CAMPUS

This weekend’s high winds, warm temperatures and low humidity triggered multiple wildfires across the state and the Big Country.

Lewis Kearney, public informa-tion officer for the Texas Forest Ser-vice, said a total of 120,000 acres

burned across the state over the weekend, mostly West of Abilene and in the panhandle.

The regional fires prompted TFS to set up its Incident Management Team at the regional office in Merkel. Kear-ney said Sunday’s weather conditions set the stage for a major fire event.

“Sunday you had the compo-nents of high winds, low humidity

and warm temperatures,” Kearney said. “When you have an ignition those winds push fires really fast.”

Kearney said TFS was called to 30 fires across the state, but was only able to respond to 25 because high winds prevented them from using any aviation assets. He said high

A new social media pres-ence “Overheard at ACU” is retweeting and posting what students at Abilene Christian University are talking about.

The site’s administra-tors trawl students walls and tweets, and then post

what they say on its on page. Students are also able to post what they heard on campus themselves.

Scott Kilmer, direc-tor of Online Marketing, said the site is not being administered by any uni-versity official but is still an interesting forum of student voices.

“It is not the voice, in an official sense, but we have many people following it to get a feel of what students

are thinking,” Kilmer said. “When people have some-thing to say they go to social media sites, and by reading

what they say we can get a feel of the general mindset of how people are feeling and what’s going on here.”

Overheard at ACU’s Face-book page is liked by more than 300 people and follows more than 180 ACU faculty, staff and students on Twitter.

One of its Twitter fol-lowers Will Foster, junior

education major from Mes-quite, really likes the idea of the site but hope it does not get spammed.

“I’ve read several entries and a couple of them are pretty funny,” Foster said. “But I can see it being quick-ly overrun with people just

Optimistthe

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

acuoptimist.com

1 section, 8 pages

weatherinside

page 4

websitenewsDr. Shelly Sanders, assistant professor of English will blog one chapter per week of her novel, That was Everything.

page 5

featureSimple recipes allow Girl Scout Cookie enthusiasts to enjoy the tasty treats even after the Girl Scouts stop selling.

photo gallery Find more photos of grass fire damage to much of West Texas and the Panhandle on our website, acuoptimist.com. 78° 46°

Wed. Fri.Thurs.

83° 51° 82° 47°

Official Opening, page 3

Matthew WoodrowOpinion Page Editor

Overheard at ACU creates in-campus Twitter

Vol. 99, No. 40

Abilene Christian University

see BURN page 4

After five years at her position as coordinator of Student Ac-tivities and Organizations, Mauri Westbrook will retire to raise a family as a stay-at-home mom.

West-b r o o k said she was excited to be raising a daughter but was also sad to be leaving.

“ACU will always hold a special place in my heart, but this is the best thing for our family,” Westbrook said. “I’ve been involved with so many fun and exciting things like Beach Bash, Sing Song and all the social club activities, but the best part is work-ing with students with what they’re passionate about.”

Westbrook graduated from ACU in 2002 and then returned in 2006 to become coordinator of Student Ac-tivities and Organizations.

“My husband and I were moving back to Abilene and we found out this posi-tion was becoming open,” Westbrook said. “I knew I loved ACU, and this job fit my interest and skill and it was just one of those per-fect opportunities where I could do what I loved.”

Student Activities leader to retire

see STUDENTS page 4

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Ap-ple and personal computer pio-neer, predicted the future of tech-nology during his onstage Q&A session with Dr. Bill Rankin, direc-tor of educational innovation.

After starting a social and technological revolution with the invention of the Apple computer, Wozniak encour-

aged attendees to be brave as mobile technology continues to get better and change the way people do things in life.

He also predicted the ma-jority of books would be digital rather than printed within 20

years and iPhones would fur-ther implement the use of voice-activated commands.

Wozniak also presented his ideas for a more innovative classroom, teaching kids to learn by motivating them to learn in-stead of teaching them facts.

“If you cant motivate a student to want to learn, that’s so much more important than what’s in the book,” Wozniak said.

And teachers can moti-

vate students in a technolo-gy-focused classroom with an emphasis in personalized learning, he said, at least until technology replaces human in-struction, that is. But, Wozniak said that hasn’t happened yet.

In his life, Wozniak found pas-sion in things he did and went for his dreams, and he encour-aged others to do the same.

Matthew WoodrowOpinion Page Editor

see TWEET page 4

Grass fires scorch TexasJeff Craig

Managing Editor

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, speaks on topics of academics and the future of technology at the 2011 ACU Connected Summit.

The Great and Powerful Woz

Linda BaileyEditor In Chief

STATE

STUDENT LIFE

Westbrook

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Firefighters track the path of a West Texas grass fire and an-ticipate the wind as they refill their truck with water from a fire hydrant before returning to fight the blaze.

Apple co-founder predicts technology’s future

see SUMMIT page 4

acuoptimist.com

Find more photos and a video of “A conversation with

Woz,” and footage of the Rocketboys performance.

When people have something to say, they go to social media sites.

SCOTT KILMER // director of online marketing‘‘ ’’

announcements

Wednesday 04Friday

National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Students can assist with art activities, sell books and wel-come visitors from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1-3 p.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays. For more information, contact Debby Lillick at 673-4586, or visit www.nccil.org.

The Madison Middle School is looking for male volunteers to participate in a weekly “Boys2Men” lunchtime program for eighth grade boys. Speak-ers will be addressing dif-ferent aspects of growing up. Contact Jeff Womack at 692-5661 or jeffrey.womack@abileneisd.org.

