optimist_2005-03-02
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Rough ride: Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Abilene Christian University Serving the ACU community since 1912 Perfect weekend: The men’s basketball team finished at 1-11 in Lone Star Conference South play. Page 8 ByMALLORY SHERWOOD Within a few months, the Abilene chapter of Habitat for Humanity will have enough money to build one house and remodel two more, thanks ByRACHEL LAU ByTIFFANY WILLIAMS ByDANIELLE LINTHICUM ByJACI SCHNEIDER See FACULTY Page 7 See SBC Page 7 RichTRANSCRIPT
OPTIMISTTHE
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Abilene Christian University Serving the ACU community since 1912
WEDNESDAYMarch 2, 2005
Vol. 93, No. 411 section, 8 pages
www.acuoptimist.com
Rough ride:The men’s basketball teamfinished at 1-11 in Lone StarConference South play.
Page 8
Perfect weekend:The softball team won allfour of its games in thisweekend’s tournament.
Page 8
Love looks back on Lectureship:Dr. Mark Love, director of Ministry Events, saidattendance for the 87th Bible Lectureship was upthis year with few speaker cancellations.
Page 4
By MALLORY SHERWOODFEATURES EDITOR
Dr. Tom Lee needs only to travel toEurope to have been on all seven con-tinents, something most people only
dream about. With the help of ACU, heplans to achieve his goal this fall.
Lee, associate professor of biology,is one of seven faculty members takingteacher renewal leave to pursueresearch interests for the semester andto take a break from teaching.
Professors will pursueresearch opportunities
Seven to take facultyleave next semester
By RACHEL LAUPAGE EDITOR
The 2005 Spring Break Campaigners are intheir final days of preparation, and most areready to take on the locations where they willspend the week serving various churches andorganizations.
About 515 students will travel to 35 loca-tions, nine of which are international, saidRachel Klick, senior broadcast journalismmajor from Fort Worth and secretary of theSpring Break Campaign committee. Last year’stotal number of participants was 500.
Clay Rich, chair of the SBC committee,said a few issues still need to be resolved.
“It’s looking good,” he said. “There are thesmall issues like campaigners not havingenough money, but we see those every year.”
However, the small issues have had agreater effect on individual campaigns as stu-dents struggle to raise money.
Allen Min, sophomore molecular biochem-istry major from Austin, is on the DominicanRepublic campaign. He said many people onhis team are short of the $1,200 needed forthe trip.
“Many of the international campaigns areexpensive, and a lot of people are havingproblems getting the money,” he said.“Hopefully, I’ll get the rest of the money in thenext four days.”
Campaigns are also dealing with loss andreplacement of leaders. Cort-ney Armstrong, junior inte-grated marketing communi-cation major from Mesquite,was asked to co-lead thecampaign to New Jersey fordevotional purposes after thecurrent leader stepped down.
“I’ve only been with thisteam for about three-and-a-half weeks,” Armstrong said.“We lost our focus because of all the leaderconfusion, but I think after the transition,we’re more focused.”
The New Jersey campaigners will serve thecommunity in soup kitchens and food banks,and they will live with the members of a localchurch.
Klick said insufficient funds and loss ofleaders is not unusual.
“Every year, it’s just more relevant to thepeople it happens to,” she said. “Everythingis going as planned.”
Klick said leaders have been trained to dealwith these losses and to recruit people fortheir campaigns.
The SBC committee has been working tomake things easier and more organized forfuture committees, she said. They have creat-ed a campaigner’s handbook on the Internetthis year for future leaders and participants,outlining SBC expectations. They continue touse computer databases to link student infor-mation, especially financial information.
Amy Watkins, senior elementary educationmajor from Abilene and leader of the cam-paign to Salem, Ore., said the SBC committeehas been helpful to all the teams and leaders.
“They keep us on top of things, and theytake care of all the finances,” she said.
Watkins and her co-leader, Ben Lazcano,will lead 12 students to work with a newly
Students will travel to 35 differentlocations around country, world
Campaignsmake plansfor springbreak trips
By JACI SCHNEIDEROPINION EDITOR
Officials recently announcedthat six faculty members havebeen granted tenure. Those sixand two others also receivedpromotions.
When faculty members havetenure, they have permanent ap-pointments to the university.Thus, instead of signing a con-tract each year, they have morejob security, said Dr. Tim Sen-sing, who was promoted to as-sociate professor of the Gradu-ate School of Theology and re-ceived tenure. He has taught atthe university for six-and-a-halfyears.
“The tenure-promotion pro-cess is a long process, and it’s arelief to be done,” Sensing said.“They can only fire me now be-cause of certain causes.”
Dr. Ken Cukrowski, as-sociate professor of Bible, mis-sions and ministry, has taughtfor six years and said anotherbenefit of tenure is the opportu-nity to apply for a sabbatical,which he said was his mainmotivation in applying for it.
Dr. Junhui Bian, who waspromoted to associate professorof biology and granted tenure,
said he loves the mission of theuniversity, and he’s glad to knowhis work here is appreciated byhis colleagues and the adminis-tration.
Many newly tenured facultymembers expressed their grati-tude at being appreciated.
“This is a really good feel-ing,” said Dr. Jeanene Reese,who was promoted to associateprofessor of Bible, missions andministry and granted tenure.This is Reese’s 13th year at theuniversity, and she said shewants to be a role model as afemale faculty member in thedepartment.
Dr. Jason Holland, who waspromoted to associate professorof mathematics and computerscience and received tenure,said he applied for tenurebecause he and his wife decidedthey wanted to raise their son inAbilene.
“It feels good to be acknowl-edged by my peers,” Hollandsaid. He has taught at the uni-versity for about four years, butnot sequentially.
Dr. Rusty Towell was pro-moted to associate professor ofphysics and granted tenure. Dr.Patricia Hernández was promot-ed to professor of biology, andDr. Scott Perkins was promotedto professor of psychology.
Tenure gives more job security, chance
to apply for sabbatical
Tenure given to sixfaculty members
E-mail Schneider at: [email protected]
By TIFFANY WILLIAMSCOPY EDITOR
Maria Rojas isn’t sure if shewould be able to attend ACUwithout the Tuition Equali-
zation Grant.She said she doesn’t want to
have to find out. The TexasLegislature might decide laterthis month to cut TEG fundingby 5 percent, which is whyRojas traveled to Austin nearlya month ago to thank state Sen.John Corona, R-Dallas, andstate Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas for their support of the
grant. The TEG helps bridgethe gap between the cost ofpublic universities and moreexpensive, private universities.
“The TEG is important for alot of students. Sometimes itmakes the difference betweensomeone going to college ornot,” said Rojas, sophomorebusiness management majorfrom Dallas.
Her Feb. 8 appointmentwas part of TEG Day, a timewhen students from independ-ent universities all over thestate of Texas lobby for funds.
Rojas, who was chosen forthe trip by Dr. Gary McCaleb,vice president of the university,was only able to speak to the
University receivesmore than $3 millionof TEG funds annually
House considers cut to grant
By DANIELLE LINTHICUMSTAFF WRITER
Within a few months, theAbilene chapter of Habitat forHumanity will have enoughmoney to build one house andremodel two more, thanks
to—of all things—a softballgame.
Gamma Sigma Phi is organ-izing a 60-hour softball gamethat will break a world recordfor the longest softball gameever recorded and will raisemore than $68,000 if all goesas planned.
“We’re really excited aboutthis,” said Patrick Vincent,junior finance and Englishmajor from Arlington and
member of GSP. “It’s an awe-some opportunity to help outa great cause and have a lot offun while doing it.”
Vincent, who is the chieforganizer of the event—whichwas recently christened Insan-ity for Humanity, said 40members of GSP will play thegame, with 20 of them on thefield at all times. The gamewill stretch from 7 p.m. April14 to 7 a.m. April 17.
Each player is responsiblefor raising $650, and the restof the club will solicit localbusinesses and alumni forsupport. Members also plan tooffer advertising space andcommercials during the gameto raise additional funds,Vincent said.
The club is hoping toattract people to come watch
60-hour softball gamewill raise money for
Habitat for Humanity
Social club plans record-breaking event
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Members of the Abilene Fire Department's Truck 5 conduct a mock vehicular rescue in which they used the Jaws of Life to free a victim, firefighter Tye Brooks,from the passenger side of the car Monday. The demonstration was sponsored by the University Counseling Center as part of Making Healthy Choices Week.
