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

ACu WeATheR

Wednesday ThursdayHigh: 67 Low: 51

Friday

High: 70Low: 51

High: 77Low: 51

Online Poll : Are you going to watch the final

presidential debate?a. Yes, I still haven’t made my choice.b. Yes, [Insert candidate] will win.c. No, I’m tired of election coverage. d. Maybe if I didn’t have a midterm.

acuoptimist.com

Pg 3InsideThis Issue:

Volleyball team loses to Angelo State for first time since ’02

One God, many languages: International church offers cosmopolitan atmosphere

Award recognizes ACU student’s research in microwave chemistry

Pg 5 Pg 8

Optimistthe

a product of theJMC network

Pg. 8 Waiting game: Cats cruise past Rams, prepare for WTAMU Wednesday, October 15, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 16 :: 1 section, 8 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

More from the Log onto www.acuoptimist.com or www.you-tube.com/acuvideo to see weekly News casts and Sports casts from the JMC Network News Team and videos profiling various events and

stories around campus and Abilene.

Asian fashion show to aid cancer fightBy Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

The Office of Multicultur-al Enrichment and the Ajisai Team combined to produce “Ajisai: Four Seasons Fash-ion Show,” scheduled to take place in the Teague Special Events Center Friday. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m.

“Ajisai,” Japanese for Asian fashion, adeptly titles the production, which fea-tures traditional and mod-ern Asian dress, free food, vocal and instrumental performances and a perfor-mance by ACU’s SHADES, said Whitney Puckett, a show

organizer and sophomore interior design major from Melbourne, Fla.

Ideas for the Asian-themed fashion show began forming after last semester’s fashion show, “Exposed: A Fashion Story,” Puckett said, starting with four or five Asian stu-dents wanting to share their

unique, culturally-shaped sense of fashion with the Abilene community.

“I think it was just very im-portant to them that Asians get represented in a way that was more modern and a way that’s not just cherry blossoms and kimonos and dragons and things like that Americans can

typically put in a stereotype for them,” Puckett said. “They wanted to be represented and they wanted to show what they’ve got.”

The production benefits the National Breast Can-cer Foundation, which will

Missions,dedication to students defines lifeBy Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Known for his scrupulous teaching style and passion for medical mission work, Dr. John C. Little, professor emeri-tus of biology, played an in-tegral part in shaping and guiding stu-dents’ lives during his 35 years at ACU. Little passed away Oct. 7 in Abilene after a long battle with leukemia. He was 71.

“He was interested in help-ing people,” said Dr. Perry Reeves, professor of chem-istry and premedical adviser at ACU. “He was an excellent teacher but a pretty challeng-ing teacher. His goal was to be sure students were prepared for the challenges they’d meet when they went to medical and dental school.”

Little served as a profes-sor, premedical adviser, chair of the Health Professions Ad-visory Committee and chair of the Department of Biology, all while helping more than 200 ACU students get into medical schools and more than 100 into dental schools. His attention to detail aided in students’ endeavors for life after ACU.

“One of the things that I was really impressed with him about was how well he knew course numbers across this campus,” said Dr. Jim Nich-ols, chair of the Department of Biology. “Like you could say ‘English 365,’ and he knew what it was. He was a really good person to help students plan out their schedules.”

Little began his teaching career at ACU in 1961 after earning an associate’s degree from Florida Christian Col-lege in 1956 and a bachelor’s

Balloon release aims to promote programsBy Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Flashes of purple and white briefly dotted Mon-day afternoon’s gray over-cast sky as ACU TRiO mem-bers released more than 700 balloons into the air. The purple and white bal-loons took flight as part of the third annual Columbus Day balloon release in front of Moody Coliseum, which was meant to endorse TRiO and its theme for this year “Discovery of the New World of Education.”

“We do this to promote the concept of TRiO stu-dents to those folks who may not know us,” said Mark Upton, director of the Talent Search Program. “And to continually keep our name in front of people, helping them understand how we help the students in Abilene and how we help the students on cam-pus. It’s also a nice way to promote ACU for our high school students.”

ACU TRiO programs, which include the Education-al Talent Search Program,

Upward Bound, the Alpha Scholars Program and the McNair Scholars Program, cater to middle school, high school and college students by helping low-income, first-generation college and disabled students with counseling, tutoring, test preparation, research tech-niques and internships.

“By hosting those four grants, [students] are able to start in the sixth grade here in Abilene, and we can assist them all the way through their PhD,” Upton said.

Six high school soph-

omore students from Abilene High School and Cooper High School at-tended the balloon release as well as Monday’s Chapel and toured campus before returning to school.

More than 1,000 students in the Abilene area current-ly are enrolled in one of TRiO’s four programs. The Department of Education supports the programs, all of which are grant-funded by the government.

Members from TRiO be-gan inflating balloons at 8 a.m. Monday. When Chapel

ended, more than 700 bal-loons had been prepared. After the balloon release, students partook of the about 1,000 soft drinks TRiO offered.

“Today’s balloon release was a ‘Discovery of the New World’ as we discover the new world of education for our students,” Upton said. “The balloons represent that the sky is the limit.”

By Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

Two professors conducted surveys among students to ascertain how debates change voter perception at ACU.

Cindy Roper, associate professor of communica-tion, and Kristina Campos, professor of communication, passed out surveys before and after presidential de-bates as part of a study done by Uvote2008. The next sur-vey is at the final presidential

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Casper Hove-Mcghee, sophomore at Cooper High School, lifts a white tarp, sending purple and white balloons into the air at the third annual TRiO balloon release in the mall area Monday.

Little

Round ThRee

The third and final Presidential debate will be 8 p.m. Wednesday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The debate will be moderated by CBS’s Bob Schieffer. Several stations will broadcast the debate.

n ABC, *Channel 4n NBC, *Channel 5n FOX, *Channel 6 n CNN, *Channel 54n MSNBC, *Channel 63n FOX NEWS, *Channel 44

*ACU cable channels

Purple and White Flight

e-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

“

See Little page 4

ACU joins national effort to survey young voters

”

See Debate page 4 See Fashion page 4

AsiAn FAshion

The Office of Multicultural Enrichment will sponsor the “Ajisai: Four Seasons Fashion Show”

n When: Friday, 7 p.m.n Where: Teague Special

40%

I think it was just very important to them that Asians get represented in a way…that’s not just cherry blos-soms and kimonos and dragons…

:: Whitney Puckett, sophomore interior design major from Melbourne, Fla.

The Medical Clinic is offering flu shots to students, faculty and staff Thursday as well as Nov. 20 in the Campus Center’s Living Room from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Those who had the flu last year should not delay. Shots also are available in the clinic Tuesdays and Thursdays during regular clinic hours. Shots are $25 and can be paid by using cash, check or by charging to a Banner Account.

Congratulations to the 2008 Homecoming Court: Hayden Huey, Kylie Jennings, Sarah Lane, Suzanne Langston, Syndey North, Anna Peters, Jennifer Rasco, Sarah Sparks, Jamie Lyn Spires and Valerie Walker. Voting for this year’s queen begins Wednesday at www.acu.edu/queen.

Congratulations to the 2009 Sing Song Hosts and Hostesses: Coy Greathouse, Adrienne Linge, Jessica Patterson, Donovan Plummer, Jennifer Rasco and Sam Souder.

“Fashions for the Cure,” an event benefiting the Cancer Services Network, will be Thursday at the Abilene Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. Call 672-0040 for more information.

Ghost Tours is an event Friday and Saturday at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village. It is a chance to hear all the ghostly tales relating to the history of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village lynchings, death and decay. Call 572-3365 for more information.

Cross Canadian Ragweed has a concert Saturday at the Taylor County Expo Center Entertainment Pavilion at 7 p.m. Call 677-4376 for tickets and details.