Breakfast on Beech Street Students can help set up, prepare and serve breakfast for the home-less at First Christian Church on Third Street and Beech Street. Serv-ing time is 6:30-7:15 a.m. on Monday-Friday. Visit www.fccabilene.com for more information.

The Salvation Army Volunteers are needed at the 1726 Butternut St. Salvation Army to sort and price items and help with kitchen or yard work. Volunteers are welcome any time Monday-Saturday. Contact J.D. Alonzo at 677-1408, or visit www.satruck.com for

more information on the program.

Mesa Spring Healthcare Center needs volunteers from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. any day of the week to help with fun activities for the residents, including play-ing instruments, calling bingo and sitting and talking. All help is ap-preciated. Contact Laura Reynolds at 692-8080 or lgreynolds@sears-meth-odist.com.

Abilene Hope Haven is seeking volunteers for childcare any night, Monday-Thursday, from 6:45-8:15 p.m. For more information, contact Kathy Reppart at 677-4673.

Global Samaritan Re-sources Volunteers are needed to sort through clothing and repack boxes Monday-Thursday at any time. Volunteers should call ahead. Contact David Catalina at 676-9991 for more information.

Aimee’s Art Studio is seeking volunteers from 9-10 a.m. or 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, to assist with homeschool fine arts classes. No formal art skills or training is required. The studio is a five-minute walk from ACU’s campus. For more information, contact Aimee Williams at 672-9633.

Meals on Wheels Volun-teers are needed to de-liver meals to seniors and adults with disabilities. Routes are available 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Mon-day-Friday. Volunteers must be at least 18, with a valid driver’s license, auto insurance and a de-sire to serve. Training is provided. Students may be exempted from one Chapel per week if deliv-ery time conflicts with Chapel. Contact Saman-tha Barker at 672-5050.

Betty Hardwick Center Volunteers are needed in several departments at the Betty Hardwick Center, specializing in mental health. Students can help mentally-and-physically challenged people play games, run track and go bowling. Students can volunteer from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Monday-Friday. Contact Angel Seca at 690-5235 for more information.

Center for Contem-porary Arts needs a gallery assistant to help with exhibit setup and preparation. The work can be done any time from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday. Call 677-8389 or e-mail info@center-arts.com.

HERO Hendrick Equine Rehabilitation Opportu-nities needs volunteers from March 22-May 5 to help with its horse ther-apy program. Volunteers will walk or jog alongside horses and provide safety for clients as they ride. No horse experience is necessary. Volunteers must attend one of two training sessions offered prior to the beginning of the program. Contact Beth Byerly at 660-3465, or e-mail herocoord@netzero.com. International Rescue Committee Students can work with refugees who recently moved to the United States, teaching English, helping with homework and mentor-ing. Volunteer times are flexible. Call Daina Jury-ka-Owen at 675-5643 ext. 16 to make an appoint-ment. For more informa-tion on the International Rescue Committee, visit www.theirc.org.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

calendar & events02 Thursday03 05Saturday

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ON YOURfollow us on Twitter: @acuoptimist // become a fan on Facebook: The Optimist

volunteer opportunities

2Campus Day

Civil Rights Tour Students can receive academic credit for Summer Session I by joining the ACU Freedom Ride on May 15-21. The sev-en-day, 1,800-mile guided bus tour will visit signifi-cant sites of the American Civil Rights Movement. Registration is now open. For more information, contact Dr. Richard Beck at beckr@acu.edu, Dr. Jennifer Dillman at jennifer.dill-man@acu.edu, Dr. David Dillman at dillmand@acu.edu or an academic adviser.

Online Summer Courses Registration for online sum-mer courses is now open. Students can choose from 15 courses, and each course is three weeks long. For more information, visit www.acu.edu/summeronline.

All-school Chapel The Chapel Office encourages students to participate in “Bring Your Professor to Chapel Day” and invite their professors to Chapel as a part of the campus-wide effort to attend Chapel every Monday.

Springboard Ideas Chal-lenge The mini-business plan competition offers students the opportu-nity to get their business up and running and the chance to win cash prizes. Students must register at www.acu.edu/springboard by Friday to compete.

Swing Cats The Swing Cats meet every week 7-9 p.m. on Sundays in Cullen Auditorium. No partners or experience are required.

FCA The ACU chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets at 9 p.m. every Thursday in the Campus Center Living Room.

FilmFest Entry forms for the 2011 FilmFest can be found in McKinzie Hall, Room 122, at www.acu.edu/filmfest or acufilm-fest.tumblr.com.

D!SCOVERY The Career Center is sponsoring a five-week workshop to help students decide, confirm or narrow their major and career choices. For more information, contact the Career Center at 674-2473 or visit www.acu.edu/careercenter.

ACUltimate The univer-sity’s ultimate frisbee club meets at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact Kyle Thaxton at krt06d@acu.edu.

11 a.m. Chapel with Eric Wallace and the American Cancer Society in Moody Coliseum

11 a.m. Small group Chapel in various locations around campus

3 p.m. Softball vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State University

5 p.m. Softball vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State

8 p.m. Orchestra and Concert Band concert in Cullen Auditorium

11 a.m. Praise Day Chapel in Moody Coliseum

3 p.m. Softball at Midwestern State University

7 p.m. Baseball vs. Texas A&M International University

7 p.m. FilmFest Host and Hostess auditions at The World Famous Bean

8 a.m. AMTA Piano Contest at the Williams Performing Arts Center recital hall

1 p.m. Softball at Arkansas Technical University

2:30 p.m. Baseball vs. Texas A&M International

3 p.m. Softball at University of the Incarnate Word

32

Chapel

Credited Chapels to date

Checkup41 Credited

Chapels remaining

about this pageThe Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities. Groups may send announcements directly to optimist@jmcnetwork.com.

