The Optimist - Sept. 5, 2008

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

Log on to www.youtube.com/acu-video to see Wednesday’s newscast from the JMC Network Newscast staff. This week’s webisode highlights SHADES’ tryouts and information on upcoming events.

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Online Poll : What should be the main purpose of the

Students’ Association?

a. Talking to the administration.b. Giving away free food.c. Hosting events for students. d. Representing the student body. acuoptimist.com

Pg 3InsideThis Issue:

Ex-ACU track athlete accused of steroid use in Olympics

‘Traitor’ humanizes Muslim extremists and their views on the ‘War on Terror’

New group aims to help students find ACU organizations to join

Pg 6 Pg 8

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Pg. 8 Wildcat soccer team wins its first match of 2008Friday, September 5, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 5 :: 1 section, 8 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

University probes SA noose incidentBy Michael FreemanManaging Editor

A noose was discovered in the office of Student Congress President Daniel Paul Watkins Wednesday, prompting the university to investigate.

Watkins would not comment on the noose, but he met with Dr. Royce Money, president of the university; Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president and dean for student life; and other campus leaders Thursday to discuss what actions the university

should take in response to the incident.

“We plan to pursue the matter as a responsible Christian community should,” Money said.

The hangman’s noose has been used as a rac-ist symbol in the past to invoke the memory of Af-rican-American lynchings during the Jim Crow era.

Money said he will deliver a prepared state-ment to the student body in Friday’s Chapel.

Expo Center prepares for fair, rodeoBy Michael FreemanManaging Editor

If you recently have yearned for funnel cake, Ferris wheels or calf wrestling, then you are in luck. The 109th edition of the West Texas Fair & Rodeo begins Friday at the Taylor County Expo Center.

This year’s fair, themed “Horns, Hides, Laughs and Rides”, will last through Sept. 13. The fair will open each day at 11 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. General admission is $6 for adults and $3 for college students. Tickets for the rodeo will cost $12.

“It’s a recreational thing,” said Ed Brokaw, professor of agriculture and environment. “Our club [Agriculture and Environmental Sciences club] is planning to get a group together to

Students to vote in Congress elections By Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

Doors and sidewalks throughout campus will soon be littered with cam-paign signs and slogans, and that means only one thing: Students’ Associa-tion elections are here.

Students will decide who will represent them in the Student Congress as SA elections begin next week.

Elections for class senators, academic build-ing representatives and residence hall representa-tives will be Tuesday and Wednesday. Students can vote in the Campus Cen-ter from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and if necessary run-off elections will be Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Since every undergrad-uate student at ACU is a member of [the] Students’ Association, participation in congress is important,” said Sarah Pulis, student body vice president.

Petitions signed with the signatures of students of the same classification or resi-dents of the same academic building or residence hall

Security increased in hallsBy Sondra RodriguezStudent Reporter

Students are banging on doors and stamping their feet in frustration because of a new residence hall policy.

Exit doors will be locked 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure the safety of students. This policy is very different from last year when doors were only locked during curfew hours.

John Delony, director of Residence Life Education and Housing, said it is a positive change that was en-forced to protect students.

Anyone wanting to enter a residence hall must swipe his or her ID card at an out-side card reader. If an ID card is forgotten or lost, Delony recommends call-ing a resident assistant or residence director for ac-cess to the hall.

“The main benefit is stu-

dent safety,” Delony said. “We’ve got the technology in place, and it doesn’t cost us any more money but it’s just another safety measure we can put out there.”

David Degge, resident as-sistant in Edwards Hall, said he agreed with the decision.

“Overall, it’s a positive change,” said Degge, junior music education major from Highland, Ill. “It’s going to be easier for the ResLife staff to ensure the safety of the residents and to regulate who is coming in and out of the dorm during visitation hours and freshman check-in; it just makes it flow more smoothly,” he said.

Sophomores are expect-ed to struggle the most with the new policy because freshmen have no prior res-idence hall experience.

Jordan Johnston, sopho-more Christian ministry ma-jor from Carrolton, said he

does not think the change was necessary.

“I think the school feels safer for us, but we don’t feel any different,” he said. “We just have to do ex-tra work now; we can’t cut through Mabee from Ed-wards anymore.”

Johnston favored the former arrangement and thinks “it just makes more sense to lock the doors af-ter a certain hour.”

However, Degge remains confident the decision will benefit residents in the long run.

“There will be frustra-tions,” he said. “But overall, it’s a smart move.”

A league of its ownBy Tanner KnauthStudent Reporter

As summer turns into fall, Brandon Oliver begins scour-ing the Internet, trying to find obscure facts about players in the National Football League. Oliver is one of the thousands of men and women across the nation who search for the next breakout player in the NFL. Why? So they can draft him for their fantasy football team.

“I’m looking for the next Wes Welker,” said Oliver, freshman undeclared major from Waco.

Like Oliver, many students will participate in a fantasy

football league this fall.The game is simple with

each league comprised of eight to 14 teams and each person acting as the manager for his or her own team. A league commissioner sets a draft date during which all the managers draft current NFL players for their teams.

Each week one team is pitted against another in a head-to-head matchup. Scor-ing is based on individual and team statistics from ac-tual NFL games. For instance,

if a player on a team scores a touchdown, the manager earns six points. At the end of each week, the scores are tabulated, and the team with the most points is the win-ner. Much like in real foot-ball, managers can eventu-ally progress to the playoffs and be crowned champions of the league.

Oliver and his friends have been playing fantasy football for the past three years. Oliver said the most difficult part of the game is to know his own

biases. As a Dallas Cowboys’ fan, he would like to draft as many Cowboys as possible on draft day. But this is not a very good strategy, since all the Cowboys would have the same week off in which they would not score any points for him.

“It’s tough because you have to draft guys on another team who play against the Cowboys,” Oliver said.

Josh Anderson, sophomore

. CMO

Yahoo!

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

A Ferris wheel is constructed in the parking lot of the Taylor County Expo Center for the West Texas Fair & Rodeo.

See Fantasy page 4

E-mail Rodriguez at: [email protected]

Hit tHE Polls

Voting for Students’ Association senators and representatives will be in the Campus Center Tuesday and Wednesday:

Days: Tuesday, WednesdayTime: 11:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

:: Runoff Thursday if necessary

See Fair page 4

acuoptimist.com: Log on to see a video of how fantasy football affects student life in the residence halls.

