The Optimist Print Edition: 09.14.11

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Discover a variety of restaurant options in Abilene.

Reasons ACU needs a Chapel app

Former SA president’s stalking and assault charges dropped.

Abilene Christian University

Moody MagicWildcats prevail

after falling behind

Family and friends of the 21-year-old Hardin-Sim-mons University student shot in the head last week by a tenant at the Mesquite Square apartment complex say they have been amazed at his rapid recovery since the incident.

After spending several days in a coma at Hen-drick Medical Center, Ja-cob Allen was alert and in fair condition Tuesday and may be released as soon as Thursday.

“He’s really been im-proving,” said his wife, Jessica Allen, an ACU ju-nior early education ma-jor also from Brownwood. “It’s incredible.”

Allen, a senior HSU business major from Brownwood, was working in the Mesquite Square apartment complex office around 5 p.m., according to police and media reports, when John Lee, a 73-year-old resident at the apart-ment complex, entered wielding a .38 caliber gun. When Lee began shoot-ing at Allen, striking him one in the temple, Allen’s co-worker, Joshua Steed, struck Lee with a chair, dis-abling him, and subdued him until police arrived.

Allen and Lee were tak-en to Hendrick, where Lee later died from blunt force trauma to the head, ac-cording to preliminary au-topsy reports.

Police and family are unsure of the motive for the attack, but Ryan Lynn, an ACU alumnus and close friend of the Allens, said Lee had been displaying sporadic behavior and making unusual com-plaints to the management office in the weeks leading up to the shooting.

“A few days before the shooting, he’d made amends with management and showed gratitude when they fixed his air con-ditioning unit,” said Lynn. “Then he came out of no-where and attacked Jacob. It could’ve been dementia or Alzheimer’s – no one re-ally knows.”

Allen is expected to be released within the week, Lynn said, possibly as soon as Thursday. After the con-dition he’d been in when he first arrived in the intensive care unit, his improvement has been “nothing short of a miracle,” his friend said.

“The outlook was not good when he first got here, Lynn said. “He was in a coma for about four days. In fact, a couple days ago he came down with pneumonia. But he’s doing great now.”

Allen was awake, respon-sive and even showed a hu-morous outlook at the atten-tion he’s been getting from newspapers. He did have one complaint, though.

“All the newspapers have been getting my age wrong,” Jacob Allen said. “I’m 21.”

ACU’s new School of Nursing will move into the former home of Abilene Educational Supply on Campus Court across from the Administration Build-ing by the fall of 2013. The about 10,000-square-foot space was gutted over the summer to make room for new construction and eventually the program.

To lead development of the new program, Su-san Kehl has moved from

the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing and has begun writing the curricu-lum. While the university is still working to hire all the needed faculty mem-bers and complete the fa-cility, this year’s freshmen will be the maiden class of the School of Nursing.

The juniors and seniors who make up the nurs-ing program can expect two or three classrooms, each able to handle 50 students, office space for the faculty and clinical adjuncts, two simulation labs and a commons area

for students, Kehl said.“I’m working with con-

sultants and advanced practice nurses,” Kehl said. “It’s a collabora-tive effort and we want to end up with an excellent product for our students. I want it to be designed so it is efficient and condu-cive to student learning.”

The School of Nursing will start out with two or three full-time faculty and a few clinical adjuncts, Kehl said. The clinical adjuncts are necessary to satisfy the Texas Nursing Board’s requirement that

one faculty member su-pervise every 10 students during clinical work.

Students will care for patients in a variety of situations under faculty supervision during clini-cals. Specific locations are not yet set, but will in-clude hospitals, the pub-lic health department, school settings, nursing homes and clinics.

“Students are exposed to nursing practices in all types of health care set-tings before graduation,” Kehl said.

Before students begin

caring for the ailing during their clinicals, they will be introduced to patient care theory and practice in the nursing simulation lab.

Simulation labs will be similar to actual hos-pital units with manne-quins instead of patients. Students will learn using mannequins varying from low to high fidelity. High fidelity mannequins are programmed to provide physiological responses such as changes in vi-tal signs, pupil size, lung sounds and abdominal

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Immersion and Service Expo introduces students to various organizations.

video

see Nursing page 4

University tailors nursing school

Shooting victim’s condition improves

CHAPEL

jozie sandsopinion editor

vol. 100, no. 6 wednesday, september 14, 2011 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES

daniel gomez chief Photographer

Fairgoers, Jessica Rodkey, senior accounting major from Helotes, and Brittany Polnisch, junior art major from Baytown, fly through the blue sky on a ride at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo.

mark smithmanaging editor

14

13 58

15 16 17Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

5 p.m. Ko Jo Kai Rush; Trojans Rush

7 p.m. Frater Sodalis Rush; GATA Rush

7 p.m. ACU volleyball at A&M Commerce

9 p.m. Alpha Kai Rush; Galaxy Rush; Sigma Theta Chi Rush

11 a.m. Part-Time Job Fair at the Hardin-Simmons University Pond Area

9 p.m. Gamma Sigma Phi Rush

3 p.m. “Identifying Me” at ACU Rhoden Farm

5 p.m. ACU Women’s soccer vs. Incarnate Word

2 p.m. ACU volleyball at Texas Women’s

4 p.m. ACU football at Cowboys Stadium

7 p.m. Opening Re-ception for Summers Abroad by Jack Maxwell in the Shore Gallery

Around Abilene chapel checkup

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Wednesday 09.14.11 2

announcements

A Part-Time Job Fair will take place Hardin-Simmons University on Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. For more in-formation contact the Career Center at [email protected].

The Service Action Leadership Team (SALT) is accepting applications un-til Sept. 16. SALT is for anyone with a heart for service.

“Identifying ME,” an Equine-Assisted Learning Workshop, will take place at ACU Rhoden Farm Sept. 16 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. Space is limited. Email [email protected] to reserve your spot or ask questions.

The registration deadline for the Springboard Elevator Pitch Competi-tion is Sept. 21. This competition al-lows participants to submit ideas for new products, services, or business concepts. To register go to www.acu.edu/springboard-elevator-pitch.

The Virtuous Sisterhood will host an ice cream social on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. For more information email [email protected].

Women for ACU will host a luncheon on Sept. 29 at 11:30 a.m. in the North Lobby of the Williams Performing Arts Center. To RSVP call 829-1470.

ACU Upward Bound is now hiring tutors to serve the students of AISD. Contact the Academic Development Adviser at 325-674-2514 or visit the office located on the first floor of the Brown Library. Tutors wil be paid. For more informa-tion visit www.acu.edu/upward_bound.

Anyone interested in joining the ACU Table Tennis club can email [email protected] for more information.

