The lawyer Quanah Parker, not the Native-American ACU alum and local attorney Quanah Parker creates his own legend, page 5

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

October 31, 2007

WEDNESDAY

Vol. 96, No. 18

1 sections, 8 pageswww.acuoptimist.com

THE

Playing the lotterySpring Break Campaigns lottery system helps students and campaigns, page 3

Playoff ShootoutACU keeps playoff hopes alive with record-breaking win over Tarleton State, page 8

OPTIMIST

By Kelsi PeaceManaging Editor

The Students’ Association Congress examined the 21st Century Vision and contin-ued a vacillating debate on the creation of a chaplain po-sition Oct. 24.

After moving to definitely table a bill to create a chap-lain position in the Students’ Association last week, senior senator Nathan MacKenzie withdrew the bill Oct. 24.

The move came after Con-gress ended debate time to vote on the bill, with questions and debates still hanging on some representatives’ lips.

Some urged Congress to

pass the bill and turn to the student body for the final say, but others raised concerns about creating a permanent chaplain position, suggesting instead the position be creat-ed temporarily, much like the temporary chief advancement officer position.

Parliamentarian Matt Green-berg said he would not enter-tain a motion to suspend the by-laws to extend debate on the subject, citing a concern for precedent set by overturn-ing the governing document.

A bill can only be present-ed to Congress once.

Before debating or with-drawing the bill, MacKenzie yielded the floor to Mark Lew-

is, director of Student Life, who supported the creation of position.

“Anything that offers a tangible opportunity for you to connect with student body [is good],” Lewis said.

The position, which would oversee class and club chap-lains, could provide much-needed organization and unity, Lewis said.

Also at the meeting, Phil Schubert, executive vice president, presented the 21st Vision to Congress, entertaining questions, con-cerns and feedback.

“We’re about being faithful and relevant,” Schubert told Congress, if the vision was

boiled down. “There’s no rea-son ACU can’t move into that [premiere] position if we set our sights on that goal.”

Representatives raised several concerns and asked for clarification. Among concerns raised were the different faces of the uni-versity presented to visitors compared with students, a change in the university tra-dition and values if broader Christian backgrounds are pursued and quality issues existing presently.

“I’m concerned with what is still lacking today,” Parlia-mentarian Matt Greenberg said, citing poor conditions in Chambers. “I don’t neces-

sarily think we’re ready for that move.”

“Things are never linear,” Schubert said. “You move for-ward on several fronts at the same time.”

Right now, that move in-cludes construction on the Bob and Shirley Hunter Wel-come Center, plans for a student fitness center and plans for a $10 million build-ing for history and English, Schubert said.

Schubert told representa-tives the university recog-nized its Church of Christ roots as important and said any denomination expansion — especially among faculty — would be done in an “ap-

propriate, deliberate and sen-sitive” manner.

“That is the core aspect and makeup of our institu-tion… our DNA. That will not change.”

Representatives also ex-pressed a concern that as the university pursues partner-ships with corporations, so-cial responsibility could go by the wayside.

“I think we’re very aware of and sensitive to social is-sues that could come up,” Schubert said.

And as the university seeks students of more diverse

Chaplain position withdrawn, 21st Century Vision discussed at SA meeting

By Denton JoseyFEaturEs Editor

Southern Hills will host a conference on racism and reconciliation this weekend. The event, ‘Erasing Racism: Reconciliation of the Races in Christ’ takes place Friday evening and Saturday.

Jack Walker, former mis-sionary in residence at ACU and Bible professor, is one of the organizers of the event, as well as Dr. Jerry Taylor, assistant professor of Bible, missions and ministry.

Walker, who spent 20 years as a missionary to Uru-guay, is the missionary in residence at Southern Hills

and director of Bridges to the World, a ministry that works mainly with Latin America. Walker and Taylor are part of an ethnically diverse group of 15 people, students and fac-ulty, who have planned the event for several months.

The group from ACU that meets every month to dis-cuss race and the church is known as United By Faith. The group began as a read-ing group, and after reading both “Divided By Faith” and “United By Faith” the group decided to name itself after the latter book. The confer-ence at Southern Hills is the result of the group wanting to do more than just discuss

the issues within the group.“It’s just a natural out-

flow of what we’ve been doing on a monthly basis,” Taylor said. “We didn’t want to be just a discussion group, but do something in addition to that.”

“This is the first stab at getting out of our group and into the churches,” Walker said.

Walker said the focus is inward and outward.

“This is an attempt to get churches to discuss how we can, No. 1, internally have better relationships with Christians in the Church of Christ, and secondly, become better agents in the commu-

nity to promote better rela-tions between ethnicities,” Walker said.

Though only Church of Christ congregations re-ceived invitations, the long-term goal is to include more people in the community.

“That’s the natural place where we start, and we thought it would be a good place for us to start,” Taylor said. “It’s not where we’re going to finish; we hope to do something next year that would have a broader out-reach in the community.”

One of the goals of the

Conference addresses racial issuesBy Sharon Rapelje

studEnt rEportEr

The Grove’s general man-ager Mike Spell resigned this month. His resignation comes after construction was delayed in August and several contrac-tors filed liens against the cor-poration earlier this month. Spell, who was unavailable for comment, took care of stu-dents’ needs, responded to complaints, supervised staff and other daily operations.

Michelle Runyan, western re-gion operations manager, said things will continue to run at the Grove.

The Grove will interview ap-plicants this week and begin training next week.

Ted Gonzales, general man-ger at the Greeley, Colo., loca-tion will assist in the training. Runyan said she expects to fill the position in two weeks.

Amy Finn, junior psychol-ogy major from Southlake, said she spoke with Spell on Friday and thought everything was going well with the grand opening of the clubhouse. The clubhouse was originally slated to open in August with the rest of the complex.

Finn said things have calmed down at the complex since the beginning of the semester, but her apartment still needs base boards painted and paint spills removed.

Spell leaves Grove

By C.J. PiersonstudEnt rEportEr

Halloween, the only time of year when characters like Harry Potter, George W. Bush, and Cap-tain Jack Sparrow gather, has ar-rived. For ACU students, there are many choices of how to celebrate All Hallows Eve this year.

The Grove hosted a Halloween bash Tuesday in its newly opened clubhouse, featuring a costume party and pumpkin carving con-test. Winners received gift cards, but only for residents, said Aubi Martinez, Community Assis-tant at The Grove. Martinez is in

charge of organizing the event and wanted to invite anyone out to The Grove on 2702 N. Judge Ely Blvd. after the grand opening of the clubhouse was such a suc-cess last week.

Among several service oppor-tunities on Halloween, students will join other volunteers at the 2007 Harvest Festival at the G. V. Daniels Recreation Center, locat-ed at 541 North 8th Street, from 6 to 9 p.m. Kelly Klinkerman, se-nior biology major from Eureka, MO, is leading the group going from ACU. She said the event is for youth and will provide a safe environment for neighborhood

children during the time most trick-or-treat.

Activities at the event will in-clude an air castle, cake-walk and a variety of games. Snacks will be available — including the Hal-loween candy. Students are asked to RSVP at the Volunteer Service-Learning Center at ext. 2932 be-cause there are a limited amount of spaces for students wanting to help.

Students seeking a fright this Wednesday will join the com-munity at the annual viewing of

Opportunities abound for Halloween

By Colter HettichstudEnt rEportEr

Two fatal automotive accidents in the ACU area remind students of the fragility of life and to drive with care.

Just after midnight on Oct. 18, Veronica Muhle, 37, slammed into a car as it pulled out onto East High-way 80 in front of her. The impact threw her from her motorcycle and, without a helmet to protect her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Five days later, a car ran a red light at the intersection of Ambler Avenue and Treadaway Boulevard. A north-bound truck pulling a trailer collided with the car, throwing 42-year-old Ja-son Rene Walker into the street where the truck and trailer ran over his body, killing him instantly. The police recovered sealed alcohol containers from the car. Police are still waiting on blood test results to determine if anyone had been drinking.

Despite these recent accidents, statistics show Abilene drivers are improving each year. Only 3,434 wrecks have occurred this year, and the city of Abilene is on pace for 3,800 automotive accidents for 2007, a 5.15 percent decrease from 4,006 accidents in 2006.

Many recent developments, in-cluding Wal-Mart and The Grove, have contributed to a rise in traffic.

“Any time you open a develop-ment such as The Grove, traffic naturally increases,” said ACU Chief of Police Jimmy Ellison. “There has been a moderate increase in traffic, but it has been very manageable.”