See Election page 4

E-mail Freeman at: [email protected]

Applications for SALT, Service Ac-tion Leadership Team, are available in the Volunteer and Service-Learn-ing Center in the Bean Sprout. This group of students organizes events throughout the year that engage the student body in service and work to establish relationships with the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5. Interviews will follow from Sept. 8-10.

New Collegiate Cards have arrived in the SA office. Collegiate Cards are available free to every ACU student. Students can receive dis-counts at local restaurants such as Rosa’s, Little Caesar’s and Sonic. The Collegiate Cards from last year have expired, so come down to the office and get a new one.

The deadline to rank all men and women’s social clubs is Sept. 12 in the Campus Center’s Living Room. Come anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You must turn in your medical form, pledging contract and rush card at this time.

The ACU Athletics Department will be hosting a 5K run to benefit the Cory and Lisa Stone Family Sept. 13. For more information, contact ACU men’s basketball coach Jason Copeland at 674-2913 or [email protected]

Mike Stanton, CEO of Inigral, Inc., will be on campus Monday through Wednesday to discuss and research possible ways to in-tegrate Facebook into academics.

Students can partner with other students, faculty and friends of ACU for a time of unified interces-sion for the campus on Mondays at 7 a.m. at Jacob’s Dream. For more information, see the Face-book group “The Holy Spirit Moves at Abilene Christian” or e-mail [email protected].

Students’ Association fall elections are Tuesday and Wednesday. If you have any questions, please drop by the SA office or call 674-2583.

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

5 p.m. - 9 p.m. World Refugee Day at Nelson Park featuring music, drumming and performances by refugees from more than 10 nations. Culturally diverse food samples, fashion show and children’s activities. For more information, call 675-5643, ext. 19.

Last day to request C/NC or P/F.

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

7 p.m.“Circle of Laughs” comedy featuring Chonda Pierce at Southern Hills Church of Christ.

7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.ACU comedy Moonlight and Magnolias in Fulks Theater.

10:30 a.m.West Texas Fair and Rodeo Parade in downtown Abilene.

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Connecting Caring Communities Talent Show at the Paramount Theatre. Contact the Office of Multicultural Enrichment.

7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. ACU Fall Comedy Moonlight and Magnolias

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

12 p.m. - 7 p.m.The new “World Famous” Bean grand opening celebration will be in the Campus Center. Join everyone for giveaways, a chef showdown, Wii bowling tournament and talent showcase.

Calendar and EventsVolunteer Opportunities

Announcements

Sunday5

Friday Saturday Monday

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

Key City Kiwanis annual fish fry needs volunteers on Oct. 3 and 4 at the Abilene Civic Center. Help is needed Oct. 3 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with cooking, serving, cleaning tables and trash pick up. Volunteers receive a meal ticket to eat meals while working. All pro-ceeds benefit local organizations.

The Taylor Elementary Chess Club is seeking volunteers to help with the club Thursday from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Volunteers do not need to know how to play chess.

Sanctus Real Concert needs volunteers Sept. 14 to help with a variety of tasks from load-ing vehicles and providing security to selling merchandise anytime during the day from 9:00 a.m. until midnight. The concert will take place at the Paramount Theatre.

ACU’s Summit (Lectureship), Sept. 21 – 24, needs volunteers for a variety of jobs. Someone

is needed to answer phone call requests for shuttle pick-ups, and 21-year-old drivers are needed to drive 15 passenger vans for the shuttle service (training required through ACU Physical Resources). Male students are needed to serve communion Sunday eve-ning. Volunteers are needed to work the registration tables in the Teague Center.

The Alzheimer’s Association is seeking volunteers to help in a variety of ways with its annual Alzheimer’s Walk at Nelson Park. The walk takes place Sept. 20, and help is needed from 6 a.m. to noon. They also need help Sept. 18 and 19 to haul tables to the park.

An ESL teacher at Abilene High School needs volunteers to help in her class with one-on-one tutoring in core subject areas for non-na-tive speakers of English. This can be done Monday-Friday anytime from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

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

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Friday, September 5, 2008

Campus Day2

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

Groups may send announcements directly to [email protected] or to the Page 2 Editor at [email protected].

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

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

About This Page

Check out a short newscast from the JMC Network on ACU ticketers, changes to Chapel and women’s social club teas this past Sunday.

Log on to www.youtube.com/ acuvideo to see a video about SHADES’ tryouts and information on its upcoming events.

Online Newscast Webcast

By Brittany Brand Student Reporter

Just as the semester begins every year, so do the numerous tryouts for student activities. Students recently may have seen all the sidewalk chalk messages conveniently posted around the Campus Center; they advertise the upcoming tryouts for Seekers of the Word.

Seekers is a student-led drama ministry group on campus that travels around the state and the Abilene community to spread the Gospel through their God-given abilities to act. They perform many

humorous and serious skits that explain God’s message.

The members of Seekers write, direct and then perform all their own material. The content of their 30 to 45 minute performances not only helps spread the word of God but also deals with choices many people may be struggling through. Although they mainly perform in youth rallies and retreats, they also reach out to battered women’s shelters, prisons and other nonprofit organizations.

“This semester we have four out-of-town trips planned to youth events around the state, a

performance at Middleton Prison in Abilene and, hopefully, a couple more in-town performances,” said Leslie Spainhower, president of Seekers of the Word.

Auditions for Seekers of the Word were Wednesday. Competition for positions with the group was strong.

“We currently have 17 students in the group,” Spainhower said. “We generally get about 20 to 30 people auditioning, but we can only take a limited amount.”

Devin Anderson, freshman broadcast journalism major from Kerrville, is one of the hopeful students planning on auditioning for Seekers of the Word.

“I really love acting; I have had tons of experience with it locally in Kerrville, but it has not been as spiritually fulfilling as I hope Seekers of the Word will be,” Anderson said.

Anderson said it would be a great missionary experience to be a part of Seekers of the Word.

“Seekers of the Word is a great way for my creative side to come out on campus in a Godly way,” Anderson said.

Drama ministry seeks new personalities

E-mail Brand at: [email protected]

Friday, September 5, 2008 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

Send Me Lord links groups to encourage involvementBy Lydia MelbyArts Editor

With almost 100

student-led organizations, social clubs and interest groups on campus for the 2008-09 school year, getting connected can be overwhelming, especially for students who are already involved in sports and other extracurricular programs. ACU, yet again, has added one more student organization to the mix, but this club, Send Me Lord, actually plans to help connect students with other organizations.

