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My Sister’s House opens to public in downtown Abilene

Read excerpts from Pres. Schubert’s speech at Monday’s Chapel

Harding President announces he will retire at the end of the school year

Abilene Christian University

Aerial AttackGale leads ‘Cats

over JavelinasSportspage 8

features opinion news

acuoptimist.com

Survivors Recount Bus Accident

video

accident

University

vol. 100, no. 22 wednesday, November 9, 2011 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES

The ACU community grieves the tragic death of sopho-more Anabel Reid, environ-mental science major from Petersburg, who passed away in the ACU shuttle bus acci-dent Friday. The bus was en route to Medina Children’s Home on a mission trip with a group of students and fac-ulty from the Department of Agriculture and Environ-mental Science.

The tragic crash sent 11 students, three faculty and one spouse to four differ-ent hospitals Friday after-noon and has induced a large amount of support on campus. Among those both grieving and comforting is Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university.

“This community is tight-knit,” he said. “When we hurt as one, we hurt as all.”

Schubert released a video update Saturday to share the latest news and his personal thoughts. In the video he ac-knowledged how greatly the accident was affecting the ACU family.

“Our community is strong, but we are hurting,” Schubert said in the video. “Please continue to lift these families up in your prayers.”

Schubert went to visit the students taken to Shannon Memorial Hospital in San Angelo yesterday just after learning of the accident. He said the immediate response was part of the university’s crisis management plan.

“We have a team revolv-ing around the different roles that need to be filled in times of crisis,” Schubert said. “There’s an immediate need for getting information out to all who are impacted by the accident, and I think we did a good job of that. Now we’re deciding what would be the

Six students and a faculty member’s wife still are being treated in hospitals through-out the state for injuries re-sulting from the shuttle bus accident south of Ballinger that took the life of Anabel Reid, 19-year-old sopho-more environmental science major from Petersburg.

Pat Miller, wife of faculty member Emmett Miller, as-sistant professor of agricul-ture and environmental sci-ence, is still being treated at Shannon Memorial Hospital in San Angelo for her injuries in the rollover accident that took place Friday. Miller was released from Shannon Me-morial Monday after treat-ment but remained in San Angelo with his wife. Anna Watson, sophomore animal science major from Kerrville, is being treated at Shannon Memorial as well.

Being treated at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene are Tiffany Lutz, senior animal science major from Zelieno-ple, Pa., and Merissa Ford, ju-nior agribusiness major from Maple Valley, Wash.

Anna Ciufo, freshman an-imal science major from The Woodlands, is being treated at Dallas’ Parkland Medical Center and underwent or-thopedic surgery Monday.

In addition, Naomi Cruz, freshman animal science major from Richmond, has been transferred to Memo-rial Hermann Hospital in Houston, which is closer to her family.

Allison Dorshorst, fresh-man environmental science major from Colleyville, is being treated at Community Hospital in San Angelo for a back injury.

A memorial service for Reid is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Broadway Church of Christ in Lubbock. While the

Dr. Jeanine Varner, provost, will not return to the uni-versity next fall, she told members of the faculty and staff in an email Friday.

“I am sorry to announce that at the end of this aca-demic year, I will complete my service as ACU’s Provost,”

Varner said in the email. “I have loved working with the capable, devoted fac-ulty, and I have been enormously blessed to be your colleague. In the near future, Phil [Schu-bert] will announce his plans for the search process.”

The university will be-gin a national search to fill the position beginning next spring, in hopes to have hired someone for Fall 2012.

Varner, who was in Ox-ford this week, did not re-spond to emails and could not be reached.

Dr. Phil Schubert, presi-dent of the university, told the Abilene Reporter-News Friday the university had

decided not to continue her contract.

“She will continue to serve [as provost] through May 31, 2012, which is the duration of her current contract,” Schubert told the paper.

In addition, Varner has been offered a full-time ten-ured faculty position in the English department but has not yet responded, he said.

Varner became provost two years ago, upon the retirement of Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen. She joined ACU in 2007 as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, replacing Dr. Colleen Durrington after her retirement. Varner spent her entire career in Christian higher educa-tion. For those 20 years, she worked at Oklahoma

Christian University, serv-ing as an English profes-sor, chair of the Language and Literature Depart-ment, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and, for the 11 years, as the vice president of academ-ic achievement.

Mark Smithmanaging Editor

staff reports

Schubert, administration respond quickly to crisis

Seven still hospitalizedafter shuttle bus wreck

Varner not to return as provost next school year

daniel gomez chief Photographer

Anabel Reid’s boyfriend, Alex Wann, graduate in environmental science from Torrington, Wyo., embraces Dr. Michael Nicodemus, assistant professor of Environmental Science, during a special Monday memorial Chapel conducted for those involved with the bus accident that took the life of Anabel Reid.

see wreck page 4

daniel gomez chief Photographer

Dr. Phil Schubert addresses the ACU community on Monday Moody Coliseum in a special Chapel for recov-ering victims and the remembrance of Anabel Ried.

“ This community is tight-knit.When we hurt as one, we hurt as all.”

-dr. Phil Schubert,

president of the university

see crisis page 4

hannah barnes Editor-in-chief

contact barnes athab07a@acu.edu

Varner

09

52 19

10 11 12Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

4 p.m. Carmichael-Walling Lectures: Ses-sion 1 in BSB 114

7:30 p.m. Carmichael-Walling Lectures: Ses-sion 2 in BSB 114

7:30 p.m. Information-al meeting for Camp Ozark in BSB 112

11 a.m. Season of Caring with President Shubert and Mark Hewitt in Moody Coliseum

3 p.m. Spring 2012 Reg-istration for Freshmen

11 a.m. Veterans’ Day Tribute in Moody Coliseum

7:30 p.m. Ethnos Cul-ture Show in Cullen Auditorium

1 p.m. ACU football vs. Incarnate Word

1 p.m. Noah Project Walkathon at Elmer Gray Stadium

7:30 p.m. Ethnos Cul-ture Show in Cullen Auditorium

Police Log

Chapel checkup

@acuoptimist

The Optimist

optimist@acu.edu

Wednesday 11.09.11 2

Announcements

The 25th annual Carmichael-Walling Lectures will take place Thursday in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Build-ing Room 114. The first lecture will take place at 4 p.m.; the second lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. This year’s lec-turer will be Steve J. Friesen, the Louise Farmer Boyer Chair in Biblical Studies in the Department of Classics at the University of Texas in Austin. The lec-tures are free and open to the public.

Ethnos will take place Friday and Satur-day at 7:30 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased in the Cam-pus Center. Single tickets are $5, and bulk purchases of five tickets cost $15. Tickets will cost $7 at the door.

A Grad School Application Workshop will take place in the History Department office Saturday from 2 - 4 p.m. The office is locat-ed in the third floor of the Administration Building. History professors will be avail-able to help students with their grad school applications. All majors are welcome.

Christmas Open House will take place at the Campus Store Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The first 25 people to purchase $25 in Bare Minerals will receive a reusable bag and lipstick. Coffee and scones will also be available.

The Campus Store will have a Vera Bradley sale through Nov. 14. A small duffel will be on sale for $54.

The ACU Fall Jazz Concert will take place Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Cullen Auditori-um. The concert will feature seven-time Grammy award winning drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts. Admission is free. Jeff Watts will also be doing two master classes. The first is a drum set masterclass on Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. in the Band Hall. The second will be at 11 a.m. Nov. 15 in the Recital Hall. These classes are open to the public.

The ACU Theatre Department will show Private Eyes Nov. 15-19 in Fulks The-atre. Tickets will cost $15 and can be purchased at the box office in the Wil-

liams Performing Arts Center, or online at www.acu.edu/theatre.

The Manhattan Piano Trio will perform a concert Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the William Performing Arts Center Recital Hall. Admission will be free.

Frontier Texas! will be accepting applications for the Miss Frontier Texas Scholarship Competition through Nov. 21. For more in-formation visit www.missfrontiertexas.com.

Introduction to Equine-Assisted Psy-chotherapy will be offered Spring 2012 as a new 3-hour special topics course. The course will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 - 4:20 p.m. It will include lectures on Tuesdays and hands-on learning on Thursdays at ACU Rhoden Farm. For more informa-tion contact Steve Eller at 325-674-2878 or email steve.eller@acu.edu.

