedChapelsremaining:

Checkup

11 54Chapel

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Campus Day2

acuoptimist.com

11 12 13 Make a log of serial numbers to your valu-ables in case they are stolen. This way police can better track the items.

Monday, Sept. 13:35 p.m. A report of a vehicle with its motor running for several hours in the Williams Performing Arts Center parking lot; contacted the owner due to the dog in the truck.7:55 p.m. Assisted Abilene police with someone smoking hookah in a vehicle at Will Hair Park.8:53 p.m. A report of the smell of gas on the east side of Morris Hall; unable to locate the smell of gas.

Tuesday, Sept. 27:15 p.m. Fire alarm at Teague Special Events Center; false alarm.9:33 p.m. A report of a large gath-ering in the street at East North 13th Street and Avenue F Street. Wednesday, Sept. 32:00 p.m. Received report of threats in the Students’ Associa-tion office.

Thursday, Sept. 48:35 a.m. Assisted Abilene police with a stolen vehicle at The Grove apartment complex.12:20 p.m. Medical emergency at the Campus Center; student was choking and refused medical transport because he was OK.12:35 p.m. Arrested subject at the Physical Resources Department for warrant.9:20 p.m. Report of discharge of firearm at 600 College Drive; un-able to locate.

Friday, Sept. 511:20 a.m. Report of trouble with salesman in the Biblical Studies Building; checked all floors, but the subject already had left the building.11:40 a.m. Assisted Abilene Fire Department with fire call at the Hardin Administration Building.2:25 p.m. Report of a suspicious package in a mail box.

Saturday, Sept. 63:15 a.m. Assisted Abilene police with a fight at The Grove; one subject was arrested by Abilene police.6 p.m. Contacted the residence director about a gun in Barret Hall.

Sunday, Sept. 712:10 a.m. Contacted subject pushing a golf cart at Ambler Avenue and Campus Court; iden-tified and released subject.8:58 p.m. Report of skateboard-ers; contacted juveniles and instructed them to leave campus.10:42 p.m. Report of someone breaking into a house at 2300 Campus Court; it was only a friend tapping on the window, and it broke.11:55 p.m. Report of subjects on the roof of the Morris Center; they were gone upon arrival.

Always report suspicious activ-ity to ACUPD at 674-2305 or 674-2911.

Police LogEdited for space

ACU Police Tip of the Week

The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.

Groups may send announcements directly to jmcnetwork@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at mab07d@acu.edu.

To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.

Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.

About This Page

Check out news briefs on the noose that was found, the West Texas Fair and Ro-deo and highlights from the “World Fa-mous Bean” grand opening celebration.

Log on to www.youtube.com/acuvideo for a deeper look inside the “World Fa-mous Bean” grand opening celebration.

Online Newscast Webcast

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

Fair brings music, fun, foodBy Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor

Students enjoyed funnel cakes, live music and rides all in one place at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo Saturday.

Horns... Hides... Laughs & Rides is the theme for this year’s fair, which lasts un-til Saturday at the Taylor County Expo Center. The gates are open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and admis-sion prices vary.

Morgan Myer, freshman psychology major from Dal-las, went to the fair for free with five of her friends Fri-day on College Student Day. Myer said the parking was convenient and the lines were not overwhelmingly long even with the large crowds. After buying tick-ets, she enjoyed refresh-ments and listened to live country music by the Tim Bosley Band.

She said the fair would be an ideal place for a date and encouraged others to go if they wanted an inexpensive and fun option.

“The Ferris wheel was my favorite ride because it was cool to see all the lights of Abilene at night,” Myer said.

“Abilene is so flat you could literally see everything from the top.”

Jace Rhoden, senior bi-ology pre-med major from Buffalo Gap, said he had a different opinion about what made the fair fun.

“The best part of the fair is watching the tooth-less hicks trying to make a buck with enormous show rats and good fatty food,” he said.

Laurie Musgrave, freshman nutrition major from Col-leyville, said she saw a man advertising a giant rat and she refused to go anywhere near it. Although she was dis-gusted by one booth, it didn’t keep her from enjoying the other shopping venues.

She said she had attended other fairs in the past, and even though this one may not have had as many rides, she still had a good time.

Students who attend the fair will hear different

bands playing each night at the H-E-B Entertainment Pa-vilion and can try the many varieties of food and re-freshments sold throughout the grounds.

Sabra Mitchell, senior pre-med major from Tyler, said the best part of the fair was the food she bought.

“My favorites were the fun-nel cakes and the strawber-ries on a stick,” she said.

Students still can experi-ence the festivities until Sat-urday night, and if they at-tend Thursday after 5 p.m., they can receive free admis-sion with a donation of six Coca-Cola cans. Thursday is the last night discounted prices will be offered.

For more information about times and events, students can call the Taylor County Expo Center at 677-4376.

“Companion” to come to campusBy Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Those who cannot attend A Prairie Home Companion’s Oct. 18 performance at ACU need not worry. The variety show will be broadcast live from Moody Coliseum on more than 500 public radio stations, including KACU-FM.

The administration wanted A Prairie Home Companion, (PHC), to perform a live broad-cast two years ago for the Cen-tennial celebration, but book-ing issues kept it from coming together; a PHC broadcast has been in the works for more than two years.

As a public radio station, KACU must raise two-thirds of its budget. Terri Peterson, KACU membership director and business manager, hopes this event will serve as a sig-nificant fundraiser.

“For a small, public radio

station like us, [PHC] is a huge thing,” Peterson said.

As of Monday morning, KACU had 1,346 tickets for sale, although it sold out of the $50 tickets. The $70 seats are still plentiful, but Peterson said a limited number of the $25 tickets are still available.

KACU advertised across Texas and surrounding states, especially in Tulsa, Okla. As arbitrary as it may seem, KACU focused on Tulsa for good reasons. The weekend after its Abilene ap-pearance, PHC will perform in Tulsa’s Chapman Theater. The Tulsa show has already sold out, and Peterson said Tulsa fans of PHC have no problem driving to Abilene for one performance.

“The Tulsa tickets sold out two weeks ago, and there are twice as many people there as in Abilene,” Peterson said.

John Best, KACU-FM and

KUF-TV general manager, has seen the variety show live and is not surprised people would travel hundreds of miles to witness it for themselves.

“Going to the show live is a great experience,” Best said. “When you’re there, people are entering and exiting the stage, just like you would imagine an old radio show.”

Although guest musicians and the traditional format gen-erally appeal to the older gen-erations, Best said the time-less qualities of the show’s entertainment and humor rise above cultural trends.

“You’re going to go for two hours and you’re going to laugh for two hours,” Best said. “And there are moments where you think you’re going to cry … The show has tre-mendous energy and is tre-mendous fun.”