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

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

March 2, 2011 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

Honors College prepares murder mystery meal

The Honors College promis-es theater, mystery and food Friday, as it conducts its an-nual mystery dinner party.

Typically, during mystery dinners, actors sit and eat with guests while dropping strategic hints, leading to the identity of the killer. By the end, the guests take stabs at who they think the killer is. Honors students produce

the mystery dinner to attract prospective students and to entertain anyone who wish-es to come.

Andrew Kinnaman, se-nior computer science ma-jor from Abilene, wrote this year’s mystery dinner script. Completing the script took him about seven months. He said he enjoyed writing the mystery dinner play.

“I started right after the last murder mystery,” Kin-naman said. “I just kind of

made fun of all the detective shows that I watch.”

The mystery is intended to be a humorous time for guests. Kinnaman said some of his comedic inspirations come from CSI: Miami. He likes the character Lt. Hora-tio Caine, a forensic analyst played by David Caruso.

“Horatio’s one-liners are one of the ongoing gags in the script,” Kinnaman said.

Practices began in early January. The mystery in-

cludes five scenes with a cast of eight characters. Kinnaman put himself in the murder mystery casting himself as Mark Malone, the lead detective.

Amber Deschamps, se-nior biology major from Liberty Hill will play the part of Alice Byrd, the victim’s haughty best friend of 20 years who Deschamps de-scribes as a grammar enthu-siast. She said she wanted to be a theater major when

coming to ACU, but decided to study biology.

However, she still enjoys acting. In last year’s mys-tery, she played the part of the detective.

“The play is hilarious,” De-schamps said. “The way the script is written is great and is full of great characters.”

The murder mystery take place Friday, at the Williams Performing Arts Center. Din-ner starts at 6 p.m. and the event ends at 8 p.m. Prices

are $7 for a single ticket or $10 for a pair. The dinner will include chicken Parmesan and a vegetarian option will also be provided. Anyone is welcome to attend – even non-ACU students.

Participants can buy tick-ets at a booth in the Campus Center after Chapel, or at the Honors College office on the first floor of Zellner Hall.

Zane GoggansContributing Reporter

HONORS COLLEGE

contact Goggans atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

Teacher writes, blogs novel

Dr. Shelly Sanders, assistant professor of English, is tak-ing an innovative approach to publishing young adult fiction online as co-author of a new novel titled That was Everything.

Although navigating the chasm between Gardner and Mabee dorms to meet in the Brown library for a group project may seem difficult, Sanders and her co-author Dr. Scott Peter-son, English professor at the University of Maine, have taken on the challenge of writing a novel while sep-arated by the vast miles be-tween Texas and Maine.

“It has been an amazingly easy process,” Sanders said. “Scott is very organized; he made charts and outlines to keep us on track. Technology has also really helped us to be successful.”

Sanders and Peterson met at the annual Sports Literature Conference a few years ago and first

decided to begin writing together in the summer of 2007. They each did a dis-sertation on sports litera-ture and share an interest in sports.

“Sports weren’t always linked with my writing,” Peterson said, “But about 10 years ago I wrote a story that was accepted in Aeth-lon: The Journal of Sport Literature, and I saw the opportunities of combin-ing two of my primary in-terests.”

Sanders and Peterson do much of their collabo-ration through e-mail and using GoogleDocs.

They will post their novel, one chapter at a time, on a blog. The blog is updated with one new chapter per week, which will continue until all 18 chapters are posted.

That was Everything is about the romantic rela-tionship between Travis and Astrid, high school athletes each dealing with weighty secrets linked in ways they do not at first realize. Travis,

an all-around jock, is hiding his use of steroids and As-trid, a swimmer, is hiding her mysterious gift of healing.

Sanders describes the blog as an online work-shop for the writers and hopes to gain feedback from a built-in audience of family, friends and in-terested readers. Sand-ers said she is especially thankful for the support of her colleagues at ACU.

“It has been great to have support from other faculty and connections through the ACU English department following the story and giv-ing feedback,” Sanders said.

Sanders and Peterson plan to publish the novel and are in the process of sending the manuscript to agents. In the meantime, they continue to gain read-ership through the blog, Fa-cebook and Twitter.

Chapters can be found online at thatwasevery-thing.wordpress.com.

FACULTY

contact Gasvoda atlag08a@acu.edu

Laura GasvodaStaff Reporter

Texas A&M student Nicolis Williams, age 20, died Feb. 11 from bacterial meningi-tis after being hospitalized only a few days earlier on Tuesday of the same week. Williams was the second Ag-gie to contract meningitis at A&M in the last six months.

Both A&M and ACU comply with Texas state law, which requires all students living on-campus to be vac-cinated for meningitis 10 days prior to the first day of school. However, no state re-quirement exists for students living off campus – Williams was living off campus.

The ACU office of ad-missions lists the menin-gitis vaccination as a re-quirement for all incoming students and has recom-mended it since before it became state-mandated, according to Dr. Ellen Lit-tle, physician and director of the Medical Clinic.

ACU requires all incom-ing freshmen and transfer students registered to live in an on-campus dorm to

have the meningitis vac-cination, Little said. In ad-dition, the office of admis-sions asks every incoming student planning to live off campus to receive the vaccination—however, this requirement is not as eas-ily enforced and there are some conscious objectors, according to Little.

Dr. Little states that there has not been a case of bac-terial meningitis at ACU in the year and a half that she has been on staff at the uni-versity. However, there have been cases of viral menin-gitis which can be equally as serious. The difference is that victims of viral menin-gitis often have a better re-covery rate, Little said.