Being very familiar with an area

Local car wrecks kill two

KATIE GAGER CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Erin Gray, senior elementary education major from Lubbock, dressed as a nurse, attempts to throw around Claire Matthews, junior pre-nursing major from Manhattan, Kan., dressed as a lion at Ultimate Frisbee’s Halloween game.

See HALLOWEEN page 4

See RACISM page 4

See SA page 4

See WRECKS page 4

E-mail Rapelje at: optimist@acu.edu

bRIAn schmIdT SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Rebecca Wood, junior applied studies major from Garland, participates in a Halloween game at the UP Halloween Party on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving holidays will begin at 8 a.m. on Nov. 21, rather than on Nov. 20 as the ACU Stu-dent Planner says. This means all Tuesday classes, including eve-ning classes, will meet that day.

Flu season is near. Now is the time to get a flu shot. The Medical Clinic will host a flu vac-cination clinic Thursday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Campus Cen-ter Living Room. The shot costs $25, and it can be charged to a student account or paid in cash or check. Flu shots are also cur-rently available on a daily walk-in basis in the Medical Clinic. For more information, contact Kathy Stokes at (325) 674-2625.

FilmFest Revolutions, ACU’s fourth annual FilmFest, will take place Friday and Saturday. Film-Fest is a student short-film compe-tition. Students create all aspects of the films as the directors, writ-

ers, producers, sound designers, technical directors and production designers. FilmFest Chapel and the FilmFest premier night show will take place Friday. The Judges’ Symposium, screening of all films and the FilmFest ‘07 concert will take place Saturday.

Social Justice Coalition will

host a volleyball tournament Fri-day and Saturday. The tourna-ment will cost $120 per team, and funds will support Steven’s Children, which helps impover-ished families in Egypt. Contact Abby Barnes at aeb05j@acu.edu or Cristina del Pinal at cxd03d@acu.edu for more information.

11:30 a.m.December graduates may come to the Brown Library atrium until 5 p.m. for free food, a chance to win an iPod Nano and answers to questions regarding graduation.

7:30 p.m.The Rockin’ Extensions will perform at Play Faire Park. Come enjoy live music, play miniature golf and explore a haunted house. The person wearing the best Halloween costume will receive a free Rockin’ Extensions CD. This event will cost $5 per person at the gate, or $4 for those in costume.

6:30 p.m.Connecting Caring Communities will host a Trivia Night Fundraiser in the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church. The night will include trivia, fun, prizes and dinner, which will be provided by MCM Elegante Suites, Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, Mr. Gatti’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and other vendors. Ticket sales will go to Connecting Caring Communities. Tickets are $20 per person. Put together a team of eight people, or join a team upon arrival. Purchase tickets from info@wecareabilene.org or (325) 232-8241.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Calendar Events&

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 optimist@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at mxe06a@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

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Announcements

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CreditedChapelsremaining:

Chapel Checkup4327

Volunteer Opportunities

Abilene Habitat for Humanity will host its annual Mall-O-Ween on Wednesday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mall of Abilene. Help is needed with games, booths, giving out candy and taking donations.

The G.V. Daniels Recreation Center needs help Wednesday from 5:30-9 p.m. Volunteers will help with game booths and will hand out candy. For more infor-mation, contact Justin Whiteley or Tanya Brown at (325) 676-6443.

G. V. Daniels & I-CAN will host a Harvest Festival on Wednesday. Volunteers are needed from 5:30-9 p.m. to assist with game booths and handing out candy.

Love and Care Ministries will hold its annual Mission Thanksgiving on November 16. Volunteers are needed for various shifts from 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. help unload and load donations.

6:45 p.m.TeamQuest ‘07 will take place in Hart Auditorium and the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies building rotunda. Come eat food from every continent. Drawings will be held for prizes, including Rob Bell books, iTunes gift cards and an 8 GB iPod Nano.

7:30 p.m.Final Fantasy, Cadence Weapon and Comrade will perform at Monks coffee shop. Music will begin at 8 p.m. Buy tickets to the event before Thursday at Monks for $8. Tickets will cost $10 Thursday.

11:15 p.m.Essence of Ebony will host ‘Duos- It Looks Good on You,’ a Halloween skate night at The Skatin’ Place, located at S. 14th and Clack. This event will last until 1 a.m. Admittance for each individual with a costume will cost $5, and couples with duo costumes will cost $8.

Be watching for the new ACU emergency alert system signup links coming soon. The service is free and helps get emergency information out to everyone immediately.Report all suspicious activity to the ACU Police Department at (325) 674-2305.

Mon., Oct. 22, 20078:12 a.m. Vehicle accident at Judge Ely Boulevard and Ambler 2 p.m. Assisted City Marshal with arrest warrant for student at University Park Apartments Tues., Oct. 23, 2007 12:01 a.m. Report of suspicious noise in the alley behind 500 EN 16th, unable to locate 8:28 a.m. Traffic stop at EN 16th and Campus Court for disregarding stop sign 4:55 p.m. Theft report at Mabee Hall6:30 p.m. Theft of bicycle from Smith/Adams Lot8:49 p.m. Incomplete 911 at Zellner Hall room 218, misdial 10 p.m. Random patrol of social club activities at Will Hair Park 10:33 p.m. Assisted Abilene PD with subjects using paint balls at Taylor Elementary11:30 p.m. Report of loud music from Sanders Intramural Field, un-able to locate, activities over

Wed., Oct. 24, 2007 1:15 p.m. Assisted student with flat tire at University Park Lot 2:52 p.m. Report of possible stolen vehicle at University Park Lot, vehicle was located 4 p.m. Subject reporting BB shot at her car on Campus Court, vehicle not damaged, no report4:45 p.m. Report of disabled vehicle at EN 16th and ACU Drive, vehicle gone upon arrival 8:52 p.m. Burglar alarm at Van-derpool Building, accidental trip,

alarm reset 11:45 p.m. Loud party at 800 EN 14th, contacted resident to quiet down

Thurs., Oct. 25, 2007 11:19 a.m. Assisted Abilene PD on a burglary in progress call on 1200 Cedar Crest1:47 p.m. Vehicle accident at 2000 Oliver Jackson4:15 p.m. Fire alarm at WPAC, false alarm5:10 p.m. Report of suspicious sub-ject selling magazines at University Park Lot, contacted and asked to leave property, complied.8:38 p.m. Report of skunk in Morris Hall courtyard, unable to locate 10:53 p.m. Loud party at 500 EN 16th, contacted resident, advised to move inside

Fri., Oct. 26, 2007 1:40 p.m. Medical emergency at Morris Hall4:15 p.m. Traffic stop at Campus Court and Ambler for disregarding traffic light

Sat., Oct. 27, 2007 9 a.m. Found backpack belonging to student, unable to contact owner 10:56 a.m. Report of suspicious subjects/vehicle near EN 10th and Cedar Crest, unable to locate

Sun., Oct. 28, 2007 5:30 a.m. Bike found in front of Edwards Hall 10:45 a.m. Suspicious vehicle at Erinshire Gardens, unable to locate

Police LogEdited for space

ACU Police Tip of the Week

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

E-mail Abston at: optimist@acu.edu E-mail Hyde at: optimst@acu.edu

By Grant AbstonStudent RepoRteR

Marathon Training, a new class offered this fall, teach-es students different run-ning techniques and assists in physical training, so they can achieve their final goal of completing a marathon.

Marathon Training, taught by Dr. Odies Wright, associate professor of ex-ercise science and health, aims to engage students in running while developing the skills and endurance necessary to complete full and half marathons.

Dr. Joe Bell, associate professor of exercise sci-ence and health, and Dr. Nicki Rippee, Chair of the Department of Exercise Sci-ence and Health, developed the class and approached Wight about teaching it.

“There seems to be an interest in this class, and I thought it would be a great

idea,” Wright said.Students meet on Mon-

day and Wednesday morn-ings at 7:30 to 8:50 a.m. to train, incorporating strategies such as stretch-ing, learning what to wear and dealing with various things that may come up, such as injuries.

“The training that we are doing is according to former Olympian Jeff Gal-loway, who advocates run-ning three days a week with a long run on the weekend,” Wright said.

Ashley McElroy, senior speech pathology major from Uvalde, said she has enjoyed the class, making her goal of completing a marathon a reality.

“This class will actually help me run a marathon, and I’ve been wanting to run one for about a year,” McEl-roy said. “The class gets you on a program and helps you discipline yourself.”

Students are required to complete a full or half mara-thon before the class finishes at the end of the semester.

