OPTIMIST_2004-09-08

OPTIMISTTHE

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

WEDNESDAYSeptember 8, 2004

Vol. 93, No. 61 section, 10 pages

www.acuoptimist.com

Cats take on California:The volleyball team fin-ished the San Bernardinotournament at 2-2.

Page 10

Upperclassmen offer advice:Many seniors have advice they want to passdown to incoming freshmen, some of whomwould rather learn from their own experiences.

Page 8

Tea time:Social club pledging sea-son began this week withrushes and women’s teas.

Page 7

By SARAH CARLSONCOPY EDITOR

A second Wal-Mart Super-center is scheduled to open inSeptember 2005 at the inter-section of Interstate 20 andHighway 351.

The Abilene City Councilapproved a request from Wal-Mart on July 22 to rezone theacreage at the intersection for adevelopment district. After theSupercenter opens, the Wal-Mart on Judge Ely Boulevardwill close.

Elizabeth Grindstaff, Abil-ene’s interim director of com-munity development services,said the Supercenter is part of acomprehensive developmentplan where the city is lookingto stimulate commercialgrowth, and it will be “a realasset” to the areas aroundACU.

“I think that it will stimu-late some development on thenorth side of town,” Grindstaffsaid.

She said many conversa-tions have taken place aboutencouraging more develop-ment in the central area ofAbilene as well as the northside. It’s not a “north side –south side issue” as manymake it out to be, Grindstaffsaid, as many on the north sideof town complain about thelack of businesses compared tothe south side.

Students have mixed opin-ions about the opening of theSupercenter.

Rheannon Reese, seniormarketing major from Austin,said the new Wal-Mart will beconvenient to go to and willprovide another grocery storefor the area.

“I think it’s a great location,and we’ll be more likely to goover there,” Reese said.

Brandon Kinder, senioryouth and family ministrymajor from Memphis, Tenn.,said he is excited about theSupercenter opening because itwill be convenient for studentswho need a place to shop lateat night.

“I really can’t wait,” Kindersaid, “because time and timeagain I have needed groceriesafter midnight, and I’m notdriving out to the other side oftown to get them.”

Elizabeth Alvarez, seniorpolitical science major from

Wal-Martcomingto northAbilene

By SARAH CARLSONCOPY EDITOR

A kitchen was installed intothe communal lobby area ofSmith and Adams residencehalls during the summer, andARAMARK will provide mealsthree times a day for residents.

Dr. Mimi Barnard, directorof Residence Life Educationand Housing, said the decisionto install the kitchen camefrom requests from studentsand was made by herself, KevinWatson, chief administrativeservices officer, and ARA-

MARK.“Students are excited about

having this expanded lobbyspace and function,” Barnardsaid in an e-mail.

Todd Ormsby, residencedirector for Smith and Adamshalls, said theidea for thekitchen origi-nally camefrom studentscompla in ingabout havingto go back tocampus to eat.

“ P a r e n t shave alreadybeen real excited about itbecause being off campus, oneof the biggest complaints ishaving to go all the way back

to the Bean at night to eat,”Ormsby said. “Even for ladieswalking, it is a security issuehaving to walk, and now theycan just come down here andeat dinner.”

Residents will have accessto a variety of foods and canuse meal plans and Bean Bucksas they would on campus.

Ormsby said they have notdecided exactly what type offood will be served or what for-mat it will be served in. He saidthey will experiment will a buf-fet style of serving and withitems such as bacon and eggsin the morning.

A possibility of polling stu-dents to see what they would

Kitchen built in hall lobby

By APRIL WARDPAGE 2 EDITOR

Student interested in thenewly formed ACU chapter ofthe National Association for theAdvancement of Colored Peo-ple met Tuesday.

Sponsored by Debbie Wil-liams, associate professor ofEnglish, and Dawn Alexander,

history department adviser, thegroup’s goal is to make studentsaware of their roles on campusand across the nation.

“[Students] have opportuni-ties to be of service to others,and they can help make surepeople are treated equally,”Williams said.

Although groundwork forthe group was laid last year,officers will be electedThursday.

Williams said many peoplehave misconceptions aboutwhat the group stands for.

“Many people view theNAACP as a very partisangroup with an agenda that isvery militant,” she said. “It’sactually a bipartisan group, andthe emphasis isn’t on support-ing Republicans or Democrats.It’s being informed of issues inAmerica and the degree towhich those issues are helpingor oppressing people.”

Alexander said the NAACPwas formed in 1909 by a coali-tion of whites and blacks tofight the problem of lynching,and the group was instrumental

in supporting civil rights move-ments throughout the century.The group is open to anyone ofany ethnic or racial backgroundinterested in national policiesinfluencing people’s freedoms,Alexander said.

Williams said one of thegroup’s focuses will be encour-aging students to vote.

“We want to make sure peo-ple are aware of the issuesimpacting them and have avoice in those issues,” Williamssaid. “As Christians, we shouldlook at this as an opportunity to

have a godly impact on humanneeds and social justice.”

By taking an active role indifferent issues, Alexander saidcollege students make a differ-ence in the world.

“I don’t think students knowthey have the ability to changethe world,” Alexander said.“Their role doesn’t stop at edu-cation. Part of what they needto learn is that they have theability to make a difference.”

Campus chapter of NAACP begins meeting

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Andrea Schweikhard, junior communication major from Tulsa, Okla., Angela Meyer, junior psychology and pre-med major from Arlington, Tenn., and Chris Meeks, junioraccounting major from Rockwall, hold hands during Cheryl Halbert’s memorial service Monday during Chapel in Moody Coliseum.

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Dr. Jeanene Reese speaks atthe memorial service forCheryl Halbert during Chapelin Moody Coliseum on Monday.

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Anna Radomsky, sophomore social work major from Fort Worth, and Malia Plumlee, sophomore exer-cise science major from Edmond, Okla., eat lunch in the new kitchen in Smith and Adams halls.

Leaders say they hopeto change perception of group’s purpose

Supercenter will bebuilt at intersection

of I-20 and Hwy. 351

Meals will be availablein Smith, Adams halls

three times daily

See WAL-MART Page 9

See KITCHEN Page 9

‘She lived, loved and laughed’

By LORI BREDEMEYERMANAGING EDITOR

“She lived, loved andlaughed.”

Friends continually usedthese three words to describeCheryl Denise Halbert at a cel-ebration of her life Monday inMoody Coliseum.

Cheryl was killed Aug. 14when her car hit a tree in Ma-son County while she was

driving to San Antonio. Shewas 20.

At the beginning of the cer-emony, members of Cheryl’ssocial club, Sigma Theta Chi,placed yellow roses symboliz-ing friendship, joy and happi-ness in a vase near the stage asthe assembly sang “The Great-est Commands.”

People close to her sharedmemories and scripture thatpersonified her life. ChrisMeeks, Cheryl’s boyfriend andjunior accounting major fromRockwall, read from Philip-pians and Proverbs, and Dr.Wayne Barnard, dean of

Campus Life, spoke of howCheryl influenced people a-cross the world, includingplaces like Haiti and Oxford,England.

“It’s so obvious thatCheryl’s life has touched many,many people,” he said. “It’sclear Cheryl is a person wholoves Jesus more than anyother, who loves her familydearly and who loves children,and who loves to tell the storyof Jesus to others.”

Dr. Jeanene Reese, assistantprofessor of Bible, ministryand missions, who knewCheryl growing up, said in

class she had “eyes sparkingand smile bright,” and she wasalways “embracing life andloving big.” Reese said threethings come to mind whenthinking of Cheryl: her curios-ity, adventurous spirit and hu-mor.