Leaders send students healthy reminder about choices
See TEG Page 7
Teacher renewal leaveSeven faculty members have been granted teacher renewal leave next semester,
which allows them to take a break from teaching to pursue their research interests.
Rich
See SBC Page 7
See GSP Page 7
See FACULTY Page 7
TEGfacts
The TexasLegislature hasproposed thatTuition Equali-zation Grantfunding bereduced in thestate’s budget.ACU receivesmore than $3million in TEGfunds annually.
• Dr. Tom Lee, associateprofessor of biology• Dr. Waymon Hinson,chair of the Departmentof Marriage and FamilyTherapy• Dr. Bob McKelvain,
chair of the PsychologyDepartment• Dr. Cynthia Roper, asso-ciate professor of com-munication• Al Haley, assistant pro-fessor of English
• Dr. Debbie Williams,assistant professor ofEnglish• Dr. Dickie Hill, professorof exercise science andhealth
Calendar Events
03 Thursday
02Wednesday 05 Saturday
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
CAMPUS
04 Friday
The Optimist maintains thiscalendar for the ACU communityto keep track of local, social, aca-demic and service opportunities.
Groups may send ann-ouncements directly to [email protected] or to the Page2 Editor, ACU Box 27892, Abilene,TX 79699.
To ensure that an item willappear on time, the announce-ment should be sent at least 10days before. The Optimist mayedit items for space and style.
Corrections and clarifica-tions of published news articleswill be printed in this space in atimely manner.
ChapelCheck-UpCredited Chapels to date: 33
38Credited Chapels remaining:
About This Page
Volunteer Opportunities
06 Sunday
Police Log
&DAY
No events scheduled.
Announcements
Computer Auction, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.,Hilton Room.
Summer online courses informa-tion, 7 a.m.-11 p.m., CampusCenter.
Seek and Follow bake sale, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Campus Center.
Schedule builder’s meeting, 3:45-4:45 p.m., Living Room.
Shane & Shane ticket sales, 11:50a.m.-1 p.m., Campus Center ticketwindow.
Computer Auction, 7 a.m.-11p.m., Hilton Room.
Summer online courses informa-tion, 7 a.m.-11 p.m., CampusCenter.
Seek and Follow bake sale, 11a.m.-3 p.m., Campus Center.
Shane & Shane ticket sales, 11:50a.m.-1 p.m., Campus Center ticketwindows.
Students in Free EnterpriseEtiquette Dinner tickets, 5-6 p.m.,Campus Center ticket windows.
Making Healthy Choices Week ban-ner signing, Campus Center.
Shane & Shane ticket sales, 11:50a.m.-1 p.m., Campus Center ticketwindows.
Students in Free EnterpriseEtiquette Dinner tickets, 5-6 p.m.,Campus Center ticket windows.
Women’s social clubs meeting, 8-10:45 p.m., Living Room.
Students in Free EnterpriseEtiquette Dinner tickets, 5-6 p.m.,Campus Center ticket windows.
Society of African-AmericanBrotherhood meeting, 6-7 p.m.,Living Room.
Fellowship of Christian Athletesafter-game party, 9-10:45 p.m.,Living Room.
Saturday the electrical con-nection to Zellner Hall will beupgraded and all power toZellner will be off from 10 a.m.until possibly 5 p.m. Beginning at 8a.m., all central computer serviceswill be unavailable includingBanner, my.ACU, e-mail, and theInternet. E-mail will be upgradedbeginning Saturday evening thro-ugh Sunday. Doors with card read-ers will lock when the power goesdown. Campus Cash and Bean Buckpurchases will not be available.Phone service may be lost if thepower is off for more than fourhours. For more information, callKay Reeves at Ext. 2991. BeginningMarch 5, call Reeves at the HelpLine 738-4357. In addition, studentscan press 0 for an emergency and ifthe ACU phone system is unavail-able, call Reeves at 518-9613.
Faculty.acu.edu, student.ac-u.edu and files.acu.edu will beunavailable at approximately 6-7a.m. Friday.
A West Africa mission teamin the southern Togo is lookingfor someone to spend sixmonths to one year as a schoolteacher for the team`s children.You do not have to be an educationmajor. For more information, visitw w w . w a t c h i h a r v e s t . c o m -/video/2005MKSchoolVideoQuickTi-me.mov or contact Dan McVey [email protected].
Students in Free EnterpriseEtiquette Dinner will be March18 at 7 p.m. in the Hilton Room.Seating is limited. The five coursemeal, lessons in etiquette, take-home brochure and entertainmentwill cost $8 or 2 meal plans. Dresswill be semi-formal to formal.
Healing Hands Internationalis in need of volunteers to helprepair donated bicycles beforethey are shipped to Zambia. Toolsand parts are furnished. For moreinformation, contact the Volunteerand Service-Learning Center.
The Toronto Spring BreakCampaign needs workers. Thegroup will be working in children`s
homes and soup kitchens. The costis $525. For more information, con-tact Chelsea Heard at [email protected].
The Scotland Spring BreakCampaign needs five campaign-ers to work with homeless, teen atrisk and refugee shelters. Cost is$1,200. Contact Travis McGuire [email protected] or (325) 864-3215.
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS
By BRANDON E. COOKSSTUDENT REPORTER
The Cycling Club moun-tain bike race, an intramuralevent, was postponed becauseof rain last weekend. Theweather provided a dangerhazard for the racers, ruiningSaturday’s event.
“The ground wouldn't betoo safe to race on while it waswet, and we didn't want totake the risk of anyone gettinghurt,” said Danny Kittley,director of intramurals.
Although the race was post-poned, officials are working toorganize another race.
“Bicycle races have beendone before, but this was thefirst time it was actually donewith the Cycling Club,”Kittley said.
“We will reschedule therace in two to three weekswith spring break and every-thing else in the way,” saidBobby Griffith, president ofthe Cycling Club.
“There are two types ofleagues for racers; one is therecreational, and the other—for the more aggressive type ofracer—is the champ league,”
Griffith said.The recreational races will
be close to two miles, and thechamp league will be four orfive miles.
Anyone can attend, andparticipants must be ACU stu-dents, staff or faculty.
Like any other intramuralsport, the bike race is for par-ticipators’ enjoyment.
Griffith began the CyclingClub two semesters ago.
He said the purpose of theclub is to promote the enjoy-ment of cycling.
The club also providescompetition for those who areinterested.
“If we wanted to, we couldcompete in the South CentralCollegiate League,” he said.
Schools that participate inSouth Central League areTexas A&M University,University of Texas atArlington, Texas TechUniversity, Baylor University,Midwestern State Universityand others.
A fee of $5 is required toenter the cycling race, and a T-shirt costs $15.
“I hope the club will beinformative to all who partici-pate,” Griffith said.
Mountain bike racerescheduled for after
spring break
E-mail Cooks at: [email protected]
By LACI ARMSTRONGSTUDENT REPORTER
Alpha Chi, a chapter of theNational Honor Society,inducted new membersMonday. Dr. Carley Dodd,Alpha Chi sponsor and pro-fessor of communication,said about 75 students areusually inducted. The chap-ter sent out about 275 invita-tions.
“Alpha Chi is a presti-gious, nationally recognizedorganization with hundreds
of chapters throughout theMidwest,” said Dodd, whowas a member of Alpha Chias a student.
Alpha Chi is an organiza-tion for junior or senior stu-dents who have at least a 3.75grade point average.
To be inducted, studentsmust pay a one-time fee of$45 and sign two forms at theceremony Monday evening.
“Students must meet thesestandards and be a recogniz-able leader in order to beinvited,” Dodd said.
Gaye May, administratorof the Department ofCommunication, said if thestudents with invitationswere not able to attend the
ceremony they can sign theforms at the communicationoffice.
Joy Oelfke, senior interna-tional studies and communi-cation major from Houston,was inducted Monday.
“Alpha Chi is not an activeclub, and I feel that with aone-time small fee and anational recognition, it’s defi-nitely worth it,” Oelfke said.
“It’s my senior year, andmy last chance to be induct-ed; it will be a valuable assetto my resume,” she said.
Members of Alpha Chi canapply for scholarship moneyfor further studies after grad-uation.
“Applicants can be grant-
ed scholarships in the rangeof $250 to $500,” May said.