The first annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration & Tejano Cook-Off is sponsored by Tejano106.9 FM and the Hispanic Leadership Council. The event takes place

at the Abilene Civic Center on Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free entertainment, games for all ages and a brisket cook-off will be included. The Superstars Tejano Artist La Sombra will play music along with opening performances by Grupo Viento and Proximo Sonido. Call Pete Garcia at 518-1800 for more information.

4 p.m.ACU Soccer versus Central Oklahoma

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.Ajisai: an Asian fashion show in Teague Special Events Center

5:15 p.m.SA meeting in Hart Auditorium

8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Flu shots in the Campus Center’s Living Room

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.Essence of Ebony presents “Verbal Balance” in Cullen Auditorium.

4:45 p.m. - 7:15p.m.Prairie Home Companion in Moody Coliseum

6 p.m.ACU Football at West Texas A&M

Calendar and Events

Volunteer Opportunities

Announcements

Friday15 Wednesday Thursday Saturday

St. John’s Episcopal School needs volunteers at various times from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26 to help set up, run booths and tear down its carnival.

The annual G. V. Daniels Recre-ation Center Fall Festival needs volunteers Oct. 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Volunteers will as-sist with game booths and hand out candy to kids. Appropriate costumes are allowed.

The ACU Alumni Office needs volunteers to help with various as-pects of the Homecoming Carnival Oct. 24 from 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Help is needed to control the inflatables, paint faces, hand out candy or walk around in Elvis costumes. ACU’s radio station KACU-FM is seeking volunteers to act as ushers Oct. 18 for the Prairie Home Companion performance in Moody Coliseum. Help is needed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Rose Park Recreation Center needs volunteers for its Hallow-

een Carnival Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This will be a safe al-ternative for trick or treaters, and volunteers are needed to operate booths and pass out candy.

The Junior League of Abilene needs volunteers for its annual Christmas Carousel, Style Show and Kids Event beginning Nov. 6 through Nov. 9 at the Abilene Civic Center. Help is needed different times each day for a variety of jobs. Proceeds from this event benefit local charitable organizations.

The Grace Museum is always in need of volunteers. Volunteers play a vital role in the daily oper-ation of the museum. The minute visitors walk through the door, the experience in the museum relies on capable and trained volunteers. For more information about volunteer opportunities at The Grace, please call 673-4587.

The Center for Contemporary Arts needs volunteers to greet patrons, answer phones and help with gallery shows. Three-hour

shifts are offered every Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and/or 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The gallery is located on 220 Cy-press St. in downtown Abilene. For more information, contact-Saybra Giles at 677-8389 or check out the organization online at http://www.center-arts.com/

House of Faith needs volunteers to participate in the after school Backyard Bible Club Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Thursdays for elementary children. Also, it needs assistance with its new Thursday Xodus program for middle school kids. Call and ask for different club locations. For more information, contact Denise Davidson at 370-3642.

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

CreditedChapelsto date:

CreditedChapelsremaining:

Checkup

35 31Chapel

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Campus Day2

acuoptimist.com

16 17 18 Help prevent burglaries of motor vehicles. Always lock your vehicle and place any valuables out of sight.

Monday, Oct. 6 Noon. A professor was con-cerned about a student; he was referred to Students of Concern for administrative follow-up. 3:55 p.m. ACU police contacted a juvenile who was riding a moped on the Lunsford Trail; he was issued a warning.10:50 p.m. Someone reported a student discharging fireworks at the GATA Fountain; a student had fireworks taped to his bi-cycle, so he was warned.

Tuesday, Oct. 7 10 a.m. Someone reported a lost iPhone; it was located in the Teague Special Events Cen-ter and returned to its owner. 5:09 p.m. ACU police recieved an incomplete 911 call from Zellner Hall, Room 218; it was a misdial.7 p.m. Someone reported students smoking marijuana in Edwards Hall. One student was arrested and transported to the Taylor County Jail.10:56 p.m. ACU police con-tacted students with a painted duck on a leash at the intramu-ral fields.

Wednesday, Oct. 83:15 p.m. Someone found an item at the lake; it was a bank bag and it was returned to the owner.8:19 p.m. ACU police attempted to locate a reckless driver on East North 10th Street; they were

unable to locate the vehicle.

Thursday, Oct. 9 11:30 a.m. ACU police returned cones someone found to Bontke Brothers Construction company.

Friday, Oct. 106:15 p.m. ACU police assisted a parent who was looking for a ju-venile; the juvenile was located in the Brown Library.

Saturday, Oct. 11 6:35 a.m. Someone reported a suspicious subject at 2600 Garfield St.; the subject was not located. 4:45 p.m. ACU police discov-ered two concrete barricades by the tennis courts; they moved the barricades back to the Campus Center Drive.

Sunday, Oct. 12 12:20 a.m. Someone reported shots being fired in the area of Smith Hall; ACU police checked the area.2:50 a.m. ACU police assisted Abilene police with an injured subject at 700 E.N. 13th St. The subject was transported to Hendrick Medical Center.5:26 p.m. Someone reported shots being fired at 1800 Lin-coln St.; they checked the area. Always report suspicious activity to ACUPD at 674-2305 or 674-2911.

Police LogEdited for space

ACU Police Tip of the Week

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

Groups may send announcements directly to jmcnetwork@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at mab07d@acu.edu.

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

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

About This Page

This week’s newscast highlights the wom-en’s soccer game against Northeastern State in the Lone Star Conference as well as the volleyball and football games.

Log on to www.youtube.com/acuvideo for clips from the football game against Angelo State. Also check out the high-lights from Wellness Week.

Online Newscast Webcast

October 15, 2008 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

Chem major wins national honor for innovative microwave researchBy Linda BaileyStudent Reporter

Kara Johnson, senior chemistry major from Ar-lington, was honored as second runner up for the MJ Collins Award, a national award recognizing signifi-cant research in the field of microwave chemistry. John-son was one of only four fi-nalists for the award, which was presented in August.

MJ Collins is the founder of the company CEM, which makes microwave reactors. A few years ago, the com-pany began sponsoring an award for students who did research in any area of mi-crowave chemistry, said Dr. Greg Powell, professor of chemistry and biochemistry. The award solicits nomina-tions from undergraduates, graduates and postdoctoral students, he said.

Johnson’s research cen-tered on a microwave reactor.

“It’s basically the same as a home microwave but a little more sophisticated,” Johnson said. “We can mon-itor the temperature and pressure of the reaction.”

Most of the work on mi-crowave reactors began in the summer of 2007, but the main work for the proj-ect was completed in just

10 weeks, Johnson said. Johnson was a student of

Powell’s, trained as his re-search assistant and worked in his research laboratory for several years, Powell said.

“It is really remarkable that in 10 weeks she was able to compete at the na-tional level,” he said.

The finalists were to be an-nounced in mid-June, John-son said. After two weeks passed, she said she was sur-prised to receive an e-mail saying she was a finalist.

“It was really exciting because I had just put it behind me saying, ‘I didn’t think I would get it,’” John-son said. “We had worked on it really hard, but it was two weeks later than the date that was set.”

Award finalists were in-vited to attend a ceremony in Philadelphia in August at the annual American Chemical So-ciety conference. At the cere-mony Johnson discovered she placed third but was the top undergraduate nominated.

She also was the only fi-nalist from the southern re-gion of the country. The win-ner and the other finalists were all from the Northeast.

“I would like to thank Dr. Powell for his support and giving me the opportu-nity to do this research with him,” Johnson said. “He has been a great mentor.”

Powell said he was proud of Johnson and happy she received this recognition.

“I’m not aware of an ACU chemistry student making it this far in a competition like this before,” he said. “I don’t think it has happened in the last 23 years that I’ve been here.”