The ACU FCA will meet every Thursday at 9 p.m. in the Campus Center Living Room. For more information follow

them on Twitter: @ACUFCA or join their mailing list: http://eepurl.com/eGEOI

Anyone interested in joining the Wild-cat Hockey Team can find the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ACUWildcatHockey or e-mail the team at [email protected]. The team represents ACU in the Southwest Col-legiate Hockey league as a club sport.

The Medical & Counseling Care Center is located in the northwest entrance of the Rec Center. To make medical ap-pointments call 674-2625. To make counseling appointments call 674-2626.

Volunteer Opp0rtunities

Volunteers are needed for The Community Celebra-tion, an Abilene wide event, on Oct. 1 for shifts between 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The celebration will take place at the North Park Friendship House at 2701 Hickory St. (on the corner of Hickory & Lowden, north of HSU). Volun-teers will help with a seed spitting contest. Contact the Service-Learning & Volunteer Resources office in the lower level of the Campus Center by Sept. 15.

Eternal Threads needs volunteers to help this week, Sept. 12-16, between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. with un-packing shipments from overseas vendors, count-ing inventory and tagging merchandise. Contact Pam Early at 325-672-6000 or email [email protected] The location is 101 Walnut St. (corner of N 1st St. and Walnut).

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place on Sept. 24 from 7 a.m. - 12 p.m. Volunteers will help set up tables, serve refreshments, register walk-ers, etc. The event will take place at the Rose Park Senior Activity Center located at S. 7th & Barrow Streets. Contact Libby Connally at 325-672-2907 or email [email protected].

The annual Putt “Fore” Children Miniature Golf Tournament needs volunteers on Oct. 1 between 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. This event will take place at Prime Time located at 4541 Loop 322. Volunteers will help set up for the event, register teams, act as course monitors, decorate tables, pass out goody bags, and help with

clean up after the event. Contact Shelia Cory at 325-376-1110 or email [email protected].

Cancer Services Network needs volunteers on Oct. 6 between 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. to help unpack chair covers, con-firm number with packing list, place covers on 540 chairs, unload auction items and help with other tasks for their auction event. This will take place at the Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. 6th St. Contact Nancy Estes, 325-672-0040 or email [email protected]

HERO is looking for volunteers to walk alongside a horse while supporting and assisting a client Oct. 4 - Nov. 17 in one hour shifts from 1 - 5 p.m. at the Taylor County Expo Center. Volunteers must attend training sessions either Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m. or Sept. 27 at 2:30 p.m. Allow 2 hours for training session. Contact Beth Byerly at 325-660-3465 or email [email protected] for more information.

Disability Resources Inc. is looking for volunteers to help with their annual Pumpkin Patch. They need help unload-ing pumpkins at 5 p.m. on Sept. 29. They also need help with the kids’ arena and selling pumpkins through Oct. 31. Shifts will vary between 10 a.m. - dusk Monday - Saturdays and 1 p.m. - dusk Sundays. The Pumpkin Patch is located at 3602 N. Clack St. For more information contact JoAnn Wilson at 325-673-7829 or email [email protected].

The Office of Ministry Events is looking for student workers to help during Summit. Volunteers are

needed to help with childcare, technology support, registration, labor and rePlay recording. Shuttle service drivers (must be 21 or older) and reception-ists/dispatchers are also needed. For more infor-mation or to sign up visit the ACU website.

The AISD Early Childhood Program needs volun-teers to work in the children’s area Oct. 13 from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. This includes air castle supervision, face painting, etc. Program will be at the Abilene Civic Center located at 1100 N. 6th St. For more information contact Mary Mcleod at 325-794-1368 or email [email protected].

Meals on Wheels Plus needs volunteer drivers to deliver afternoon meals to seniors and adults with disabilities Mondays - Fridays between 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Drivers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid drivers license. Training is provided. A Cha-pel exemption is available if delivery time conflicts with Chapel. Contact Jessica Stewart at 325-672-5050 or email [email protected].

Rescue The Animals is looking for volunteers anytime between 1-5 p.m., Monday through Friday afternoons. They need help around the adoption center with general cleaning, socialization of the animals, helping potential adopters and other tasks. Contact Mindi Qualls at 325-698-7722 or email [email protected] The center is located at 5933 South 1st St.

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Sept. 14

8 a.m. The West Texas Fair and Rodeo will take place at the Taylor County Expo Center.

12 p.m. The movie Little Ashes will be shown at the Center for Contemporary Arts. Admission is free.

Sept. 15


7:30 p.m. Abilene Commu-nity Theatre will show The Guys. Tickets are $5-$10 per person.

Sept. 16


2 p.m. HSU Women’s Soccer will play Concordia University.

4 p.m. HSU Men’s Soccer will play Concordia University.


Sept. 17


2 p.m. HSU Women’s Soccer will play UT Tyler University.

4 p.m. HSU Men’s Soccer will play UT Tyler University.


wednesday 09.14.113 campus news

Pitch your business idea to win $1,500 in Springboard Eleveator competition

Students have the oppor-tunity to win $1,500 in two minutes or less in the Springboard Elevator Pitch competition.

Those with an idea of a business venture must present a concise pitch in about the same amount of time as an elevator ride.

“It will challenge an in-dividual to be able to ex-plain his or her business

idea in the same amount of time it would take to ride from the first floor to the twentieth floor in an elevator,” Dr. Richard Ly-tle, Dean and professor of marketing of COBA, said. “It forces students to be concise and deliberate to the point about their busi-ness idea.”

Individuals or pairs wanting to participate must register by Sept. 21, and submit a $10 entry fee.

The first round will take place on Sept. 27. Par-ticipants will devise their

pitch and record it in the AT&T Learning Studio in the library in front of a panel of judges.

Dr. Lytle, who will serve on the judging panel, says the panel will be assuming the position as a group of potential investors.

“The first thing we’ll be looking for is if they can clearly articulate their idea. If I can’t understand what they’re talking about, I’m not going to invest.” Dr. Ly-tle said. “The second thing is we start thinking about could this actually become

reality, could it be what we might call commercialized, could it go to market?”

Hayden Jordan, assis-tant director for the Griggs Center, said the final round of judging will take place on Oct. 5. The final ten teams will present their pitch to a live audience as well as a panel of judges in Hart Auditorium. Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the event.

“We will award cash prizes to the winners, and then students may get more involved with the Griggs

Center if they want to pur-sue their business idea.”

Although students need not be a business major, Dr. Lytle said the competi-tion will help prepare for a business career.

“It’s like every meal that you eat helps pro-vide nourishment for your body. This is another value in our menu of offerings that would cause students to think about ideas, an idea generation and how you go about crisply ar-ticulating an idea whether it’s to you investor or mar-

keting team,” he said. “The notion of being able to clearly articulate an idea, and to influence others to want to participate really is a fundamental trait of leadership.”

