The Optimist - April 3, 2009

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Friday SaturdayHigh: 81 Low: 59

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Online Poll :Is the core cur-riculum change necessary?

a. Yes. U-100 was a waste of time.b. Only time will tell.c. No. All core classes are easy anyway.d. I don’t care; I’m an upperclassman.

acuoptimist.com

Pg. 3 InsideThis Issue:

Softball streak on the line against No. 1 team in nation

Student band to release EPat coffee shop performance

Students to audition to be Willie the Wildcat mascot

Pg. 5 Pg. 8

Optimistthe

a product of theJMC network

Friday, April 3, 2009 :: Vol. 97, No. 47 :: 1 section, 8 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

Videos :: Podcasts :: Slideshows

Pg. 8 Wildcat tennis teams swing wins at home

Breezy Breezy

Core curriculum to change in 2010

Dancing the Light Away

By Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

All incoming freshmen and transfer students in the fall of 2010 will be the first to experience a transformed lib-eral arts core curriculum, ap-proved by a vote of the ACU faculty in May 2007.

“This really fits in with ACU’s 21st Century Vision be-cause it’s innovative, it’s dis-tinctive, it’s going to help our graduates. It’s going to create a

stronger, better prepared grad-uate for the world ahead,” said Dr. Charles Mattis, dean of the First-Year Program and chair of the university core curriculum implementation team, which includes representatives from all of the university’s colleges.

The change comes after survey results indicated ACU graduates were not meeting expectations in skills, such as writing and speaking, as well as hoped, Mattis said. And while the university’s core

curriculum has not faced dra-matic overhaul in 20 years, Mattis said he is confident the change will be positive.

“We’re raising the bar, and I think our students will be challenged more, and they will be better for it,” Mattis said. “If we’re going to be a premier institution for Chris-tian higher education, then these are the changes we need to make to get there.”

Some of the changes to the curriculum affect for-

eign language, English and speech requirements. Mattis said math skills also were a concern, but officials hoped to incorporate more quantita-tive thinking throughout the core curriculum rather than increasing the number of re-quired hours of mathematics-related courses.

Although the number of hours required per student to graduate will not change,

Goodwin run raises money for familiesBy Colter HettichFeatures Editor

While some students catch up on sleep Saturday morn-ing, others will lace up their running shoes for the 26th annual Kirk Goodwin 5K Run. The event raises money for families with unforeseen medical expenses.

About 100 individuals have registered for the race — more than 75 percent of them students — but the number does not include on-line registration.

Wilson Rotenberry, junior political science major from Abilene, served as the direc-tor and coordinator of this year’s run. Rotenberry said he is the only avid runner to serve as director for the Kirk Goodwin Run in recent years. His familiarity with long-dis-tance running prompted him to make changes this year, the most prominent being the addition of chip timing.

“It’s fairly expensive, but we’re really trying to make this more of an area event than just a campus event,” Rotenberry said. “We’re hop-ing to attract more runners with the chip timing.”

Chip timing provides a far more accurate time than

Rushing to begin with joint club eventBy Heather LeiphartStaff Photographer

The 2nd annual all-club rush will be Monday from 6-8 p.m. in the mall area in front of Moody Coliseum. Each so-cial club will set up a booth, showcasing their colors, let-ters and club gear, along with information about each club’s upcoming individual rushes.

“It’s a nice, laid-back intro-duction to rushing to get ev-eryone’s feet wet,” said Katie Findley, junior middle school education major from Hous-ton and president of Sigma Theta Chi. “The idea is to draw in the people who never really thought about social clubs before. Instead of you having to come to the social club, the social clubs are com-ing to you.”

The all-club rush is a club’s first chance to create interest for potential members. It also is the only event where every club is in the same place at the same time, so the air is thick with competition for attention.

“It’s kind of like a mini Sing Song,” Findley said. “It’s good to have that competition be-cause that will just make ev-ery club step it up a notch and make it really enjoyable for whoever comes.”

By Megan HaggertonStudent Reporter

Students can show off their goat-milking, steer-saddling, calf-scram-bling talents at the ACU Rodeo, an annual event catered to the spirit of “cowboy” competition.

The ACU Rodeo will be 7 p.m. on Tues-day at the Taylor County Expo Center.

Students can sign up for the rodeo events through Friday at a booth in the Campus Center, but late registra-

tion will continue through Monday.Kyle Ferrell, sophomore business

agriculture major from Weatherford, is helping to organize the event.

“We try each year to really get ACU students to participate in the rodeo be-cause it is a great chance for students to learn more about rodeos and experi-ence something fun with their friends that they otherwise may have not re-ceived a chance to do so,” Ferrell said.

Students to saddle up for annual ACU Rodeo

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Charena Camacho, freshman advertising/public relations major from McGregor, takes notes in Composition and Literature, while Dr. Laura Carroll, assistant professor of English, lectures during class Thursday. See Core page 4

See Run page 4 See Rush page 4

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Amanda Sampson, junior English major from Austin, leaps through the air during Left: A Dissection of The Brain at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday.

acuoptimist.com: See a photo slideshow and a video of the dance show, “Left: A Dissection of The Brain,” in which several ACU students performed.

See Rodeo page 3

Grant Abston :: sports editor

Dr. Jeff Childers, associate professor of Bible ministry and missions, sits in his office where someone wrapped more than 100 books in paper.

Professor wrapped up in paper prankBy Grant AbstonSports Editor

Dr. Jeff Childers opened the door to his office and was surprised to see it ready for painting. A chair and desk, pic-ture frames, a couple of paintings and a computer were wrapped in white pack-ing paper. But two steps into the room quickly turned Childers’ confusion into two simple words: April Fools.

“I thought, ‘Wow, it was an enormous amount of work,’” said Childers, asso-ciate professor of Bible, ministry and missions and Carmichael-Walling Chair

See Prank page 4

By Erin MangoldStudent Reporter

Children of refugee fami-lies will experience an Ameri-can tradition as they celebrate Easter with an egg hunt and craft session Saturday.

ACU for the Interna-tional Rescue Committee organized the Easter event, which is from 6-8 p.m. Set-up begins at 5:30 p.m.

Madison Saniuk, senior political science major from Arlington, is the founder and president of ACU for the IRC.

“There will be games, snacks and crafts, while the eggs are hidden outside,” Saniuk said. “It’s a fun way to introduce the holiday to new arrival families because a lot of them are coming from different countries.”

Aly Shanks, the volunteer coordinator for the IRC office in Abilene, said the IRC is a non-profit international aid and development agency.

“[The IRC] has been in existence for over 75 years with 24 different of-fices in the U.S. – resettling refugees from around the world. We also are located in 40 different countries at any given time and we respond to different emer-gencies,” Shanks said in an e-mail. “The Abilene office has been here since 2003.”

Saniuk founded ACU for the IRC two years ago, and it has sponsored the Easter egg hunt for both of those years.

Chelsea Hackney, junior political science major from Midlothian and communica-tion officer of the student organization, said the mem-bers want to make it an an-nual event. Hackney also said last year’s event had about 50 refugees in attendance.

“There is a new rule this year that there needs to be at least one adult present for every three kids,” Hack-ney said. “We’ll have to see how that affects our turn-

out, but we’re hoping for at least that many.”

Students who volunteer for the event will receive service hours.

“We’ll be needing re-freshments and Easter cookies,” said Sara Shoultz, freshman biochemistry ma-jor from Waco and member of the group. “I know that a box of 2 dozen cupcakes or cookies could count for at least an hour of service.”

Students can bring all do-nations to the Campus Cen-ter Living Room between 5:30-6 p.m. on Saturday.

