optimist_2005-02-18

OPTIMISTTHE

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

FRIDAYFebruary 18, 2005

Vol. 93, No. 382 sections, 22 pages

www.acuoptimist.com

Climbing the charts:See pictures of the six SingSong hosts and hostessesperforming in the show.

Pages 6A and 7A

‘Rock around the clock’:About 35 children will par-ticipate in this year’s SingSong children’s chorus.

Page 4A

Work zone ahead:Although construction on Barret Hall is severalweeks behind schedule, administrators say itshould still be completed by Aug. 1.

2A

By MALLORY SHERWOODFEATURES EDITOR

They began as silly freshman.They competed fiercely withtheir clubs.

Some became hosts, and oth-ers worked behind the scenes.

Now they are saying good-bye.

Six seniors, who have beeninvolved in Sing Song for fouryears, are looking back on theexperiences they’ve shared alongthe way.

“It’s been an amazing experi-ence,” said Ben Lazcano, senioryouth and family ministry majorfrom The Colony. “I’ve created abond between friends and withbrothers in club that you reallycan’t find in any other activity.”

Lazcano began participatingin Sing Song as a freshman in theclass act. Since then, he hasplayed a large role in helping themembers of Gamma Sigma Phito victory as a bass leader. Thisyear, his club is setting a newgoal: winning four yearsstraight. Although they are look-ing to win, Lazcano said the tri-umph means less to him thanthe fellowship.

“The actual event meansnothing to me; it’s the communi-ty it requires, and what it meansfor the group to come together,”he said. “We are achieving some-thing here that is greater thanthe win. To do this is not aboutmerit or who is better, but towin, it really says somethingabout the dynamics of yourgroup.”

For Lazcano, the best memo-ry was learning to come frombehind.

“In 2003, we were theBeatles, and we had lost the firsttwo shows. Then we came backand won the overall onSaturday,” Lazcano said. “It test-ed what we were made of. Werealized that we were the under-dog, and we found out what ittakes to be the best club on cam-pus in Sing Song that year.”

Now as a senior, he takes hisrole as a leader seriously.

This year the seniors in GSPare stepping up to show moreleadership, Lazcano said.

“That is what it takes whenyou have a group with 40 soph-omores,” he said. “We have sucha young crowd dominating ourgroup, so it takes a mature groupof seniors to step up and be lead-ers to them.”

Amanda Harris, senior hu-

man development and familystudies major from Cedar Hilland assistant upstage managerhas seen every side of Sing Songand said she loves it.

She has worked behind thescenes and knows what it takesto perform with class and clubacts.

Her favorite memory of SingSong was when she performedwith her club, Alpha Kai Omega,for the first time.

“It is different than partici-pating with your class act

because you are part of a legacy,”Harris said. “You really get tobond and just goof off. You getto look stupid, but you knowthat everyone else looks stupidright along with you.”

Harris said she is sad this isher last year to participate inSing Song. Instead of focusingon it, she is excited to see howshe meets the challenge of work-ing on production staff and per-forming in two groups.

She said she knows Sing Songis much more than students per-forming just to win.

“As part of the productionstaff, we really get to see peopleusing God’s gifts,” Harris said.“It is never about one person,but about using the talents wehave been given to produce ashow with fellow Christians.”

David Gilly, Gamma SigmaPhi Sing Song director and exer-cise science major from Abilene,said he also loves Sing Song.Gilly led GSP to its win the pastyear, and he said he participatesbecause of his love for musicand because most of his friendsparticipate.

Biblical StudiesBuilding renamed

By LORI BREDEMEYERMANAGING EDITOR

John Best doesn’t give himself credit for helpingDavid Leeson win a Pulitzer Prize in photography.But he does credit Leeson with giving him his firstgray hairs.

Leeson, class of 1978, workedunder Best at the Abilene Reporter-News in the early 1980s and will behonored Sunday by the AlumniAssociation as the OutstandingAlumnus of the Year at a luncheonat the Abilene Civic Center.

Best, instructor of journalismand mass communication, will leadthe benediction at the luncheon. Hewas chief photographer part of the time Leeson wasstaff photographer at the Reporter-News, and he saideven 25 years ago Leeson was a driven photographerwho worried him sometimes.

“David was young, and he had already startedcovering and trying to do things that pushed theenvelope,” Best said. “I was concerned about his

Pulitzer-winning photographer chosenas Outstanding Alumnus of Year

Universitycites Leesonwith award

By JACI SCHNEIDEROPINION EDITOR

Fifty-four Board of Trustees will meet Friday andSaturday to make decisions about student tuition,the university’s budget and long range plans for theuniversity.

The re-election of Dr. Royce Money, president ofthe University, is also on the agenda for the annualmeeting, said Dr. Gaston Welborn,vice president and general counselto the university.

“It’s the time in which the offi-cers of the Board are elected, andthe president is technically re-elect-ed,” Welborn said.

Don Crisp, chair of the Board ofTrustees, said in an e-mail theBoard of Trustees is the governingbody of the university. It is respon-sible for hiring the president, setting policy, provid-ing long-range guidance and giving feedback aboutacademics, fund raising and campus construction,he said.

Centennial Campaign, student tuition,budget will be on members’ docket

Trustee boardwill discussschool’s future

Swan SongSinging their

After three years, seniors prepare for last shot in spotlight

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Members of the senior class perform their hillbilly-themed act during Wednesday’s dress rehearsal of Sing Song. This weekend will representthe last time many of the seniors will perform on the Sing Song stage, where some have been performing every year since they were freshmen.

By SARAH CARLSONARTS EDITOR

The Biblical Studies Build-ing will be officially renamedthe Onstead-Packer BiblicalStudies Building this weekendin honor of the late LynnPacker and Robert Onstead.