This year Alpha Chi isoffering its members a chanceto go to a National HonorsSociety convention on April 5and 6 in St. Louis. Grants areavailable to four studentswho attend the convention,so they must go through anapplication process to go onthe trip.
At the convention stu-dents have the opportunity topresent projects they’ve donein order to earn scholarshipmoney for graduate school.
Rain downfall of CyclingClub race this weekend
E-mail Armstrong at: [email protected]
Alpha Chi society inducts 75 new membersStudents are recognizednationally, can apply
for scholarships
By LACI ARMSTRONGSTUDENT REPORTER
The First-Year Programwill host an event for educa-tors at ACU. Attendees willcomplete a five-day courseon develop-ing a moree f f e c t i v elifestyle.
T h eworkshop isbased onS t e v e nC o v e y ’ sbook SevenHabits ofHighly Effective People. TheFirst-Year Program designedthe event around two sepa-rate courses. The total costto attend both courses is$2,175.
“The reason for the highcost of the workshop isbecause it is a really effectiveand highly respected pro-gram,” said Eric Gumm,assistant director of theFirst- Year Program.
University faculty andstaff receive an educationaldiscount. The cost to attendthe first two days of theworkshop, March 14 and 15,is $575.
The first course is a pres-entation of the content fromSeven Habits of HighlyEffective People, and the pur-pose of the days is solely tolearn the material. The finalthree days of the workshop,March 16 through 18, cost
$995. Participants will learnhow to gain a certification toteach the presentation.
The workshop is open toanyone interested.
“I hope other area busi-ness and universities will beinterested in attending,”Gumm said.
The workshop will beconducted in the Don H.Morris Center rooms 129and 130.
Gumm will attend bothcourses. He is learning thematerial so he can teach theseminar to university stu-dents.
“The difficulty is finding atime period for college stu-dents to attend because the
workshop would take up awhole weekend,” Gummsaid.
These workshops arehosted at different universi-ties nation wide; ACU wasnot originally on the sched-ule, but when Texas A&MUniversity turned down theopportunity to host theworkshop, ACU was able totake its scheduled time slot.
“The benefit of having theworkshop at ACU is to allowpeople in this area to attendwithout the traveling andhousing costs of attending iton another campus,” Gummsaid.
For details concerningprices contact Paul Poulsonat Franklin Covey at (940)535-1472.
Page 4 Wednesday, March 2, 2005CAMPUS NEWS
“The reason for the high cost of the workshop is because it is a really effective and highly
respected program.”
Eric Gumm, assistant director of the First- Year Program
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Chris Jackson, junior computer science major from College Station,attempts to dribble a basketball around an obstacle course in theCampus Center while wearing goggles that simulate being drunk, asa part of Making Healthy Choices Week on Tuesday.
By NATHAN STRAUSSTUDENT REPORTER
Fifteen students participatedin the Weekend Campaign toBelton during the weekend toentertain and minister to eco-nomically at-risk children.
“One of the leaders was fromthis area, so last year we decidedto come to Belton to work withthe kids. It has become sort of atradition since then,” said CorySmith, junior interdisciplinarymajor from Temple andWeekend Campaign committeemember.
Weekend Campaign mem-bers drove to the Belle Oaksapartment complex in Beltonand visited children for aboutfive hours, Smith said.
“Because the weather wasbad, we didn’t get as many visit-ing kids as we usually get, butwe were able to work closelywith them inside the apartmentcomplex,” Smith said. “Besidesthe weather, I couldn’t haveasked for anything better.”
“The tasks we do are usuallychildren’s campaigns, where wework with and minister to chil-dren, but we also do some man-ual labor and food distributionwith the Angel Food Network,”said Chris Fall, senior manage-ment major from San Antonioand co-director of the program.
“Weekend Campaigns areshort term mission trips, donewithin driving distance,” Fallsaid. He also said the committeetries to organize about fiveactivities during the semester.
“The mission trips that aredone are usually free, becauselunches are usually provided bychurches or families who haveWeekend Campaign membersstay at their houses,” Smith said
He said the next campaignmission is scheduled to be inLubbock the week after springbreak.
Students can sign up afterthe Weekend Campaign Chapelon Thursday in the Bean Sprout.
“We would love to have newpeople come and do this withus,” Smith said.
Students spend weekendsserving in Belton, Lubbock
By TIFFANY TAYLORPAGE 2 EDITOR
The 87th annual ACUBible Lectureship wrapped upFebruary 23, finishing withan increase in class atten-dance, and only three speakercancellations out of 120speakers.
Aside from the announce-ment of the decision to con-duct Lectureship inSeptember beginning in 2006,Mark Love, director ofMinistry Events, said PrenticeMeador’s lecture was one ofthe most memorable momentsof Lectureship.
“I think the highlight foreveryone who was there was
the Tuesday morning lectureby Prentice Meador,” Lovesaid.
Meador, after learning his15-year-old granddaughterwas diagnosed with leukemiashortly before Lectureship,agreed to speak at Lectureshipas planned.
Experiences like theTuesday lecture cannot beplanned, Love said.
“I don't think the peoplewho were there will forget it,”he said.
Other experiences wereplanned beforehand. Thosewho attended lectures inMoody Coliseum were seatedin a different area of the coli-seum to create a more inti-mate setting between guestsand speakers. Speakers saidthey felt closer to the audi-ence, and worship leadersalso said they enjoyed thechange, Love said.
“It’s always hard to knowwhen something’s new,whether it’s going to be suc-cessful,” said Kate Henderson,coordinator of MinistryEvents. “The stage was a hugesuccess, so we’ll make surethat’ll happen again.”
Classes in the MabeeBusiness Building were full, achange from the past year,and Love said he noticedmore guests branched outfrom the Onstead-PackerBiblical Studies Building.Classes in the business build-ing moved to bigger class-rooms by the second day ofLectureship because theybecame too full.
“I anticipate the class num-bers are going to be higherthan they were in previousyears,” Love said.
People had to be turnedaway from Eric Harrell’s dra-matic presentation, An Inch of
Rope, in the WilliamsPerforming Arts Center, Lovesaid. Sunday and Tuesday per-formances were packed, andan additional performancewas added for Wednesday.
Love said he is satisfiedwith the outcome ofLectureship, including all thechanges and surprises. Rightnow he doesn't know of anyspecific changes that willcome from this year's run.
“I have a picture in myhead of things that need tohappen over time,” Love said.
Ideally, students willbecome more involved withLectureship in the future, hesaid.
However, he knows it will“take a while to change thecultural expectations withstudents in regard toLectureship.”
In recent years, most stu-dents attended Lectureship
because their teachers requirea minimum number of hoursspent attending lectures. Lovesaid he requires his studentsto attend three hours of lec-tures, but he is waiting for theday when students attend lec-tures on their own.
Melanie Schweder, fresh-man exercise science majorfrom Denver, said she onlyattended Randy Harris’Wednesday night lecture.Harris is one of her favoritespeakers, but she said shemight not have attended at allif she hadn’t been required.
After attending one lecturethis year, Schweder said shewants to attend more nextyear. “I regret not going tomore this year,” she said.
Many students realize howinteresting lectures could be,Schweder said.
The Lectureship commit-tee’s next task is to plan for
the spring and fallLectureship taking place in2006.
Love said he is looking for-ward to the challenge of link-ing two Lectureships and feelssupported by Lectureshipguests who only gave himpositive reactions.
“The feedback was over-whelmingly positive fromLectureship guests,” Lovesaid. “I think the real chal-lenge is going to be internallywithin the university.”
Love said he is especiallyexcited about the honor ofhosting the Restoration andUnity Forum, a Church ofChrist forum that is held dif-ferent places every year andpromotes unity amongchurches, during springLectureship 2006.
Lectureship finishes with increase in attendance
Nation wide seminararrives in Abilene
March 14-18
Educational workshop available in March
E-mail Armstrong at: [email protected]
E-mail Straus at: [email protected]
Students interested in service can sign up
in Bean Sprout
More students, guestsattend classes, lectures
during the week
E-mail Taylor at: [email protected]
Right foot, then left foot ...
Gumm
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 Page 5CAMPUS NEWS
Two’s company
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Physical Resources student workers Erich Schmidt, junior biology major from Amarillo, and NicholasSchmidt, junior biology major from Amarillo, replant shrubs in front of the Adams Center for TeachingExcellence on Monday. The landscaping was destroyed during the weekend and had to be replanted.