E-mail Hettich at: clh05d@acu.edu

E-mail Byrd at: mab07d@acu.eduEmily Jorgenson:: staff photographer

Students from various organizations show their livestock Saturday at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo.

The Ferris wheel was my favorite part because it was cool to see all the lights in Abilene at night.

:: Morgan Myer, freshman psychology major from Dallas

“”

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Page 4FROM THE FRONT

tiny fraction of the student population, an imbecile who had nothing better to do,” said Keith Taillon, senior his-tory major from Abilene.

A hangman’s noose was discovered in the office of Student’s Association Pres-ident Daniel Paul Watkins Sept. 3; the administration does not know who com-mitted the act or how it took place. The Students’ Association’s offices do not have cameras, but the main speculation is an individual was able to enter the office while no one was paying at-tention. Since the incident, students have been looking for answers, justice and a broader understanding of social acceptance.

Whether the incident in-volved one or more persons is not known; however, some think the majority of students on campus do not share the culprit’s viewpoints.

“Honestly, it’s an eye-opener. We still have a lot of work to do; we have dif-ferent mindsets and ideals that need to be addressed,” said Joshua Jackson, senior youth and family major from Wichita, Kan.

Jackson is involved with many campus groups; he is the president of Students for African American Broth-

erhood and a member of Es-sence of Ebony and Lynay.

Jackson said this nega-tive act is an opportunity for students to come to-gether and heal as a Chris-tian community. He also saw the incident as an invi-tation to expand social tol-erance and understanding across the campus.

Jackson said Essence of Ebony is preparing future forums and events that will bring different cultures and backgrounds into the spot-light, like a forum where students can voice their concerns and ask questions about different situations on campus.

“Now that we’ve had this setback, we can cover all our bases and reexamine our ideals,” Jackson said. “It’s a chance for us to embrace different people, cultures and ethnicities as a whole, a chance to show that this action will not tear us apart and that it will bring us closer [together] in the end.”

During the past week, Watkins has receive lots of positive support from both students and faculty.

“Daniel has received tons of e-mails from faculty and students; some he doesn’t even know,” said Spencer Hemphill, Students’ Asso-

ciation treasurer and se-nior accounting major from Longview.

Hemphill said the act had no negative impact on the Students’ Association’s upcoming plans.

“If someone did this to bring negativity to ACU, they did not succeed. It was nothing more than a racist and hateful act, which will accomplish nothing,” Hemp-hill said. “The negative spot-light is on the perpetrator.”

it’s healthy and important for ACU faculty members to address this issue with our students.”

Moore said he has given his students time in class to convey their views about the incident.

“I’ve talked about it in terms of allowing my students the opportunity to express what they’re feeling,” Moore said. “I think it is a good way, like Dr. Money said in Chapel, to use it as a teachable mo-ment for our students.”

Coates said his 9 a.m. University Seminar class discussed the event because it applied to the already scheduled lesson plan, and his students were vocal about their disapproval of the incident.

“Overwhelmingly [the re-

actions were] that this is a bad act because of what it implied to the person who received the noose in his chair,” Coates said.

He added that his fresh-man students said the act was an embarrassment to them as ACU students be-cause “one student would be so insensitive to others and do that.”

“This is absolutely not ACU,” Coates said. “But as one student in our U-100 said, ‘This is a reminder that when things happen that can hurt other people, we need to have a conversa-tion denouncing those sort of activities.’”

The hangman’s noose has been used as a racist sym-bol in the past to invoke the memory of African-Amer-ican lynchings during the Jim Crow era.

Money spoke for six min-utes in Chapel on the seri-ousness of the event and the university’s stance on the subject.

“This incident will not be tolerated by the university, regardless of intent,” Mon-ey said. “On behalf of ACU as its institutional leader, I condemn the act in the strongest language possi-ble. I am embarrassed by it. Through the misguided act of a single person or small group of people, the reputa-tion of the entire university is put in jeopardy,” he said.

Watkins, senior political science major from Fred-ericksburg, Va., has spent more than 15 hours since last Wednesday in various meetings with Money and other campus leaders to discuss what actions the university should take in re-sponse to the incident.

The ACU Police Depart-ment is investigating the situ-ation, but as of Monday after-noon, the police are without any leads as to who placed the noose in Watkins’ office,

said Jimmy Ellison, chief of the ACU Police Department.

“One of the most unfor-tunate things about this is the unknown,” Ellison said. “Was this just a stu-pid, bonehead prank? Or was it intended as a threat? We’re going to treat it as an intended threat and inves-tigate it as such. If it was something else, we need to know that.”

The ACU Police Depart-ment received a report from Watkins about the noose at 12:55 p.m. Sept. 3. The noose was taken in as evi-dence, and the police began conducting interviews to find information on what happened before the noose was discovered. The Stu-dents’ Association offices were unlocked before the incident, and Watkins had not been in his office since the previous day at 4 p.m., Watkins said.

“Because it is so hustle and bustle throughout that office, that makes it diffi-cult for anyone to remem-ber anything specific that may have been unusual that day,” Ellison said.

After Money’s speech in Chapel, Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president and dean of stu-dent life, prayed for unity and strength for the student body. Steven Moore, associate pro-

fessor of English, then spoke to the student body before leading them in singing The Greatest Command.

“This is not what we’re about,” Moore said. “We are not about what took place.”

After Chapel, Money ad-dressed local media reiterat-ing the university’s stance and plans to investigate the matter.

“We have close to 5,000 people on this campus, and I can guarantee you that it doesn’t speak for us,” he said.

Money could not com-ment on what the penalty for the perpetrator would be if he or she were appre-hended, but he did say the vice president for student life would handle the pun-ishment process.

“I am angered that any-one in our community would treat anyone else in this despicable manner,” Money said. “To that per-son, I would encourage first and foremost repentance and the asking of forgive-ness. Having one person in

our midst who has a mind to do such a thing is having one too many.”

Since the intent of the noose remains unknown, the incident cannot be con-sidered a hate crime as of yet. A hate crime is when a perpetrator targets a victim based on the person’s race, religion, disability, ethnic-ity, nationality, age or gen-der. However, hate crimes are not stand-alone offens-es; they are enhancements to an offense, Ellison said.

“We would reach out fed-erally to the FBI if we were able to determine that there was some sort of a threat based on hate crimes,” Elli-son said. “But we don’t have that yet.”

Watkins said no matter what the police discover, he has no ill will against the perpetrator.

“I truly do from the core of who I am forgive whomev-er perpetrated this offense,” Watkins said. “If you hate someone, it doesn’t just hurt them; the hatred that you

have destroys who you are too. It’s a two-way street.”

The noose was an inde-pendent item in Watkins’ office. No other associated threat or effigy was found on the scene. Nor was the noose left hanging in the of-fice; it was placed in the seat of Watkins’ chair. Neverthe-less, the administration views it as a serious offense and recognizes the universi-ty still needs to make prog-ress in the area of race rela-tions, Money said.