Students needing help with their aca-demic performance can visit www.acu.

edu/tutoring to find tutoring informa-tion for their department.

Flu shots will be available in the Medi-cal & Counseling Care Center for $15. The Medical & Counseling Care Center is located at the northeast entrance of the Royce and Pam Money Student Rec-reation and Wellness Center.

Students who have registered for classes for Spring 2012 can begin reserving their textbooks. There is no extra charge, and students will receive a free bag with their order. Students must order books be-fore Dec. 31. Books will be available for pick up the week before spring semester classes begin. For more information visit the Campus Store web site.

Students are invited to join the ACU Food Stamp Challenge. Participants are challenged to spend one dollar per meal for one week. For more information con-tact Rebecca Dial at rad08a@acu.edu or visit the Challenge Facebook page.

Volunteer Opp0rtunities

Communities in Schools needs volunteers Nov. 11 from 1 - 3 p.m. or 5 - 9 p.m. at Ortiz Elementary School located at 2550 Vogel St. Volunteers will play games with children from 1 - 3 p.m. or help set up, run booths, and take down their Fall Festival from 5 - 9 p.m. Volunteers can work at one or both events. Contact Sheila Ashford at 325-671-4945 ext. 5351 or email sheila.ashford@abileneisd.org.

The American Business Women’s Association needs volunteers Nov. 11 - 13 for various daytime and eve-ning shifts to help with an event at the Abilene Civic Center. Volunteers will help primarily in the main concession stand. Contact Sydnye Moore at 325-692-2633 or 325-428-1024 or email moore-h@att.net.

The International Rescue Committee is collecting coats, hats, jackets, gloves and blankets for refugees in Abilene who came to the U.S. with few possessions and who will need warm clothing. Donations can be dropped off daily from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at 3303 N. 3rd St., Suite D. For more information contact Aly Shanks at 325-675-5673 ext. 19 or email aly.shanks@rescue.org.

Oakridge Church of Christ needs volunteers to help with a children’s Bible Class. The class will take place every Wednesday night until Dec. 21 from 7 - 8 p.m. Volunteers will help with singing Bible songs, sanitizing toys and playing with kids. Free dinner is included with the service. For more information contact Emerald Lemmons at 325-370-1327 or email emeraldlemmons@gmail.com.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is looking for volunteers to participate in Lunch Buddies. Bigs and Littles will enjoy lunch together at the child’s school once a week. Students can earn Chapel credit for each visit. Big Brothers Big Sisters is also looking for volunteers for its Community Based pro-gram. Bigs are matched with Littles in a one-on-one relationship and spend four to six hours per month together in the community. To sign up or learn more visit www.bbbstx.org or call 325-674-3113.

Rescue The Animals is looking for volunteers any-time between 1-5 p.m., Monday - Friday. They need help around the adoption center with general clean-ing, socialization of the animals, helping potential adopters and other tasks. Contact Mindi Qualls at 325-698-7722 or email rescuetheanimalsvolunteers@yahoo.com The center is located at 5933 S. 1st St.

ACU Treadaway Kids is looking for volunteers to work with underprivileged kids Thursday evenings from 6 -

7:30 p.m. at the University Church of Christ. For more information contact Samantha Manski at 325-674-2828.

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 driver’s 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 volunteer@mealsonwheelsplus.com.

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Litera-ture is looking for volunteers to work Tuesday - Saturday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. or 1 - 3 p.m. Volunteers will greet patrons, assist with art activities, sell books and make visitors feel welcome. Help is also needed for special events like exhibit openings. The Center is located at 102 Cedar St. For more information contact Debby Lil-lick at 325-673-4586 or visit the NCCIL website.

Breakfast on Beech Street is looking for volun-teers to help set up, prepare and serve breakfast to homeless or lower-income visitors any weekday. The event begins at 5:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednes-days, Thursdays and Fridays; 5 a.m. on Tuesdays. Serving time is 6:30 - 7:15 a.m. B.O.B.S is located at First Christian Church on N. 3rd Street and Beech Street in Downtown Abilene. For more information visit the First Christian Church website.

The Abilene Zoo is looking for volunteers to help with general labor such as grounds cleanup and painting any weekday at any time between noon and 4 p.m. The Zoo is located at 2070 Zoo Ln. Contact Joy Harsh at 325-676-6487 for more information.

The House That Kerry Built is looking for volunteers to assist in the day care of medically fragile children any day Monday - Friday from 8:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Contact Dave Kraly at 325-676-3104 or email medi-calmoose@sbcglobal.net for more information.

The Betty Hardwick Center is looking for volunteers to participate in Special Olympics by helping mentally/physically challenged people play games such as bas-ketball, track, and/or bowling Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. The Center is located at 801 Cypress St. Contact Angel Seca at 325-690-5235 for more information.

Habitat for Humanity needs volunteers to help with various construction tasks including carpentry, paint-ing, cleaning up, installing cabinets and other tasks.

Volunteers are needed any day Monday - Saturday anytime from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Contact Steven Legget at 325-670-0489 or email sleggett@abilenehabitat.org.

Young Life Ministries needs volunteers Mondays, Tuesdays and weekends from 6 - 9 p.m. Volunteers will hang out with kids, experience leadership roles, serve others and introduce kids to Christ. Young Life is located at 1917 S. 6th St. For more in-formation contact Chuck Rodgers at 325-676-1211 or email clrodg@wrproperties.com.

The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers for a variety of needs including sorting items in the thrift store, helping in the kitchen and/or doing yard work. Times are flexible, and help is needed Monday - Saturday. The Salvation Army is located at 1726 Butternut St. For more information contact J.D. Alonzo at 325-677-1408 or visit www.satruck.com.

Abilene Hope Haven Inc. needs volunteers to pro-vide childcare while parents are in class, any evening Monday - Thursday from 6:45 - 8:15 p.m. Abilene Hope Haven is located at 801 S. Treadaway Blvd. For more information contact Kathy Reppart at 325-677-4673 or visit the Abilene Hope Haven website.

The Food Bank of West Central Texas needs volunteers to help sort and stock food and other items any weekday Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Food Bank is located at 5505 N. 1st St. For more information contact Janice Serrault at 325-695-6311 or abfoodbk@camalott.com.

The Abilene Boys and Girls Club needs help any week-day between 3:30 - 6 p.m. helping children of all ages with games, art, gym time, reading and computer skills. Locations are 4610 N. 10th St. or 1902 Shelton St. Contact Mark Denman at 325-672-1712 for more information.

Medical Care Mission is looking for volunteers to assist medical or dental staff with patients any weekday from 8:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. For more information contact Dave Kraly at 325-676-3104 or email medicalmoose@sbcglobal.net.

Abilene Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has vari-ous opportunities for volunteers ranging from visit-ing with residents to helping with Bingo. Volunteers are needed Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 2 - 3 p.m. The Center is located at 2630 Old Anson Road. For more information contact Rita Raymond at 325-673-5101 or email cameron.grad@hotmail.com.

Nov. 09

11 a.m. A catfish buffet fundraiser will take place at the Stonewall County Senior Citizens Center in Asper-mont. Cost will be $8, and takeout will be available.

Nov. 10

5 p.m. ArtWalk will take place in downtown Abilene. Participants are invited to dress in a theme-appropri-ate costume. The theme will be “Mythical and Magical.”

7:30 p.m. The Abilene Com-munity Theatre will show the play Christmas Belles. Tickets will cost $10 for adults, $8 for students, se-niors and active military and $5 for ages 12 and under.

Nov. 11

5 p.m. “Christmas in Novem-ber” will take place at the Abilene Civic Center. Christ-mas items, food, clothing, jewelry and more will be sold.

7:30 p.m. The Abilene Com-munity Theatre will show the play Christmas Belles. Tickets will cost $10 for adults, $8 for students, se-niors and active military and $5 for ages 12 and under.

Nov. 12

11 a.m. The Veterans Day Parade will begin in down-town Abilene.