By MONICA SMITHSTUDENT REPORTER
Applications for MyPEEPS, aprogram that fosters mentor-ship for freshmen, are dueFriday.
“We are looking for peoplewho are able to encourage firstyear students mentally, spiritu-ally and educationally,” saidKanako Ishimaru, senior busi-ness marketing major fromIbaraki, Japan.
A student’s first year on cam-pus can be the most difficult,particularly for students ofcolor attending a predominant-ly white institution, said LaShae Sloan, director of StudentServices and the Office of
Student Multicultural Enrich-ment.
Factors like poor academicperformance, lack of financialassistance or lack of social sup-port are often reasons why stu-dents of color leave a universitybefore graduation, she said.
“Student often arrive oncampus and are faced with thepressures of navigating in anenvironment where there aredifferences in culture, commu-nication, dress and simplybeing a minority in number,”Sloan said.
MyPEEPS matches incomingfreshmen with upperclassmen,who share their experiencesand knowledge of college lifewith the freshmen.
“When I was a freshman, Ihad questions because I was aninternational student, and men-tors know the answer to thequestions,” Ishimaru said.
“Anyone can do it. You cango to lunch or dinner and intro-duce them to your friends.People learn a lot their firstyear, and without them notic-ing, you may show them theyhave become a leader.”
The program needs 30 to 40mentors. Applications can bepicked up Sloan’s office inMcKinzie Hall and e-mailedback or dropped off in theoffice.
“Students come in, wishingthat they had someone who waslike a big brother or big sisterwho could show them the ropesand help them understand howthings work here,” Sloan said.
“We're asking students whowished they had that person tobe that person for the incomingfreshmen in the fall.”
By CIANA HARDWICKSTUDENT REPORTER
Students might find votingeasier and more convenient thisyear when it comes time tochoose their representatives forthe Students’ Association. Anelectronic voting system shouldbe fully operating by the timeof the elections for SA execu-tive officers.
Students can cast their voteselectronically March 30through April 1 through a linkthat will appear on the lefthand side of my.ACU once theyare logged in.
A week after students votefor executive officers, they canvote for their class senatorselectronically.
The new e-vote system willmake it much more convenientfor students to vote, said LizzAlvarez, SA chief developmentofficer. In the past, studentshad to show up at a table in theCampus Center, show their stu-dent ID, stand in line and pos-sibly do it all over again if a sec-ond vote was needed, saidAlvarez, senior internationalrelations major from McAllen.
“It’s really hard if you havean afternoon class or work,”she said, before adding nowstudents can vote from theirrooms at whatever time theywant.
Alvarez said she is excitedabout e-voting because it couldmean a lot more students actu-
ally vote. Compared to other universi-
ties, ACU has a high voterturnout, but at the highest it’sonly a little more than 20 per-cent, she said. SA hopes 40 per-cent of the student body willvote this year as a result of theconvenience of e-vote.
SA has looked into using ane-vote system for five or sixyears, said Layne Rouse, SApresident. Last year, SA bud-geted money to develop anonline voting system.
An ACU student group, theAssociation for Computing Ma-chinery, was given money tobuy a server and books to cre-ate an electronic voting system,but the group had difficultiesand weren’t able to do it, saidRouse, senior communicationmajor from Midland.
Then Dr. James Langford,director of Web integration andprogramming, gave SA thegood news that he had an e-vote system ready to go, Rousesaid. Iowa State University gaveACU a program similar to whatSA had in mind, and Langfordworked to figure it out. Now, heis just “tweaking it to fit intothe my.ACU system,” Rousesaid.
“With a good advertisingcampaign to go along with it,we could see the voter turnoutskyrocket,” he said.
For the program to be puton the ACU server, my.ACU isgoing to have to come down,which is why administratorsare waiting until spring breakto put the program on the serv-er, said Keith Robinson, chieffinancial officer of SA and jun-
ior finance and managementmajor from Indianapolis.
After spring break, the firstbig test will be run on the pro-gram. Students will have achance to electronically com-plete a survey about whetherthey want a digital photographdeveloping station in The Cam-pus Store. The survey will berun through the same programthat will be used for voting, soSA will have a chance to seehow it works. If there are anycomplications, it still “gives ustwo weeks before elections tofix any major issues,” Robinsonsaid.
Surveys and voting opportu-nities will be advertised on thelog in screen of my.ACU.
One of the big e-votingissues affects students whoclassify themselves differentlythan their hours classify them,Robinson said. Right now, e-vote is set up so students areclassified by their hours, andhave to vote for representativesin that classification. This cre-ates problems because peoplewant to vote for their friendswho they consider a part oftheir class, he said.
Students in this categorywill probably be able to sign awaiver so accommodations canbe made, Alvarez said. SAwants to make sure it providesthe most representation possi-ble to everyone.
“We would rather studentsbe over-represented than un-der-represented,” she said.
SA implements electronic votingStudents can voteonline for officer,senator elections
By SHELBI WATTENSTUDENT REPORTER
Intramurals have seen anincrease in participation in thelast decade and continue tomaintain popularity this springseason. Today, almost 3,000ACU students are active inintramurals, said Danny Kittley,current director of intramurals.Most students participate inflag football with 1,180 stu-dents on 55 teams.
“No other schools even getin the ball park of that,” Kittleysaid, “I don’t care where you go.Nobody has that kind of partic-ipation.”
He said that the NationalIntramural Recreational SportsAssociation was surprised athow many students participatein intramurals at ACU.
ACU has had intramurals asfar back as the ’50s at a minor
level. In 1988, Campus Lifetook over intramurals andhired Damon Edwards as thefirst full-time intramural direc-tor. When Kittley becamedirector in 1997, only 780 stu-dents participated in intramu-rals.
Kittley said that part of thereason so many students partic-ipate is because the sportsoffered are what the studentswant to play. The intramuraldirectors of clubs and the cap-tains of non-club teams meetwith Kittley to decide on whichsports the students are mostinterested in.
Lance Agan, junior second-ary education major from Bel-ton, is the intramural directorfor Gamma Sigma Phi and par-ticipates in intramurals as apart of club.
“Many people think thatintramurals is just for the T-shirt, a pride thing. But Ibelieve that intramurals is onemore avenue for the men ofGSP to participate in an activitythat promotes unity and the
Christian brotherhood that westrive so much for,” Agan said,“Of course, the T-shirts are fun,too.”
This season, an indoor soc-cer tournament is already un-derway, and softball beganMonday. The soccer tourna-ment began Friday and willpick up again March 18.
Other intramurals comingup in the spring include out-door soccer, 5-on-5 flag foot-ball, volleyball, ultimate Fris-bee and team bowling. Each ofthese requires a participationfee with a specific deadline thatvaries according to the sport.The next deadline is outdoorsoccer and will be Thursdaywith a fee of $175 per team.
Anyone interested in partic-ipating in intramurals mayeither visit the intramural officelocated in Bennett GymnasiumRoom 103 or www.acu.edu/-campusoffices/intramurals.
More than halfof student body
participates in sports
Intramural participation up
E-mail Watten at: [email protected]
E-mail Hardwick at: [email protected]
MyPEEPS applications dueMentoring programfor freshmen open
to all interested
E-mail Smith at: [email protected]
Man, how ‘bout that weath-er we had for Lectureship,huh? Not cold or dangerous.Nice. Nice weather lately.
And thatM i c h a e lJackson trial.It’s still goingon, I guess.Weird stuff.
No doubtabout it, it’sthat time ofthe semester.It’s rut time.
But I haveseen at leasttwo cars that
are out there making a differ-ence. I am guessing there maybe more. Thesecars are shout-ing, “I’m notafraid to be dif-ferent from oth-er cars!” Theother cars aretelling them tostop shouting.
These carsare adorned inyellow shoepolish or shoepolish alterna-tive (I don’tknow what the stuff is but Isuddenly realized they proba-bly don’t make yellow shoepolish) with a picture of aduck and the words “RubberDucky” [sic]. Also, on the rearwindshield and windows (thisis where the payoff is for theMuppet freaks… that is to say,me), funny lyrics from thesong “Rubber Duckie” as sungby Ernie on Sesame Street.
It’s no good pretending forappearance’s sake that youdon’t remember the song.
“Rubber Duckie, joy ofjoys;
When I squeeze you, youmake noise”
I wondered what was upthe first couple days I sawthem. But as I got used to theidea, the novelty wore off butthe amusement didn’t. Thepleasant silly little song wasstuck in my head as I drove toand from KACU or theOptimist. I really grew to likethe cars, even though I haveno earthly idea who ownsthem.