“That is how Cheryl DeniseHalbert lived—curious, dar-ing and hilarious. She livedand she loved.”

Rosalyn Perry, president ofSigma Theta Chi and juniorinterdisciplinary studies majorfrom Abilene, shared the

Students, familyremember Halbert inmemorial on Monday

Barnard

See MEMORIAL Page 9

E-mail Ward at: [email protected]

Calendar Events11Saturday

9 Thursday

10Friday

12 Sunday

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

CAMPUS

14Tuesday

8 Wednesday

The Optimist maintains thiscalendar for the ACU communityto keep track of local social, aca-demic and service opportunities.

Groups may send ann-ouncements directly to [email protected] or to the Page2 Editor, ACU Box 27892, Abilene,TX 79699.

To ensure that an item willappear on time, the announce-ment should be sent at least 10days before. The Optimist mayedit items for space and style.

Corrections and clarifica-tions of published news articleswill be printed in this space in atimely manner.

ChapelCheck-UpCredited Chapels to date: 11

60Credited Chapels remaining:

About This Page

Volunteer Opportunities

13 MondayFirst invitation rushes.

U-100 multicultural workshops, 7a.m.-10:45 p.m., Hilton Room.

Social Club officers meeting, 5-6:30p.m., Living Room.

First invitation rushes.

U-100 multicultural workshops, 7a.m.-10:45 p.m., Hilton Room.

McNair Scholars, all day, CampusCenter ticket windows.

Students’ Association Live, 11:30a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Centertables.

Faculty-Staff photos, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,Campus Center Faculty/Staff DiningRoom.

West Texas Energy Club luncheon,11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Living Room.

Deadline to pledge; must register by5 p.m.

Service Expo, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.,Campus Center.

Campus Activities Board BeachBash sign-ups, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.,Campus Center ticket windows.

Beyond the Wall poster sale, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., Campus Center.

First invitation rushes.

Prospective pledges pick up invita-tions, 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.

Free night out, 5-10 p.m., Play FairePark.

Freshman Follies sign-ups, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Campus Center ticket win-dow.

First invitation rushes.

Campus Activities Board BeachBash sign-ups, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.,Campus Center ticket windows.

Purple Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., LivingRoom.

Hello Book information review,11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Campus Centerticket windows.

Missions information, 11:30 a.m.-3p.m., Campus Center tables.

Coburn Birthday Party, 3-5 p.m.,Campus Center recreation area.

&

Day Nursery is seeking volun-teers to work shifts at its foodbooth Friday through Sept. 18.Workers will be serving food anddrinks, but they will not berequired to cook. Many differentshifts are available during both dayand evening hours. Visit theVolunteer and Service-LearningCenter in the Bean Sprout for moreinformation.

Big Brothers Big Sistersneeds male volunteers to partici-pate in “Brother to Brother” onThursdays from 4-5 p.m.Volunteers will be matched with a

little brother for sports, art proj-ects, games and other activities.For more information, call 677-7839.

Wildcat Kids is looking forvolunteers. Applications can bepicked up at the Volunteer andService-Learning Center in theBean Sprout. Completed applica-tions are due Friday.

A student needs someone topractice English on the intermedi-ate level with once or twice a weekin order to learn the language. Formore information, contact DennisMiller at [email protected].

Volunteers are needed topass out fliers for the Cedar CreekNeighborhood Association in theEast North 13th area. The fliers willmake neighborhood residentsaware of the trash pick-up in theirarea on Saturday. Contact theVolunteer and Service-LearningCenter in the Bean Sprout for moreinformation.

The Alzheimer’s As-sociation is seeking 10-20 vol-unteers to help with theAlzheimer’s Association GolfTournament at Maxwell GolfCourse. The tournament will be

Sept. 25 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunchwill be provided. For more infor-mation, contact the Volunteer andService-Learning Center.

Treadaway Kids is lookingfor volunteers to help minister tothe children of Abilene. This is anopportunity to teach childrenabout the love of God and to servetogether with other ACU students.Pick up applications in the Vol-unteer & Service-Learning Center.Returning volunteers need to fillout an application as well.Deadline for applications is Friday.

Krispy Kreme donut pick-up, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Campus Center tables.

Classical Chorus of Abilene, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Campus Center recre-ation area.

DAY

McNair Scholars, all day, CampusCenter ticket windows.

Students’ Association Live, 11:30a.m.-5:30 p.m., Campus Centertables.

Campus Activities Board BeachBash sign-ups, 1:30 a.m.-5 p.m.,Campus Center ticket windows.

Service Expo, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.,Campus Center.

AnnouncementsFor anyone interested in per-

forming in Ethnos, the cultureshow, sign-ups will be Friday at theCampus Center ticket windows. Ifyou’re unable to sign-up, [email protected].

Students, faculty and staffcan verify their contact informationthat will be included in the HelloBook at the ticket windowsWednesday through Friday, 11:30a.m. to 3 p.m.

Purchase your 2004-05 HelloBook for $10 by e-mailing yourname, address and Banner ID to Loriat [email protected] or by going tothe Hello Book Web site www.acu.-edu/academics/cas/jmc/store/hel-lobook.html.

Students planning to pledgea social club must register by 5 p.m.Wednesday. For questions, call Ext.6618 or e-mail [email protected] who fail to register by thedeadline will not be allowed topledge.

ACU students, faculty, staffand alumni are invited to a WildcatPregame Party at Shotwell Stadiumfor the first home football gameSaturday from 4-6 p.m. Come forfree grilled chicken and hot dogs atthe north end of the stadium beforethe 6 p.m. game. The party is spon-sored by Mrs. Baird’s Bakeries andthe ACU Alumni Association.

Spiritual Life Core is holdingan interest meeting Thursday at10:00 p.m. in the Bean Sprout forstudents interested in planning cam-pus spiritual life activities. For moreinformation, contact Tim Inwood [email protected] or Mark Lewis [email protected].

Sign-ups are taking place forthe World Mission Workshophosted at York College. The registra-tion fees are $55 until Sept. 15. Afterthat date registration is $65. Sign upin the Bible building at David Wray`soffice. Travel seating will be limited.

Corrections for Sept. 3In the intramural sports story onpage 9, the six new part-timeemployees were incorrectly identi-fied as full-time.

In the page 1 story about theStudents’ Association budget,Elizabeth Alvarez, SA chief develop-ment officer, was incorrectly identi-fied as the chief communicationofficer.

On page 8, the caption for the farright picture about snowcones wasincorrect. The subject of the picturewas Stephanie Rollins, senior biolo-gy major at Hardin-Simmons andemployee at New Wave Shaved Ice.

Michelle Bernhardt’s name wasmisspelled in the volleyball story onpage 10.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004 Page 3ADVERTISEMENT

Page 4 Wednesday, September 8, 2004CAMPUS NEWS

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Bryan Stanley (left), sophomore business management major from Carrollton, and Kyle Stallard, soph-omore youth and family ministry major from Clear Lake, cheer for the volleyball team as they playLubbock Christian University on Tuesday night. The Wildcats won 3-0 (30-23, 30-16, 30-24).

By CHRISTY GOWERFEATURES EDITOR

The Radford Hills shoppingcenter at East North 16th andJudge Ely Boulevard has beenempty since Cisco JuniorCollege moved out this sum-mer, and plans are still in themaking for a new business totake its place.