Besides organizing Eas-ter parties, the ACU group works with the local IRC branch in several ways. Ev-ery year since it was found-ed, the group has sponsored a Thanksgiving dinner for the refugee families. It also has brought refugees to Sing Song and organized numerous donation drives.

Shanks said ACU for the IRC works with college do-

nations during dead day, where students are given the day off from classes right before finals.

“During dead day, col-lege students will often use that time to clean out their dorms,” Shanks said. “What they don’t want to take home or throw away, ACU for the IRC will take those items off their hands and bring them to the IRC office to be sorted through and given to different refu-gee families.”

For those looking to be-come involved with ACU for the IRC, the group will have a booth set up in the Campus Center during Jus-tice Week with more infor-mation, or students can contact Madison Saniuk at [email protected].

The Texas Good Sam Club needs volunteers for its Samboree at the Taylor County Expo Center. Volunteers are needed to reload trailers Sunday at 7 a.m. Volunteers will take a break for a devotional from 9-10 a.m. For more information, go to the Volunteer and Service Learning Center’s Web site at www.acu.edu/vslc.

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

Palm Sunday

10:30 a.m.Palm Sunday at the Paramount will take place at the Paramount Theatre. The free event will feature morning worship and a performance by Ray Boltz.

3 p.m.Jesus, His Story: The Promise will be performed at the Civic Center. For free tickets, call 692-6776.

7 p.m.The Moroccan Victory Chant will release a CD and perform at Monks Coffee Shop. The event costs $5.

8-9 p.m.Free, a dance show written and directed by an ACU student, will take place in Fulks Theatre. For more information, e-mail Mallorie Frank at [email protected].

8-11 a.m.The Kirk Goodwin 5K Run will begin and finish at the Hardin Administration Building. The run costs $10 for students and $15 for non-students.

7 p.m.Freshman Formal will take place at the Windsor. The event costs $15, and an after party will take place at the Family Life Center.

11:30 a.m.-noon A peer health education interest meeting will take place in the Campus Center. For more information, contact Naomi Mandel at 674-2719.

6-8 p.m.The All Social Club Rush will take place in the Mall Area. For more information, go to www.acu.edu/socialclubs.

Calendar and Events

Sunday3

Friday Saturday Monday

Dr. Joe Shirley, president of the Navajo Nation and Distinguished Alumni Citation recipient, will speak

at a Chapel forum Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Bob and Shirley Hunter Welcome Center.

CreditedChapelsto date:

CreditedChapelsremaining:

Checkup

54 19Chapel

Friday, April 3, 2009

Campus Day24 5 6

Volunteer Opportunities

Announcements

ACU Police Tip of the WeekTo prevent theft, never leave your back-pack, iPhone or laptop unattended.

Always report suspicious activity to ACUPD at 674-2305 or 674-2911.

acuoptimist.comnGrove rent consistently below national marketnAlternate reality game develops on campus

IRC to sponsor Easter egg hunt for refugees Corrections/Clarificationsn Everything in the four-page section of the April 1 issue, the Pessimist, was factually incorrect. The Optimist apologizes for its bad sense of humor.n SA Congress Presidential candidate Jordan Hancock’s information in the Meet The Candidates’ page in Wednesday’s issue of the Optimist was incorrect. Here is the correct information: Name: Jordan HancockClassification: JuniorMajor: Political ScienceHometown: AbileneAge: 21Prior SA Congress experience: Four semesters as Administration Building Representative and one semester as a Sophomore SenatorInvolvement in other organizations & any leadership positions held: Member of GALAXY; Weekend Campaign Mission Trips; Spring Break Campaign leader.

E-mail Mangold at: [email protected]

Friday, April 3, 2009 CAMPUS NEWS

Theatre students show gratitude to SABy Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Impassioned speeches reso-nated throughout Hart Audito-rium on Wednesday, but none came from Students’ Associa-tion Congress members.

Members of Alpha Psi Ome-ga, a theatre student honors group, presented brief theat-rical performances during the weekly SA Congress meeting to show their appreciation for Congress’ financial support earlier this semester.

During the Feb. 16 meet-ing, Congress granted $2,480 to the group to help 13 stu-dent actors and five student technicians attend the South-eastern Theatre Conference in Birmingham, Ala., from March 4-8.

“You guys have blessed us a lot — thousands of ways — this semester and last semester,” said Shae Candelaria, senior theatre major from Mesquite.

Blake Rogers, sophomore theatre major from Athens; Michelle Alexander, senior theatre major from Abilene; and Jasmin Richardson, senior

theatre major from Houston; all performed the same audi-tions they delivered to several groups of judges at the confer-ence. Candelaria said the judg-es were so impressed by their presentations that the group received a total of 110 phone calls afterward. Following the presentations, Candelaria pre-sented a framed photograph with a thank-you message to SA President Sarah Pulis.

“We wouldn’t have been able to go there without help from you guys,” Can-delaria said. “We just really thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Including Alpha Psi Ome-ga’s presentations, the SA Congress meeting lasted a little more than 13 min-utes. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to an-nouncements, such as SA communication officer Lau-ren Sanders’s redesign of the SA Congress Web site, www.acustudents.com. The site now includes the biographies and photographs of the students running for executive officer positions for next year’s Con-

gress. The elections for the positions will begin Tuesday.

Another announcement asked for nominations for Congressperson of the Year, which Congress members will begin sub-mitting this week. The SA Congress will vote for the

winner of the award during next week’s meeting.

“This should be a person who has gone above and be-yond this year in their service to SA and the student body,” Pulis said.


Blake Rogers, freshman theatre major from Athens, performs a mono-logue for SA Congress at the meeting Wednesday.

Chapel forum sparks creation discussionsBy Lezlee GutierrezStudent Reporter

A Chapel forum called, “Cos-mology” peaked students inter-est March 26 with a discussion on science and creation.

Some of the concerns dis-cussed included: Where did the world come from? How can we promote a healthy differentia-tion of the physical and meta-physical? What can be done to ease tensions and promote understanding between natu-ralism and creationism? What is the duty of someone who is both a Christian and a scientist?

The forum was one of three forums the Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter at ACU is presenting it is directed at non-science majors and con-sists of brief lectures and open discussion. These forums will provide a chance to hear about topics in recent scientific stud-ies and provide answers to the ACU community.

“We wanted to give back to campus and address the various needs for information surround-ing the debate between creation versus evolution,” said Scott Stewart, junior physics major from San Antonio. “We wanted to address and show both sides while approaching them with a respectable manner.”

SPS traveled to a physics conference last fall called the Sigma Pi Sigma Quadrennial Congress. The congress was at Fermilab, the campus of the national research center near Chicago. As a repayment for the funds it allocated by SA congress for travel expenses to the conference, SPS wanted to come back from the congress and share with the ACU com-munity what they experienced.

“Our main goal for the fo-rums is to give helpful informa-tion, not opinions, to everyone

especially those who are not physics majors,” said Nathan Pickle, junior physics major from Colorado Springs, Colo. “We hope to promote the dis-cussion of science around cam-pus within the next two weeks and encourage everyone to join us for the next two forums.”

The second Chapel forum called “Why do Science?” will be April 2 at 7 p.m. with Dr. Powell, M.E. Pruitt Professor of Chem-istry. Some of the questions discussed will include: What is the point of doing science in the first place, and what are its benefits? An enormous amount of resources is poured into pure research, experiments that seem to have no application, so what is the role of these experiments in a struggling economy? How is science applicable to those other than scientists? For ex-ample, what can be the value of problem solving or the scientific method in everyday life?

The third Chapel forum called “Energy” will be April 16 at 7 p.m. with Dr. Towell associate professor of phys-ics and Dr. Sadler professor of physics. Some of the questions discussed will include: What are the most promising new forms of energy production? What are the problems of to-day’s energy production? What problems are we going to face if we don’t change our sources of energy? What can we do as individuals (specifically as col-lege students) in response?