Both Onstead and Packerwere Board of Trustees mem-bers and co-chaired a campaignin the mid ’80s to build a newBiblical Studies Building. In

seven months, the two menhad raised $13 million.

Packer died in 2001, andOnstead died in August. AfterOnstead died, Dr. Royce Mo-ney, president of the university,said he began discussions withDon Crisp, chair of the Boardof Trustees, about ways tohonor the contributions of thetwo men.

“Mr. Crisp and I decidedthis would be an appropriateway to honor these two menwho were very instrumental inus being able to have this finefacility,” Money said.

“As goofy as the show concept is, it really uniteseach class that has passed through ACU.”

Jeffrey Rasco, Sing Song co-chair and senior management major from Abilene

See SENIORS Page 5


Kenneth Russell, employee of FASTSIGNS of Abilene, works on the entrance of the BiblicalStudies Building on Monday, the weekend before the building is officially renamed in honor ofthe late Lynn Packer and Robert Onstead, who were both trustees of the university.

Name change in honorof late trustee members:

Packer, Onstead

See BOARD Page 5

See LEESON Page 5

Inside the extra section

Look inside this issue for an extrasection with more news about SingSong and Lectureship. It features:

• Complete sports coverage from men’sand women’s basketball to baseballand softball, pages 1B-3B.

• Information on the Freshman Ushers’group participating in Sing Song withan ’80s theme, page 4B.

• An article about this year’s SingSong dance team and the numbers itwill perform, page 5B.

• A in-depth story about Dr. MarkTucker, dean of Brown Library andinformation resources, page 6B.

• A list of this year’s Sing Song judgesand their judging criteria, page 10B.

Leeson

See BIBLE Page 5

Welborn

Calendar Events

19 Saturday

18 Friday

21Monday

Friday, February 18, 2005

CAMPUS

20 Sunday

The Optimist maintains thiscalendar for the ACU communityto keep track of local, social, aca-demic and service opportunities.

Groups may send ann-ouncements directly to [email protected] or to the Page2 Editor, ACU Box 27892, Abilene,TX 79699.

To ensure that an item willappear on time, the announce-ment should be sent at least 10days before. The Optimist mayedit items for space and style.

Corrections and clarifica-tions of published news articleswill be printed in this space in atimely manner.

ChapelCheck-UpCredited Chapels to date: 29

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About This Page

Volunteer Opportunities

22 Tuesday

&DAY

Herald of Truth breakfast, 6:30-9a.m., Hilton Room.

National Campus Ministries break-fast, 6:30-9 a.m., Living Room.

Cascade College Reception, 8-11p.m., Living Room.

The Noah Project needsvolunteers to provide servicesfor victims of family violencein the evenings from 6-10 p.m.Training is required and is providedTuesday and Thursday. For moreinformation, contact the Volunteerand Service-Learning Center.

Healing Hands Interna-tional is in need of volunteersto help repair donated bicy-cles before they are shipped toZambia. Tools and parts are fur-

nished. For more information,contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center.

Auditions for the two ACUplays in the summer AbileneShakespeare Festival are comingup. Julius Caesar auditions areMonday from 7-11 p.m., andTwelfth Night auditions areTuesday from 7-11 p.m. in FulksTheatre. Scripts are available atwww-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeareand www.theplays.org.

Fair Trade involvement meeting,6:30 p.m., Mezamiz Deux.

Frater Sodalis raffle fund-raiser,11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., CampusCenter ticket windows.

The Mousetrap, dinner at 6:45 p.m.and performance at 8 p.m.,Williams Performing Arts Center.

Sing Song, 8 p.m., MoodyColiseum.

Spring break preview weekend, 8a.m.-5 p.m.

Announcements

Friends of ACU Library Dinner, 5-8 p.m., Hilton Room.

Missions breakfast, 6:30-9 a.m.,Hilton Room.

World Bible School reception, 8-11 p.m., Hilton Room.

Spring preview weekend, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hall of Fame lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2p.m., Hilton Room.

Will-call tickets for Hall of Famedinner, 7 a.m.-11 p.m., CampusCenter ticket windows.

Prayer meeting, 5-6 p.m., HiltonRoom.

Spring Break Campaign leadersmeeting, 7-9 p.m., CampusCenter Faculty Staff DiningRoom.

Hall of Fame lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2p.m., Hilton Room.

23 WednesdayWomen’s Social Clubs meeting, 8-10:45 p.m., Living Room.

Peer leader interviews, 9 a.m.-3p.m., Hilton Room.

Cycling Club sign-ups, 11 a.m.-2p.m., Campus Center.

Sing Song, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.,Moody Coliseum.

The Mousetrap, dinner at 6:45 p.m.and performance at 8 p.m.,Williams Performing Arts Center.

This is the last week tochange your meal plan. Ifchanges need to be made, pleasecontact Team 55 at Ext. 5555 byFriday or at the Team 55 officelocated in Zellner Hall Room 120.

Thistle and Harp small-group Chapel meets everyThursday at the WilliamsPerforming Arts Center in Room213. Come celebrate, worship andfellowship with the Celtic Society ofACU.

An Inch of Rope will be per-formed by Eric Harrell, assistantprofessor of theatre, and Nathan

Jerkins, senior theatre major fromNashville, Tenn. Performances willbe Sunday and Tuesday at 8:45p.m. in the Williams PerformingArts Center’s Culp Theatre.Admission is free.

The Junior CheerleadingClinic is scheduled for Feb. 26from 8:30 a.m.-11:30a.m. Partici-pants, kindergarten through fifthgrade, will perform during halftimeat the Wildcat basketball gamesSaturday night. Before Wednesday,the cost is $18. After this date, theclinic fee is $20. To register, contactTrish Mosley at 692-8075.