The building is owned byEquity Development Corp.,and H.R. Gibson, its president,said the company is still in theprocess of trying to find poten-tial tenants.

“We’re waiting for someoneto come along and use it,” hesaid.

Kenneth Musgrave, whomanages most of the businessfor the shopping center, saidone option to consider is tear-ing down the center andrebuilding it.

“It’s served it’s time well andneeds to be torn down,” hesaid.

If that does happen,Musgrave said everythingexcept the Taco Bueno andAmerican State Bank would berebuilt.

Gibson said he’s not sure ifthat will happen, but it is aconsideration.

“Whatever it takes, we’ll

do,” he said.The center is more than 30

years old and previouslyhoused a Wal-Mart and later aGibson Discount for about 12years before Cisco JuniorCollege moved in. Musgravesaid the building was guttedand designed specifically for acollege with classrooms andscience labs.

“It probably wouldn’t be fea-sible to gut it again,” Musgravesaid.

Musgrave said he could notrelease the names of any poten-tial tenants because of a confi-dentiality agreement.

By KATHERINE FLANARYSTUDENT REPORTER

The Service ActionLeadership Team will conducta Service Expo on Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursday inthe Campus Center from10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

According to SALT’s Website, the organization conductsthe expo the third week ofeach semester and “bringslocal agencies and organiza-

tions to campus to share theirvolunteer opportunities.”

The purpose of the ServiceExpo is “to showcase volun-teer opportunities to our stu-dents and let them meetagency representatives,” saidNancy Coburn, director of theVolunteer and Service-Learning Center. It also“encourages students to find aplace to plug in and engage inservice.”

Agencies will have tables todisplay their information andrepresentatives from the agen-cies to talk to the students.

Students who are interestedin the agencies just need to goby on the days and times theagencies are here, saidCoburn.

By SARAH CARLSONCOPY EDITOR

Leave the beach towel andsnorkel at home; it’s time againfor a beach party, West Texasstyle.

Beach Bash is Saturday, andstudents can expect sports,Cajun Cones and a free movie.

“We’re just hoping it will bea really fun and relaxed day,”said Amanda Spell, coordinatorof student organizations andactivities.

Students can participate in aseven-on-seven flag-footballtournament or an ultimate fris-bee tournament with seven-

player teams. Flag football is$50 per team with a $225 prizefor first place, and ultimatefrisbee is $25 per team with a$100 prize. Sign-ups for theevents are Tuesday throughThursday in the CampusCenter ticket windows.

From noon to 3 p.m., theintramural fields will beadorned with inflatable gamesand lines for Cajun Cones,with the first 200 studentsreceiving their cones for free.

Spell said the activities willhopefully be over in time foreveryone to attend the ACUfootball game at 6 p.m.

Toy Story will be shown at 9p.m. in the BeauchampAmphitheater to end the day’sactivities.

Kayla Anderson, sopho-more English major from

Hewitt and student intern forthe Campus Activities Board,which sponsors the event, saidBeach Bash is a great way forstudents to meet new peopleand have fun after the first fewweeks of school.

“The point of it all is just tohave fun and get everyone outthere together,” Anderson said.

Beach Bash began in 1986,and Spell said she is not surewhere the name comes from.

“It’s almost as a joke sincewe’re so far away from a beach,or any water for that matter,”Spell said. “I think it’s thewhole concept of a beachparty; just relax, have fun andtake a break from classes.”

CAB plans Beach Bash

Service Expo to exhibit agencies

Building’s future uncertain

All-day event to includeintramural games,

snowcones, ‘Toy Story’

E-mail Carlson at: [email protected]

Shopping centerhoused junior college,

now awaits tenants

E-mail Gower at: [email protected]

Crazy for the Cats

E-mail Flanary at: [email protected]

Wednesday, September 8, 2004 Page 5CAMPUS NEWS

By DANIELLE LINTHICUM STUDENT REPORTER

Students looking forsomething to do on week-ends and ways to make a dif-ference can get involved withWeekend Campaigns. Week-end Campaigns are service-oriented, student-led trips tovarious places throughoutTexas and Oklahoma.

“Campaigns are a greatway to meet people and makefriends,” said Kristi Lippert,senior psychology majorfrom Cincinnati, Ohio. “I

know that I made a lot of mygreat friends through WC.”

Lippert has been involvedin Weekend Campaigns sinceher freshman year and saidshe has loved every minute ofit.

She said one thing is forsure, you won’t get bored ona campaign.

“Our main emphasis is onservice, and the kinds ofservice we do vary based onwhere we are and what needsto be done,” Lippert said.“We have done manual labor(such as) tearing down walls,building walls, lots of differ-ent things, worked at home-less shelters, worked withinner-city churches and donestreet ministry.”

Five campaigns are beingplanned for this fall, with thefirst one going to SanAntonio on Sept. 17-19. Formore information about cam-paigns, contact the co-chairsfor Weekend Campaigns,Kristi Lippert [email protected] and ChrisFall at [email protected].

Other potential campaignsites are Houston, OklahomaCity, the Dallas area andAmarillo.

Students use weekends to serve

E-mail Linthicum at: [email protected]

EYAKEM GULILAT/Staff Photographer

Dr. Sonny Guild, director of the institute for missions and evangelism, brings his subject to life whilewearing an authentic shirt from Africa.

By VALERIE HANNEKENSTUDENT REPORTER

What was going to be thefirst annual Halo tournamenthas now become the firstdelayed Halo tournament.

Because of the Labor Dayrestaurant rush, many tourna-

ment participants were calledin to work extra shifts, saidJoel Swedlund, director of theCampus Center. Because onlyeight to nine teams signed upto play, those in charge of thetournament decided to post-pone the games.

Swedlund said he plans tomove the tournament back acouple of weeks.

“We may restructure a littlebit and get the word out bet-ter,” Swedlund said.

During that time he said hewants to increase the advertis-ing for the tournament as wellas participation from anyonewho has an ACU ID.

The Halo tournament wasto be held in the CampusCenter recreation area in theBean Sprout and would havestarted on Monday and lasted aweek. The games were to beplayed with ACU recreationXboxes, controllers andgames. Although there are sev-

eral Halo games, this particu-lar tournament uses the BloodGulch map and resembles thecommonly known game Cap-ture the Flag.

Possible adjustments to thetournament may include low-ering the cost of the entry feeand recruiting more teams toplay. At this point teams arecomprised of four members,with two teams that competewith controllers per game.

“We would like to draw 32

teams, but we will play withfewer,” Swedlund said.

He said he wants studentsto know the tournament isopen to everyone and is meantto be a fun recreational activi-ty. The tournament times werescheduled in the evenings sothat most people’s class timeswould not conflict.

The Halo “Capture the Flagin Blood Gulch” tournamentwas designed for students whowant to get involved and meet

an assortment of people. As anincentive, a cash prize will beawarded to the first place teamand gift certificates for the topthree placing teams.

Swedlund said he will putup the team registration signin the next couple of weeksand anticipates a goodturnout.

E-mail Hanneken at: [email protected]

Weekend campaignsoffer special ways

to serve others

Long-awaited videogame match delayeduntil further notice

‘Halo’ tournament postponed because of club conflicts

Out of Africa, into the classroomWeekend Campaigns

The first of five weekend campaignsthis semester will be in San Antonio

and will be Sept. 17-19.

I spent a month inWashington, D.C., this sum-mer at a journalism programthrough the Council forChristian Colleges and Uni-versities. A group of 15 stu-dents and two directors lived,

worked andw o r s h i p e dtogether, andit was anamazing ex-perience.