“Everyone can run a marathon or half mara-thon anywhere that you want with verification,” Wright said. “We are going to White Rock on Dec. 9 to run a half or full marathon, but it is not required to run this race.”

Optimism has been high and Dr. Wright said he has enjoyed the new experi-ence and has been appre-ciative to share the experi-ence with his class.

“There are 20 students in class, and we have had a great response while every-one has stuck through it,” Wright said. “Enthusiasm has been very good, and I really appreciate the peo-ple in there.”

New class masters marathons

By Kimberly PratherStudent RepoRteR

The Spring Break Cam-paign lottery system gives students a shot at participat-ing in the campaign of their choice as groups begin to form in preparation for this ACU spring break tradition.

Monday the lottery pro-cess started in the Cam-pus Center where students bought a ticket and then proceeded online to www.acusbc.org to fill out a per-sonal information form. The process will continue until Thursday, when actual sign-ups will take place.

Mark Lewis, director of spiritual life, said the lot-tery started because the original sign-up process

was on a first come, first serve basis until about five years ago. The process was not fair to everybody, espe-cially to students who had other engagements or to those who had class, Lewis said. “We decided to have a controlled and organized organization that gives ev-erybody an equal chance,” Lewis said.

The lottery now gives every student a fair chance to serve and minister with Spring Break Campaigns.

“The purpose of Spring Break Campaigns is to im-pact lives through student-led, short-term missions that are dedicated to Christ-like service throughout the world,” said Jennifer King, senior finance major from

Cleveland Ohio, and chair of Spring Break Campaigns.

The purpose of Spring Break Campaigns was made known Tuesday night at the information fair held for the Spring Break Campaigns in the Campus Center. Here, students met the leaders, got a vibe for the campaigns on a personal level and saw the type of service they will be doing, along with the cost, King said.

The Spring Break Cam-paigns are not cheap but it is easy to raise the money with effort, said Jeremy Webb, graduate student from Austin, and spiritu-al focus leader for Spring Break Campaigns.

“It takes effort, but the money is out there. People

are always wiling to help other people you just have to ask,” Webb said. Lewis said there will be a committee this year offering workshops to help people learn how to raise money for the campaigns.

“We help the campaigners and the leaders learn how to write letters because people want to give to people; they don’t want to give to organi-zations,” Webb said.

The lottery process con-cludes Thursday morning, where sign-ups will take place for the campaigns. There will be a poster in the Campus Center that has a time corresponding with the chosen lottery number and the place students will meet for sign-ups.

King said the lottery pro-

cess is not only making the process more equivalent, it is also helping to diversify.

“With the waiting list, people might not get their first choice. The lottery pro-cess will open people up to new places, and it also diversifies the campaigns,” King said.

It also helps students to really get to know each other and it gets people out of their comfort zones, King said.

Students have 27 differ-ent locations to choose from this year, each with a male and female leader. Each leader has been preparing for the last three weeks, go-ing to leader meetings and preparing to lead Chapels, King said. “For the next three to four months, the

leaders will be meeting with faculty and staff mentors and church leaders through-out the community to pre-pare them for what it is they are going to face out in the mission field,” Webb said.

Lewis said this is a way for faculty and staff members to become involved with the campaigns and to be able to offer spiritual guidance, prayer and encouragement.

Last year, more than 500 students spent their spring breaks in service. The com-mittee members say they prays that this tradition will continue to glorify, and that many will be a part of it.

Spring Break Campaigns offer students alternate ways to serve during holiday

By Lauren HydeStudent RepoRteR

The opening, sales and customer service at the new Kohl’s, located on Southwest Drive, have raised excite-ment in the community as individuals no longer have to travel out of town to shop at the nation-wide de-partment store.

Manny Hoffman, the store manager of Kohl’s, is thrilled by the response of the new Kohl’s sales and apprecia-tion from the community.

“The reception has been great, and the sales have been outstanding,” Hoffman said.

The customers are excited about Kohl’s being in Abilene now, Hoffman said. People from San Angelo have been calling and thanking Hoff-man for building the Kohl’s, so they don’t have to drive outside of Abilene to shop now, he said.

Kohl’s brings Abilene a

whole new experience and fu-ture now, Hoffman said.

Thirty-six different Kohl’s in Texas are all innovation stores, which are different from other Kohl’s stores be-cause they have more to of-fer. For example, innovation stores have bigger dressing rooms, more lounge areas and wider aisles, Hoffman said.

The Kohl’s in Abilene also offers interactive customer service. Hoffman tells his employees they must greet 100 customers a day when they are at work. Also, all of the registers are purpose-fully at the front of the store so that the employees at the registers can easily greet cus-tomers as they walk into the store, Hoffman said.

Many ACU students have visited the new Kohl’s as well.

Hillary Crawford, senior integrated marketing com-munication major from Houston, has already been to the new Kohl’s several times.

“I was so excited to hear that Abilene was getting a new Kohl’s. I had to go see what it was like,” Crawford said. “I loved the atmo-sphere and the brands that they have. The customer ser-vice is great there, and that is always a huge indicator if I go back to a store or not.”

According to Hoffman, Kohl’s is starting to wor-ry department stores in Abilene such as JCPenny and Dillard’s with its out-standing sales. Kohl’s has a boutique feel to it and a welcoming atmosphere that makes customers feel great and want to come back, Hoffman said.

“Everyone should come see what Kohl’s is like. It is a fun, clean, organized place to save money and al-ways be greeted with a great smile,” Hoffman said.

Kohl’s awes customers, competition

E-mail Prather at: optimist@acu.edu

Page 4 Wednesday, October 31, 2007CAMPUS NEWS / FROM THE FRONT

By Luke SimsStudent RepoRteR

This Halloween, while the kids are trick-or-treating, Play Faire Park, a local min-iature golf coarse, will host a concert featuring a band comprised of ACU students.

The Rockin’ Extensions, a band composed primarily of ACU students will be per-

forming live for guests at the park. Andrew Duge, se-nior marketing major from Corpus Christi and vocalist for the band, described the band as rock with a little mix of blues.

Duge said the band, all originally from Corpus Christi, grew up together and were heavily influenced by their parents.

“We started going to our parents’ shows at an early age, and that really helped us get into music,” Duge said. “We all learned to play instruments from them, and we started playing to-gether as a band when we were kids.”

Duge said the band will play a set of cover songs and originals.

“Since we are new to Abilene, we had to throw in some crowd favorites, but over time we hope to add some more original work,” Duge said.

Those crowd favorites include “With a Little Help from my Friends” by Joe Crocker (The Wonder Years theme), “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid, and the

rock anthem, “Freebird”.The band will be perform-

ing from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m. This all-ages event encourag-es everyone to come out and have fun.

Costumes are encouraged, as costumed guests not only get a dollar off the admis-sion price, but the most cre-ative costume will win a CD by the band.

Fans can find out more about The Rockin’ Extensions as well as upcoming show dates at their MySpace site, www.myspace.com/rockinex-tensions. Play Faire Park is located at 2300 N 2nd St. and Park Ave.

‘Rockin’ Extensions’ to dress up, rock out Wednesday

E-mail Sims at: optimist@acu.edu

By Kelline LintonStudent RepoRteR

Students are preparing to hear more gospel around campus and in Chapel from the Gospel ensemble.

Samuel Cook, associate professor of music and artist in residence, created the en-semble after he began to feel a need for its type a year af-ter he came to ACU in 2000. “[This ensemble] will give ACU another face of diversity that will represent the diver-sity on campus,” Cook said.

In the past, African Ameri-can students started their own ensembles with no men-tor or guidance. Cook wanted to provide the professional help an official ensemble could offer. “There is a great interest in gospel music not just among the African Amer-ican students, but among all of the students here on cam-pus,” Cook said.

ACU already has two en-sembles—the A Cappella Cho-ral Ensemble and the universi-ty’s Singers Choral Ensemble.

“I thought it would be nice to introduce another ensem-ble to give students more diversity in their selection of ensembles to sing in; the Gospel ensemble offers that opportunity,” Cook said.

This semester is a trial period for the ensemble.

“This is sort of like re-search and development right now. I am researching to see what interest there is, and I am also trying to develop rep-ertoire and see what reper-toire is available,” Cook said.

The group will sing gos-pel, spirituals and tradition-al choral music, all with sa-cred themes. The group may use musical instruments.

“In traditional gospel music there is an organ, pi-ano, drums — there’s a real

band,” Cook said. “I would like to experiment with the instruments to see how that would work.”