“Send Me Lord is a community and campus unification service-based organization,” said Morgan Myrick, president of SML. “Our main goal was to try to include organizations, clubs and different departments that aren’t usually involved in community service … We want to recognize every organization and help freshmen and transfer students get in and get involved.”

Send Me Lord will begin this semester with its first interest meeting Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Room 120 of the Biblical Studies Building. Myrick said after the first interest meeting, SML will be able to get started on some of the many events it has planned for the year.

“One of our biggest events we are planning on hosting is a big red carpet event where we recognize every student organization and social club and athletic department and give awards for each, like for what they’ve done in the community,” Myrick said. “It’s

also just to put it out there, in a fun way, what different organizations are available for students to get involved.”

One of the major service projects already planned is the “Between Sundays” project Oct. 4, where the ACU football team will work with the Abilene Community and Schools program. Players involved will pair with children from the program and spend the day with them, coaching them in football and mentoring them; the kids also can attend the football game that night.

“It’s kind of a way to bring the football world into the little kids world and get them connected in places where they wouldn’t normally be,” Myrick said.

Other events planned include a “fashion and taste-test” show for the international students, surprise parties for both boys and girls’ residence halls and a car-bashing event for Homecoming. Around Christmas time, SML will adopt a unit stationed in Iraq and let the soldiers make a wish list it will use to create a

care package in appreciation for American troops.

Myrick said the biggest problem SML encountered to date has been the issue of money and funding, “since the SA budget got cut pretty substantially this year.”

Otherwise, Myrick said the biggest challenge she expected SML to face was “just getting everyone involved who is willing … because it’s easy to get overwhelmed, and then you feel like you don’t have time.”

However, Myrick is confident SML will be flexible to accommodate every student’s interests and needs.

“We’re trying to get other organizations to work together, to help other organizations, so one organization isn’t pulling all people in towards just itself when they could all be involved in more things,” Myrick said. “SML tries to come up with events that have times and interests that will be something anyone can do; we just want to be able to include everyone who is interested.”

SHADES Stomp-a-thon

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Natasia Jackson, senior history major from Cherokee, steps to new choreography during the SHADES’ tryouts Wednesday.

E-mail Melby at: [email protected]

We’re trying to get other organiza-tions to work together, to help other organizations, so one organization isn’t pulling all people in towards just itself when they could all be involved in more things.

:: Morgan Myrick, president of Send Me Lord

“

”

Friday, September 5, 2008 Page 4FROM THE FRONT

business major from Austin, said he plays fantasy football as a way to reconnect with friends from high school.

“We all play in a league,” Anderson said. “It’s just fun to get online and talk trash to your old friends.”

Fourteen million people

play fantasy football every year, according to the execu-tive search firm Challenger Grey and Christmas. Fantasy football has transformed into a national phenomenon. The Internet provides players the opportunity for live drafting from anywhere in the world as well as up-to-date statistics and scoring.

As fantasy football con-tinues to grow, college stu-dents may use it as a means to relieve stress accumulated through the rigors of day-to-day student life.

“It’s just fun,” Anderson said.

go to the rodeo.” The first discount day

will be Friday, College Stu-dent Day, when college stu-dents will be admitted all day free with current college ID. On Monday the Fair will have Dollar Ride Night, and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., it will sponsor Can-tastic Night, when students can receive free admission to the Fair for bringing six Coca-Cola cans.

The West Texas Fair & Rodeo Parade will march through downtown Abilene beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sat-urday. Larry Hall of Lawrence Hall car dealership will be the grand marshal of the pa-rade as dozens of marching bands, floats, classic cars and clowns make their collective ways through the streets.

The Rodeo part of the

Fair starts Tuesday and ends next Saturday. Events in Tay-lor County Coliseum will in-clude tie-down roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, bare-back riding, team roping and bull riding.

Special exhibits also will be shown at the Fair. Artists Suzanne Starr and Anita Lane will present their calligraphy work Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Modern Living Mall. China painting demon-strations will be shown on Saturday, and the Abilene Wood Carver Club will have

a woodcarving presentation Wednesday. Livestock and food exhibits also will be set up throughout the week.

“They’ll have several dif-ferent shows,” Brokaw said. “Some top quality livestock come in here—some of the best in the country.”

as the candidates were due Thursday by 5 p.m. Each candidate was required to attend a meeting Thursday, in which the election rules were laid out.

If elected, students must attend weekly Students’ Asso-ciation meetings Wednesdays. The first SA meeting will be Sept. 17.

Senators and representa-tives also will be required to work at least 30 minutes each

week in the SA office.Despite what some critics

may say about SA, Pulis, who serves as the SA elections chair as part of her vice-presidential duties, said it is more than a resume builder. Pulis said the benefit SA brings to the ACU community is to act as a voice for students to correspond with the administration to en-sure their views on various is-sues are known.

Pulis pointed to a pub-lic forum SA sponsored in the spring when news broke

about the Mobile Learning Initiative, where students were able to ask questions about the initiative.

Pulis said this year SA would work to mirror benefi-cial forums like the one last spring and actively serve as a voice for students.

“The goal of SA is to be able to express concern and ideas to the administration,” Pulis said.

Fair: College Student Day offers free admission Friday

Election: SA gives students a voice

Fantasy: 14 million people play

E-mail Johnson-Kim at: [email protected]

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

School receives makeover By Camille VandendriesscheAssistant Copy Editor

Four signs and several borders around flower beds were added to the campus during the summer. The work achieved by the Department of Physical Resources offered a refreshed place to new and returning students, but the biggest changes are still to come, said Bob Nevill, direc-tor of physical resources.

“We are developing a mas-ter plan to develop the cam-pus uniformly,” Nevill said. “An architect from Dallas (Christopher Miller) is work-

ing with us to design the fu-ture campus landscape; there will be a lot of change.”

Nevill said both east and west sides of campus already have been renovated since last spring. He said the com-ing changes will involve two phases of reconstruction around the Campus Center, which will be achieved during the next two summers. Nevill estimates the two-phase proj-ect will cost a little more than $3 million.

“It is terribly expensive; we have to do it in two phas-es,” Nevill said. “We’ll do it in the summer because we’ll

tear up areas that have lots of traffic.”

Nevill said several other landscaping projects are be-ing designed. One of them will consist of hanging ban-ners on the poles along the Lunsford Walking Trail; these flags will symbolize all the countries and states that represent the student body at ACU. Neville also said another project is the expansion of Gibson Center to build a wellness and rec-reation center.