“In the past decades, Abilene Christian has made great strides in racial har-mony and equality for all people who come for an education here,” Money said. “Yet at the same time, something like this reminds us of how far we have yet to go. So the conversation will continue, and it will be posi-tive and it will be peaceful.”

About 13 percent of students enrolled at ACU are black.

“I’m not surprised that racism exists on ACU’s cam-

pus, but I am surprised that such a blatant symbol of hatred would be so publicly displayed on ACU’s cam-pus,” Watkins said. “Rac-

ism still is an issue on this campus, but I think the re-sponse the university has had and continues to have is a testament to who we are as an institution and how much we’ve improved on the past.”

Money said so far he has witnessed nothing but stu-dent support for Watkins.

“There were a lot more tears than there were angry voices,” Money said. “Every-body that I talked to is in-terested in moving toward a solution and improvement.”

Watkins is beginning his first term as Students’ Asso-ciation president, a position he was elected to by the stu-dent body last April. Before the election, Watkins served as Students’ Association vice president during his junior year and a senator during his sophomore year.

“In the position that I am, not just as the student body president but as a Christian, I can’t just act for myself,” Watkins said. “I have to act for the student body as a whole and for the Kingdom of God as a whole.”

Noose: Campus police continue search for culpritContinued from page 1

I truly do from the core of who I am forgive whomever perpetrated this offense.

:: Daniel Paul Watkins, senior political science major from Fredericksburg, Va.

“”

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

Class: Faculty offer discussion chances

Students: Questions stir around incident

E-mail Johnson-Kim at: djj04a@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, addresses the student body about the noose incident in Chapel Friday as the praise team sits and listens on the stage.

E-mail Anderson at: tsa04a@acu.edu

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Page 5CAMPUS NEWS

Cameras may soon monitor popular street intersectionsBy Kelline LintonHead Copy Editor

Students may think twice before running their next red light as the Abilene City Council considers a plan to install red light cameras in the future.

City staff is examining ways to reduce red light violations around town. Drivers cause more than 500 accidents by running red lights in Abilene each year, according to police statistics.

Lenka Wright, the communications and media relations manager for the city of Abilene; said, ongoing efforts to reduce this type of traffic violation include public education, traffic engineering, police enforcement and, possibly, the installation of red light cameras, Red light cameras automatically photograph vehicles that cross a stop-line or designated stopping place after a traffic light shows red. Any vehicle entering the intersection above a preset minimum speed after the signal has turned red triggers the camera; many red light camera programs provide motorists with grace periods up to half a second. Cameras record the date, time of day, time elapsed since the beginning of the red signal, vehicle speed and license plate. Tickets are usually mailed to the owners of the violating vehicles, based on review of photographic evidence.

The City Council started to place more emphasis on the deliberations for traffic cameras after Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc.

conducted a traffic analysis study July 9 that looked at the frequency of red light running at nine different intersections around town.

Redflex placed cameras at 14 sites, each for eight hours. During that time, a total of 121 red light running violations were caught on tape, according to the Abilene Reporter-News. The intersection with the most violations on that particular day was Buffalo Gap Road and Danville Drive/Industrial with 38, Wright said.

Another traffic engineering study to focus on several signalized intersections will begin soon, and the results are expected in early 2009.

The City Council appointed individuals to serve on the Red Light Camera Citizens Advisory Committee on May 8. When the new traffic engineering study is complete, the seven-member committee will review the results and the effectiveness of current efforts to improve intersection safety. If red light cameras are recommended, the committee will advise the City Council on the installation and operation of the photographic traffic signal enforcement system.

“The study will evaluate several factors related to intersection safety, including signal visibility, pavement conditions, lane markings, crosswalk markings, signal timing, red light running violation rates and enforcement and operational issues,” Wright said in an e-mail.

The study will focus on four to six intersections that will be selected based on their accident history

and frequency of red light violations. Possible intersections for the study include Buffalo Gap Road and Clack Street, Buffalo Gap Road and Danville Drive/Industrial Boulevard, South 1st Street and Sayles Boulevard, Grape and North 10th Streets, South 14th and Barrow Streets, Treadaway Boulevard and South 11th Street, Treadaway Boulevard and South 27th Street, South 14th and Clack Streets, and South 1st Street and Pioneer Drive.

Any intersection monitored by the cameras will have signs in place advising motorists of that fact, Wright said.

Even if the committee suggests the use of red light cameras, the City Council will ultimately decide whether or not the installation of cameras would be an appropriate measure to take in the effort to reduce the occurrence of red light running, Wright said.

“The aim is to improve safety on our roadways,” she said.

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

The Abilene Fire Department responds to a 911 call Friday to inspect the Hardin Administation Build-ing after a smoke scare. Classes were canceled because of the 911 call.

Smoke scare cancels classes FridayBy Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Students with afternoon classes on the third floor of the Hardin Administration Building encountered cau-tion tape Friday after fire-fighters responded to a 911 call made by an employee of the Student Success offices who witnessed smoke com-ing from an air vent.

“They had been smelling a smoky odor for a few minutes prior to seeing the smoke,” said Jimmy Ellison, ACU chief of police.

Two engines from the Abilene Fire Department’s Station 5 responded immedi-ately along with two ACUPD units. Ellison said the engines arrived within minutes of the phone call.

The smoke had ceased by the time engines arrived, but Ellison said the “dis-tinct, burning odor” was still prevalent.

“As a safety precaution,

we wanted to clear the floor, so firefighters could move about freely and not be dis-rupting classes,” Ellison said. “It seemed obvious there was some sort of electric motor that was burning and causing the smoke.”

Ellison assured students, faculty and staff alike about ACUPD and AFD assessing the situation and deemed it appropriate to evacuate only the Administration Building’s top floor.

“It wasn’t like smoke was billowing out into the hall-ways,” Ellison said. “Other-wise, we would have evacu-ated the entire building.”

AFD followed emergency response protocol with a Ladder 5, a battalion chief and three engines: Engine 5, Engine 4 and Engine 3. Fire-fighters searched meticu-lously for the smoke’s source manually and using thermal-imaging technology.

Gary Forehand, Engine 5 lieutenant, and his crew use

the “point and shoot” imag-ing equipment to determine precise temperatures.

“It tells us a lot about that anything that is operating at a temperature higher than nor-mal,” Forehand said. “We use it to exclude just as much as we use it to identify.”

Firefighters and ACU Physical Resources’ HVAC specialist finally discov-ered an air intake motor had burned out. Ellison said Physical Resources began re-pairs to the motor Monday.

“It was just a mechani-cal malfunction that caused it to burn up,” Ellison said. “No damage was done to the building or anything else oth-er than the motor.”