All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the Chapel forum Thursday to discuss the need for science and how it re-lates to the world. For more information concerning each forum, visit the ACU events cal-endar at www.acu.edu.

Search for new Wildcat Willie beginsBy Lizzie SpanoStudent Reporter

Behind a mysterious mask of fur, whiskers and a perpet-ually smiling face, Willie the Wildcat is known everywhere around campus and is a stu-dent just like you.

Tryouts for Willie the Wild-cat, ACU’s feline mascot, will take place soon. The role of mascot involves making ap-pearances and energizing and interacting with the crowd at basketball, football and vol-leyball games, as well as other special university events on and off campus, said Jared Mosley, director of athletics and compliance coordinator. The position typically is filled by two students and offers up to a $500 scholarship.

“We want somebody who can have energy,” Mosley said. “We want someone who can find ways to engage the crowd, be lively and entertain.”

Tryouts were postponed this week and will be sched-uled at a later date, so more students have an opportuni-ty to apply, Mosley said.

After turning in an applica-tion, available in the Teague Athletic Center, students will try out in costume in the Ma-bee Library Auditorium. They will have the opportunity to meet the judges and perform a 30-second to one-minute skit or routine. Judges then will de-cide whether the student has the personality and energy lev-el to fulfill the role of Willie.

“I think it’s a great oppor-tunity for anybody looking to get involved on campus,” Mosley said. “It’s also… a fun thing to do, to be the mascot and to play a role and be able to energize crowds and get excited about athletic events or alumni events.”

Marilee Motes, senior ad-vertising/public relations ma-jor from Arlington, shared the

role of Willie this season with another student who wishes to remain anonymous to pre-serve the tradition. Motes, however, who will be graduat-ing this year and passing the Willie suit to another student, did not mind sharing her ex-perience as ACU’s mascot.

“It was exhilarating; I loved it,” Motes said. “Every time I got in the suit, it wasn’t me anymore — it was Willie the Wildcat. I wasn’t even aware of other people around me; I just had fun and tried to get every-body excited and be cheerful.”

Motes said she played Wil-lie at everything from sports events to elementary school carnivals, but her favorite part about being Willie was going to the football games.

“In Texas, football is a big thing,” Motes said. “The crowd is already so lively, so football games are an event in them-selves, and Willie is kind of a nice addition to the show.”

Motes said when she is dressed up as Willie, she does a lot of dancing, cheers and also interacts with children in the crowd.

In addition to enthusiasm and energy, Motes suggests those trying out for Willie this season simply, “put your Wil-lie face on.”

“It takes charisma and a positive attitude,” she said.

E-mail Spano at: [email protected] E-mail Gutierrez at: [email protected]

E-mail Freeman at: [email protected]

Rodeo: students prepare to saddle up

Students who want to par-ticipate in various events need to sign up in teams of five. Each team also can designate one of the members as the queen or king of the group. This person will compete in an extra event for the chance to be crowned king or queen of the rodeo and receive a belt buckle.

The entry fee for each team is $20 per event and $35 for the special queen/king event.

Audience members who are not competing in the ro-deo have a $5 entry fee.

The women’s events are Wild Goat Milking, Calf Scram-ble, Wild Goat Dressing and a mysterious event that will be announced during the rodeo.

The men’s events are Wild Cow Milking, Double Mugging, Steer Saddling and All Around Cowboy Steer Riding.

Cayla Horton, junior biology major from Corpus Christi, pre-viously participated in the ACU Rodeo and said she loved it.

“It was a great way to have fun with my friends and get to do something that I would not normally do,” Horton said. “It was a lot more fun than I had en-visioned it being.

Horton said she at first was reluctant to participate in a rodeo but is glad she did because she never will forget the experience.

“It’s going to be a yehawin’ time,” Ferrell said.

Continued from page 1

E-mail Haggerton at: [email protected]

Friday, April 3, 2009FROM THE FRONT

Core: Administration plans to change U-100 classstudents will take a 3-hour Cornerstone course instead of the 1-hour University Seminar course currently required.

The Cornerstone course is described as “a three-hour integrative, interdisciplinary course designed to introduce ACU students to the liberal arts core by confronting chal-lenging issues and promoting a positive way of inquiry and engagement,” according to the Final Report to the ACU fac-ulty by the General Education Review Steering Committee as presented in March 2007 and amended April 18, 2007.

While “U-100,” as the Univer-sity Seminar class commonly is called, is a course to prepare “for transitions,” Mattis said the new Cornerstone course focuses more on the skills needed to enter a collegiate learning environment. Course-work will prepare students for the “academic challenges” of college, and new students will rely more on peer leaders to ease through the transitions of entering college life.

To extend the credit from one to three hours, the uni-versity decreased the required

number of physical education courses by one.

Mattis said the required Biblical studies course, Chris-tianity in Culture, may be re-structured to a 2-hour class that focuses more on living missionally through vocation. The change would enable the course to retain an element of culture while being more suit-ed to capping a college career.

Although the alteration would reduce required hours of Biblical studies courses, Mattis said the amount of theological exposure students experience at ACU should not decrease, at least partially be-cause of the integrated core in the new core curriculum.

The integrated core will consist of three 3-hour cours-es, taught by two or three professors, pertaining first to identity, then to community and, lastly, to ideas beyond the community and the individual.

“Theology is built into really all of the integrated core courses,” Mattis said. “I think you could make the argument that we’re actually providing more.”

This semester, Dr. Stephen Johnson, assistant professor of Bible, missions and minis-

try, and Dr. Steven Moore, as-sistant professor of English, co-taught a pilot of the first in-tegrated core course, centered around human identity.

Mattis said the class was a success and, showcased as a sample class for visiting Presi-dential Scholarship applicants this semester, was popular with visitors.

Students can register for a pilot of the second course in the integrated core series for the fall 2009 semester.

While core curriculum changes will not affect stu-dents enrolled and attending ACU prior to fall 2010, Mattis said he would not be surprised if many students took the inte-grated core courses by choice.

“When you get two different faculty from different disci-plines talking about one issue, it’s a much richer experience,” Mattis said.

The final portion of the new core curriculum will consist of a Capstone experience. The more structured requirements will enable students to think critically and analytically about the experiences that already cap most degrees, such as in-ternships, final coursework or senior recitals or art shows.

Adjusting the core curricu-lum has raised questions of whether dual-credit, Advanced Placement and CLEP credits still will be accepted in place of ACU courses.

While students still will receive credit from such endeavors, Mattis said cur-riculum changes may require students to pay more atten-tion to scheduling.

Even if the credits fail to re-place core curriculum course-work, Mattis said they might contribute toward major coursework requirements and always could be used as elec-tives as a last resort.

“What we’re doing with the core is we’re saying, ‘You know, you can’t take these courses in high school; you can’t take these courses at Cisco,’” Mattis said. “These courses are ACU-distinct and they’re innova-tive and they’re going to best prepare our students for the world that’s out there.”

Dr. Chris Willerton, dean of the Honors College and pro-fessor of English, said many students in the Honors College bring outside credit to their ACU education.

“Honors thinks of AP credit mainly as a problem because it

takes away credit that students might be taking for honors,” Willerton said.

However, he said he un-derstands, especially with the economy in recession, the benefits of outside credit, de-spite his belief that such cred-its cannot compare in quality to the honors courses offered at ACU.

Overall, Willerton said he urges students not to overreact to the changing curriculum.

“Things are evolving very quickly as we work out de-tails,” Willerton said. “Some things are changed from week to week. It’s a caution to Opti-mist readers. Don’t latch on to any one detail. Always ask for an update.”

Mattis said he hopes to see the core curriculum’s changes finalized by the end of next se-mester, ready to appear in the catalogue for students regis-tering for fall 2010 classes.