7:30 p.m. The Abilene Com-munity Theatre will show the play Christmas Belles. Tickets will cost $10 for adults, $8 for students, se-niors and active military and $5 for ages 12 and under.

Around Abilene

wednesday 11.09.113 campus news

Carmichael-Walling lectures to visit campus for 25th time

The 25th-annual Carmi-chael-Walling Lectures, conducted by the Gradu-ate School of Theology, will take place Thursday. Dr. Steven Friesen will be the featured speaker.

Friesen, professor of Re-ligious Studies and Depart-ment Chair at the Univer-sity of Texas at Austin, will deliver two sessions.

The lectures are an op-portunity for ACU to bring in speakers prominent in biblical studies and New Testament scholarship. The speakers will address a broad audience, including students, community, fac-ulty and anyone involved with biblical studies.

This year Friesen will dis-cuss the book of Revelation.

“I reviewed a few topics with Dr. [Jeff] Childers and

wanted a topic they haven’t had recently. We both set-tled on the book of Revela-tion, which I felt great about because it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” Friesen said.

Childers, professor in the Graduate School of Theol-ogy, has been active in the lectures since he was a stu-dent, and he has organized the gatherings for the past seven years.

“The lectures are open to a broad audience, and the Carmichael and Wall-ing families donate money to bring in knowledgeable speakers that have done interesting work to present the topic well to the audi-ence,” Childers said.

Friesen eagerly awaits the lecture, set to take place Thursday in the On-stead-Packer Bible Build-ing Room 114.

“I will not be present-ing Revelation as the blue-

print of the ending of the world. People who look at the book of Revelation as the ending of the world tend to have an unfortu-nate track record, but I will be looking at it with a systematic and academic approach: ‘why do we read it?’” he said.

“I have broken it down into two methods that will be divided into two ses-sions, first, Channeling John: Plot and Persuasion in the Apocalypse. I will use tools of narrative. I will look at the book as a story and how it unfolds as a story. The next session is over how the book uses issues of truth and power, promises, threats, titled ‘Challenging John: Truth, Deception, and the Lake of Fire,’” Friesen said.

theology

taylor langstonsports reporter

contact langston atltl10a@acu.edu

Harding president choses to retire in 2013

The president of Harding University announced that he will retire at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

Dr. David B. Burks will step down from the presi-dency after 26 years at the university associated with the Church of Christ located in Searcy, Ark. Ac-cording to a news release from the university, Burks turned in his resignation letter during a board meet-ing on Oct. 28.

“By making this an-nouncement now I am

giving the Board sufficient time to search for my suc-cessor,” Burks said. “I will do everything I can to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.”

Burks has promised to stay dedicated to the goals and missions of Harding University, according to the news release.

“Slightly over 19 months remain before my depar-ture, but there is still much to be done, including the completion of the uni-versity’s current five-year strategic plan,” Burks said. “I expect to be working to achieve all of those goals until my last day in office.”

Burks is only the fourth university president since Harding’s establishment 87 years ago. During his presi-dency, the university has seen a rise in enrollment.

“The work Dr. Burks does is extraordinary, showing vision and faith and a track record of suc-cess and excellence,” said Dr. John O. Simmons, chairman of Harding’s Board of Trustees.

Simmons said Burks has been dedicated to con-tinuing Harding’s reputa-tion of academic rigor and integrity.

“His leadership has continued the work of his

predecessors by expand-ing the university’s degree programs, improving the fiscal stability of the uni-versity and developing other initiatives to enhance the Harding experience for students by integrating faith, learning and living,” he said.

Upon his resignation

from the office of presi-dent, Burks will become chancellor of the universi-ty. The current chancellor, Dr. Clifton L. Ganus, Jr., will fulfill the role of chan-cellor emeritus.

Simmons said the search for Burk’s replacement will begin immediately.

“The Board and this committee will work ini-tially to refine its processes while listening, focusing and doing its due dili-gence,” Simmons said. “We understand the impor-tance of this position and the truly global and eter-nal impact the president of Harding University has.”

With Burks’ looming re-tirement, Harding Univer-sity joins Oklahoma Chris-tian and Lubbock Christian in a search for a new uni-versity president.

Simmons said the uni-versity trusts in God to find Burk’s successor.

“We believe God has been preparing someone to fill this unique role. We will be in prayer and ask for the prayers of oth-ers for the committee and Harding as we proceed with our work.”

national

meagan freemanstudent reporter

contact freeman atmkh05a@acu.edu

contact coppedge atjac08bacu.edu

Dr. John o. Simmonschairman of Harding’s

board of trustees

We believe God has been preparing

someone to fill this unique role.”“

brynn smithjunior musical theatre

major from Fort worth

Why not help by using the talents God

has given us?”“

daniel gomez chief Photographer

Dr. Odies Wright, associate professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Health, leads worship at Monday’s Chapel service. The service honored those involved in the tragic bus accident on Friday.

Department organizes benefit concert for piano accompanist

The Department of Theatre raised more than $2,000 at a benefit concert Saturday for hospitalized piano ac-companist Laura Logan, who was seriously injured in a car accident Home-coming week.

Adam Hester, professor of theatre and department chair, said he and the rest of the department staff orga-nized the concert as a way to use their talents in support of their fellow performer.

“As artists, we want to respond to a need, but we’re not equipped to pro-vide medical assistance or counseling or those kinds of things people need in a crisis,” Hester said. “But what we can do is try to help make sense of things and offer comfort and even sometimes laughter where some relief might be needed.”

The theatre students jumped at the opportunity to serve the woman who serves them continually. Nearly 30 theatre students gave up the majority of their time to practice new pieces and polish previ-ously performed numbers for the concert.

“She is such a giv-ing person, and when we heard about her accident, we all wanted to help,” said Brynn Smith, junior musi-cal theatre major from Fort Worth. “And why not help by using the talents God has given us?”

The final number, adapted from the musical number “Hello, Dolly” was

appropriately changed to “Hello, Laura.”

Although Logan was un-able to attend the concert, the department gave her a recording.

“Tonight we felt a lot of personal, emotional sup-port for one thing – and also financial support,” said San-dy Freeman, associate pro-fessor of theatre. “But most of all, [we wanted] her to know how much everyone here loves her and that she’s a part of this department.”

Logan has blogged four times since the accident. In her blog she expressed her thankfulness regarding the benefit.

“I am overwhelmed by the loving and giving atti-tudes of people we know and even people we don’t know,” Logan said via her blog. “We are blessed, blessed, blessed to be a part of so many in-credible peoples’ lives.”

Smith believes it is the department’s duty to pro-vide for Logan.

“Being involved in theatre means you inherit a second family, and we must take care of each other,” Smith said. “Laura blessed us with her talents, and we wanted to bless her with ours.”

theatre

julie coppedgestudent reporter

wednesday 11.09.11 4news

Earthquake shakes campus late Saturday

Tremors from a 5.6-magni-tude earthquake in Okla-homa shook campus late Saturday night.

The earthquake, the larg-est recorded in Oklahoma, occurred 44 miles northeast of Oklahoma City just before 11 p.m. Saturday, accord-ing to the U.S. Geological Survey. Effects were felt far

away from the epicenter, in-cluding in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and West Texas.

The brief, gentle shake was the first noticeable earthquake tremors many students, like Josh Clarke, sophomore information systems major from San Antonio, had ever felt.

“I was in a friend’s apart-ment on the second floor of a 25-year-old building,” Clarke said. “The floor was shifting, and it felt like it

was about to give out. I’d never experienced any-thing like that.”

Janna Oswald, sophomore nursing major from San Jose, Calif., said she’s seen worse.

“I’ve been in at least 10 earthquakes back home, not counting aftershocks,” Os-wald said. “I didn’t even feel this one, and I thought it was really funny how everyone else kept talking about it.”

Oklahoma Geological Survey researcher Austin

Holland said the earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Oklahoma, hit on a known fault line, according to an AP report. The biggest quake to

occur in the state before Sat-urday was a 5.5-magnitude earthquake reported near El Reno in 1952.

Several aftershocks fol-lowed the initial earthquake overnight Saturday, none of which were felt in Abilene.