Sitting in silence: Students produce alternative worshipBy Kelsi WilliamsonStudent Reporter

Soak, a student-led, alterna-tive time of worship, will meet for the fourth time Monday at 8 p.m. at Jacob’s Dream.

“It is an individual time to soak in God’s presence where the Holy Spirit leads you in different types of worship, including, among other things, community fel-lowship, prayer and reading the Bible,” said Jade Lane, sophomore business mar-keting major from Dallas.

Lane, a transfer student, participated in a similar group in high school and re-cently felt called to start the group at ACU. She described Soak as a time for the Holy Spirit to flow freely and said similar past experiences helped her grow in her rela-tionship with God and with other Christians.

“When you’re at Soak, you’re surrendering to God, and whenever you do that with others, it breaks down walls so you know those people on

a level that you wouldn’t nor-mally know them,” Lane said.

She said the structure of Soak is not the same every time. The previous meet-ings included some individ-ual reflection to the music of artists like Jason Upton and Kim Walker. At the sec-ond meeting, Lane said the students also spent time together in prayer.

“There are so many things you can go to that have a schedule,” Lane said. “A lot of times if you get really focused on exactly what you want to do, the Spirit is quenched.”

Michael McCall, freshman information technology ma-jor from Crowley, also par-ticipated in Soak while in high school. He attended the first two worship meetings at ACU and is helping Lane jumpstart the ministry. McCall said this type of free worship helped make his relationship with God more intimate.

“It’s more than a Sunday and a Wednesday thing,” McCall said. “It has taught me to make worship a two-

way thing always.”Both Lane and McCall

want Soak to be a time for students to get what they need spiritually.

“I love seeing people grow in their relationship with God and realize how real He is on a personal level,” Lane said.

Laura Korte, sophomore communication major from Fort Worth, attended Soak for the first time on Oct. 6. She said the worship time was dif-ferent from what she experi-enced in the past but she still enjoyed it.

“It’s kinda hard for me to sit and be quiet for a while,” Korte said. “It’s always good to sit down and be quiet and see if God is trying to tell you anything.”

Soak will continue to meet at the same time and place until further notice. Lane en-courages students with ques-tions to e-mail her at jadela-ne@sbcglobal.net.

Poetry expands student perceptionsBy Elizabeth CoffeeStudent Reporter

Essence of Ebony’s year-long theme, “Dig Deep and Plant Love,” will be empha-sized through their spoken word performance “Verbal Balance” Thursday in the Living Room of the Campus Center. The performance is at 7 p.m., and participation is open to all students.

A spoken word perfor-mance is poetry recited with emotion, used to pres-ent views or opinions of the performer, said Jasmine Bass, junior psychology ma-jor from Palmdale, Calif.

Essence of Ebony’s Presi-dent Kenneth Dinkins, senior youth and family ministry ma-jor from Toledo, Ohio, thought that by sponsoring this per-formance, which incorporates different people’s talents and abilities, their theme for this year would be accentuated.

“This year’s theme is based on things that we need to work on,” Dinkins said.

Essence of Ebony wants to create more concord, he said.

“‘Dig Deep and Plant Love”’ emphasizes unity, and we feel this perfor-mance will allow students to share what is on their hearts,” Dinkins said.

A preview for the perfor-mance will be at Essence of

Ebony’s small group Chapel on Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Biblical Studies Building, Room 120. Even if students are not members of Essence of Ebony, they are encour-aged to participate.

“We’re looking forward to these performances and seeing the different contri-butions of what we’ve got going on,” Dinkins said. “We want to extend an invitation for everyone to come out.”

In past years Essence of Ebony sponsored various programs like talent shows and open mic nights in or-der to promote its themes, but this year the members decided to mix it up and try something new.

“I think that this is a good opportunity for oth-ers to experience something different,” Bass said.

Poetry is much more than just ink on a page; it is part of a culture, she said. It has historical relevance. It can help people better under-stand others and why they believe what they believe,

Bass said.The performance does

not have a specific format. Those who prepare poetry may stand and recite it. For more information, contact Dinkins at kjd04a@acu.edu.

E-mail Coffee at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

I think that this is a good oppurtu-nity for others to experience some-thing different.

:: Jasmine Bass, junior psychology major from Palmdale, Calif.

“”

It’s basically the same as a home microwave but a little more sophis-ticated.

:: Kara Johnson, senior chemistry major from Arlington

“”

Words of Wisdom

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Dr. Shaun Casey, religous adviser for Sen. Barack Obama and associate professor of Christian Ethics at Wesley School of Seminary, discusses religion and politics with students at the Chapel forum inside Cullen Auditorium on Thursday.

E-mail Bailey at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Williamson: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

poEtry Digs DEEp anD plants lovE

Students can participate in the Verbal Balance event.

n Thursday

n Living Room of the Campus Center

n 7 p.m.

Page 4 Wednesday, October 15, 2008FROM THE FRONT/CAMPUS NEWS

degree at ACU in 1959. He later received a master’s de-gree from ACU in 1964 and a doctorate from the Univer-sity of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1971.

Little’s teaching tenure began with him working as an assistant instructor of biology until he was pro-moted to professor in 1979. Little became the chair of the department in 1984 and served until 1990 when Dr. Daniel Brannan, professor

of biology, became chair. As premedical adviser,

Little assisted hundreds of students, primarily by pro-viding them with contacts to prestigious medical and dental schools.

“He was a really good contact person,” Nichols said. “He knew a lot of peo-ple, and that was very help-ful for our students.”

During his time at ACU, Little received many honors, including the “Outstanding Professor Award” in 1985, the “Outstanding Service Award”

in 1990 by the Texas Asso-ciation of Advisers for the Health Professions and the ACU “Teacher of the Year” award in 1995. Little retired in 1996 but still occasionally taught nursing courses.

Little also was involved in foreign mission work, tak-ing several trips to Europe and Africa during his time in between semesters.

“That might have been his area of greatest inter-est,” Reeves said. “I’m sure he encouraged many ACU students to go on medical

missionary trips.”Little also was an elder at

Hillcrest Church of Christ where he promoted mission work around the world. All of Little’s children were in-volved in mission work in Europe and southern Africa while they were in college or soon after they left college.

Little is survived by his wife, Ann, their four children, Alicia, Ellen, Jan and Andrew, and their four grandchildren.

sponsor an informational booth at the event, Puckett said.

Dedicated to Beverly Rama, administrative coor-dinator for the Art Depart-ment, who recently was diagnosed with breast can-cer, the show is free for at-tendees and also features free food donated by local Abilene restaurants.

All proceeds from the fashion show comes in the form of donations or T-shirt sales, Puckett said. T-shirts will be available for purchase

during lunch in the Campus Center on Wednesday. Plans to auction some of the run-way clothes in the days or weeks following the show currently are being finalized.

Mallorie Frank, fashion show coordinator and pub-lic relations specialist, said beyond showcasing another culture, show organizers hope to encourage individu-als affected by breast cancer through their support of the national foundation.

“There’s a lot of support groups around Abilene, and we want to kind of take our hats

off to them for what they’ve gone through,” Frank said. “It’s something fun for them to do. Because they’re fighting breast cancer or they’ve had it or know someone who has had it, we want them just to have fun, and come out and enjoy themselves.”

By posting fliers on the ACU campus and in other lo-cations around the Abilene community, including other local universities, Puckett said the Ajisai Team hopes to attract attendees beyond the ACU community.

Frank said with months

of preparation and advertis-ing, she expects 150 people or more.

“We want people to feel welcome,” Frank said. “This isn’t just an ACU thing. We don’t want to close ourselves off. This is something for the whole Abilene commu-nity to come and be a part of because we want to show our support for those who are fighting breast cancer.”