Friday, February 18, 2005 AADVERTISEMENT

A Friday, February 18, 2005CAMPUS NEWS

By DANIÈLE NTAHONKIRIYESTUDENT REPORTER

This year’s Sing Song chil-dren’s chorus will featureabout 35 children who will dothe mash potato and the alliga-tor as they perform Land of aThousand Dances, The Twistand Rock Around the Clockwith the hosts and hostesses.

“We had a two-year-old atthe beginning, but now wehave children from anywherefrom four to 12 years old,” saidAmanda Devenau, assistant di-rector of the Sing Song chil-dren’s chorus and sophomorechildren’s ministry major fromCoppell.

The children have beenpracticing for four weeks, andDevenau said they are ready toshow their talents.

“It’s very rewarding, and it’skind of crazy to put everythingtogether,” she said. “Gettingthe kids to work together as a

group is a lot of fun.”Brittany Moore, assistant

director of the children’s cho-rus and sophomore Christianministry major from FarmersBranch, said the children inthe chorus have to be oldenough to understand theinstructions. She said many ofthe children who are perform-ing this year have beeninvolved in Sing Song in previ-ous years.

“The kids have been work-ing really hard with all theirhearts,” Moore said.“Everyone will be proud ofthem, and they will be lookingcute in their costumes.”

Kim Quile, switchboard op-erator and mother of a chil-dren’s chorus participant, Emi-ly Quile, said it has been excit-ing for her to see all the chil-dren and watch how experi-enced the children’s directorsare.

“They are going 50 milliondifferent directions, and theycan still captivate their atten-tion,” Quile said.

“I think it makes it evenpersonal for me because I did-n’t go to ACU, but my husbanddid,” she said. “When we livedhere 10 years ago, our oldertwo were in Sing Song withKendall Massey when he was ahost, and now our youngestone will be in the Sing Songwhile he’s in charge of it.”

Emily Quile is in the sec-ond grade at Abilene ChristianSchool, and she said she isinviting other kids to see SingSong.

“It’s something goodbecause you get to sing a songand move your body,” Emilysaid.

Kids to ‘rock around the clock’Mash potato, alligator

among dances childrenwill perform at show

E-mail Ntahonkiriye at: [email protected]

By MITCH HOLTSTAFF WRITER

Although hundreds of stu-dents will participate in SingSong this weekend, many whodon’t are glad to avoid the hypeof the production.

The nonparticipants spendtime focusing on school, work-ing, playing or doing absolute-ly nothing.

“Sing Song is a lot likepledging,” said Aaron Bell, jun-ior communication major fromVan. “Some of your friends just

disappear for a month at atime.”

Bell said he probably willnot go to the show because notenough of his friends are in theproduction.

Other students are trying toavoid the stress that comeswith being involved in SingSong.

“I’m not participating inSing Song simply because Iwouldn’t enjoy it,” said JasonCunningham, sophomore in-ternational studies major fromChantilly, Va. “All of the prac-tices leading up to it wouldtake up all of my time, and theoverall result doesn’t seem veryappealing to me.

“The appeal of not havinganything extra on your agenda

is too much to turn down,” hesaid, adding he would probablywonder at each practice whyhe was standing on stage wav-ing his arms around with a lotof other students doing thesame thing.

Students who do not partic-ipate in Sing Song rarely seethe show in a negative light,but many just prefer to dis-tance themselves from the pro-duction, Bell said.

“Hey, if they enjoy it, thenwhy not participate?” he said.

“I’m having more fun wav-ing my arms around to my ownbeat,” Cunningham said.

Some abstain from Sing SongNot all students

involved in annualcampuswide show

E-mail Holt at: [email protected]


A group of girls in the Sing Song children’s chorus dance and sing with the hosts and hostesses to‘Rock Around the Clock,’ ‘The Twist’ and ‘Land of a Thousand Dances’ during the dress rehearsalWednesday night in Moody Coliseum.

“It’s something good because you get to sing a song and move your body.”

Emily Quile, second-grade participant in the Sing Song children’s chorus

By DANIÈLE NTAHONKIRIYESTUDENT REPORTER

About 250 students andtheir families will visit campusthis weekend for spring previewweekend, and the Office of Ad-missions is planning a numberof activities for them.

M a t h i sKennington,campus tourcoord ina torand sopho-more Chris-tian ministrymajor fromSan Antoniosaid they are encouraging highschool students to visit.

“If someone calls and wantsto have a daily visit during thatweek, we would present theopportunity to go to a springpreview because it’s going to behuge,” Kennington said.

“It gives students the chanceto see a lot of campus life activ-ities, how students are engagingone another, and that is why we

encourage them to come to thespring preview,” Kenningtonsaid.

Gretchen Etheredge, en-rollment services representa-tive, said visitors who come tocampus Friday will have awhole day of opportunities.

On Friday from 8:15 a.m. to3:15 p.m., visitors can attendregistration, breakfast, a wel-come assembly, campus tour,Chapel, residence hall tour,lunch at The Bean and a finan-cial aid info session.

Each of the four colleges willhave a reception for prospectivestudents and families, and thevisitors will be able to interactwith deans and professors, saidEtheredge.

“It’s just a really great timefor them to come and check outacademic, spiritual and sociallife,” Etheredge said.

On Saturday, activities willbegin at 8:30 a.m. with registra-

tion and a welcome assembly,followed by a devotional in HartAuditorium at 10:15 a.m. led bySteven Moore, assistant profes-sor of English.

“We try to get students tocome to Purple Friday; they aresmaller, and it’s easier to get per-sonal attention, particularly forthe students who have alumniin their family and who arealready coming to Sing Song,”she said.

Etheredge said about 55 per-cent of students who visit the

campus com-plete a collegeapplication.

“We have agood percent-age that do goahead and de-cide to cometo ACU after

the visits,” she said.Etheredge encouraged po-

tential students to attend theevents.