For more information on the Springboard Eleva-tor Pitch, visit http://www.acu.edu/academics/coba/griggscenter/springboard/elevator-pitch/index.html.

campus

Marissa Fergusononline editor

contact ferguson [email protected]

Library staff welcomes dean John Weaver

John Weaver took on the role of new dean of library services and educational technology this year, tak-ing over this year from for-mer dean Mark Tucker.

Weaver, formerly direc-tor of the Burke Library at Columbia University’s Union Theological Semi-nary, said he will continue the organizational changes his predecessor set in mo-tion. These changes will focus on helping the staff communicate and collab-

orate more seamlessly.Weaver said conversa-

tion among faculty, stu-dents and librarians will be a key component to staying innovative in the years to come.

“The next generation of students has been called digital nomads because they are able to study and learn in a variety of differ-ent places and not just in book stacks,” Weaver said. “So the library is increas-ingly a conversation cen-ter where the library learns from students about what their needs are.”

The library is focused on creating spaces in which

students not only receive in-formation but can create in-formation, Weaver said. The AT&T Learning Studio is an example of how the library provides a place for collabo-ration and innovation.

However, the library also has a rich tradition of print-based special collec-tions and archives that are print based. Weaver said the library should contin-ue to be good stewards of those materials and digi-tize them if possible.

“I think that the library will always be a place where people will read and always be a place where people will receive support for their

reading,” Weaver said. “But the reality is that, increas-ingly, information resourc-es are going online and the library should be a leader in developing tools and spac-es that help students use those online resources.”

The library collabo-rates with many different services to bring students the resources they need to learn and create, said Karen Hendrick, public services li-brarian and Learning Com-mons coordinator.

Hendrick said students can go to the Library Con-sultation Room in the Learning Commons for help finding resources for

projects, have their paper checked in the Writing Center and work on their visual storytelling in the Learning Studio.

The library’s webpage also was many digital re-sources including Credo, a resource which contains 500 online reference books complete with citations and a Journal Finder. Stu-dents who prefer reading books in print can have books delivered from any library in town as well as Howard Payne University’s library in Brownwood. Hendrick said a Tex Share card is also available in the library and allows stu-

dents to access books in any public or university library in Texas.

Hendrick said students no longer just using print media or electronic me-dia, but blending both together in novel and cre-ative ways.

“I don’t think it’s just one thing or the other, but it’s a whole new way of interact-ing,” Hendrick said. “All of this enables the students and faculty to collaborate and create together.”

campus

Samantha Sutherlandfeatures editor

contact sutherland [email protected]

Fundraiser benefits Theatre

New Chick-fil-A location to open

On August 27 “Lights Up! 2011”, a fundraiser for the ACU theatre department took place in the the Williams Performing Arts Center.

“Lights Up!” is a fund-raiser presented by ACU Theatre alumni and fea-tures a play as well as the opportunity to attend a post-show cast party and have backstage access.

This year the fundraiser featured Noises off!, a farce by Michael Frayn. The farce, which was shown Aug. 25 through Sept. 3, featured Adam and Don-na Hester, Lindsey Rogers (‘03), Jeremy Varner (‘10), and costumes by Sandy Freeman. The show was directed by Gary Varner.

In addition to viewing Noises Off!, participants in the fundraiser had the opportunity to attend the post-show party and have backstage access, depend-ing on the amount of their donation. Other prizes in-cluded a student-led tour of the Williams Performing Arts Center, a VIP tour of the campus, red carpet treat-ment and party souvenirs, names listed in the playbill, shout outs, and more.

Event co-chairs were Tim Covington and Lisa

Lawrence Holland in con-junction with the ACU Alumni Office.

In a message posted to the online website for “Lights Up!” Covington and Holland said, “ The arts community is a tough one. It is full of dichotomy, diversity and darkness. It is also ripe with potential for the culture changing, trans-forming presence of Jesus.”

Adam Hester, chair of the department of theatre, said, “’Lights Up! 2011’ was an enormous success, raising over $13,000 for the

ACU Theatre. It was a joy-ous reunion of many ACU Theatre alums I haven’t seen in years. Co-chairs Lisa Lawrence Holland and Tim Covington along with Amy Burns McCall worked tirelessly to create an amazing and beautiful evening. I’m looking for-ward to ‘Lights Up! 2012!’”

Chick-fil-A will add to its Abilene presence by open-ing a full-size restaurant near campus by the middle of next year. The fast food chain already has locations in southwest Abilene, one in the Mall of Abilene and in the Hilton Food Court of the Campus Center.

Chick-fil-A serves chick-en sandwiches, wraps, sal-ads and other options. The chain has 1,579 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia and is expanding, especially in Southern Cali-fornia and in the Midwest, according to its website.

Brenda Morrow, Chick-fil-A corporate public re-lations consultant, said Abilene’s first Chick-fil-

A opened in the Mall of Abilene in 1979, and in 2006 the company opened a freestanding location on South Clack Street. She said the building of the new site was almost confirmed and looked forward to opening yet another location.

“We are just excited about coming into the community and being a neighbor there in Abilene,” Morrow said.

Chick-fil-A offers a bo-nus to the first 100 custom-ers on opening days.

“The first 100 custom-ers in line get free Chick-fil-A for a year,” Morrow said. “The company’s new restaurant openings can have people camping out in hopes of being among the first to enter a new store.”

Lisa White, senior inter-national studies major from McKinney, said the Chick-fil-

A in the campus center does not offer enough options for her and is looking forward to a closer alternative.

“I like the pepperjack sandwich, but I don’t think they offer at the campus center,” White said.

Even so, she is a regular customer of the chain and hopes to find more choices at the new location. White did not know about the new Chick-fil-A opening, but she looks forward to a location to be convenient to ACU.

“I like Chick-fil-A,” White said. “I like their food, they always have good service and friendly people work at the front.”

Theatre

local

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daniel gomez chief Photographer

The iconic ferris wheel stands tall against the Texas sunset as fairgoers get a ride on the annual West Texas Fair and Rodeo attraction.

Melanie coxPage 2 editor

adam hesterchair of the department of theatre

‘Lights Up! 2011 was an enormous success, raising over $13,000 for the ACU Theatre. It was a joyous reunion of

many ACU Theatre alums I haven’t seen in years...I’m looking forward to ‘Lights Up! 2012!’”“

meiqi zhangcontributing reporter

contact zhou [email protected]

wednesday 09.14.11 4news

University

mandy lambright staff Photographer

Michael Ortiz, junior information technology major from Monahans, tries to dodge a flag pull by Ian Crowder, junior from El Paso, during an intramural football game Monday evening.

Former SA president’s charges dropped

Cuts shutter Student Success program

A district court judge cleared the name of former Stu-dents’ Association President Daniel Paul Watkins last month, ending a six-month legal battle in Virginia.