While inWashington,my groupand I metwith manyC h r i s t i a nj o u r n a l i s t sfrom the area

because the entire point ofour month in the capital wasto learn to be salt and light inthe world of media. We metwith a movie critic from USAToday to watch and discussthe movie Saved!

I recommend thatChristians see this movie. I’llwarn you aheadof time thatparts of it willmake youuncomfortableor even offendyou, and as ourgroup discov-ered, it opens upmany areas ofdialogue forC h r i s t i a n s .That’s good.Parts of it alsowill make youlaugh. However,I think the overall idea of themovie completely misses themark on what it means to bea Christian.

The basic thesis of themovie is if God’s plan isn’tworking out for you, get anew plan because everythingis a gray area now. The onlytype of Christians portrayedin the movie either condemnsin altogether and send peo-ple away to reform houses, orthey are completely tolerantand think things like sexualimmorality and homosexual-ity are acceptable withChristians. It shows no inbetween.

The adults in the movieare also rather incompetent,and they use the old “Whywould God give me thesefeelings if he didn’t want meto act on them?” routine.

“It's like those monstervampire high school kind ofmovies, only here the mon-sters are Jesus-freak teen-agers,” said Michael Stipe ofR.E.M., the movie’s producer.

Now, this movie couldhave been hilarious had itbeen made by Christians, orat least by people who have abetter concept of what life islike for evangelicals. But as isapparent from the quoteabove, the film’s makers have

no idea.The basic problem, as I see

it, made clearer to me thissummer is that the worlddoes not understand us be-cause we don’t even under-stand ourselves.

We can be so busy worry-ing about whether we are theright kind of Christian, orthe right kind of Church ofChrist member or any otheraffiliation for that matter,that we forget to beChristians.

The reason a compassion-ate Christian, who stands byhis or her beliefs while con-tinuing to support and loveothers, was not depicted inthe movie Saved! is becausemany non-believers don’tthink that Christian exists.

How many times has anabortion clinic been bombedor a gay person been beatenall in the name of Christ?How many of us only becomegood friends with the peopleat our Christian school or at

our church andonly reach outto surroundingcommunit ieswith service ondesignated Sa-turdays? Howmany Chris-tians demandcertain Consti-t u t i o n a la m e n d m e n t sthat only segre-gate societyand fuel thefire for many

left-wingers?So many Christians con-

demn everyone, even otherChristians, for not believingexactly as they do. Churchesthat preach about the evils ofACU and how we are allgoing to Hell do exist myfriend, and they are not dyingout as you would hope.

Jesus was the biggesthuman rights activist to everlive. One can learn how tolive and treat others from theSermon on the Mount wherehe calls us to love everyone,even our enemies. Hispreaching is not the blurredtheology of Saved! whereeverything goes, but it’s alsonot throwing the first stone.It’s just about love.

Compassionate Christiansneed to make themselves vis-ible.The state of our societynow makes that necessityeven more apparent.

We will always be differ-ent and aliens in the world;that’s a given. We see thingstoo differently. But we canstill reach out to the worldand bring them to Christthrough example.

I do realize that I’m analumnus now, and it’s kind of“uncool” to be writing to myold school paper, but I start-ed thinking that it wasalmost pledging time soonand felt obligated to pass thison to any of y’all who are try-ing to decided whether ornot to pledge …

Do.I know some of you social

club haters are spouting theusual “it’s like buyingfriends; it’s pointless anddoesn’t prepare you for thereal world” arguments, so Ijust want to offer myself as apractical example of goodthat can come from pledging:

I am currently in London,working on production of mysecond reality show. Workingin this industry is unlike anyother job — it is INSANE,and I probably wouldn’t havelasted on my first show had itnot been for the experienceof pledging a social club.Seriously…

Everyone starts off in this

business as a productionassistant, better known as aPA. There is a saying that“being a PA is like pledginginto the fraternity of theentertainment industry,” andthis couldn’t be more true.

During pledging, I spentsix weeks learning how to bea member of a club. As a PA,I spent six weeks learninghow to work on a productioncrew.

During pledging, I wasrequired to do random,pointless things if and whenthe members asked. As a PA,I did whatever random andpointless things anyone oncrew asked of me.

During pledging, I pushedaside other social obligationsto work with and makefriends within my club. As aPA, my only social outletswere the others I workedwith on production.

During pledging, I nevergot sleep. As a PA, I didn’teven know what the wordmeant.

D u r i n gpledging, Ialways hadto have agood atti-tude even though I neverknew what was going on. Asa PA, everything was alwaysmy fault even when it wasn’t,and I never knew what wasgoing on. Yet, I had to main-tain a good attitude—one ofmy fellow PA’s was even firedfor having a bad one; it wasalmost as though she didn’tpass the infamous “secondvote.”

The list of similaritiesgoes on and on … Pledging,nor PA’ing, may be the easiestthing in the world, but thebenefits of both far outweighthe negatives.

I am immensely proud toclaim to be a part of bothSimple Life 2 and GATA. Iearned my involvement inthese and feel such a sense ofaccomplishment knowingthat I stuck with it.

Again, speaking as one

who at first thought socialclubs were stupid and wasnot going to pledge, considerit! There are often more ben-efits to being part of one ofthese than you may at firstrealize. You learn things thatcould very well affect you inthe “real world”. Trust me—I know!

Ronni Gregoireelectronic media graduate

Class of 2003

“I really have noidea about what theyare yet, but fromwhat I see and whatI’ve heard, they’re agood place to makelasting friendships.”

“I guess they’regreat for peoplewho have time. Idon’t have the timeor money.”

“I think they’re agood way for peo-ple to meet otherswith common inter-ests.”

No room for short skirts on campusWith the heat of

summer still uponus, the editorial staff

of the Optimist wouldlike to remind students

and faculty that ACU doesin fact have a dress code.Throughout the last two weeks,each member has seen the codeseverely violated on numerousoccasions.

According to the ACU DressCode, “all students, staff and fac-ulty are expected to dress withChristian appropriateness.”

It goes on to say that someextremes are not acceptable.

These extremes include thehalter-tops and strapless shirts

that some stu-dents may haveworn at homeduring the sum-mer. Although itmay not seem like a big deal towear these tops at home, they arenot appropriate on campus.

Short skirts are in fashionagain. According to the dresscode, skirts and shorts areallowed, but they “must conformto the standard of mid-thigh orlonger.” Especially in Abilene,where powerful gusts of wind arecommon, short skirts should notbe worn on campus.

The dress code does not applyonly to women. Men also must

abide by the standards set by thisuniversity. If women must stayfully clothed throughout the day,so should men. Even whenworking out in the heat, it is onlyfair that men keep their shirtson.

Workout clothes should stillfollow ACU standards. Shortshorts and sports bra tops remaininappropriate, even while jog-ging around campus.

Another issue not as blatantlyobvious is T-shirts with funny

sayings andpuns that youwould not say infront of yourgrandmother.

Please, save those shirts to use asrags; we do not want to see themworn, even if they were boughtfrom an expensive, popularstore.

Remember women, you aresurrounded by young men, andmen, you are surrounded byyoung women. Please dress in afashion that will not cause theopposite sex to stumble.

Faculty and staff, pleaseenforce the dress code. If no oneimplements the rules, they

become pointless. You see stu-dents in class several days a weekand have the authority to requirestudents to change theirclothes—please use it.

Residence directors and assis-tants, you are with studentswhere they live, if you notice ahabit of inappropriate dress,please address the issue.