Ellison said ultimately the event resulted in nothing more than “a few anxious moments that added a little excitement to a Friday afternoon.”

Possible Camera loCations

n Buffalo Gap Road andClack Street

n Buffalo Gap Road and Danville Drive/ Industrial Boulevardn South 1st Street and Sayles Boulevardn Grape and North 10th Streetsn South 14th and Barrow Streetsn Treadaway and South 27th Streetn South 14th and Clack Streetsn South 1st Street and Pioneer Drive

e-mail linton at: krl04b@acu.edu e-mail Hettich at: clh05d@acu.edu

Page 6September 10, 2008

FocusWednesday

Top left: West Texas Fair and Rodeo patrons line up for the Fer-ris wheel, a timeless favorite. Top right: Don’t let your eyes fool you. The West Texas Fair features a smaller, child-friendly Ferris wheel which is immensely popular among the younger crowd. Center: The giant Ferris wheel, which stands taller than any other ride at the fair, can been seen from more than a mile away. Right: The sun sets on the 109th annual West Texas Fair and Rodeo. Above: Herds of fairgoers trample the Expo Center dirt. With names like “Cliffhanger” and “Tornado,” rides at this year’s fair are sure to deliver a thrill.

Lighting up the sky

Photos by:Zak Zeinert, chief photographer

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Page 7CAMPUS NEWS

Community talent show raises $20,000 for Abilene residentsBy Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

“Tonight we’re here to celebrate community,” May-or Norm Archibald told the crowd that gathered Sat-urday at the Paramount Theatre. “We’re here to cel-ebrate the things that make us unique.”

Archibald was address-ing the audience that packed the stands for the first-ever talent show sponsored by Connecting Caring Commu-nities, an Abilene nonprofit organization. The show fea-tured singers, dancers, dra-ma performances and even a Scottish bagpipe medley from the Abilene Pipers.

Local schools also con-tributed their various tal-ents, such as the Spurs dance team from Hardin-Simmons University and Revolution, a music group from the Abilene Independent School District. SHADES, ACU’s own step squad, also was scheduled to perform but did not because of a com-munication error.

“There was just a miscom-munication,” said SHADES’ member Tori Valadez, soph-omore education major from El Paso. “They told us to be

there at 9 p.m., and that was when the show ended.”

Archibald served as the master of ceremonies, al-though he frequently was interrupted between acts by The Culps, a comedic duo comprised of Leianne Mc-Millan and Ben Johnson.

Levi Mawhirter, sopho-more Bible youth and family ministries major from Hewitt, was given a free ticket to the event and decided to attend.

“I thought it was really neat to see a different as-pect of the community that you wouldn’t normally see,” he said. “A lot of times we get so focused on ACU that we forget what else is going on in Abilene.”

Lori Thornton, office fi-nance and grants manager for Connecting Caring Communi-ties, said the event’s purpose was to raise money and build community; the show earned a total of $20,000.

“We wanted to bring peo-ple together in a fun event that would be good for fam-ily and kids,” Thornton said.

Founded in 2005, CCC’s purpose is to make mean-ingful relationships with people and create safe and whole communities. The or-ganization has three basic

strategies to bring commu-nities together: the caring team, haven houses and friendship houses.

The caring team works within the city to unite businesses, churches, civic groups and residents.

“The Caring Team is a large and diverse group of caring partners, connected by a desire to care for oth-ers and help make the com-munity a better place for everyone,” according to the organization’s Web site.

Haven houses are homes that unite neighbors where they live. They sponsor block parties, help neighbors and offer friendship to whoever needs it.

Friendship houses are homes built in vulnerable areas and occupied by CCC members. These members help to turn these impover-ished neighborhoods into wholesome environments.

According to the organiza-tion’s Web site, “they serve as a platform to bring resources for health, education and housing to residents.”

Professor, students care for Zambians during mission tripBy Brittany VaughnStudent Reporter

While the majority of students and professors en-joyed a much needed rest and relaxation this past summer, Dr. Neal Coates, professor of political sci-ence, geared up for a 10-day mission trip to Zam-bia. Joining him were two ACU students, Katie Morin, senior biology major from Greeley, Co., and Coates’ daughter, Rebekah Coates, freshman undeclared major from Abilene.

Morin traveled with Dr. Tony Rector, physician and former director of ACU’s

Medical Clinic, to Guatemala her freshman year and then to Ukraine her sophomore year. Morin said she had been longing to do mission work in Africa for some time and when she was informed a girl was unable to go for wound care on the Mumena Medical Mission and a spot opened up for her to go, she said it was “just another God thing.”

Morin helped with wound care for two days during her stay in Zambia, working alongside Zambian nurses.

“It was a very humbling experience; it was really cool too because it was like I was washing Jesus’ feet, only I

was doing that through heal-ing the peoples’ wounds,” she said.

Neal Coates said the group served 2,400 patients in the 10 days they were in Zambia.

“Zambians are lucky if they see one doctor a year; our service is invaluable to these people,” he said.

Rebekah Coates had a different job than the rest

of the crew. She assisted with the children’s ministry activities and she said she “loved seeing the excite-ment on [their] faces when [she] gave them a coloring page; they cherished every-thing given to them.”

Other participants of the mission trip were involved in planting churches, teach-ing the Zambians to raise

sustainable gardens, teach-ing them leadership skills and, most importantly, helping people better their lives. Three other students, Whitney Mann, ‘08; John Ferguson, junior agribusi-ness major from Abilene; and Megan Lowe, ‘08; who all interned in Zambia this past summer also took part in leading Bible studies, as-

sisting with the medical mission and even welding.

“God has called all of us to participate in mission work; if we aren’t yet, it’s high time we were,” Neal Coates said.

If any students are inter-ested in mission work, they should “seek God first and [re-ally] pray about it,” Morin said.

“If you feel led to go, God’s not going to leave you,” Morin said. “Just go and do it; you’re going to feel scared, but that’s OK because God’s always going to be there with you.”

It was like I was washing Jesus’ feet, only I was doing that through healing the people’s wounds.

:: Katie Morin, senior biology major from Greeley, Colo.

“”

E-mail Zeinert at: zaz05a@acu.edu

E-mail Vaughn at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

ACU welcomes new BeanBy Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

The newly renovated “World Famous Bean” may have been open to students since the beginning of the semester, but the university made it official Monday.

As students helped them-selves to lunch, university of-ficials, ARAMARK representa-tives and several others who played a role in the renovation of the dining facility gathered for the grand opening.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was performed at noon, ACU and ARAMARK officials made remarks and former direc-tor of retail and dining James Fulbright rang in the launch of the new facility with an old dinner bell.

In his speech about the new facility, Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, explained how the construc-tion was in line with the uni-versity’s 21st Century Vision, what he called ACU’s “road-map to 2020.”