Watkins, a 2009 graduate and law student at Univer-sity of Virginia, left the Albe-marle County Courthouse a free man after the presid-ing judge dropped Watkins’ charges of stalking and as-sault. Watkins declined to comment for this story, cit-ing legal advice.

The former SA executive president was the subject

of local and national news reports in September 2008. Watkins, an African-Amer-ican, reported finding a noose in his chair in the SA offices. ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison said his in-vestigation was inconclu-sive, and the department made no arrests. In March 2009, Watkins was im-peached in a 25-5 vote from the SA Congress, citing ir-responsible leadership, manipulation, disrespect and unethical behavior. Watkins’ impeachment charges were unrelated to the noose incident, SA rep-resentatives said.

“The events brought an unfortunate and negative light to the university,” Ellison

said. “But students responded very well and communicated that it did not reflect ACU as an institution.”

Ellison said he remem-bers Watkins as a nice student who had a good relationship with the de-partment. Ellison said he had not heard from the for-mer student until news of Watkins’ stalking and assault charges surfaced online.

“In some ways the Inter-net and 24-hour news re-ally have an impact on the public,” Ellison said. “The fact that he was totally vin-dicated is just another ex-ample of never assuming until the facts are heard.”

The third-year law stu-dent was arrested in May

and charged with one count of stalking and one count of assault of an ex-girlfriend, a fellow classmate at UVA. She reported that he had threatened and assaulted her in February, according to media reports.

Ellison said it is com-mon for the public to rush to judgments on cases that receive such state and na-tional attention.

“Initial charges are just that,” Ellison said. “Often all the facts do not come out un-til the trial. It’s wise to remain objective until they do.”

Judge William Barkley found the testimony of Watkins’ ex-girlfriend in-sufficient to convict Wat-kins, according to news

reports. The judge granted Watkins a defense motion to drop the charges after the ex-girlfriend admitted to not believing Watkins’ alleged threats adminis-tered in February.

“That’s our court sys-tem, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” Ellison said.

Connor Best, current SA executive president and an SA representative in 2008-09, said the impeachment pro-cess was challenging, but SA ultimately believed they had made the right decision.

“It was very unfortu-nate but he was a really talented, smart and char-ismatic guy,” Best said. “He worked really hard at getting people into SA.”

Best, senior political science major from Sac-ramento, Calif., said the controversy surrounding the impeachment had no lingering effects, and SA harbors no negative feel-ings towards Watkins.

“I was saddened to hear about the charges but I’m happy to hear they were dropped,” Best said. “He has a really bright future, and I hope the best for him.”

In the wake of lower enroll-ment numbers, the university has discontinued the Student Success program. Student Suc-cess is an academic program designed to aid students look-ing to increase their academic potential. The program offered up to four credit hours.

Jeanine Varner, provost of the university, attributes the loss of Student Success to the univer-sity’s budget cuts.

“Budget cuts played a part in that we eliminated the Student Success area,” Varner said.

The cut of Student Success resulted in two faculty not re-turning full time: Vickie Cardot, associate director of Student Success, and Hilary Walton, in-structor. Cardot has continued working as an adjunct profes-sor of ACU.

Scott Self, director of Alpha Scholars Program and former

director of Student Success, recognizes the cut as “purely a financial decision.”

“The university could not afford to keep running the pro-gram with current cutbacks,” Self said.

Faculty involved with Stu-dent Success were all laid off in the process, Self said. Some members were rehired in a dif-ferent capacity.

The effects of the cut are still unknown. One Student Success class is being taught this semester.

“We don’t know the effects,” Self said. “The university is ad-mitting fewer students who require those services. We may not have a need in the future that we had in the past for that kind of program.”

The largest class the Student Success program had in the past consisted of 172 students. This semester, only 75 students are part of the program. This drop has to do with the university re-cruiting more students with a

higher GPA and ACT score.“With that change in the aca-

demic rigor of students coming in, the need has gone down,” Self said.

There are several areas in which the university will make up for the loss of Student Suc-cess. Students will continue to have Alpha Academic De-velopment, the Writing Center and departmental tutoring as means of academic aid.

“The university remains committed to ensuring that students have all of the re-sources needed,” Self said. “Student Success may not have been part of that.”

Aside from the faculty mem-bers let go due to budget cuts, there were 17 faculty members that did not return.

ALUMNI

budget

christina burchmultimedia managing editor

hannah barneseditor-in-chief

contact burch [email protected]

contact barnes [email protected]

sounds. Students will be able to make an assessment and provide the proper re-sponse in real time.

“The Simulation Lab will allow students to perform procedures, document care given and eventually be tested on immediate nursing responses,” Kehl said. “All of these skills are taught in a safe setting so when they go into an actu-al clinical setting they will have already performed the thinking.”

Having the School of Nursing on campus will encourage nursing stu-dents, Kehl said. Along with being part by the life and rhythm of campus they will have more op-

portunities to join forces with other departments.

“I look forward to working collaboratively in research and service to lo-cal and global communi-ties. Faculty and students can potentially partici-pate in interdisciplinary research,” Kehl said.

Angela Salvatore, fresh-man nursing major from Wethersfield, Conn., looks forward to the new learn-ing environment along with the on-campus location.

“We will have such a great program and build-ing. And the technology will help us prepare for the tests we have to pass to become a Registered Nurse,” Salvatore said.

Every aspect of higher

education nursing pro-grams in Texas, public or private, must be accred-ited through the Texas Board of Nursing. All of the curriculum, plans and practices must comply with the standards set by the TBN. Once those regu-lations are satisfied Kehl will submit for national accreditation with the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education.

“Any school of nursing that is viable and wants to prepare students for advanced practice must have national accredita-tion,” Kehl said.

contact sands [email protected]

Nursing: technologyto elevate education

Retired

Working elsewhere

Dr. David Wray, biblical studies•Dr. Nicki Rippee, exercise science•Dr. Paul Ammons, social work•Dr. Bill Culp, social work •Dee Kirby, communication disorders•

Dr. Caron Gentry, political science•Dr. Tim Coburn, information technology and computing•Dr. Florah Mhlanga, agricultural and environmental science•Dr. Fortune Mhlanga, information technology and computing•Dr. Sally Gary, communication•Dr. Robert Huff, mathemetics•Dr. Gary Tucker, ACU Online•Dr. Karan Duwe, teacher education•Sherry Baisden, family studies•DeeAnn Shepherd, accounting•

Laura Dillman, exercise science•

continued from page 1

Faculty no longer at the university

Oh Dear, Christian College Ben miller

the issueACU touts its Mobile Learning Initiative, but students don’t feel the change in their classes.

our takeChapel would be a great place to begin implementing ACU specific Apps.

