UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FESTIVAL

Pledging will look a little dif-ferent next fall. Administrators eliminated the use of calisthen-ics as an approved pledging ac-tivity and shortened pledging to five weeks from six weeks.

Calisthenics is defined as sys-tematic rhythmic bodily exercises performed, usually without appa-ratus, according to Webster’s Dic-tionary and the ACU Anti-Hazing Policy and Philosophy.

“The changes that they have come up with will give us a sys-tem that focuses more and more

on building people up to de-velop bonds of brotherhood as opposed to any other direction or method to achieve the same goal,” said Tom Craig, director of student productions.

The changes were a result of several months of evaluations and discussions between the Board of

Trustees, the legal office and the President’s Cabinet, Craig said.

“The pledging process at ACU is actually a constantly chang-ing process in the sense that it’s constantly reviewed; it’s con-stantly evaluated; it’s constant-ly looked at to be improved,” Craig said. “With that, several

entities have looked at our exist-ing pledging process and made some improvements on it to bring it more in line with what is consistent with anti-hazing laws and what is normal and accept-able in other universities.”

Economist Russ Roberts urged the more than 80 students who participat-ed in the ACU Undergrad-uate Research Festival to strive for excellence in their academic pursuits.

Roberts, professor of economics at George Ma-

son University and author of the book The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity, discussed economist Adam Smith’s idea that people de-sire to be loved and be love-ly. He urged participants to evaluate themselves to en-sure they see themselves as others see them.

“We need to pull away

the veil of self-dilution and see ourselves as oth-ers see us,” Roberts said. “We have flaws we don’t want others to notice.”

Roberts said the field of academic research lends itself to the veiling of weak-nesses. He urged students to recognize and consider their own biases when con-ducting research.

“We lie to ourselves about our strengths and weaknesses,” Roberts said. “In research and academic life we have the same prob-lem. That is the nature of the kitchen that is academic research. Some of it is great and changes the world. Other is not so great.”

Optimistthe

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

acuoptimist.com

1 section, 8 pages

weatherinside

page 4

websitenewsDr. Liz Rosenberg, novelist, poet and children’s book author, will speak on campus courtesy of the Shinnery Review.

page 8

sportsThe Wildcat baseball team keeps its post season alive with a sweep of Northeastern State this weekend. 61° 42°

Wed. Fri.Thurs.

80° 51° 80° 55°

Clean Sweep, page 8

Jeff CraigManaging Editor

Economist addresses researchers

Vol. 99, No. 46

Abilene Christian University

see PLEDGES page 4

After a lengthy investiga-tion and a surveillance stake-out, the ACU Po-lice Department identi-fied and arrested a man prowling vehicles in the parking lot of the Wil-liams Performing Arts Center at 10:10 p.m. on March 15.

After observing a pat-tern of similar vehicle burglaries on March 13 and March 14, the ACU Police Department and Chief of Police Jimmy El-lison set up a subsequent investigation.

“Based on that pat-tern, we reviewed hours and hours of digital sur-veillance media and were able to identify a possible suspect vehicle from the video,” Ellison said.

The next night, eight offi-cers positioned themselves on various parking lots around campus.

As an investigative tool, surveillance consists of of-ficers observing the suspect nearby without interfer-ence until the suspect gives officers proof or reason to act on their suspicions.

“We decided to roll the dice and see if he would come back a third night,” Ellison said. “So we set up a surveil-lance and actually observed

ACUPD arrests campus prowler

see THEFT page 4

Movie lovers, enthusiasts and participants filled the seats of Abilene’s historical Paramount Theatre for ACU’s FilmFest Awards Show Friday.

The annual night of film celebrated the inde-pendent cinematic efforts of ACU students. This year’s competition, entitled “Identity,” was com-prised of 10 film submissions in areas such as dra-ma, documentary and even animation.

The big winner of the night was Hazel and Jack, a film that won 10 awards: Best Picture, Best Dra-ma, Best Writer, Best Director, Best Producer, Best Technical Director, Best Art Design, Best Sound Design, Best Actor and Best Actress.

Director and editor of Hazel and Jack, Lawson Soward, senior electronic media major from Col-leyville, said the film took more than a month to complete, and that he was happy to have the en-tire crew honored.

“It was crazy,” Soward said. “We thought the film might win a couple of awards but not that many. It’s something we’re really proud of.”

FilmFest also featured live musical perfor-mances from students who wrote or performed in the submitted films.

The evening was hosted by Ben Miller, junior art major from The Woodlands, and Carrie Tansey, senior special education major from North Rich-land Hills. The pair kicked-off the night with a co-medic video that had the audience roaring.

For many students, participating in FilmFest is nothing new. Soward said his film would not have been as successful as it was if he had not entered the contest last year.

“Industry experts critique your work and give you advice,” Soward said. “And just the caliber of the judges and their feedback makes the admis-

sion fee totally worth it.”He said he believes the school has many stu-

dents talented in film, and encourages any inter-ested students to partake in next year’s FilmFest.

“Just enter, work on a film and do all you can to make it your best,” Soward said. “Or at least go be-cause it’s great to watch people’s movies who are in the process of learning and others who are already great at it.”

Other winners of the night included The Re-union for Best Independent Film, James Leddy Boots for Best Documentary and Smile for People’s Choice Award.

Trevor Cochlin, senior biblical text major from Belton, helped create the zombie film The Reunion.

“Everyone likes movies, and to watch movies that your friends have made makes it an even bet-ter experience,” Cochlin said.

Christina BurchPage 2 Editor

see EVENT page 4

Hazel & Jack take FilmFest

Linda BaileyEditor in Chief

TANNER FREEMAN // Staff PhotographerLawson Soward, Caitlin Bradford and Lucas Wright of Hazel & Jack accept their award for best picture during ACU’s FilmFest Awards Show Friday.

Clubs to eliminate physical activities in pledgingSTUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

CRIME

JOZIE SANDS // Online Editor

Economist Russ Roberts encourages participants of ACU’s Undergraduate Research Festival on Monday to strive for excellence in academic pursuits.