“On point No. 3, it says to develop a unique Christ-centered experience to draw students from the commu-nity, and this is a great start,” Money said.

In addition to the formal ceremony, ACU Dining Ser-vices sponsored a talent show and Nintendo Wii tournament

and gave away free T-shirts and gifts throughout the day.

Adam Wells, senior mis-sions major from College Sta-tion, heard his ticket number called during lunch and won $100 in Campus Cash.

“This is actually why I came in here today because I don’t have any Campus Cash or Bean Bucks or anything,” he said.

Wells said he was impressed by the newly renovated facility and would use his winnings to eat at the Bean.

Angel Herrera, regional vice president of ARAMARK Southwest Region, joined Money in commending the newly renovated facility, calling the dedication a “very important day for Abilene Christian University.”

Anthony Williams, director of retail and campus stores manager, said the construc-tion was a comprehensive plan that included input from focus groups, students and others. With everything now in place, he said the pressure was upon ACU dining services to use the facilities to continue to provide students with qual-ity food and service.

“Everything is in place; we just have to execute,” Wil-liams said.

E-mail Johnson-Kim at: djj04a@acu.edu

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Billy Prude, freshman education major from Dallas, competes in a Wii tournament during the grand opening of the Bean Monday.

acuoptimist.com

Log on to see a video of the grand opening

festivities for the Bean Monday.

The noose has been a symbol of prejudice and op-pression since the time of slavery. In conjunction with

beatings, the burning of homes and racial segre-gation, it’s been used not only to s u b j u g a t e but also to incite fear in the hearts of men and women. It is one of the oldest and most effec-

tive tools of terrorism perpe-trated by Americans, against other Americans.

In the year 2008, with our society taking many strides to-ward equality, it has been wide-ly assumed the use of such terrorist tactics was a thing of the past. This being said, you can imagine my shock when

Wednesday afternoon I walked into my office and found a hangman’s noose sitting on my desk chair.

My first reaction was indig-nation and anger, but I soon re-alized as someone who claims to be a Christian, I must not hate any person. It’s my duty to respond with love when hatred is directed at me and to turn

the other cheek when someone slaps me physically and emo-tionally. Since Christ had the power to love even while be-ing crucified on a cross, I have no choice but to do the same when someone confronts me with a noose.

This is not to say I am for-getting what happened that Wednesday afternoon, for I never will. It does mean, how-ever, I forgive the person or persons who carried out this hateful act.

As an institution, we have made leaps and bounds to catch up to the biblical standards of racial harmony and equality since admitting our first black student in 1965. However, this

noose shows we still have a long road ahead of us in terms of racial reconciliation. I don’t believe most students support bigoted views of this kind, but it would be remiss of me not to say racism is still an issue on this campus.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you for the messages of encouragement, the prayers and the sympathy, but I plead with you not to let it stop there. Allow this situation to push us forward as a community, to critically examine who we are and who we want to be. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal.”

So in this moral crisis, let’s continue to speak with our words and our actions and tru-ly love one another in the man-ner Christ has called us.

In America, freedom of speech is one of our most trea-sured and violated rights.

While our generation lives decades af-ter the tu-m u l t u o u s Civil Rights Movement, we face the c h a l l e n g e of proceed-ing. Should we shift the c a m p a i g n for equal-ity abroad and risk ac-cusations of

meddling in foreign affairs? Or do we keep our marches at home? Whether local or abroad, how then do we judge what is and isn’t rac-ism? To a certain degree, we have to balance our freedom of speech with sensitivity and appropriateness.

The question of racism seems simple: actions based upon race constitute racism, whether or not well-intended or with good consequence.

Murkier matters, however, cloud the eyes of justice. For example, when hate crimes gar-ner more severe punishment than the initial acts, we judge perpetrators’ thoughts and feelings—commodities less de-terminable than clear actions. And when we do judge those thoughts and feelings, where is the line between free speech and punishable offense?

I mean to make a case nei-ther for nor against the pun-ishment of hate crimes. It is a highly complicated issue, which is exactly my reason for using it as an example. My case is wholly devoted to freedom of speech.

In light of recent events here on our ACU campus, we all are being forced to answer some of the above questions for our-selves, and we all will come to solutions as unique as our own individual personalities.

These decisions must not divide us. Disagreements can be good, even constructive.

For instance, despite the negative reputation of our bi-partisan government, its stubborn tendency toward dis-agreement forces compromise. If our politicians all agreed, we wouldn’t need them all to rep-resent the country; we’d need only one, but that’s generally called a dictatorship, which in-dicates either a governmental monopoly or a uniform society, neither of which bode well.

The freedom of speech that empowers our government also grants us, as individuals, the freedom to disagree.

When our campus begins to find some sort of closure and resolution from the Students’ Association noose incident, if we find our classmates’ con-clusions to questions of racism offensive, we are under no ob-ligations to accept them.

However, if we are to pre-serve our own rights, we also must preserve theirs.

No matter how much we disagree with our friends, we must remember their soapbox is as constitutional as our own. And no matter how strong our convictions, our right to speech is never a right to an audience.

Just as we have to let people talk, they must allow us the op-tion of refusing to listen, and vice versa.

As the legendary Billy Joel intones in his song My Life, “You can speak your mind, but not on my time.”

We as a society constantly test and reaffirm the indistinct boundaries of our right to free speech. We keep trying because we know its worth.

In the racial threat, prank or mere distasteful gesture made in the SA office, those lines were clearly crossed.

Whether the guilty party meant the noose to symbol-ize a complaint or threat, we award the gesture that status only by interpreting and dwell-ing upon it as such.

As a campus community, we cannot risk granting in-fluence to what is essentially local terrorism, as cliché as that may sound. Instead, we should look upon it as a challenge to better ourselves as a group—a reminder that peaceful, nonthreatening means are always preferable to intimidation.

We are better than a hate-twisted noose. And in the try-ing times of aftermath, our ac-tions respecting each other will best prove that.

Racism, stupidity, bigotry, immaturity, hatred— however one chooses to describe it, last Wednes-

day’s noose incident should not and will not be tolerated.

Students’ Association President Daniel Paul Wat-kins discovered a hang-man’s noose in the chair he was elected to sit in by the students of Abilene Chris-tian University. This act of disregard and disdain for the first black student to hold the office established to lead the student body has ripped off the scab covering the racial wounds of this academic community.

For nearly six decades, this educational institution barred black students from attending the Christian campus, not be-cause of any academic short-comings, but because of the

color of their skin. The first black student was

admitted to Abilene Christian College in 1965, and since that historic day, this community has taken steps toward reconcil-ing the social illness of segrega-tion and prejudice that infected every corner of our country, supposedly founded on virtues of equality and freedom.