It’s so good, in fact, that Imight not mind if it became atrend. Think about it: as anACU student, it’s a springbreak activity that can’t bebeaten! It doesn’t include sex,drugs, alcohol or tanning soyou know whoever makes
those cardsfor the tablethis time ofyear gives it athumbs up.
But if thatmakes youfeel like agoody-two-shoes, keepin mind thatit has thecoolness fac-tor of vandal-ism if you
target an unwitting friend.Now that it’s on the table I’mgoing to pretend I didn’t saythat.
You can do any lyrics youwant. Lyrics like “I pronouncethese words with unbearableprecision” or “Make you wantto holler hidey ho.” Whateverit is, it will be certain to startyou humming as you startyour car, and others aroundwill have a nice smile at it. Orwonder what illicit substanceled there.
The last time doctors sayTerri Schiavo was conscious ofher surroundings, George H.W.Bush was president, the Berlin
Wall and theSoviet Unionhad just fallen,and The Simp-sons had justpremiered.
She hasmissed out on15 years of herlife, and herparents want toprolong her dis-mal existence.
Terri suffered severe braindamage in 1990 when a chemi-cal imbalance caused her heartto stop beating, cutting off oxy-gen to her brain. She canbreathe on her own now, butshe is being kept alive with afeeding tube, and court-appointed doctors have saidshe is in a persistent vegetativestate.
Her husband, Michael, ag-
rees with the doctors and wantsto disconnect her feeding tube,which will allow Terri to finallydie. Her parents, Bob and MarySchindler, disagree and havebeen locked in a bitter battlewith Michael since the late ’90sover the issue.
Terri’s feeding tube has beenremoved twice, once for twodays in 2001 and once for sixdays in October 2003. The sec-ond time, Florida Gov. Jeb Bushrushed Congress to approve anew law that allowed him torequire doctors to reinsert thetube. The Supreme Court latersaid the law was unconstitu-tional and refused to reinstate itlast month.
In the most recent develop-ment, Circuit Court JudgeGeorge Greer extended a two-day stay to March 18, giving the
Schindlers three more weeks tofile appeals and order medicaltests. The decision was madeFeb. 25, the 15th anniversary ofthe day Terri collapsed. Ifeverything continues to moveforward, the tube will beremoved March 18.
Terri’s family has sufferedemotionally, physically and fi-nancially through these years,and Terri herself also has en-dured enough.
Michael says Terri neverwanted to be kept alive artifi-cially, and as her husband andlegal guardian, he knows bestwhat she would have wanted.He has the right to remove thefeeding tube, and the courts,her parents and Bush shouldstep out of the way and allowthis to happen.
Family members turn off the
machines that keep their lovedones alive every day when theybelieve recovery is unlikely.With our technology, manypeople could be kept alive foryears without having any nor-mal brain function. But to sparethe person’s dignity and savethe family’s emotions and fi-nances, families often choose,sometimes very quickly, to turnoff machines and end the suf-fering of everyone.
Terri has been in this statefor 15 years. She isn’t the sameperson that her family knewand loved, and she most likelynever will be.
Instead of drawing thisdrama out longer, on March 18,the courts, the Schindlers andthe doctors should allow thefeeding tube to be disconnectedso that Terri can finally die inpeace.
Be smart and stay safe during spring breakSchools have
finally reached theweek in the semester
that students most lookforward to and teachers
and parents most worryabout: spring break. Next week,many people will worry aboutand pray for those traveling as theACU community will journeythroughout the world on missiontrips and vacations.
These travelers can take manyprecautions to ensure a safereturn to campus, and mostinvolve being prepared.
The main safety concern dur-ing spring break involves carwrecks.
Before begin-ning a road trip,check the car’sfluids, belts andtires to makesure all are in working conditionand fill up with gas to prevent abreakdown on the road.
In 2003, 42,643 died in motorvehicle crashes, according to theNational Center for Statistics andAnalysis of the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration.Also, wrecks are the leadingcause of death for 2- to 33-year-olds.
To prepare for a trip, getenough sleep beforehand toensure alertness while driving.
Students often want to get to adestination sooner rather thanlater and will sometimes pushthemselves past exhaustion to doit. A good night’s rest, or even justa nap, will help drivers stay atten-tive and arrive safely.
Speed often factors into carwrecks: In 2003, 39 percent ofmales involved in fatal wreckswho were 15 to 20 years old werespeeding, and 25 percent offemales in that age group werespeeding. In the 21- to 24-year-
old age group,35 percent ofmales and 21percent of fe-males involved
in fatal wrecks were speeding,according to the NHTSA’s Website.
Other ways to stay safe on theroad are to always wear a seatbelt,lock the doors, cut down on dis-tractions within the car and carrya cell phone in case of emergency.
Car wrecks aren’t the onlyconcern for travelers duringspring break.
For those flying or travelingby other means, make sure allluggage has identification on it,
pack extra cash or traveler’schecks in case of emergency, andalso carry prescription medica-tion in case luggage is lost.
Make sure to always lock hotelroom doors and use a buddy sys-tem—don’t go anywhere alone.
Students should also remem-ber that being off campus doesn’tgive them license to go crazy. Thesame rules, which are enforcedfor our safety, still apply regard-less of the location.
If members of the ACU com-munity prepare for spring breakand use precautions, there’s a bet-ter chance everyone will returnsafely, and serious injury or deathwill be avoided.
VIEWSWEDNESDAYPage 6 OPTIMIST March 2, 2005
OPTIMIST Editor in ChiefJonathan Smith
Managing EditorLori Bredemeyer
The Optimist Editorial Board
Opinion EditorJaci Schneider
Copy EditorTiffany Williams
Faculty AdviserDr. Cheryl Bacon
Ad ManagerChristi Stark
Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication,
Abilene Christian University
Editorial and letter policyUnsigned editorials are the opinions
of the Optimist Editorial Board and may notnecessarily reflect the views of the universi-ty or its administration.
Signed columns, cartoons and let-ters are the opinions of their creators andmay not necessarily reflect the viewpoints ofthe Optimist, its Editorial Board or the uni-versity.
The Optimist encourages reader re-sponse through letters to the editor but re-serves the right to limit frequent contributors
or to refuse to print letters containing per-sonal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erro-neous information or invasion of privacy.
Please limit letters to 350 words orless. A name and phone number must beincluded for verification purposes. Phonenumbers will not be published.
Address letters to: ACU Box 27892
Abilene, TX 79699E-mail letters to:
Optimist contact informationNewsroom:(325) 674-2439
Sports desk:(325) 674-2684
Advertising office:(325) 674-2463
Photo department:(325) 674-2499
Subscriptions ($45/academic year):(325) 674-2296
Online:www.acuoptimist.com
In My Words Daniel Barcroft
DanielBarcroft
No Pun forBarcroft
Students should also remember that being off campus doesn’t give them license to go crazy.
The issue:Spring break is a timeof excitement for stu-dents but a time ofworry for many par-ents and teachers.Our view:Students should strivefor safety while awayfrom ACU and try toprevent accidents andhazardous situations. The solution:Students need todrive at safe speeds,wear seat belts, actwith sense in all situa-tions and maintaintheir ACU standardsof behavior.
LoriBredemeyer
Lori’s Story
Terri has been in this state for 15 years. She isn’tthe same person her family knew and loved.
Patient should be permitted to die
Respond to Bredemeyer at:[email protected] or [email protected]
THE
Lyrically polishedcars pose query
Respond to Barcroft at: [email protected] or [email protected]
Arts EditorSarah Carlson
Chief PhotographerBrian Schmidt
If it makes you feellike a goody-two-
shoes, keep in mindthat it has the coolness
factor of vandalism if you target an
unwitting friend.
In Your Words
What are your plansfor spring break?
“Going on aSpring BreakCampaign toUnity, Maine.”
Richard Kekersophomore accounting majorfrom Sugarland
“Just goinghome to visit myfamily and dolots of shop-ping.”
Jacci Degrootsophomore integrated marketingcommunication majorfrom Houston
Before you trivialize the roleof the ACU Calling center andits function in helping to ensurethe school’s continuance, we’dlike for you to consider a fewthings.