Debate: Students react to candidates’ rhetoric

debate on Wednesday night. Participating students will meet in Sherrod Hall.

Uvote2008 is a non-par-tisan, nonprofit organiza-tion that conducts research among various colleges and universities to help educate young people on political and civic life.

According to the group’s Web site, its goals are to en-gage and involve university students in political and civic life; increase the percentage of university students who vote; and provide opportuni-ties for university students to help organize and assist in the political engagement of their peers. The organi-zation also investigates the political attitudes, activities and communication behav-iors of university students and uses the results of these investigations to enhance the levels of political infor-mation and awareness of university students.

“We study political com-munication patterns of uni-versity-age voters in order to develop programs and

messages that enhance the interest and participation of this group,” according to the Web site.

Roper said one of the pri-mary goals is to see how stu-dents respond to candidates before and after a debate.

“Students fill out a ques-tionnaire before the debate and after. I send the mate-rial to a colleague of mine, and they will enter the data into a stat analysis program along with results from all of the universities partici-pating,” Roper said.

She said they only have done surveys for the vice presidential debate and the presidential debate at ACU, although other schools are researching every debate.

Campos has gathered information for the group but does not know the re-sults yet.

“We won’t know the re-sults until everything is over. They won’t be published un-til after the election,” Cam-pos said.

For more information, visit www.Uvote2008.org.

Fashion: Cancer awareness to highlight show

Little: Legacy includes mission work

Continued from page 1

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

Students ‘save the world’ by recyclingBy Heather LeiphartStudent Reporter

Residents of building five at University Park Apartments soon will enjoy a coke float and ice cream party Saturday as a reward for winning the “Save the Aluminum, Save the World” recycling contest.

The competition began last Monday and ended Friday at midnight. Residents from the nine buildings at UP brought their aluminum cans to the clubhouse, depositing them in the appropriate recycling bins labeled by building num-ber. The total number of cans collected from building five doubled the count of any other building, said Tenell Zahodnik, resident director of University Park Apartments.

All of the cans from the com-

petition will be given to Habitat for Humanity in Abilene, who provided the collection boxes, Zahodnik said. Habitat, part-nered with the Aluminum As-sociation, uses funds from alu-minum-can recycling to build homes for families in need, ac-cording to the Habitat Web site. Each empty aluminum can is worth more than a penny, and since the beginning of the pro-gram in 1997, approximately 11.3 million pounds of alumi-num have been recycled, total-ing about $4 million, which has helped in the construction of more than 88 homes, according to the Web site.

Jeremy Dunford, senior speech pathology major from Houston and UP staff resi-dent assistant, spearheaded the project, partnered with UP staff resident assistant

Obiageli Akinbule, sophomore electrical engineering major from Nigeria.

“[UP is] encouraged to do eight programs a year, two of each category of CORE, which is like our motto,” Dunford said. “C is community, O is op-portunity, R is recreation and E stands for environment.”

Dunford created the recy-cling contest as part of an en-vironmental program, and Ak-inbule received the boxes from Habitat, he said.

The recycling program was a great opportunity to get the UP corporate office’s environ-mentally conscious mentality into the UP community, Zahod-nik said. UP staff still is looking for better ways to incorporate recycling throughout the com-munity, which is a bigger feat than just setting up bins, she said. If the city will not pick up the recycling, the resident assistants have to drop it off, which can be a little taxing, so UP staff is trying to work that

out, she said. The recycling pro-gram was a way to start small and build, Zahodnik said.

The theme for the contest centered around the popular television show Heroes, with characters from the show fea-tured on advertising fliers an-nouncing the contest, persuad-ing residents to be everyday heroes by recycling.

“There’s a war out there and there are people that need help, and if we’re okay, then we should be willing to help other people,” Akinbule said. “Habi-tat does just that; they build homes for really poor people, and so if you’re helping people then you are a hero.”

UP staff plans to leave collec-tion boxes in the laundry room, gazebo area and clubhouse, Dunford said.

“We may not be doing any more contests but we’re defi-nitely going to keep the bins here from now on,” Akinbule said.

Clothes for Kids

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Molly Mulholland, junior sociology major from Roanoke, folds and organizes donated clothes for the children at the House That Kerry Built Saturday during a Service Saturday project.

Continued from page 1

E-mail Acuff at: lka06a@acu.edu

E-mail Leiphart at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Zeinert at: zaz05a@acu.edu

Page 5October 15, 2008

FocusWednesday

By Sondra RodriguezContributing Reporter

It’s not the kind of church where members find themselves doodling on the handout 10 min-utes into the service and have ex-perienced multiple violent head bobs that jolt the mind back into awareness by the Lord’s Supper. The International Baptist Church of Abilene exhibits cultural and ethnic diversity and is bound by a love that is often the only com-monality among its members.

The church is a multi-cultural community of believers that seeks to reach all internationals through Christ, said Myung Kyo Lee, Pastor the IBC and ACU alumnus from South Korea.

Lee and his wife moved to Abilene from South Korea in 1985, and immediately placed member-ship at the Palm Street Church of Christ. In 1992, when that congre-gation moved to a new location, Lee and his wife bought the build-ing, and a year later he became pastor of an independent Baptist church there. In October 2003, the church became Abilene Kore-an Church, but changed again to the International Baptist Church of Abilene in August of 2005 to better reflect the “strong mission mind” of the church.

Lee said he felt that as an inde-pendent Baptist church, he wanted the congregation to be more Christ-centered than doctrine-centered — which he thought could be achieved as a Baptist congregation.

“We felt that the church had a culture of inclusion which allowed Christians, like us, who have dif-ferent cultures and views to be part of the body,” he said.

Lee said because Abilene is a multi-cultural area, including the word “international” presents the church with more opportunities for ministry and mission work among internationals. Accord-ing to the U.S. Census Bureau, Abilene’s Asian population in 2000 was 1,543, which Lee said he believes continues to grow.

He then decided that because his church members were primar-ily international he wanted the church body to fulfill its mission statement, drafted by Lee and members of the early Abilene Ko-rean Church congregation to: “En-large your cultural understanding of God’s Kingdom.” This is done by encouraging church members to enter the mission field in their home countries.

Kwan Carpenter, a friend of the Lees from South Korea and cur-rent resident of Dallas, returns to Abilene periodically to help with IBC volunteer projects. She said the idea of mission work is wide-spread throughout the church,

which is why she comes back to help as much as possible.

“Even though I’m not a mem-ber, I come back whenever possi-ble,” Carpenter said. “This church is very giving to the public—to ev-eryone. It does well in accommo-dating and serving others.”

On the weekend of Sept. 27, Car-penter was in Abilene to help with a Korean Food Drive that raised money for the Lees’ annual mission trip back to Korea and China. Church mem-bers made traditional Korean dishes, from cabbage kimchi to homemade egg rolls, and sold meals to both church and community members. In just one day, more than $1,500 was raised, of which Lee will dedicate a portion to pastors in South Korea.

“People aren’t required to do this,” she said about her weekend

service. “I’m a Korean and I’m very proud of what this church is doing for Asia. If I’m able, I’ll be here.”

Lee said he wants to reveal this mindset to all members of the church.

“We want to reach out to mem-bers,” he said. “We want to bring them the Gospel, teach them the Bible and transform them into mis-sionaries in their motherland.”

The church body is composed of 110 members from Japan, North and South Korea, China, the Philippines, Mexico and the United States. Lee said the church encour-ages and welcomes all ethnicities.

“We open the door to everybody to learn to get together in Christ,” he said.

The doors open every Sunday at 11 a.m., when about 20 people ar-rive for service. The church’s name

is displayed as a proud declaration in both Korean and English in front of the building.