Mobile learning needs nudge

Wednesday 09.14.115 Opinion

Hannah barneseditor in chief

Mark smithmanaging editor

jozie sandsopinion page editor

marissa fergusononline editor

christina burchmultimedia editor

daniel gomezchief photographer

david ian singer arts editor

samantha sutherlandfeatures editor

austin gwinsports director

bryson shakesports editor

john edward isaacsassistant sports editor

ellen smithcopy editor

christianna lewiscopy editor

ben miller cartoonist

melany coxpage 2 editor

amanda lambrightstaff photogrpaher

destiny hagoodstaff photographer

adrian patenaudestaff photographer

marcus bowenvideo project editor

kyle kramervideographer

philip miranda videographer

lucius patenaudevideographer

farron salleynews producer/anchor

taylor langstonsports producer/anchor

kristen goodspeedsports producer/anchor

blaine singletaryaudio broadcast reporter

cade whitefaculty adviser

kenneth pybusfaculty adviser

cara lee cranfordadvertising

newsroom

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sports desk

(325) 674-2684

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Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the uni-versity 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 let-ters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing

personal attacks, obscen-ity, 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 27892Abilene, TX 79609

E-mail letters to: [email protected]

published by the

department of journalism

and mass communication

editorial and

management board

editorial and Letter Policy

Artsy majors deserve respect

ACU’s Mobile Learning Ini-tative has reached a proud turning point: every student on campus has an Apple de-vice. Now is the university’s chance to take off with Mo-bile Learning. The problem presented by students with-out devices is gone.

Apple touts a massive selection of nearly 500,000 apps which make commu-nication more efficient, free time more fun and study-ing for Organic Chemistry a little more bearable.

But at ACU, paper quiz-zes, a map in the back of a planner and a schedule only accessible on myACU still meet students in the classroom. And ACU only offers a handful of apps

via Apple’s App Store.ACU SA Vote, an app, al-

lowed students to vote for amendments in 2010. And ACU Connected, created for the Connected Sum-mit, provided information about speakers and sched-ules. However, both of these apps were made for a specific event and are now outdated. ACU MindWire, which allows professors to publish study materials for students, is rarely used and hasn’t been updated since 2009.

For a university that so heavily promotes mobile learning, we have created little programming to al-low these devices to bet-ter our education. While

myACU is mobile friendly, ACU still lacks an applica-tion to bring a range of uni-versity information togeth-er in a convenient form.

Stanford’s campus app, iStanford, does many of the things that would be nice in an ACU app. Students can browse and enroll in courses, view athletic news, schedules and scores, ac-cess a campus directory, check their student ac-count, follow local events, search an interactive map and even find books in the library, all in one app.

While we look forward to (hopefully) seeing all this in an app we propose a smaller-scale, ACU-spe-cific app: the ChapApp.

The ChapApp would pro-vide students with their Chapel credit status at their fingertips and send notifications when the stu-dent is on the verge of Cha-pel probation. The content of Mark Lewis’ weekly Chapel email would be as easily accessible on Friday as it is on Monday – no dig-ging through email inbox-es necessary.

It can be hard to get a good idea of what Small Group Chapels are avail-able each semester. The ChapApp would make a complete list readily avail-able and easily updated.

Chapel Forums add great variety to the Cha-pel experience, but they

tend to sneak up at odd afternoon or evening hours. A push notifica-tion from the app would remind students of added Chapel opportunities.

A large-scale ACU spe-cific app that isn’t a book-marked website would make checking grades simple and keeping track of classes and assignments effortless. An application could make our time in and out of the classroom more

productive and beneficial, but a great place to start is with an app for Chapel.

Apps for ACU are the key to the success of ACU’s vision of mobile learn-ing. Putting the device in the students’ hands is not enough. ACU needs to take the initiative and create the apps students need.

Editorial

contact the optimist [email protected]

contact barnes [email protected]

@clairehardin

11:16 a.m. Sept. 7

girl: “do you think peo-ple can tell we’re fresh-man?” yes. yes, we can. especially when you’re wandering around, look-ing for the library...

I enjoyed what I was doing after it was done,

when I could see the finished product printed

and mounted on midnight black mat board.”

“

hashtag

ACU

@emilyanne2015

11:55 a.m. Sept. 7

Why is core the hardest class I have?? It doesn’t even apply to what I want to do in my life. #ACU

#ACU to get your tweets printed in the Optimist.

once upon a hannahhAnnAh bArnes

Lengthy and short words compete for dominance

The hardest part about my job as managing editor is writing headlines. Well, that and making sure all my minions get their sto-ries in on time. Designing pages is difficult as well. So is ping-pong.

But headlines are the worst. They never fit. The best trick is finding words that are very short but car-ry a lot of meaning. Some-times I get so frustrated that I just start yelling in the newsroom.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my second col-umn, which, as promised, deals with long words.

Exclusive is a big, fancy word. It carries a lot of meaning, like an enor-mous proverbial wheel-barrow. I used this word in my last column. Stop reading this now and go

read that one before con-tinuing with this or forev-er hold your piece of cake. (Shouldn’t that be the real phrase? That’d be more of a punishment than being silent. Have you ever tried to hold a piece of cake while you’re sleeping?)

If you really stopped as soon as I said stop read-ing this now, you wouldn’t know what I wanted you to do. But you didn’t listen to me did you? What are you, my ex-girlfriend?

I’m going to write about that for my next column. Not the issue of people listening to me, but girl-friends in general.

Back to long words. Ever notice how the longer the word, the more impressed you are with the author’s in-telligence? Or is that just me?

When people use big words, sometimes I am unable to comprehend the meaning of the commu-nicator’s reasoning. I hate asking, “What does that word mean?”

I live in Virginia. I always told people “I’m from Vir-ginia,” but I learned ex-actly why I never phrased it, “I’m a Virginian.”

Virginian is kind of a longish word, but that chick was definitely not impressed with my intel-ligence when I said it.

Sometimes shorter words are impressive too. My professor just used the word “conduit” noncha-lantly. I looked it up online instead of stalling class to ask him to explain himself.

I still don’t really know what it means though.

Should I have admitted to writing this during class?

Not enough of this col-umn is actually about long words. I’m not going back and re-writing any of it, class is almost over.

Besides, it’s my sec-ond column. Sophomore slumps are expected. I’m a sophomore by years too, so this is like double jeopardy, we’re fine. Oh wait, what is we’re fine?

That Office reference just happened.

This’ll be better next time. When I talk about girlfriends. Even though I don’t know anything about them. Maybe I’ll write about multi-task-ing instead, I know a lot about that. I haven’t de-cided yet.

This is known in the world of mass media as a “cliffhanger.”

I am a graphic design ma-jor. I came into college as a speech pathology major, which – don’t get me wrong – is an amazing field. I just could not see myself doing it every day for the rest of my life. When I made the big switch, I realized I was going from a scientific, clin-ical profession to a purely creative one.

