The Optimist Print Edition: 09.23.11

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Former ACU student creates documentary for Zambia Mission

Read why making the most of your college experience is important

Premiere Family Weekend offers many fun activities for visitors

Abilene Christian University

Blackout BeatdownWest Texas A&Mdefeats Wildcats

ACU commanded atten-tion in this year’s U.S. News and World Report rankings which recognized it as the number one “Up-and-Coming” university in the western region.

The award is determined through a survey conducted each year of the president, provost and chief enroll-

ment officer at each univer-sity in the western region. ACU was the most selected university for the ranking out of 160 schools on the list, said Kevin Roberts, chief planning and information officer at ACU.

ACU has won this award three of the past four years in the No. 1 spot, said Grant Rampy, director of public relations.

“ ‘ U p - a n d - C o m i n g ’ implies that the school

has suddenly risen, and there’s something in it that points to a rising above, Rampy said. “But if you look at it in terms of them asking the top folks running schools, ‘Hey, who do you hear about?’ and they keep saying ACU, it shows that we keep hovering in this very talked-about level.”

There are two known extremes of schools, Roberts said. Some, like

Stanford, are notorious, while others struggle to keep their doors open. Between those extremes are schools people be-gin to notice more and more, which is what the “Up-and-Coming” award recognizes. These are schools that will be a force to be reckoned with.

ACU also moved up in ranking to the 17th spot from 19th on the U.S. and World Report scale of the

best schools with masters institutions in the Western region, a remarkable feat, Roberts said.

“A movement of two places doesn’t sound like much, but that’s more than any school in the country in any of the regions,” Roberts said. “That movement is really unheard of.”

U.S. and World Reports uses an algorithm that weighs different factors

more heavily than others, including alumni giving and class size, and analyzes all the schools within the same scale category, Roberts said.

“Given the number and breadth of things they ask in the 300 question survey, they can probably capture the full essence of what a uni-versity is like,” Roberts said. “It’s at least an objective way to rank order of universi-ties, and continuing to move

The campus-wide power out-age on Wednesday afternoon was the result of a trans-former that blew out during a brushfire that ignited the area near Highway 351 and East Lowden.

The fire began around 1 p.m. in an area that once served as Abilene’s landfill. Shortly after the fire started, a transformer exploded, leaving several homes, busi-nesses and the entire ACU campus without electric-ity. Power was restored to the area shortly after 1:30 p.m., and the perimeter of the fire was contained.

By 2 p.m. the flames had consumed 75 acres. On Wednesday night the Abilene Fire Department reported in an information update that approximately 150 - 180 acres had been burned. In addition to the fire department, the

Texas Forest Service respond-ed with ground personnel, equipment and aerial tank-ers. Fire fighters predicted the flames might last for several days. No injuries were been reported, but the fire depart-ment urged residents in the area to remain vigilant.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but it was speculated to have been started by another trans-former explosion. However, the transformer that caused the power outage exploded after the fire began.

The sudden loss of elec-tricity was a shock to many people on campus.

“I was in Core and we were all sitting there just talking at the beginning of class and then a loud noise sounded and the electricity shut off,” said Rachel Easley, a sopho-more pre-dental major from Belton.

The blackout occurred as many people were in the middle of lunch, said Nan-

cy Lozano, a cashier in the Bean.

“Our kitchen went totally dark,” Lozano said. “People were still coming in so we continued to serve them. I wrote their [student identifi-cation] numbers down and did it like that until the lights came back on.”

Lozano could only de-scribe students’ reaction to the sudden plunge into dark-ness as “Woah!”

ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said the department initially believed campus’ loss of electricity was due to a simple power failure.

“We quickly learned that not only did the main cam-pus lose power but a large surrounding area lost power,” Ellison said. “We learned al-most simultaneously that there was a large grass fire off of Lowden and Highway 351.”

Ellison said many people became more concerned about the power failure when

they noticed the billowing smoke that could be seen from campus.

“We began to be inun-dated with calls about ‘Is the fire on campus? Is that what’s knocked the power out? Do we need to evacuate the cam-pus?’” Ellison said. “Our roll then became, from an emer-gency management stand-point, to alert the campus community that it was sim-ply a power outage caused by a brush fire off campus, and we did that via ACU ALERT.”

Students who subscribed to ACU ALERT received a text message or email informing them of the situation shortly after the power was restored.

Ellison said there was nev-er a direct threat to the cam-pus. He credited the Abilene Fire Department with their early arrival and admit-ted that, had the wind been stronger, the fire could have been more dangerous.

Ellison advised everyone to remain calm in events like

power outages and encour-aged students and faculty to call the ACU Police De-partment if they have any questions. He reminded the student body that a large number of people on cam-pus are not enrolled in ACU ALERT and are not benefit-ting from the updates sent out through that system.

“I think this is another good reminder that every-one needs to register with ACU ALERT,” Ellison said. “It’s free, it’s easy and it en-sures that you get emergency information.”

Sportspage 8

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acuoptimist.com

Brush fire northwest of ACU causes campus-wide blackout.

video

see ranking page 4

ACU takes No. 1 spot in U.S. News region rankings

Brush fire creates campus-wide blackoutlocal

University

Samantha Sutherlandfeatures editor

melany coxpage 2 editor

vol. 100, no. 9 wednesday, september 23, 2011 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES

Mandy lambright staff Photographer

Smoke fills the sky as a brush fire behind the Coca-Cola plant rages during the day causing a power outage in the surrounding area.

daniel gomez chief Photographer

Firefighters from the Abilene Fire Department open a fire hydrant near the blaze to get water and help contain the progress of the fire. The fire was caused by a power line transformer that exploded just north of I20 and North Judge Ely Blvd.

“ We learned thatalmost simultaneouslythere was a large grass fireoff of Lowden and Highway 351.”

-Jimmy Ellison, ACU Police Chief

23

20 51

24 25 26Friday Saturday Sunday Monday

1 p.m. Freshman Follies

2 p.m. ACU volleyball vs. Eastern New Mexico

3:15 p.m. Freshman Follies

6 p.m. ACU football vs. Angelo State

8 p.m. Freshman Follies

2 p.m. ACU Women’s soccer at Eastern New Mexico

6 p.m. Entra a La Plaza at the Hunter Welcome Center Pavillion

8 p.m. Freshman Follies in Cullen Auditorium

1:30 p.m. ACU Wom-en’s soccer at West Texas A&M

5 p.m. Homecoming Queen nominations online

11 a.m. Randy Harris in Moody Coliseum

5 p.m. Homecoming Queen nominations online

Police Log

chapel checkup

@acuoptimist

The Optimist

[email protected]

Friday 09.23.11 2

announcements

A Tailgate Party will take place in the Bean from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Sept. 24 to celebrate ACU football’s first home game. There will be food, en-tertainment, games and give-aways. Participants are en-couraged to wear purple.