“I was out of town for the weekend in Dallas, and I never felt it,” said Leigh Foith, junior advertising and public relations ma-jor from Dallas. “At first I didn’t believe my friends

when they said there was an earthquake in Abilene.”

This was the latest in a series of mid-scale earth-quakes. A few people from Abilene felt one that hit near Snyder in September, but the smaller quake’s tremors didn’t travel as far or as strongly as the one in Oklahoma on Saturday.

regional

mark smithmanaging editor

contact smith atmds10a@acu.edu

history

Department to host workshop for grad school

The Department of His-tory will host its first grad-uate school application workshop Saturday with the goal of helping its stu-dents transition to gradu-ate school.

Dr. Kelly Elliott, assis-tant professor of history, is one of many faculty mem-bers organizing the event. She said both history and non-history majors are in-vited to the workshop and are given an opportunity to get one-on-one help from professors.

“The workshop is de-signed for history and so-cial science majors stu-dents who are going on to do graduate work and who either are making the deci-sion right now to go on to or trying to decide where to apply,” Elliot said.

Phi Alpha Theta, the Na-tional History Honors Soci-ety, is hosting the graduate school application work-

shop. The event is partially due to the recent increase in activity of ACU’s local chapter, called the Zeta Beta Chapter.

“For the first time this year, the Zeta Beta Chapter has officers, and we’re hav-ing quite a few activities,” Elliot said. “For the semes-ter this is one of our major professionalization activi-ties for the semester.”

The Zeta Beta chapter, comprised of approximate-ly 20 members, welcomes history major students and friends to join in its activi-ties and various events.

“Phi Alpha Theta at ACU tries to create greater col-legiality among history students through social ac-tivities but also profession-alization through activities like this,” Elliot said.

Some of the students in the history department are applying to law school. The workshop is designed for the student to bring in their materials, includ-ing a resume, and receive faculty feedback. Faculty

will create smaller groups among the students and show what the application process will look like while giving general advice.

A few of the faculty members taking part in the workshop are Dr. Ver-non Williams, professor of history, and Dr. Mark Cul-lum, associate professor of history.

“We’re planning to have three professors here: my-self, Dr. Williams and Dr. Cullum and talk about curriculum vita, writing samples, and I will deal with the statement of pur-pose,” Elliott said.

The workshop will con-clude with a question and answering panel for the students to ask more ques-tions.

The event will be held in the history department office in room 324 in the Hardin Administration building.

daniel gomez chief Photographer

Luke Burnham, senior music education major from Mesquite, leads worship at the University Church of Christ service at 9 p.m. Sunday. The service was a special memo-rial for those involved in the bus accident Friday.

Crisis: ACU responds quickly

most appropriate step to take next.”

Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university, said the university had to have an emergency response ready as soon as news got out about the accident.

“We had to figure out what needed to be commu-nicated and who needed to be contacted,” he said. “You’ve got to move quickly together because response time is very important.”

McCaleb said the accident is of concern to the entire university’s safety because so many groups and organiza-tions on campus use buses for transportation.

“This was the sort of thing you hope never hap-pens because you’ve got a

larger number of students all in the same place,” Mc-Caleb said. “That puts them in jeopardy.”

Hundreds of ACU students held a prayer vigil by candle-light at the amphitheater Fri-day night. Though he was un-able to attend because he was still in San Angelo, Schubert said it was great to hear of the quick response from those concerned enough to offer support where it is needed.

“We’ve had an over-whelming response from

people around the world who are wanting to help, and we want to provide an avenue for that to take place,” he said. “That re-sponse from outside cam-pus combined with the reaction from students on campus, like with the prayer vigil, has been a great blessing.”

Schubert said Monday’s Chapel would be key in the healing process as students are grieving the loss of Reid.

“There will be reflec-tion on God’s faithfulness in times of trial,” he said. “I think the healing process is a long one, but it may be that Monday is a pretty big step in that direction.”

accident

contact smith atmds10a@acu.edu

Monday Chapel honors accident victims

Monday’s Chapel con-tinued the Abilene com-munity’s response to the tragedy that struck 16 ACU representatives on Friday. The gathering of-fered members of ACU as well as family of the vic-tims a chance to mourn – especially for the life of Anabel Reid.

Moody Collusion was nearly filled with students, faculty, staff and visitors who came to show support for those affected by the bus crash. Carolina White, sophomore communica-tions from Lago Vista, said she was amazed at the quiet respect that the huge audi-ence maintained through-out Chapel.

“It was like the first day of Chapel,” White said. “It’s an encouragement to me that I’m in a community like this where everyone is support-ive and encouraging.”

Mark Lewis, assistant dean for spiritual life and Chapel programs, said the Chapel was planned to give ACU a chance to grieve over the tragic events of Friday through group prayer and worship. Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, was the main speaker of the event.

Schubert encouraged the ACU community to remem-ber and mourn for Reid but to also look to God for com-fort during this time.

“We can search for all the answers in times like this, yet we may never find them,” Schubert said. “In times like this we can search for God,

and we will always find him.”He also encouraged stu-

dents and faculty to sup-port the victims of the acci-dent, their family and their friends. Schubert called for the campus to pray for, encourage and financially support those affected by the crash.

One of the opportu-nities the campus has to show its support is through giving. Donations were collected after Cha-pel and are still being col-lected online at blog.acu.edu/iwanttohelp. Lewis said the funds would sup-port the victims of the crash and their families.

The blog also allows people to post their prayers and volunteer to support the affected families with encouragement, meals or other ministries. It provides

updated information on each ACU representative in-volved in the accident to in-form prayers and ministry.

The campus can also show its support at a ben-efit concert to be held at Old Hamby Gym on Friday, 6 p.m. to midnight, Lewis said. Attendees will pay $10 at the door to hear members of ACU as well as representa-tives from Hardin-Simmons University play in honor of the bus accident victims.

White said she was pleased with how ACU is responding to the tragedy. She said it is important to allow students to grieve to-gether as well as show their support for the victims. But white also said she hopes ACU students will gain the same peace and trust in God that she has seen in her friends who were involved

in the crash.“My experience through

this whole thing is that most of the students who were affected are now at peace with the whole situation,” White said. “I hope that the ACU community can react in the same way.”

White said what hap-pened over the weekend was heartbreaking, but while students should rec-ognize the tragedy that oc-curred, they must remem-ber that God is still at work.

“God is bringing this community together in a way I’ve never seen before,” White said. “We need to change our mindset in all this and see God’s glory is shining through.”

accident

christianna lewiscopy editor

contact lewis atcll09a@acu.edu

Events across Texas have taken place to honor the ACU rep-resentatives involved in the bus accident. Members of the Abilene and ACU community gathered in the Univer-sity Church of Christ Sunday for a time of praise and prayer for the friends and families of those injured in the crash.

Students are invited to attend a Celebration of Life service Reid that will take place at Broad-way Church of Christ in Lubbock on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

josh clarkesophomore information systems

major from San Antonio

The floor was shifting, and it felt like it was about to

give out.”“

Dr. Phil schubertpresident of the

university

There will be reflection on God’s faithfulness in

times of trial.”“continued from page 1

Wreck: University releases latest detailsaccident

university initially planned to livestream the service on campus, Grant Rampy, direc-tor of public relations, said at a press conference Tuesday that would not be possible, though the university plans to record the event.

Rampy said the univer-sity plans to honor Reid at a Chapel service sometime next week.

The one-vehicle accident occurred about nine miles south of Ballinger at about 3:20 p.m. Friday on U.S. High-way 83 at CR 234. The bus was traveling southbound when it drifted off the high-way into the right-hand ditch and hit a concrete culvert, said Trooper Shawn Baxter, an officer on the scene of the crash. The bus flipped end-over-end and landed on its wheels facing south with the body nearly removed from the frame. Twelve of the 16 occupants were thrown from the vehicle in the accident.

Immediately after the wreck, Winters High School football players and coaches stopped to help those in-jured. In addition,Garry Bai-ley, academic director of the Duncum Center for Conflict Resolution, stopped and helped for several hours.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Tuesday it was investigating driver fa-tigue as a potential cause of the accident. Nicodemus, who was driving the shuttle

bus, has the Texas commercial license required by state law to operate the university’s white 2009 Ford E450 Super Duty Aerotech 24-passenger bus. He was the only occupant of the vehicle wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, said passenger Mandy Wilson and DPS officials investigating the wreck. All the bus seats were equipped with seatbelts. State law does not require other passengers to wear seatbelts on this type of vehicle.