So I began taking art classes. Although chal-lenging and time-consum-ing, I really enjoyed them. After taking my art basics (drawing, 2D design, etc.), it was time to move into my graphic design classes. My first one was Basic Vi-sual Communication. The name makes it sound like a fairly simple class, right? Wrong. It was tough. My classmates had several all-nighters in the art building in which we traced type on a light table. The 8 a.m. class caused me to question whether or not my new ma-jor was right for me. After the first couple of projects, I started feeling it. I recog-nized this would not be an easy major. I kept pushing.

Others outside of the art department did not

feel similarly, however. When they would ask my major, I’d tell them I was graphic design.

“Oh so yours is a fun, easy major,” some would reply.

“Fun? Easy? Are you kid-ding me?” I’d think to my-self. Those stressful, hand-cramping all nighters were neither fun or easy.

I’d hold back from con-fronting their accusation.

“Yes, fun,” I’d say through clenched teeth.

Sure, I enjoyed what I was doing. Actually, I enjoyed what I was doing after it was done, when I could see the finished product printed and mounted on midnight black mat board. I did not enjoy the fact that others took what we graphic designers did for granted, but as a sophomore in college, a newcomer to the graphic design world, I did not know how to defend my hard work.

Last summer, after con-quering a number of graph-ic design and art courses, I realized that graphic design is more than just making something pretty on the computer.

So one day, a man at church began talking to

me about school. I told him my major, and he replied as many other adults to.

“Your major is graphic design? Good luck finding a job,” he said.

Annoyed, I immediately began pointing out ex-amples of graphic design around the room we were standing in.

“That poster - graphic design. This label - graph-ic design.”

He was quite surprised that I so boldly addressed his error. Rather than sim-ply taking his comment as I had so many others, I proved him wrong. And it felt really good.

So this one is for you, graphic designers and art-ists. To all the late-nights drawing, shading, paint-ing, and building – the time spent is not in vain. Thanks for making the world a prettier place.

column column

contact Smith [email protected]

well, this is awkwardmArk smith

@megmharley

7:35 p.m. Sept. 13

@overheardacu “oh! you have a boyfriend? so, does that mean you’re double majoring in both mrs. degree and marketing?”

It carries a lot of meaning, like an

enormous proverbial wheelbarrow.”“

MARY’S PALETERIALocation: 601 TreadawayHours: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. dailyPrice Range: $1.50 - $3.25 perice creamFeatured Item: Cheese ice cream in a small waffle cone $1.99

Mary’s Paleteria is an ice cream shop that offers students a chance to ex-pand their palates. “We have more nat-ural flavors,” said Norma Marin, a ca-shier at the shop. With its 17 flavors of creme bars, 21 fruit bars, 27 ice cream flavors and several unique fruit drinks, there are a wide variety of flavors and textures available to choose from.

LOCAL EATS PHOTOs AND STORY BY SAMANTHA sutherland, FEATURES EDITOR

TAJ MAHALLocation: 4534 Buffalo Gap RoadHours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. dailyPrice Range: $7.99 - $9.99 for entreeFeatured Item: Palak Chicken $7.99

The newly opened Taj Mahal restau-rant lets students broaden their taste-buds. It offers the only genuine Indian cuisine in Abilene, said Chy Phillips, senior math and international stud-ies major from Abilene who wait-resses there. “Even in a small town like Abilene, people want to taste different things,” said Harsha Kareti, kitchen manager. The ingredients are from India and food is cooked fresh. “We want you to come back again and again,” Kareti said.

THE LOFTLocation: 226 Pine StreetHours: Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.Price Range: $3.25 - $6.95 for an entree

The Loft entertains a slightly more feminine crowd and provides a quaint atmosphere to enjoy creative sand-wiches and wraps alongside other menu items, said Courtney Windham, a waitress at The Loft. “Everything is made from scratch and you don’t find that a lot anymore,” Windham said. The restaurant offers several salads with organic lettuces and spring mixes and there are several gluten free and vegetarian options. The store is over 100 years old, Windham said, and it started by selling casseroles out of the department store’s second floor.

NATURAL FOOD CENTERLocation: 2534 South 7th StreetHours: 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. daily, Sunday for brunch and Friday from 5 - 9 p.m.Price Range: $6.95 - $8.95 for an entree

The Natual Food Center, which func-tions primarily as a health foods store, has built a menu that is organic and natural but tastes gourmet, said Cindi Love, store owner. The center grows its own bean sprouts and uses raw sugar and grass fed beef. “We create a warm, friendly and welcoming en-vironment,” Love said. They also have live music each Friday night.

SWEET

UNIQUE

FRESH

HEALTHY

A customer’s Paleta bar is hand dipped in chocolate.

The restaurant overlooks a boutique.

Featured Item: Grilled chicken in tomato basil wrap with raspberry Chipotle sauce. $5.95

Harsha Kareti, kitchen manager, showcases the clay oven that is used to bake their Naan bread.

The restaurant interior features rich colored furniture and decor.

Featured Item: Thai Chicken Sandwitch $6.95

The restaurant is located inside a health foods store.

The shop’s exterior is an explosion of bright colors and murals.

Eateries off the beaten path help students escape from ‘the usual’.

wednesday 09.14.11 6features

wednesday 09.14.117 sports Jumps

Errors: ’Cats struggles continue at tourney

Hutt with 13 and Borger with 10 – almost half of the team’s total of 50. This feat was diminished by the fact that ACU had a hit-ting percentage of only .107 compared to the Hill-toppers’ .224. St. Edward’s also recorded nine blocks.

The Wildcats turned their fortune around in the second game of the day against the Dustdevils.

Borger and Johnson both had hitting percentages above .400. Borger had a team-high 13 kills (.524) and Johnson had 41 assists and 12 digs (.429 hitting), while ACU won by margins of 25-17, 19-25, 25-16 and 25-22.

Also Sara Oxford added to the victory with eight kills.

But the ‘Cats couldn’t end Saturday’s tourna-ment with a winning streak. They lost to Edin-boro University of Penn-

sylvania (25-23, 25-19, 26-24) and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (21-25, 25-18, 32-34, 26-24, 15-6).

Similar to the St. Ed-ward’s loss, ACU had a low-er hitting percentage than Edinboro, which proved costly as ACU dropped three straight sets.

Hutt and Johnson led the way for the Wildcats. Hutt had 11 kills behind Johnson’s 28 assists.

ACU had a 2-1 set ad-vantage in the final game of the Invitational against Permian Basin and was three points away from edging out a win, but they could not get in the lead.

A service error on Hutt and a service ace by Me-lissa Lusk gave the Lady Falcons a 23-22 lead.

The Wildcats came back to tie the score at 24-24, but the Lady Falcons scored the last two points

of the set and evened the match at two sets apiece.

Permian Basin used that momentum to take over the fifth set. They lead 11-6 before scoring the final four points of the match to seal the deal.