From the dimly lit foyer, wine red carpet leads through double doors to the sanctuary where a large sign written in Korean and English reads, “Enlarge Your Cultural Understand-ing of Gods Kingdom.”

Church bulletins are distribut-ed to members as they enter the sanctuary, and in both Korean and English have the statement: “Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn’t belong,” stamped in a bold typeface across the page.

Non-Korean speakers can pick up a small translator box equipped with a single ear bud.

Greetings mostly are given in English, along with a few Korean words mixed in here and there. Worship follows the same struc-ture—one song in English, the next in Korean. This transition from Korean to English causes those who do not speak Korean to focus on the words they do understand, and meditate on their meanings.

The congregation consists of multiple interracial couples and

families, which causes visitors to question why race and ethnicity have ever been an issue.

Because of its size and the re-lationships members have created with one another, it is fairly sim-ple to identify the stranger and exchange a few kind words before the time of offering and taking of the Lord’s Supper.

As Lee approaches the podium to deliver the sermon, all who do not speak Korean reach to the bench of the pew for their transla-tor boxes. They anxiously untangle the mess of cords that connect the boxes to a single ear bud. Heads tilt to one side as the ear bud is attached and then the clicking be-gins as they search for the chosen frequency and desired volume.

“We are debtors of the Gos-pel,” said a young male voice a few moments after those very words leave Lee’s lips in Korean. The translation is not exactly the same—members often laugh at something Lee said in Korean, but English-speakers will look to one another for further explanation. These kinds of things at IBC leave no option but to “enlarge your cul-tural understanding of God’s king-dom.” Some phrases may be lost in translation, but “amen” seems to mean the same thing every-where, as members from around the world declare it from every corner of the sanctuary.

Lee concludes the message with a prayer after his wife leads the choir, five women including her-self, in the closing song. Members then turn to visitors and strike up conversations that are more than just words exchanged between strangers. Lee said he believes this interaction is constructive in uniting in Christ.

“Even though we have language and cultural barriers, through Christ, we can overcome them,” he said.

Lee said his goal for the church extends into the community.

“Learn how to get together in Christ,” Lee said. “Learn these things for the sake of the church.”

The IBC has an international goal, but Lee and the congregation encourage one another and Abile-nians to open their hearts and minds to new cultures and people across the globe.

One God, One People

Left: Pastor Myung Kyo Lee speaks to the IBC congrega-tion. Above: Kyong Kim and her grandaughter listen to the sermon. Below: Philip Im, junior biochemistry major from South Korea, and Steve Oh, senior marketing major from Korea, translate the sermon for English-speaking members of the congregation.

E-mail Rodriguez at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Even though we have language and cultural barriers, through Christ, we can overcome them.

:: Myung Kyo Lee, International Baptist Church of Abilene pastor

“”

When a couple from South Korea arrived in the states 23 years ago, they desired a place where Christians could join together, without regard to ethnicity or race.

The International Baptist Church of Abilene became that place.Photos by: Zack Zeinert, chief photographer

ViewsWednesdayPage 6

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: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Editorial and letter policy

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

Newsroom:(325) 674-2439

Sports desk:(325) 674-2499

Photo department:(325) 674-2499

Advertising office:(325) 674-2463

Subscriptions ($40/academic year):(325) 674-2296

E-mail:jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Editorial and Management Board

Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Sommerly SimserMult. Managing Editor

Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

Grant AbstonSports Editor

Lydia MelbyArts Editor

October 15, 2008

Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463

Optimistthe

My home church recently saw five funerals in eight days. People came forward with confessing trails and sins

no one could have sus-pected. It’s been a rough semester.

I haven’t been around for most of it. Like many of you, I’ve been stress-ing about tests, look-ing forward to ACU dom-

ination at football games and wondering if the annual crick-et plague will ever actually reach full force this fall.

But before I left my home-town to return to the ACU bub-ble community several weeks ago, one of the first of many metaphorical bombs dropped for my church when my best

friend’s family came forward.I grew up with this family

and I respect and love them as much as my own, but I had no idea what they faced. I could never have predicted the particular trial they revealed. Turns out, neither could they.

Talking about it later, my friend’s mom told me, “The only reason I’m still standing is I’ve prepared for this.”

By “this,” she didn’t mean that ordeal. She meant an ordeal. Sometimes troubles are unpredictable, but the Bible tells us we can expect them, she said.

I knew that. Don’t we all? One of the major questions that in-evitably comes up in studies of Christianity is how can a loving God let bad things happen to good people? I’ve heard several answers to this question and I’ve even settled on my own, one that satisfies my personal concerns, but that’s not what I want to talk about.

As humans we suffer what we consider to be disappointments and face challenges. More imminent than a question of why, per-haps, is, are we ready?

I’m not sure my friend and her family would ever say they were ready, but her mom did say she was pre-pared. Her daily devotions, faith and strong Christian re-lationships were holding her up when she needed help.

I’m not sure I’d ever thought of spiritual disciplines, my prayer life or my connection to a church in such active terms. I knew they were important. I knew that by nature, they needed continual improving. I even knew I would face tri-als. I’m not sure I recognized those efforts had such a direct connection to my future, that I would really need them—that when I most needed to rely on God, those would be the best how-to guides I could want.

At ACU, we maintain a very sheltered existence. Our studies often take on a Chris-tian worldview very different from those many of us will face when we graduate and enter the workforce.

Sometimes, we seem to trudge apathetically toward graduation, acknowledging but never really appreciating the perspective such an education affords. Other times, we tend to view a Christian worldview-based education as a handicap, leaving us unprepared to deal with the real world.

I’d like to suggest another viewpoint. Here, we have more time and resources to develop and explore our faiths than we may ever have at any other time in our lives. We know tri-als are coming. Let’s take ad-vantage of what we have now and anchor our lives before any hurricanes hit.

Midterms. We all know what that means. Our con-sumption of coffee, sodas and energy drinks goes up

c o n s i d e r -ably as we all try to survive five or six major tests (that s o m e h o w always seem to happen all at the same time) while b a l a n c i n g our work and outside com-mitments. At the end, we

collapse from exhaustion and try to pick up whatever shreds of a social life we have left. Er, at least that’s what always seems to hap-pen to me.

Since it’s that time again, I’m sure plenty of students are planning to pull a few all-nighters. I got on Wiki-pedia (the lazy learner’s Mecca) to research (sort of) what exactly happens. I’ve heard all the urban legends that say stuff like if you stay awake for 36 hours, you’re legally drunk, or people who have stayed awake for more than 48 hours are considered clinically in-sane. As someone who has stayed awake for 106 hours and then had to navigate a major international airport before finally passing out in my own home, I can prob-ably (though not absolutely) contest the insanity part.

However, there is no dis-agreement, from me or any-one else, that lack of sleep can hinder the way a person functions. Aside from the ob-vious effects of headaches, irritability, hypertension, muscle soreness and general confusion, some research claims severe sleep depriva-tion (we’re talking 36 hours or more here) can lead to de-lirium, blurred vision, hand tremors, hallucinations, con-stipation, memory lapse/loss and symptoms that mimic those of Attention Deficit Disorder and drunkenness. Fun stuff, huh?

Despite my interest in all these supposed consequenc-es of pulling an all-nighter or two, you don’t even have to go more than 24 hours to start feeling the effects. Ac-cording to the British Medi-cal Journal, researchers in Australia and New Zealand reported in 2000 that people

who drive after only staying awake for 17–19 hours per-form worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent. Also, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 100,000 traffic acci-dents in the United States are caused by fatigue and drowsiness each year.