The ensemble will rehearse once a week, and Cook al-ready has two shows planned for this semester. The group will sing at Southern Hills Church of Christ for the Ra-cial Reconciliation Seminar on Nov. 3 and will also perform in a Christmas benefit concert for Ghana missions on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Williams Performing Arts Center.

Dr. Jerry Taylor, Dr. Tan-ya Bryce and Cook devel-oped this idea of a gospel fundraising concert.

“We thought this would be a good way to support the mission work in Ghana,” Cook said.

The Gospel Ensemble is working to become official by next year with possible class credit status. Membership will be selected through auditions and open to anyone at ACU.

“Our Church of Christ tradition is so strongly built upon singing, but we don’t have a community of singers here on campus,” Cook said.

He said he hopes a com-munity-wide ensemble will change this.

Twenty students are al-ready preparing to partici-pate in the Gospel Ensemble this semester.

Cook himself has past en-semble experience and is cur-rently the director of Alaban-za, a conglomeration of ACU students, faculty, staff and former students. This group travels to South America ev-ery summer to sing for mis-sions and to attract people to church services.

Gospel ensemble brings cultural medley

conference is to gather Churches of Christ in the com-munity and discuss issues of ethnicity and how Christians relate to each other.

“The goal is to, hopefully, arrive at a deeper and more accurate understanding of the nature and spirit of racism, to see how it functions, and op-erates within a persons spirit and sometimes how it oper-ates on an unconscious level,” Taylor said.

Walker said all the area Churches of Christ are invited.

“This is not an attempt to be exclusive or wall ourselves off from other churches in town — we hope it becomes an on-going event, but we feel like we first need to focus on ourselves and ask ourselves some ques-tions before we go out into the community,” Walker said.

While there have been im-provements in racial relations

in the Church of Christ, Walk-er said, there’s always room for improvement.

“I think one of the ways we’ve all missed out is there are basically three fellowships within the Church of Christ: African American, Hispanic and Anglo.”

Walker said a lack of com-munication and fellowship among the groups is detrimen-tal and impoverishing to all three groups.

“It is by our unity that we show people how to solve the problems of the greater community.”

Walker said despite over-coming physical segregation, such as businesses and schools, each ethnicity tends to stick to its own group and that is the kind of barrier he hopes to see come down.

“I’ve lived around the world; I’ve been fortunate to travel to many nations, and that’s only enriched my own life by not

just meeting people from dif-ferent ethnicities and cultures, but becoming friends with them,” Walker said.

Walker, whose own gene-alogy includes both Choctaw and Cherokee ancestry, mar-ried a Uruguayan, Beatriz Walker, assistant professor of Spanish. Beattriz, who has Lebanese, Spanish Portuguese and French ancestry, is sched-uled to speak on Saturday about the Latino heritage.

In addition to increasing communication on the subjects of racism and issues of ethnic-ity, Walker said the conference organizers want to promote a dynamic within participants that will equip them to change not only their home congrega-tions, but also the community.

Walker said he hopes stu-dents come and do more than listen to the speeches, but ask themselves questions, such as “What does this mean for me, how can I act? How can I be a

catalyst for more open com-munication and closer relation-ships on campus?”

The conference material was first introduced during a retreat with the Richland Hills Church of Christ on their New Wineskins retreat.

Taylor said it is important for Christians to discover how to deal with racism and learn how to communicate and coop-erate with all races because the world needs an example.

“The goal is to listen to one another, more than anything else,” Walker said. “Each of us has to give the other person the occasion to speak, we have to demonstrate that we want to hear what the other person has to say.”

Southern Hills will provide two free meals; attendance is free. Participants are asked to RSVP by Thursday at www.wec-areabilene.org or 692-2670.

Racism: Conference aims to unite churches

one drives through daily can betray drivers, Ellison said. Motorists should pay spe-cial attention to basic driv-ing safety no matter what the situation. “One of the number one causes of minor accidents is driver inattention,” Chief Ellison said.

Sgt. Doug Wrenn of the Abilene Police Department’s Traffic Division could not stress the importance of seat belts enough. “No matter what, you need to wear your seat belt,” said Sgt. Wrenn. “Seat belts save lives.”

Wrecks: Distractions, no seat belts can cost livesContinued from page 1

E-mail Hettick at: optimist@acu.edu

The Changeling at the Para-mount Theatre, 352 Cypress Street, at 10 p.m. Tickets are $6, and attendees are invited to enjoy the 1908 cult clas-sic in costume. The movie is rated R for a scene of brief

violence. Ryan Hunter, junior biol-

ogy major from Waco, said he would be attending the film, and joked he “doesn’t want to be the skeleton this Halloween and have nobody to go with.”

Halloween: ‘Changeling’ tradition haunts againContinued from page 1

E-mail Pierson at: optimist@acu.edu

background, Schubert said it will not recruit students who are ill equipped.

“What we don’t want to do is bring students who aren’t prepared to succeed here,” Schubert said.

Schubert added that the intent is not to eliminate students who cannot af-ford the university, but students who are not aca-demically capable.

Representatives also questioned which “bench-mark” universities ACU is aiming for — and Schubert named Wheaton’s academ-ics and Baylor’s research institution as two examples among others.

Rep. Byron Martin in-quired about diversity

in the vi-sion, and S c h u b e r t said cur-rently the university is at 25 percent in-ternational and ethnic minorities in the student body and eight percent of the faculty. Efforts for di-versity continue, he said.

Students’ Association Congress meets Wednes-days at 5:15 p.m. in Hart Auditorium. Students are welcome to attend and speak to Congress during the open forum time.

SA: Shubert says diversity on the riseContinued from page 1

E-mail Peace at: knp04a@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

E-mail the reporter at: optimist@acu.edu

E-mail Linton at: optimist@acu.edu

Schubert

By Kelsi PeaceManaging Editor

Local lawyer Quanah Park-er, (’68) shares more with the Comanche chief Quanah Parker than a few letters. Abilene’s Quanah projects the determined advocacy, controversial politics and brash action his namesake displayed in the last century — and like the Quanah of the past, he does what he thinks he needs to do.

In an office cluttered with Texas memorabilia, including a giant Texas driver’s license, a state flag and a University of Texas floor mat, photos of the Comanche chief, who is known for surrendering to the U.S. Army at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill, pepper the walls of the Quanah Parker Law Of-fice, 702 Hickory Street, wait-ing room as well as Quanah’s personal office.

Quanah plops his cowboy-booted foot across his knee, rocks back in his wooden rock-ing chair and launches into a detailed history of the man he calls the original Quanah.

Quanah History The original Quanah’s

mother was Anglo, and her capture by a Comanche tribe resulted in a marriage to the chief. Their son, Quanah, grew to be a progressive lead-er who worked closely with white leaders, a move that earned the praise of some and the scorn of others.

Quanah guffaws at a sto-ry he once heard about the chief who, sporting an array of scalps on his belt, told a listener he had one regret: “I never got a blond.”

The Comanche chief is known for more than his brash comment, however, thanks to his advocacy for his people as they adjusted to life on a reservation following Quanah’s surrender.

“The Parkers were big in Texas history,” Quanah said of his namesake. And on a waiting room wall, Quanah proudly displays his own

Parker family tree. The knowledge comes less

as a result of research and more from a machine gunner Quanah served with in the army whose doctoral thesis focused on Qua-nah Parker and the Peyote cult, Quanah said.

Grateful clients and friends present Quanah with knickknacks of his namesake, sometimes with a story to share as well.

“He was quite a politician, he was,” Quanah says, gestur-ing toward a larger photo of the Comanche chief.

Quanah tells a lively sto-ry — facial expressions and hand gestures punctuate his familiarity with the chief’s story — and he ends by ex-plaining his own ties to the Comanche. While not a direct descendant, Quanah said his great-grandfather was a third cousin, and once delivered a piano to the chief.

He seems less excited to talk about his own history, perhaps for its lack of scalping stories, but begins by explaining how he found himself in Abilene.

Quanah’s parents left Norman, Okla., in 1962 to move to a city Parker’s fa-ther called “Mecca” for its many churches — Abilene.

After attending Abilene High School, the next natural step seemed to be attending college on the hill.

“I lettered four years in not getting caught,” Quanah says, throwing back his head and laughing. He doesn’t elaborate, but instead says he worked as a crew leader for Southwest Company selling Bibles and pledged men’s so-cial club Sub T-16.

As a Gob, or a Sub T pledge, Quanah recalled hav-ing two dates every Wednes-day night, calling it a “good way to meet chicks.”