Homecoming Queen nomi-nations will be taken online Sept. 23 - Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. For more information visit www.acu.edu/queen.

An interest meeting for Leader-ship Summit, a January short course, will take place Sept. 28

at 11 a.m. in COBA 301. Lead-ership Summit will take place Jan. 3-9 in Frontier Ranch, CO.

Women for ACU will host a luncheon on Sept. 29 at 11:30 a.m. in the North Lobby of the Williams Performing Arts Cen-ter. To RSVP call 829-1470.

The Virtuous Sisterhood and OME will have a Financial/Scholarship Event Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Onstead Packer Biblical Studies Room 114.

The Medical & Counseling Care Center is located in the

northwest entrance of the Rec Center. To make medi-cal appointments call 674-2625. To make counseling appointments call 674-2626.

Leadership applications for Spring Break Campaigns are available in the lower level of the Campus Center. Applica-tions can be picked up from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. They can also be downloaded by emailing [email protected].

ACU Upward Bound is now hiring tutors to serve the stu-dents of AISD. Contact the Ac-

ademic Development Adviser at 325-674-2514 or visit the office located in the Brown Li-brary. Tutors will be paid. For more information visit www.acu.edu/upward_bound.

Flu shots will be available in the Medial & Counseling Care Center for $15.

Makeover Mondays will take place in the Campus Store ev-ery Monday from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Students can stop by to try new beauty products or con-sult with the staff members.

Volunteer Opp0rtunities

Volunteers are needed for Balloon Fest, the annual hot air balloon festival sponsored by Optimist Club Unlim-ited of Abilene. The festival will take place Sept. 23 - Sept. 25. Hours are from 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. The event will take place at Redbud Park, S. 32nd and Buffalo Gap Road (behind Southern Hills Church of Christ). Sept. 23-24 vol-unteers will sell tickets, food, drinks and t-shirts, work in the various booths, etc. On Sept. 25 help is needed to take everything down and pack up items. Contact Pat Young-Baack at 325-668-3224 or email [email protected].

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place on Sept. 24 from 7 a.m. - 12 p.m. Volunteers will help set up tables, serve refreshments, register walkers, etc. The event will take place at the Rose Park Senior Activity Center lo-cated at S. 7th & Barrow Streets. Contact Libby Connally at 325-672-2907 or email [email protected].

Disability Resources Inc. is looking for volunteers to help with their annual Pumpkin Patch. They need help unloading pumpkins at 5 p.m. on Sept. 29. They also need help with the kids’ arena and selling pumpkins through Oct. 31. Shifts will vary between 10 a.m. - dusk Monday - Saturdays and 1 p.m. - dusk Sundays. The Pumpkin Patch is located at 3602 N. Clack St. For more information contact JoAnn Wilson at 325-673-7829 or email [email protected].

The annual Putt “Fore” Children Miniature Golf Tournament needs volunteers on Oct. 1 between 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. This event will take place at Prime Time, located at 4541 Loop 322. Volunteers will help set up for the event, register teams, act as course monitors, decorate tables, pass out goody bags and help with

clean up after the event. Contact Shelia Cory at 325-376-1110 or email [email protected].

HERO is looking for volunteers to walk alongside a horse while supporting and assisting a client Oct. 4 - Nov. 17 in one hour shifts from 1 - 5 p.m. at the Taylor County Expo Center. Volunteers must attend a training session Sept. 27 at 2:30 p.m. Allow two hours for training session. Contact Beth Byerly at 325-660-3465 or email [email protected] for more information.

Cancer Services Network needs volunteers on Oct. 6 between 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. to help unpack chair cov-ers, confirm number with packing list, place covers on 540 chairs, unload auction items and help with other tasks for their auction event. This will take place at the Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. 6th St. Contact Nancy Estes, 325-672-0040 or email [email protected].

The AISD Early Childhood Program needs volun-teers to work in the children’s area Oct. 13 from 3:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. This includes air castle supervision, face painting, etc. Program will be at the Abilene Civic Center located at 1100 N. 6th St. For more information contact Mary Mcleod at 325-794-1368 or email [email protected].

Volunteers are needed to help the Abilene Volunteer Weatherzation Program on Oct. 22 from 8 or 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. The group winterizes homes of 40 -50 elderly, disabled, or low income families. Many tasks are associated with this project. No experience is neces-

sary. Contact Stacia Ellison at 325-668-2062 and leave a message or email [email protected].

The Oakridge Church of Christ is looking for vol-unteers to pass out flyers to their neighbors on Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. to spread the word about their Trunk-Or-Treat. Volunteers will meet at the church building located at 3250 Beltway South for coffee and hot chocolate. Heph’s Burgers will provide lunch. The church is also looking for volunteers to help with Trunk-Or-Treat on Oct. 29 from 6 - 9 p.m. at the church building located at 3250 Beltway South. Volunteers will help with setting up booths, running the booths, face painting, and games for the kids. To help with either event contact Emerald Lemmons at 325-370-1327 or email [email protected].

Rescue The Animals is looking for volunteers anytime between 1-5 p.m., Monday through Friday afternoons. They need help around the adoption center with general cleaning, socialization of the animals, helping potential adopters and other tasks. Contact Mindi Qualls at 325-698-7722 or email [email protected] The center is located at 5933 South 1st St.

Meals on Wheels Plus needs volunteer drivers to deliver afternoon meals to seniors and adults with disabilities Mondays - Fridays between 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Drivers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid drivers license. Training is provided. A Cha-pel exemption is available if delivery time conflicts with Chapel. Contact Jessica Stewart at 325-672-5050 or email [email protected].

911 Call - 1Abandoned Vehicle - 3Accident - 1Administrative Activity - 2Animal Call - 1Alarm - 3Assist - 2Attempt to Locate - 1Bicycle Patrol - 2Building Lock/Unlock - 8Check Building - 17

Disturbance - 4Domestic Disturbance - 2Hit & Run - 1Investigation Follow Up - 5Lost Property - 1Loitering - 1Medical Emergency - 1Maintenance University Assets - 1Monitor Faculty Lot - 1Motorist Assist - 27Noise Violation - 3

Other - 5Parking Violations - 7Patrol Vehicle - 4Patrol Vehicle: Refuel - 7Public Service - 1Report Writing - 3Suspicious Activity - 6Theft - 2Traffic Hazard- 3Trespasser - 1Wrecker Service - 1

Weekly Stats for Sept. 13 - Sept. 20, 2011

Police Tip of the Week: Remember that ACU ALERT is how ACU commu-nicates emergency information. The service is free and enrollment is easy. You can enroll via acu.edu/acualert or via text message. Simple text “acualert” to 79516, then reply yes when asked if you wish to enroll into ACU ALERT.