In the end, he said he ex-pects the changes to reflect positively on the university and its graduates.

“This change is who we are,” Mattis said. “Change is who ACU is. And it raises the bar.”


Run: Joggers to circle campustraditional methods. Runners attach the chip to their shoe, and the chip starts and stops the time when their foot cross-es a line on the ground.

Rotenberry also coordi-nated the online registration, which closed Wednesday. The same company who provides the chip timing equipment reg-istered the Kirk Goodwin Run on www.active.com, a popular wellness Web site facilitating race registration.

Runners will begin and fin-ish the 3.1-mile race in front of the Hardin Administration Building. The pack will head south, taking a left at E.N. 23rd Street, then Cedar Crest at 8 a.m. After following Ce-dar Crest across E.N. 16th and E.N. 10th streets, participants will take a U-turn on Piedmont Drive and head back toward the finish line.

Scooter Phillips, owner of Rebound Sports and Physi-cal Therapy, attended ACU with Kirk Goodwin, who died

in 1984 due to complications from a car accident. Phillips, who will run Saturday, has participated in the race four or five times; he encouraged everyone who can to show up Saturday morning, even if they can only walk the distance, to support a fund that benefits people in need.

“Besides those benefits, it’s just a good time to get out and start being physi-cally fit,” Phillips said.

Prank: Professor cleans officeof New Testament and Early Christianity. “Clearly, we’re not giving students enough to do.”

Every item in Childers’ office had been individually wrapped in white paper, including the hundreds of books lining his bookshelves. The only visible item that had been spared was the replica painting of a 6th-century icon of Jesus at St. Cath-arine’s Monastery in Egypt.

“It was a combination of respect for the Lord and a

deep abiding sense of guilt for what they were doing,” Childers said.

But as Childers sat at his desk, narrowing the list of sus-pects, the large number of fac-ulty and students passing by pointed out this had not been the first time Childers was the receiving end of a prank. This was merely a 10th anniversary present after Childers’ office previously was switched with another professor’s, so detailed that even Childers had a hard time recognizing his own of-

fice; however, those students were caught and required to move everything back.

“I can imagine once I have a good idea who’s perpetrated [my office], assigning a service project might be a good idea,” Childers said. “I’ve got a good idea, but I can’t say.”

While Childers continues to narrow his list and gather facts to pursue the prank-sters, he just wishes the painting could unwrap.

Continued from page 1Continued from page 1

Rush: Clubs aim to boost membership

Last year, Gamma Sigma Phi members built a castle, and Galaxy members set up a television for students to play Rockband. The clubs plan to show their individu-ality, and the re-chartered Trojans could pose quite a bit of competition, said Adam Tate, sophomore biochemis-try major from Abilene and president of Trojans.

“Everyone has their own things that they’ve always done, and they continue to do them,” Tate said. “But be-cause we just re-chartered, we’re free to do whatever and we’re not restrained.”

Students can expect to see the clubs again at the Social Club Fair inside the Campus Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the women’s clubs will set up April 13 and the men’s clubs will set up April 14. Spring rushing also begins April 13 and continues until April 23.


E-mail Hettich at: [email protected] E-mail Abston at: [email protected]

E-mail Leiphart at: [email protected] Acuff at: [email protected]

April 3, 2009

ArtsFridayLocal band to perform, release EPBy Paul KnettelContributing Writer

Moroccan Victory Chant, a local band which formed in No-vember 2008, will play a show in support of the release of its new CD called Ice, a Bear, and a Journey EP, at Monks Coffee Shop, a popular Abilene con-cert venue Friday. The band, whose style I would describe as indie/alternative/dance rock, will be joined on stage by The Tastydactyls, another dance rock band from Waco, and two other Abilene acts: Dear Winter, Sweet Fall and Casey Cheek & the Train Riders.

Moroccan Victory Chant recorded its five-track EP at Shine Studios in Austin, and the CD features eclectic track titles, such as Whaling in the Eastern Sea and Sharp Teeth. The opening cut, Like These Grounds, begins the CD off nicely with a slowly arpeg-giated guitar chord that fades directly into a pulsating, dance-like intro.

The vocals, guitars, drums and bass join together to cre-ate a wonderfully textured piece of music, full of dark, rich harmonies and driving rhythms. Michael Perkins, the lead singer, has a hint of Jeff Buckley in his vocal expres-sions, and the rest of the band sounds like a well-blended cross between Minus the Bear and Explosions in the Sky.

Like These Grounds is prob-ably my favorite song on the CD, but this is not to say the other four tracks are without merit. The title track, Ice, a Bear, and a Journey, is driven by drummer Silas Acosta’s dance beats as rich guitar riffs and moving bass lines create an impressive wall of sound. In Bushido, Perkin’s vocals re-ally take off, reminding me again of Jeff Buckley’s soar-ing melodies, and the chorus of Sharp Teeth has a driving edge to it that gets the listen-er excited and intensely in-volved in the music. The final

track, Whaling in the Eastern Sea, is a slower, darker song, ending in an atmospheric in-strumental section that clos-es out the album well, leaving the listener wanting more, in a good way.

Overall, this CD is mature and well thought out, es-pecially from a small town band full of guys under 20 years old. It is a great begin-ning for Moroccan Victory Chant, and I enjoyed listen-ing to the music the band members have created. I look forward to hearing their sound continue to im-prove as they keep creating music in the future.

If you wish to pick up a copy of the CD, the band is selling Ice, a Bear, and a Jour-ney for $5 at its show Friday. A lot of talented musicians will be playing Friday, and I expect great things from all the bands. Remember, the show is at Monks Coffee Shop. The doors open at 7 p.m., the entry fee is $5 and expect one awesome night full of music.

Television show features alumniBy Lezlee GutierrezStudent Reporter

Some may say spring is blooming more than flowers this season for two ACU alum-nae who have taken their flow-er business to new heights.

Sisters Robyn (’03) and Rachael Wise (’06) were featured on the television channel TLC on Friday night as they introduced their event designing business on the pilot episode of a real-ity show, titled A Blooming Business. The network may pick up the show as a more permanent series.

The program featured the two sisters and the hard work they put into managing their business, Cymbidium, which is a modern floral boutique in Dallas special-izing in event planning. The show followed them as they prepared for a big wedding that will be held at a well-known Baptist church.

“We didn’t get to see any-thing until the night it aired,” Robyn said. “We have been blessed in so many ways.”

The sisters opened their floral shop in 2005, and sev-eral years later, a production company approached them and asked to film them as they ran their business. Af-ter the initial conversation, the sisters did not hear from the company until months later when it finally began to shoot for the show. Now the Wise sisters have to wait to see if TLC will air their show as a reality series.

“It was definitely a learn-ing process,” Rachael said. “TLC is a family-friendly network, so we knew we could trust them.”

The sisters also put hard work into other aspects than just running their business and shooting a reality show.

They also work with the Touch of Life foundation to help children in Africa.

“God has given us so many opportunities to do what we love,” Rachael said.

Rachael returned two weeks ago from Africa where she served with the founda-tion ‘Pack it up,’ which works with the Village of Life and Village of Hope orphanage in Ghana. This orphanage helps enslaved children who are being sold and bought along Lake Volta, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. At this lake, children are forced to catch, clean and sell fish under gruesome circumstances.

“I would like to encour-age students at ACU to take everything they learn with them as they follow their dreams,” Robyn said. “All of the blessings we have encountered would not have been possible without our faith.”

The sisters said they hope to expand their flower busi-ness and open more shops in the future. For more informa-tion about Cymbidium and A Blooming Business, visit www.cymbidiumflowers.com.

By Cara LeahyStudent Reporter

It began with an iPod on shuffle mode.