Kat Patton :: staff photographer

Construction continues to dominate the landscape in front of the Bob Hunter Welcome Center. E-mail Vandendriessche at:

[email protected]

Continued from page 1

They’ll have several different shows. Some top quality livestock will come in here — some of the best in the country.

:: Ed Brokaw, professor of agriculture and environment

“”

E-mail Freeman at: [email protected]

E-mail Knauth at: [email protected]

Page 5September 5, 2008

ArtsFriday‘Traitor’ offers doses of humanityBy Blake PenfieldStudent Writer

Nazis and dinosaurs. Here we have two groups of peo-ple (Nazis are people, too) who always are portrayed as villainous, conniving sadists in film. In fact, with the ex-ceptions of Schindler’s List and The Land Before Time I-XXVIII, I cannot think of one film where a Nazi or a dino-saur is portrayed as a real, feeling human being.

This is what’s happening with Muslims in our popular culture today. It began with the first Gulf War and only has been exacerbated by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. More often than not, Muslims are portrayed as contempt-ible people so filled with a blind religious zealotry that their relish for causing random death and misery is matched only by George Lucas’ relish for destroying my childhood.

Traitor bucks this trend. Yes, it has Muslim extrem-ists. Yes, it depicts terrorist attacks on innocents in the name of Allah and Jihad. But it also does a great deal to humanize these people and works to give some sort of plausible motivation to a theological philosophy that is completely foreign to most of our western minds.

Traitor was written and directed by Jeffrey Nach-manoff, who wrote The Day After Tomorrow. But, don’t let that fool you—this one is actually pretty good, which is surprising given the film’s ho-hum trailer.

Traitor explores interest-

ing territory that gives it an edge other films of this kind lack. The director gives us some pretty heavy themes—religious pluralism and tol-erance, the juxtaposition of one’s duty to God with one’s duty to government and even some utilitarian versus deontological argu-ments about the sanctity of life. Not bad for the guy who wrote the tagline, “This year, a sweater won’t do.”

Don Cheadle stars as Samir Horn, the devout Muslim son of a Sudanese Muslim mar-tyr and an American mother. Though throughout the mov-ie Samir is pursued by the FBI and deals with terrorists, he must ultimately reconcile his actions with the Koran’s teachings and Allah’s will.

Cheadle does a great job building a bridge between the ideals of the Middle East and the culture of the West. He’s got an ability to tele-graph a great deal of emo-

tional depth through his eyes and he uses the trait to tremendous effect in his portrayal of Samir. Guy Pearce also does a wonder-ful job as the southern good ol’ boy FBI agent. Pearce and Cheadle complement each other well in their scenes to-gether. They both explore the symmetry between each of their characters’ religious convictions, which adds vol-umes of depth to what could have come off as a cheesy civics lesson in the hands of lesser actors.

The score offers an in-teresting blend of Middle Eastern strings with a more western Bourne-esque style. The former does a nice job of setting the theme and slowing the pace, while the latter moves the action along nicely with a pulsing series of carefully calibrat-ed aural delights.

The cinematography high-lights the seedy locales within

the different cities and con-trasts nicely with the short snippets we get of more col-orful scenery. The things go-ing on in these cities are not pretty, and the camera makes sure we see that.

Although the story has a few good twists and turns that keep you interested throughout the length of the film, pacing becomes a bit of a problem about three quarters of the way through the film. You’ll find your-self squirming in your seat while you wait for the film to reach its climax. A cou-ple of plot holes in the film may detract from the story as well.

However, the pros defi-nitely outweigh the cons. The interesting and unique perspective married with strong performances makes an enjoyably cohesive nar-rative experience.

Photo courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com)

Samir (Cheadle) encounters Omar (Said Tahgmaoui), the leader of an extremist terrorist cell, in ‘Traitor.’

E-mail Penfield at: [email protected]

Classical violinistto appear at WPACBy Katie HoffmanStudent Reporter

Violinist Andrew Sords is opening the 2008-09 ACU Guest Artist series Monday at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Williams Performing Arts Center. Free to the pub-lic, this recital will treat audi-ences to melodies of classical music by composers such as Kreisler, Brahms, Mozart, Chopin and Dvorak.

Dr. Gregory Straughn, chair of the Music Department, said he was excited to begin the se-ries with Sords.

“Each year we try to have four or five nationally-known artists or ensembles come to campus to perform,” Straughn said. “It has been several years since we’ve had a violin soloist, [but] the Music Department just hired a new violin instructor, so we can spotlight this important and beautiful instrument.”

Sords, 23, is a Cleveland Institute of Music and SMU graduate who has been play-ing the violin since he asked his parents for lessons as a first grader. Performances in the Cayman Islands as well as at Hyo Kang’s Great Moun-tains Music Festival in South Korea (home to violin legend Chee-Yun) garnered Sords in-

ternational acclaim.In 2004 and 2005, Sords

won first place in the National Federation of Music Clubs Competition. By 2005 he had won the National Shirley Val-entin award. Composer Kel-lach Waddle dedicated his Pu-litzer Prize winning sonata to Sords, and this summer Sords was named concertmaster of the Mansfield Symphony Or-chestra in Ohio.

“What matters is being convinced of an interpreta-tion that serves the composer tastefully and conveys the art-ist’s feelings to the audience,” Sords said.

His forte is to seemlessly meld complicated classical techniques into smooth tones and heartfelt passion.

Kristin Brown, senior vo-cal performance major from Athens, said she planned to attend Sords’ concert be-cause “any kind of musical exposure is going to help me as an artist.”

Sords said he only plays music he believes in, whether it is Mozart or the concerto he commissioned two years ago from Evan Fein.

“I want to make classical music as accessible as possi-ble,” he said. “If the audience is moved, then I did my job.”

E-mail Hoffman at: [email protected]

MUSIC SCENE ABILENE ARTS

n Thursday, Sept. 11: Country music singer Jack Ingram to perform at the Lucky Mule Saloon at 8:30 p.m.

n Thursday, Sept. 11: Artwalk features pianist Ric Richardson, new exhibits by Ford Farr, Mike Lanier and other Center Artist Members, live chalk art and more in downtown Abilene.

Many great presidents from the past wouldn’t last 10 minutes on CNN or FOX.