There are many varia-tions of the disease. Rabies and West Nile virus are both forms of viral meningitis. Medical literature used to say that getting the shot once was enough, Little said. But now a booster is recommended after five years. Many students first received the vaccination as juniors in high school and may be due for a booster.

“Go and get it done wher-ever you are; it is still worth it,” Little said, “It is a good idea to get a booster in five years.”

Symptoms of bacterial meningitis include high fe-ver, severe headaches, low responsiveness and a char-acteristic rash.

“A high fever and bad headache are always rea-sons to seek medical atten-tion,” Little said.

Former ACU student, Kara Washam, junior educa-tion major at A&M, says that the Aggie student body has received multiple e-mails encouraging them to get the meningitis vaccination. Washam also pointed to the housing situation at A&M as part of the problem.

“There is not enough space at all,” said Washam, “There is not enough on-campus housing to hold all the freshmen and many live off-campus.”

For more information on bacterial meningitis con-tact the medical clinic at 674-2625.

Laura GasvodaStaff Reporter

contact Gasvoda atlag08a@acu.edu

All students encouraged to receive meningitis shot

HEALTH

JULIE COPPEDGE // Contributing Photographer

Dr. Kyle Dickson, associate professor of English; Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university; AT&T Sales Vice President Xavier Williams and Bailey Brown, senior English major from Dallas, cut a rib-bon officially opening the new AT&T Learning Studio on Monday.

Official Opening

Page 4 March 2, 2011FROM THE FRONT

Dr. Jean-Noel Thomp-son, vice president and dean for student life, said Westbrook’s retire-ment was bittersweet.

“We are thrilled she has chosen to take some time and be with her family, but we will miss her here,” Thompson said. “It’s hard to replace

a Mauri. She has just done so much to help the students here on cam-pus. Hundreds of social club activities have gone through her and she’s done an amazing job.”

Mark Jackson was se-lected to replace West-brook as the new co-ordinator of Student Activities and Orgniza-tions. Currently Jackson

is the assistant director of Intramural Sports and will be starting in his new position on May 2 at the latest.

Jackson graduated from ACU in 2002 and then spent 6 years at Southwest Christian Schools. While there he served as a campus min-ister and freshman Bible teacher as well as coach-

ing various sports.While working with

intramurals Jackson worked closely with many of the social clubs but said that he’ll be working even closer with more groups in his new position.

“I’ll now be work-ing with several student groups on campus like social clubs, SHADES,

Hispanos Unidos, Es-sence of Ebony and more,” Jackson said. “I’ll be working with those groups and their lead-ers to make sure their goals are being met and they’re being an integral part of ACU.”

Jackson is shadowing Westbrook to be ready to take over as soon as West-brook’s baby arrives.

“I’ve already started working with him and teaching him what’s go-ing on, even though he hasn’t officially started yet,” Westbrook said. “The plan right now is for me to work right up to the due date then stay home and raise a family.”

tweeting whatever. It has the potential to be really cool, but only if the administra-tion does a good job regulat-ing what gets put up.”

Emily Kay Taylor, sopho-more Biblical text major from Arlington, likes the Facebook page of Over-heard at ACU because it is more relevant to her life than other Facebook posts.

“Most things in my news feed is stuff that doesn’t re-

ally effect me,” Taylor said. “So I liked Overheard be-cause I hoped that things people said around campus would make my news feed more entertaining.”

“Overheard at ACU” isn’t the only website anony-mously created about ACU, Kilmer said.

“A couple of years ago a student tried to set up an almost identical site. Things like this pop up annually al-most like clockwork. Espe-cially around major events

like Homecoming or Sing Song,” Kilmer said. “The concept has stayed the same while the forums of social media have evolved over the years, it used to be sites like blogs and now it’s tweets.”

There are many “over-heard” sites around the In-ternet, ranging from what people are saying at Harvard or New York City, to what is being overheard at the beach.

“I like it when small groups of people, just like a cou-ple of kids in a dorm start talking about an idea, and you know it’s a long, long project—it might take half a year to a year—but I just love it when small groups start talking about projects that might change life,” Wozniak said.

And that idea matches

the advice Wozniak gave to college students trying to find jobs in this economy. He said this is an exciting time of change where soft-ware companies are open to new ideas and young, start-up companies are looking for creative people with new ideas.

After the event, many students and faculty lined the Moody concourse to take photos, get autographs

and shake Wozniak’s hand.Jackie McBroom, as-

sistant superintendent for Sanger ISD, said he enjoyed the relaxed na-ture of the event.

“I really enjoyed listen-ing to him ramble.” McB-room said. “His stream of consciousness is inspiring. He really is a legend.”

Burn: High winds, warm air fuel grass fireswinds were the main factor making the fires volatile.

“When conditions are like this, people need to be very cautions. Don’t use fire, don’t burn trash and keep grass really short around homes,” Kear-ney said. “But sometimes, when nature is in charge

and you have fires like Sun-day, there is not a whole lot you can do. That’s a fact.”

On Sunday, a major fire began to burn near Lake Fort Phantom. Lt. Greg Go-ettsh, public information officer for the Abilene Fire Department, said the fire burned for nearly 14 hours and charred nearly 1,000 acres. Goettsh said AFD

was first on the scene, but 60 officers from four de-partments were called in to battle the blaze.

“It was rapidly growing and very difficult to get to,” Goettsh said. “There are very few roads and they are actu-ally mostly cow paths. It was a really difficult area to map, especially in the dark.”