That is when Kat Bailey first had the inspiration for Friday night’s dance show, Free.

“I was actually driving home from school and pray-ing in my car,” said Bailey, sophomore theatre major from Sugarland. “And this idea came to me, and the or-der on my iPod came on in the order I ended up using for the dance show.”

Free is an hour-long show that will feature dances, songs and monologues de-picting the burdens of secret sins. Depression, alcoholism, drugs and lust are only a few of the issues dealt with dur-ing the course of the show; some of the topics are taken directly from Bailey’s per-sonal experiences.

“I’ve seen every struggle in this show either in my-self or my best friends or my family,” Bailey said. “I’ve seen people struggle with these things and see how it complete-

ly overpowered them — mind, body and soul.”

The show, which is en-tirely student produced, includes 11 dances choreo-graphed by Bailey, as well as original monologues written by Emily Rankin, sophomore theatre major from Abilene.

“It’s a very dark show but it’s about having God, that you can’t do it alone,” Bailey said.

Ashley Padovani, senior theatre major from Mans-field and a dancer in the

show, not only experiences that darkness but also suc-cumbs to it. Her character struggles with alcoholism in a dance to Kelly Clark-son’s song Sober.

“In the song, I’m con-stantly struggling with whether or not to take that first drink,” Padovani said.

The alternative is repre-sented in a can of nails pres-ent throughout the perfor-mance. The nails, meant to symbolize God’s grace, are a counterweight to the bur-dens each character carries.

“That grace is always there, available to us, but we don’t see it; we don’t take it,” Pado-vani said. “We don’t ever go there because our brokenness and our desire for our sin keeps us from receiving it.”

However, the darkness is part of the journey toward an ending that promises re-demption, she said.

“It’s more than being changed; it’s that we’re go-ing to keep fighting,” Pado-vani said. “We’re going to keep pressing forward until we are victorious again.”

In the end, it is that sense of hope Bailey said she wants the audience to take home.

“You’re not alone in what you struggle with,” she said. “You really can be set free from it — there really is a way out.”

Free will be showing in the Williams Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. on Fri-day, and admission is free.

Student dance production portrays darkness, grace

I would like to encourage stu-dents at ACU to take everything they learn with them as they follow their dreams. :: Robyn Wise (‘03)

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E-mail Leahy at: [email protected]

Photos courtesy of Lucas AcostaTop: Tucker Morgan performs on lead guitar.Left: Torin Franklin performs on bass, with Silas Acosta on drums.Bottom: Torin Franklin on bass, Michael Perkins on vocals/ guitar perform in concert.

E-mail Gutierrez at: [email protected] E-mail Knettel at: [email protected]

ViewsFridayO

ur university is known all over the world. Not for its beautiful loca-tion or historically rich

campus, but for the product it offers its students after a demanding four years for schooling — a superior de-gree. It is proud of its mis-sion statement — “to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.” This statement is lived out through its excel-lent and humble faculty and staff, its passionate students and its continuous efforts to reach out to the community, nation and world. ACU was even ranked No.1 in the “Best Colleges: Up-and-coming Mas-ters Universities (West)” by U.S. News & World Report in its most recent survey.

But we are not perfect.In 2003 and 2006, the

General Education Review

Steering Committee (GERSC), administered a series of as-sessments to the faculty and student body in an attempt to “benchmark ACU’s curricu-lum with comparative colleges and evaluate best practices in core curriculum,” according to GERSC’s final report. Assess-ments included the Writing Assessment at ACU, the ACU Faculty Survey on General Ed-ucation, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Academic Profile. Simply stated, these are the surveys students receive via e-mail that ask them to rank school satisfaction on a nu-meric scale.

These assessments showed ACU students scored below university standards and ex-pectations in “writing, prob-lem solving, critical thinking and global awareness,” ac-cording to the report by the

GERSC. Data also revealed students were spending less time than the national aver-age of college students pre-paring for class, studying and applying critical think-ing to assignments.

Since 2005, the university and the GERSC have been for-mulating ideas to improve the quality of education provided for students. Through confer-ences and the study of other universities, the GERSC has found that a liberal arts edu-cation is crucial to a univer-sity’s level of excellence.

In response to these find-ings, a four-year plan has been formulated. A non-exhaustive list of the plan’s goals are to adopt integrative thinking, in-tercultural knowledge, strong and analytical communication and a hands-on experience with social, religious, theologi-cal and spiritual realms.

It will apply to all majors and will “emphasize the value of liberal arts education in providing all majors at ACU with durable and transferable skills to equip them for the de-mands of the 21st century.”

Students can expect chang-es. These will appear in the number of hours needed in non-majors courses and in the adoption of a series of courses, lasting from fresh-man to senior year, known as ‘The Cornerstone.’

Until the specifics sur-rounding these changes are finalized, it is senseless to debate rumor.

However, it is sensible to debate the university’s ap-proach and philosophy be-hind this decision based on the present information.

The university is making a wise step to contemplate such academic changes. Yes,

it will change incoming fresh-men and transfer students’ required classes, perhaps many of them will find them-selves placing more and less emphasis in particular ar-eas. But, they can deal with those changes like mature adults if they remember that in exchange for thousands of dollars, the university is providing each of them and us a product — a degree. We would hate (more than any

scheduling changes) to be cheated of the highest educa-tion possible for the amount we are paying. So, support the university’s decision to do what it must to ensure that we all receive the best so we can use that education for “Christian service and leader-ship throughout the world.”

Everybody has something they constantly do, some-times almost compulsive-ly, that is not necessarily

the bright-est, most reasonable thing. Call it a ‘drug of choice’ (not that I am condoning, advocating or legitimiz-ing drug use in any way, just to cover my bases). Somet imes

it is drinking large amounts of coffee. Sometimes it is watching a certain TV show. It could be cracking your knuckles all the time, enough that you do not even notice what you are doing anymore and some-times crack your knuckles loudly during class, Chapel prayer time or even a cham-ber music recital. It could be listening to old Destiny Child’s albums, although for your sake and your roommate’s sake, I would hope not. I, too, have one of those compulsive habits; my guilty pleasure is look-ing at the Lolcats Web site several times a day.

Lolcats, which also are sometimes called ‘Cat Mac-ros’ for reasons I have not figured out, are humorous or satirical pictures of cats in funny situations, doing funny things or making funny fac-es. These pictures generally have a caption relating the cat’s thoughts in Lolspeak, a kind of pidgin English con-structed to make fun of the poor grammar typically at-tributed to Internet slang or texting abbreviations.

Alhough the first ‘Lolcat’ was created in early 2005, according to Wikipedia, Lol-cats first began receiving widespread attention when Time magazine’s reporter Lev Grossman wrote the ar-ticle, “Cashing in on Cute Cats” in 2007. He called Lolcats a rare non-commer-cialized phenomenon that has “a distinctly old-school, early 1990s, Usenet feel.” With such praise from a prestigious magazine, who could resist checking them out? And do not worry; once you do, you will be hooked.

A lot of my friends do not understand my obses-

sion with Lolcats. They do not understand Lolcats has so much to offer. Of course there is always the argu-ment that smiling several times a day does wonders for your health (and your mood), but the Lolcat move-ment offers cultural satire, historical references, po-litical statements and even your daily dose of heavy religious metaphor (in the form of Ceiling Cat, a white cat that lives in the ceil-ing and watches your every move, and Basement Cat, a black cat that lives in, you guessed it, the basement and might be plotting your demise) and all in the form of an easy to swallow pop-culture-and-cuteness cap-sule. Another bonus would be the easy-to-learn canni-balized English language,

kind of like an inside joke. Like the other day, when I went to Sonic with a friend, and when my time to order came, I said simply, “I can has cheezburger now?” My friend looked at me like I had just pulled a bazooka out of my back pocket and yelled, “Yippee-Ki-Yay!” into the microphone. How-ever, the waiter simply said, “Ok,” read me my to-tal and you can bet he and I shared a secret laugh when he brought our food out. He at least was in on the awe-someness that is Lolcats.