Probably the best thing I ran across during my re-search was a description of the methods scientists used to study sleep deprivation in rats. One of the studies placed a bunch of rats in a tub filled with water with a few inverted flowerpots as platforms. These platforms were big enough that the rats

could stay dry, but too small to let them experience REM cycle sleep without falling off the tops. The rats tried to nap when they could but be-came more and more sleep deprived as they worked to keep from drowning.

Without making any ref-erences to Smashing Pum-kins and their rage prob-lems, I can’t help but draw the obvious parallels from the rat study to a bunch of students during a week filled with tests that be-come more and more sleep deprived as they try to get everything done and still keep their head above water. While education is definitely my first priority, my health, both physical and mental, is a close second. The danger-ous consequences of sleep deprivation, even minor, should be obvious enough to result in a reevaluation of the way our classes gauge learning. I can’t speak for all but I would feel a lot saner and safer on the roads if ev-eryone’s tests weren’t all in the same week.

It’s Saturday evening, and you’re patrolling the mag-nificent Mall of Abilene, and then finally it hits you:

Where are all the awkward adolescents? The answer: “Family-Friendly hours,” a new campaign beginning Oct. 17 in which teenagers under the age of 18 will no longer be permit-ted into the mall after 5 p.m. on the weekends without a par-ent or guardian. Which brings up the question if malls aren’t created to indulge teens, what purpose do they have?

For the mall to create such a rule, one might think there must be a surplus of teen thievery and reckless-ness, but according to the Abilene Reporter-News, the new rule was implemented because “mall customers felt intimidated,” Mall of Abilene Vice President and General

Manager Steve Majors said, adding the policy was not the result of any incidents but rather a proactive move. Proactive could describe this scenario, but is it practical to ban all people younger than 18 after 5 p.m. without the accompaniment of an adult? If a surplus of teens stole and juveniles mugged saintly mall patrons, the warrant of this rule would be more ob-vious, but the reality is most of these teenagers only are guilty of finding solace and refuge in a building popular-ized by America’s youth.

America’s malls used to be a safe haven for those

battling teen angst and pu-berty. It served as a social watering hole where young teenagers could meet and greet and purchase un-needed products to their hearts’ content. Slowly but surely, age bans across the nation are deterring teenage youths from “hanging out” inside local malls; and al-though the public go to the mall, the mall is not consid-ered a public space.

When most people think of the mall, they think of a public place, and public places are supposed to be void of any prohibitions that turn people away for any

reason. A public space re-fers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gen-der, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. How-ever, privately owned malls are the exception to this rule, and the Mall of Abilene, although built for the people (and their cash), is owned privately. However, people who own private businesses possess rights as well and are allowed to create regula-tions as they wish, but isn’t the No. 1 rule for any busi-ness to appease the custom-er regardless of age?

The term “family friendly” may sound endearing and har-monious, but let’s be realistic. The mall wants to accomplish its goal by “forcing” underage teenagers to leave. What’s so friendly about that? The idea

looks good on paper. The originator probably painted a beautiful picture of mom and dad participating in a peaceful evening with the kids, going from shop to shop, bonding as a family while contributing to the local economy. What a ridiculous notion. Let’s be real first and foremost: malls were created to enhance the distribution of the almighty dollar, not to promote family bonding and togetherness.

To be realistic, the only real place that doesn’t have a problem with hyper adoles-cents is Home Depot. If malls across the country can create an atmosphere like a hard-ware store then they won’t have any problems turning away America’s youth because there won’t be any there.

Midterms consolidate exams, exhaust students

New mall regulations unreasonably restrict Abilene youth

Christians should prepare for trial while still sheltered

By Laura Acuff

Conscientious Conjecture

By Lydia Melby

Your (A)Typical Coffee Addict

E-mail Melby at: lgm05e@acu.edu

E-mail the Optimist at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

The issue:The Mall of Abilene’s newly adopted “Family Friendly Hours” restrict mall hours for teenagers under 18 years of age.

Our view:The mall is an important gathering place and spending venue for teens.

The solution:Although the mall is not considered a public space, mall officials should do their bank accounts and customers a favor and allow adolescents inside.

While education is definitely my first priority, my health, both physical and mental, is a close second.

“

”

Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor

Cody VetetoChief Videographer

DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager

Molly ByrdPage 2 Editor

Kenneth PybusAdviser

Cade WhiteAdviser

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

...although the public go to the mall, the mall is not considered a public space.“

”

Joe duck and Ida duck came to live on the ACU pond the Spring of 2007, from where, I do not know...Chester the goose joined

them the Fall semester of 2007. They were joined by a number of mallard ducks heading south this past win-ter. Unfortunately, Ida duck did not make it through the winter after getting hurt.

I go by and feed Joe & Chester almost everyday, along with what other duck

or blue herring is on the pond at that time. Joe never leaves the pond, but Chester likes to adventure from the pond sometimes. He has even tried to join the Big Purple band on the stomping grounds at practice several times.

The problem is some stu-dents chase Chester and try and catch him or they throw rocks at Chester. When on the pond, sometimes stu-dents will let their dogs chase them while they are

eating or swimming. Please take care of God’s

creatures that have found their way to the ACU pond....when the winter comes there will be more ducks that will come and go on the pond. Joe and Chester love french fries and bread if you want to feed them. But, please give them a break and be sure and watch for Chester crossing the road over by the pond.

Letter to the Editor

Kay SeeACU Alumni Class of ‘81

Pond fowl meet foul treatment

E-mail Acuff at: lka06a@acu.edu

the set and tie the match at one set apiece.

The third set started out as a back-and-forth battle with nine ties and four lead changes; after 30 points, the set was tied 15-15. The Wild-cats struggled throughout the third set, hitting a collec-tive .000 with 10 kills and 10 errors on 30 attacks. Once again, the Rambelles finished the match on a tear, winning 10 of the final 14 points to take a 2-1 lead. Angelo State’s Alaina Sivells led the Ram-belles in the third set with five kills on eight attacks.

The fourth and final set played much like the three previous ones with the Ram-

belles outscoring the Wildcats in the final 15 points. This time, Angelo State led 13-10 before winning 12 of the final 14 points.

Freshman outside hitter Jennie Hutt led the Wildcats with 11 kills, followed by red-shirt freshman outside hitter Britini Golden with eight kills in her Lone Star Conference career start. Junior outside hitter Michelle Bacon also added eight kills in the loss, which saw the Wildcats hit just .079 as a team.

Sophomore setter Ijeoma Moronu had a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs on the night. Hutt led the team with 20 digs, and junior de-fensive specialist Amy Wilson had 14 digs. Sophomore mid-

dle blocker Shawna Hines’ eight blocks (one solo, seven assisted) led the Wildcats despite her having to play through a strained hip flexor.

“We did really well in the first game,” head volleyball coach Kellen Mock said. “We got on a roll at the beginning of the first game, but they finished well at the end of the first game, took the momen-tum, and we never got it back. They [ASU] are a good team and doing well in the confer-ence, and we just really didn’t have a good day.”

The Wildcats fell to 14-7 overall and 2-3 in league play. The team travels to Commerce on Thursday night to play Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m.

“Historically, Texas A&M-Commerce is a team that is very athletic and jumps well,” Mock said. “They are going to be a tough team to beat. We need to start winning some of these conference matches to get ourselves back up to the top of the conference poll.”

With seven of its 12 con-ference matches still re-maining, the team needs to focus on getting a favorable seed in the LSC Tournament, Mock said.

“I don’t feel like we have peaked yet,” Mock said. “We can still move further and further up the standings and hopefully peak at the right time.”

Volleyball: Wildcats lose to Angelo State for first time since 2002

the game. Kicker Matt Adams hit a 39-yard field goal, and tight end Kendrick Holloway caught a 5-yard pass from Ma-lone to end the first half with the Wildcats ahead 31-7.