Students should feel uncom-fortable wearing certain clotheson a Christian campus; the factthat inappropriate clothing hasbecome so common says some-thing about our campus. Let’s tryto become more modest andkeep our minds on issues ofgreater significance.

In Your Words

VIEWSWEDNESDAYPage 6 OPTIMIST September 8, 2004

OPTIMIST Editor in ChiefJonathan Smith

Managing EditorLori Bredemeyer

The Optimist Editorial Board

Opinion EditorJaci Schneider

Copy EditorSarah Carlson

Faculty AdviserDr. Cheryl Bacon

Ad ManagerChristi Stark

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication,

Abilene Christian University

Editorial and letter policyUnsigned editorials are the opinions

of the Optimist Editorial Board and may notnecessarily reflect the views of the universi-ty or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and let-ters are the opinions of their creators andmay not necessarily reflect the viewpoints ofthe Optimist, its Editorial Board or the uni-versity.

The Optimist encourages reader re-sponse through letters to the editor but re-serves the right to limit frequent contributors

or to refuse to print letters containing per-sonal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erro-neous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words orless. A name and phone number must beincluded for verification purposes. Phonenumbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892

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Online:www.acuoptimist.com

Chief PhotographerBrian Schmidt

“It seems likeyou’re paying forfriends. I wishthere were incen-tives like scholar-ships or some-thing.”

In My Words Daniel Barcroft

What do you think about social clubs?

Sarah Carlson

I am theEnemy

Students should feel uncomfortable wearing certain clothes on a Christian campus.

The issue:Many students,especially women,seem to have forgot-ten that ACU has adress code.Our view:The dress code is agood thing, but for itto work, it must beenforced.The solution:Students shouldthink twice whenthey get dressed inthe morning, and thefaculty needs to stepup and tell studentsto change clothes iftheir clothing isinappropriate.

Giewe Hammondjunior mathematics majorfrom Houston

Amanda Dudafreshman interior design majorfrom Keller

Quaid Ledinghamsophomore engineering and Bible mis-sions and ministry majorfrom Monahans

YOUR VOICEYOUR VOICE

Pledging helps in real, ‘Simple Life’

The beginning of the fall2004 pledging process. Atradition debated bymany students.

Re:

THE

Joshua Laifreshman undeclared majorfrom Penang, Malaysia

Christians need toshow more love

E-mail Carlson at: [email protected] or [email protected]

CompassionateChristians need tomake themselves

visible. The state ofour society now

makes that necessi-ty even more appar-

ent.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004 Page 7CAMPUS NEWS

By KATHERINE FLANARYSTUDENT REPORTER

The Honors StudentsAssociation has a new officethat will provide members witha place to conduct meetings andwork on plans.

An office became availablewhen departments in theAdministration Building movedduring the summer. This officeis located across the hall fromthe main Honors ProgramOffice in Room 217 of theAdministration Building.

HSA president BethanyScroggins, junior psychologymajor from Hallsville, said theorganization was pleased when

it was decided that this spacewould become theirs.

“We had been hoping for aspace of our own at someunknown point in the future,”Scroggins said.

HSA is a fairly new programand was created to put togethersocial events for students, togive Honors students opportu-nities for service and to providespiritual development, Scrog-gins said, and it was createdspecifically with students inmind.

“The reason we decided tocreate [HSA] was that we foundthat the Honors Program washaving student events, but wewere doing a lot of the plan-ning, and we wanted the stu-dents to have more ownershipof the student events for HonorStudents,” said Dr. JonathanWade, adviser of HSA.

Wade said the HonorsStudents Association is a sepa-rate entity from the HonorsProgram, even though the twoare affiliated.

“We wanted an associationof students that didn’t feel likewe were running them or wewere running the show,” Wadesaid.

Kaela Latimer, junior ele-mentary education major fromLubbock, said the goals of thetwo are different.

“The Honors Program ismore for the academic, whereasthe HSA is not just for the socialaspect, but to create a commu-nity of students,” Latimer said.“It makes it possible for Honorsstudents to get to know eachother.”

HSA creates new place to stay Honors association hasspace where members

can plan events

By LUKE HARRISSTUDENT REPORTER

ACU faculty and staff willhave the chance to participatein Abundant Life, a wellnessprogram sponsored by Hend-rick Corporate Wellness, whichhelps improve physical, mentaland spiritual health.

The program took place in

the Teague Special EventsCenter on Tuesday andWednesday and will continuethere Thursday. It will thenmove to Cullen Auditorium onFriday and Monday.

Dr. Nicki Rippee, chair of theDepartment of Exercise Scienceand Health, is part of theAbundant Life team and saidshe is optimistic about the pro-gram. This annual program,which went by the name“Faculty and Staff WellnessProgram” until last year, is a

chance for faculty and staff toimprove all aspects of theirlives, but the name didn’t fit,Rippee said.

“Abundant Life was a greatway to get across the opportuni-ty for people to help themselvespersonally in different aspectsto really give them an abundantlife,” Rippee said.

Mike Daggs, health and well-ness coordinator at HendrickCorporate Wellness, helpedwith this program for the pasteight years.

“What we do is provide awellness assessment and tell thestaff where they are at in all theareas we focus on,” Daggs said.

He said the faculty and staffare able to earn points by doinghealthy things and participatingin events sponsored by the uni-versity to promote health andsafety. An example would be theWildcat Walk on Oct. 8, whichwill give all faculty who partici-pate 250 points.

He said points earn prizes inthree categories: gold, silver and

bronze. Each month partici-pants will log onto a HendrickWeb site, add all of the pointsearned from the activities theyhad participated in that month,and see what kind of prizes maybe awarded to them.

Faculty will have manyprizes to choose from on eachlevel. At the bronze level, everyperson receives discounts tolocal merchants, a discountmembership at a local gym andtwo other prizes of their choice.At the silver level, faculty can

receive two free chair massagesor two free movie passes, with agrand prize of one day off ofwork.

At the gold level, the possi-ble prizes include one free ses-sion with a financial planner ora bed and breakfast weekend fortwo, with a grand prize of twodays off of work or a free six-month membership to Hend-rick Health Club.

Faculty and staff reach for Abundant Life gold again this week

By TODD MROZEKSTUDENT REPORTER

Students who took part inthe Study Abroad Programthis summer in Oxford will beon hand Friday night for theopening of “48 Days,” an artexhibit featuring black-and-white photographs and draw-ings created during theirseven-week visit to variousEuropean countries.

The show will begin at 7p.m. at the Shore Art Gallery.There will be a slide show,and students are expected totalk about their experiencesof studying over seas.

Nil Santana, instructor of

graphic design and instructorin the summer Study AbroadProgram, said the openingFriday will be a great chancefor those who attend to hearfrom the artists themselvesabout the influence of theprogram.

“Europe had a big affect onthis group,” Santana said.“That will be evident in thestories and art they share onFriday.”

Students who attended theprogram visited Italy, Spain,France and Oxford, England.

Taylor Stewart, senior artmajor from Cleburn, saidthose who attend the openingwill be encouraged to makethe trip next summer.

“The drawings and photosof the architecture over therewill make people want to goto Oxford to experience

Europe,” Stewart said. “Theseare pictures you could onlyget over there.”

Chelsea Blanton, seniorinterior design major fromNashville, Tenn., echoed thatnotion.

“There’s architecture overthere from the beginning oftime — things you couldn’tsee in Abilene, that we cap-tured with photos and draw-ings,” Blanton said.