“They cringe when they mention me at ACU,” Quanah says with a grin. “’Cause I’m kinda crazy.”

After undergraduate work, Quanah said he vacillated be-tween dentistry and law before enrolling at the University of

Texas law school just before the draft.

“I picked law ’cause it starts late,” Quanah said, laughing. “I really didn’t know what I was getting into. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Quanah promptly went to the army after graduat-ing from law school in 1971, where he served as a lieuten-ant in the military police corps for two years.

“It beat the infantry,” Qua-nah said, explaining he had been in the infantry prior to police corps.

In 1977, Quanah found himself making a pilgrimage back to Abilene to work as a representative for the oil com-pany Pride Refining.

“Of course like everyone else, I swore I’d never come back,” he said.

By 1981, Quanah had worked as a district attorney and settled into his law practice where, he recites flawlessly and with a note of irony, he works with the “crippled, downtrod-den and the damned.”

No good lawyers - just good facts

At the Quanah Parker Law Office, Quanah offers legal advice on personal injury, family law, criminal law, bank-ruptcy, auto accidents, wrong-ful death, nursing home neg-ligence, on-the-job injuries, dog bites, DWI, traffic tickets, felonies and misdemeanors, drivers’ license suspension, divorce, real estate, grandpar-ent access, custody and adop-tion, probate and wills and termination of child support.

And the best part of his job? “It’s not boring,” he says.

A typical day, though none really is, begins at about 8:45 a.m. and ends at 5:30 or 6 p.m.

“My momma cried when I told her I was going to law school,” Quanah said, explain-ing that she didn’t believe a person could be both a Chris-tian and a lawyer. But Quanah says the practice is a chance to share his faith, and he jokes, “We can’t tell our clients to lie

— we just tell them to go to an-other lawyer.”

Turning serious, he adds, “There’s no good lawyers —just good facts. All that stuff on TV is crazy… down here in the trenches of Abilene, that’s not how it is.”

In the trenches, as Quanah calls them, he sees his clients at the worst times in their lives, and observes how pov-erty is often in direct relation-ship to the way the law will treat a perpetrator.

Quanah doesn’t mince words — ever — including when he describes his work as a local lawyer.

“We see the result of what happens as a result of bad choices,” he said.

The majority of Quanah’s caseloads involve divorce or representing people accused of criminal offenses. And many, Quanah says, are a direct result of drinking.

The constant reminder of human error doesn’t depress, Quanah says. Instead, he says his work is a constant reminder of the need for grace.

“Doin’ this is a great oppor-tunity to practice Christianity,” Quanah said. “I guess that’s why they call it attorney and counsel at law — ’cause you do a lot of counseling.”

But Quanah seems to rub some the wrong way. A 2005 law-office review on the Ju-dy’s Book Web site paints a less-than-flattering picture: “I haven’t had the best luck with this attorney,” Carol F. writes. “He was kind of forced on me when his partner left the area. The original cost with the other lawyer was not hon-ored, and I was charged extra, for what I feel was absolutely nothing. He showed up in court, that was about it.”

The review is the only com-ment on the Web site, but Qua-nah also took a beating from editorial pieces when he ran as the Libertarian candidate for the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2006. A Dallas Morning News piece called him “uninspiring,” and the Abilene Reporter-News labeled him a “perennial loser.”

Quanah lost the race — his sixth loss — to Republican in-cumbent Barbara Hervey with only 25 percent of the vote.

A tough balanceA self-proclaimed civil

rights proponent, Quanah says he fights for social jus-tice. And sometimes that means picking up the tab himself. The only time he sued for a fee, Quanah said, was when he was going to lose money. Otherwise, he says he lets it slide if a client doesn’t pay the whole fee.

“It’s a fine line,” Quanah said, grinning. “Balancing get-ting paid for doing my magic.”

He claims he’s baptized more people in his line of work than those who hold a Bible de-gree, and says he sees the im-pact Christ has on the lives of his clients.

Quanah once represented a man on death row who was convicted of killing three people.

“He was a pitiful thing,” Qua-

nah recalled. Sometimes pity is hard to

come by, Quanah said. “Part of me thinks, ‘too bad,

so sad,’” he said. But just as he is sure Jesus

would be in the trenches, so Quanah says he goes himself, remembering that often eco-nomic conditions or addictive personalities share part of the blame for landing clients in his office.

“I don’t think we can legis-late morality,” he said. “But we can teach responsibility.”

These days, Quanah has launched a search for a law-yer to join him in his office — both because he now has stints in his heart and be-cause he hopes for more va-cation time to visit his first grandchild, Presley.

Perhaps on his next visit to his granddaughter, he can tell her all about the original Qua-nah Parker — just so long as he leaves out the scalping.

October 31, 2007 Page 5

FocusWednesday

EMILY SMITH SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Parker reclines in the wooden chair he so comfortably tells stories from. Parker has been practicing law for more than 30 years.

EMILY SMITH SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Quanah Parker hoists his over-sized Texas driver’s license, which is one of many items of Texas memorabilia in his office.

‘In the trenches’ACU alumnus keeps Abilene law interesting

E-mail Peace at: knp04a@acu.edu

ViewswednesdayOptimistPage 6 October 31, 2007

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Editorial Board and News Staff

Jared FieldsEditor in Chief

Kelsi PeaceManaging Editor

Lauren SuttonCopy Editor

Rachel DavisOpinion Editor

Katie GagerChief Photographer

Denton JoseyFeatures Editor

Daniel JohnsonSports Editor

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Val ValleOnline Editor

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Kenneth PybusAdviser

The problem:Students at a Boulder, Colo., high school walked out of class in protest against the use of the “under God” phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Our view:We disagree with the premise of their protest, but The Optimist applauds the students’ desire to put their opinions out in public.

The solution:The importance of standing up for what you believe in is immense. Follow the example of these students, and show others what you believe.

Students stand under free speech, not under GodThe myth that apathetic

teenagers fill the United States recently took a blow.

About 50 high school students in Boulder, Colo., stood up and stepped out of class to protest the use of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Instead of reciting the Pledge like the rest of the stu-dents at Boulder High School do every morning, the group of students stepped outside and recited their own version of the pledge.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag and my constitu-

tional rights with which it comes. And to the diversity, in which our nation stands, one nation, part of one plan-et, with liberty, freedom, choice and justice for all,” the students said together on the day of protest.

According to the Denver Post, the group of students used their First Amendment rights to protest not in oppo-sition to the pledge but to the specific reference to God.

The students told the

Post they saw the reference to God as a violation of the Establishment Clause in the Constitution, so they decid-ed to protest.

“We don’t object to pledg-ing to our country, but we do object to pledging to a reli-gion,” Ashley Guesman, a pro-test organizer told the Post.

Although The Optimist does not agree with the stu-

dents’ argu-ment — we believe that the phrase “under God” belongs in

the Pledge of Allegiance — we admire the students’ cou-rageous steps.

In a time when most teen-agers are concerned with reality television, these stu-dents took a stand on a con-troversial issue. Rather than complain quietly, they went public with their grievances.

Students at ACU should examine the example of the

Boulder students and realize that apathy leads to nothing. By uniting and utilizing their First Amendment rights, students at ACU can debate and tackle issues beyond our small West Texas campus.

Without courageous ac-tions like the Boulder stu-dents’, the movers and shak-ers of our society will never know what America’s youth think. Speak and take action.

In a time when most teenagers are concerned with reality television, these students took a

stand on a controversial issue.

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

While I would like to thank you for bringing up an impor-tant issue for debate concern-ing the United States and its contract with the security firm Blackwater, I feel as though the opinions presented were mis-leading and unfair.

Blackwater has been em-

ployed by the United States in Iraq since 2003, so to say the company is “trampling the security and liberty of Iraqi civilians” seems to be harsh considering the number of controversial incidents involv-ing the firm can be counted on one hand.

Blackwater specializes in providing security for impor-tant individuals in Iraq, and to say they have performed ade-quately would be an understate-

ment. Not a single person has died while under the protection of Blackwater. On the contrary, 30 of its employees have lost their lives protecting civilians in an often difficult war zone.

On Oct. 3, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, testi-fied before Congress concern-ing his company.

According to his testimony, the firm has been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005 and also guarded 1,873

convoys in Iraq. A few suppos-edly controversial incidents, which are still under investi-gation, out of 1,873 does not seem to be consistent with the description of an “armed and unregulated group.” In fact, 122 employees have been fired for breaking rules within the company.