At Tuesday’s press confer-ence, Rampy stressed Nico-demus is still employed by the university. In keeping with university policy, how-ever, he has not been teach-ing classes this week.

DPS senior trooper Sparky Dean said the shuttle bus’s on-board computer indicated the bus was traveling 65 mph in a 70 mph speed zone.

The group was traveling to Medina Children’s Home for the department’s annual service project at the facility. This was the group’s seventh year to travel to Medina.

Rampy said updates about the wreck are being moved from the university’s emergen-cy blog to a more permanent online location, blogs.acu.edu/iwanttohelp, where stu-dents, faculty, staff and friends of the university can go to find opportunities to assist in the aftermath of the crash.

Seven students and faculty members who were on the bus but who have been released from hospitals are:

Visit blogs.acu.edu/iwanttohelp to find out how you can help.

Dr. Jim Cookeprofessor of agriculture and environmental science

Dr. Michael Nicodemusassistant professor of agriculture

Kathleen Hendersonjunior environmental science major from Rockport

Kendra Unambasophomore nursing major from Midlothian

Haley Wilkersonsophomore animal science major from Ravenna

Mandy Wilsonjunior animal science major from Walsenberg, Colo.

Jason Irissenior environmental science major from Southhampton, Bermuda

continued from page 1

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contact hagood atdah09a@acu.edu

destiny hagoodstaff photographer

wednesday 11.09.115 featureS

ANOTHER WOMAN’S

TREASURE

photos by DANIEL GOMEZ CHIEF Photographer

Top: Laura Alma and Carolyn Agnew, both volunteers and consigners, try on some of the selection of jewelry from My Sister’s House. Above: Colored cowgirl boots line the antique brick walls at My Sisters House clothing store for women. Above Middle: Winter clothing fills clothing racks to capacity at My Sister’s House consign-ment sale. Left: Jewelry is on display for sale at My Sister’s House consignment sale. Right: Lamps and lamp shades illu-minate a table in the home decor section of the My Sister’s House consignment sale in downtown Abilene.

This week, My Sister’s House, a women’s consignment sale, filled 181 Pine Street with racks and shelves brimming with second-hand clothes, accessories and furniture.

Sisters Kate Stover and Summer Walters, both ACU alum, started My Sister’s House two years ago and are now in the middle of their fourth sale.

“This is something that we wanted to create to be a fun shopping experience,” Stover said. “We want the women in Abilene be able to get a good deal and enjoy shopping without having to spend a lot of money.”

Both Stover and Walters had always shared clothes with each other and frequented garage sales. They were accustomed to the idea of recycling their wardrobes and other items rather than buying things new, Stover said. The sisters decided they would like to do that on a big-ger scale.

Inspired by an Abilene children’s consignment sale, Dittos for Kiddos, the sisters decided to take on the challenge of putting together their own consignment sale for women. Stover said they began by researching similar sales to see how they operated and then started looking for a venue to have the sale in. They created a website and were then ready to begin advertising for their first sale, using promotional materials and Face-book to spread the word.

Walters said they had 154 consigners at the first sale and have increased to 219 consigners since.

“After every sale we’ve had to adjust something to ac-commodate for our growing, because we’ve gained con-signers every time,” Stover said. “For the next sale we’re going to have to think of how we can expand and have more space.”

Consigners can go onto the My Sister’s House web-

site and register for a consigner’s number. They are then able to enter all of their items online and assign prices to their items.

Consigners can each bring up to 70 items of clothes, 10 pairs of shoes and 20 pieces of jewelry. They pay a $15 con-signer’s fee and then receive 65% of their item’s profits.

“They choose how they want to price it, and they can choose if they want it to go half-price or not,” Stover said. “Once the sale is over, they can choose if they want to do-nate it or if they want to come pick it up if it didn’t sell.”

Donated items go to local outreaches such as Faith-Works, Hope Haven, Christian Service Center, Interna-tional Rescue Committee, and Cinderella’s Closet. On the final day, donated items are sold for 75% off, and all of the proceeds from that day go to Eternal Threads, a local non-profit. Last year, they were able to contribute $1,400, Stover said.

Women of all ages, including college students, par-ticipate either as vendors, volunteers or shoppers. A few

social clubs have even signed up and sold clothes as a fundraiser for the club, Stover said.

“We’re hoping it creates an opportunity for women to be able to get rid of things they don’t need or use any-more and update with things that they will use in their home or their closet and either come out even or make a little money in the process,” Stover said.

Carolyn Agnew, a consigner who graduated from ACC and lives in Abilene, has been participating in sales since the start and is also a volunteer in the furniture and décor section.

“I work receiving, and I love it,” Agnew said. “Just see-ing the variety of things is interesting; we seem to get a lot of one-of-a-kind items.”

This sale features fall and winter clothing items ranging in size from Petite to Plus. They have a bou-tique area for more pricy name-brand items and offer dressing rooms for try-ons. The sale also includes fur-niture, home décor items, bedding, purses and jewelry as well as clothing.

Before each sale opens up to the public, My Sister’s House has a presale night when college students can enter with a college ID.

Stover and Walters have a sale each fall and spring. The sale going on now is open Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is a half-price sale on Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The half-price presale night for college students will be Thursday starting at 9 p.m. The “Discount Day Sale” will take place this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The spring sale will take place March 23 through April 1.

For more information visit www.mysistershousesale.com.

contact sutherland atsns08a@acu.edu

Shoppers scavenge for second-hand finds at My Sister’s House downtown

samantha sutherlandfeatures editor

Editor’s Note: Dr. Phil Schu-bert, president of the univer-sity, spoke in Chapel Nov. 7 memorializing Anabel Reid. The following are portions of his speech.

We miss Anabel terribly. We’re sad and heartbroken. We grieve, but we know she’s gone to be with God.

To the family, we cannot bear, as you do, the full im-pact of this tragedy. But we feel your loss. We’re pray-ing for you so very much in the days ahead. Anabel was joyous, and she bright-ened every room she was in with her smile. She was de-

voted fully to God and in-tent upon fulfilling His call for her life in this world. She had a special grace about her and an amaz-ingly strong spirit. Anabel’s spirit and her example are still leading and serving in so many here this morn-ing. We are very sorry.

We’ll journey through this valley over time with God together. But we’ll miss her very much. It’s been said that death does not ex-tinguish the light from the Christian but rather puts out the lamp because dawn has come. Anabel no longer needs a lamp to guide her

path. Because she’s walk-ing at the side of God.

I got permission from Mrs. Reid to tell you this story. Upon being noti-fied of the tragedy and that Anabel had left this world, she had three im-mediate responses.

One was to apologize to the trooper who had to be the one to break that news to her.

Next, she immediately expressed compassion and concern for Dr. Michael Nicodemus, the driver of the bus. She said, “I have to talk to him. He has to know this is not his fault.”

And finally, she said, “You know Anabel was not of this world. She never has been. If there was one per-son who was ready to go, it was Anabel.”

May the spirit of God be upon all of us that we may

respond to this tragedy with the grace and strength that you have modeled for us.

Billy Graham tells a sto-ry of the words that were found penned on the wall of a Nazi prison cell in Eu-rope. It said, “I believe in love even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God even when He is silent.”

I know we have many unanswered questions and a range of emotions: sad-ness, anger, hurt, uncer-tainty. We can search for all the answers in times like this, yet we may never find them. In times like this we can search for God, and we will always find Him.

Our enemy may try to use this tragedy to tear us down and discourage us. I can promise you that our Father will use this time to build us up and bring us together.

The heartbreak we feel began at a specific spot on a specific road last Friday night. Our healing will take place over a long period of time. The road to healing will take place in class-rooms, dorm rooms and counselors’ offices. Heal-ing will occur along side-walks, sanctuaries, and in moments of stillness with God. Our suffering is se-vere, but this ACU family is strong. The pain is real, but so is our God.