Silent drama takes home host of awards and $1,000 prize

QR codeThe ACU Locavore Club will conduct an event featuring Joel Salatin. The event’s purpose is to show students and ACU the benefits of locally-grown food systems.

acuoptimist.com

Watch each video entered in this year’s FilmFest competition

and an Optimist video of the event on our website:

Christina Burch, Page 2 Editor

contact Burch atclb10b@acu.edu

Online Summer Courses Registration for online sum-mer courses now is 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.

Relay for Life The Ameri-can Cancer Society is organizing Relay for Life to raise funds for cancer research and to honor and celebrate the lives of cancer survivors and fighters. The event is from 7 p.m.-7 a.m.

on April 29-30 at Elmer Gray Stadium. To sign up with an Abilene team, click on the Relay for Life my-ACU log-in ad or visit www.relayforlife.com.

FCA The ACU chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets at 9 p.m. every Thursday in the Campus Center Living Room. Upward Bound Sum-mer Advisers Students interested in helping disadvantaged high school students can apply now to become an Upward Bound sum-mer adviser from May 29-July 8. Advisers will receive free room and board plus $925. For more information, call 674-2529 or 674-2713.

announcements

01Friday

Just People, Inc. needs vol-unteers from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. for the Abilene Kite Festival on April 16 at Red Bud Park. Volunteers can help facili-tate safety measures and as-sist festival participants. For more information, contact Justina Thompson at 672-2118 or email jthompson@justpeopleinc.org.

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.

Abilene Youth Sports Au-thority needs volunteers April 16 and April 17 for a basketball tournament they will host at Abilene High School and Cooper High School. Students can help sell tickets and assist in the conces-sion stand 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. Contact Katie Miller at 692-2972 or email khow-erton@abileneysa.org.

The Ben Richey Boys Ranch is seeking volun-teers for its upcoming Annual Clay Shoot on April 30th. Volunteers will be pullers at stations, help with registration or coor-dinate raffle ticket sales. Training will be given for both shifts at 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. or 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. T-shirts and free dinner are included for volunteers. Contact Patty Dunn at 665-4058 for more information.

Meals on Wheels Vol-unteers are needed to deliver meals to seniors and adults with disabili-ties. Routes are available 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Monday-Friday. Volun-teers must be at least 18, with a valid driver’s license, auto insurance and a desire to serve. Training is provided. Students may be ex-empted from one Chapel per week if delivery time conf licts with Chapel. Contact Samantha Barker at 672-5050.

Windcrest Alzheimer’s Care Center needs vol-unteers to clean out and organize closets any day Sunday-Friday at any time during the day. Con-tact Chris Stephenson to arrange a time at 692-1533 or clstephenson@sears-methodist.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 f lexible. 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.

The Dyess Youth Center needs help with a Ping Pong Exhibition from 4-6 p.m. every Friday. Volunteers will preside over tournaments and help with an exhibition for the students. Transporta-tion will not be provided, and volunteers cannot have any sexual assault charges or charges pending. For more information, contact Sheri Frisby at 696-4797, or email sheri.frisby@dyess.af.mil.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

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volunteer opportunities

2Campus Day

Justice Week continues

11 a.m. Chapel in Moody Coliseum with alumnus Brantley Starr, former volunteer with International Justice Mission

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Justice Fair in the Campus Center

6-8 p.m. Chick-fil-A fundraiser for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the Make-a-Wish Foundation

11 a.m. Small Group Chapels in various locations around campus

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Justice Fair in the Campus Center

4:30 p.m. “Just Food” Fair featuring Joel Salatin in Moody Coliseum

5 p.m. Chapel Forum in Moody Coliseum with Joel Salatin from Food, Inc.

8 p.m. Poetry reading and book signing with Dr. Liz Rosenberg, poet, novelist and children’s book author

11 a.m. Chapel in Moody Coliseum with Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva

2 p.m.Workshop with Dr. Liz Rosenberg in the Campus Center Living Room

6:30 p.m. “Cancelled” senior arts show at the Shore Art Gallery

7:30 p.m. Wishing Well concert and free potluck sponsored by the Locavore Club in the Campus Center

7:30 p.m. Charis Omega Dance Show in Cullen Auditorium

9 a.m. Celebration of Service at various service locations

9 a.m. Student Dietetic Association 5k at Red Bud Park

7:30 p.m. Charis Omega Dance Show in Cullen Auditorium

7 p.m. Putting on the Ritz Freshman Formal at the Windsor Hotel

47

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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.

Wednesday

March 30, 2011 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

House bill could affect campus radio station

A new House bill aiming to cut federal funding for public radio stations may have devastating effects for ACU-owned public radio station, KACU.

The new bill would seek control over how money given to public radio stations across the nation by the Cor-poration for Public Broad-casting is spent.

It also prohibits public radio stations from buying any programming from a national source, like Na-tional Public Radio, with the funding they do re-ceive from the CPB.

It would create an esti-mated job loss of roughly 9,000 people, John Best, di-rector of broadcast opera-tions at KACU, said.

“If it were to pass like it is right now, it would be a dev-astating blow to public radio and public television all over

the United States,” Best said.KACU runs on an average

of $450,000 a year. It spends about $100,000 per year of that cost on programming alone, Best said.

ACU provides a quarter of KACU’s funding, Best said. The Abilene community pro-vides half through under-writing and memberships and CPB is responsible for the remaining quarter.

Best said that losing so much of its funding would definitely cause KACU to have to cut its programming.

Dr. Cheryl Bacon, JMC department chair and pro-fessor, said that the current debate is not just about money. Republicans in the House argue that NPR pro-gramming is more liberal than conservative.

NPR currently receives only 2 percent of its fund-ing from the federal gov-ernment. Out of the en-tire federal budget, only a small fraction of a percent

funds public broadcasting, Bacon said.

“The thing that’s very frightening,” Bacon said, “is any time either party, or peo-ple who subscribe to any po-litical viewpoint, choose to use political power to squelch the voices that are different than their own; I think that is a negative thing.”