Police Log

The ACU Police Department did not provide the Police Log this week because of technical difficulties.

friday 09.23.113 campus news

Hispanos Unidos to celebrate anniversary

Hispanos Unidos kicks off the year with its annual En-tra a la Plaza event for its 20th anniversary.

Dr. Pat Hernandez and Bob Gomez founded His-panos Unidos in 1991.

Hispanos Unidos will work to make it’s sixth Entra a la Plaza special, said Elroy Johnson, senior marketing major and events coordinator for the office of multicultural enrichment from Frisco.

“It’s going to be bigger than ever,” Johnson said.

“This is going to be the greatest event we have had in years.”

Entra a la Plaza will be take place Friday from 6-9 p.m. in front of the Hunter Welcome Center. The event will feature a DJ, a maria-chi band, Mexican dancers and more.

Hispanos Unidos is a big part of ACU’s Mexican, Hispanic and Latino com-munity on campus, said its new president, Catherine Narvaez, junior sociology major from San Antonio. Entra a la Plaza is an exten-tion of that, Johnson said.

“Entra a la Plaza is a great

way to portray or showcase Hispanic heritage month and to get the university and com-munity involved with ACU’s diversity,” Johnson said.

David Salinas, junior physical therapy major from San Antonio, said Entra a la Plaza was a meaningful cel-ebration for him.

“This event makes me feel proud to be Hispanic at ACU,” Salinas said.

Last year Entra a la Plaza had an attendance of about 200-300. This year Hispan-os Unidos expects around 600 participants, including prospective students and alumni, Narvaez said. John-

son said the club chose to break with tradition by hav-ing the event in the Hunter Welcome Center rather than outdoors to give the event more of a “plaza feel.”

Hispanos Unidos in-tends to conduct more events around the Abilene community than just Entra a la Plaza, Narvaez said.

“I want to see the group expand into a bigger orga-nization,” Narvaez said.

Narvaez said she is very proud of her leadership team and plans on bettering her team by spreading to the Hispanic leadership council in Abilene. Hispanos Unidos

has a big job ahead of it, but with the help of Narvaez, Johnson and the leader-ship team, it will be in good hands, Johnson said.

“They are doing a tremen-dous job,” Johnson said.

Students interested in Hispanos Unidos can meet

its members Thursday at their special combined cha-pel with the Black Students Association and Interna-tional Student’s Association.

campus

destiny hagoodstaff photographer

contact hagood [email protected]

New pledges to begin with Bid Night

ACU sophomores and other students will partake in the late-night procedures of Bid Night to pledge their re-spective social clubs Friday.

Every fall at ACU, those with at least sophomore hours who wish to pledge a certain social club must undergo activities and events set up by the club in order to join. Bid Night is the beginning of the pledging process, which lasts five weeks.

These activities are usu-ally shrouded in mystery in order to uphold the tra-ditions of the social clubs. Many of the social clubs have routinely practiced the same activities for many years.

“All I can tell you is that the traditions that we do go back decades,” said Cody Bowden, president of Tro-jans. “We don’t talk about it unless you’re a Trojan.”

Bowden, senior infor-

mation systems major from Crowley, said the activities the Trojan-hopefuls will undergo are to help them bond with each other and with the current members of the club. Bowden said Trojans is a brotherhood that is focused on rela-tionships and unity across campus and off campus.

Trojans currently has 40 members and will offer 52 bids this year, said Bowden. He said he expects about 45 to 50 students to actu-ally follow through with pledging, saying that some drop out during the pro-cess. The new members will double the size of the club this semester.

“It’s going to be a big change, but it’s a change

that we want,” Bowden said. “Quantity is not the deciding factor for us; it’s quality.”

Samantha Stein, sopho-more accounting major from Georgetown, is plan-ning on pledging Alpha Kai Omega. She recalls seeing Alpha Kai members dressed up in “funky” cos-tumes around this time last year.

“[Rushing] is such a hectic process, you have got to be yourself on steroids to make a first impression,” Stein said. “It’s kind of intimidating.”

Stein is both eager and anxious for tonight’s loom-ing pledging events, not knowing what to expect.

“I think [tonight] is go-ing to be crazy, and it’s go-ing to be super tiring for sure,” Stein said. “I’m go-ing to make sure I drink a whole pot of coffee.”

social clubs

zane goggansstudent reporter

contact goggans [email protected]

samantha steinsophomore accounting

major from georgetown

Rushing is such a hectic process, you gotta be

yourself on steroids to make a first impression.”“

friday 09.23.11 4news

SA talks accountability for new membersStudent’s association

farron salleynews anchor

contact salley [email protected]

JMC continues fundraising for Marler endowment

The technological needs of the Department of Journal-ism and Mass Communica-tions were not pressing when Dr. Charles Marler began working there in 1974.

“As of the late 70s all you needed to have to go into print was a typewriter,” Mar-ler said. “Nowadays you have to have the tools.”

When Marler, profes-sor emeritus of journalism and mass communication and senior faculty member,

became chair of the depart-ment in 1987, he struggled to keep the journalism pro-gram in step with emerging technology.

“One of my biggest problems every year was not having enough money beyond budget and fees for upgrading technology,” Marler said.

Although he is no lon-ger chair of the department, Marler is still working to keep JMC students equipped with the learning tools they need to be prepared for the mod-ern world of convergence journalism.

The Charlie and Peggy

Marler Endowment was approved a few years ago in honor of Marler’s contribu-tions to the university, said Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon, chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Com-munication. Marler chose for the endowment to go towards funding the pur-chase or repair of the JMC department’s technology outside of the university budget.

The university has bud-geted that the JMC depart-ment be resupplied with hardware and software every three or four years, Marler said. If a computer or camera

dies in year three of that cy-cle, the Marler Endowment can be a fall-back supply for the department to use.

Although the endow-ment has been established for a few years, the JMC de-partment has only begun to promote it within the past year, Bacon said. The de-partment has also begun raising money for the JMC HD project, a $500,000 ini-tiative to convert the JMC studio camera’s and televi-sions to high definition.

Now is an ideal time for the department to make this update, Bacon said. Broad-cast and cable TV, as well as

many internet sites, have moved to HD, and the price of HD products has also dropped drastically. The JMC department was urged by a visiting committee compris-ing valued advisors of the department to make this up-grade, Bacon said.

A studio enhanced with HD equipment would ben-efit all students in the JMC department, Bacon said. Whether a student is study-ing convergence or broad-cast journalism, public rela-tions or multimedia, he or she will benefit from having experience in the most up-to-date equipment and soft-

ware. Preparation for today’s world of mass communica-tion is the goal of the JMC department, she said.