The fire began just east of

the lake, near F.M. 1082. Go-ettsh said the fire had the po-tential to threaten the Mid-dleton and Robertson prison units, burning to within 1 ½ miles of the units.

“Being out that long and doing that hard of work was impressive,” Goettsh said. “Those guys took a beating. It was gratifying to see them stick with it

that long without it causing any damage.”

Joel Dunn, meteorolo-gist with the National Weather Service in San Angelo, said weather con-ditions for the rest of the week create a moderate risk for grass fires.

“The humidity is still low so we’re at a pretty moderate risk,” Dunn

said. “We have no crite-rion for a warning, but when you have dry condi-tions you have a risk.”

Dunn said winds would be sustained at 10-15 mph, but humidity levels would stay around 20 percent through the week

LOCAL

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

Tweet: Site echoes studentsCAMPUS

Continued from page 1

contact Woodrow atmrw08a@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

Students: Assistant intramurals director to fill vacancySTUDENT LIFE

contact Woodrow atmrw08a@acu.edu

Summit: Apple co-founder discusses mobile education

CONNECTED SUMMIT

Continued from page 1

contact Bailey atljb07a@acu.edu

FocusMarch 2, 2011 Page 5

samoas

thin mints

Everyone loves a Girl Scout cookie. As their season comes to end, here are a couple recipes for carbon copy confections.

Ingredients12 oz bag of mint chocolate chips4 oz semisweet chocolate morselsRitz crackers

recipes courtesy of food.com and grouprecipes.com

Ingredients6 tblsp butter1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup light corn syrup1/2 can of 14 oz can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk1/2 tsp vanilla extract4 cups toasted coconut1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

These Thin Mints were surprisingly deli-cious. It did not seem possible for a Ritz cracker to taste like a Thin Mint. Never-theless, they did! Obviously, they were not the highest quality cookie. If one did not know though, they probably would not be able to tell the difference.

Make sure to add enough coconut to the mix! Without it, the cookie does not have much substance and stays very gooey and sticky. These were so sim-ple to make, and they turned out much like the original Samoas.

Directions1. Melt mint and chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler.2. Dip Ritz crackers in chocolate mixture.3. Place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet.4. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Store in air tight container.

Directions1. Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup in saucepan over medium heat.2. Boil for 3 minutes, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.3. Slowly pour in condensed milk while stirring. Continue cooking over low heat for a few minutes.4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut.5. Spoon into mounds on buttered wax paper. Flatten and use straw or end of wooden spoon to create holes in each cookie’s center.6. Once cooled, melt chocolate chips and drizzle over cookies. Store in an air tight container.

better batter

Laura AcuffCopy Editor

Bailey GriffithCopy Editor

Morgan DavisCartoonist

In mid-2010, Japanese engineers shipped our future caregivers into the country through the same customs office that clears electric wheelchairs for distribution in the United States – only this caregiver was a plush, baby seal.

Paro, the robotic, baby seal, was designed by the best and bright-est engineers to simulate interaction between pa-tients and caregivers. It’s meant for use in nursing homes as an alternative for the traditional, old-

fashioned and time-con-suming practice of physi-cal interactions between human beings.

With one of these robo-pups costing about $ 6,000, some who don’t see the tremendous value in own-ing a stuffed animal that moves and “coos” might think the price is steep. They are overlooking the obvious perk, which is the hours of unfaltering, synthetic love Paro offers without complicating the situation with his own calendar to keep, kids to

raise or Glee episodes to catch up on.

Kleenex tissues and visits from children will be a fashion sported by last year’s nursing home residents. The resident of tomorrow will bury their sorrows in the plush, arti-ficial, hypoallergenic, an-ti-bacterial fur of a baby robot-seal.

And, maybe, consider-ing our technological up-bringing, we should have seen this coming.

We grew up alongside technology. We nursed

our Nano Pets through elementary school. Upon graduation to middle school we somehow con-vinced our parents that we would become more responsible if they pur-chased a ridiculous, squawking Ferbie. We hit high school with our artil-lery of cell phones causing teachers to set aside their note-intercepting skills and develop a texting ra-dar that would make the Navy drool. And now, at ACU we are up to our ears in mobile learning.

By the time we hit nursing homes, if such a thing still exists, society won’t need us anymore, our kids will be gallivant-ing around with com-puter chips in their heads and the technology we nurtured in elementary school will be the only thing caring for us.

FaceTime, Skype and robotic seals might be in-creasing in popularity, but no matter how advanced technology gets, nothing will fully replace the com-fort that comes from di-rect human interactions.

OpinionPage 6 March 2, 2011

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

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

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

letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79699

E-mail letters to: optimist@acu.edu

editorial and letter policy

By Morgan DavisThe Funny Funnies

Caregiving demands human elementEDITORIAL

Students should research future

COLUMN

Self-ExaminationBy Ryan Self

The New York Times recently highlighted many pitfalls of law school with the troubling story of Michael W a l l e r -stein, a re-cent law g ra d u a t e with a c r u s h i n g debt of $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 and few job prospects. Closer inspec-tion reveals that Waller-stein’s predicament is more a product of his own poor decisions rather than any environmental factors, however. First is the fact that he attended a fourth-tier law school with an Ivy League tuition rate in one of the most expensive ar-eas of the country, San Di-ego. He also chose to hunt for jobs in New York City, where he would be com-peting with graduates from Columbia, Cornell and NYU in addition to many of the other Ivy League schools in the region. Spending a semester in Prague prob-ably didn’t help his bank ac-count either.