Forget the Monica Lewin-ski scandal. P r e s i d e n t John F. Ken-nedy’s ru-mored af-fairs (true or not) would have given to-day’s media circus a car-nival with all those al-legations of

infidelity. Considering the amount of attention paid to presidential candidate John McCain’s health problems, it is hard to imagine President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his wheelchair, suffer-ing from a potentially life-threatening disease, would garner much support from voters in our present cul-ture. Of course, viewers also would learn the fact that he married his distant cousin.

The modern presidential campaign is one of the most grueling contests a human being can endure. With 24/7 news coverage of the can-didates’ every move, with every sentence and phrase being scrutinized by politi-cal pundits, we now know more about those who seek the oval office than ever be-fore. Naturally, that would be a good thing; right? Per-haps the opposite actually is true, since our leaders now have learned to edit to an extensive degree what they say, leaving us more in the dark when it comes to their genuine beliefs.

Presidential candidates McCain and Barack Obama know a single sentence can severely damage their hopes for the presiden-cy. Both have learned the hard way. Obama set off a firestorm on the blogs and talk radio stations when he was quoted as claiming res-idents of small towns “cling to guns or religion or antip-athy to people who aren’t like them.” The quote was dissected, taken out of con-text and played all across the cable networks, costing Obama the state of Penn-sylvania in the primary.

McCain’s quote about spending “maybe 100 years” in Iraq had an equally nega-tive effect. No sooner had the words left his mouth than his opponents pegged him as a warmonger. When something as trivial as

wearing or not wearing a la-pel pen can cost politicians voters, candidates work ex-tra hard not only to avoid offending but also to avoid revealing their true beliefs. Politicians who have been in office for years have a vot-ing history that can come back to bite them when con-troversial issues resurface.

This is why candidates with less “experience” (which has become a liabili-ty to some) and more charis-ma have risen so quickly in the ranks. Republicans may claim Obama is someone who falls into this category, but with the choice of Sar-

ah Palin for vice president, they are equally offenders. Choosing someone with a year and a half of execu-tive experience reveals they also are following the trend. Charisma and “freshness” are the new experience.

It is discouraging if not downright scary to think men and women who are highly qualified yet are not photogenic or possessing an alluring on-air personal-ity might fall to the wayside in a bid for the presidency. Meanwhile, those who are able to captivate an audience or cultivate a well-designed persona yet are lacking in true presidential credentials will rise to the top.

Two years ago, as I started my first year at ACU, I was asked to prepare a speech for French Chapel, which takes

place every Tuesday in the Hardin Administra-tion Building, Room 133. I am not a big fan of Bible verses so, in-stead, I wrote a list of things

A m e r i -cans call “French.”

Being from France, I must say most of these things make me laugh, even though sometimes they irritate me too.

Let’s start with food and the funniest of all—the French fries!

French people have no idea Americans call fries “French”. In France like in the United States, fries usually come with

fast food. And because most fast food chains come from the U.S., we commonly associ-ate “fries” with America.

According to several Web sites, France actually seems to be the alma mater of fries. However, French people tend to believe fries, originally called “pommes frites,” were invented by the Belgians, who still claim them. Indeed, restaurants in Belgium are famous for their fries, which they serve with buckets full of mussels. Delicious!

Speaking of food, I am still amazed at how Americans love French toast. Sorry y’all, but many other European countries claim the invention of French toast; recipes and names vary

from one place to another.Medieval European cooks

concocted French toast when they tried to feed their fami-lies with every piece of bread they could find. The Germans named it “arme ritter,” or poor knight, while the French called it “pain perdu,” or lost bread.

Once in a while, my mom would cook French toast, using pieces of bread we would have thrown away because they were too hard; I must say the ones at IHOP taste nothing like my mom’s!

Another so-called French specialty is the French dress-ing. Although it often refers to French-born vinaigrette (oil and vinegar), different reci-pes exist in the U.S. such as

ketchup and sugar or ketchup, sugar and mayonnaise. Noth-ing truly French…

Interestingly, the French dressing possibly was named in the early 19th century after Lucius French, a founder of Ha-zelton, Ind. Because French dis-liked vegetables, his wife sup-posedly invented this dressing to make him eat salad.

Many other culinary special-ties are stamped “French” in the U.S. such as French dips (a beef sandwich dipped in beef juice), French beans (long green beans) and the mysteri-ous French roasted coffee.

While preparing my speech, I also discovered French drums, bulldogs and maids. I guess all are typically from France but I’m not positive.

The only thing I definitely knew Americans called French was the kiss. The French kiss is actually world famous…and I can live with that!

The iPhone initiative sparked all kinds of ex-citement, but the reali-ty of the project’s com-

plexity sparked something else in Team 55—responsi-bility. Distributing iPhones and iPod touches to almost 1,000 freshmen and provid-ing those same students with quality customer ser-vice is no easy task. Tech-nology Support Services and Team 55 met the project’s challenges head on with poise and class.

TSS and Team 55 together put in more than 1,000,000 hours of preparation. Kay Reeves, director of Technolo-gy Support Services, said TSS met weekly with AT&T and Apple representatives months

before school started.The initiative’s launch

was not without hurdles. News of the iPhone 3G’s release heralded the report that online activation was no longer possible. This meant AT&T employees needed to be available to as-sist students in registering their phones on distribution day. More than 30 AT&T representatives set up shop in the Brown Library, where students stopped after working through the iPhone

distribution line. Reeves ex-pressed sincere thanks to the Brown Library’s staff for their cooperation on behalf of TSS and Team 55.

Distributing the iPhones was merely the first step.

Team 55 prepared a vid-eo, visually outlining and explaining the iPhone’s fea-tures. The video was played on a screen freshmen watched while waiting in line, and it was played con-tinuously on Channel 55. Team 55 compiled the same

information from the vid-eo into booklets that were placed on every freshman’s bed and online at www.acu.edu/team55. Team 55 en-courages students who are seeking assistance to con-sult the Web site before visiting the Pit Stop in the Brown Library. Students can find remedies for common issues online.

Team 55 anticipated con-fusion and questions stu-dents might have the first week. More than 100 Team 55 employees, 60 of them students, roamed freshman residence halls, including Edwards Hall and McDon-ald Hall, for the entirety of move-in weekend. All em-ployees received a week of

training to prepare them for the freshman arrival.

Although the initial rush has slowed, Team 55 will con-tinue to staff its Pit Stop slight-ly more than usual. Reeves ex-pects normal staffing to return in a couple of weeks.