We’re committed to a con-vergence media education,” Bacon said “We know that to be able to keep up with our competition we need to make the appropriate upgrades.”

Bacon said the JMC HD project does not have a tar-get date set for completion, but the JMC department is having productive conversa-tions with potential donors.

JMC Network

Christianna lewiscopy editor

contact lewis [email protected]

Ranking: ACU top up-and-coming in Westfull essence of what a uni-versity is like,” Roberts said. “It’s at least an objec-tive way to rank order of universities, and continu-ing to move up in that is something we’re proud of and want to continue to try and do.”

In the past several years, ACU has become more and more promi-nent in many of places: the press, newspapers, magazines, publications by faculty, presentations and more. Some of it has to do with mobile learn-ing, Roberts said, but the publicity is not limited to that. There are a number of accomplishments that are coming together that are not limited to iPhones or success on the football field, and the recognition is a combination of all of these things.

Roberts said he was proud of what the univer-

sity is accomplishing.“I think for a long time

our combination of south-ern gentility and Christian ethos made us sound like we were just some little old school in West Texas,” Roberts said. “The reality is, it’s not true. We’re a na-tionally, globally compe-tent, qualified university… We really are one of the only places in the world with the intersection of faith and scholarship that we have here.”

Out of a list of 1,600 schools that included Har-vard and Princeton, ACU and 17 others were recognized as having an outstanding fresh-man experience.

Roberts said he some-times found it almost dif-ficult to believe how well ACU compares with other schools, but the evidence from third parties was very encouraging.

“You start to see some of this coming out in

national recognition ,and you see that we are the best there is when it comes to this ‘Up-and-Coming’ piece and that we were one of the 18 schools that had the best first year experience,” Roberts said.

ACU was also ranked third in the western region in regards to Best Under-graduate Teaching. The other two on that list were Trinity University and Santa Clara University, which are great universi-ties, Roberts said.

“I want students, faculty, and staff to recognize how special what we have here is,” Roberts said. “This familiar-ity sometimes makes it hard for us to see that, but what we have is really unique, it’s really special and it’s not the same kind of education you can get at any other school.”

university

contact sutherland [email protected]

continued from page 1

Family PreWeekend awaits prospective students

Wildcat families will flock to campus this weekend for ACU’s Family Weekend.

The annual event, which runs Friday and Saturday, includes a variety of events and a chance for fresh-men to invite their parents to campus, said Hailey

Thompson, junior advertis-ing/public relations major from Allen. Her parents vis-ited her on campus at a past Family Weekend.

“I remember it was re-ally special because it was the first time I had gotten to see them since I had left home,” said Thompson. “It was nice to get a mom hug and have them treat me to supper and just spend

time with them.”Students and their parents

have many choices for excit-ing events around campus.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Office of Multicultural Enrichment is sponsoring Entra la Plaza, which brings food, music and entertainment from Lat-in culture all the way to the Hunter Welcome Center.

The feature event of the

weekend is Freshman Fol-lies. Some of ACU’s newest students will host a musical variety show similar to Sing Song. Students and parents alike will have four chances to catch the performance with shows on Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Family Weekend also co-incides with one of ACU’s biggest visit weekends for

prospective students. Visit-ing students and parents will have multiple chances to take campus tours and will also take part in departmental meetings, special interest ses-sions and dorm open houses.

The Money Student Rec-reation and Wellness Center and Digital Learning Studio will be open to the public to allow prospective students to preview all of the oppor-

tunities available.Wildcat sports round out

the weekend. The volleyball team battles Eastern New Mexico in Moody Stadium and a tailgate party will lead into the football teams home game against Angelo State at Shotwell Stadium.

Student association

contact singer [email protected]

David Singerarts editor

Members of the Student’s Association were reminded of their duties and warned of potential consequences of neglect at Wednesday’s meeting.

After an overwhelming vote to grant $1,000 to the Student Dietic Associa-tion, SA president Connor Best addressed Congress

about committees, office hours and the possibilities of impeachment.

“Any work you’re doing for SA will count,” Best said to Congress while explain-ing the policy.

Class officers are required to work for one hour per week while academic build-ing and residential hall rep-resentatives are required to work 30 minutes per week.

If an officer or representa-tive fails to meet the designat-

ed amount of hours worked for four weeks, or misses four meetings, they then become eligible for impeachment. Furthermore, any combina-tion for lacking the two com-ponents can result in the de-grading eligibility.

Although a system of logging hours through a Google document was originally proposed, it was reversed by vice president Julianne Hart. She said, “I think it’s important you all

are in the habit of coming down [to the SA office].”

SA then distributed money to students in need asked its members to sign up to serve on a committee in Congress. The external committee lead by the pres-ident, handles large-scale projects such as support of the TOMS event last year. The internal committee lead by the vice president focuses more directly with student life on issues such

as chalk and dance policy. The finance committee lead by the treasurer handles the appropriations fund worth $5,000 this semester.

A cap of 16 members was placed on each committee and a full list of which mem-bers requested to serve on each committee can be found online at acuoptimist.com.

There were several representatives that did not attend the meeting. The names are as follows:

Marc GutierrezWPAC Rep

Raul GarciaMcKenzie Rep

Christopher SiskCOBA Rep

Diamond CobbCOBA Rep

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friday 09.23.115 arts

After spending a full month in Zambia, Jessa-lyn Massingill set out on the task of condensing hundreds of hours of raw footage into a 35 minute film documenting the posi-tive impact Zambia Mission

has had on the country.Massingil, a former

ACU student from Abilene, has spent 14 of the last 15 summers in Africa with Zambia Mission, an or-ganization co-directed by her father, K.B. Massingill.

Her film Nawona: The Way You See premiered at The Paramount on Sat-

urday night to a crowd of nearly 600.

“It has been a year and a half process,”Massingill said. “I knew before hand that I didn’t want to make a regular documentary.”

Massingill said the film was about vision – both lit-erally and physically. The film simultaneously follows

a Zambian woman gaining eyesight through cataract surgery and the opening of a local radio station that brought the community into global communica-tion. Both of these stories could not have been pos-sible without work from Zambia Mission.

The organization has been working for years to help provide educational and health services to Zambia. The medical sec-tor has been operating for 17 years. What started as a team of 11 that served 500 patients has grown tremendously. This year the mission provided more than 16,000 Zambi-ans with medical, dental and ocular services with their team of 120.

Ellie Hamby, an Abilene resident, serves as co-director of the medical sector. She has been traveling to Zambia

on mission work for 32 years and spent six years living in the country.

“I think the goal of the organization is to show the love of Jesus by reaching out to the needs of other people,” Hamby said.