“We have to increase our ability to block the other team,” said Mock. “On the good side, we were able to string togeth-er some great rallies. I saw a lot of hustle plays on the court. We just aren’t put-ting together enough good points to win matches.”

“We need to keep work-ing on our defense,” said Johnson. “We did work well as a team unit.”

The story of the tour-nament for ACU was un-forced errors. The ‘Cats had 37 attack errors, sev-en service errors, and five ball-handling errors.

“Errors were the difference in our wins and losses,” John-

son said. “There were some close games we might have pulled out had we not made those mistakes that we did.”

ACU volleyball’s first SideOut Club social begins Tuesday at Moody Colise-um immediately after the Wildcats’ 7 p.m. match vs. Incarnate Word.

“The SideOut Club is the launching of our vol-leyball’s supporters club,” Mock said. “We are try-ing to see if people in the Abilene area, ACU stu-dents, parents, and other supporters would like to spend time and socialize with us,” she said.

“After SideOut Club matches, we’d like for these people to come eat a meal with us and contribute to the club. It’s a great oppor-tunity to get involved.”

contact isaacs [email protected]

volleyball


Middle blocker Sara Oxford extends her arms as she blocks a shot in Moody Coliseum Tuesday night.

Senior Lyndsey Womack piled onto the lead, scor-ing in the seventy-sec-ond minute spurred by a Grimm pass once again.

For Womack, it was her first goal in two years after missing last season due to a torn ACL injury.

“I got moved to center mid in the second half and had an opportunity to pen-etrate through the defense and get a quality shot off,” she said. “It feels so good to feel like I contributed to the game, and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net. My teammates set me up with the perfect scenar-io, and I’m glad I was able to

finish it off.”In a poll released Tues-

day, the Wildcats were ranked No. 12 by the Na-tional Soccer Coaches’ As-sociation of America poll, which is released weekly.

This is the highest rank-ing in the program’s five-year history, and the Wild-cats are one of two Lone Star Conference teams in the poll.

St. Edwards, ranked No. 2, is the only team in the region

present in the poll.The Wildcats (4-0) begin

a two-game home stretch beginning Friday, as they host Incarnate Word at 5

p.m. and Angelo State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Diversity: Four players score

lyndsey womacksenior midfielder for

WOmen’s soccer team

It feels so good to feel like I contributed to the game,

and I’m grateful for the opportunity to put the ball

in the back of the net.”“

Consider yourself lucky be-cause we are in the heyday of ACU athletics. We have a top ranked football team, vol-leyball and soccer teams that both went to the NCAA tour-nament and a golf team that is ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Of course the typical staples of the ACU athletic department – cross coun-try and track and field – are as strong as ever.

We have an opportunity presented to us this week-end that will be offered to only five other Division II schools this entire season.

Our football team will play in the same stadium the Dallas Cowboys. How cool is that?

Now, I am not naive enough to think that we will fill half of that stadium with fans decked out in purple and white, but due to our proxim-ity to the stadium, we can get more fans there than a school located in Alabama, right?

The fact that I have doubts that we can bring more fans than a university that is over 6,000 miles away from Ar-lington is shocking, especially when our football team is so good. But the doubts remain.

The truth is that you, the ACU student body, have set

a precedent of not showing up to support your Wildcats.

Our volleyball team has been good for years, but they are winning in an empty gym.

The same goes for soccer. Our girls are winning in front of their parents and a hand-ful of fans. This isn’t little league baseball. This is top tier collegiate sports and we as a school need to come out and support all of our teams.

Although I am not a na-tive Texan, I am aware that football reigns supreme in the fall and will always have the most fans.

But I have been to other Lone Star Conference schools where fans come in drones to watch the other sports.

Ask any volleyball player why it is hard to play at West Texas and they will say it is because of the atmosphere created by their fans.

Why can’t that be us?I urge you all as Wildcat sports fans to not waste this opportunity.

Not only should you try to make the trip to Arlington to experience what will be a game that is marked down in the ACU record books and forever remembered on cam-pus, but come support the other sports teams in their endeavors. ACU is a putting a great product out there for you. Take advantage of it.

A Call to Action for fans

contact Shake [email protected]


contact gwin [email protected]

column

destiny hagood staff Photographer

Junior forward Krysta Grimm strikes the ball from the side of the soccer pitch in a matchup against Dallas Baptist earlier this season. Grimm is tied with Andrea Carpenter for the team lead with nine points.


Home: ACU places secondtime sporting ACU purple to cheer me on.”

Carpenter placed along with sophomore Trey Sul-livan tying for fourth at 138 (69-69); freshman Corbin Renner 23rd at 146 (70-76); Drew Norries, tying for 38th at 149 (75-74); and Ian Ev-ans tying for 52nd at 153.

The Wildcats shot a 4-over-par 288 on Tuesday (after a 279 on Monday), but the Bronchos from Central Okla-homa shot a 6-under-par 282 to finish first at 563 after day two of the tournament.

ACU finished second at 567 (279-288) with Our Lady of the Lake in third at 571 (288-283), West Texas A&M in fourth at 575 (287-

288) and Midwestern State in fifth at 577 (285-292).

Last year at the Charles Coody West Texas Invita-tional, the Wildcats were leading by one stroke go-ing into the final round of the tournament.

Central Oklahoma en-tered the final day down one stroke to ACU, but shot a fi-nal round 281 to finish nine-

under for the tournament.Freshman Trey Sullivan

finished for a tie for ninth, while Alex Carpenter fin-ished in fifteenth.

The golf team will return next Monday and Tuesday at the Dornick Hills Classic in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

golf

soccer


contact gasvoda at

[email protected]

The Sports Jediaustin gwin

wednesday 09.14.11 8sports

TeamACUUIWAngelo St.TAMU-KMSUENMUTSUWTAMUCommerce

Div.1-01-00-00-00-00-10-10-00-0

Ovrl.1-01-12-02-01-00-20-20-10-1

TeamASUWTAMUACUMSUCameronTWUUIWENMUTSU

Div.2-03-01-02-12-11-11-21-20-1

Ovrl.10-09-05-46-23-21-54-52-74-5

TeamACUUIWMSUWTAMUENMUCommerceTWUASU

Div.0-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-0

Ovrl.4-02-0-12-0-13-11-21-20-1-21-3

ACU’s Alumni Relations Office announced Friday, Sept. 9, that the pregame party at Cowboy Stadium as part of the Lone Star Conference Football Festival is sold out. Wildcat fans will still be able to join the Dr. Pepper End Zone festivities prior to the 4 p.m. kickoff. Fans who are interested should go through Entrance B, or section 244 from inside the stadium.

The women’s soccer team jumped 12 spots to No. 12 nationally, as ranked by the NSCAA national poll, which is released weekly. Midwestern State is the only Lone Star Conference school in the poll.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox began his third season right where he left off from last year. He had three receptions for 60 yards against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bears won the game 30-12.