So if you are down in the dumps, bored in class or have watched all The Office reruns and have nothing to do on a Thursday night, go to icanhascheezburger.com and indulge in the fun.

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

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Editorial and Management Board

Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Sommerly SimserMult. Managing Editor

Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Grant AbstonSports Editor

Lydia MelbyArts Editor

Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor

By Alex YorkLebensgefahr Lolcats Web site offers humerous diversions

April 3, 2009

Core curriculum changes indicate adaptive administration

A lot of my friends do not understand my obsession with Lolcats. They do not understand Lolcats has so much to offer.

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Cody VetetoChief Videographer

DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager

Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor

Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463

Optimistthe

Kenneth PybusAdviser

Cade WhiteAdviser

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

In Your WordsHow would you describe your

experience in Chapel this semester?

Sherrie FiersonFreshman accounting majorfrom San Antonio

“I just wish people would be more respectable to who is talking and pay more attention.”acuoptimist.com

View videos of student responses

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

Shafera GantFreshman biology majorfrom Houston

“It’s very different from what I’m used to because I’m not Church of Christ but I still enjoy worshipping.”

Jeremy LandinFreshman architecture majorfrom Big Springs

“I haven’t really enjoyed them; they have been a little boring.”

Older Facebook participants taint experienceNo college student is com-

plete without his or her ex-pensive textbooks, caffeinated drinks, laptop, iPod, student ID

and, of course, a Facebook account.

W h e n F a c e b o o k l a u n c h e d five years ago, it was the social networking tool, almost like a little black book or phone book, for

the elite crowd of college students. Eventually, high school students also joined the social sphere.

Today, ACU professors, faculty and staff log onto Fa-cebook just as often as their students, and it seems the ma-

jority of students welcome the older generations.

I was one of those students, until it all came to a crash-ing halt two weeks ago — my parents took the plunge and joined Facebook.

It once was cool to be-come ‘Facebook friends’ with the parents of my friends. Parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles on Fa-cebook are becoming all the rage. I think it is their at-tempt at trying to stay ‘hip.’

The trend probably would not be so bad, but, unfortu-nately, it is impossible to censor everything they say at all hours of the day and night, and not quickly delet-ing embarrassing baby pho-tos or wall posts about their upcoming hip replacement surgeries is a nightmare.

The fastest growing de-mographic on Facebook is

the 35-49 year olds and the 50-64 year olds, according to the Nielsen Media Research group. Yet, the younger audi-ence still outweighs the grow-ing, elderly Facebook popula-tion. It has roughly 23 million users in the U.S. alone, while the older age group consists of little more than 12 million.

We are not bombarding their bingo halls or gobbling up all their early bird spe-cials, so why do they have to invade our Facebook pages and befriend our friends and the parents of our significant others? Can they not just stay glued to their televisions watching The Price is Right, smelling of BENGAY?

If you break up with whom-ever you are dating, your par-ents will be informed instantly, and the possibility looms that they may click on the “Likes this” option, making it blatant-

ly obvious for everyone to see that they did not approve of the person from the beginning. Or worse, they could try and set you up with some young kid they recently became friends with on Facebook.

What are they going to do next, begin sending out event invitations for their latest friend’s 80th birthday or fu-neral? And what if they devel-op carpal tunnel syndrome or injure their backs while leaning over their computer screens for hours, stalking our friends and current love interests? We would never hear the end of it.

If they keep this up, it will be enough to drive me to join a jazzercise class and quit Face-book all together. Or perhaps I will just stay home and watch The Price is Right, while slath-ering on the BENGAY.

E-mail Melby at: [email protected]

E-mail the Optimist at: [email protected]

E-mail Simser at: [email protected]

The issue:Surveys indicated ACU students scored under the desired speech and writing skill level and spent less than average time studying.

Our view:If ACU degrees lose integrity, all ACU students and alumni will suffer a loss in the reputation of their education. The solution:Willingness to alter the current core curriculum reveals university officials’ admirable goal of maintaining the ACU education.

By Lydia Melby

Your (A)Typical Coffee Addict

By Sommerly Simser

Love and the University

stands, and hopefully our re-lays will hit some good marks. It’s a good opportunity to showcase the program and show people the quality of ath-letes that we have.”

Texas A&M is ranked No. 1 in the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll for both the men’s and women’s program. The Arkansas men’s squad is ranked No. 2 in the nation, Tex-as is ranked No. 7 and Baylor No. 10. On the women’s side, Michigan is ranked No. 10 and Texas is ranked No. 14.

For the most part, the teams will focus on running relays and hitting good marks, but a few athletes will run in-dividual events, Prather said.

Kim Prather will run in the 100-meter along with teammate Wanda Hutson. Harold Jackson will run in the men’s 400-meter hurdles and Desmond Jackson will compete in the 100-meter.

The meet began with the men’s decathlon and defending NCAA Division II outdoor na-tional champion, Camille Van-dendriessche, was in third place with three events remaining. High winds delayed the final three events, including the pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500-meter. Results can be viewed online at acusports.com.

Vandendriessche finished first in the shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 1.5 inches. He finished third in the high jump with a jump of six feet, five inches and fourth in the discus with a throw of 135 feet, 6 inch-es. Vandendriessche racked up 5,290 points in the first seven events and trailed Trinity Otto of Texas A&M by 157 points.

“To us, it’s one of the biggest meets of the year,” Prather said. “It’s important for us to get good times on the relays and I think we will. We would like to go out there and do well, seeing as we are a Texas school.”

Prather said the Wildcats are one of just three NCAA Division II schools competing.

On Thursday, three Wildcats were honored for their perfor-mances at last week’s ACU Tri-angular meet. Desmond Jack-son was named co-LSC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after posting the nation’s third-best time in the 100-meter. Nick Jones was named LSC Field Ath-lete of the Week after automati-cally qualifying for the national outdoor meet in both the shot put and discus. Paige Newby earned the LSC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after post-ing the nation’s second best mark in the women’s discus.

behind winner Knudsen. Bouniol’s second place finish was his highest of the season, and tied for the second-high-est finish by a Wildcat this semester behind freshman Morgan Johnson’s first place victory at the Dustdevil Open in Laredo earlier this season in which Bouniol placed second. Campbell has been pleased with the progress and recent play of his sophomore.

“Cyril has played really solid,” Campbell said. “We’ve

played eight tournaments this year, and he has been in the top five six of those times. You can really tell that he’s improv-ing from week to week.”

Senior Hilton Funk tied for 11th by shooting (74-74-74-222); freshman Zach Sadau tied for 21st (76-74-77-227); senior Patrick Hanauer tied for 23rd (76-78-74-228); and senior Mi-chael Andruchek rounded out ACU’s top five tied for 51st af-ter shooting (74-81-85-240).

Reigning all-conference player Patrick Hanauer had his best tournament of the

semester after injuring his back. Previously, Hanauer finished 53rd at the St. Edwards Invitational and tied for 27th in San Diego earlier this month. Camp-bell feels Hanauer’s back is healing nicely.

The Wildcats have one more regular season tournament re-maining. The team will hope to bolster its national positioning when they head to Edmond, Okla., for the UCO/Kicking-bird Classic. Two weeks after the tournament in Edmond, ACU will travel to Thackerville,

Okla., for the Lone Star Confer-ence Championship. Campbell wants to see continued pro-gression from his team in Ed-mond as they look forward to the LSC tournament.