Many graduates, like Wallerstein, may be under the delusion that holding a law degree – from any school – is a one-way ticket to a six-figure salary. Unfor-tunately, that is not the case. The law profession is not immune to the economic recession that has plagued many other industries. During recessions, applica-tions for graduate and law schools increase dramati-cally meaning the compe-tition upon graduation is now significantly greater. At the same time, law firms around the country are scaling back on their hiring and some are even laying off associates, according to the National Law Journal.

Don’t be fooled by the inflated statistics given by law schools. When a law school reports that a certain percentage of graduates have gained a job within a

9-month period, they are including any job, not just ones related to law. That statistic includes graduates who have gone on to work at prestigious law firms in Washington D.C. and those who find themselves tak-ing orders at Chili’s to make ends meet.

The rankings of law schools are also a compli-cated and an arguably bi-ased source if you want to find out which school offers the best law education. The U.S. News & World Report rankings have come under criticism in the past few years for the way they are administered. According to the American Bar Associa-tion Journal, “Deans from 164 accredited U.S. law schools (including highly ranked Columbia, Cornell, New York University, UCLA, Virginia and Yale) signed a letter sent to 93,000 poten-tial applicants saying the rankings are flawed and urged them to rely on their own observations and indi-vidual investigation.”

That is good advice. Forty percent of a school’s ranking is based on the vague, subjective category of “reputation.” The bar passage rate accounts for only 2 percent. Why does the defining element of a law student’s ability to prac-tice law account for only 2 percent? This system of ranking hardly seems like a good resource for such a monumental decision.

Attending law school as an alternative to hunt for a job in a sluggish economy does not appear to be a safe bet. Graduates can expect more competition, fewer job prospects than before and a mountain of crush-ing debt. If law school has been a lifelong dream and you are committed to the considerable commitment it takes, then go for it. Oth-erwise, it’s best to avoid the fate of Michael Wallerstein and look for other avenues after graduation.

contact the Optimist atjmcnetwork@acu.edu

the issueJapanese inventors have developed a robotic seal to in-teract with patients at nursing homes in lieu of caregivers.

our takeDespite advances in technology, the comfort and care given by humans can be substituted but not replaced.

contact Self atrcs06g@acu.edu

Self

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Optimistthe

I liked candlelight devo because it was cool to see all of the lights and listen to the speaker.TYLER PINKERTFreshman business management major from Red Oak

I liked the service project. I got to know a lot of people and my group and I had a blast.

letter to the editor

While I agree that the govern-ment should pull its hand out of personal health care choices, I find the mandate of sonograms for women seeking an abor-tion to be in the best interest of the patient for many reasons. First, I don’t think a sonogram is primarily about health care, but instead about education. Education in the sense that she knows fully what will be going on within her body. Secondly, a little jelly on her belly and a few sound waves are in no way, even potentially, risky or harmful.

As a dietetic major, I know a lot about the entrance and exit counseling required for those having or dealing with major health problems or procedures. In the case of most any bariat-ric surgery, the general popula-

tion perceives little downsides to these procedures. Thankfully there are extensive screening, education and counseling re-quirements to ensure the pa-tient can handle the surgery and after effects both physically and psychologically. If these procedures were given to any-one who wanted them, without proper warnings or education, they would later find themselves feeling misled, betrayed and in a worse off situation than they were before. The same is often true for abortion. Women are, more often then not, misin-formed and not fully aware of the negative effects an abortion procedure can have, including: bleeding, infection, depression, infertility, nightmares, or in rare cases death. Pregnant women

often rush into an abortion be-cause they feel pressured, and are looking for a quick fix, which is rarely, if ever, the best option.

The sonogram is about giv-ing the patient a better, honest, unadulterated, view of what will be removed from her body in an abortion. Once she sees the head, feet, arms, eyes, ears and heartbeat (detectable at 4 weeks) of her growing baby I hope she will think twice about having a medically unnecessary procedure to remove it. Further-more, I find it ironic that in the “our take” of your editorial you wrote, “Health care decisions should not be mandated unless they protect the innocent … ” and to that I ask, what could possibly be more innocent then an unborn baby?

Rebekah Leitner senior nutrition major from Cincinnati

Sonograms educate potential abortionists

Page 7 March 2, 2011FROM SPORTS

Game: ACU tries to pull upsetwhile freshman Renata Marquez had 13.

The game stayed close until midway through the second half when the Mustangs went on an 11-1 run and opened up an 11-point lead. ACU would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as the Mustangs cruised to victory 90-78.

Saturday wrapped up regular season play and eight of the 16 teams in the LSC will make the drive to Bartlesville for the postseason tourna-ment. All four first-round games will take place Wednesday while the semifinals will be Friday and the championship will be played Saturday.

The Wildcats drew the fourth and final game on Wednesday. They will have to play the LSC North’s top seed North-eastern State University. The Riverhawks are 12-2 in conference play and have won 12 of their last 13. The teams have some

tape of each other from earlier in the year as the Riverhawks beat ACU badly back in December. The ’Hawks held the ’Cats to only 44 points, their lowest total this season. The Wildcats are confi-dent that at this point in the season, they can play with any team.

“We are all really ex-cited for the tournament,” Lankford said. “Although we are coming in as under-dogs, we are confident that we will do well. As long as we play like we know we can, we can beat anyone we come up against.”

That will have to be true for the Wildcats’ sea-son to continue past this week. The only way the Wildcats will be able to move into the NCAA tour-nament is by winning the LSC tournament. It will be a daunting task con-sidering the Wildcats are the only team in the tour-nament that doesn’t have 10 conference wins.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

contact Gwin atagg07a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

Speed: Gates’ draft stock rises

Gates solidified himself as one of the top deep threats coming into the draft and one of the better receivers overall. Some scouts have Gates going as high as the second round with his im-pressive showing at the NFL Combine.