Bacon said the Repub-licans in the House may not understand that a vast majority of the stories covered by CPB are not political stories. It covers the arts and all kinds of events around the world that are not necessarily liberal or conservative.

“KACU is a really im-portant part of this com-munity,” Bacon said, “It would be very unfortunate if an ideological debate in Washington shut that down.”

KACU

contact Sutherland atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

Samantha SutherlandContributing Reporter

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

John Best, director of broadcast operations, sits in the studio at KACU.

Dr. Liz Rosenberg, novelist, poet and children’s book au-thor, will visit ACU on Thurs-day and Friday for a poetry reading and a workshop.

The Shinnery Review, ACU’s student-run arts and literary magazine, is host-ing the events which will be free and open the public. The reading will be at Chapel on the Hill on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Some of Rosenberg’s most noted works include Monster Mama, a children’s novel; Seventeen, a young adult prose poetry novel; and Home Repair, an adult fiction novel.

Bethany Bradshaw, se-nior English major from Henderson and Shinnery Review coeditor, said she found Rosenberg’s work in her poetry anthology.

“I recognized her name and was like, ‘Let’s bring her in,’” Bradshaw said. “She’s so versatile. We thought that would appeal to a broad range of students.”

Because of time con-straints, Bradshaw said they asked Rosenberg to read mostly poetry and a few se-lections of prose.

“Everyone should come,” Bradshaw said. “It would be awesome if we packed out Chapel on the Hill. It’ll defi-nitely be worth it.”

Friday’s workshop be-gins at 2 p.m. in the Campus Center Living Room.

“It’s going to be pretty casual so people can come and ask her questions,” Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw said Rosen-berg will talk about her abil-ity to write in a multitude of literary styles. The audience then will be free to ask ques-tions on any other topics they may be interested in.

Tanner Hadfield, senior English major from Abilene, said he would like to see not only the ACU commu-nity, but the surrounding Abilene community, take advantage of the event. Hadfield said there hasn’t been an event like this dur-ing his time at ACU.

“I hope people just find some inspiration for creative work or find help for creative things that they’re already working on,” Hadfield said.

Both Hadfield and Brad-shaw were especially appre-ciative of Rosenberg’s chil-dren’s books.

“There are just these gor-geous illustrations,” Brad-shaw said. “They’re really fun and whimsical.”

Hadfield said he hopes the reading and the work-shop will spark discussion among the community about literature and art and why they enjoy those specific things.

Rosenberg is coming from New York to visit Abilene for the event. She earned her doctorate in comparative literature at the State University of New York at Binghamton where she now serves as a professor of English and creative writing.

Page 4 March 30, 2011FROM THE FRONT

Event to feature poetry reading

Bailey GriffithCopy Editor

CAMPUS

him leaving home and coming to campus in the same vehicle.”

Ellison said the suspect remained on campus and wandered multiple resi-dence hall parking lots for over an hour. Officers de-cided to step in when they believed he was attempt-ing to break into a vehicle, Ellison said. The man was in possession of a glove and wide nylon strap with

a heavy ratchet buckle, possibly used to break ve-hicle windows.

“He was acting so sus-piciously and so nervously, and no one reported him,” Ellison. “There were a lot of people out that night especially on the Lunsford Trail, and I was a little dis-appointed that we didn’t receive any calls on him.”

After fleeing on foot, the man was apprehended for evading detention, and was booked in the Taylor

County Jail. The punish-ment for a Class A Misde-meanor is up to one year in county jail and charges possibly reaching $2,000. The man was also issued a criminal trespass warning, which bans him from ever coming back to campus in the future.

Two officers from the Abilene Police Depart-ment also assisted the ACU Police Department in detaining the individual.

“The Abilene Police De-partment was in pursuit of the suspect for other offenses, so the informa-tion exchange is a positive thing about our partner-ship,” Ellison said.

Ellison said he contin-ues to urge students and faculty to report all suspi-cious activity.

“Every incident that we can log and track helps build our database of trends and patterns,” Ellison said.

As a result of the sus-pect’s arrest, officers were able to recover property from several previous ve-hicle thefts.

Ellison said that he was proud of his surveillance officers for their work re-viewing the video and ex-ecuting a successful sur-veillance of the suspect.

“Students should be aware that their ACU Po-lice Department is work-ing 24/7 and behind the scenes,” Ellison said. “We’re not just taking reports. We are actually investigating and work-ing with those reports through completion.”

Roberts implored young researchers to prove bi-ases false, seek council and look in the mirror. He told students to avoid situations that would ul-timately encourage them to be dishonest.

“See yourself as a work in progress. Try to be a better person, thinker and scholar,” Roberts said.

Robert’s remarks were followed by a ceremony to recognize 14 award-winning presentations. Students worked with mentors to submit a pa-

per or poster presenta-tion. Many also gave oral presentations.

Dr. Lauren Lemley, as-sistant professor of com-munication and member of the steering commit-tee for judging and con-test at the Festival, said the event gave students an opportunity to dis-play talents they have learned in their classes.

“It gives them op-portunities to take what they learn in the class-room and extend it,” Lemley said.

Dr. Autumn Sutherlin, associate professor of chemistry and biochem-

istry and member of the steering committee for judging and contest, said this year’s contest fea-tured extensive variety and was well attended by faculty and staff. She said many faculty mem-bers judged the contest, including Dr. Phil Schu-bert, president, and Dr. Jeanine Varner, provost.

“There was a lot of variety and better atten-dance, so the rooms were often standing room only,” Sutherlin said. “We also had better par-ticipation from faculty mentors from a wide va-riety of departments.”

David Kempe, junior chemistry major from Tulsa, Okla., was among the students participat-ing in the Festival. His team worked with heavy metal compounds, prov-en to kill cancer cells in cultures. His team used microwaves to synthe-size the compounds.