Bengals running back Bernard Scott saw limited playing time in his first game of the ‘11 season. He had four carries for three yards and zero touchdowns in their 27-17 win over the Clevland Browns. Last season, Scott had 299 yards rushing on 61 attempts and 60 receiving yards.

Danieal Manning, Texans safety, had two solo tackles against the Colts on Sunday, Sept. 11. Houston won 34-7.

The volleyball team will travel to Commerce on Thursday, Sept. 15 to play Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m.

Soccer faces the University of Incarnate Word at Wildcat Soccer Pitch at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16.

Football plays the University of North Alabama in the Lone Star Conference Festival in Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 4 p.m.

football

volleyball

Women’s Soccer

standings

briefings

EX- FACTOR

Upcoming

Carpenter’s round propels team

ACU finished second at the Charles Coody Intercollegiate Tournament the last two days here in Abilene. The recently No. 1 ranked team finished just behind Central Oklaho-ma but still had a great open-ing to their season.

Coach Mike Campbell was very pleased with how his team performed in their first contest and expects the team to con-tinue to grow.

“We had a two-shot lead after the first day,

and we were in the final groups of tee times.”

He explained that this was a good position for his team to be in.

“That is a good situa-tion for the young guys to be in because it’s all part of the maturation process, and they were growing as a team this tournament.”

Central Oklahoma was ranked third in nation go-ing into the tournament, returning with their start-ing five golfers from the national tournament.

“They are very experi-enced, but we hung right there with them,” Campbell

said. “Going into this tourna-ment I knew we had a young team, but we also have a good mix of veterans.”

Campbell certainly does have a group of out-standing returning play-ers, such as junior All American Alex Carpenter.

He agreed that the team is off to a great start.

“The team played

pretty solid,” he said. “It’s good for everyone, espe-cially the new players to get experience playing college golf.”

Carpenter finished first Tuesday in the individual tournament, shooting a fi-nal round of 69 to win it for the first time.

“I put too much pressure on myself in the past,” Car-penter said.

Playing in a home tour-nament added pressure to win, and he said lowering his expectations paid off.

Carpenter shot even par on the front nine with a pair of birdies offset by

a pair of bogeys. He was 2-under-par on the back nine, dropping in bird-ies on the par-4, 431-yard 13th hole and the par-5, 571-yard 17th hole, which helped him in his victori-ous effort.

Carpenter was also excited to win here in Abilene.

“It was special to pull out a win at home in front of all of my friends, espe-cially my girlfriend Maggye Jordan,” Carpenter said.

“She was in the gallery supporting me the whole

natalie goinsports reporter

GOLF

mike campbellhead coach,

acu golf team

The team played pretty solid. It’s good for every-

one, especially the new players .”“

Destiny hagood staff Photographer

Ashley Holton dribbles past a Dallas Baptist defender in a game earlier this season. In Holton’s second full game following a leg injury, the senior scored her first goal of the season. Holton had two assists in the team’s last game against Central Oklahoma and has four points on the season.

Variety fuels ’Cats to victory

The No. 24 ACU women’s soccer team prolonged their winning streak Sun-day, beating Truman State 4-2 in a non-conference, neutral site victory.

The Wildcats (4-0) had an array of players con-tribute to the scoring, as four different players each scored in the effort.

Senior Ashley Holton kicked off the scoring, put-ting the ’Cats on top 1-0 after scoring a mere eleven minutes into the game.

The All-American for-ward got off a quick shot

that went past Truman State goalkeeper Jayne Gr-isham.

“Like I’ve always said, scoring first and early is such a confidence boost-er for our team. Doing so shows that we’re here to play ready to go,” Head Coach Casey Wilson said. “Once again, when we did it, things went in our favor I’m glad we’re continuing to do so.”

Freshman midfielder Madison Brown added to the Wildcats’ offensive at-tack, making the game 2-0 in the thirty-second min-ute. That goal was the first of Brown’s young career at ACU, and she follows

suit behind her freshman teammate Sarah Schoch, who scored her first colle-giate goal last week.

“Anytime we can get our outside mids attack-ing towards the goal, good things are going to happen,” Wilson said. “Madison penetrated the box and put a foot on a ball that the goalie ini-tially stopped and had no

chance of stopping. I’m very proud of her.”

Coming out of the half down 2-0, Truman State forward Olivia Hayes cut the score in half, scor-ing off of a pass by Kelsey Twellman in the sixty- first minute.

The score really ener-gized the Truman team, and junior Julie Coppedge knew how important it was for the Wildcats to re-spond quickly to make the game a comfortable two-goal deficit.

All-American An-drea Carpenter took that into her own hands, and scored a goal not one minute after Hayes goal.

Carpenter received a pass from Krysta Grimm and then sent the ball to the back of the net.

“Krysta made an amaz-ing pass through traffic to me that put me in a great position to finish it off,” Carpenter said. “She’s the one that made it happen.”

With the goal, Carpen-ter now has four on the season and has a team-leading 10 points.

The sophomore is be-ginning her second year much like she did in her freshman campaign en route to a school record 22 goals and 48 points.

soccer

bryson shakesports editor

casey wilsonhead coach,

acu women’s soccer.

Like I’ve always said, scoring first and early is

such a confidence booster for our team.” “

Errors prove costly in San Angelo

The ACU volleyball team hit their first bump in the road this weekend when they traveled to San Angelo.

The Wildcats competed in the Angelo State Invitational on Friday and Saturday where they played four opponents, losing to three of them.

Head Coach Kellen Mock was a little disappointed by her team’s performance.

“We played a lot of teams last weekend that challenged us, but at the same time we

didn’t do a very good job of be-ing in control and efficient on our side of the court,” she said. “It wasn’t the best weekend for us, but there are a lot of things we can learn from it to move forward.”

Sophomore setter Caley Johnson agreed with Mock.

“We struggled this weekend. We didn’t click as a team, and we had too many errors. Those were teams that were excited to beat us because they hadn’t in a while,” she added. “We have to always be on the attack since opponents are out to get us and take advantage of every mistake we make.”

The first day of the tourna-ment the Wildcats posted a 1-1 record, losing first to St. Edward’s University 3-1 before defeating Texas A&M Interna-tional University by the same score.

The No. 25 ‘Cats competed at a high level in their first set against St. Edward’s, earning a victory with a score of 25-19.

However, the tide quickly shifted, and the Hilltoppers took the next three: 25-13, 25-18 and 25-17.

Jennie Hutt and Neely Borg-er combined for 23 kills – Hutt

edward isaacsassistant sports editor

volleyball


Setter Caley Johnson tips a ball up for teammate Sara Oxford Tuesday night.

see diversity page 7

see errors page 9

see home page 7

The Optimist Print Edition: 09.14.11

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