Edmund will have an-other chance to prove to scouts he belongs in the NFL with his pro day work-

outs on March 31. Gates hopes to improve his broad jump time and would like to be able to complete the cone drills that he forwent in Indianapolis.

“The biggest thing to work on is getting healthy,” said Gates. “I want to get back to 100 percent for my pro-day.”

EX-FACTOR

contact Tripp atbjt07a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Sophomore guard Cecilee Perez drives to the basket against Midwestern State on Saturday night in a 90-78 loss.

Errors: Wildcats prove resilientto focus on staying down on the ball,” Head Coach Bobby Reeves said.

In game two, both of-fenses came out swinging. ACU would put one run on the scoreboard in the top of the first, but that lead would be short-lived as St. Edwards scored three in the bottom of the first.

But the ACU offense re-sponded and would tie the game in the second with back-to-back home runs by Brianna Fowlkes and Lyndi Smith to lead off the inning.

“Anytime someone hits a home run, it’s a huge boost for the team. You’re instantly put right in the game and it provides a spark on many levels,” said freshman Kara Stutesman.

Brittany Rexroat would then settle in on the mound as she allowed six hits over the span of the game, leading the Wildcats to a 6-3 win.

On Saturday, St. Mary’s got the best of the Wildcats in both contests.

In the opener, ACU led 4-3 before giving up four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. All-Ameri-can Rattler catcher Kelly Baker hit a three-run home run that tied the game in the sixth.

Relief pitcher Shelby Hall suffered the loss, giv-

ing up four runs in only two innings.

Sarah Martinez was 2-4 and had a two-run home run in the fourth, while Candice Miller was 2-4 as well and contributed to the score with a two-run triple in the fourth.

In Saturday’s nightcap, ACU was limited to a mere three hits. Freshman Pey-ton Mosley gave up five runs and nine hits in her three innings of work.

ACU (9-11) will return home for an afternoon doubleheader Thursday against Southeastern Okla-

homa State. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.

Last season, the Wild-cats played the Savage Storm twice and split the two games, losing the first 4-3 before beating South-eastern Oklahoma 4-2 in the second game.

SOFTBALL

contact Shake atbxs09a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

Coach: Spot to be filled quickly

ACU is in search for its fourth coach since 1999. The program has struggled the past 12 years, as they are 123-195 overall and a mere 32-114 in division play.

“We just have to look forward now and see where we can go from here,” Warton said.

As signing day is approach-ing for the Wildcats, ACU is looking to find a replacement for Copeland quickly.

“With signing day com-ing up in April we are looking to move as quick as possible, so that the re-placement coach can go out and get the players he needs for this program,” Mosley said. “We want to make a quick move, but also make sure that we bring the right person in here to build the program up, and for it to mirror the level of some of our other programs.”

MEN’SBASKETBALL

Continued from page 8

Anytime someone hits a home run, it’s a huge boost for the team.

KARA STUTESMAN // freshman softball player‘‘ ’’

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Edmund Gates in uniform for the Wildcats during his senior year.

contact Cantrell atjrc07f@acu.edu

SportsStandings

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

Tarleton St.WTAMUMSUENMUASUUIWTAMU-KACU

13-19-59-58-67-75-94-101-13

22-422-521-713-1311-1516-109-179-17

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

Tarleton St.ASU

ACUWTAMU

MSUUIW

8-6

10-413-1

10-4

6-85-9

11-15

17-923-3

17-10

10-169-17

Briefs

n The Lone Star Con-ference announced Wednesday a three-year agreement with the city of Allen allowing the city to host the LSC men’s and women’s basketball champion-ship tournaments for three consecutive years, beginning in 2012. Allen will relieve Barltesville, Okla. of its role as host since 1975.

n Senior outfielder Will Calhoun was hon-ored by the Lone Sar Conference recently and named LSC Hitter of the Week. He hit .438, had 5 RBI’s and two doubles last weekend. He had multi-hit games in each of the Wildcats’ final two games. Calhoun also picked up two wins on the mound.

March 2, 2011Page 8

ENMU 3-11 5-21TAMU-K 1-13 3-23

n The women’s bas-ketball team will travel to Bartlesville, Okla. to play in the LSC Confer-ence Tournament. The team will play Wednes-day at 8:30 p.m.

n The softball team will host Southeastern Okla-homa in a doubleheader Thursday starting at 3 p.m. The team will then travel to a tournament in Wichita Falls on Friday.

n The baseball team will host Texas A&M Inter-national Friday at 7:05 p.m. The team will then play them in a double-header Saturday with first pitch at 2:35 p.m.

n The men’s and wom-en’s tennis teams will host the ACU March Invite Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Upcoming

BASEBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

CameronWTAMUSE. O.K.Tarleton St.UIWSW OK St.ACUTAMU-K

8-15-15-17-27-28-45-44-5

9-113-27-510-28-410-46-46-6

SOFTBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

ASUWTAMU

TWUUIW

Tarleton St.TAMU-K

0-0

0-00-0

0-0

0-00-0

8-5

12-117-0

8-4

8-5-19-10

ACU 0-0 9-11ENMU 0-0 3-11

Copeland resignsACU director of athletics Jar-ed Mosley announced Mon-day that Jason Copeland has resigned as the men’s head basketball coach.

ACU ended its season Saturday with an 82-73 loss to Midwestern State. The loss dropped the Wildcats to 9-18 overall and 1-13 in the LSC South. Copeland was hired on May 4, 2005 and coached six seasons for the Wildcats.