Students, I can’t ex-press how proud I am of you for the way you have responded, for the love and support you shown to each other, the way you’ve grieved together, the way you’ve honored God and your friends like Anabel. And the resolve that you’ve shown to be God’s hands and feet in a

world that so desperately needs you. Needs your love. Needs your kind-ness. Needs your compas-sion, your self lessness, your smile. The hope in your eyes that only comes from knowing God. You are so amazing, and you are strong. May we all re-member that in the world we will have trouble. In Christ we have peace.

Trouble will strike, and we will grieve, but we will never give up, and we will never stop doing the work that God has called us to. May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and bring healing to our hurt as we continue to join the mission of God and bring hope to this world.

Phil Schubertguest column

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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.

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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.

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Column

I prayed that they would be able to see disasters as an opportunity to do

outstanding work but still respond with compassion

to victims.”

“

Remembering Anabel:A lesson in strength

Tragedies shape journalism career

Schubert: ‘Bring hope to this world’

The TV in the corner of the newsroom first said Al Gore had won Florida. Then the vote was too close to call. It was a little after 2 a.m. when I finished a story that said George W. Bush had narrowly won Florida’s vote and would be the na-tion’s next president.

I lay down to nap on the couch in the Optimist of-fice, knowing I didn’t have time to go home before I would need to send the paper to the printer down-town. It was still dark out-side when the office light snapped on again and the managing editor told me we needed to update the election story.

“It’s OK,” I said. “Al-ready changed the story for Bush.”

“Well, it changed again,” she said. “Get up.”

The weeks of delibera-tion following the 2000 presidential election gave a very campus-oriented Op-timist staff a greater sense of obligation to national news, even though national media clearly offered more complete coverage. Those outlets were offering their best coverage for their au-diences. We wanted to do

the same for our audience, the ACU community.

The same attitude emerged less than a year later when the staff gath-ered around a TV to watch the World Trade Center towers collapsing. We wrote about students’ re-actions and connections to the events of Sept. 11. We discussed our role as an in-formation source in times of confusion and pain and our place as a public forum for people to share fear and anger about the event and its aftermath.

The staff had the skills and medium to gather the stories that people wanted to share. The Optimist’s coverage was a form of ministry for many of us as we told ACU’s story of Sept. 11 and shared President Royce Money’s exhortation to “pray, pray, pray” in re-sponse to the attacks.

Memories from fall days like these rolled through my head as I lay in a dark corner of The Tampa Tri-bune newsroom in Sep-

tember 2004 waiting for Hurricane Frances to pass through the city. I was working as an editor at the Florida newspaper, and the hurricane was predicted to make landfall early that morning. Many of us wor-ried that flooding would prevent us from getting back to work the next day, so we camped at the office.

Big stories at the Opti-mist weren’t the only thing on my mind that night. As much as I loved full-time newspaper work, my new goal was eventually to work as a professor. And as I tried to get comfortable in my sleeping bag, I prayed for my future students.

I prayed that they would always love their jobs enough to do things like sleep in a newsroom. I prayed that they would be able to see disasters as an opportunity to do out-standing work but still respond with compas-sion to victims. I prayed that they would be safe in their reporting and that they would always know they had the support of a professor who cared deeply about their prepa-ration for such moments in their lives.

And now on another fall day seven years later, those students I prayed for come to my class at another West Texas university. I often tell them that I hope they’re pursuing internships and

student media opportuni-ties because I remember the value of those experi-ences.

I learned to cover big stories at the Optimist. It taught me the importance of local media in a commu-nity. Those lessons shaped

my behavior as a journal-ist and educator, and I am thankful. But the Opti-mist’s role is much bigger than teaching any one per-son. Its true value has al-ways been its abiding pres-ence for thousands in the ACU community as a voice sharing news both historic and mundane for a hun-dred years and beyond.

Jessica Smith, Optimist editor from 2000-2002, is an assistant professor of mass communication at Texas Tech University.

Last Friday was supposed to be a normal Friday. Last weekend was supposed to be a normal weekend. The world wasn’t supposed to come crashing down around us.

But it did.The foundations of our

community were rocked when the bus carrying 16 members of the ACU fami-ly crashed. We waited anx-iously for news about our friends. Students, faculty, staff and the Abilene com-munity gathered together to wait for more informa-tion. As the story spread, people around the country began to pray for those af-fected by the crash.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Fri-day night I learned the name of the student killed in the accident. It was the last name I wanted to hear. It was the name of my best friend.

I met Anabel Reid shortly after we began our fresh-man year. We quickly be-came good friends. Her sweet, passionate person-ality made her stand out from other people. I ad-mired the fact that she was never afraid to be herself. She was the kind of girl who could wear pink high heels one day and come to dinner the next day talking of her adventures driving the tractor at work.

Anabel was always the first person I went to if I had trouble with my car. She had a solution to every problem. She was so easy to talk to, she would get into conversations with total strangers. She was the best friend anyone could have.

Anabel and I were con-stantly coming up with ideas of things we wanted to do someday, like go star-gazing, stay with each oth-er’s families, go skiing, visit Africa ... the list goes on. A few of our ideas might have gotten us in trouble, but it would have been worth it. Now we’ll never get to do those things.

However, I know Ana-bel wouldn’t want me to dwell on the things we never got to do. Instead, she would want me to remember all the times when we laughed until our sides hurt. There were

the numerous trips to Nikki’s, Saturday lunches at Sharky’s and dinners in the Bean at our usual table when we would laugh with our friends while others gave us weird looks.

There was the time it snowed and we built a blanket fort and watched Nacho Libre. We turned thrift store shopping into an art form. I’ll never for-get last Valentine’s day when Anabel and our best friends, Rachel and Abi-gail, brought me flowers and sang a Justin Beiber song to me (even though they knew I despised him at the time). I look back on those memories and have no choice but to smile.

Anabel died doing the one thing she loved doing best: helping others. Her dream was to work with organizations that bring clean water to areas of the world that have none. Even though her death was un-expected, Anabel helped to bring the community together in ways I never imagined. Though the foundations of our ACU community were rocked, I believe they are now stronger than ever thanks to Anabel. Not only did she touch my life, she has touched the lives of thou-sands of others.

There is no way to ex-plain how much Anabel and her friendship meant to me. As someone who strives to be a reporter one day, I have never been part of a news story until now. I was supposed to be reporting from Hendrick when I learned about Anabel’s death. Now that I know how it feels to be on the “other side” of the news, going back to work will be so hard. But Anabel always knew how much I loved working on the Optimist, and she always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Now, when-ever I feel my motivation failing, I will remember-Anabel’s encouragement and strength.

I love you, Anabel. I will never, ever, ever forget you.

column

column

contact the optimist atjmcnetwork@acu.edu

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Wednesday 11.09.11 6opinion

Staff ColumnmelAnY coX

Centennial ColumnJessIcA smItH

contact the optimist atjmcnetwork@acu.edu

wednesday 11.09.117 sports Jumps

Wildcats fall to Baylor in exhibition game

Last Tuesday, the Abilene Christian University men’s basketball team travelled to Waco to take on Divi-sion I powerhouse Baylor in their first scrimmage of the season.

ACU has struggled in recent years but gave the

Bears all they could han-dle this time around.

“In the first half, we were able to do some good things defensively,” senior forward Ben Warton said. “We have a long way to go, but if we play like we did in the first half, then a lot of good things are going to happen for us.”

The Wildcats headed to the locker room at half time only down by six points, proving that new basketball coach Joe Golding has ACU taking the court ready to play with just about anyone.

“[Golding] is a good

motivator in terms of keeping us hungry and just dreaming big. He re-ally knows how to moti-vate us and challenge us to give it our best when we’re om the court,” ju-nior Erik Kibi said.

Eventually the flood gates opened, though, and the ‘Cats could not quite

keep up with the No. 12 ranked team in Division I in the second half, due in part to their tough night shooting the basketball.

“We had a lot of good open shots not fall for us that we’ll normally make,” Warton said. “But we were penetrating well and finding the open per-son. It was just a matter of the ball not going in the basket.”