“If you are shy, it might notbe the day for you, but if you areoutgoing and you want to bewhere everybody else is, it’s agood time to visit,” she said.

Weekend busy for recruitingOffice of Admissions

plans events, activitiesfor prospective students

E-mail Ntahonkiriye at: [email protected]

“It’s just a really great time for them to come andcheck out academic, spiritual and social life.”

Gretchen Etheredge, enrollment services representative

Friday, February 18, 2005 AFROM THE FRONT PAGE

“It gives me something todo,” Gilly said. “If you aren’t inSing Song, then you really don’thave a life until it is overbecause so many of yourfriends are going to be involvedthat there will be nothing todo.”

Gilly said last year’s win washis best memory of Sing Song,and he is hoping to experienceit again.

“It was my first year todirect, and it was the third yearfor GSP towin in a row,”Gilly said.“We werestanding upthere on thestage with allof the lightson and all ofthe alumni who had come backfor the last performance whowere in GSP came up on thestage and we sang our clubsong.

“It was just an incrediblefeeling to sing with all of thesepeople we didn’t really knowbut who we’re connected with.”

For Jeffrey Rasco, Sing Songco-chair, Sing Song has beenone of the most enjoyable timeshe’s had at ACU.

“I will always look back atSing Song as one of my fondestmemories,” said Rasco, seniorbusiness management majorfrom Abilene. “As goofy as theshow concept is, it really unites

each class that has passedthrough ACU in the 49 years ithas been in production.

“It is the continuity threadthat alumni can share in. Ev-eryone associated with ACUknows of Sing Song or has par-ticipated somehow, and it reallybrings back a flood of memo-ries.”

Rasco said looking back onSing Song when he graduateswill be sad, but right now he ishaving fun working with all ofthe groups involved.

Rachel Klick, upstage man-

ager, said she feels mixed emo-tions when she reflects on herexperiences with Sing Song.

“It is really bittersweet forme,” said Klick, senior broad-cast journalism major fromFort Worth. “It is kind of weirdthat it is the last one and thatnext year I won’t be here.

Klick said one of her bestmemories was as a FreshmanUsher.

“We were just new to thescene, and we really didn’tknow what was going on. Wespent so much time laughingand messing up and laughingsome more.”

Senior Darren Curry is a

Sing Song host this year.Curry, senior marketing

major from Sugar Land, spendsmore than 60 hours a weekworking on Sing Song as pro-duction assistant in the SingSong Office and as host, and hesaid he has enjoyed workingwith the other hosts and thehostesses.

This year will be differentfor Curry, who has a more visi-ble role than in past years. Hehas participated in the class andclub acts and has worked be-hind the scenes in the office.

For his lastcall on stage,Curry will besupported byfriends andfamily fromhome. Hesaid 15 mem-bers of his

family and more than 30 mem-bers of his church will comethis weekend to watch him andthe others perform.

Instead of participating inthe production next year, Currywill be able to watch.

“It’ll be sad to not be in-volved in it next year, but I’mnot emotionally attached likesome people are,” he said. “I amexcited for next year’s group. Itwill be the 50th anniversary andan incredible show.”

Seniors: Sing Song end bittersweetContinued from Page 1

This weekend, Crisp saidthe Board will spend much ofits time looking toward ACU’sfuture, since the CentennialVision is coming to a close.

“The entire ACU communi-ty is providing feedback on anew vision,” Crisp said. “TheBoard’s ideas and suggestionswill be combined with thoseideas from the campus VISTAteams and other ACU groups,as the vision for the next five to

10 years is developed.”Members of the Board will

meet in their committeesthroughout the day Friday,Welborn said. They will thenreport to the full Board onFriday evening and Saturdaymorning. Part of the meetingwill also include the election ofofficers and the appointment ofnew members.

The Centennial Campaignalso will be a big topic of thisweekend’s meeting, Crisp said.Money will lead a discussion

about the Centennial Cele-bration, and the Public Rela-tions and Development com-mittee will present on the topic.

“The Board is very excitedabout the 100-year celebrationof ACU,” Crisp said.

Welborn said decisionsmade in the meeting will be an-nounced Saturday afternoon orSunday.

Board: Trustees to discuss futureContinued from Page 1

safety even in ’81, long before hewould ever go around the worldand be in places that were reallydangerous.”

Leeson worked at the Repor-ter-News from 1977-1982 andhas worked as a senior staff pho-tographer at the Dallas MorningNews since 1984. He was anembedded journalist during thewar in Iraq, and his photos takenduring that time earned him thePulitzer Prize for Breaking NewsPhotography, which he sharedwith fellow Morning News pho-tographer Cheryl Diaz Meyer in2004.

Although Leeson has won aPulitzer and several other presti-gious journalism awards, he saidbeing honored as Alumnus ofthe Year is just as gratifying.

“It’s cho-sen by peo-ple whop r o b a b l yknow youbetter thananyone elsewho couldever chooseyou for an award,” he said.

“It’s also important to mebecause these are the peoplewho helped form me, whoplaced their trust in me and con-fidence in me and gave of theirlives to hopefully send me off soI would be a success in life,” hesaid. “To me, it’s very gratifyingto know that I was able to hope-fully perform up to the standardsthat I’m sure they were holdingfor me.”

Linda Giddens, president ofthe Alumni Association, saidLeeson’s recent success helpedthe Alumni Advisory Boardchoose him for the Alumnus ofthe Year award.

“Usually they’re [alumni] rec-ommended by an alum or a

teacher who has personalknowledge of them,” she said.“Several people knew of thequality and standards that heupheld, and it just seemed to bethe right time to honor him.”

Ron Hadfield, editor of ACUToday and former classmate ofLeeson’s, will speak at the lunch-eon. He said the two haveremained friends through theyears, and he has enjoyed fol-lowing Leeson’s career and occa-sionally being able to watch himwork.