Theft: Students encouraged to report suspicious activity

CRIME

contact Burch atclb10b@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

contact Griffith atbng10a@acu.edu

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Event: Economist speaks to studentsSTUDENTS

Craig said he gave an over-view of the changes to each acting club president and future fall president and will meet with each club in-dividually to evaluate every pledging activity to see if it falls in line with the new guidelines.

“For some of our groups, it’s just a few modifications. For other groups it’s large-scale transformation,” Craig said. “The good thing is, we will brainstorm with each of our groups to help them come up with something that falls within the guidelines and really create something that works for them.”

Alpha Kai Omega President Kelsi Wicks, junior animal science

major from Tyler, said quite a few of the Alpha Kai pledging activities involved physical activ-ity and one in particular would need to change completely, but club of-ficers have already start-ed brainstorming.

“The hardest part will be coming up with something that is just as unifying,” Wicks said. “I know from my pledg-ing experience, that the activities that included physical activity were

where our pledge class bonded the most.”

Gamma Sigma Phi also uses physical activ-ity as part of their pledg-ing, but upcoming GSP President-elect Houston Beasley, junior account-ing major from McKin-ney, said GSP will do their best to maintain traditions while falling in line with new rules.

“It’s no sense in sitting and thinking about what could have been,” Beasley said. “It is what it is. You

have to run with it and that’s what we’re doing.”

Although pledging activities may take some restructuring, Wicks said she thinks often the meaning of physical ac-tivity gets lost through the years, and the chang-es will allow clubs to re-evaluate meaning be-hind pledging activities.

“I think that it will be a good thing because I think we’ll be more re-spected on campus and it will give every officer team an opportunity to reformat their pledg-ing and come up with activities that represent values of their club as a whole,” Wicks said.

Continued from page 1

SOCIAL CLUBS

Pledges: Clubs react to changesContinued from page 1

For some of our groups, it’s just a few modifications. For other groups it’s large-scale transformation.

TOM CRAIG // director of student productions.‘‘ ’’

contact Bailey atljb07a@acu.edu

Scan this QR code to find a list of all award winners

COLUMN

COLUMN

GOP campaigns need resolution

BarbarossaBy Matthew Woodrow

In the past two weeks I have had photographers come to three of my class-es to take pictures of me.

OK, may-be not me specifically, but they were there and they were taking pictures for m a rk e t i n g purposes and the univer-sity’s website.

I found that many peo-ple have an adverse reac-tion to the thought of their picture being taken, while others sit up straighter and look more studious in the hopes that they would be found worthy of getting a snap shot chosen for the final product.

I’m one of the latter, but this time I wouldn’t mind not making the cut. In one of my classes I had

on a massive fanny-pack filled with sound equip-ment and holding a boom mike over my unshav-en head, the picture of nerdy-ness.

In another class, ev-eryone at the table I was at happened to be ab-sent, making me look like a complete loser sitting by myself. I can just see 15 years down the road pointing out those pic-tures to my children say-ing, “Look at how awe-some your dad was in college.” This then will be followed by said children asking their mother what she was thinking.

There is a saying – “Photos never lie.” (This theory was later dis-proved with the inven-tion of Photoshop.) Re-gardless of whether I like the image of me in those pictures, that is who I am and what I was doing.

Having spent some time with both cameras

and video cameras, I know the importance of setting up a shot, looking for angles and sometimes even staging a little. But that is completely dif-ferent than some of the things I saw those pho-tographers doing on campus last week.

In one class the pho-tographer gave an iPad to a student to mess around with so they could get pictures of him using it. One of my friends had her BlackBerry taken away and given an iPhone to “text” on. Those photos are a misrepresentation of those students and I believe purposefully shot to make ACU seem more technologically integrat-ed than we really are.

There are plenty of people on campus with iPhones and quite a few with iPads. Why couldn’t those photographers go and find one of them to take a picture of?

If ACU wants to hire photographers to show the world how integrated we are then get them to take accurate pictures. I can see prospective fresh-men looking at those pho-tos and wanting to come here and being faced with the reality that most stu-dents aren’t like those in the pictures.

ACU might not use those specific shots, and hopefully they won’t, but if I know of two specific examples there are prob-ably more and I’m bet-ting at least a couple will be used.

It would be different if those students got to keep the iPad and iPhone after the shot was taken, but giving students equip-ment that they don’t use on a normal basis for use on the website is tanta-mount to a lie.

Laura AcuffCopy Editor

Bailey GriffithCopy Editor

Morgan DavisCartoonist

ACU’s Undergraduate Re-search Festival marks a vital move toward pre-paring upperclassmen for possible graduate school endeavors in Abilene and beyond. But with little of ACU student research making a splash on the national academic scene, this step marks merely the first step in a long trek toward distinction.

Some applications for graduate programs request notations of research only if presented at national con-ventions or if published in journals. And certain fields recommend professional experience before applying to graduate school.

Regardless of the field or program, simply sub-mitting an application rarely is enough.

Students interested in graduate school should be prepping their resumes from their freshman year. Although ACU represents an outstanding teaching institution, finding re-search in which to partici-pate that actually registers on the national scale can be a challenge.

Additionally, those in-terested in graduate school should remember the value of networking: An applica-tion follow-up email ex-pressing shared interest in a professor’s past and ongo-

ing research projects can go a long way toward setting aside one applicant from 200 others at larger schools.

And all of this infor-mation represents the tip of the academic iceberg of what should be readily available and communi-cated to ACU students.

Whether the Career Center already offers such informative resources, students largely seem unaware, and ignorance leads to haphazard appli-cations that may or may not be noticed, much less marked for the scholar-ship, fellowship or assis-tantship required by many students for attendance.

Just as resources like the Mobile Learning Ini-tiative, the AT&T Learn-ing Studio and the Royce and Pam Money Recre-ation and Wellness Cen-ter all contribute to the quality of the ACU ex-perience and, therefore, add to the integrity of ACU graduates’ degrees, increased enrollment in graduate school by ACU grads also indirectly would benefit the uni-versity and its attendees.