The bravery of racial war-riors like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl War-ren, the “Little Rock Nine” and countless others changed our nation and this small Christian

campus in Abilene.In 1999, Dr. Royce Money,

president of the university, publicly apologized for the in-justice ACU took part in dur-ing the first six decades of its existence. And today, although room remains for progress on this front, more than 13 per-cent of the ACU student body is black.

But all this progress was hindered and challenged by the actions of one or several fools who missed this vital history lesson.

The hangman’s noose—like a burning cross, swas-tika and other symbols of

racism—represents a legacy of hate. Initially used as a means to kill, the hang-man’s noose transformed into a tool to terrorize, ha-rass, intimidate, torment and persecute. This tool has no place on any campus, Christian or not.

This university’s stu-dents, administration, fac-ulty, staff and alumni must not permit this act to go un-punished. We should gather together in public disap-proval of this hate-filled at-tack on not only Watkins, but all the members of this academic community.

Although this may seem like just an attack on one individual, it is in fact an assault on everyone claim-ing to represent the biblical ideals that define this uni-versity. Beyond religion, our

common decency must drive us to recognize any act of injustice and prejudice that takes part on our campus.

We must examine the ra-cial relations of our com-munity and expose anything that challenges a student’s right to equal treatment.

Rather than sweep this under a rug or forget this act once authorities uncover a culprit, we must be col-

lectively conscious of what each one of us says and does. Whether it takes the form of a whispered comment, ar-chaic joke or public attack, we must hold each other ac-countable and have the brav-ery to unearth the hidden prejudice and hate that still exists on our campus.

ViewsWednesdayPage 8

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

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous

information or invasion of privacy.Please limit letters to 350 words or

fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

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Editorial and Management Board

Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Sommerly SimserMult. Managing Editor

Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Grant AbstonSports Editor

Lydia MelbyArts Editor

Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor

Reactions manifest mettle of challenged campus

September 10, 2008

Racial symbol reveals unacceptable prejudices

...our right to speech is never a right to an audience.

“”

Cody VetetoChief Videographer

DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager

Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor

Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463

Optimistthe

Kenneth PybusAdviser

Cade WhiteAdviser

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

SA President petitions for Christian love

By Daniel Paul Watkins

Guest Columnist

By Laura Acuff

Conscientious Conjecture

My first reaction was indignation and anger, but I soon realized as someone who claims to be a Christian, I must not hate any person.

“”

E-mail Acuff at: lka06a@acu.edu

E-mail the Optimist at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Watkins at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

The issue:SA President Daniel Paul Watkins found a hangman’s noose in his desk chair last week.

Our view:Such acts are atrocious and have no place on any college campus, much less a Christian college campus.

The solution:Students and faculty alike must come together in opposition of the racism still struggling to surface within the ACU community.

The hangman’s noose—like a burning cross, swastika and other symbols of racism—represents a legacy of hate.

“”

In Your WordsWhat do you think of the racial

harmony on campus?

Mildred GonzalezEducation & Children’s Ministry majorfrom Nashua, N.H.

“People get along, but they stick with their own racial groups for the most part.”

acuoptimist.com

View videos of student responses

for the “In Your Words” questions online at a later date at www.acuoptimist.com

Samuel PalomaresEnglish majorfrom Mission.

“I’m just sad that there’s still both passive and active forms of racism at ACU.”

Mary HaralsonBusiness Management majorfrom Arlington.

“It could be better, but I can’t necessarily say that I have any complaints.”

acuoptimist.com

Look online for an ex-clusive interview with SA President Daniel

Paul Watkins.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Page 9SPORTS JUMPS

Tennis: teams win dual titles

Hudson after the pair pulled out because of various injuries.

“The tournament kind of gets us into the season and sets a good tone for the rest of the year,” Hawk said. “It’s always good to get started out on the right foot, and hope-fully we can keep it up.”

On the women’s side, ju-nior Dina Pavlin led the Wild-cats by winning the Flight 1 singles and Flight 1 doubles championship. Pavlin defeat-ed ACU singles No. 1 player Irene Squillaci (6-3, 1-6, 10-5) in the finals to claim the indi-vidual championship. Pavlin teamed up with Sarah Drum-mond to defeat Squillaci and Jaclyn Walker in the Flight 1

doubles championship, 2-6, 7-6, 10-2.

“Dina Pavlin is going to have to step up and play a big-ger role this year,” Jones said. “She did a great job and up-set Irene, and that just shows that we have got some depth, which I’m excited about.”

The women played just as well as the men as they won all three singles flight titles and two of three doubles flight championships.

Brian Joiner (Flight 2) and Brett Proctor (Flight 3) both claimed individual champion-ships. Joey Farias and Proctor (Flight 2) and John Straht and Eldad Campbell (Flight 3) won doubles championships.

Natalie Friend (Flight 2) and Callie Huey (Flight 3) won

individual championships, while Friend and Alexsandra Vucic (flight two) claimed doubles championships.

“There will be tougher competition the next two weekends, and we will play different Division I tourna-ments,” Jones said. “As a coach, that’s how you know you’re getting better, and I’m excited for the opportunity to get to go and play at these Division I tournaments.

The women will travel to play in the North Texas Mean Green Invitational Saturday, while the men will travel to play at University of Louisi-ana-Lafayette Invitational.

Coach: Burroughs brings experience

for the past three years and also served as Iona’s assis-tant track and field coach. He will fulfill the same role, coaching both cross country in the fall and long distance runners for the track team in the spring.

Burroughs will inherit high expectations when he arrives at ACU, leading a men’s team that is search-ing for its 18th consecutive LSC title and third consecu-tive NCAA Division II Na-tional Championship. The women are looking for their eighth consecutive LSC ti-tle, and both teams will en-ter the season ranked No. 1

in LSC.“One of the draws is that

the quality of athletes we have is similar to the Di-vision I level, and career wise it was an easy move to make,” Hood said, speaking about Burroughs’ move.

At Iona, Burroughs built up an impressive résume after leading a team that posted three-straight top-four fin-ishes at the NCAA Division I national cross country championship meet. His 2007 team finished runner-up to No. 1 Oregon at the national meet, losing by only 28 points.

Iona’s men won three-straight Metro Atlantic Ath-letic Conference champi-

onships under Burroughs, who helped to extend the men’s streak to 17-straight MAAC conference champi-onships. The women won their third-straight MAC title under Burroughs.

“What’s really exciting about this program is the pre-season ranking for men and women and getting to walk into a very good and success-ful environment,” Burroughs said. “I want to bring my New York flavor down here to Texas and I’m looking forward to working with the athletes and getting to know them better as we progress through the season.”

Burroughs will be no stranger to the track and

field teams after seeing 31 male athletes and 25 female athletes claim individual MAAC championships the past three years. Burroughs also coached 13 individual, long distance qualifiers for the NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor track and field championships as well as 13 all-American athletes.