“When he sees something, hejust works really hard to nail itdown and get the image that hewants,” Hadfield said. “There’s apurpose to his photographs; hewill shoot them because there’ssomething that he knows you’llsee in that photograph.”

Gerald Ewing, who worked

with Leeson at the Reporter-News beginning in the late ’70s,also will speak at the luncheon.He said he has kept in touchwith Leeson and thinks it’s abouttime he was honored for his suc-cess.

“I think this award is longoverdue; he should have won forhis first Gulf War coverage—hehad some fantastic stuff,” hesaid.

Hadfield said he also thinksit’s the right time to honor Lee-son.

“He loves ACU, and I knowhe speaks highly of his educa-tion when he’s around other peo-ple,” Hadfield said. “It’d be realeasy for an alum who’s highlysuccessful like that to forget

where they come from and for-get the people that they know,but David’s not like that, and Iappreciate that quality in him.”

Leeson said he recognizesthat Abilene and ACU helpedhim become the person andphotographer he is today.

“It [ACU] provides you witha good foundation of not justethics but ethics from aChristian viewpoint,” he said.“... I think that the role that theuniversity provided was a firmfoundation to start a career onthe right path.”

Best said Leeson called himafter the Pulitzer was awarded tothank him for his guidance indeveloping his photographyskills and helping begin to buildthat foundation.

“I don’t take any real creditfor David,” Best said, “other than

I was able tom a y b echannel afew thingsand guidehim a littlebit, but theraw talentwas evident,

even in those early stages.”As Leeson was growing

through those early stages andmaking friends, Ewing said hemade an impression on his co-workers.

“We all knew he would even-tually win the Pulitzer becausewe knew that David wouldn’tstop until he did win it,” he said.“And I’ve got news for everyone:His career is not over. This maybe really the beginning for him.”

The luncheon will be at 12:15p.m. at the Civic Center, andtickets are $15 and can be pur-chased through the AlumniRelations Office at Ext. 2622.

Leeson: Friends to speak at luncheonContinued from Page 1

E-mail Sherwood at: [email protected]

E-mail Bredemeyer at: [email protected]

E-mail Schneider at: [email protected]

He said they had the idea torename the Biblical StudiesBuilding in August after On-stead’s death, and the Board ofTrustees approved it in October.

The widows of Onstead and

Packer, Kay and Barbara, re-spectively, will also be honoredwhen the building is officiallyrenamed this weekend.

Dr. Jack Reese, dean of theCollege of Biblical Studies,agreed regarding Packer andOnstead’s influence on the

university.“These are obviously people

of such profound importance tothis college and this building,”Reese said.

Bible: Widows also to be honoredContinued from Page 1

E-mail Carlson at: [email protected]

“It is the continuity thread that alumni can share in ... it really brings back a flood of memories.”

Jeffrey Rasco, senior business management major from Abilene

“We all knew he would eventually win the Pulitzerbecause we knew David wouldn’t stop until he did win it.”

Gerald Ewing, David Leeson’s former co-worker at the Abilene Reporter-News

BenJeffreyjunior theatre major from Kansas City, Mo.

Climbing the chartsPage 7AA Friday, February 18, 2005Sing Song Hosts and Hostesses Sing Song Hosts and Hostesses

Darren Currysenior marketing major from Sugar Land

Nate Lollarjunior biblical text major from Tucson, Ariz.

Lara Seibertjunior theatre major from Grapevine

HollyWhitedjunior vocal performance majorfrom Dallas

KelciYoungjunior integrated marketingcommunication major from Spring Hill, Tenn.

Sing Song hostesses Lara Seibert (front row), Kelci Young and Holly Whited and hosts Darren Curry, Nate Lollar and Ben Jeffrey perform ‘R-O-C-K in the U.S.A.’ during the first act in the Sing Song dressrehearsal on Wednesday in Moody Coliseum. The six performers have been working and practicing diligently the past few weeks in preparation for this weekend.

Hostesses Whited, Young and Seibert each perform a different tune during The Supremes Medley.This year’s show included several medleys for the hosts and hostesses.

Jeffrey, Whited and Curry execute a synchronized dance move during the first song of SingSong in dress rehearsal Wednesday while dance team members perform behind them.

Hosts Lollar and Jeffrey channel the Blues Brothers in their rendition of ‘Soul Man.’Hostesses Seibert and Whited dance to the tune of ‘Waterloo’ during Sing Song dress rehears-al Wednesday night in Moody Coliseum.

Hostesses Young, Seibert and Whited dance during the 1980s Medley, while members of the dance team perform in thebackground during the dress rehearsal of Sing Song on Wednesday. Freshman Ushers also performed during this act.

Hosts, Hostessesgo ‘Off the Charts’

for 49th Sing Song

Photos by:

Brian SchmidtChief Photographer

Design by:

Jonathan SmithEditor in Chief


Hotel RwandaPPPP

Starring Don Cheadle, SophieOkonedo, Nick Nolte, JoaquinPhoenix; directed by Terry George

Rated PG-13 (violence, dis-turbing images and brief stronglanguage)

In 1994, millions of Tutsiswere slaughtered at the hands ofHutus in Rwanda, a small coun-try north of Burundi and to theeast of the Congo in Africa.Shocking images were transmit-ted across the world, bringinglittle aid from other countries asAfricans in Rwanda feared fortheir lives and watched as theirneighbors were killed in thestreet.

Terry George beautifully cap-tures the emotions of those liv-ing in Rwanda in Hotel Rwanda,one of the best films of 2004that was robbed of an Oscar nodfor Best Picture. The film focus-es on one man, PaulRusesabagina (Don Cheadle), aHutu and hotel manager mar-ried to a Tutsi, Tatiana (SophieOkonedo).