Students meet with advisers, take internship classes and, largely, are shepherded through their undergraduate experi-ence. But when it comes

to graduate school appli-cations, a lack of informa-tion and advising throws students to the wolves.

An increase in stu-dents continuing to grad-uate programs would re-f lect well on ACU and its graduates, so the univer-sity would only be help-ing itself by helping its students on this front.

Whether through more deliberate advising, classes focused as much

on continuing education as internships or forums and informational ses-sions, departments and administration should take cues from the step taken by the ACU Under-graduate Research Festi-val and begin more point-edly preparing students for the graduate school application process.

OpinionMarch 30, 2011 Page 7

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

ACU should stress graduate preparationsEDITORIAL

HomeskoolValidictorianBy Jeff Craig

For the Republican Par-ty, an ominous case of déjà vu could be a threat to the party’s White House as-p i r a t i o n s in 2012.

A Gal-lup poll r e l e a s e d F r i d a y shows for-mer can-didate and current talk show host Mike Hucka-bee is the top presi-dential choice among potential GOP voters for 2012. However, the Gallup poll, along with a poll from Po-litico, reveals a virtual tie among the GOP’s top contenders.

The polls place Hucka-bee, Mitt Romney, Sar-ah Palin and Newt Ging-rich all with-in percent-age points of each other in the race. The result is likely to be a primary election that pits Republican leaders against each other.

Fighting among the candidates in the 2008 election may have played a role in dividing the Republicans and their voters, and if the party is smart, they will make sure the same thing does not happen again.

The GOP has a com-mon rallying cry for the first time in years – small-er government. With a unified stance they have the ingredients necessary to make a run at Presi-dent Obama in 2012. But to do so, the GOP needs a unified leader.

Without a solid front-runner, the Republican primary may turn into a political bloodbath, as former allies transform into bitter rivals. For Republican voters, a va-riety of candidates may seem like a good thing.

However, as GOP vot-ers consider multiple can-didates, the Democratic Party can pounce on a prime opportunity. They can paint themselves as a party of stability, united on its platform.

The Republican Na-tional Convention must ensure a long, drawn-out campaign does not derail their attempt to retake the presidency in the next election.

Of course, the Repub-licans need a primary, but they must ensure the candidates do not un-dermine the message of the party in an attempt at personal gain.

The Republican Party seems to have the mo-mentum after the 2010 midterm election, but they must be wary of this potential primary danger.

In 2012, President Obama will be the GOP’s chief nemesis, but in 2011, its main threat is internal. So when the primary be-gins, voters and the party would be wise to make a decision – quickly.

contact the Optimist atjmcnetwork@acu.edu

the issueAcross the nation it is getting harder for students to get accepted into graduate programs.

our takeACU needs to offer more research opportunities for students and emphasize furthering education beyond a bachelors.

contact Woodrow atmrw08a@acu.edu

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Woodrow

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The Republican National Convention must ensure a long, drawn-out campaign does not derail their attempt to retake the presidency in the next election.

Craig

Photos display dishonest picture

March 30, 2011

FocusPage 8

GOES GREENStudents take steps toward living a environmentally friendly lifestyle.

by Laura Acuff

1 2 3Consume compassionately. Buy fair trade instead of capitalizing on lower prices from sweatshops in India. Labels indicating “fair trade” mean the artisans who created the product will receive fair compensation for your purchase.

Do your homework. Research what you buy. Re-member, a “non-choice” still carries consequenc-es, so don’t let apathy determine your environ-mental impact.

Buy in bulk. Save on price per unit by buying products like paper towels, feminine products and some food in bulk. Microwaveable noodles, canned foods and frozen dinners, for instance, all may be purchased in quantity to save money.

ACU

Chapel swiping, class syllabi, curfew. Every year, freshmen at ACU embark on the chal-lenging journey of navigating a college cam-pus for the first time. Beyond making new friends — and just making it to class — college means determining identity, who we are and how students can make a difference in issues that matter.

For many students, life in a residence hall represents the first steps of indepen-dence out from under the familiar awnings of home. And whether by apathy or delib-

eration, students choose how their lifestyles will affect the environment.

Environmental issues are slowly pervad-ing campus scenes across America. Accord-ing to a 2008 article by U.S. News & World Re-port, “Fresh Greens: How Colleges Are Going Green,” colleges are making the effort to be more environmentally friendly.

Several universities, including New York University and St. Mary’s, have participated in contests with other universities to see which can purchase the greenest energy.

Others, like Yale and Brown, are including organic options in on-campus dining. Smith College even has conducted pre-orientation programs about how to minimize impact on the environment both on and off campus.

In an age concerned with melting glaciers and homeless polar bears, as newly indepen-dent citizens, students have the opportunity to build habits and practices that either hurt or help the “go green” movement. That op-portunity comes in the form of both insignifi-cant and distinct changes.

When moving into a residence hall, green living probably is not the first thing on a student’s mind, said Lindsey Flemming, senior interdisciplinary major from Beamsville, Ontario, and Sikes Hall as-sistant director. But that doesn’t mean green living isn’t important.

“It’s one less thing to worry about,”

Flemming said. “Also having cable and ev-erything included, they may think, ‘I really don’t have to be careful how much I use.’”

Flemming said although motivation to go green can be scarce in the residence hall environment, it’s worth the effort among the few to potentially inspire the hall as a whole.

Residence hall life, with its commu-nal-style living and lack of utility bills for students, changes the appearance of a go-green effort, she said. Rather than cost efficiency, the focus shifts to a gen-eral sense of responsibility.

“It takes care of where we live. The less we waste, the less things are going to

rise in price, if you want to think about it that way. Also, a lot of our resources will be cleaner and better taken care of.”

Although dorm life raises unique chal-lenges to green living, some of the same techniques our elementary school teachers taught us for greener living still apply, and most are as simple as flipping a switch.

Colleen Ashley, 2010 ACU graduate, founded the ACU Environmental Soci-ety and served as its vice president in the spring of 2010.