Santana said there will beabout 20 drawings and 20photographs displayed at theexhibit, which will be on dis-play until Oct. 1.

Students display their world art

EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer

Kim Molleurs, senior elementary education major from Austin and secretary of Ko Jo Kai, checks inseveral women at the beginning of Ko Jo Kai’s first rush, “Kojiestock.” Members dressed in 1970sstyle for the Woodstock-themed rush. Students must register by Wednesday to join a social club.

Wellness programencourages all-around

fitness for faculty

E-mail Harris at: [email protected]

E-mail Flanary at: [email protected]

Summer Study Abroadstudents present their

views of Europe

By JENNA LUCADOSTUDENT REPORTER

“Sunday Teas.”The title appears to reflect

an afternoon of tranquilityand quiet formality. But withapproximately 230 femalepledging prospects curiouslyflocking from one women’ssocial club to the other, cam-pus was anything but quietSunday.

The four-hour event typi-cally consists of an introduc-tory meeting where the wom-en are divided into migratorygroups to travel from onelocation to another. At each

location, a different women’ssocial club greets each poten-tial pledge, gives an overviewof the club’s values and traitsand asks questions to buildnew relationships. After about20 minutes, the groups rotateand start the process overagain.

“The purpose of SundayTeas begins the process forprospective pledges to learnabout the distinctives of eachclub,” said Mike Spell, adviserof social clubs.

Club members also saidthey were nervous because itwas their responsibility topresent the initial memorableimpression to 230 girls.

“Sunday Teas are the firstglimpse of what each club isabout, ” said Moriah Steward,Sigma Theta Chi officer and

senior history major fromFort Worth.

Spell said this is the firstyear “that the deadline forprospective pledges to regis-ter has moved back to giveindividuals the opportunity toattend teas and open rushesbefore registration is due.”

The new policy gave clubmembers the responsibility ofpromoting their clubs andalso urging students topledge.

This week the process con-tinues with social club rush-es. The deadline to register topledge is Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Teas offer first glimpse of clubsSocial club members

meet and greetprospective pledges

E-mail Lucado at: [email protected]

E-mail Mrozek at: [email protected]

Two groups at oppo-site spectrum ends. Howcan they work togetherfor the future of ACU?

Ask seniors and they willtell you exactly how: Listento seniors, of course. Whatprofessors to take, whatprofessors to stay far, faraway from, when to eat atthe Bean and why to stayaway from it on Saturdaynight … Who else can youtrust to know these thingsbut the students who havelearned them the hard wayover the course of threeyears or so? And somewould say that freshmenreally need it.

“They need all the helpthey can get,” said seniorKaty Rowan, electronicmedia major from Arlington.

She said when she was afreshman, she was woefullyunaware of resources avail-able to ACU newbies, withan example from the worldof technology.

“I didn’t know about Team55,” Rowan said. “I didn’tfind out about a lot of stuff‘til I was a sophomore.”

Seniors can also provideinsight into small thingsfreshmen can do to makecollege easier.

“Nobody tells you tospread out your classes,”Rowan said. “That would’vebeen good advice for me.”

She said it’s important forstudents to keep a fairlyeven amount of class work,

rather thantaking too many

hours one semester and notenough another.

Others agree that fresh-men need some help.

“I look at it like I’m a citi-zen of a really big city, andfreshmen are the tourists,just walking around andlooking around,” says AustinCrow, senior elementaryinterdisciplinary studiesmajor from Ephrata, Pa.“Like, I remember when theBean was such a big dealand getting everybodytogether was like the great-est thing ever.”

OOnn tthhee ootthheerrhhaanndd......

But there’s another schoolof thought that comes fromsome freshmen. And fresh-men indeed have a differentperspective. They are hitwith a barrage of advicefrom before the minute theyget here. Parental encour-agements and last-minutetips are given as freshmenboard a plane, or perhaps alonger stream is adminis-tered on the drive to Abil-ene and as the room is setup before Welcome Week.

And during WelcomeWeek, they spend a large

amount of time with upper-classmen whose job it is togive advice to them for aweek. In the weeks that fol-

low, their UniversitySeminar teachers, as well

as whatever upperclassmanfriends and relations theyhave, keep the platitudesrolling throughout the entirefirst year.

But the stereotype manyupperclassmen have offreshmen wandering aim-lessly and cluelessly acrosscampus in search of a classor office isn’t always accu-rate—at least not after thefirst couple of weeks.Welcome Week andPassport are like a muchmore cheerful boot campfor what to many of us is“just another” gruelingschool year.

“At this point, if there’sanything else to learn, it’snot going to be from advice;it’s learning from experienceand making your own mis-takes,” said Chris Woodrow,freshman youth and familyministry and physics majorfrom Arlington.

Other freshmen agreethat they have reason to beconfident in their own abilityto work their education out.

“I feel like I’ve got a pret-ty good handle on things,”said Brandon Monroe, fresh-man youth and family min-istry major from Arlington.“In my case, having oldersiblings [at ACU] helps.”

And freshmen seem toknow what to ask. Theyknow how to get a phonenumber on campus andwhere to go for a parkingsticker. What they want toknow is of a more urgentnature: What is there to doin Abilene on the weekends?

Freshmen appreciate helpthey get from upperclass-men, cherishing advice like“Relax” and “Take two cupsat the Bean, that way youdon’t have to get up for arefill.” But it would appearthat, by their own appraisal,upperclassmen can look tothe future with hope thatfreshmen will figure every-thing out.

And even some upper-classmen agree that fresh-men aren’t totally helpless.Perhaps there’s a way tocompromise.

“I think it would be awe-some if there were someway for freshmen to cometo ACU already connectedwith an upperclassmen,”Crow said. “I mean, I knowthey have that at WelcomeWeek … maybe somethingmore one-on-one and moreoptional [for the fresh-men].”

After all, there is such athing as overdoing it.

“I remember beingannoyed [as a freshman]when people would try andbaby me,” Crow said. “Iremember U-100 justannoyed me.”

Although freshman-senior relations remain awkward, and perhaps evenstrained, hope remains that they can indeed coexist and become prepared tolead the new batch of freshmen who will come in three years or so.

Or at least complain about them.

Freshmen: The lifeblood of the university. Eagerfaces ready to meet higher education with driveand determination.

Seniors: The older, hopefully wiser, definitely moreexperienced students on campus, preparing to fin-ish an education and begin a vocation.

FOCUSWEDNESDAYPage 8 OPTIMIST September 8, 2004

Advice

Story and Illustrations by Daniel Barcroft, cartoonist

Needed

Wednesday, September 8, 2004 Page 9JUMPS

McAllen, disagrees.Alvarez said she is con-

cerned about the opening ofanother Wal-Mart in Abilenebecause the company offerslow-paying jobs and crushessmall businesses.

“I think that Wal-Mart,despite the publicity that it’sable to buy itself, has a horribletrack record for growing small-er communities,” Alvarez said.

ACU students have benefit-ed somewhat from the presenceof Wal-Marts in Abilene,Alvarez said, but only if youlook at it from a short-term per-

spective.She said she has not

shopped at Wal-Mart in a yearand a half and tries to buy hergoods from places where shecan verify where they weremade, preferably in America.

Wal-Mart is the world’slargest clothing retailer and oneof the biggest U.S. food retail-ers, controlling 15 percent ofthe U.S. market. By its 2003-2004 fiscal year, Wal-Mart hadrevenues of 256.3 billion dol-lars at its nearly 3,600 storesworldwide and profits of 9 bil-lion dollars. It is the world’slargest private employer with1.4 million employees.