Paul is a successful business-man with the mentality thatalmost everything can be

bought at a price, and family isthe most important thing heneeds to worry about. We seehim doing favors for importantpeople, storing them up so oneday they can return his favors.He doesn’t have a strong opin-ion about the Hutu-Tutsi con-flict; he just wants to manage hishotel and provide for his familythe best way he knows how,

Unfortunately, a civil warbreaks out between the twogroups, and Paul sees firsthandthe terrors that occur. He doesn’tlisten to his brother-in-law’spleas to leave the country andsoon sees his own neighborsbeing attacked by radical Hutus.Because he is a powerful man,his neighbors flock to his houseseeking shelter and guidance.Paul eventually brings everyoneto his hotel, taking in orphansand those now homeless intothe rooms and works withUnited Nations officials (NickNolte) to provide policemenand protection.

Eventually, Paul learns it isnot just his immediate familythat deserves protection but allhis fellow countrymen becausethey are human and all deservea certain quality of life.

The film is rather tastefullydone considering its brutal sub-ject matter, yet remains hard towatch because of disturbing andheartbreaking images of Rwan-dans suffering.

Joaquin Phoenix has a bitrole as Jack, a cameraman docu-menting the crisis at the hotel.At first, he is hungry for thestory and shows little sympathyto the situation. Soon, he goesagainst the wishes of thereporter he is with and leavesthe hotel to film the conflict. Hereturns with a pale and strickenexpression on his face.

Paul sees Jack’s footage ofslaughtered children in thestreets and thinks it will help tohave the images shown aroundthe world. He asks Jack howpeople could not respond afterseeing such horrors, to whichJack says Americans will see thefootage, say it is horrible andthen go right on and eat theirdinners.

Cheadle, who usually plays asupporting role, is excellent asPaul and deserving of his Oscarnomination for Best Actor, as is

Okonedo with her nominationfor Best Supporting Actress.Their relationship as husbandand wife holds the story togeth-er.

Despite its heavy subjectmatter, Hotel Rwanda remains atestament to the human spirit

and the idea that one person canmake a difference. It has taken10 years for this film to be madeand this story to be told, and ithas been well worth the wait.

Ratings KeyPPPP ExcellentPPP GoodPP FairP Poor

ARTSFRIDAYPage 8A OPTIMIST February 18, 2005

The Box Office

Figures are for the weekendof February 11-13 and are inmillions. Total grosses in paren-thesis.

1 Hitch—$43.1 (new)2 Boogeyman—$10.2 ($32.8)3 Are We There Yet?—$8.2

($61.3)4 Million Dollar Baby—$7.4

($44.9)5 Pooh’s Heffalump Movie—

$5.8 (new)6 The Wedding Date—$5.5

($19.4)7 Hide and Seek—$5.4

($43.4)8 The Aviator—$4.7 ($82.3)9 Sideways—$4.5 ($52.8)10 Meet the Fockers—$3.5

($269.9)

Cheadle’s performance powerful in ‘Rwanda’


Today’s Movies

Constantine (R)—starringKeanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz,Max Baker, Djimon Hounsou;directed by Francis Lawrence.

Constantine (Reeves) wasborn with the ability to distin-guish half-breed angels anddemons on earth. But, torment-ed with this role, he took hisown life only to be cast back onearth. Now as an unlikely hero,he is trying to send the demonsback to Hell.

Photo courtesy of WWW.ROTTENTOMATOES.COM

Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle, right) and his wife Tatiana (SophieOkonedo, center) watch as their Tutsi neighbors are beaten by Huturebels in ‘Hotel Rwanda,’ nominated for three Academy Awards.


ACU’s Winter DinnerTheatre, The Mousetrap, pro-vides a couple of hours ofentertainment and curiosity, ifnothing more.

The stage is set at Monk-swell Manor, a guest house out-side of London recently openedby Giles and Mollie Ralston(Matt Worthington and JulietteMiller), a young married cou-ple not as sure about their mar-riage as they had thought.

The guests, who begin arriv-ing in the late afternoon, tryingto beat a snow storm, are:Christopher Wren (Jay Reese),a whimsical young man whoclaims to be an architect, gush-es over the furniture in thehouse and becomes attached toMollie; Mrs. Boyle (AmandaMcGee), an old spinster whocritiques everything about thehouse and annoys everyone shemeets; Major Metcalf (JoshMartin), a retired major andupstanding guy who helps outwhere he can; Miss Casewell

(Meredith Brown), a peculiaryoung woman who dresses likea man and is quick to defendherself even when she’s notbeing accused of anything; andMr. Paravicini (Ryan Massie), aforeigner who shows up unex-pectedly after his car is stuck inthe snow.

The guests go about theirbusiness, not questioning eachother too much and mainly try-ing to avoid Mrs. Boyle, whoinsists on telling Mollie every-thing she is doing wrong inrunning her guest house. Amain topic of conversation is amurder that occurred inLondon that afternoon, and theguests’ nerves are heightenedwhen the police call and saythey are sending SergeantTrotter to the house to askquestions. Trotter arrives and

interviews each guest in regardto the London murder becausethe address of the manor wasfound on the same piece ofpaper with the address of theperson killed in the city, whichwas left at the crime scene.After the questioning, theguests wander to various partsof the house, only to be reunit-ed again in a few minutes aftera woman’s scream is heard—someone has been murdered.

Intermission began with theaudience asking each otherwho they think the killer is,and the rest of the play is spentdiscovering the murderer andtheir motive.

New to the world of AgathaChristie, I approached TheMousetrap with curiosity andthe desire for a good mystery.I’ve heard great things aboutthe author and her ability tokeep the reader/audienceguessing along the way, andbecause of this play’s over-whelming success, I assumed itwould be a real nail-biter.