One open shooter was Antonio Bell, who came off the bench for the Wildcats and brought the three-point ball with him.

Bell finished with 13

points and three long three pointers. Bell leads the team in scoring.

Freshman guard Kendall Durant also finished in dou-ble figures with 11 points.

The Wildcats are com-ing off a season in which they won less than 10 games, but there is a cul-tural shift taking place for the ACU basketball pro-gram that could produce more wins in 2011-2012.

“We expect to win a conference champion-ship,” Kibi says. “That’s what we are striving for. It is a new year and a new era, so we have new expec-

tations. We are all excited for this season and what is ahead for this team.”

The Wildcats will make their home debut this weekend against Truman State University this Fri-day at 8:30 p.m. as part of the ACU Whitten Inn Ti-poff Classic.

The team will also play the very next night against East Central University at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.

matthew sloansports reporter

contact GWIN atmes10b@acu.edu

men’s basketball

ben wartonsenior forward

AcU Men’s basketball

We have a long way to go, but if we play like we did in the first half, then a lot of good

things are going to happen.” “Cats fall to No. 12 Baylor in opener

adrian patenaude staff Photographer

ACU volleyball players Sara Oxford and Jennie Hutt extend their arms, reaching for a ball at Moody Coliseum against Cameron at Moody Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 5.

’Cats finish season with strong showing

The ACU volleyball team fin-ished up the regular season at home with two wins against Midwestern State University and Cameron University.

The Wildcats swept MSU 3-0 (30-28, 25-22, and 25-18) on Thursday night. The ‘Cats celebrated Senior Night at the game, and Kel-sie Edwards, Jennie Hutt and Aubree Vick, all seniors, appropriately played a ma-jor role during the match.

ACU was swept last month at Wichita Falls, but this time the Wildcats were able to stage a much better performance.

“It was one of our more dominating performances of the season,” said head coach Kellen Mock. “All three seniors had a great night.”

The ‘Cats season and Lone Star Conference re-cord rose to 19-12 and 13-6 after the win. The Mustangs suffered their fifth straight loss dropping to 15-14 and 7-12.

ACU hit .238 for the match. Hutt once again led the team in kills (18), and Sara Oxford smacked 11. Vick came back from her first match since Sept. 10 due to injury and put up a double-double of 10 kills (.241) and 10 digs.

The Wildcats began game one in two separate holes of 6-0 and 9-2. Numerous er-rors along with three Mus-tang blocks contributed to the huge gaps. ACU had been in similar situations many times before during this season, so the team

didn’t become alarmed.The ‘Cats strung together

four straight points to pull within three then tied the game at 15-15 after scoring on seven of nine rallies.

Hutt whacked five con-secutive kills in the first game, each critical to ACU’s success.

Once back in the game, the Wildcats struggled to finish it. The team had sev-eral opportunities at set point but couldn’t come through. At 27-26 with the Mustangs serving, Vick re-corded a kill to tie the game. Midwestern’s Kiara Jordan fumbled the ball next pos-session on an attempted assist to help the ‘Cats.

A kill from Oxford fol-lowed by another from Hutt finally ended the marathon set. Freshman setter Haley Rhoads set up both points and finished with 43 assists on the day.

“The girls battling back in game one showed a lot of heart and guts,” Mock said. “They had to push hard to get the win. This team will sometimes be-come determined not to let the opponent score the final point. When you see that fire in their eyes, it can make for a long match.”

Edwards was the leader of the ACU defense with 16 digs. MSU was held to a .172 hitting percentage.

On Saturday the Wild-cats dominated Cameron 3-0 (25-20, 25-16 and 27-25) in front of the home crowd.

Oxford had a career day with a .550 hitting per-centage and 14 kills. Hutt recorded 17 kills.

Saturday night’s match

was also emotional. The team not only recognized the event as the last home match for Hutt, Edwards and Vick, but took the oppor-tunity to remember those affected by Friday’s bus crash. All 14 Wildcats stood with their parents during pregame introductions and lowered their heads as they acknowledged the wreck that claimed the life of soph-omore Anabel Reid.

“There was definitely a mix of emotions,” Edwards said. “It was real to us be-cause we’ve traveled on that bus many times this year. I felt as though we played for a higher purpose.”

The team also wore black hair ribbons and armbands with the date 11/4/11 on them. The ‘Cats played with inspira-tion in jumping to an early 6-0 lead. ACU built a gap of 23-14 in the first set, but Cameron scored six of the next seven points narrow-ing the set to 24-20.

Kalynne Allen put an end to the Aggies’ hopes with a game-winning kill off an assist by Rhoads.

Rhoads had 43 of the team’s 48 assists, and the Wildcats av-eraged 17.0 kills per set.

Neely Borger and Hutt hit over .400 for the match.

ACU will participate in the LSC Championship on Thurs-day at noon in Canyon.

Mock said she feels the way the team ended the regular season helps them going into the conference tournament.

“To get three wins at the end of the season at home is a boost to our confi-dence going into the final

week of conference play.”Edwards said she is

glad the team could fin-ish the season on such a strong note.

“Our team has progressed

a lot this season, and we’re peaking at the perfect time,” Edwards said. “Beating these teams in three sets after los-ing to them earlier in the year shows we’re ready to

compete in the conference tournament.”

edward isaacsassistant sports editor

contact isaacs atjei08a@acu.edu

volleyball

Gale: team inches closer to playoff berthball bounced downfield and was recovered by the Javelinas in ACU territory.

Two plays later, Wood-son had his second touch-down of the game on a 24-yard run and Kingsville tied it up on the extra point.

The Wildcats continued their balanced offensive attack a few drives later as Charcandrick West got into the end zone on a 6-yard run. On the drive Gale com-pleted all three of his pass-es for 50 yards the Wildcats jumped back ahead 21-14.

After halftime, ACU looked poised to extend their seven-

point lead, but Kingsville was the team who came out hot.

On the Javelina’s first pos-session of the second half, Woodsonscored his third touchdown of the game, this time a rush for 80 yards, tying the game at 21 points each. It is the first time in Texas A&M-Kingsville history that the Jav-elinas have had two or more runs of at least 80 yards in a season, and Woodson accom-plished the feat in one game.

Trying to keep pace, ACU answered on their next drive as Gale completed three straight passes. Hogg’s sec-ond catch of the drive went 27 yards to pay dirt as ACU regained the lead 28-21.

Again though it was Wood-son who had the Kingsville response. This time it was through the air as Ramirez found Woodson on a screen. Woodson did the rest as he showcased his speed en route to a 60-yard touchdown run.

Woodson’s performance earned him the Lone Star Conference’s offensive player of the week honors and his fourth touchdown tied the game again at 28.

This time though the Wild-cats weren’t able to respond, instead the Javelina defense came up with a huge play.

As Gale dropped back to pass, he was hit from behind by Marcus Sand-

ers and fumbled the ball. Kingsville recovered and was back in business in-side the ACU 25-yard line. It only took one play as Ramirez found receiver Sherman Batiste for a touchdown as Kingsville jumped back ahead 34-28.

On the extra point though, the Wildcats snatched the momentum back. With Kings-ville looking to tack on a point to their lead, Nick Richardson broke through the Javelina of-fensive line and blocked Matt Stoll’s attempt.

Down six points going into the fourth quarter, Gale and the Cardiac ‘Cats rallied with some late game magic.

A 14-yard drive led to Richardson’s second touch-down of the game and Lineberry’s PAT gave the Wildcats a one-point lead.

Another three-and-out by the ACU defense gave the ‘Cats the ball right back and again they strung to-gether a successful drive.

Up a point, Gale found Ga-briel over the middle on a face route. Gabriel found some field, and it was off to the races as he sprinted 39 yards to the end zone and widening the Wildcats lead to 42-34.

“Coach has been getting onto me about not taking the face route to the house, and I told him that I was going to do

it for him this week,” Gabriel said. “It ended up being the game winning drive so I am kind of excited about that.”

On the next Kingsville drive the Wildcat defense put the cap on the game when they stopped a Javeli-na fourth down attempt in-side the ACU five-yard line.