Through medicine drives, local service proj-ects and mission work in Zambia, the organization has been able to erect a hospital with in Zambia as well as a radio station which helps to pass infor-mation between villages.

“I love the people,” Hamby said. “We are touching the untouched and they are so receptive and appreciative.”

Hamby was present at Saturday’s event and saw Massingill’s film.

“I thought it was won-derful,” Hamby said. “Jes-salyn is passionate about [the cause] and you could tell from that film.”

Saturday not only in-cluded the premiere of Nawona but also food, an auction, door prizes and a great chance to learn about the organization and its plans for the future.

“I was happy with the turnout,” Massingill said. “That was partly because I just let go and knew that even if 10 people showed up then that is how the film would make its impact.”

Presently, Massingill has no intent for any sub-sequent films.

“I don’t have a plan for the future,” she said. “I had a plan and it ended Saturday night.”

david singerarts editor

Fall has arrived, but that doesn’t mean you have to eliminate white

from your wardrobe this season. So ignore grandma’s advice that you should keep it out of your closet until Memo-rial Day.

For centuries, white has been worn in the summer as a way to keep cool. Darker clothing ab-sorbs heat while white clothing tends to be of a lighter material. This trend came more out of

function than fashion and soon turned white into the color of summer. Marking the end of sum-mer, Labor Day became a time to show a change in seasons with a change in wardrobes.

In the 1950’s, this tra-dition became a rule. Panty hose, kitten heels and other trends of the era haven’t remained, so why are we still banishing

white after Labor Day?The fashion legend,

Coco Chanel, made white a year round staple in the 1920’s. Trends she began in-fluence every designer and have yet to go out of style. We should listen to Coco, not our grandmothers.

Runway shows for fall 2011 featured many white and pale neutrals for this season. Designers like Val-entino, Alexander Wang

and Theory had very pale collections that included colors like whites, creams and greys. Even from the conservative side, J. Crew’s latest catalog fea-tured a model in a white cable knit sweater and white cords paired with black accessories .

So when it comes to fa-hion, ignore grandma. So go for that white winter coat or wear those white

skinny jeans you spent all summer looking for with a bulky sweater and riding boots. Pair your white with navy and your pale and dark neutrals with neon, like citrus or aquamarine.

But beware, you still must have a fall mind set. So leave those white linen pants at home.

Why we can wear white in winter

Lauren Finkcontributing reporter

contact fink [email protected]

contact singer [email protected]

Massingill’s film of both sight and the future

zambia mission’s history traces back to the 1920’s during church of christ mission trips to what was then northern

rhodesia. the organization has grown over the years to include a variety of medical and educational services. All

these things are made possible through fundraising, donations and volunteers.

to find out how you can help, visit www.zambiamission.org

ABOVE: Dora, the focus of the film, recieved cataract surgery to replace her vision.RIGHT: A Zambian village gathers around their radio to listen to 90.5, a station set up by Zambia Mission.BELOW LEFT: Massingill, director of the film, does most of her work as a photographer.BELOW MIDDLE: Austin Siabenzu, the station’s DJ, also leads a program called “Hello Patient” which allows hos-pital patients to contact their villages.BELOW RIGHT: K.B. Massingill, co-director of Zambia Missions, speaks at the radio tower’s opening ceremony. BOTTOM: Dora sees for the first time after receiving cataract surgery.

Double vision

Courtesy of jessalyn massingill

Courtesy of jessalyn massingill

Courtesy of jessalyn massingill

Courtesy of jessalyn massingill

Courtesy of jessalyn massingillCourtesy of heather leiphart

oh dear, christian collegeBen Miller

Oh Dear, Christian College Ben miller

the issueRecent crimes demonstrate that even a cozy little town like Abilene isn’t as safe as it seems.

our takeStudents should be aware of the risks they are exposed to and take steps to minimize them.

Crimes show need for caution

Hannah barneseditor in chief

Mark smithmanaging editor

jozie sandsopinion page editor

marissa fergusononline editor

christina burchmultimedia editor

daniel gomezchief photographer

david ian singer arts editor

samantha sutherlandfeatures editor

austin gwinsports director

bryson shakesports editor

john edward isaacsassistant sports editor

ellen smithcopy editor

christianna lewiscopy editor

ben miller cartoonist

melany coxpage 2 editor

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

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

The Optimist encourages reader response through let-ters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing

personal attacks, obscen-ity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy. Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892Abilene, TX 79609

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Perks and pitfalls of the only child

Safety is not enough of a concern for many Abilene residents. In fact, it al-most never crosses our minds. We live in Abilene, after all, the shiny brass buckle of Bible Belt, America. Small town feel, three Christian universi-ties – most would think we live in one of the safest environments.

This is where a prob-lem occurs. Sure, we live in a “Christian bubble,” but we are definitely not in a crime-free zone. Bad things still happen, even in the smallest of towns.

On Aug. 29 and Sept. 5, 2011, two rapes were re-ported. Both victims were

alone in the Abilene Mall parking lot, late into the night. The Abilene Police Department continues to work toward catching the perpetrator(s). Initially, they formed a undercover operation. They later as-signed uniformed officers to the mall parking lot during nighttime hours.

Obviously, crime cannot be avoided altogether. No matter what efforts the po-lice may make, violence will take place. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that average citizens can and should take preventa-tive measures. Here are a few safety tips that could help keep you out of harm’s way.

1) Don’t try to be the hero. We all have a plan of action if someone were to attack us. We would jab them with our car keys and kick them while they groan and moan in pain on the ground. Instead of sticking around, though, it would be so much smarter to run. Don’t try to win the battle by fight-ing to the death.

2) Stay away from po-tentially dangerous situ-ations. Sure, some situ-ations are not obviously dangerous. But walk-ing the Lunsford trail by yourself at midnight is obviously dangerous. Go-ing out alone at 3 a.m. is

obviously dangerous. Re-moving oneself from situ-ations like these is always the best option.

3) Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If it’s nighttime and you have to trek through a dark, vacant parking lot to reach your car – call a se-curity guard to escort you. From experience, we know this is can be embarrassing or even somewhat annoy-ing. But it definitely is com-forting knowing you have a form of protection.

4) Be aware of your sur-roundings. We walk in and out of stores with our eyes glued to our cell phones. We dig for our keys while standing beside our cars,

rather than having them out and ready to go be-fore stepping foot outside. While doing this, we tend to forget where we are. We must remember that while in public places, such as malls, parks and parking lots, there are or may be people around. Pay atten-tion to who and what is around you at all times.

The assaults that took

place last month should remind us that despite how safe the Abilene community is, we are still at risk to be victims of crime. A few small chang-es to attitude and behav-ior can reduce that risk, and it is worth it.