Your cartoon in the Feb. 22edition of the Optimist seems tomisrepresent the Calling Cen-ter’s influence on the AnnualFund. First the Annual Fundprovides many scholarships fordeserving students. Less moneyless scholarships—it’s simple.Furthermore the Annual Fundcovers what tuition can’t. In fact,the Annual Fund often matcheswhat tuition covers, and there-
fore, ift a k e n
lightly can create a large fluctua-tion in your tuition prices. “30Minute Sales Pitch,” ha! Wehave raised more than$400,000.
Now to our real intention forwriting this letter, we have beenloyal employees of the CallingCenter for two years. As callerswe come in after school andraise money for you and otherstudents until 9 p.m. on a dailybasis. The job we do has helped
assist studentsfinancially andhas proven to be
a vital source of income for amajority of students. Askaround, I’d bet you know at leastthree people who have or arecurrently working at the ACUCalling Center. Over the pasttwo years we have learned allabout the Annual Fund andhave a unique insight into itskey role in the life of ACU.
So, sure replace us and ourfellow dedicated co-workerswith a 30-minute spot, butbeware the consequences. Areyou on scholarship, Mr. Bar-
croft, and how much moneyhave your cartoons raised forthe Annual Fund?
—Anthony Spearsenior social studies major
from Plano—David Riggs
senior psychology majorfrom Houston
YOUR VOICEYOUR VOICECalling Center important to students’ funds
The Optimist, Feb. 22 “InMy Words” cartoon byDaniel Barcroft, cartoonist
Re:
“I am going toToronto, Canada,for a SpringBreak Campaign.I can’t wait.”
Amy Whittenbergfreshman elementary education majorfrom Albuquerque, N.M.
“I’m just working andworking onhomework, assad as that is.”
Megan Karchergraduate student in psychologyfrom San Diego
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 Page 7JUMPS
aides of Corona and Anchia,but she said she feels confidentabout the experience and en-courages other students fromTexas to contact their represen-tatives about the benefits of thegrant.
“The grant isn’t just for low-income families,” she said. “Itcovers the expenses of a privateuniversity education for high-and middle-class families, too.”
About 1,450 ACU studentswere helped by the TEG thisyear, said Wes Latham of stu-dent financial services in an e-mail.
Three-hundred eligible stu-dents were not able to receivefunds from the TEG, althoughthe state allocated $3,150,949to ACU, Latham said.
“Every student who is apply-ing for financial aid needs to behelped by the TEG,” said stateRep. Bob Hunter, R-Abilene.“Students who attend stateschools are automatically grant-ed $6,000. With the TEG, youcould get up to half of that.”
Hunter, senior vice presidentemeritus of the university, saidthe TEG is important because itallows students to attend theschool of their choice.
“We would have to buildmany more public universitiesto cover all of the students inTexas who want to go to col-lege,” he said.
Texas has 40 independentcolleges and universities, andTexas was the sixth state in thenation to develop a TEG pro-gram.
In 1969, Hunter traveled to
Austin to help establish theTEG program, which is why heis often called the father of theTEG, although now, he jokes, “Iam the grandfather.”
He urges students to contactstate representatives about theTEG and said it would also helpif they would ask parents andalumni to do the same.
“Parents are very effectivebecause many of them havevery close contacts with sena-tors and representatives,” hesaid.
Some students are alreadydoing what they can to save theTEG.
On Feb. 24, Missy MaeWalters, senior political sciencemajor from Bentonville, Ark.,and senior class senator, sent ane-mail to TEG recipients onbehalf of the Students’ Associ-
ation, urging them to sign a let-ter about the TEG.
The letters were sent toAustin on Monday and distrib-uted to state representatives andsenators.
“The TEG is necessary,important and cost-effective,”the letter read. “As studentsattending a private university, asinvolved citizens and as regis-tered voters, I encourage you tovote to continue allocation ofthe TEG in its current form toindependent colleges and uni-versities.”
Students should contacttheir state representatives andsenators about the TEG no laterthan the middle of March,Latham said.
TEG: Students encouraged to contact officialsContinued from Page 1
E-mail Williams at: [email protected]
Each semester, the universi-ty supports faculty members byfinding replacements so theycan take a break from teachingto pursue other interests andaccomplish dreams, which isprecisely what many of the fac-ulty want to do in the fall.
Lee plans to write a bookabout the 360 species of mam-mals in Ecuador.
“(The leave) would helpmake a dream come true,” Leesaid. “I won’t be able to com-plete this project in one semes-ter, but it will be a big kickerfor this project.”
Lee traveled to Ecuador dur-ing the summer of 2003 andplans to return again this sum-mer to finish collecting samplesfor his research. He also wantsto visit Chicago, New York andToronto, and Paris, London andthe Berlin Zoo if he has themoney.
Other faculty members arenot traveling quite as far.
Dr. Waymon Hinson, chairof the Department of Marriageand Family Therapy, plans towrite about the social injusticeof farmers.
Several years ago, Hinsonworked with black farmers indiscrimination cases against theUnited States Department ofAgriculture as a psychologicalassistant.
Now he will return to thesefarmers and others across theSouthern states of Georgia,Louisiana and Virginia torecord their stories.
“I think that the topic prob-ably chose me,” Hinson said.After his involvement in thelives of the farmers for severalyears, he said it became one ofthose “life-changing kinds ofthings.”
Hinson’s goal is to be able toco-author, and write articles tonarrate his subjects’ stories.
“Now I don’t have any illu-sions that this project willcause ripples around theworld,” Hinson said. “But I dothink that if somebody takesnotice, they might say, ‘We doneed to make the world a betterplace and make social justicenot a skin-color problem.’”
For Hinson, righting awrong is a matter of the heart.
For Dr. Bob McKelvain,chair of the Psychology Depart-ment, it is a matter of the head.
For years, McKelvain hascollected thoughts and theories
about negotiation tactics. Heplans to write about his obser-vations and present thembefore the Association forConflict Resolution for cri-tique.
“Through years of researchon this subject, I have decidedthat there are five or six ele-ments that need to be presentin a negotiation for it to be suc-cessful,” McKelvain said. “Myproject is to clarify what exact-ly happens and has to happenin a negotiation so that all ofthe people involved will behappy.”
He considers this to be moreof a creative project for him,rather than aresearch proj-ect. He is nottaking a tradi-tional renewalleave though,and will teachtwo classesrelating tonegotiation inthe fall.
“It is usefuland valuablefor people toknow about,”he said. “Iwant to be ableexplain this topeople so folkscan benefitfrom it.”
The diffi-cult part of renewal leave isover now for Dr. Cindy Roper,associate professor of commu-nication.
She has already collected herdata and is beginning to writetwo research papers.
One paper will deal withcommunication apprehensionand world views of cultureshock, and the other willexplore a media theory of theeffects of televised presidentialdebates and how that affectsperceptions of candidates.
Roper said she hopes topresent both papers at a nation-al convention in 2006 and thenpublish them if they are accept-ed in communication journals.
“I’ve wanted to write this forsuch a long time,” Roper said.“I just don’t have time, and theschedules that we have as pro-fessors are hard to do any writ-ing. I need this time where Ican devote myself to writing.”
Leave: Faculty to write,research during absenceContinued from Page 1
E-mail Sherwood at: [email protected]
planted church in Salem.Campaign leaders have
been planning their cam-paigns since the fall, andmany have made efforts tobring their teams closertogether before leaving.
Brent Hines, sophomoreinternational relations majorfrom Belton and leader of theEl Salvador campaign, said histeam went on a weekendretreat to San Antonio towork on team building andmaterial for their campaign.
As the campaigners getready to leave this weekend,individuals have personal andgroup goals for their mis-sions.
“I hope to be challengedand my faith to be challenged;I want do things that are kindof out of my comfort zone,”Watkins said.
Rich, who is also leading acampaign to Anchorage,Alaska, said he wants peoplewho have never gone on acampaign to know the effectsof one.
“Campaigns are a greatway to get involved withACU, meet new friends andexperience new places,” hesaid. “I encourage everyone togo at least once in his or herACU careers.”
SBC: Groups to departContinued from Page 1
E-mail Lau at: [email protected]
and hang out and have fun,Vincent said.
Raffles, games, activities forkids and concessions will beoffered throughout the game, hesaid.
“We want this to be a familything as well as fun for stu-dents,” Vincent said. “We reallyjust want to raise awarenessabout this amazing organiza-tion.”