Burroughs earned his Bachelor of Science in ex-ercise physiology from the University of Buffalo in 2000 and competed for the school’s distance teams. In 2002, Burroughs earned a Master of Science in human performance from Buffalo.

Soccer: Team will travel to Cedar Hillshots,” Wilson said. “A lot of the time we wait for the perfect shot instead of taking what we get.”

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats have played solid defense this season, allowing only three goals. The Wildcats also have limited two nationally-ranked teams to only one goal apiece.

“Every position on the field has a defensive role,” Reese said. “Playing aggres-sively and winning every 50/50 ball across the field is what will create more of-fensive opportunities.”

With the defense play-ing well, the Wildcats hope to make a run in confer-ence play starting later this month but will look to make adjustments and generate more offense.

“We need to make adjust-ments to our formation to maximize certain players,

so when conference play starts we can have a good feel of what we need to do,” Wilson said.

The Wildcats will play John Brown University Friday before facing Our Lady of the Lake College Saturday afternoon.

Volleyball: Cats still undefeated

digs and two blocks. Mock said the second and third sets against Montana State-Billings were the Wild-cats’ best for the weekend.

In the second set, the Yel-low Jackets forced the team into extra points before the Wildcats put them away 28-26 with kills from Schilling and junior outside hitter Michelle Bacon. The third set looked as if ACU would run away with the game after an 8-0 start, but Billings charged back within two points, 17-15. ACU closed the game on an 8-3 run to clinch the match.

In the final game, the Wildcats defeated the host team Fort Lewis College, 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22). ACU had four players who hit at least nine kills, including Hutt, who scored

a team season-high of 17 kills. Moronu’s season-high 49 assists and Wilson’s 23 digs also helped lead the team to victory.

With eight-straight victo-ries, the Wildcats already have doubled their longest winning streak of 2007.

“We have expected to do well,” said Mock. “Even more than wins and losses, I expect them to play at a high level. As long as we are able to control the ball on our side of the net, the opponents will struggle to beat us; we are performing extremely well, and I am so proud of the girls.”

The Wildcats will head to San Antonio this weekend to play at St. Mary’s University Friday and Saturday against St. Edwards, IWU and St. Mary’s.

(22:27.03), Matt Upshaw in 27th (23:20.79), Bryce Eaton in 46th (26.17.16) and Casey Luby in 49th (27.23.38).

“Our men, top to bottom, ran well,” Hood said. “We are better off this year than we were last year.”

Hood also was pleased with

the women’s performance. Coach Hood was excited to see the new runners work with the team, the women place 1-2 and Garner’s 10th-place finish.

“The athletes are very ex-cited about coach Burroughs,” Hood said. “It’ll just get better from here.”

Emily Jorgensen :: staff photographer

Freshman Libero Kelsie Edwards and the Wildcat volleyball team travel to San Antonio Friday for three games.

Brian Schmidt :: file photo

Junior Dina Pavlin defeated ACU singles No. 1 player Irene Squillaci 6-3, 1-6, 10-5 in the finals to claim the individual title.

Practice Makes Perfect

Pete Koehn :: staff photographer

The Wildcats will play Texas A&M Commerce Saturday at 6 p.m.

E-mail Harris at: tch05f@acu.edu

E-mail Gwinn at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

E-mail Craig at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Cross: Men win team title; women second”

We need to make adjust-ments ... so when confer-ence play starts we can have a good feel of what we need to do

“

:: Casey Wilson, head soccer coach

By Austin GwinSports Writer

The Wildcat soccer team dropped another close match Friday night to nation-ally ranked Incarnate Word, pushing its record to 1-2-1 on the season.

With about two minutes left in the game, sophomore forward Courtney Wilson ric-ocheted a ball off the cross-bar following a corner kick by sophomore Ashley Simon. When the ball rolled away, so did ACU’s chances of send-ing the game to overtime.

“We need to clean up our

game, make better passes and make better decisions,” said head coach Casey Wilson. “We played equal to a top-five team throughout the game, and we weren’t even playing our best.”

The Cardi-nals played up to their national ranking as they extended their re-cord this to 2-0 this season. With ten minutes to play in

the first half, Incarnate Word got on the board when lead-ing scorer Sarah Hernandez put a low shot in the corner of the net. That goal was all the Cardinals would need as goalie Ashton Caffrey shut out the Wildcats the rest of the game to help give UIW the victory.

ACU came into the match looking to make some changes on the offensive side, but UIW’s defense proved to be too much for the Wildcats to handle.

ACU’s offense has strug-gled so far this season, posting only three goals in

four games. “It all starts with creating

chances,” said co-captain and forward Jordan Reese. “We didn’t have as many scoring opportunities Friday night as we would have had on a bet-ter day, and the ones we did have just didn’t go our way.”

The Cardinals outshot the Wildcats 18-5 but only man-aged five shots on goal com-pared to the Wildcats’ three. The Wildcats know they must generate more shots in order to be successful.

“We need to take more

SportsWednesdaySeptember 10, 2008 Page 10

Friday

Women’s SoccerACU vs. John Brown, 1 p.m.

VolleyballACU vs. St. Edwards, 12:15 p.m.

Saturday

Women’s SoccerACU vs. Our Lady of the Lake, 3 p.m.

VolleyballACU vs. Incarnate Word,12:15 p.m.ACU vs. St. Mary’s, 4:45 p.m.

FootballACU vs. Texas A&M Commerce, 6 p.m.

:: Home games listed in italics

Standings

Upcoming

Friday

SoccerACU 0, Incarnate Word 1

VolleyballACU 3,Dixie State 0ACU 3, Palm Beach Atlantic 0

Saturday

VolleyballACU 3, Montana St.-Billings 0ACU 3, Ft. Lewis College 1

FootballTeam Div. OverallTarleton St.WTAMU ACUMSUENMU

TAMU-K

0-01-00-01-01-00-0

2-02-01-01-01-11-1

Angelo St. 0-0 0-2

VolleyballTeam Div. OverallACUMSUSE Okla.WTAMUAngelo St.

Cameron

0-00-00-00-00-00-0

8-08-07-17-24-44-4

Women’s SoccerTeam Div. OverallWTAMUTX Woman’sCent. Okla.TAMU-CAngelo St.

East Central

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News

Scores

SCOREBOARD

Wildcats have best start to season since 1991

By Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcat volleyball team continued to roll through its opponents last weekend, winning all four of its matches at the Fort Lewis Invitational in Dur-ango, Colo. The team is now 8-0 and off to its best start since 1991, when the Wild-cats started 12-0.

The Wildcats began the tournament Friday by de-feating Dixie State 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) in just 75 minutes. ACU’s hitting per-centage of .175 more than doubled that of the Rebels, who hit only .073.

“We have improved since the last tournament and are playing better as a team,” said sophomore middle blocker Jordan Schilling. “It is a great feeling to know that we have gotten to 8-0 and haven’t even peaked yet. We can only get better from here.”