With 630 iPhones and 350 iPod touches distributed,

Team 55 had and continues to have a full plate. But if they persist in fulfilling their responsibilities as they have done already, students will have little need to worry.

ViewsFridayPage 6

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

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Editorial and Management Board

Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Sommerly SimserMult. Managing Editor

Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Grant AbstonSports Editor

Lydia MelbyArts Editor

Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor

By Alex YorkLebensgefahr Media coverage nullifies presidential qualifications

September 5, 2008

Team55 surpasses customer service expectations

...our lead-ers now have learned to edit an exten-sive amount of what they say, leaving us more in the dark when it comes to their genuine beliefs.

“

”

Cody VetetoChief Videographer

DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager

Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor

Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463

Optimistthe

Kenneth PybusAdviser

Cade WhiteAdviser

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

Pardon my ‘French’: Yours is all wrong

By Camille Vandendriessche

Pardon Y’all’s French

By Ryan Self

Self Examination

...my mom used to cook French toast...I must say the ones at IHOP taste nothing like my mom’s!

“”

E-mail Self at: [email protected]

E-mail the Optimist at: [email protected]

E-mail Vandendriessche at: [email protected]

The issue:Team55 faces previously unheard of challenges with the implementation of the Mobile Learning Initiatives.

Our view:The quality customer service Team55 continues to provide the ACU campus deserves commendation.

The solution:Students and faculty should continue to take advantage of Team55’s expertise but should do so respectfully and graciously.

Distributing iPhones and iPod touches to almost 1,000 freshmen and providing...quality customer service is no easy task.

“”

In Your WordsWhich group do you think most

deserves or needs iPhones next?

Carrie TanseyTheater majorfrom Fort Worth.

“The sophomores, because we’re the best of both worlds.”

acuoptimist.com

View videos of student responses

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

Annika RingleArt majorfrom Springdale, Ark.

“I think Team55 deserves iPhones, so they can help the entering freshmen when they have problems with their iPhones.”

Jamelynn DeBrinePsychology majorfrom Arlington.

“I really feel like everybody deserves them. There’s not just one specific group. Each group has their pluses and minuses.”

Friday, September 5, 2008 Page 7SPORTS JUMPS

Track: Ennis-London faces claims of steroid involvementthoroughbred because that’s what she looked like on the track. Nobody worked hard-er than her; I can promise you that,” he said.

Ennis-London lived and trained in Abilene until fall 2007; but despite the connection to ACU, she has been gone from the track and field program for almost ten years.

“I don’t feel like these type of situations where student athletes move on from our program impact the university at all,” Mos-ley said. “Obviously, we have obligations; we have to carry out with testing that the NCAA looks at, and so our concern is edu-cating our own student athletes on those regula-tions and the expectations

we hold them to. Hope-fully we can prevent any positive tests or links to drugs while they’re in our program,” he said.

The NCAA has a strict policy against the abuse of illegal substances. The policy calls for a one-year ban from an athlete’s sport on the first offense of positive testing, while a second offense mandates a loss of scholarship and a ban from competing.

“It’s a felony to have steroids or anything pos-session-wise,” Hess said. “Nobody since I’ve been here has tested positive that’s been tested.”

While the cost of ste-roids deters many student athletes from using them, ACU takes its own steps toward preventing sub-stance abuse among its

athletes, making it a prior-ity to educate the student athletes on the dangers.

“I’m sure there’s prob-ably been some positive tests over the history but I couldn’t elaborate on those; I would say that in our program it’s not an is-sue in the times we have tested,” Mosley said. “It’s our role as coaches and administrators to educate, and for the most part the student athletes under-stand that and the huge risk that could jeopardize their opportunity to play collegiately,” he said.

ball and putting it away on the first try when we get it to Ije (setter Ijeoma).”

The team also will face tests of endurance and conditioning in Colorado. Not only are they playing four games in two days but they also will be com-peting at a much higher elevation than Abilene’s.

“Playing in Colorado is difficult because of the different elevation, which makes it harder to catch your breath,” Mock said. “We have two girls on the team from Colorado who have played there in the past and should be used to it.”

She said having to play

multiple games on back-to-back days will benefit both the conditioning and the mental preparation of the Wildcats come conference play and, hopefully, playoffs.

“The best part about playing these tournaments early in the season is that the players get to know each

other as a unit,” Mock said. “They tend to mesh well and gel on the court when they play multiple games in a short period of time.”

Soccer: No. 6 Incarnate Word awaits Wildcats in San Antonio

The Wildcats’ preseason ranking is seventh in the LSC but the ranking will have to be higher to advance to the postseason tournament. The top six teams in the LSC advance to the confer-ence tournament at the end of the season. The Wildcats will be looking to prove the preseason polls wrong as the team begins its second regular season.

“I think we definitely can exceed expectations,” Wilson said. “We have the talent and personnel to compete in this conference. I feel optimistic we can better our ranking and play with anybody.”

So far this year, the Wild-cats have met that standard. Aside from their tie to Drury, ACU suffered a close 2-1 double-overtime loss to Mis-souri Southern last Friday.

Although the offense did struggle against Drury with only one shot on goal, co-captain Jordan Reese be-lieves the Wildcats can cre-ate more opportunities.

“We have made some for-mation adjustments that will hopefully create more offensive opportunities,” Reese said. “It’s crucial that we be aggressive in the air and on the ground on 50/50 balls (balls that either team can win).”

Defensively, the Wildcats are

right where they need to be.“[The defense] works

their tails off every game and never gives the other team an inch of slack,” Re-ese said. “Not only are our back four aggressive, but they’re smart with the ball and contribute to our offen-sive attack.”

ACU seems poised to sur-prise people, including In-carnate Word, and will build off its previous games to try and beat the No. 6 team in the nation.

Column: Solving playoff problems for the BCS

keep me interested through the All-Star break. The one solution to all of this, of course, would be a playoff system. That way, my Wolverines could play their way through the Big Ten, pull off a few upsets and slide in as a No. 4 seed in a 16-team bracket. Af-ter an upset of USC, Texas, Florida and LSU, they would be crowned national cham-pions. OK, maybe that is too much of a miracle to ask, but at least give them a shot.