“I think this is an initiative that’s go-ing to have to come from the students,”

she said, citing student groups and SA resources as possible springboards for additional environmental efforts. If ad-ministration made living green easier — possibly by supplying more recycling bins around campus — or even offering

rewards for doing so, more students like-ly would join the effort, she speculated.

“I think students are more concerned about environmental issues than past generations. I also think we’re a lot la-zier, so you know, I think the problem

is motivation,” she said. “At this point, there’s not enough motivation to out-weigh the laziness.”

For those wanting to take green living a step further, options abound.

As attendees of a Christian university, Dr. Jim Cooke said he would expect the general ACU population to show above average interest in the green movement. For Cooke, professor of agriculture and environmental science, the issue comes down to Christian duty.

“We believe in a creator god, the god

of the Bible, and the Bible is replete with admonitions and theology that the cre-ation is good, the creation is valuable, that God cares for the creation and that we as human beings have a responsibil-ity to be stewards and caretakers of that which God has created,” he said.

In fulfilling this Christian duty, the ACU

campus may need to adopt some of the same practices as secular or state universi-ties, Cooke said, like utilizing cleaner energy sources or installing more energy efficient technology. Although the end results may look the same, the inspiration to go green at ACU should come from a spiritual level as well as a political or humanitarian level.

“It may not look a lot different, but there certainly is a difference in the mo-tivation behind it, so I think it is very much a part of our faith and our working out that faith, our journey, if you will, to bring glory and honor and praise to the Father, to the creator, through the way that we live.”

Going green can be as simple as taking advan-tage of natural light or turning off an appliance or as involved as sewing your own handbag. But the impact reaches everyone from neighbors to polar bears in the Arctic Circle. And as Ashley believes, it’s an impact that should reverberate out from Christian campuses like ACU’s.

“We, as Christians, are supposed to be stew-ards of the earth. So it makes sense that a Chris-tian campus should be at least as environmen-tally conscious as others, because we should be taking care of God’s creation and looking after this world that He’s given us,” Ashley said. “I think it also can inspire some social conscious-

ness and active involvement that is good for any university and any student body.”

With a little extra awareness and a little extra effort, Ashley hopes the green movement will in-spire more social consciousness and involvement on ACU’s campus, which as she said, would be good for any university and any student body.”

The Obvious

True Stewardship

1 2 3Turn it off. From lights, to running water, to appli-ances, turning off what you are not using is com-mon sense. Televisions, stereos and computers all can use electricity. Use power strips to turn off electronics, some of which drain energy even when turned off, according to an article on www.onlinedegreeprograms.com entitled “101 Ways to Go Green In Your Dorm Room.”

Recycle. Paper products, certain plastics and glass all can be recycled to reduce carbon foot-prints. It’s as easy as setting up sorting bins and dropping off recyclables at Walmart.

Make Walmart work for you. Save plastic bags to use as trash bags instead of paying for specifi-cally tailored trash receptacle liners.

1 Reuse. Instead of investing in new furniture, pe-ruse local garage sales and thrift stores for “fix-er-uppers” or vintage finds. SALT’s annual stuff swap offers optimal possibilities for obtaining secondhand stuff, from clothes to furniture 3 Utilize nature. From compost to natural light, na-

ture offers plenty of ways to avoid unnecessary electricity and resource expenditures, the only catch? We have to be paying attention.2Decorate green. Use magazine and newspaper

cutouts or even quirky product labels to create wall décor instead of printing new photographs or purchasing posters.

The Extra Mile

In the first game of a doubleheader on Satur-day, ACU fought back and forth with the Riverhawks who managed to stay even with the Wildcats through two innings. Starter Kris Carlson allowed four runs on just five hits in the first inning and a third. Coach Bonneau turned to reliever Brent Bray in the second with two runners on base. Bray shut down Northeastern to the tune of one earned run in 3 2-3 in-nings on five hits. With the win, Bray moved to 2-1 on the season.

Sky Valenzuela made his first appearance on the mound as a Wildcat giving up no runs on no hits. He also struck out two North-eastern batters.

“Sky had pitched before and it seems like everyone is injured on our staff and so

we decided to get him some innings,” said Bonneau.

At the plate, first base-man Abe Williams torched the Riverhawks going two for four and driving in five runs for the Wildcats. After pulling ahead in the third inning on an RBI double by Oliver, who came in to score on a wild pitch in the same inning, the Wildcats stayed ahead of the Riverhawks for the rest of the game.

“We all just felt real com-fortable at the plate and when the sticks get hot for us we can put up big num-bers,” said Williams.

The Wildcats complet-ed the sweep of Northeast-ern in the second game of the doubleheader. Cam-eron Bankston reached on a lead-off triple in the first inning and ACU used three innings of three runs or more to double up the Riverhawks 12-6.

Oliver drove in three

runs for the Wildcats while going three for four from the plate. Oliver’s lone out was the only time he failed to reach base during the doubleheader.

The Wildcats are sched-uled for a make-up game this week against Delta State

on Wednesday. The first pitch will be at 2:05 p.m.

“Every game we play from here on out is big we can’t afford any big losses in series,” said Williams.

March 30, 2011 Page 7FROM SPORTS

NCAA: Brackets busted advancing to play Kansas who disposed of Rich-mond earlier.

At first I was watching the game thinking, I don’t really care who wins this game, I just want to see a close game. However, by the mid-dle of the game I had fallen in love with the Rams and was hoping that Cinderella could keep dancing. In one of the closest games of the tournament, VCU pulled out a 72-71 OT victory over the Seminoles to advance to the Elite Eight against KU.

This set up the kind of matchup that makes sports so great – the classic Da-vid against Goliath story. The basketball powerhouse school against some small school in Virginia that

doesn’t even have a football program. On paper, KU was a much better team. They had better shooters, more size, better rebounding and they had only lost two games this whole season. Nobody told VCU that as they came out and jumped out all over Kansas. At halftime, they were somehow up 14 points against the Jayhawks. How-ever, Kansas is still a good team and in the second half they came back, like every-one knew they would. KU started making shots and getting stops on the defen-sive end. The 14-point lead was now down to four points. I started getting nervous; at this point I was completely sold out on VCU, like they were the only team I had ever loved. I wanted the Rams to beat the Jayhawks so badly

and it looked like it wasn’t going to happen.