ACU will finish it’s regu-lar season next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against Incarnate Word at Shotwell Stadium. A win next week will all but guarantee the Wildcats a spot in the NCAA playoffs.

contact gwin atagg07a@acu.edu

football

Chances: ACU can’t capitalize in title game

Senior midfielder Ashley Holton fired one last corner kick with 15 seconds left in the game, but the Mustangs cleared it out.

“We gave ourselves chances to score until the very end, so we can’t be faulted for that,” Wilson said. “Our girls played their hearts out and gave every ounce of effort they had. You simply can’t win them all.”

The Wildcats outshot

the Mustangs 9-6 in a first half that resulted in a zero scoring, and both teams came out intent to score in the second half.

The Mustangs’ Alyssa Cooper fired the first shot of the half, which was saved by LSC Goalkeeper of the Year Elliott London. Junior defender Lexi Stirling boot-ed a corner kick, which led to consecutive shots by Grimm. Mallory Whirl-worth blocked the first and saved the second.

Immediately after-ward London stopped a shot from MSU’s Lindsay Pritchard, and then Avila lofted a ball that landed behind London before bouncing over the net.

After the lucky break, Carpenter and Grimm took advantage of the fast break opportunity. Grimm dribbled the ball up the field and passed the ball to Carpenter, who finished off the attack by scoring her 15th goal of the year.

“Krysta played me a beautiful ball over the top of the defense and into a great space,” Carpen-ter said. “The goalkeeper came out, and I placed it underneath her before she slid out. I give Krysta all the credit because with-out that perfect ball, there wouldn’t have been a goal or chance to score at all.”

Sophomore midfielder Ashley Craig came close to making it a 2-0 game fol-lowing Carpenter’s goal,

but Whitworth caught her cross in the air. Carpenter then struck the near post in the 55th minute.

The Mustangs im-proved their record to 13-5-2 and became the first team in over a year to beat the Wildcats. ACU’s pro-gram-record winning and unbeaten streaks were snapped at 14 and 24.

Junior midfielder Julie Coppedge, sophomore midfielder Jacey Fer-rera, and Carpenter were

named to the conference’s all-tournament team.

“Losing today wasn’t what we wanted, but at least today wasn’t our last game,” Carpenter said. “We’re go-ing to put this behind us, work hard this week and come out ready to play next weekend. We aren’t finished with this season.”

contact shake atbxs09a@acu.edu

soccer

from page 8

from page 8

Wednesday 11.09.11 8sports

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Women’s soccer will host one of the NCAA South Central Regional tournaments this weekend at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch. The regional tourney is a three-team bracket featuring St. Edward’s, Midwestern, and the No. 1 seed Wildcats.

Football moved up to No. 12 in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 poll released on Monday, Nov. 7. ACU moved up four spots from No. 16 to No. 12 in the country.

Football remains at No. 5 in the regional rankings released on Monday, Nov. 7. The final regional poll of the season will be released Sunday afternoon, Nov. 13. The top six teams reach the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox recorded one reception for 14 yards and no touchdowns versus the Eagles on Monday, Nov. 7. The Bears won a close one, 30-24.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Benard Scott had 6 rushes for 24 yards and no touchdowns Sunday, Nov. 6 against the Titans. The Bengals won 24-17. On the year, Scott has 58 carries for 185 yards and a lone touchdown.

Danieal Manning, Texans safety, didn’t play Sunday, Nov. 6 against the Browns. The Texans did win however, 30-12. Manning has 32 tackles and two interceptions so far on the season.

The volleyball team plays Cameron in Canyon on Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. in the LSC Post-Season Tournament.

The women’s soccer team will face the winner of St. Edward’s and Midwestern State match on Sunday, Nov. 13 in the South Central Region Tournament at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch at 2 p.m.

Football goes up against LSC foe Incarnate Word at Shotwell Stadium at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5.

football

volleyball

Women’s Soccer

standings

briefings

EX- FACTOR

Upcoming

soccer

Destiny hagood staff Photographer

Sophomore defender Brie Buschman gives a perplexed look during the Wildcats’ 2-1 loss in the Lone Star Conference’s post-season tournament cham-pionship game. The loss was the Wildcats’ first of the season and snapped the team’s winning streak of 14 games and unbeaten streak of 24 games.

Streaks Snapped

The Wildcat soccer team suffered their first taste of defeat at the hands of No. 2 seed Midwestern State 2-1 at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch Sunday in the Lone Star Conference Tourna-

ment’s championship game. The No. 2 Wildcats had not been defeated for 19 games this season.

Midwestern State over-came an early 1-0 deficit by scoring two goals in a three-minute period to claim the 2011 Lone Star Conference Champion-ship crown.

“It’s tough to swallow when they have five loss-es and we have one, and they’re the conference champion,” said head coach Casey Wilson. “But they won it when they

counted, and they de-serve credit for that. They are a very talented team overall, and their coaches are top notch.”

Kelsey Hill, the tour-nament’s Most Valuable Player, headed in Heidi

Avila’s cross for the game-tying score in the 76th minute, and then a fresh-legged Mickey Brown sealed the deal, putting in the game-winning goal in the 79th minute.

The Mustangs with-stood a persistent Wild-cat attack for the final 11 minutes to hold on for the win.

The Wildcats have prid-ed themselves on creating opportunities to score this season, and on Sunday the team had opportunities but came up short.

Junior forward Krysta Grimm booted a penalty kick wide left in the 81st minute, and LSC Offen-sive Player of the Year An-drea Carpenter and Ash-ley Craig had shots either blocked or saved.

“I can’t complain about the way we played today. We just didn’t put in all of our chances earlier,” Car-penter said. “Because of that, we kept them think-ing that they were still in the game.”

Top-seed ACU falls to MSU at home

DANIEL GOMEZ CHIEF Photographer

ACU quarterback Mitchell Gale extends the ball out after receiving the snap Saturday in Kingsville. The Wildcats won 40-28, and Gale threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns.

football

Gale leads Wildcats past Javelinas

Junior quarterback Mitch-ell Gale threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns to lead the ACU Wildcats past upset-minded Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday night 40-28.

Gale picked apart the Javelina secondary all night long finding his two receivers, Darian Hogg and Taylor Gabriel, 16 times. Hogg led the ‘Cats with 156 yards receiving while Gabriel wasn’t far behind with 109 yards.

“Man, we stayed af-ter practice all week and worked on the Jug Ma-chine,” Gabriel said. “Catching and look to tuck, look to tuck. That’s the motto of the week: look to tuck.”

The Wildcats gained over 500 yards of offense with running back Daryl Richardson rushing 23 times for 123 yards.

ACU again got off to a rough start as the Javelinas and their star player jumped on the Wildcats early.

On the Javs second drive, running back and track all-American Jona-than Woodson took a han-doff 87 yards, running past the entire ACU defense on his way to the end zone.

On the ensuing kick-off, Kingsville caught the Wildcats off guard with an onside kick, which they recovered.

The ACU defense an-swered though with a big

play of their own. Defen-sive back Nathan Baggs picked off Javelina quar-terback Daniel Ramirez.

After the interception, the offense found their rhythm when Gale hit tight end Ben Gibbs on a 53-yard pass to get the ‘Cats inside the Kingsville 10-yard line.

The next play Gale again went to the air, and-he hooked up with Darrell Cantu-Harkless for a six-yard touchdown to tie up the game at 7.

Gale drove the offense down the field after the defense held the Javelinas to a three-and-out.

Daryl Richardson got the ball on the final three plays of the drive, cap-ping it off with a five-yard scamper to put the Wild-cats up 14-7.

Defensive end Aston Whiteside came up with the Wildcats’ next big play when he stripped running back Randall Toney, giving the ball back to Gale and the offense.

The Wildcats couldn’t find the end zone this time but lined up to try a 49-yard field goal.

A bad snap dearly cost the special teams unit. The

Austin Gwinsports director

bryson shakesports editor

see chances page 7

casey wilsonhead coach

ACU WOmen;’s soccer

It’s tough to swallow. They are a very talented

team overall, and their coaches are top notch.”“

taylor gabrielWide ReceiverACU Football

Catching and look to tuck, look to tuck. That’s

the motto of the week: look to tuck.”“

see gale page 7