Freshman outside hitter Jennie Hutt led the Wildcats, hitting a season-high .300 with 13 kills on 30 attacks and just four errors. Hutt earned LSC co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. Sophomore setter Ijeoma Moronu continued her great

season with a .357 hitting percentage to go along with 25 assists, nine digs and sev-en kills while being named MVP of the tournament. Ju-nior setter Erica Dickinson and junior defensive setter Amy Wilson led the team with 10 digs each.

The Wildcats’ second win Friday came more quickly

than the first. They defeated Palm Beach Atlantic 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-11) in just 52 minutes. Once again Hutt posted a season-high with a .375 hitting percentage. Schilling hit .500 with seven kills and no errors, while four other Wildcats performed at least five kills. The Sailfish only had 30 digs to ACU’s 48 and were out-blocked 8-4.

“I was really pleased with how the girls played,” said head coach Kellen Mock. “We have started to see a little higher level of competition. We want to continue to see better competition so that we can just keep getting bet-ter and better throughout the season.”

Saturday morning, the Wildcats faced Montana State-Billings and won 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-19) again. This vic-tory gave ACU a 12-set win-ning streak, dating back to their match against Findlay.

Schilling and sophomore middle blocker Shawna Hines led the team with 13 and 11 kills respective-ly. Three other Wildcats chipped in at least six kills in the winning effort. Mo-ronu added 37 assists, eight

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

The ACU Athletics De-partment team hired Sam Burroughs, former assistant coach at Iona College, as the new cross country head coach Tuesday after the Wildcats lost former head coach Derek Hood during the offseason.

Hood coached the Wildcat men’s team to back-to-back NCAA Division II champion-ships and also coached the Wildcats’ long distance run-ners on the track team. Hood resigned in June to pursue private business ventures.

“[Sam] brings a lot of skills that are necessary to work at a place like Abilene Christian and he’s had great experience coaching top Americans and international athletes,” said track and field head coach Don Hood.

Burroughs, a native of Al-bany, N.Y., was the assistant coach at Iona College (N.Y.)

By Jeff CraigSports Writer

The ACU men and wom-en’s cross country teams opened their 2008 season with two individual victo-ries Saturday at Sherrod Park during the ACU Clas-sic. Backed by their No. 1 ranking, the men’s team dominated the competition while the women came in a close second.

While assistant coach Abe Brown fired the start gun for all races, the wom-en put on a good show in the 3-mile race, coming in second overall behind West Texas A&M. Despite fin-

ishing second, the women claimed the top two indi-vidual spots after Loice Cheboi finished second and Winrose Karunde took the individual win with a time of 17:46.69. Karunde’s time also was almost 30 seconds faster than the second-place runner, team-mate Cheboi, who finished in 18:14.97.

Wildcat Hayley Garner finished tenth with a time of 20:23.44, followed by Lindsey Putman in 22nd (21:46.44), Kelsey Hilton in 23rd (22:00.07) and Suzanne Mahony in 32nd (24:55.29).

“It was good for my first competition to compete well, and I hope to continue training to improve,” Karunde said.

The men’s 4-mile race was dominated by ACU run-ners, the two-time defend-ing national champions. The Wildcats had five out of the top seven finishers and captured the team’s crown, beating runner-up South Plains College. ACU’s Cleophas Tanui claimed the individual championship.

“It was a bit hot, but I do feel better now,” Tanui said. “After two miles, I felt a bit slow but I picked it up in the final two miles; I’m now looking forward to the

rest of the year and improv-ing my time.”

Don Hood, head track and field coach said, “I wouldn’t say it was a surprise; Cleophas is realizing his potential.”

Despite losing Nicodemus Naimadu to graduation, ACU men’s team can reasonably aim at a third straight nation-al crown.

Tanui covered the 4-mile course in 18:49.27, followed by Daniel Maina in third (19:17.98), Julius Nyango in fifth (19:22.39), Amos Sang in sixth (19:29.90), Charles White in seventh (20:30.07), Jacob Schofield in 16th

Running for No. 3

Defending national champions begin on top

* 6 of 14 LSC Teams

Volleyball

See Tennis page 9

See Soccer page 9

See Cross page 9

See Coach page 9See Volleyball page 9

Soccer team falls 1-0 in San Antonio

New coach Burroughs welcomed by Wildcats

Cross Country

Soccer

acuoptimist.comCheck online

throughout the year for intramural

schedulesEmily Jorgenson :: staff photographer

Junior setter Ericka Dickinson gets ready for play in practice. The Wild-cat volleyball team is off to its best start since 1991.

Wilson

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

The men and women’s cross country teams competed in their first meet of the season: the ACU Cross Country Classic. The men’s team, two-time defending national champions, won the tournament behind all-American Cleophas Tanui, who won the race; the women finished runner-up.

Wildcats win titles in men, women’s divisionsBy Grant AbstonSports Editor

The Wildcat tennis teams opened their season with dominating performances, winning both the men and women’s individual and doubles championships in the 25th annual ACU Wal-Mart Open.

The Wild-cats compet-ed in differ-ent flights or groups and split up their teams from top to bottom. S i x t y - f o u r men and 50 women competed in the tour-nament at ACU’s Eager Tennis Pavilion as well as McMurry and Hardin-Simmon Universi-ties’ tennis courts.

“On the men’s side, we have a few new faces and we dominated the tourna-ment,” said head coach Hut-ton Jones. “I expected us to dominate because we were the strongest team and I felt like it was just the right mix. I felt like we should win most of the matches, and we did.”

The men’s team did domi-nate the competition by win-ning three of four singles flight championships and three of four doubles flight championships. Junior Luke Hawk led the Wildcats by winning the Flight 1 singles and Flight 1 doubles cham-pionships. Hawk and his partner Brian Joiner won the doubles championship finals after easily winning the first two rounds. The two then de-feated the ACU doubles No. 1 team of Juan Nunez and Ryan

Jones

TENNIS SENIORS

The 2008-09 Wildcat tennis teams features nine seniors.

MENn Hutton Jones Jr.n Brett Proctorn Juan Nunezn Ryan Hudsonn Joey Farias

WOMENn Meagan Brownn Sarah Drummondn Irene Squillacin Alexsandra Vucic

n Outside hitter Jennie Hutt earned LSC co-Offensive Player of the Week honors after leading the Wildcats to its eigth-

straight victory to start the season. Hutt had 82 kills, a .276 hitting percentage and 18 digs in four matches at the Fort Lewis Invitational.

n Setter Ijeoma Moronu was named the Most Valuable Player at the Fort Lewis Invitational in Durango, Colo.

Moronu contributed with 141 assists, 29 digs, 12 kills and 12 blocks.

Undefeated start 2nd best in ACU history