It is true that Blackwater’s legal status needs to be clari-fied. Putting them under the laws given to our military

seems appropriate, given the type of work they do and the background of the employees. Nearly all come from a former post in the military.

Let us not forget the fact that the work this company does makes life easier for the U.S. service men and women on the ground in Iraq.

Without the help of private firms like Blackwater, U.S. forc-es would not be as productive as they are now, and even more

soldiers would be put in harm’s way. Civilian court oversight of Blackwater and other contrac-tors in Iraq would only mean a less effective presence on the ground and more cost to the American people.

Mason OrrSenior accounting major

from Richland Hillsmdo03a@acu.edu

Blackwater efforts in Iraq produce positive, not negative results

My friends wanted to toilet paper a teacher’s house for

H a l l o w e e n during my ju-nior year of high school.

My parents had a 1992 Chevrolet con-version van with a back couch that folded into a bed. On week-ends, I felt like the town’s chauffeur, al-

ways on driving duty when we would drive around town and the country just hanging out, goofing off and trying to stay away from the law.

We always gathered in the Methodist church parking lot to talk and plan our night. Af-ter deciding we wanted to TP a house or two, we pitched in our money and climbed in the van to drive up the street to Allsup’s to buy toilet paper.

In Paducah, a small Texas Panhandle town with fewer than 1,500 people, Allsup’s was the only place open 24 hours. We had nowhere else to go and were a 30-mile drive from the nearest town. The parking lot was a large dirt parking lot that sat on the main street, or drag, we drove around on weekend nights.

We had never bought toi-let paper before and had no clue how much it would cost. We found Allsup’s had in-credibly cheap toilet paper. And lots of it.

We bought every roll they had, walking out with a huge box-full and more single pack-ages we carried out in armfuls.

Driving around, we were still trying to decide whose house to TP and could not reach an agreement.

We didn’t get the chance to decide.

A cop car suddenly turned its lights on and pulled us over, catching me off guard because I never saw where it came from.

The chubby deputy walked up to my window and asked

what we were up to. I said “nothing;” he didn’t

believe me and ordered every-one out of the van.

As he continued standing by my door, everyone oozed out of the only door to the back seats. I felt the van’s suspension rise as people kept stepping out of the door. I saw people exit that I didn’t know were in town, much less in my van.

The officer asked if we had or were going to toilet paper someone’s house and I said no.

He asked if he could search the van to see if I was lying, and I let him. He reached one hand under the closest seat and pulled out a roll of toilet paper, asking what I had it for.

I said, “To TP a house.”As we stood on the sidewalk,

I counted how many people I had in the van. Somehow, 17 fit somewhere inside.

We asked how he knew to pull us over because the stop wasn’t for any traffic violation.

He said the Allsup’s clerk told him some kids just bought every roll of toilet pa-per in the store.

Living in such a small town, the deputy had a good idea of where to start his investigation.

After telling us not to toilet paper any houses and having an almost constant police tail, we drove around the rest of the night and fi-nally all went home.

But what happened to the store-full of toilet paper we bought, you may ask?

Well, it stayed in the van. For two years, anytime we ran short, we just went to the van instead of the store. In every nook and cranny we would find rolls of toilet paper. That Halloween also supplied our next two toilet-papering out-ings. Now I’m running low on toiletries for my apartment.

Anyone want to go toilet pa-pering with me?

Toilet paper hatchesHalloween pranks

Fields ofDreamsJaredFields

E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu, optimist@acu.edu

Alex YorkLebensgefahr

Some people enjoy watch-ing murder.

W h e t h e r it’s torture, gore or a gun shot to the head, some people just can’t get enough of an old fash-ioned killing.

But in-stead of c r o w d i n g the Coli-seum to get

a front row seat, modern murder lovers get their fix from horror movies. And Halloween is the most won-derful time of the year to be a horror flick fan.

Whether it is the grue-some Saw series or slasher classics like Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street, horror films continue to thrive in this country.

According to www.thenu-mbers.com, a Web site that

compiles and analyzes box office figures and trends, horror films have made close to $6 billion dollars since 1995. Of the 229 horror films produced over the last 12 years, the average gross is $24 million per film.

The horror genre is No. 7 on thenumbers.com top-grossing list — romantic com-edies just beat horror films out with almost $7 billion grossed — and during Oc-tober and November, horror films are the most watched movies at the box office.

Murder has not lost its appeal.

Despite the evolution of our society from the times of Rome, we continue to en-courage the entertainment industry to use murder, even if it’s fake, to make money.

The millions of dollars

a year we spend on horror films is like a vote; our dol-lars tell producers of these films to keep making mov-ies we want to see. The more we pay, the more blood, guts and gross-outs we get.

But there is difference between a horror movie and a scary movie.

I have no problems with a movie like The Silence of the Lambs, where the in-tent of the movie is to scare you, not through an orgy of blood, guts and nudity, but to challenge the security we all believe we have.

A horror movie, at least in my connotative understand-ing of the genre, is a film that involves a murderer, some victims and a long list of cre-ative ways to kill them.

And we eat it up. From a Texas chainsaw

massacre to a torturous Hostel, today’s horror mov-ies are nothing short of a gross-out competition. Where one finds a way to include a pit full of dirty needles, the other writes in a zombie giving birth.

I hope Alfred Hitchcock is rolling in his grave.

His films challenged the courage of his audiences without overwhelming them with red corn syrup and sev-ered limbs. And like Hitch-cock’s films, scary films that find creative ways around unnecessary gore are true examples of the genre.

If gore is your thing, it’s your money to spend, but at least stay away from the snack bar if you like watch-ing someone’s head get chopped off.

Gory horror movies disgrace genre

OpinionShouterDanielJohnson

Today’s horror movies are nothing short of a gross-out competition.

E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.edu, optimist@acu.edu

Letter to the editor regarding last Wednesday’s Blackwater editorial.

LETTEr TO ThE EDiTOr

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Page 7SPORTS JUMPS/NEWS

By Chandler HarrisStudent RepoRteR

The intramural flag football playoffs began Tuesday, and teams are preparing to play for a shot at a title.

Almost all the teams have played four to five regular sea-son games by now, said Trey Allen, senior exercise science major from Huntsville.

“The playoffs are single elimination. Byes will be given to some of the teams with the best records,” Allen said.

Brady Cox, freshman biochemistry major from The Woodlands, plays with Team Throttle in the Men’s Rec League.

“I’m really looking forward to the playoffs because hon-estly, I just want to win an in-tramural champion T-shirt,” Cox said. “We haven’t had our whole team there for any of the games because every-one has had busy schedules, mostly due to pledging, but now that most of that is over, we will hopefully have all of our players there to help us win a championship.”

Jamie Lyn Spires, junior communications major from Arlington, is the quarterback for the Ko Jo Kai fun team of the Women’s Rec league.

“Our goal is to win the championship or bust,” Spires said. “We are a fun team to watch. I give all the credit to our coaches Jeffrey and Jona-than Navarro.”

Jenny Hutcheson, senior biochemistry major from

Rowlett, is the quarterback for the Siggies in the Women’s Champ League.

“We want to win because last year we lost really early in the playoffs,” Hutcheson said. “This year, we are in it to win it.”

Hutcheson said all of the teams are pretty even and have a chance to win. One example Hutcheson gave of the league’s evenness was the regular sea-son matchup between the Sig-gies and the Kojies. The game ended in a tie despite three overtimes.

“Neither team liked it end-ing in a tie, so we would love to have a rematch to settle it,” Hutcheson said.

Chad Hutchins, senior computer science major from Tyler, is a receiver for the de-fending champion Gamma Sigma Phi team of the Men’s Champ League.

“We have pretty much the same team as last year, and we are doing the same things,” Hutchins said. “Our philoso-phy is: if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. It would be easy for us to feel complacent, but there are some pretty good teams out there. By no means will we take any of our games lightly because we won last year.”

Allen said that depending on the weather; playoffs should be complete in two weeks. For information about the playoff schedule, check the intramural

Intramural flag football shifts into postseason play

TODD PIERSALL STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Reagan Morgan, senior marketing major from Arlington, tries to juke Basilio Rocha, junior business marketing major from Katy, after intercepting a ball during a Champ League intramural flag football game between Frater Sodalis and The Starlight Bandits on Monday night.

Intramurals

E-mail Harris at: optimist@acu.edu

By Rachel Davisopinion editoR

The 10th annual Leader-ship Summit, hosted by the College of Business Adminis-tration, takes place next Jan. 3-9 at Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colo.

The theme this year is “Change Your World,” a play on ACU’s “Change The World” motto, said Michael Winege-art, associate professor of management sciences.