Who wouldn’t love to see the Boise State’s of the world upset a No. 1 seed in a first-round matchup? Why shouldn’t the champi-on have to play three of the other top 15 teams in order to claim a true national title? The conference presidents say it is all about money; well, I am willing to venture a tournament of this mag-nitude would generate as much, if not more, revenue, excitement and pure fan en-thusiasm as March Madness or the BCS.

I am pleading with the powers at be: give fans like me something to look for-ward to past Labor Day and come up with some sort of a playoff system.

Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer

The Wildcat soccer team will play nationally ranked Incarnate Word in San Antonio on Friday, looking for its second consecutive victory. The Wildcats are 1-1-1 in 2008.E-mail Gwin at: [email protected]

E-mail Abston at: [email protected]

E-mail Harris at: [email protected]

Continued from page 8Continued from page 8

Continued from page 8

Volleyball: Wildcats look to remain undefeated in Colorado Invitational

UpcominG GAmEs

Opponent Date/Time

St. Edwards Sept. 12, 12:15 p.m.

Incarnate Word Sept. 13, 12:15 p.m.

St. Mary’s Sept. 13, 4:45 p.m.

Texas-Permian Basin Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

Serge Gasore, Julius Nyango, Daniel Maina, Amos Sang and Cleophas Tanui. The women’s team will feature seven runners in a group that includes two All-Amer-icans: Loice Cheboi and Winrose Karunde; and one senior: Hayley Garner.

The ACU Classic will be a community-wide event this year with all three Abilene univer-sities competing against each other for the first time. Brown described the ACU Classic as “a good social and family outing” and encouraged students to at-tend the event.

The ACU Classic is not only a major Abilene social event but also a chance for stu-dents to see some gifted ath-letes perform. Coach Brown noted this meet has “some of the best cross country in the state and nation.”

Senior cross country runner Julius Nyango said this year’s team is much stronger than in the past, even though the

ACU men have won the past two national championships. Nyango also hopes his fellow Wildcats will be present and cheer his team.

“It’s good for fans to come watch and encourage us,” Nyango said.

The ACU Classic will be held at Sherrod Park this Saturday. The women’s 3-mile race be-gins at 11 a.m., and the men’s 4-mile race begins at 11:30 a.m. Several high school races begin at 8 a.m.

When asked to describe the ACU cross country pro-gram in one word, native Kenyan Nyango chose the word “dedicated.”

It’s dedication that has ACU atop the polls yet again and looking to claim another national championship.

Cross Country: Cats aim to defend titles

Brian Schmidt :: file photo

Serge Gasore, Philip Birgen, Amos Sang helped the Wildcats win their 18th consecutive LSC title and second straight NCAA title in 2008.

Continued from page 8

E-mail craig at: [email protected]

Continued from page 8

E-mail Harris at: [email protected]

SportsFridaySeptember 5, 2008 Page 8

Friday

Women’s SoccerACU at Incarnate Word, 6 p.m.

VolleyballACU vs. Dixie State, 10 a.m.ACU vs. Palm Beach Atlantic, 4 p.m.

Saturday

VolleyballACU vs. Montana State-Billings, 10 a.m.ACU vs. Fort Lewis, 2 p.m.

Cross CountryACU Classic, 11 a.m.

FootballACU has a bye week

:: Home games listed in italics

Standings

Upcoming

Saturday

SoccerACU 0, Drury 0 (2OT)

FootballACU 44, Northwest Missouri State 27

VolleyballACU 3, Findlay 1ACU 3, New Mexico Highlands 0

Wednesday

SoccerACU 2, Texas Permian-Basin 0

FootballTeam Div. OverallACUTarleton St. WTAMUMSUAngelo St.

ENMU

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

1-01-01-00-00-10-1

TAMU-C 0-0 0-1

VolleyballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUACUMSUSE Okla.TAMU-C

Cameron

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

5-04-04-04-02-12-2

Women’s SoccerTeam Div. OverallCent. Okla.WTAMUTAMU-CNE St.ACU

SE Okla.

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

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

Angelo St. 0-0 1-1TX Woman’s 0-0 1-1East Central 0-0 0-2MSU 0-0 0-2ENMU 0-0 0-3

News

Scores

Fall sports

Team TennisStarts: Friday, Sept. 12Sign-up Deadline: Thursday, Sept. 11Cost: $40 per team

FootballStarts: Thursday, Sept. 16Sign-up Deadline: Thursday, Sept. 11Cost: $275 per team

SCOREBOARD

InTRAmuRAl ROunD-up

College football teams need help surviving

The college football season began last week, and for some teams, it effectively ended; or did it? Division I college foot-ball is unlike any other sport because it demands perfection

in every game.One team

that lost any glimmer of hope for the national championship title is my fa-vorite team—the Michigan Wolver ines . Now, before you start with the Appala-chian State

jokes, realize Michigan has a football program with the most wins of all time and has been a force to be reckoned with ever since my four-year-old self went to my first game at the Big House.

Michigan lost Saturday to Utah, 25-23, losing its second straight opener and dashing any lofty dreams of a miracu-lously perfect season.

Texas A&M fans also must be feeling my pain right now. The Aggies suffered a crush-ing 18-14 defeat at the hands of unranked Arkansas State at home Saturday.

Both schools are known for strong football programs and two of the largest fan bases in the country, so should they pack it in after one game and call it a season? It depends whom you ask.

On one hand, the past two BCS national champions have lost at least one game. In 2007, LSU became the first champion to lose two games in a championship season.

On the other hand, since its inception in 1998, no team has lost its first game and gone on to win the na-tional championship.

How depressing is that for fans like me? I wait around all summer for col-lege football to start, and then, before September even arrives, my favorite team is no longer in contention. At least in baseball the Rangers

Undefeated volleyball team takes 4-0 record to ColoradoBy Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcat volleyball team will travel to Durango, Colo., Friday to compete in the Fort Lewis College Invi-tational. The team, which is off to its best start since 1994, will play four games

in two days.The women will face off

against Dixie State at 10 a.m. Friday, followed by a match-up against Palm Beach Atlan-tic at 4 p.m. later that day.

Saturday, the Wildcats will compete against Montana

State-Billings at 10 a.m. The team will play its final game of the tournament against Fort Lewis at 2 p.m.

Coach Kellen Mock said the team hopes to improve upon its 4-0 start.

“Being on a streak is a great confidence and morale booster,” she said. “Realisti-cally, what matters now is that we take our season one match at a time.”

Mock said ACU has not played this weekend’s oppo-nents recently, but historical-ly, they are solid programs.