The Wildcat defensive opened the second half with its seventh touchdown of the sea-son after cornerback Quintin Wilson returned an intercep-tion 56 yards to put the Wild-cats ahead 38-7. Knox finished his night just like he started it: scoring two more touchdowns on passes from Malone to close

out the third quarter with the Wildcats ahead 51-7.

“We were decent offensively, but there is still a lot of room to improve in all three phases, and we got to continue to improve each week,” Thomsen said.

The Wildcat offense fin-ished with 478 total yards, 142 rushing and 336 pass-ing. Malone finished with 319 yards passing and five touchdowns, giving him 10 touchdown passes in the last two games. Scott ran for 117 yards and one touchdown while catching two passes for 35 yards, giving him

more than 1,200 total yards on the season.

Defensively, ACU allowed just 252 total yards and forced seven turnovers, five interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Defensive end Wil-lis Hogan and defensive backs Wilson and Josh Henry each added an interception, while defensive back Drew Cuffee had two interceptions. Line-backers Mike Kern and Derek Odelusi led the Wildcats with six tackles while linebackers Fred Thompson and Eric Ed-wards each added a sack.

“We had another touchdown

and forced some turnovers, and that’s key,” Thomsen said. “When you force turnovers, you get a chance to win. Overall we played good, but we have to play more physical this week.”

The Wildcats will enter next week’s game ranked No. 3 na-tionally, while West Texas A&M is ranked No. 4. However, West Texas A&M is ranked ahead of the Wildcats in the regional poll, leading in front of the second-ranked Wildcats. The Wildcats will travel to Canyon to play the Buffs at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Central to get out of our scoring slump.”

The Wildcats took the field Sunday for their sec-ond match of the weekend against Northeastern State. It was a defensive struggle as the Wildcats and Riv-erHawks battled to a 0-0 tie. The Wildcats had their chances with 15 shots in the game. Seven of those were on goal, but they could not get one past goalie Pat-rica Nardy as she recorded

a shutout. The Wildcats also recorded a team shutout, but goalie Crissy Lawson left the game with 2:36 left in the first half, and Elliot London had to take over. Jordan Reese had a shot at the 85th minute that went off the crossbar, but that was as close as the Wild-cats would get; the game remained scoreless through 110 minutes, resulting in a 0-0 draw.

The offense stepped up, putting the Wildcats in a good position to make a push in

the standings this weekend, with games against Central Oklahoma and Southestern Oklahoma State.

“The girls are starting to click together and play to-gether better,” Pertuit said. “We have been there and have been close, but this weekend we were finally able to put the ball in the net. Hopefully luck is starting to bounce our way now.”

out five. Head baseball coach Britt Bonneau liked what he saw from his pitchers and described the series as a vital tool in evaluating his pitching staff.

“We had a couple of new arms we needed to evaluate, and it was good to see where we were at with our pitchers,” Bonneau said.

Coach Bonneau felt the entire event was ultimately about evaluation, not just of his pitchers, but of the entire

team as well. The coach noted that this year’s series was es-pecially important consider-ing the team has more than 15 newcomers.

“The series is the last thing we do to evaluate the players before we make our final decisions to see who is on the team,” Bonneau said. “There are different pres-sures than there are in inter-squad games; the series is a good evaluating tool.”

The Wildcats finished last season ranked 14th in the na-tion with a record of 44-17

but lost out at regionals to Southern Arkansas. Last sea-son’s early exit has served as inspiration for the aforemen-tioned series MVP Jordan Schmitt, who said last sea-son’s loss left a bad taste in his mouth. The season is still several months away, but the ACU Fall World Series served as a time of fun and evalua-tion as the Wildcats get set to prepare for another year.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Page 7SPORTS JUMPS

Football: Knox sets ACU record, ties LSC record

E-mail Harris at: tch05f@acu.eduE-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

Soccer: Defense earns shutout

6-3, by the eventual cham-pion, East Central’s Julia Arguello. Dina Pavlin de-feated Midwestern State’s Colleen Kinser, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, before losing in the championship, 6-0, 6-3, to Adriana Jaskova of Tarle-ton State. Cassie Carver won the No. 3 bracket by defeating Tarleton State’s Natalia Yanes 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the championship. Nat-alie Friend won the No. 4 bracket with a victory over Tarleton State’s Jade Char-lot, 6-3, 6-2. Lauren White won the No. 5 bracket, de-feating Central Oklahoma’s Amy Cabato in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Sandra Vucic also won her championship match in straight sets, de-feating Midwestern State’s Holly Gunderson, 6-1, 6-1.

“On the girl’s side, we dominated the tournament although I felt like we should have done better on doubles,” Jones said. “I felt like we were the better team in our matches.”

The LSC Individual Ten-nis Championships carries no weight pertaining to

who makes all-conference. It is not mandatory that all LSC schools send teams and some did not. Essen-tially, it is a fall tourna-ment to give players expe-rience, Jones said.

At the Racquet Club In-vitational, Jaclyn Walker won the consolation match in women’s singles. Brian Joiner and Luke Hawk lost in the finals of the main draw doubles to Illinois, but beat two Texas Tech teams on the way to the final.

Juan Nunez and Ryan Hudson also competed which provided them with good preparation for ITA National Championships which begin on Thursday, Jones said.

The ITA National Cham-pionships in Mobile, Ala. will conclude on Sunday. In addition to the men’s doubles team of Nunez and Hudson, Irene Squil-laci will compete for the women’s singles title.

Baseball: Cats look ahead to 2009

Continued from page 8

Continued from page 8Continued from page 8

E-mail Harris at: tch05f@acu.edu

Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer

Ericka Dickinson (left), Britni Golden (second from left), Jennie Hutt (second from right) and Jordan Schilling (right) celebrate a point.

Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer

Running back Bernard Scott ran for 117 yards and one touchdown against Angelo State Saturday night at Shotwell Stadium.

Tennis: Four womenwin individual titles

E-mail Craig at: jmcnetwork@acu.eduE-mail Cantrell at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

With a showdown against No. 4 West Texas A&M looming, the Wildcats took care of busi-ness Saturday night, defeating Angelo State 51-7 to improve to 6-0 and set up a top-five ranked matchup with LSC and national title implications.

The Wildcats dropped An-gelo State to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the South Division, while improving to 2-0 in the South Division, one game behind 3-0 West Texas A&M. ACU scored more than 50 points for the fourth consecutive game and scored a defensive touchdown for the fifth consecutive game to start 6-0 for the second time in three years.

“I felt like our guys did a good job once again with their focus and taking on the challenge that they had,” head

coach Chris Thomsen said. “The defense forced a lot of turnovers, and Johnny [Knox] had a breakout game.”

Not only did wide receiver Johnny Knox have his best game as a Wildcat but he fin-ished his record-setting night with one of the top perfor-mances in conference his-tory. Knox finished with six catches for 232 yards with four touchdowns covering 59, 60, 47 and 29 yards. Knox set the ACU single-game record for receiving yards, breaking the previous mark of 228 set by Reggie McGowan in 1985. Knox also tied the ACU and LSC single-game record for touchdown receptions, be-coming the ninth player in LSC history to catch four touchdown passes. Knox earned LSC South Offensive

Player of the Week honors for his performance.

“Johnny is a consistent performer each week,” Thom-sen said. “He knows he has an impact whether it is blocking or catching, and it happened to be catching this week.”

Quarterback Billy Malone got the Wildcats rolling early, hitting Knox for two first-quarter touchdowns to put ACU ahead 14-0 after the first quarter. Running back Bernard Scott scored six min-utes into the second quarter before Angelo State cut the Wildcats lead to 21-7 on a 87-

yard touchdown run by run-ning back Daniel Thomas.