Editorial

contact the optimist [email protected]

hashtagACUI’m going to be quoted in this Friday’s edition of @acuoptimist so grab a copy. I promise I say cool things. I’m such a celeb. #fame

Rushing is...absolutely fabulous. But in a nev-erwanttogothrought-hatagain kinda way. #ACU

@SamStien@erika_bird @bdill12 @brotherdill @blschroeda@madelineorr

2:08 p.m. Sept. 211:55 p.m. Sept. 21

8:55 a.m. Sept. 19

1:15 p.m. Sept. 216:05 p.m. Sept. 21

11:49 p.m. Sept. 15Apparently a Trans-former malfunctioned, causing the power outage on campus. All of our problems can be traced back to Michael Bay #ACU

The power goes out in class and my teacher didn’t know how to teach without the Pow-erPoint. #technology @overheardACU

(freshman girl standing in front of Foster science building) “Idk how to get back to Gardner from here” @overheardACU

Power outage in the #ACU library. Whose more angry about this, people who lost their unsaved work or the people waiting in line @starbucks?

Send your tweets @acuoptimist, or #ACU, to get your tweets printed in the Optimist.

College: you’re in it now, kid

I’ve always been a little envious of my friends who battle in the family wars of sibling rivalry. Growing up as the only child and the only grandchild of the fam-ily has it’s perks, but many are unaware of the equally large pitfalls that go along with the territory.

Christmas was nice no matter how good or bad I was. Whenever I wanted to tell a joke, the whole room was all eyes and ears – which should have been a red alert because I’ve never been very fun-ny. Don’t get me wrong, I love to be the center of at-tention, but as I got older I wished some of the spot-light haloing around me would dim.

As the only child, the pressure is all on you. Parents are like sharks. I could never give my mom the privilege of putting an “honor child” sticker on the bumper so I had to find other ways to supply her with good material for conversation.

Since I would never make the Whiz Quiz team, my next stop for celebrity status was to take the ath-letic route.

Then again, how much can you gain from playing sports against your furby? The first time I tried to play soccer, I lifted for the big-gest kick my stubby little legs could handle. Not only did I miss the ball com-pletely, but still managed to fall and stain my khaki pleated skort with grass. I was semi-decent in basket-ball and track, but that all ended when the other girls hit a growth spurt and my legs weren’t longer.

Well, now what? By this point, I was in middle school and not exactly as cute as I

once was, but my mom still wanted to invite a clown to my twelfth birthday party. She did, by the way. I had no choice but to accept that I would always be treated a few years younger than I was, but the expectations were for someone a few years older.

My mom wanted me to look at which AP high school classes I would want to take when I en-tered middle school. She wanted me to start plan-ning for college when I went to high school – she probably should’ve pre-pared more on the finan-cial end for that.

Oh well, I’ll leave sib-ling rivalries to those who actually have siblings. Competing with someone who has the same genes as you is one thing, try-ing to match the rest of the world is another. Be-ing the only child made me a more self-reflective person, whether I use that ability to make better judgment calls is another story. And if nothing else, I’m the biggest people person you’ll ever meet.

College is a unique time of life. It may be the best time of our lives, and we’re living it right now.

Someday far in the fu-ture we’ll hear a song on the radio or see some pic-ture reminiscent of these brief years. It will bring smiles, perhaps tears, or maybe just a warm feeling to our hearts. The college years are truly a rare and precious opportunity, yet how often do we appreci-ate them while they pass? And so, for our collective benefit, I shall here de-scribe a small selection of many ways to make your college experience all it can be.

Pull more pranksTruly, our generation

falls behind here. The world was not a boring

place before Netf lix and Facebook; people just pulled more pranks. This is the only time in your life you have such free-dom, such immunity. Don’t waste the few pre-cious years when you’re old enough to plot great things, yet young enough to be easily forgiven. Work as a group. Plan things with your friends. Know where your professors of-fices are. Find how cheap you can buy miniature army men online. Always look for unlocked doors, and never forget the in-herent hilarity of Jell-O.

Dine with friendsEven if it’s just frozen

pizza, get together and attempt to survive with-out campus dinning for a night. College is a lot bet-

ter when you visit people, and visiting people is a lot better when there’s food. You may even learn how to cook something for yourself, which I hear is an important skill after university living. So find a griddle and make pan-cakes in the dorm lobby. Maybe you could just in-vite someone over for ce-real. Just make sure you know where to find bacon in Walmart by the end of college. The good memo-ries that have stuck with me from previous years usually involve food, so go make some.

Dress how you wantSeriously, however the

heck you want. You won’t have this freedom in the business world. This is your chance – your chance to grow a beard worthy of legends. Your chance to tie-dye socks. Your chance to make cardboard ar-mor. Your chance to pil-lage goodwill for anything with stripes. Look on eBay for hats—or capes. (Or you

could just wear a suit and tie like any normal per-son...) And this is most im-portant: Halloween is on a school day for the first time in several years. Don’t let it pass you by. Don’t let any of this pass you by.

College is a time of great freedom. It’s probably the only time you can put on a swimsuit and ride around town in a pickup bed full of water. So get your work done and enjoy the time to make memories.

column

column

contact salley [email protected]

Don’t waste the few precious years when you’re old enough to

plot great things, yet young enough to be

easily forgiven.”

“

contact miller [email protected]

friday 09.23.11 6opinion

Whenever I wanted to tell a joke, the whole room

was all eyes and ears – which should have been a red alert because I’ve never been very funny.”

“

Farron heightFArrOn SAlley

playing away from home and have played only one match in Moody (1-0).

Borger is ecstatic to finally have a couple of home games slated on the schedule.

“I’m so happy to be playing in front of a home crowd,” Borger said. “It’s always a breath of fresh air to play in front of our fans and get that extra confi-dence boost.”

Eastern New Mexico is 3-10 overall with only one win against confer-ence teams (1-5). The Zias beat Texas A&M Universi-ty-Kingsville in the West Texas A&M Tournament in Canyon. ENMU’s other two wins were versus Ad-ams State College and Oklahoma Panhandle State University. The Wild-cats defeated the Zias in one clash last season 3-2.

ACU ranks, as a team, among the top five squads

in the conference in hitting percentage (4th, .200), kills (4th, 12.92), and assists (4th, 12.08). Hutt leads the LSC individually in kills (4.75 per set) and in points with 5.17 per set. Haley Rhoads ranks fourth in as-sists per set with 9.93.

ENMU ranks last in the LSC in hitting percentage (.079), assists (8.78 per set), and kills (10.04).

For regular-season home volleyball games, students, faculty and staff can get into Moody Colise-um free of admission with a valid university-issued ID card. Children ages 12 and under can also be let in for free. Adult general admission tickets are $5.