“I don’t like the way it treatsits laborers,” Alvarez said. “Theprices are lower at Wal-Martbecause the workers who createthose goods and sell them to usmake less than they should.”

Juliet Schor, professor ofsociology at Boston College,said Wal-Mart has factories inChina where workers are paidas little as 13 cents an hour.

Kinder said he is aware ofhow Wal-Mart affects commu-nities, but he can’t afford to bepicky.

“Wal-Mart is good for mebecause I can get cheap gro-ceries and cheap supplies byonly going to one place,”

Kinder said. “As far as the busi-ness community, it’s probablynot good because it’s takingover small businesses, but it’sgood for the general con-sumer.”

Alvarez said one shouldthink twice before buying itemsat Wal-Mart just because theyare cheaper.

“The more Wal-Marts thatare here just means it will con-tinue to be our first and lastresort to buy things,” Alvarezsaid.

Wal-Mart: Students split on store’s meritContinued from Page 1

dents to see what theywould like to eat is anoption, Ormsby said, andstudents will be able to eatin the lobby, outside in frontof the halls on the picnictables or in the back, oreven up in their rooms.Other students visiting theirfriends in Smith and Adamshalls will also be welcometo utilize the kitchen.

“I think it’s going to bean asset; also, it’s going tohelp build community forhere so people can stay hereand eat together,” Ormsbysaid. “Scripture even sayspeople sit together and eattogether build communitytogether.”

Josh Edwards, graduatestudent in Bible fromOwasso, Okla., and spirituallife advisor for Adams Hall,said he thinks the kitchenwas designed well and willbe convenient for the resi-dents.

“I think Dr. Barnard wasvery wise in many of her

choices, especially therefrigerator and the stove,”Edwards said. “It’s going tobe really good for the com-munity of Smith-Adams,and people are going to beable to come down here andcook and hang out.”

He said it is also helpfulfor students who do nothave cars, like many inter-national students, to nothave to walk to campusevery time they want ameal.

“Overall, I think it’s verygood, and I think thatthey’ll have good businesshere too,” Edwards said.

Nick Meyer, sophomorechemistry major fromRoundrock, said the newkitchen looks nice and heplans to take advantage ofthe proximity of it.

“It’s a lot better to just towalk a few feet into thekitchen than have to go allthe way to campus formeals,” Meyer said.

Kitchen: Facilitymore convenientContinued from Page 1

from Abilene, shared thethoughts of some of the clubmembers who knew Cherylwell. One Siggie said shealways admired how muchCheryl loved everyone shecame in contact with.

“Anytime she went any-where and met new people,she loved them. Even peopleshe didn’t really like, she stillloved them. … She would saythings like, ‘Bless her heart, Iknew she doesn’t mean to belike that.’

“I don’t understand howshe did it, but she was real.You could not not loveCheryl. Cheryl loves and in-spires love back.”

Cheryl’s roommates, jun-iors Angela Meyer and AndreaSchweikhard, spoke of livingtogether and studying abroadtogether in Oxford, England,last spring.

“I miss Cheryl so much,”Meyer said, “but I am sothankful for the things thatleft an impression on me andthe things I loved about her.”

Schweikhard said Cherylreally “understood what itmeant to be a friend.”

“You can only be as strongas your support,” she said,“and Cheryl was one of thelegs I stood on.”

Memorial: Halbertcared for everyoneContinued from Page 1

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Chris Meeks, junior accounting major from Rockwall and CherylHalbert’s boyfriend, speaks at her memorial service during Chapel onMonday. Halbert was killed Aug. 14 when her car hit a tree.

E-mail Bredemeyer at: [email protected]

encouraged by the second halfof play.

“I think we settled down inthe second half and played likeI hoped that we would ...nobody quit, and they foughtto the end, and I thought thatwas commendable,” Gainessaid.

The Wildcat defense hasbeen getting a lot of attentionlately with two preseason all-America selections and eightreturning starters, but theyshowed signs of weakness asthey allowed 481 yards of totaloffense.

Like the offense, the defense

played better in the second halfas ACU held them to 14points. Clayton Farrell led allplayers with eight tackles, andfreshman Cody Stutts recordedseven tackles.

The Wildcats will look toput a first-game loss behindthem once again as this wasthe sixth-straight season inwhich they dropped the seasonopener. Saturday will be theteam’s home opener atShotwell Stadium when theytake on Northeastern State at 6p.m.

Football: Wildcats to play NortheasternContinued from Page 1

E-mail Carlson at: [email protected]

E-mail Carlson at: [email protected]

E-mail Robarts at: [email protected]

SPORTSWEDNESDAYPage 10 OPTIMIST September 8, 2004

This week inWildcat sports...

(home events in italics)Friday• Men’s and women’s cross coun-try, ACU Classic, 6 p.m.• Volleyball @ St. Mary’s 7 p.m.Saturday• Volleyball @ Incarnate Word, 2p.m.• Football vs. Northeastern State,6 p.m.Monday• Golf at Fairway Oaks Inter-collegiate, 9 a.m.Saturday• Golf at Fairway Oaks Inter-collegiate, 9 a.m.• Volleyball @ Texas Woman’s, 7p.m.

LSC SouthStandings

FootballTeam Div. Tot.1. Midwestern State 0-0 1-01. A&M-Kingsville 0-0 1-02. ACU 0-0 0-12. W. Texas A&M 0-0 0-13. Angelo State 0-0 0-23. E. New Mexico 0-0 0-23. A&M-Commerce 0-0 0-2

VolleyballTeam Div. Tot.1. West Texas A&M 0-0 4-02. Angelo State 0-0 4-03. E. New Mexico 0-0 0-04. Tarleton State 0-0 2-15. ACU 0-0 5-45. A&M-Kingsville 0-0 2-3

ScoresFriday

VolleyballACU 0, San Bernardino 3ACU 0, Fort Hays State 3

SaturdayVolleyball

ACU 3, Sonoma State 2ACU 3, Minn. State-Mankato 1

FootballACU 24, Central Oklahoma 49

Lubbock Christian game last nightThe Wildcats played host to Lubbock Christian University

last night at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. It’s the first of twomeetings between ACU and LCU. The Wildcats will play inLubbock on Oct. 5. Last year, the Wildcats defeated LCU inthree straight games in their only meeting of 2003.

Hit the road, Cats

ACU travels to San Antonio this weekend to play in a pair ofmatches. The Wildcats will meet St. Mary’s on Friday at 7 p.m.and play against Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.Both St. Mary’s and Incarnate Word come to Abilene to play theWildcats on Nov. 5-6. The Wildcats will again play on the roadagainst Texas Woman’s in Denton next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

All-tournament, all the time

For the second consecutive week, junior outside hitterMichelle Bernhardt received all-tournament honors. Bernhardtwas named to the all-tournament team in San Bernardino oneweek after being named to the all-tournament team at the WestTexas A&M Lady Buff Classic. Bernhardt recorded 66 kills in

the San Bernardino tournament.

Injury update

Freshman outside hitter Terrah Brown made her Wildcatdebut last weekend, playing in one game in the loss against FortHayes State. Brown underwent surgery on her knee in August.The freshman was the only player to have an injury so far thisseason.

Statistics: individual leaders (as of Sept. 5)

—Brian Roe, sports writer

Volleyball news and notes

By BRIAN ROESPORTS WRITER

The ACU volleyball team forged a split of thefour-match tournament in San Bernardino, Calif.,last weekend, pushing its record to 5-4 this season.