After the Rams’ touch-down, ACU would score the next 30 points to close out

Cats crush Rams

n The ACU Department of Athletics will be sponsoring two buses for fans to travel to Canyon on Saturday to watch the ACU football team play West Texas A&M. The cost is free, but fans will be responsible for purchasing tickets ($12 for adults, $5 for students with ID) and meals. Buses will leave the Teague Special Events Center park-ing lot at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. To sign up, e-mail Nate Davis at nate.davis@acu.edu.

n Wide receiver Johnny Knox earned LSC South Division Offensive Player of the Week honors af-ter catching

six passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns in ACU’s 51-7 win over Angelo State. Knox set the ACU single-game receiving yards record and tied the ACU and LSC record for receiving touch-downs in a game.

SportsWednesdayPage 8 October 15, 2008

Standings

FootballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUACU Tarleton St.TAMU-KMSU

Angelo St.

3-02-01-11-11-21-2

7-06-06-15-24-23-4

ENMU 0-3 1-6

VolleyballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUTarleton St.TX Woman’sTAMU-CMSU

ACU*

*9th out of 14 teams

4-06-14-24-23-22-3

20-316-615-812-719-514-7

Women’s SoccerTeam Div. OverallWTAMUCentral Okla.Angelo St.NE St.TAMU-C

TX Woman’s

5-03-13-12-1-22-12-1

11-1-18-3-29-4-14-5-38-2-17-5

ENMU 2-3 8-6ACU 1-2-1 5-5-2MSU 1-3 6-6East Central 0-4-1 4-7-2SW Okla. 0-4 2-11

SCOREBOARD

NOTES

Thursday

TennisITA National Championships, 9 a.m. (Men and Women)

VolleyballACU at Texas A&M Commerce, 7 p.m.

Friday

SoccerACU vs. Central Oklahoma, 4 p.m.

Saturday

Cross CountryChile Pepper Festival, 9:45 a.m.

VolleyballACU at Texas Woman’s, 2 p.m.

FootballACU at West Texas A&M, 6 p.m.

:: Home games listed in italics

Upcoming

Friday

SoccerACU 3, East Central 2

Saturday

FootballACU 51, Angelo State 7

Sunday

SoccerACU 0, Northeastern State 0

Scores

Tennis team prepares for ITA nationalsBy Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

The men and women’s tennis teams traveled to Wichita Falls over the week-end to compete in the LSC Individual Tennis Champi-onships. Six other Wildcats, four men and two women, also traveled to Midland for the Racquet Club Invitation-al, a Division I tournament.

In the LSC tournament, Cameron University domi-nated the men’s division, winning five of the six championship matches. In the women’s division, ACU

brought home four of the six championships.

On the men’s side, two ACU players placed second and three placed third in their brack-ets. Quinton P e t e r s o n -Paul lost his c h a m p i o n -ship match in the No. 1 bracket, 6-0, 6-3, to Daniel Pazos of Cameron. In the No. 2 bracket, Jon Strahl defeated

Travis Stegner of Midwest-ern State, 6-1, 6-4, to claim the consolation match. Joey Farias also lost his champi-onship match to Saman Samii of Cameron, 6-3, 6-2. Hutton Jones, Jr. lost two, three-set matches in the No. 4 bracket and Karl Bein wown the No. 5 bracket consolation match by defeating Midwestern State’s Chip Threadgill, 6-2, 5-7, 10-7. Cody McCarty won the No. 6 bracket consolation match 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 over Cameron’s Roberto Gulbicki.

“On the men’s side, we competed really well,” said Hutton Jones, ACU head ten-

nis coach. “We were in the final in flight one and flight three. I was pleased with the guys’ effort and we could have won the title, but we just didn’t get it done. We were playing without our top five guys but I was still optimistic. I was expecting to win a few flights even though we were going deeper in the lineup.”

The women’s team took four of the six champion-ship titles and also had one second place finisher. Sarah Drummond was defeated in the No. 1 bracket, 4-6, 6-3,

Rambelles defeat Cats in fourBy Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

The volleyball team lost its match against Angelo State on Thursday, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-15). The loss was the first Wild-cat loss to the Rambelles since Oct. 1, 2002, a span of 10 games.

The team started out hot in the first set but faded as the match went on. The Wildcats had a 23-11 lead to begin the first set but won it on a sour note with the Rambelles, taking 10 of the final 12 points.

Angelo State led 12-11 in the second set, but the Wildcats did not lay down, storming back to a 16-15 lead. The Rambelles took 10 of the final 15 points to win

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Above: The Wildcat defense limited Angelo State to 252 yards and seven points Saturday. Below: Wide receiver Johnny Knox set the ACU all-time record for receiving yards in a game with 232. The Wildcat offense is averaging 53.5 points and 530 yards a game this season.

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Midfielder Bree Craig and the Wildcats tied Northeastern 0-0 and defeated East Central 3-2.

No. 3 ACU preparing for showdown with No. 4 WTAMU

ACU ties, claims win in weekend matches By Ryan CantrellSports Writer

The Wildcats traveled to Oklahoma for a pair of conference matches this past weekend. They de-feated the Tigers of East Central Friday 3-2 then played to a 0-0 tie against the RiverHawks of North-eastern State. The Wildcats improved their conference record to 1-2-1.

Friday afternoon, the Wildcat offense came to life and scored three goals. This turnaround came af-ter a shutout in the Wild-cats’ previous three games. Co-captain Jordan Reese was the key to this offen-sive outburst; she scored her first goal of the sea-son 6:08 into the first half. Jackie Gentile had the ball on the right side of the field before passing the ball to Reese in the box, allow-ing her to score. Lyndsey Womack scored the second goal in the 35th minute. Womack scored on a great individual effort giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. The Tigers rallied back, scor-ing in the 69th minute on a goal by Shannon McKim. Jordan Reese wasn’t fin-ished though; she scored her second goal of the game, putting the game away, although the Tigers scored with two minutes left to make the final score 3-2 for the Wildcats.

Assistant coach Thomas Pertuit was pleased with the way the team played this past weekend.

“We were happy with the weekend because we came out with a win and a tie,” Pertuit said. “We wanted two wins but we were on a three-game los-ing streak so we were glad to get a conference win. We were also able to score three goals against East

See Soccer page 7

See Tennis page 7

Jones

See Football page 7

See Volleyball page 7

Knox

Emily Jorgenson :: staff photographer

Setter Ericka Dickinson digs a ball in front of libero Amy Wilson. The Wildcats lost to the Rambelles for the first time since 2002 on Thursday.

Baseball team finishes fall practices with gamesBy Jeff CraigSports Writer

The baseball team conclud-ed its fall practices last week with the annual ACU Baseball Fall World Series. The games pitted ACU White against ACU Purple in an intra-squad best of five series.

Assistant coach Brandon Stover led the purple team, while graduate assistant coach Allen Smith coached the white team. Stover’s squad won the series 3-1 largely due to the contributions of se-nior catcher Jordan Schmitt, who was named series MVP. Schmitt was pleased with his overall performance both at the plate and behind it.

“I thought I played well,” Schmitt said. “I tried to keep pitchers under control to

throw good pitches, and I saw the ball well and got some good hits.”

However, Schmitt was not the only Wildcat player who had a good series at the plate. New first baseman Bret Bochsler played well for the white team in a losing effort. Bochsler, a transfer from Oregon State, hit a two-run home run in the second game of the series during his team’s 9-6 loss.

The series also served as an opportunity to evaluate the Wildcats’ pitching situa-tion. Pitcher Jake Laudermilk won the decisive fourth game of the series by tossing five shutout innings while striking

Baseball

See Baseball page 7

acuoptimist.com

See video highlights of ACU’s win over Angelo

State on Saturday

Football

Tennis