“We want the students to ask the questions of ‘How do you do that?’ and ‘How do you change your world?’” Winegeart said.

Jennifer Golden, director of COBA Connection Services, has been to every Summit except the first one, and she said it’s been a very beneficial experience for her.

“Hearing the speakers is so enriching, and I love be-ing there with the students,” Golden said. “It’s a really interesting time for the stu-dents because these speakers are really impacting their lives in a time when their lives are really transitional.”

The program’s fee is $600 for the week and includes room and board. Winegeart said most students get to-gether and carpool to the Summit, which provides three credit hours.

Several speakers are sched-uled to attend, including John

Aden of SVP International and Wal-Mart, Nigel James of Ignite! from Wales, Carlos Sepulveda, CEO of Interstate Batteries and Bryan Steven-son from the Equal Justice Initiative in New York.

“These speakers all pay their way,” Winegeart said. “They love kids and really have a heart for them and just want to give back. It’s really a mission of love. Each speaker has a faith testimo-ny and, after the kids hear them, they come away say-ing, ‘I can do this, they’ve given me hope.’”

Winegeart said this is a great opportunity because the speakers are accessible to the students, and so students get a chance to just hang out with the speakers.

“Where else can you get with people like this and hang out and play ping-pong,” Winegeart said.

The speakers attending this year have all attended in years past and were rated by the stu-dents as the top speakers.

The Summit started 10 years ago as an idea from Rick Lytle, the dean of COBA, Winegeart said.

“We thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great to get students somewhere like Colorado, and teach them leadership skills to use in the home, community and church?’” Winegeart said.

Winegeart said the first

Summit began with Dr. Royce Money, president of the uni-versity and Jack Riggs, profes-sor of business, as speakers.

“As the years go on, we’ve gotten more students to go and more speakers to come,” Winegeart said. “We just started pouring our hearts into these guys.”

Each year, about 150 stu-dents attend. Of those, 70 percent are business majors, and the other 30 percent come from various majors, Winegeart said.

“We’re also trying to ex-pand this to other schools,” Winegeart said. “We’ve asked Harding, Oklahoma Christian and John Brown University if they’re interested.”

Winegeart said they also plan to film every speaker at the Summit and make the material available on iTunesU as a training cur-riculum for classes.

Applications to attend the Summit are available in the COBA Dean’s office, and ap-plications will be excepted through October.

“If you ask nine out of 10 students that go, they’d prob-ably tell you it was one of the most life-changing and inspi-rational experiences they’ve had as a COBA student,” Golden said.

COBA prepares for annual SummitACU 21 14 6 29 — 70Tarleton 14 7 28 14 — 63

First QuarterTSU — Jason Mathias 14 pass from Scott Grantham (Stephen Arnold kick), 9:26.ACU — Johnny Knox 68 pass from Billy Malone (Matt Adams kick), 7:40 TSU — Roderick Smith 25 run (Arnold kick), 5:13ACU — Bernard Scott 31 run (Adams kick), 4:57 ACU — Edmund Gates 73 run (Adams kick), 1:48

Second QuarterACU — Knox 20 pass from Malone (Adams kick), 10:32ACU — Knox 5 run (Adams kick) 4:32TSU — Smith 14 pass from Grantham (Arnold kick), 0:45

Third QuarterTSU — S. Prentice 9 pass from Grantham (Arnold kick), 13:53TSU — Hunter Storm 1 pass from Grantham (Arnold kick), 9:54 ACU — Scott 4 run (Adams rush failed), 7:26TSU — Michael Sampson 1 run (Arnold kick), 2:49 TSU — Sampson 13 run (Arnold kick), 1:39

Fourth Quarter ACU — Scott 2 run (Gates rush) 12:18TSU — Devin Guinn 66 pass from Grantham (Arnold kick), 12:03ACU — Scott 2 run (Adams kick), 9:46 ACU — Scott 73 run (Adams kick), 7:33 TSU — Guinn 8 pass from Grantham (Arnold kick), 4:21 ACU — Scott 10 run (Adams kick), 1:00

Team Statistics ACU TSUFirst downs 29 32Total net yards 715 602Rushing yards 34-370 39-163Passing yards 345 439Kickoff returns 8-217 10-174Interceptions/Ret. 2-19 3-68Comp-Att-Int 18-34-3 32-50-2Sacked-Yards Lost 1-0 0-0Punts/Avg. 2-35.5 1-43 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1Penalties-Yards 7-63 8-81Time of Possession 20:08 39:07

Individual Statistics Rushing — TSU: Sampson 15-68-2; Smith 10-54-1; Grantham 5-21; Travis Evans 9-20. ACU: Scott 29-284-6; Gates 1-73-1; Malone 1-7; Knox 1-5.

Passing — TSU: Grantham 31-49-384-2. ACU: Malone 17-33-279-3.

Receiving — TSU: Prentice 10-180-1; Guinn 8-132-2; Travis Evans 5-52; Mathias 2-29-1; C. Egbuonu 2-16. ACU: Jerale Badon 6-69; Scott 5-54; Knox 3-97-2; Kebron Lampkin 2-45; Edmund Gates 1-66.

ACU 70, TARLETON 63

football history, he gave credit to his offensive line first.

“He turned around quickly after the game and pointed to his O-line,” Thomsen said.

Scott’s performance com-bined with another 279 passing yards from junior quarterback Billy Malone and 89 rush-ing yards from the rest of the team add up for 715 yards of total offense, the second-high-est single-game total in ACU history. The only other team that recorded more yards was in 1952, when the Wildcats re-corded 740 yards in a win over Howard Payne.

Despite giving up 602 yards of offense and nine touch-downs, ACU’s defense sealed the win for the Wildcats.

After a 10-yard touchdown from Scott gave ACU a 70-63 lead with 1:00 remaining, Tar-leton was driving to tie the game and was stopped after ACU defensive tackle Joe Edwards sacked Tarleton quarterback Scott Grantham on fourth-and-nine from ACU’s 23-yard-line as time ran out.

“It was crazy, I’ve never played in a game like that,” Scott said.

ACU’s offense’s next test will be a 2-7 Texas A&M-Kingsville team at home on Saturday. If ACU beats Kingsville and Mid-western State on Nov. 10, the Wildcats should be heading to the playoffs.

“We’re not the greatest team in the world; we still have to work hard,” Thomsen said. “One thing football teaches you is to keep going no matter what, and that’s what they did Saturday, just kept going.”

Picture: RB Scott breaks multiple rushing recordsContinued from page 8

E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.eduE-mail Davis at: red04a@acu.edu

Junior running back Bernard Scott broke or tied ACU and Lone Star Conference records in Saturday’s game against Tarleton State.

n LSC touchdowns in a game (tied with six touchdowns)

n LSC points scored in a game (tied with 36 points)

n ACU points scored in a game (tied with 36 points)

n ACU single-game rushing (broke with 283 yards)

n ACU single-season rushing (broke with 1,365 yards)

RECORD-bREAKINg bACK

Optimist

spOrtsWednesdayOctober 31, 2007Page 8

Thursday

VOLLEYBALLACU vs. Cameron, 7 p.m.

n Home games listed in italics

Standings

Upcoming

Thursday

VOLLEYBALLACU 3, Southwestern Oklahoma State 1

Friday

WOMEN’S SOCCERTexas A&M-Commerce 3, ACU 1

Saturday

FOOTBALLACU 70, Tarleton State 63

WOMEN’S SOCCERACU 0, Texas Woman’s 0

VOLLEYBALLCentral Oklahoma 3, ACU 1

FootballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUTarleton St.ACUMSUAngelo St.

TAMU-K

5-03-13-12-21-31-3

9-08-17-27-22-62-7

ENMU 0-5 4-5

Women’s SoccerTeam Div. OverallCentral Okla.MSUAngelo St.TAMU-CTX Woman’s

WTAMU

10-08-25-45-45-45-5

16-3-112-3-28-8-29-9-18-9-211-6

NE St. 4-6 6-13-1ACU 3-6 8-11-1East Central 3-6 6-10-3ENMU 3-7 9-9SW Okla. 1-8 1-17-1

Scores

For complete intramural scores and schedules

visit:w w w. a c u o p t i m i s t . c o m

INTRAMURAL ROUNd-Up

n The intramural schedule in the Optimist is subject to change and is not permanent. Any changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

Scoreboard as of Monday

SCOREBOARd

VolleyballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUCentral Okla.MSUACUTX Woman’s

Cameron

11-09-18-27-36-45-5

27-726-525-412-1215-1012-14

TAMU-K 5-6 12-10Tarleton St. 5-6 12-14Angelo St. 4-6 6-19SW Okla. 3-7 12-19TAMU-C 3-7 9-17SE Okla. 1-9 6-19ENMU 0-11 4-24

BriefsAdams, Scott earn Lone Star

Conference honors

n ACU junior place kicker Matt Adams was named LSC South Division Special Teams Player of the Week, while junior run-ning back Bernard Scott re-ceived the LSC South Division Offensive Player of the Week honor after their exceptional performances against Tarleton State. Adams tied the ACU single-game record for PATs with eight. And Scott tied a LSC record with his six touchdowns and 36 points scored in Saturday’s game.