Unfortunately for me, one ofthe only things I can concludeabout the play is that it is enter-taining and nothing more.Those looking for a quasi-thriller will find it here but willultimately leave the theatre not

caring about any of the charac-ters and not analyzing the plot.The play originated in post-World War II London andoffered a chance of escape tothe city’s residents, which it stillprovides today. However,watching it felt like I waswatching a high school produc-tion. Not to discredit the actorsor director, but mainly the plotitself. Those who performed itworked with the material asbest they could.

Massie and Reese steal theshow, both being the most com-fortable in their characters andthe best comic relief, not tomention the main ones who areable to pick an accent and stickwith it. McGee also performswell as the incredibly imperti-nent Mrs. Boyle. You can’t standthe character which is a creditto McGee’s performance.

The set and lighting designare quite creative and add aspark of mystery when suspi-cions rise and the murder takesplace.

Despite its flaws, The Mouse-trap is worth your attentionand can provide a needed breakfrom the stress of the semester.

ARTSFRIDAYFebruary 18, 2005 OPTIMIST Page 9A

Game of cat and mouse creates trap


Agatha Christie’smystery entertaining,

not memorableTickets for The Mousetrap

can be purchased by calling Ext.2787 and the WPAC box office isopen 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.Dinner, dessert and show ticketsare $25, show-only tickets are$12. Half-price rush seats areavailable after 6 p.m. perform-ance day with a show-only ticket.

Ticket Info

North Korea discussions need balanceLast week,

North Korea pub-licly announced for

the first time that ithas manufactured nu-

clear weapons.On Wednesday, CIA Director

Porter Goss testified that NorthKorea’s nuclear capability hasincreased since 2002 whenPresident Bush labeled thecountry part of the Axis of Evil,and U.S intelligence suggestedthe communist nation hadenough plutonium for one ortwo nuclear weapons.

North Korea has shut downsix-nation, or multilateral, talksabout its nuclear program and

has insisted thatits demands tomeet with theUnited Statesone-on-one begranted—something the Bushadministration has rejected.

The United States should doall it can to assist in talkingdown North Korea.

Whether right or wrong,North Korea has singled outAmerica as its reason for manu-facturing nuclear weapons, sothe United States should under-stand that its role in this situa-tion is more complicated thanbeing just one of many con-cerned parties.

Although the United Statesneeds to do all it can, this is alsonot the time to concede to everydemand North Korea makes.

Right now, North Korea isexercising its newfound powerof fear. Giving in to its demandsat every turn will only make thenation more anxious to use thatpower and maybe more willingone day to use a bomb.

The goal should be for multi-lateral talks—discussions thatinclude the United States,

North andSouth Korea,Japan, Russiaand China. Nu-clear weapons

not only are a threat to Americabut to any country near NorthKorea. Those nations deserve tobe involved in any such talks.

These multilateral talks haveoccurred three times, and afourth meeting was scheduledfor last September, but NorthKorea pulled out after it decidedthe United States had a hostileposition toward its communistgovernment.

All sides involved do not yetagree with how to approach this

problem. China, South Koreaand Japan have urged theUnited States to remain flexible,although the United States hassaid it does not wish to rewardNorth Korea for complicatingthe situation.

Regardless, continued talksare better than an uneasy stand-off.

The United States needs tofind a proper balance betweenstubborn resolve and flexibilityin its dealings with NorthKorea. Doing so might not onlyfacilitate continued talks be-tween North Korea and theUnited States, but also withNorth Korea and the world.

In Your Words

VIEWSFRIDAYPage 10A OPTIMIST February 18, 2005

OPTIMIST Editor in ChiefJonathan Smith

Managing EditorLori Bredemeyer

The Optimist Editorial Board

Opinion EditorJaci Schneider

Copy EditorTiffany Williams

Faculty AdviserDr. Cheryl Bacon

Ad ManagerChristi Stark

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication,

Abilene Christian University

Editorial and letter policyUnsigned editorials are the opinions

of the Optimist Editorial Board and may notnecessarily reflect the views of the universi-ty or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and let-ters are the opinions of their creators andmay not necessarily reflect the viewpoints ofthe Optimist, its Editorial Board or the uni-versity.

The Optimist encourages reader re-sponse through letters to the editor but re-serves the right to limit frequent contributors

or to refuse to print letters containing per-sonal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erro-neous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words orless. A name and phone number must beincluded for verification purposes. Phonenumbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892

Abilene, TX 79699E-mail letters to:

[email protected]

Optimist contact informationNewsroom:(325) 674-2439

Sports desk:(325) 674-2684

Advertising office:(325) 674-2463

Photo department:(325) 674-2499

Subscriptions ($45/academic year):(325) 674-2296

Online:www.acuoptimist.com

“Definitely theGSP act.”

In My Words Daniel Barcroft

What are you looking forward to most about this weekend?

Giving in to its demand at every turn will onlymake the nation more anxious to use that power.

The issue:North Koreaannounced it hasnuclear weapons, andit has dropped out ofmultilateral talks.Our view:The United Statescannot give in to all ofNorth Korea’sdemands, but it alsocannot alienate thenation.The solution:The nations involvedneed to not give upon negotiations butshould find a balancebetween flexibility andstubborn resolve.

Ashley Lewisjunior elementary education majorfrom Houston

THE

Arts EditorSarah Carlson

Chief PhotographerBrian Schmidt

“Being on stageand theperformance.”

Elizabeth Russellfreshman undeclared majorfrom College Station

“Saturday nightwhen we find outwho won it all andthe next morning,waking up andknowing I don’thave Sing Song.

Matt Wertjunior criminal justice majorfrom Chantilly, Va.

“Performing onstage for thefirst time.”

Sarah Eligadofreshman nursing majorfrom San Jose, Calif.

I can still see the two longskid marks on the road wherethe car screeched to a stop out-side my apartment. As I was

getting readyto go to churchlast Sunday, Iheard thesound of slam-ming brakesand tires tryingto grab theroad, then thedistinct soundof car hittingcar.