FRIDAY 09.23.117 sports Jumps

Despite the loss and low score last week against North Alabama, the ’Cats offense actually fared well. Mitchell Gale threw for 390 yards and the rush-ing attack hit the century mark against a very good Lion defense.

Take away the first 10 minutes of the first quarter against the Lions and the defense was spectacular. The final touchdown for the Lions came from a fumble recovery and the ACU D even blocked a field goal.

Last week the ACU’s offense couldn’t get out of its own way with penalties and turnovers. This week however, the Wild-cats will be playing in a familiar venue against a familiar foe. Angelo has always struggled against ACU and hasn’t beaten the ’Cats since Coach T’s reign started. With receiver Jamaine Sherman starting to learn the offense, it opens up a deep threat for Gale, something that has been lacking so far this year.

It’s is tough being 1-1 af-ter losing a game that ap-peared winnable. I think that Coach T, Gale and the ’Cats will be hungry for re-venge and what better team to take it out on than the Angelo State Rams. In front of a home crowd under the West Texas night sky, ACU will not disappoint. The stars will be out and will shine brightly on Shotwell.

Penalties, turnovers, and dis-appointment were the over-riding themes of last week’s game, and all are things that derive from a lack of focus and mental stability. Expect those issues to be fixed and the Wildcats to make a state-ment against an Angelo State team that is feeling good at 3-0. ASU has always struggled against ACU, and expect no less at ACU’s home opener.

ACU is looking for a jump-start against Angelo State af-ter losing to North Alabama. The Wildcats need a game where they perform well from start to finish. I believe the team will do that at Shotwell Stadium. Despite the Rams coming into this game unde-feated, ASU hasn’t played a formidable opponent like the ‘Cats. Expect ACU to score early and often.

The number of turnovers and penalties in last Saturday’s last game suggest that the ‘Cats defeated themselves in a such a close match-up. Af-ter losing to UNA, the ACU will return to the field eager to correct these mistakes. The Rams come into this game 3-0, but they have yet to play a team with the skills and potential that the Wild-cats have.

The defense is again all it is cracked up to be. With Whiteside seemlingly able to play any position on the defensive line, the Wildcats are a force. Angelo State might be 3-0, but they have a first-year coach and a first-year quarterback who have yet to face a presence like Whiteside. The Rams will still put up some points, but don’t expect it to be a lot.

The only problem that Angelo St. might present against ACU is newness. ACU has seen Josh Neis-wander under center for the Rams in the three of the last four seasons. This year it will be Blake Hamblin quarterbacking while rookie head coach Will Wagner calls the shots. Previously an assitant at Northwest Missouri, Wagner is familiar with ACU and will bring that knowledge to the table on Saturday.

Pick: ACU 41-17 Pick: ACU 35-17 Pick: ACU 49-14 Pick: ACU 42-13

Offense Defense IntangiblesACU ACUPICK:

Angelo St. (3-0) vs.#10 ACU (1-1)Game Preview

PICK:

Austin Gwin Bryson Shake Natalie GoinEdward Isaacs

Even though several Wildcat drives stalled against North Alabama, the ‘Cats still man-aged to put up over 490 total yards while holding the Lions to only seven second-half points. If ACU can cut down on mental errors and become a more consistent team, then they should be able to come away with an easy win against Angelo State.

After a tough loss against North Alabama, ACU will come out ready to make a good showing against An-glo State. It is going to be a bad day to be playing for the Rams, who will be going on the road to face a talented team looking to assert their dominance over a LSC foe. This home opener will prob-ably turn into a rout.

Pick: ACU 35-13 Pick: ACU 38-10

Matthew SloanCody Weems

ACUPICK:

The ACU/ASU rivalry is a much big-ger deal for the Rams than it is for the ’Cats. With wins against the Rams lately, this has become just another LSC contest although the proximity of the schools lend itself to a rivalry.

The team is paced by Paola Loya, who leads the team in assists and goals. She, along with four oth-ers, share the team lead with two goals apiece.

The Zias average 1.57 goals per game while only giving up 0.86.

The team averages over 3 corner kicks per contest as well.

“We have to come out hard against them and hope they are not riding the momentum train,” Car-penter said. “If they are, we need to stop it quick with our style of play.”

Head Coach Casey Wil-son said the team needs to play its game to come

out on top.“We cannot let them

dictate the pace of the game. We need to estab-lish our playing style and have them cater to us,” Wilson said. “They are a very good team and have the talent to give any team it plays a fit.”

The Lady Buffs (4-3,1-2) come into the game after a 3-1 over Texas Woman’s last Sunday.

Forward Leslie Briggs leads their offense, as she has six goals and two assists on the season.

Depth also is a strong suite for the Lady Buffs, as nine players have scored goals this season.

WT averages 2.43 goals per game, while only al-

lowing 1.14 against them.“West Texas is solid all

around. They are a super aggressive team who likes to play a fast paced game,” Wilson said. “We need to dictate the pace and have them play our style and not the other way around.”

Buschman said the key to stopping the WT of-fense is working as a unit.

“We are going to have to work together on de-fense to hold off their quick players,” she said.

ACU averages 2.67 goals per game and only allows 0.67 against them.

Junior forward Krysta Grimm leads the Wild-cats with five goals and 13 points, and Carpenter is a close second to her

with four goals and nine points on the season.

The Wildcats rank first in the Lone Star

Conference in five ma-jor offensive categories, but its defense has been dynamite too, causing

three shutouts already.

contact isaacs [email protected]

Home: Team hopes “Black Out” and home crowd will provide motivatation

volleyball

contact shake [email protected]

Road: ’Cats ready for storied rivalrysoccer

from page 8

from page 8

After having a tough three-game Lone Star Conference road trip where the Wildcat volleyball team went 1-2, the ‘Cats have returned home to play two LSC games at Moody Coliseum.

The second of these two games pits ACU against Eastern New Mexico Uni-versity on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Wildcats are at-tempting to end a two-match losing streak.

In the losses, ACU was the victim of consecutive five-set comebacks by the opponent (Texas Women’s University and University of the Incarnate Word).

Junior Kalynne Allen feels the upcoming games are especially important for the Wildcats.

“We’re excited more than anything because if we win the next two games it will be a huge confidence booster,” Al-len said. “I know we’re capable of winning. There is so much talent on this team. It’s just a matter of working out the kinks.”

“The last two losses have given us a deter-mined attitude and lit a fire in several of the play-ers,” Allen said.

Sophomore Neely Borger believes the team needs to improve in sev-eral areas in order to win these two games.

“Honestly, we need to start coming together as a team. The past couple of weeks we’ve been focused on individual stuff,” Borg-er said. “For us to improve we have to start playing to-gether and talking more.”