“Jason came in and put a lot of time into the lives of our student athletes,” Mosley said. “He was able to instill a lot of attributes into our athlete’s lives that will serve our students well down the road.”

In Copeland’s first three seasons ACU steadily im-proved as ACU went from eight wins in 2005-2006 to 10 wins in 2006-2007 to 20 wins in 2007-2008. ACU also made the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament in 2007-2008.

The last three seasons for the Wildcats have gone the wrong way though. ACU has gone from 10 wins

in 2008-2009 to eight wins in 2009-2010 to nine wins this season.

“It will be tough to see him go. He has been here my entire career here, all four years,” junior forward Ben Warton said. “When it comes down to it though its about winning and losing, but it is still tough to see him go.”

The biggest struggle for the program was winning games in the LSC South. ACU is 16-56 over the last six seasons under Cope-land in division play. The last two seasons ACU has struggled in the division going 2-24.

ACU has finished last in LSC South Division five of the last six years. The 2007-2008 season was the only exception as ACU posted 20 wins that season. That was the Wildcats first time to win 20 games in a season since the 1998-1999 season.

“I think he did a good job coaching, and he is a great man,” junior guard Zach Wil-liams said. “We just had some key injuries at the wrong time this season.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Jason Copeland, former ACU men’s basketball head coach, resigned Monday after six seasons at the helm. In his last two seasons, Copeland has gone 2-24 in LSC division games.

Ryan Cantrell Sports Multimedia Editor

’Cats draw Riverhawks

The women’s basketball team is going to the Lone Star Conference post-sea-son tournament in Bar-tlesville, Okla. on a sour note thanks to consecutive losses last week.

On Wednesday the Wild-cats lost to division-lead-ing Tarleton State Univer-sity in Stephenville by 17 points, but the tough loss came on Saturday against Midwestern State Univer-sity. In what was senior Autumn Whitaker’s final

home game, the Wildcats had an off night against an average Mustang squad.

“I was a little concerned about going into the tour-nament because of the losses,” Head Coach Shaw-na Lavender said. “But af-ter Wednesday’s practice, we are upbeat and posi-tive. The girls aren’t just happy to be here. They

want to come out and make a statement.”

Only freshman point guard Mackenzie Lankford seemed to be on track with 25 points, but even she had her struggles going 5 of 11 from the free-throw line. Sophomore post Kelsey Smith added 16 points

Austin Gwin Sports Editor

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

see COACH page 7

Errors continue to hinder Wildcats

The cities of San Anto-nio and Austin proved to be unwelcoming hosts to the ACU softball team last weekend, as the team went 1-3 during their time at each.

The Wildcats played a doubleheader against St. Edwards on Sunday, and split the games, losing one and winning one.

In game one, St. Edwards cashed in on four ACU er-rors and had 10 hits as they handily beat the Wildcats 7-1. The ACU bats stalled once again, only managing one run and three hits in the contest.

A Megan Brigance double in the fifth inning that scored Ashley Calles proved to be the only run St. Edwards would allow. Calles reached base fol-lowing a bunt single.

St. Edwards began its scoring early, putting up three runs in the third in-ning and then broke the game open, scoring four in the fourth.

Pitcher Shelby Hall took the loss for the ’Cats, drop-

ping her record to 2-7. She was responsible for all sev-en Hilltopper runs, only three of which were earned though.

Errors continue to be a recurring theme for the team, as two costly errors

last weekend against No. 12 Midwestern State put a damper on a five-run ACU comeback and potential upset for the Wildcats causing them to fall to the highly ranked Mustangs.

“We have to improve defensively and limit our errors. Timely errors have now played significant roles in two games, and that’s hard to swallow. We’ve got

Bryson Shake Assitant Sports Editor

SOFTBALL

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Freshman point guard Mackenzie Lankford fights for a ball against Midwestern State on Saturday.

Gates shines at NFL Combine

Despite re-aggravating a groin injury suffered in the final game of the season for the Wildcats, former ACU Wildcat Ed-mund Gates still man-aged to impress scouts and other players at the 2011 NFL Combine over the weekend.

Gates’ participation in the Combine marked the third straight year that a former ACU player was invited to the premiere scouting event for the NFL draft and the fourth time in the last six years.

“It was great for him to get that honor, he defini-tally deserved it,” said former teammate Chris Fowler.

Edmund “Clyde” Gates topped all receivers in the 40-yard dash with a sub-4.4 time of 4.37, good for second fastest at the Combine with just the de-fensive backs left to run. He also preformed well in the broad jump and verti-cal jump, posting top-10 numbers in both drills.

“I feel I did good with my workouts,” said

Gates. “I know I could have done better with some of the drills.”

As fast as Gates was his time was merely second best among ACU players who have participated in the Combine. Gates outperformed his cousin Bernard Scott by five-hundredths of a second, but was not fast enough to overcome the 4.34 mark set by current Chi-cago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox, set just two years ago.

Gates was forced to pull out of the final three workout drills due to a lingering groin injury. The injury was sustained against Central Missouri, his last game in an ACU uniform. The injury is not the one that kept him from the Senior Bowl.

“That little groin injury kept me from opening up and running like I wanted to,” said Gates.

With the blistering 40-yard dash time, and great drill workouts combined with a good showing in position drills, including the famed gauntlet drill,

Brandon TrippSports Director

EX-FACTOR

see GAME page 7

see ERRORS page 7

see SPEED page 7

We have to improve our play defensively and limit our errors.

BOBBY REEVES // head coach of ACU softball‘‘ ’’

The girls aren’t just happy to be here. They want to come out and make a statement.

SHAWNA LAVENDER // head coach of ACU women’s basketball‘‘ ’’