“We are going to see some good competition this weekend,” she said. “I think each will play a dif-ferent style of volleyball than we are used to, and we will have to adjust to each team as we play them.”

Even though the Wildcats are undefeated, Mock said they can still improve in some areas of their game.

“We want to earn more points with our blocks,” she said. “We block well as a team but we want to turn more of those blocks into points. In practice, we also worked on terminating the ball and put-

New coach inheritsgrand expectationsBy Jeff CraigSports Writer

The Wildcat cross country team will begin the 2008 sea-son with a new coach but with the same goal in mind: winning a national championship.

The Wildcats hired Sam Burroughs, an assistant coach at Iona College for the past three years, to lead the Wild-cats this season as the women look to win their eighth con-secutive LSC title and the men look to win their 18th straight conference title and defend their national championship.

“I feel they are positioned to defend their title,” said Abe Brown, hurdle and horizontal jumps coach.

The men’s cross coun-try team won its second

straight NCAA Division II National Championship last November behind Nicode-mus Naimadu, who became the first athlete in NCAA history to win four consecu-tive individual titles in cross country. Naimadu was voted the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Male Ath-lete of the Year.

The men and women’s teams begin the season ranked No. 1 in their con-ference, and both teams are focused on defending their respective Lone Star Confer-ence titles.

The men’s team has nine runners and five All-Americans:

By Austin GwinSports Writer

The Wildcats won their first game Wednesday in Odessa when they defeated Texas Permian-Basin 2-0. The Wild-cats improved their record to 1-1-1 and now will travel to play their toughest oppo-nent yet, nationally ranked Incarnate Word.

The Wildcats jumped to a 1-0 lead with 13:47 left in the first half against Permian-Basin when the Falcons accidentally put the ball in their own net. The Wildcats got the ball on a breakaway before a Falcon defender tried to break up the

Wildcat attack and accidentally slid the ball past the goalie to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

“As a whole, we will take the win but we didn’t play up to our standards as a team,” said head coach Casey Wil-son. “Hopefully we can bounce back and play at a level we’re capable of because we play a top-five team [Friday] night.”

That goal would be all the Wildcats needed as they kept the Falcons scoreless and gave up only three shots on goal the entire match. ACU added an insurance goal in the 79th minute when mid-

fielder Jackie Gentile scored off an assist from forward Lindsey Womack.

The Wildcats now will trav-el to San Antonio to face No. 6 Incarnate Word on Friday at 6 p.m. Last season, Incarnate Word finished second in the Heartland Conference and ad-vanced all the way to the NCAA Division II National Champion-ship tournament before being knocked out in the Elite Eight.

The Lady Cardinals are led by senior goalie Ashton Caf-fery who posted an 18-3-1 re-cord with an astounding eight shutouts last season. Also re-turning is leading scorer Sarah Hernandez, Heartland Confer-

ence Freshman of the Year. Midfielder Lianah Flores will lead the Cardinals offensively after earning All-Heartland and Daktronics All-Midwest Region honors last season.

The Wildcats played well Saturday against No. 12 Drury, holding them to a 0-0 tie, and will use that experience to try to knock off the Cardinals.

“In the Drury game, we proved to ourselves we can play with any team at that high level,” Wilson said. “We do need to make some offensive adjustments to get Courtney Wilson better shots on goal.”

Tasting Victory

pete Koehn :: staff photographer

The Wildcats scrimmage in preparation for the 2008 season. The Wildcats won their first game Wednesday, defeating Texas Permian-Basin 2-0.

Wildcats grab first win of season in Odessa

* 6 of 14 LSC Teams

Volleyball Cross Country

See Column page 7See Soccer page 7

See Track page 7

See Cross Country page 7

See Volleyball page 7

n Sam Burroughs was hired as the new cross country coach for the Wildcats Tuesday. Burroughs was the head cross country coach at Iona College in New York for the past three years. Look for more information on Burroughs in Wednesday’s paper.

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

The issue of steroids and human growth hormones remains a hot topic in the sports world, especially with the recent Olympics, but that issue really hit home after two Jamaican hurdlers were implicated in a steroid ring, including Delloreen Ennis-London, a former ACU national champion who com-peted from 1996-99 in the 55-meter hurdles and the 100-meter hurdles.

Between June 2006 and February 2007, two ship-ments of Somatropin (Hu-

man Growth Hormone, HGH) and one shipment of Triest (Estrogen) were sent to En-nis-London, 33, at a Texas address, ac-cording to spor t s i l lus -trated.com . E n n i s - L o n -don finished fifth in the 1 0 0 - m e t e r hurdles at the Beijing Olympics and only .01 sec-onds away from claiming the bronze medal.

“I don’t know that I’m in any position to comment at all. But at the end of it,

there’s a lot of things that need to be confirmed and looked into,” said Jared Mos-ley, ACU athletic director. “The fact that it took place after her time as a student athlete makes it more of a personal issue for her and therefore could impact her professional career.”

The documents Sports Il-lustrated found claimed two shipments, one of testos-terone and one of steroids, were sent to Ennis-London’s teammate Adrian Findlay, who competed in the 400-meter hurdles.

As reported by sportsillus-trated.com, Ennis-London’s

husband Lincoln London said his wife was compet-ing in Switzerland and was unreachable for comment. London confirmed his wife had ordered the drugs in June 2006 after consulting a physician for medical pur-poses. He said she was away at a competition and never opened the package.

“I’ve known her since I’ve been here and I worked with her some and her husband,” said David Hess, strength and conditioning coach, who is entering his ninth season at ACU. “I used to call her a

Steroids linked to former ACU athlete

By Chandler Harris

Thoughts from the Bleachers

Soccer

acuoptimist.comCheck online

throughout the year for intramural

schedulesEmily Jorgensen :: staff photographer

Freshman outside hitter Aubree Vick gets ready for a dig in practice in preparation for the Fort Lewis College Invitational in Durango, Colo.

2007 CROSS COunTRy All-AmeRiCAnSThe men’s cross country team features nine runners and five All- Americans. The women’s features seven runners and two All-Americans.

MEN WOMENn Daniel Maina, Nanyuki, Kenyan Serge Gasore, Kigali, Rwandan Julius Nyango, Aldai, Kenyan Amos Sang, Eldoret, Kenyan Cleophas Tanui, Kobujoi, Kenya

n Loice Cheboi, Eldoret, Kenyan Winrose Karunde, Nyeri, Kenya

ennis-london