Allen agreed that the ‘Cats need to finsh games better.

“We’re learning to fin-ish games. We have great skills,” Allen said. “Piecing them together is what’s missing right now.”

In ACU’s first home game on Sept. 13, the team kept Incarnate Word from mounting a come-back late in the match.

Senior Jennie Hutt put on a show, as she recorded the sec-ond highest single-match kill

total in ACU history with 32.The Wildcat’s regular

season record is 7-6 and the team is 3-2 in the LSC conference.

The ‘Cats are 2-2 when

friday 09.23.11 8sports

TeamMSUACUWTAMUUIWAngelo St.TAMU-KENMUTSUCommerce

Div.1-01-01-01-00-00-10-10-10-1

Ovrl.2-01-11-11-23-02-11-20-30-2

TeamASUWTAMUCameronTSUACUUIWTWUMSUTAMU-K

Div.6-05-14-23-13-23-42-32-42-5

Ovrl.14-010-15-37-57-66-72-76-54-5

TeamENMUACUCommerceMSUASUWTAMUUIWTWU

Div.2-01-01-01-11-11-20-10-2

Ovrl.4-25-03-23-12-44-32-10-4

The ACU women’s soccer team rose to No. 8 in the nation after going 1-0-1 last weekend. The team was No. 12 last week, and continues to rewrite the record book.

The Wildcats fell in striaght sets against the Lady Buffs from West Texas A&M on Thursday night in Moody.

Jennie Hutt was named co-conference Offensive Player of the Week after her record breaking game against Incarnate Word last week.

Lexi Stirling, ACU soccer player, was named Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week for her performances against Incarnate Word and Angelo State last weekend.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox had two receptions for 45 yards and no toudowns in the Bears second game of the season against the Saints. New Orleans won the game, 30-13.

Bengals running back Bernard Scott was limited to only two carries for ten yards against the Denver Broncos. In two games this season, he has six carries for 13 yards and no touchdowns. The Bengals lost the game, 24-22.

Danieal Manning, Texans safety, had a good day against the Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 18. He recorded two individual tackles and five assists while helping Houston get the win, 23-13.

The volleyball team plays Eastern New Mexico University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Moody Coliseum.

Women’s soccer travels to Portales, N.M. on Friday, Sept. 23 to face Eastern New Mexico University at 3 p.m and then to Canyon to play West Texas A&M Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Football plays conference foe Angelo State at Shotwell Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.

football

volleyball

Women’s Soccer

standings

briefings

EX- FACTOR

Upcoming

Depth paces ACU to second place

The Abilene Christian golf team competed in the Dornick Hills Classic in Ardmore, Okla. the past two days, battling once again against Central Oklahoma, and finished the tournament with a second place finish.

Both teams are ranked very highly among the Di-vision II teams, and their constant fight to the top remains the theme of each tournament this season.

After Monday’s rounds, the Wildcats staked their claim to second place with two rounds of 293 and 293

for total of 587, while the Bronchos led the tourna-ment with 287 and 292 for a total of 579.

ACU was on top of the leaderboards after day one of the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate tourna-ment last week in Abilene.

UCO shot well enough on day two to overcome the close margin.

At this week’s tourna-ment, the Bronchos kept the lead both days, pull-ing away 26 shots ahead of the Wildcats.

Head Coach Mike Camp-bell said playing against good teams like UCO better prepares the Wildcats for the spring season, which paves the road to nationals.

“It’s really good experi-ence for the younger play-ers,” Campbell said. “Every-thing we do gets us in a better position to achieve our ulti-mate goal this spring.”

The ’Cats came in sec-ond behind the Bronchos, who finished at 884, beat-ing the third place St. Ed-wards team by two strokes.

Arkansas-Fort Smith fell at fourth at 895, and Cam-eron in fifth at 897.

Monday’s individual

rankings came out with freshman Corbin Renner tied at third at 3-over-par 143, (73-70) sophomore Trey Sullivan tied for fifth at 5-over-par 145, (70-75) and junior Alex Carpenter tied for 15th at 9-over-par 149 (75-74).

Despite the first rounds, Carpenter showed up Tuesday prepared to come back, ultimately leading the Wildcats with a seventh place finish.

He finished at 1-over-par 71 with a total of 210 points.

“I didn’t play my best on Monday,” said Carpenter. “I was able to come back on Tuesday and play very well, and I’m very happy to finish on top for ACU.”

Andrew Green of Cen-tral Oklahoma won the individual championship, finishing at 1-under-par 209. Corbin Renner fin-ished tied for ninth at 221, sophomore Trey Sullivan tied for 18th at 225, and Ian Evans tied for 20th at 226.

“Each tournament is a chance for our players to grow,” Campbell said. “After a great start in these past two contests, we’re looking forward to our next tourna-ment in a couple of weeks.”

The golf team will return October 10-11 at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invita-tional in Amarillo, Texas.

natalie GOinsports reporter

contact Goin [email protected]

Golf

mike campbell,head coach,

acu golf team

Everything we do gets us in a better position to

achieve our ultimate goal this spring.”“

DANIEL GOMEZ CHIEF Photographer

Madelyn Robinett, sophomore outside hitter from Amarillo, listens to volleyball head coach Kellen Mock durring a team timeout. ACU fell behind in the third set against the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs at home in Moody Colesium.

’Cats determined to ignite Moodyvolleyball

edward isaacsassistant sports editor

destiny hagood Staff Photographer

Julie Coppedge, Amarillo native, side steps a defender in a game at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch.

soccer

Wildcats hope to make homecoming roadtrip a success

Although Abilene Chris-tian University’s Home-coming is still a few weeks away, four ACU soccer players are having their own homecoming event on the team’s road trip this weekend.

The team plays East-ern New Mexico Friday at 3 p.m. in Portales, N.M. before heading to Canyon to play West Texas A&M at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Four players – Ju-lie Coppedge, Brie Buschman, Andrea Car-penter and Sarah Schoch – are from the Amarillo area and call the northern Texas city home.

“I am excited to play at WT because all through high school I practiced on

their field, played with a lot of their players and went to their games,” Buschman, a graduate of Canyon Ran-dall High School, said.

Carpenter echoed that excitement, and mentioned how the reality of playing “at home” and the atmosphere it will bring is intriguing.

“I am so excited to get to go home and have all my family and friends there to support me,” Carpenter said. “It’s going to be a great atmo-sphere.”

But before the festivi-ties begin in Canyon, the No. 8 Wildcats must deal with thee Zias of Eastern New Mexico.

The Zias (4-2-1, 2-0-1) stand atop the Lone Star Conference standings, and are coming off a 1-0 win over Wayland Baptist.

bryson shakesports editor

see home page 7

see road page 7