According to the organiza-tion’s Web site, www.habitat.org,
Habitat for Humanity Interna-tional is a nonprofit, nondenom-inational Christian housingorganization. The organizationis responsible for more then175,000 new houses, providingshelter for nearly 900,000 peo-ple in 100 countries.
In Abilene, Habitat for Hu-manity gives many service op-portunities to students andhousing for those in the com-munity who need it.
Anyone can help with thegame by contacting Vincent [email protected] or visiting the
event Web site at www.insanity-forhumanity.com.
The members of GSP arethrilled to have this opportunityto make a difference with theirtime, money and talents, Vin-cent said.
“There’s an old saying thatyou should shoot for the moon,and if you hit the stars, thenthat’s great, too,” Vincent said.“We want to make as big of animpact as we possibly can.”
GSP: Game to help service groupContinued from Page 1
E-mail Linthicum at: [email protected]
Record-settingsoftball game
Who: Gamma SigmaPhi.
When: 7 p.m. April 17through 7 a.m. April 17
Goal: Raise $68,000 tobenefit Habitat forHumanity.
For more informa-tion: Visit www.insani-tyforhumanity.com.
with 649 points on the year.Rasul’s 26.0 points per game isalso a record, surpassing JimR e y n o l d s ’mark of 25.4in the 1962-63season.
ACU saidgoodbye tothree seniorsin pregame onSaturday; Bax-ter, MatthiasKreig andAdrian Scott all played theirfinal games for ACU at MoodyColiseum.
Pleasant said the most excit-ing thing is that all three are setto graduate with their degreeplans. Baxter and Scott arescheduled to walk in May, andKreig will finish in December.
In Scott’s two-year careerwith the Wildcats, he saw lim-ited playing time until the finalgames of the season this year
when he emerged as a starter.He finished his final seasonaveraging 4.2 points per gameand 2.2 rebounds per contest.
Kreig also played two yearswith ACU, starting at center 16times in his final season. Heaveraged 7.6 points per gameand 4.4 rebounds and was theteam leader in field goal per-centage at .567.
Baxter also said his good-byes on Saturday after a solidtwo-year effort. During his jun-ior season, he averaged 15.1points per game and hit 80 3-pointers. In his final season, heincreased his points-per-gametotal by five at 20.1 to go withhis 94 3-point field goals andwas second on the team inassists at 3.7 per game.
His 44 points against AngeloState helped ACU to its onlyconference win and placed himsecond in the school’s historyfor most points in a game—arecord held by Reynolds, whoscored 45 against West Texas
State in 1963.“David was a special player,
and I think his senior year hereally wanted to be a part ofbringing ACU back to the post-season. He’s struggled with thefact that it didn’t happen on hiswatch,” Pleasant said. “But Ihope in a couple of years fromnow when the program iswhere it needs to be, he’ll lookback and see that he played apart in that.”
Players come and go, but itwill be the intangible that willbe hard to replace,” Pleasantsaid of Baxter. “Just the factthat he showed up to practices,worked hard, and the attitudehe had when we were strug-gling is what stands out to me.”
Pleasant said the currentteam is going to take a coupleof weeks off before the playersstart off-season training, whichwill include a weight-trainingprogram with strength andconditioning coach DavidHess, and Pleasant said that
much of next season’s perform-ance will be earned in off-sea-son training.
“My favorite quote is, ‘Therecomes a time when winter askswhat you’ve done all summer,’”he said. “The season is quick,so it’s hard to get the extra workin because we’re busy. We needplayers that are going to be self-motivated, to be gym rats andstay in the weight rooms. Andwhen they go home in the sum-mer and work out—to askthemselves, ‘Am I doing every-thing I can to help this teambecome a championship pro-gram?’”
Pleasant’s staff also will beworking to fill the holes thatthe seniors left in recruitinghigh school players and trans-fers, and he said they willspend a lot of time on thephone and on the road tryingto bring players in.
Men: Seniors stood out as leaders on teamContinued from Page 8
E-mail Robarts at: [email protected]
both players are big leaders forthe team.
“It’s funny because they’retwo different types of leaders,”Lavender said. “You have Stephwho’s quiet and reserved but isa great leader by example.Meredith is more of the vocal,outspoken, high-intensity lead-er. They’ve kind of been theglue that’s held this team to-gether.”
The Wildcats now are fo-cused on the Lone Star Confe-rence Post-Season Tournament,where they opened with an 81-68 win against Tarleton Stateon Tuesday in Stephenville.
The team finished the regu-lar season with a 19-8 overallrecord and were 10-4 in SouthDivision play, earning thethird-place spot in the division.
Women: Cats finishat No. 3 in divisionContinued from Page 8
Polk pitched four inningsbefore giving way to Whit-lock, who gave up one run inthree innings on his way tohis first win of the season.Bonneau said he’s pleasedwith Whitlock’s progress,although the pitcher is stillnot 100 percent after armsurgery.
“Right now he’s not thepower pitcher he was, but
he’s got some other pitcheswe’re working of off,” Bon-neau said.
The Wildcats, now 10-4on the season, returned toaction Tuesday with a dou-bleheader against IncarnateWord. Ben Maynard andBrandon Moore started thegames on the mound forACU.
Baseball: Team to playEast Central on FridayContinued from Page 8
Lee
Roper
E-mail Gray at: [email protected]
E-mail Gray at: [email protected]
Baxter
SPORTSWEDNESDAYPage 8 OPTIMIST March 2, 2005
LSC SouthStandings
current through 02-28-05
Men’s BasketballTeam Div. Tot.A&M-Commerce 10-2 23-4Midwestern State 9-3 17-10A&M-Kingsville 8-4 17-10West Texas A&M 8-4 14-13Angelo State 4-8 11-16E. New Mexico 2-10 9-18ACU 1-11 8-19
Women’s BasketballTeam Div. Tot.Angelo State 12-2 24-3West Texas A&M 11-3 20-7ACU 10-4 19-8A&M-Commerce 7-7 12-15E. New Mexico 7-7 13-14Midwestern State 4-9 9-17Texas Woman’s 3-10 10-15A&M-Kingsville 2-11 6-20
BaseballTeam Div. Tot.ACU 0-0 10-4Angelo State 0-0 5-4E. New Mexico 0-0 6-6Tarleton State 0-0 6-6A&M-Kingsville 0-0 6-6West Texas A&M 0-0 4-8
SoftballTeam Div. Tot.A&M-Kingsville 0-0 19-3Angelo State 0-0 14-3ACU 0-0 13-6Texas Woman’s 0-0 5-3E. New Mexico 0-0 10-9Tarleton State 0-0 7-9
Upcoming events in Wildcat sports...
(home events in italics)
Friday, March 4BSB: East Central, 4 p.m.SB: St. Edward’s Tournament,
Austin, St. Mary’s, 6 p.m.WB: LSC Quarterfinal/finals, TBAMTN: W. New Mexico. 11:30 a.m.WTN: W. New Mexico, 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, March 5BB: East Central, noonSB: Regis, noon
Incarnate Word, 5 p.m.WB: LSC Quarterfinals/finals, TBA
Sunday, March 6SB: Southeastern Oklahoma,
8:30 a.m.W. New Mexico, 1:30 p.m.
ScoresThursday
Women’s basketballACU 79, Texas A&M Commerce 70
Men’s basketballTexas A&M Commerce 85, ACU 84
FridayBaseball
Central Oklahoma 7, ACU 6ACU 5, Central Oklahoma 4
SoftballACU 3, Southwestern Oklahoma 0ACU 13, Southeastern Oklahoma 4
SaturdayBaseball
Central Oklahoma 8, ACU 0ACU 6, Central Oklahoma 4
SoftballACU 4, Cameron 3 (8 innings)ACU 3, Midwestern State 1
Women’s basketballACU 86, Midwestern State 79
Men’s basketballMidwestern State 94, ACU 71
EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer
Junior forward Hakim Rasul rises above Indian defenders for a layup during the 94-71 loss toMidwestern State on Saturday in Moody Coliseum. Rasul finished with 25 points, pushing his seasonpoint total to 649 and breaking Andrew Prince's school record of 642 from the 1973-74 season. Rasulalso finished the season at No. 1 in the LSC in scoring with 26.0 points per game and fourth inrebounds with 9.5 rebounds per game.
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Sophomore left-fielder Danielle Faulk slides into second base, beating the toss from Hilltopper KarenVarteressian to shortstop Mandy Phillips during the 4-0 loss to St. Edward's University on Feb. 22.