Somehow the Rams held on. They made a few big shots and did not miss their free throws at the end of the game. The Rams took down KU, just as David had done Goliath. VCU became the highest seed to ever defeat a No. 1 seed. They also became the first team to win five games to make it to the Final Four. VCU went from the last four teams into the tourna-ment to the final four left in it. I was fortunate enough to see it all live in San Antonio, and at the end of the game I had lost my voice yelling for the Rams. In the midst of ev-erything, I had fallen in love with Cinderella.

COLUMN

contact Cantrell atjrc07f@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

Practice starts for conference champion ACU

Football is a year-round sport in the state of Texas. The Wildcats are no dif-ferent as spring practice started for the reigning Lone Star Conference champs this week.

The team will practice ev-ery Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m. this week and next, and scrimmage Saturday at 10 a.m. The fi-nal scrimmage, the annual Purple-White Spring Game, will be April 9 at 10 a.m.

The team is looking for-ward to this season, when ACU has a legitimate shot at winning the school’s third conference champi-onship in four years and making the playoffs for the sixth year in a row.

“There’s always some-thing I can improve on; always something I can do better,” last year’s starting quarterback Mitchell Gale said. “One thing I am defi-nitely working on is mak-ing a completion on every play. I don’t have to throw the ball 60 yards down the

field on every play. Some-times we have to play the field-position game.”

Gale won the starting job last year, leading the team to the first 11-0 un-defeated season in ACU history. His individual sea-son was one of the best for a Wildcat quarterback, throwing for more than 3,500 yards and 38 touch-downs with only a handful of picks.

“Mitchell has really taken his leadership of this team to a different level,” Head Coach Chris

Thomsen said. “He’s done an outstanding job lead-ing this team through the off-season and into spring training. He’ll be very criti-cal to the success of this team next fall.”

The focus on the of-fensive side of the ball this year will be the position of wide receiver, as four receivers are no longer eli-gible to play college foot-ball. The offensive coaches have to find a way to re-place 163 catches, 2,367 yards and 28 touchdowns from last season. The team

also has to replace two of-fensive lineman.

“Wide receiver is our biggest question mark,” Thomsen said. “The en-tire group has the poten-tial to be really good, but now they have to show it on the field.”

On the defensive side of the ball, lots of new faces will take the field for the ‘Cats next year. Replace-ments are needed for de-fensive tackle, the entire linebacking corps and cornerbacks. The rest of the defense is solid. The

trick for the coaches will be meshing the new talent with the more experienced defenders.

“We take pride in our team,” Gale said. “Every year we approach the sea-son thinking that this sea-son will be the best season. Football’s a big deal here at ACU, and we have to be ef-ficient and effective.”

The Wildcats will need to be both if they are going to repeat as champs.

Mark SmithSports Reporter

FOOTBALL

contact Smith atmds10a@acu.edu

Sweep: Williams’ bat lifts ’CatsBASEBALL

contact Tripp atbjt07a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Pitcher Brent Bray winds up to throw a pitch last weekend.

Errors: Wildcats hang on to 2ndhits on a double from Sarah Martinez, which scored Tui-nei. A Valentina Nabayan single then scored Tuinei.

But the Cardinals mounted a comeback in the last four innings. Pa-dilla would hit the first of her two home runs in the fourth, which tied the game at six.

Both offenses stalled in the seventh before Padilla would end the game on a solo home run.

“It’s definitely a great feeling to start a game like that. We just need to now focus on finishing games better and improving de-fensively,” freshman Kara Stutesman said.

ACU started off the dou-bleheader Friday on the right foot, as they trumped

UIW 6-3 in the first of the three-game series.

With the win, the Wild-cats secured their eighth consecutive season of 20 plus wins.

The ACU bats were si-lent for five innings before coming alive in the sixth, scoring six runs on six hits to take a 6-3 lead and come out on top.

“That was a great win for us. It got us started off on the right foot in the se-ries,” Reeves said.

However, ACU fell 9-3 in the ladder game. A UIW grand slam in the fifth put the Cardinals on top 5-3 be-fore going on to the sixth and seventh while the Cardinals held ACU scoreless through the final four innings.

SOFTBALL

contact Shake atbxs09a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

SportsStandings

Briefs

n The women’s soc-cer team will scrim-mage Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Hardin-Simmons at the ACU Soccer Pitch. This will be the team’s second scrimmage. The Wild-cats beat the Cowgirls 4-2 last week. HSU won the Division III National Championship last year.

n Former ACU vol-leyball player Shawna Hines was awarded a $7,500 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship last week by the NCAA. Hines was a two-time all-American and three-time LSC Defensive Player of the Year. To qualify for the scholar-ship, athletes must maintain a 3.2 GPA and be nominated by their institution’s faculty ath-letics representative.

March 30, 2011Page 8

n The baseball team will host Delta State on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. in a doubleheader. The team will then travel to play Central Oklahoma.

n Softball will travel to San Angelo for the LSC Crossover Tournament Friday-Sunday.

n The track and field team will compete Sat-urday at the Bobby Lane Invitational.

Upcoming

BASEBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

SE OK St.SW OK St.Tarleton St.UIWCameronTAMU-KWTAMUACU

13-515-615-615-611-712-910-810-8

16-1024-820-718-918-1015-1219-1017-11

SOFTBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

ASUACU

UIWTarleton St.

WTAMUTWU

5-4

6-37-2

5-4

4-54-5

18-14

20-1627-3

16-12

25-821-12

TAMU-K 3-6 20-16ENMU 2-7 10-23

PlayerProfile

Abe Williams, senior infielder from Ft. Worth, had an impressive

weekend for the Wildcats. Williams hit a three-run home run on

Saturday against North-eastern State in the final game and accumulated five RBIs in the effort. In the series, Willams had 6 RBIs and three runs scored. His efforts played a large part in helping the struggling ’Cats sweep Northeast-ern State. He is hitting .302 on the season and is tied with Will Calhoun for the team lead with 24 RBIs. Williams is a transfer from Paris Junior College where he had 10 home runs and 70 RBIs for the Dragons while there.