“I’d like to see us keep improving like we did from California to this tourna-ment,” Campbell said. “We want to peak at the right time, and for us that is con-ference, regional’s and na-tionals, and those are com-ing up.”

and it was really just some bad luck.”

The lone win in the sin-gles matches came in the No. 5 slot after Luke Hawk defeated Carlos Viscarra in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.

The men improved their re-cord to 18-4 overall. The con-ference loss to Cameron broke the tie at the top of the confer-ence and dropped the Wildcats to 1-1 in the conference.

The women had simi-lar results in their weekend matches, scoring 9-0 victories against both Metro State and No. 13 Tarleton State and drop-ping just one set in the two

matches. Against Metro State, the Wildcats dominated from start to finish, winning all six matches in straight sets. The match against conference op-ponent Tarleton State proved to be a bit more challenging, but the Wildcats handled re-corded their second shut-out of the year.

On Tuesday, the Wildcats faced another nationally ranked opponent and conference foe in the Cameron Aggies. The Wildcats had no trouble with the No. 25 Aggies, scoring their eleventh shutout of the year.

“Our women really know how to get it done,” Jones said. “They know that if you should beat someone badly, you

should do it and not let up.”With the three impressive

wins, the Wildcats move to 16-2 overall and remain tied for the top spot in conference with Northeastern State at 4-0.

Both teams return to action over the weekend as the men will compete in the Blue-Gray Classic over the weekend in Montgomery, Ala. The women will face their sixth Division I opponent when they play UT-El Paso (13-6).

“This is just another week,” Jones said. “We are going to try and go out there and get ready for a run by playing tough opponents.”

win the game,” Wilson said. The defense for ACU and

the offense for the Ram-belles were also showcased in the Lone Star Conference Player of the Week awards. Sandy James received the LSC South Hitter of the Week, while ACU’s Jacque Gregoire earned LSC South Pitcher of the Week honors.

Gregoire won the award after going 3-0 in her three starts this past week. All three of the starts were complete games as she al-lowed just two earned runs in that stretch and held hit-ters to a .222 batting aver-age. She struck out 14 hit-ters while improving her record to 16-4.

“Gregoire has really come through for us in a lot of tough

situations,” Wilson said. “She worked really hard this sum-mer and fall to be able to be where she is this spring.”

Joining Gregoire will be pitcher Kim Partin who is 8-1 with a 1.66 ERA and has com-bined with Gregoire to help spark ACU’s 14-game winning streak. Offensively, catcher Jes-sica Shiery leads the team with a .447 batting average and nine home runs. First baseman Ka-

tie Cornelison leads the Wild-cats with 37 RBI while outfield-er Brooke Whittlesey leads the team with 46 hits.

The series will begin Fri-day at 7 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. All three games will be played at Wells Field where the Wildcats hold a 12-3 record.

Golf: Bouniol top finisher for Wildcats

Towne leads the team with 60 hits, 57 RBI and leads Division II with 18 home runs. Towne, the reigning co-LSC Hitter of the Week, hit four home runs last weekend and is five away from the LSC single-season re-cord set in 2002.

First baseman Chris Adam-son (.413) and outfielder Isaac Garcia (.387) will also lead ASU who has seven players with av-erages above .300.

On the mound, the Rams are led by Kenny Elkind (5-2) who is second in the LSC with a 3.11 ERA and ranks in the top five in opposing batting average, in-nings pitched, strike outs and wins. Joe Key (2-1, 4.37 ERA) and Michael Gunter (2-0, 5.29 ERA) also lead the pitching staff while Jeffrey Asby (2-2, 3.69

ERA) will be key for the Rams bullpen.

The Wildcats, who lead the LSC in batting average (.357) and are third in runs scored, will look to match the Rams of-fensively this weekend. Catcher Jordan Schmitt, who is batting .432 and leads the LSC in RBI with 65, leads ACU’s offense; Schmitt enters the weekend needing just two RBI to break the LSC record for career RBI. Joining Schmitt is short stop Willie Uechi who leads the LSC in batting average (.435) and hits (64). Center fielder Thomas Bumpass (.412) and Hall (.407) join five other Wildcats batting above .300.

“Right now, our strength is our offense,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “[The offense] has really come through and put up runs we need to win games

and done a good job of getting teams to their bullpens.”

After surrendering two late leads last weekend in the final innings of losses, the pitching staff will look to bounce back this weekend. Starting pitch-ers Cameron Aspaas (5-1, 3.38 ERA) and Preston Vancil (2-3, 4.58 ERA) lead the starters. As-paas ranks fourth in the LSC in ERA while Vancil ranks second in strikeouts with 63. Cameron Watten (2-0, 1.15), who has not pitched the past two weeks due to an injury, could return to the mound to give the Wild-cats a boost. Cooper Page and Matt Sullivan both started last weekend and could be counted on again this weekend to round out the starting four.

Relief pitchers Kevin Justice (5-1, 3.44 ERA), Corey Kelly (2-0, 3.86 ERA), Andrew Yacek

(3-1, 5.62 ERA) and closer Brad Rutherford (5-3, 4.19 ERA) will all play important out of the bullpen this weekend. Ruther-ford ranks second in the LSC, with six saves and first with 27 appearances.

“Our starting pitching has to go out there and compete better and give ourselves a chance,” Bonneau said. “If we have to go to our bullpen to find other starters, then we will have to do that during the next few weeks. Now’s the time to start making those adjustments to prepare us for any type of playoff run.”

The series will begin Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a double-header on Saturday at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The series will conclude Sunday with a game that starts at 3 p.m.

Friday, April 3, 2009 SPORTS JUMPS


Baseball: Pitching key in weekend series against Angelo State

Tennis: Women remain atop the LSC standings

Softball: Gregoire named Pitcher of the Week

E-mail Craig at: [email protected]

E-mail Tripp at: [email protected]

E-mail Abston at: [email protected]

Track: Three Cats honored by LSC

E-mail Harris at: [email protected] E-mail Gwin at: [email protected]





Heather Leiphart :: staff photographerStarting pitcher Preston Vancil delivers a pitch in ACU’s 11-8 win over Southeastern Oklahoma on March 22.

Emily Jorgenson :: file photo

Dina Pavlin serves during practice Oct. 3. The women are 16-2 over-all this season.

Heather Leiphart :: staff photographer

Long jumper Ramon Sparks leaps at the ACU Triangular on March 26.

By Austin GwinSports Writer

After 14-straight victories, ACU might expect the wins to come easier. However, the Wild-cats will put their record win- streak to the test this weekend against the No. 1 team in the nation, Angelo State.

ACU (30-9, 8-1) jumped a spot in the national rankings to No. 15 and remain at No. 3 in the South Central Regional rankings behind No. 1 Ange-lo State (31-4, 7-2) and No. 2 Southeastern Oklahoma.

Apart from boasting the No. 1 spot in Division II, the Rambelles lead the Lone Star Conference in home runs (63)

and slugging percentage (.635). Freshman phenom Sandy James enters the series with a team-best .440 batting average, which ranks third in the LSC.

“We are going to try and not give her anything good to hit, and we are going to have to hope the game doesn’t come down to [James] hitting a home run to win them the game,” said head coach Chantiel Wilson.

Her offensive prowess does not stop there. On the season, James has hit 21 home runs and recorded 52 RBI. At the moment, she is riding a 16-game hitting streak, second best in Angelo State history.

James isn’t the only weapon the Rambelles have to offer. ACU pitchers will need to watch out for second baseman Alix Dean and shortstop Macy Baker, who holds most of the Angelo State batting records.

The battle between the dom-inant ACU pitchers and Angelo State hitters will be the battle to watch this weekend. The Ram-belles have scored 10 or more runs in eight of their 31 wins this season. On the other hand, ACU pitchers have held their opponents to two runs or less in 20 games this season.