The Wildcats dropped both matches on Fridayto No. 7 Cal State-San Bernardino and No. 25 FortHayes State before regrouping to win bothSaturday matches against Sonoma State and No. 19Minnesota State-Mankato.

Junior outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt fin-ished with 66 kills in the four-match tournamentand once again earned all-tournament honors.Bernhardt was also named all-tournament at theWest Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic in Canyon onAug. 27-28.

Though Bernhardt performed well, Cal State-San Bernardino was better on Friday, dismissingthe Wildcats in three straight games. Bernhardt ledthe Wildcats with 14 kills, and junior setterLindsey Martin led the team with 27 assists ingame one of the tournament.

“We played them in their home opener, and younever want that,” head coach Brek Horn said.

In the second match, ACU lost again in threestraight games to No. 25 Fort Hayes State.Bernhardt and sophomore outside hitter CallieDelabano each had 13 kills.

On Saturday, the Wildcats played like a differentteam, holding off Sonoma State Saturday morningin a five-game match. Junior middle blockerAmanda Slate led ACU with 21 kills and a .329 hit-ting percentage. Bernhardt posted 17 kills, andDelabano added 12 kills. Martin produced a game-high 58 assists in the five-game match.

Senior middle blocker Sophia Kindred saidMartin always plays an important part of the team’ssuccess.

“She’s the quarterback of the team,” Kindredsaid. “She does a great job delivering the ball.”

Carrying its momentum from the morningmatch, the Wildcats upset No. 19 Minnesota State-Mankato in the final match of the tournament.

Bernhardt saved her best game for last, finishingwith a game-high 22 kills and 13 digs. Senior liberoKellen Morrow led ACU with 22 digs, Slate andDelabano each had 12 kills and Martin chipped ina game-high 50 assists.

“I guess it was considered an upset since theyare a nationally ranked team,” Kindred said. “Itwas a good win for us considering it’s only the sec-ond week of play. It says a lot about our team.”

By KYLE ROBARTSSPORTS WRITER

A solid offensive outing inthe second half was overshad-owed by a powerful CentralOklahoma attack in the firsthalf as the Wildcats fell in the2004 season opener 49-24.

ACU had an early but short-lived momentum builder assophomore defensive backBrandon Henry picked off thefirst pass of the game; that setup a 31-yard field goal for EbenNelson for an early 3-0 lead.Central Oklahoma counteredwith five unanswered touch-downs to go up 35-3 at thehalf.

Last year’s contest showedhow the offensive end of spe-cial teams can cause problemsfor a team. ACU saw a missedfield goal, had one blocked andcommitted a bad snap onanother field goal attempt,which all paved the way for a17-14 victory for the Bronchos

in 2003.This year however, the

Wildcats learned how thedefensive end of special teamscould change the course ofgame. On the Bronchos’ thirddrive, they converted a fakepunt that turned into a 63-yardtouchdown run for punterRyan Lopez.

After a 13-yard touchdownpass from Justin Allgood toJared Meers, the Bronchoscaught ACUoff guard witha surprise on-side kick thatthey recovered.Central Okla-homa drovethe ball downto the ACU 21,and preseasona l l - A m e r i c aselection Danieal Manningblocked the field goal for theWildcats in an effort to try andspark ACU to fire.

Manning’s efforts weren’tenough to change the momen-tum as the Bronchos scoredtwo more touchdowns throughthe air, and senior quarterbackGreg Wiggins threw an inter-

ception that UCO’s BernardMoore returned 26 yards for atouchdown.

The Wildcat offense didn’tget rolling until near the end ofthe first half, when they puttogether a 48-yard drive andheld the ball for 7:02. However,they failed to score when theyattempted a 4th down conver-sion and Greg Wiggins’ passfell incomplete to Jerale Badon.

The Wildcats could haveattempted a field goal from 45yards out to make the score 28-6 but decided they needed tobuild on the energy of theironly successful drive of thehalf. “At that point, we wereplaying catch up ... we decidedto take a shot at the end zone,”head coach Gary Gaines said.

The ship came in for theACU offense in the second halfas Wiggins put a 5 of 18 first-half performance behind himand completed 14 of 24 passesfor 224 yards and a career-highthree touchdown passes toDillon Cobb, Badon and JohnBrock. Wiggins finished bycompleting 19 of 42 passes for260 yards, three touchdownsand two interceptions.

The Wildcats couldn’t getanything going in the first halfon the ground as they averagedunder 2.3 yards per carry, butthe second-half effort was bet-

ter as Charles Williams led theway with 40 second-half yardson just seven carries. The teamfinished with 99 yards on 34carries.

Though it seemed that theteam wasn’t prepared to play inthe first half, Gaines was

Kills:Michelle Bernhardt, 145 Amanda Slate, 103Ashlee Motola, 57

Digs:Kellen Morrow, 113Michelle Bernhardt, 97Malia Plumlee, 72

Assists:Lindsey Martin, 381Michelle Bernhardt, 8Ashlee Motola, 8

Blocks:Amanda Slate, 23 Sophia Kindred, 23Ashlee Motola, 10

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Ashlee Motola, junior right-side hitter, and Sophia Kindred, senior middle blocker, block a spike from Meagan Camplain,junior outside hitter, in Tuesday’s 3-0 (30-23, 30-16 and 30-24) win over the Lubbock Christian Chaps.

After losing two Friday, Wildcatswin both matches Saturday

Team ends California tourney at 2-2

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Head football coach Gary Gaines addresses the team at the beginning of Tuesday’s practice about com-ing back strong this week after a loss. The team lost its season opener Saturday to Central Oklahoma 49-24. The Wildcats play Northeastern State at Shotwell Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Wildcats fall to Central Oklahoma in season openerFirst home game willbe Saturday againstNortheastern State

See FOOTBALL Page 9

ACU vs. Central Oklahoma1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

ACU 3 0 0 21 24Central Oklahoma 14 21 7 7 49

First QuarterACU – Eben Nelson 31-yard field goalUCO – Ryan Lopez 63-yard run (A.J. Haglund kick)UCO – Jared Meers 13 yard pass from Justin Allgood (Haglund kick)

Second QuarterUCO – Zach Edwards 49 yard pass from Allgood (Haglund kick)UCO - Bernard Moore 26 interception return (Haglund kick)UCO - Brandon Verrett 20 pass from Allgood (Haglund kick)

Third Quarter UCO - Jarrod Manoy 3 run (Haglund kick)

Fourth Quarter ACU - Dillon Cobb 23 pass from Greg Wiggins (Nelson kick)UCO - Kevin McKenzie 8 run (Haglund kick)ACU - Jerale Badon 52 pass from Greg Wiggins (Nelson kick)ACU - John Brock 7 pass from Wiggins (Nelson kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - ACU: Mark Gaines 17-42; Charles Williams 7-40; Rashon Myles6-16; Greg Wiggins 4-1; UCO: Jarrod Manoy 12-101; Kevin McKenzie 9-95;Ryan Lopez 1-63; Darnell Sims 7-8.PASSING - ACU: Greg Wiggins 19-42-2 260 yards 3 TD. UCO: JustinAllgood 12-18-0 192 yards 3 TD; James Smith 2-4-1 19 yards.RECEIVING - ACU: Jerale Badon 5-98; Dillon Cobb 5-51; Cade Ogilvie 3-62;John Brock 2-32; UCO: Zach Edwards 5-98; Cedric Jones 5-50; BrandonVerrett 2-36; Jared Meers 2-27.

Wiggins

E-mail Roe at: [email protected]