Williams

Carpenter shows resiliency among pros

It wasn’t the end result Alex Carpenter was looking for, but it was an experience that he will carry for the rest of his ACU career.

Because of a win in last summer’s Southern Amateur Championship, Carpenter was invited to play in the Ar-nold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla.

“Playing in front of those types of galleries

was an experience unlike anything I have ever been around,” Carpenter said. “And I have got to say, it was pretty cool.”

His first round was play-ing out without much of a hitch, when disaster struck. On the par five, fifth hole, Carpenter hit his tee shot into the water. Then, on his second try, he again found the water. On his third try, he actually parred the hole, but the four strokes he lost when his ball found the

water twice were too much to overcome.

He finished the round 10 over par, and was in need of a miracle to make the cut.

Carpenter returned to form in his second round shooting a three under par 69. It was a better round than even Phil Mickelson shot, but it still wasn’t good enough to push him above the cut line.

The experience though was far more important than any result. Before the

tournament, Carpenter got the chance to prac-tice with Tour pros Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson. Carpenter was also invited to a Tour Bible study with Aaron Baddeley.

He even got a thumbs up from Arnold Palmer him-self. After Carpenter hit his approach on 18 to within 15 feet, the legend whistled and said, “’Atta boy.”

“All the guys were re-ally encouraging and com-plimentary of my game,”

Carpenter said. “After this week, it really proved to me that I have the game to play with those guys and I can’t wait to get out there and do it again.”

Carpenter is only the second ACU Wildcat to compete in a PGA Tour event. The first was Tour pro Jeev Milkha Singh, who was a national cham-pion while at ACU.

Austin GwinSports Editor

GOLF

Rally ignites sweep

The Wildcats were white-hot at the plate during a weekend sweep of the vis-iting Northeastern State Riverhawks.

ACU recorded double-digit run totals in each of their three games scoring

13, 11 and 12 respectively after Coach Britt Bonneau switched around the de-fensive alignment for his ACU Wildcats.

“It was one of those week-ends where we had to start making a move to at least try to get back into contention and get into the conference tournament,” said Bonneau.

In the first game Friday night, the Wildcats used a 10-run explosion in the fi-nal two innings to complete the ACU comeback from three down in the eighth.

Aaron Oliver, who moved to shortstop over the week-end, hit his first home run of the season to pull ACU within one run in the sev-

enth. Bryce Gerhardt put ACU in front later in the seventh with a two-run sin-gle that came with the bases loaded and two outs. Ger-hardt went three for four on the night and knocked in five runs for the Wildcats.

“When Sky (Valenzuela) was down with a knee inju-ry we thought AO (Oliver)

would give us more range over there so we made that move,” said Bonneau. “It’s worked out for us.”

Reliever Zach Sneed came on for the Wildcats in the sev-enth inning and earned the win after allowing just one earned run on three hits.

Brandon Tripp Sports Director

BASEBALL

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Head Coach Britt Bonneau talks to his infield during a game last weekend. The Wildcats swept the Northeastern State University Riverhawks in a three-game series at Crutcher Scott Field. The ’Cats rallied to beat the Riverhawks in game one of the series and used that momentum to pick up three crucial conference wins.

Errors cost ’Cats series

An extra inning home run by Incarnate Word’s Melanie Padilla propelled the Car-dinals to victory in the rub-ber match of a three-game series over the Wildcats on Saturday at Wells Field. With that win, UIW also took the series from ACU.

This marks the first time in Lone Star Confer-ence play that the Wildcats (20-16, 6-3) have lost a se-

ries to a conference foe.“That was definitely

a hard game to swallow. It’s no fun losing a game where we’re up five runs with four innings to play. That shouldn’t happen, and it served as a learning experience for our girls. There’s no excuse for fall-ing apart like that,” Head Coach Bobby Reeves said.

ACU hit the gas pedal early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first be-fore extending it to 3-1 in

the third. The team then slammed on the accel-erator in the third, giving them a 6-1 lead.

Melissa Mendoza led off the third with a single and moved into scoring position when she stole second. Tiana Tuinei would pick up her only RBI, scoring Mendoza on a single to left field. ACU would pick up their final two runs on back-to-back

Bryson Shake Assistant Sports Editor

SOFTBALL

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Shortstop Ashley Calles gets in position to field a groundball during a game last weekend.

Rams shock the basketball worldJust a Bit OutsideRyan Cantrell

Every year in sports there is one team that surprises everyone and makes an

i n c r e d i b l e run. Every-one always falls in love with the u n d e r d o g . Over the w e e k e n d ,

this year’s Cinderella story emerged as the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University made it to the Final Four after knocking off No.1 seed Kansas.

VCU was literally one of the last teams to make it into the NCAA tourna-ment field of 68. Since the Rams were one of the last four teams in the tourna-ment, they had to play in the play-in game just to make it into the field of 64. No problem for the Rams as they knocked off USC to start what would be an incredible run.

Not everyone was in love with VCU at this point though; many teams and experts said that it was a travesty that they got into the NCAA tournament. They could not believe that this small school from the Colonial Athletic As-sociation was worthy of a tournament bid. This only sparked the Rams as they set out to shock the nation. VCU entered the tourna-ment as a No. 11 seed and upset Georgetown in the first round. VCU then won its third game of the tour-nament knocking off No. 3 seed Purdue. With two big upsets, VCU would ad-vance to the Sweet 16 in San Antonio.

The Rams were not the only underdog in San An-tonio though as No. 10 Florida State and No. 12 University of Richmond made it to the Sweet 16 as well. VCU would have to play FSU with the winner

COLUMN

Cantrell

see NCAA page 7see ERRORS page 7

see SWEEP page 7

contact Gwin atagg07a@acu.edu