“We are going to have to pitch well and outhit them to

Golf team ties for second in Dallas

Track and field teams compete in Austin

By Brandon TrippSports Writer

ACU tennis continued its winning ways over the week-end and stayed hot Tuesday af-ter going 5-1 in the six matches. The men went 2-1 while the women went undefeated.

The men defeated Metro State and University of the Southwest over the weekend before falling Tuesday to No. 12 conference opponent Cam-eron University. The women went undefeated in their three matches, shutting out all three opponents includ-ing two nationally-ranked conference opponents.

“It was a good weekend for us,” head coach Hutton Jones said. “We really put it on our opponents.”

The men were dominant over the weekend, beating both opponents by a score of 9-0. Against Metro State, ranked No. 2 in the Central Region, No. 22 Juan Nuñez defeated the No.

20 singles player in the coun-try, Sascha Ruckelhausen, by a score of 6-2, 4-5. Ruckelhausen retired midway through the second set with an injury. Red-shirt freshman Eldad Campbell fell behind in his No. 3 singles match after dropping the first set 2-6, but came back to win the next two 6-4, 6-4.

Against the University of the Southwest, the men dropped just one set in the No. 3 singles slot. Hutton Jones Jr. fell behind 0-6 in the first set, but rallied to win two straight sets 6-2 and 11-9 in the tie-breaker. The No. 3 doubles team of Corey Hale and Cody McCarty put on a show, shut-ting down Marcos Villalobos and Valemar Soto 8-0.

In Tuesday’s match against conference opponent Cameron University, the Wildcats fell be-hind early after losing two of the three doubles matches. The lone win came after the No. 3

doubles team of Jones Jr. and Campbell rallied to give the Wildcats their only point on the doubles side with 9-7 win.

In singles play, No. 1 Nuñez struggled early against the na-tion’s No. 18 singles player Daniel Pazos, dropping the first set 6-1. After the break, Nuñez jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the

second set and held set point to win the second set. In the third and final set, Nuñez withdrew with what was diagnosed as an ankle sprain.

“I seriously thought it was all for me,” Nuñez said. “I was con-trolling the serves and points,

By Jeff CraigSports Writer

The Wildcat golf team made their case for an NCAA top-25 ranking by finishing tied for second at the 2009 DBU Patriot Invite on Monday and Tuesday in Dallas.

The most recent NCAA Division II men’s golf rank-ings had ACU outside of the top 25 after being ranked 20th in the previous rank-ings. The tournament was the Wildcats’ second to last tournament of the season, and head coach Mike Camp-bell said he’s feeling good about the progress his team has made down the stretch.

“I feel really good about the way we played in Dal-las,” Campbell said. “Condi-tions were pretty windy and

I thought the guys played through it and finished well.”

As a team, the Wildcats shot, 298-297-295-890, and finished tied for second with Northwood University. Okla-homa Christian University took home the championship by shooting, 290-282-291-863. OCU’s Tor-Erik Knudsen won the overall title by shoot-ing, 73-69-72-214. Knudsen, a native of Norway and just a freshman, has helped lead the OCU Eagles to a No. 1 ranking in the NAIA this season.

ACU’s Cyril Bouniol from Laloubere, France, finished tied for second with OCU’s Fer-nando Gonzales by shooting, 74-71-70-215, just one stroke

By Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

The ACU track and field teams traveled to Austin to compete in the Clyde Little-field Texas Relays Wednes-day through Saturday at the University of Texas. The Wildcats are compet-ing against top programs including Texas, Baylor, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

Don Hood, head track and field coach, was excit-ed to compete against such quality competition.

“We will run against some real good people there,” Hood said. “There will be 20,000 people in the

SportsFriday April 3, 2009

Standings

SCOREBOARD

Friday

Men’s TennisACU at Blue-Gray Classic, TBA

SoftballACU at Angelo State, 7 p.m.

BaseballACU at Angelo State, 7 p.m.

Saturday

SoftballACU at Angelo State, noonACU at Angelo State, 2 p.m.

Women’s TennisACU at Texas-El Paso, 3 p.m.

BaseballACU at Angelo State, 4 p.m.ACU at Angelo State, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday

Women’s TennisACU vs. Alabama-Birmingham, 10 a.m.

BaseballACU at Angelo State, 3 p.m.

:: Home games listed in italics

Upcoming

Friday

SoftballACU 2, Texas Woman’s 0ACU 11, Texas Woman’s 3

Saturday

BaseballEastern New Mexico 9, ACU 8ACU 14, Eastern New Mexico 3

Sunday

BaseballEastern New Mexico 11, ACU 10ACU 7, Eastern New Mexico 6

SoftballACU 4, Central Oklahoma 2ACU 7, Midwestern State 1

Tuesday

GolfACU tied for 2nd at DBU Patriot Invitational

Scores

In the Swing of Things

Wildcats look to extend 14-game winning streak

Emily Jorgenson:: file photo

Above: Natalie Friend returns a serve in practice Oct. 3. Below: Hutton Jones Jr. watches his return Tuesday. The men and women combined to go 5-1.

By Grant AbstonSports Writer

On the road for the sec-ond consecutive series, the Wildcats will look to remain on top of the Lone Star Conference this week-end when they travel to play An-gelo State University in a match-up of two of the top teams in the LSC.

Despite splitting a four-game series with Eastern New Mexico last weekend, ACU (28-10, 21-7) remains on top of the LSC with a one-game lead over Cam-eron University while An-gelo State (26-12, 19-9) is just two games behind. The Wildcats enter the series ranked No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball Maga-zine’s national poll while ASU is ranked No. 17.

“[San Angelo] is a great team and it’s going to be a battle this weekend,” second baseman Chris Hall said. “If we just execute and play de-fense and drive runners in when we get the chance, we will be fine.”

The Rams enter the se-ries coming off a series split on the road against Central Oklahoma and have earned at least a split in every LSC series this season. The Rams lead the conference in runs scored and is third with a .340 team batting aver-age. Designated hitter Keith

Tennis teams combine for 5-1 record in Abilene

Tennis

Softball

Golf

See Golf page 7 See Track page 7

See Baseball page 7

See Softball page 7

See Tennis page 7

BaseballTeam Div. OverallACUCameronAngelo St.SW Okla.ENMU

Central Okla.

21-720-819-917-1114-1414-14

28-1028-926-1223-1319-1818-19

Tarleton St. 13-13-1 17-18-1SE Okla. 11-16 14-18WTAMU 10-18 17-21TAMU-K 10-18 14-22East Central 10-18 11-25NE State 7-20-1 12-24-1

SoftballTeam Div. OverallACUAngelo St.Tarleton St.WTAMUTAMU-K

TX Woman’s

8-17-25-46-65-73-6

30-931-420-1527-1523-1621-19

ENMU 2-10 18-17

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Michael Andruchek watches his chip at practice Feb.18.


First baseman Katie Cornelison fields a ground ball in front of pitcher Britney Benedict in ACU’s 11-8 win over St. Mary’s on Feb. 12.

Road tripcontinues against Angelo St.

Briefs

n Catcher Jordan Schmitt is featured on pingbaseball.com as the Division II Spotlight Player of the week. The article highlights Schmitt’s career ac-complishments and includes a Q&A with Schmitt who discusses head coach Britt Bonneau, the College World Series and the ACU com-munity. Schmitt already holds ACU records for doubles and total bases, and is on base to set the school mark for hits and RBIs as well.

n The ACU football team will host its Purple-White spring football scrimmage Satur-day at 10 a.m. at Shotwell Stadium. ACU and AISD officials are asking all fans to sit on the west side of the stadium.

Bonneau

Photo Courtesy of Paula Jones

The Optimist - April 3, 2009

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Transcript of The Optimist - April 3, 2009