Men steal two winsagainst Bronchos
By WARREN GRAYSPORTS WRITER
Justin Whitlock saw a little ofeverything on the mound forACU in a four-game set withCentral Oklahoma during theweekend. Whitlock picked up awin, loss and save as the Wild-cats split two doubleheaderswith the Bronchos in Edmond,Okla.
“He contributed in aboutevery way possible,” head coachBritt Bonneau said. “It was goodto see him out there. He wasable to get in there and get someground balls; it’s just unfortu-nate he got the loss in the firstgame.”
The loss for Whitlock camein a 7-6 Wildcat setback. ACUtied the game at six with threeruns in the top of the seventhinning, but the Bronchos wonthe game in the bottom half ofthe frame on an ACU error.
In Friday’s second game, theWildcats escaped with a one-run win in a 5-4 decision. BenBrockman (4-0) continued hisstellar start to the season andpicked up the win, pitching 52/3 innings of two-run ball.
Whitlock faced just one batterto pick up his first save of theseason.
Central Oklahoma broke thestring of close games in Satur-day’s first game with an 8-0 win.The Wildcats had just four hitsin the game.
“Central did a great job ofpitching against us and holdingus in check,” Bonneau said. “Ithought we did a job of stealingtwo games from them.”
The Wildcats were again hurtby a key error in the game asACU starter Adam Jones gaveup six unearned runs in the sec-ond inning to break the gameopen. Jones took the loss in thegame, but Bonneau was pleasedwith his performance.
“Jones threw a great game,”Bonneau said. “If we make thedefensive play behind him inthe second, there’s no hits, noruns in the inning.”
But the Wildcats respondedto the Bronchos efforts in thefourth game of the series. Afterfour hits and two errors in thethird game, the Wildcats had 10hits and no errors in Saturday’snightcap.
Brenan Herrera had threehits—two of them doubles—and three RBI in the game as hecontinues to find his stroke. Coy
Pitchers stand out in four-game series at Central Oklahoma
By WARREN GRAYSPORTS WRITER
On the day the ACU women’sbasketball team honored twoseniors, it was a freshman whoplayed one of the biggest roles inthe game.
The Wildcats struggled earlyagainst Midwestern State onSaturday, butAshlee Barrcame off thebench andhelped ACUto an 86-79win in itsfinal regularseason gameof the season.
“She did agood job giv-ing us a sparkoff thebench,” headcoach Shawna Lavender said.“She came in and hit some bigthrees for us.”
The Wildcats, who lost toMidwestern State 84-76 on Jan.26, trailed 18-10 early in thefirst half. But a 16-2 ACU rungave them a 26-20 lead. Barrscored nine points in the stretchand finished with a career-high21 points to go with seven re-bounds.
Jamie Boles got the run start-ed with a jump shot and alsofinished with a career-high in
points as she led all players with33 and 11 rebounds.
Lavender said with the LadyIndians lone big player, Kathe-rine Maples, limited to nine mi-nutes because of foul trouble,the Wildcats looked to get theball to Boles early and often.
“Jamie did a great job ofworking for position, and theguards did a great job of findingher,” Lavender said. “Every timedown the floor we wanted Jamieto at least get a touch.”
Although senior StephanieRiles had a rela-tively quiet gamewith eight pointson the day shewas honored, sheput up big num-bers inThursday’s 79-70win over TexasA & M - C o m -merce. Rilesposted 27 points,15 rebounds andfour steals in thegame. For the
year, Riles led the Wildcats inrebounding with 7.3 a game andwas second in scoring with a14.3 per game average.
The other senior, MeredithDoyle, continued to do littlethings on the court to help herteam win. In Saturday’s victory,she led the team with five assistsand three steals while addingfour rebounds.
Although Riles does the bulkof the scoring, Lavender said
Cats cap regularseason with win
ACU ends regular season at third placein LSC South Division
By KYLE ROBARTSSPORTS WRITER
The bleeding has stopped,but the wounds are still sore.
A disappointing seasoncame to a disappointing endSaturday when the Wildcat bas-ketball team dropped its ninth-straight contest and finishedlast in the Lone Star ConferenceSouth Division with a 1-11record.
Midwestern State rolled overACU on Saturday with a 94-71win at Moody Coliseum, butthe biggest heartbreaker forhead coach Klint Pleasant’sWildcats came Thursday withan 85-84 loss to No. 9 TexasA&M-Commerce.
“I was proud of the way weplayed,” Pleasant said. “I thinkthat game showed what our
team had the potential to beand what could have been. Itkind of summed up the story ofour season; you know the ballsjust didn’t bounce our way.”
Commerce’s Matthew Ragerdominated ACU with 35points, and with ACU ahead84-82 with 24 seconds left, theLions looked to Rager to deliv-er a final shot. However, ACU’sHakim Rasul skied to the airwith an outstretched arm forc-ing Rager to lose the ball, butCommerce recovered, kicked itout to Jermart Miller whodrained the winning 3-pointbasket with 14 seconds left toplay.
David Baxter brought theball down the floor for ACU butwas forced to pick up his drib-ble when the double-team cameand kicked it to teammate JoeCarr. Carr drove to the left sideof the basket and attempted afall-away jumper that hit thetop of the backboard and wentout of bounds as time expired.
Rasul finished the gamewith 29 points and 12 re-bounds, Baxter added 25 pointsand four assists, and Joe Carrfinished with 11 points andseven assists. Baxter hit five 3-point field goals on his way tosurpassing Rodney Lee’s single-season record of 87. After Sa-turday’s loss to Midwestern,Baxter finished with 94 on theseason, averaging nearly 3.5 pergame.
Pleasant said the emotionallet down of the loss Thursdaycaused the team to come outsluggish in the loss to Mid-western State. In the first half,the Wildcats kept it close untila 14-5 run by the Indians thatkept ACU at bay the rest of thegame.
Rasul finished with 25points and eight rebounds andbecame ACU’s single-seasonscoring record holder as he pastAndrew Prince and finished
By JARED FIELDSSPORTS WRITER
The Wildcat softball teamwon all four games this week-end in the Lone Star ConferenceFirst Pitch Tournament. Theteam defeated Cameron andMidwestern State and beatSouthwestern Oklahoma twice,and the wins moved theWildcats to 13-6 on the season.
“Overall, we played verysolid this past weekend, bothoffensively and defensively,”head coach Chantiel Wilsonsaid.
In the first game againstSouthwestern Oklahoma, theteam put up three runs to sup-port Allison Crouse’s shut-out
performance and gain the victo-ry. Valerie Malkinson providedmuch of the offense for theWildcats with a solo homerunand two RBI in the game.
The rematch featured moreoffense from the Wildcats. Afteran early 4-0 deficit in the firstinning, the Wildcats respondedwith 13 unanswered points inthe game to end with the scoreof 13-4. Jade Wilson and AshleyWhittenburg each had two-runhomeruns in the second to startthe offensive explosion. Afterthe early runs by SouthwesternOklahoma, Jennifer Leal shutdown the opponent’s batters forthe rest of the game.
Wilson said she was impres-sed with her team’s play.
“We got the hits when weneeded them and were able toscore 13 runs with 18 hits on ateam with good pitching,” Wil-son said.
In the third game, ACU de-feated Cameron in the eighthinning off an infield single byHeather Krumpols. Crousestarted the game and went fiveinnings, giving up three runsbefore Jennifer Leal finished thegame and picked up the win forthe team. Krumpols’ hit in theeighth scored Amber Garcia andended the game 4-3.
In the tournament finale,ACU played MSU. Jennifer Lealled the Wildcats on their way tothe 3-1 win, pitching seven in-nings, allowing eight hits withno earned runs and striking outseven batters. The win wasLeal’s 10th win of the season.
The Wildcats travel to Wi-chita Falls on Wednesday toface Midwestern State for a dou-ble-header that begins at 4 p.m.
Women win all four in crossoverSoftball players standat 13-6, third place
in LSC South Division
Wildcats lose final gameThree seniors face
disappointment as menend season at 1-11
See WOMEN Page 7
See BASEBALL page 7See MEN Page 7
E-mail Fields at: [email protected]
Tournamentupdate
At press time, the Wild-cats had just defeatedTarleton State University 81-68 in Stephenville.
The team will now faceAngelo State University inthe semifinals at 6 p.m. onFriday in Tahlequah, Okla.