By Christina JohnsonSportS Writer

The ACU soccer team’s chance for making playoffs were killed after losing to Texas A&M-Commerce 3-1 on Friday and ended its inaugu-ral season with a 0-0 tie with Texas Woman’s University on Sunday.

The Wildcats finished the season at 8-11-1 overall and 3-6-1 in Lone Star Confer-ence play.

Freshman midfielder Sadie Barton scored the opening goal in the 29th minute, 15 yards away with a crossing-pass at-tributed by freshman midfield-er Katie Miller. The Lions then came back hard, scoring a goal in the 36th minute.

Texas A&M-Commerce dom-

inated the second half as the Lions scored additional goals in the 63rd and 71st minute of the game.

“We made a lot of mistakes, and the mistakes hurt us,” head coach Casey Wilson said.

ACU and Texas A&M-Com-merce shot 16 goals; the Li-ons had nine on goal, while the Wildcats only had six. The win increased Commerce to 9-9 overall and 5-4 in LSC.

ACU competed again Sunday against Texas Woman’s, and this time, the Wildcats came out with a tie of 0-0 after venturing into double-overtime.

Wilson said he is pleased with the effort the Wildcats put forth on Sunday.

“We played an awesome game,” Wilson said. “It was a game that I would think everyone who was a part of should be really proud.”

Freshman forward Lyndsey Womack and junior forward Jackie Gentile fought for the Wildcats offensively during the game. Both tried to score three shots and gained two on goal.

The Pioneers outshot the Wildcats 22-17. Eight of the Wildcats’ shots were on goal, while the Pioneers had only seven on frame.

“I think that they surpassed the expectations of a lot of people, of the other teams and the people at ACU,” Wilson said. “Overall, it was a great season; however, the girls know we could’ve done more to go on to the playoffs.”

Wilson hopes the Wild-cats learn from their mis-takes and continue to strive for perfection.

“They learned we’re ca-pable of being a force in

this conference and region,” Wilson said. “It’s up to them how to prepare and get ready for next year.”

Tie ends inaugural season

By Michael FreemanASSiStAnt SportS editor

Despite some spectacular play by the Wildcats, the ACU volleyball team’s four-game winning streak came to a halt Saturday against the Univer-sity of Central Oklahoma.

With three matches in the regular season remaining, ACU is 12-12 on the season and 7-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The win improved Central Oklahoma to 26-5 overall and 9-1 in conference play.

“We played well all week-end long,” said head coach Kellen Mock. “We just lost the momentum a few times against UCO, and they took advantage of it.”

Senior outside hitter Abbie

Lowry recorded 25 kills and 15 digs as the Wildcats fell 30-26, 29-31, 30-27, 30-17 to Central Oklahoma on Satur-day in Edmond, Okla.

Junior middle blocker Lau-ren Leone was the only other Wildcat with double-digit kills as she finished with 12, soph-omore libero Amy Wilson ended the match with a team-high 23 digs and freshman setter Ijeoma Moronu posted 50 assists and 18 digs.

“The biggest problem of the match was that we just struggled with our ball control at times,” Mock said. “And we failed to capitalize on some op-

portunities, whereas UCO really took advantage of every oppor-tunity that we gave them.”

The Wildcats did not just post big numbers on Saturday.

On Thursday, ACU took down Southwestern Oklaho-ma State on the road 30-23, 30-26, 20-30, 30-24.

Lowry had 23 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore out-side hitter Erin Curry also finished with a double-dou-ble with 13 kills and 19 digs. Leone and sophomore middle blocker Krystine Cethoute each finished in the double-digits in kills with 13 and 11 respectively. Moronu, who was named the Lone Star Con-ference Setter of the Week for her performance in the two road games, posted 50 as-

sists against Southwestern Oklahoma State.

“We played some good, con-sistent volleyball,” Mock said.

The Wildcats played at home Tuesday against St. Edward’s. The score was not available for press time.

On Thursday, ACU will play again Thursday in a confer-ence match versus Cameron, a team that is 12-14 overall and 5-5 in the LSC, in Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. ACU’s final game will be Saturday against Midwestern State.

“I think we’re playing at an extremely high level right now,” Mock said. “We’re be-ginning to peak. It’s just go-ing to get better.”

Wildcats split pair of weekend matches

By Daniel JohnsonSportS editor

Junior running back Ber-nard Scott broke several re-cords, ACU scored 70 points and the Wildcats are still in the playoff hunt.

No. 19 ACU outlasted un-defeated Tarleton State, 70-63 in a must-win game that kept the Wildcats in the hunt for a spot in the NCAA Divi-sion II postseason.

ACU jumped up four spots to the coveted No. 6 posi-tion in the Southwest R e g i o n a l Poll because of the miracu-lous win, and if ACU wants to make its second-straight postseason appearance, they need to win their last two remaining games.

ACU’s loss to West Texas A&M dropped them to No. 10 in the Regional Poll and because of their win over Tar-leton, ACU is now back in the playoff picture.

“To come back from that West Texas game shows what we’re about and, playing hard and never quitting,” said head coach Chris Thomsen. “The biggest thing is just the heart to continue to come back and face adversity.”

The Wildcats, now 7-2 overall and 3-1 in divisional play, also climbed back up to the top 20 in the nation while No. 16 Tarleton State, now 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the LSC South, dropped out of the nation’s top 10.

In a game that was three points away from tying the

NCAA Division II record for to-tal points scored, ACU simply outlasted the Tarleton Texans.

“Perseverance — that’s what our team’s about,” Thomsen said. “You can’t get down, can’t get discouraged and can’t get off track. We just got

to keep doing what we do.”In the shootout that saw

the two teams combine for 61 first downs, 1,317 total yards and score 133 points, Scott was by far the most amazing performer for the Wildcats.

Scott broke the ACU single-game rushing and single-sea-son rushing records in the Tarleton game and tied the Lone Star Conference and ACU single-game records for touchdowns in a game. The LSC South offensive player of the week rushed for an as-tounding 283 rushing yards

and six touchdowns on 29 car-ries and also threw a 66-yard pass to finish the day with 349 yards of total offense. Scott’s touchdowns were on runs of 31, 4, 2, 2, 73 and 10 for a LSC season-high 36 points.

“I didn’t plan on going in and scoring six touchdowns,” Scott said. “I just wanted to have a good game.”

Scott’s good game put him past Eric Polk as the school’s single-season rushing lead-er after Scott’s new total of 1,365 yards shattered Polk’s previous record of 1,211

yards that he set in 2001. Scott also broke Don Harr’s

37-year-old school record for rushing yards in a game, but the modest running back shares any credit of his re-cord-setting performance with the rest of his team.

“I give all the credit to the O-line and the receivers, it was a total team effort,” Scott said.

Thomsen said that after Scott posted one of the best performances in Division II

Back in the playoff pictureUnbelievable70-63 win keeps Cats in playoff hunt

Football

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior running back Bernard Scott leaps past a West Texas A&M defender on Oct. 20. Scott broke the ACU single-season and single-game rushing records after recording 293 yards and six touchdowns in No. 19 ACU’s 70-63 win over No. 16 Tarleton State on Saturday.

ACU 70, TARLETON 63

UCO 3, ACU 1

Volleyball

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

LSC Setter of the Week, freshman setter Ijeoma Moronu, sets up a spike at ACU’s game against Texas A&M-Commerce on Oct. 18.

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior midfielder Jackie Gentile dribbles through Texas A&M Commerce forward Bailey Geels and midfielder Alex Germain on Friday.

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

On the Webwww.acuoptimist.com

Watch a highlight reel of the No. 19 ACU football team’s historic 70-63 win over Tarleton State on Saturday.

E-mail Johnson at: optimist@acu.edu

Soccer

ACU 0, TX WOMAN’S 0

See pICTURE page 7

Adams