I looked outmy window and saw that onedriver had pulled out of anintersection, probably didn’t seethe other car coming, andbroadsided it.

It rattled me because I drivedown that road and pass thati n t e r s e c t i o nevery day. Itcould have beenme in that car.Even though noone was serious-ly injured, I feltlucky to havebeen running alittle bit late tochurch.

I tried to put the incidentout of my mind as my friendsand I drove to church. But as Iwas driving down Judge Ely togo grocery shopping later, Ipassed another wreck.

I’m not sure what happenedbecause I had to keep movingforward and try not to rear-endthe car in front of me as we allstrained to see what was goingon. But I’m pretty sure I did seeone or two student standingoutside the cars.

I felt paranoid the rest of theday, like I was jinxed and wouldbe the next to have a collision.

It seems as though carwrecks cause more deaths atACU than anything else. Myfreshman year, five studentsfrom Nigeria were killed ontheir way back to campus dur-ing Easter. The next year,Robbie Sommerwerck diedafter a truck broadsided his caron Loop 322.

Just this year, junior CherylHalbert was killed in Augustwhen she lost control of hervehicle and hit a tree, and in

September, senior JamieCromwell struck former ACUstudent Ugochucwu Anyanwu’scar from behind, killing him.

Between each of these fatalwrecks through the past fewyears, the Optimist also hasreported on several incidentsthat have left students in thehospital, recovering from amyriad of injuries.

Last November, at least fourstudents were involved in non-fatal wrecks during theThanksgiving holidays. Andthe most recent wreck to affectthe ACU community happenedlast month when a vehicle car-rying an adult and seven chil-dren from Highland Church ofChrist flipped, killing one boyand seriously injuring the oth-ers.

Those skid marks on theroad outside myapartment are areminder to meof how easilycircumstancesin our lives canchange. Othershave been leftwith scars, pinsand screws, and

grief for lost loved ones.I’ve interviewed Jimmy

Ellison, chief of the ACU PoliceDepartment, several timesabout wrecks and how to drivesafely. He always tells me thesame things each time, many ofwhich might have helped pre-vent the recent ACU-relatedcrashes.

He always says that toreduce the possibility of beinginvolved in a wreck, studentsshould get plenty of sleepbefore beginning a trip, be alertand don’t speed when they’redriving, and always wear a seat-belt.

Spring break, warmerweather and an increase in traf-fic are approaching, and morepeople will be out and about onthe streets.

Students should rememberthat life isn’t indestructible.Taking precautions and payingattention while driving canhelp prevent another tragedy.

LoriBredemeyer

Lori’s Story

Car wrecks leavelasting impression

Respond to Bredemeyer at: [email protected] or [email protected]

It seems as thoughcar wrecks cause

more deaths at ACUthan anything else.

To quote Stewie from thewonderfully ingenious showFamily Guy, “The outrages thathave occurred here today will

not soon beforgotten; I willnot be forget-ting … these… outrages.”

Well, actu-ally, I won’t beforgetting theoutrage thatoccurred Tues-day. And myoutrage wasmuch worse

than what Stewie was ma-ligned with.

According to an AmericanDairy Association survey, 3 bil-lion pizzas are sold in theUnited States each year. Thatbreaks down to about8,219,178 pizzas a day. Iaccounted for two of those onTuesday.

That is when the outrageensued.

Domino’s Pizza’s newest bigdeal is that on Tuesdays whenyou buy one large pizza, you

get one free. That’s an extrapizza. For free.

Or so they’d have youbelieve.

I called Domino’s onTuesday and inquired as towhether they participated inthis amazing once-in-a-lifetime,or it least once-in-a-weektime,extravaganza.

The person at Domino’s said,and I quote, “For take-out wehave buy-one-get-one-freeevery day.”

Wow. I was speechless.Here I’d been living in

Abilene for more than twoyears and had not taken advan-tage of this offer. Words cannotdescribe how I felt. So, I amforced to borrow a word fromWill Ferrell on Saturday NightLive when he, too, found thatno word in the English lan-guage could adequately harnessjust how stupendous some-thing was.

Scrumtrelesent. This offer,in the words of Ferrell—scrumtrelesent.

So I ordered my pizzas, twopepperoni, and eagerly awaitedwith unbridle glee for theDomino’s “customer servicerepresentative” to tell me justhow little I would be paying forthese two pizzas.

It is at this point that youshould know that one take-outlarge pizza at Domino’s onNorth First Street costs $6.99,tax not included. Anyway, backto her response.

“That will be $13.47 sir, andwe’ll have it ready for you inabout 20 minutes.”

Unbridled glee, meet un-yielding despair.

Before I had time to gathermy thoughts and inhibitions,she hung up.

An American, on average,consumes 23 pounds of pizza ayear. Together, Americans eat

about 1,000 acres of pizza aday, or 350 slices per second.

Pizza is the fourth mostcraved food in America,behind only cheese, chocolate

and ice cream. I’ve seen pizzasthat contain cheese and choco-late, although not at the sametime, so those two don’t reallyeven count.

With these astronomicalnumbers, I believe we deserve,nay, we are entitled to answersto the questions we may haveregarding this edible substance.

So I called; I got answers.Turns out the $6.99 price isalready a “special” price, and avery good one I might add. Butin order to receive the buy-one-get-one-free deal, you must pay$12.99 per pizza. So really, it’sjust a dollar off, but they don’ttell you that when you order,now do they?

With my own little mysterysolved, I can once again quoteadorable Stewie.

“Victory is mine!”

Warren Gray

GrayMatters

Here I’d been living in Abilene for more than twoyears and had not taken advantage of this offer.

No such thing as a free large pizza

Respond to Gray at:[email protected] or [email protected]

“The junior actbeating all theclasses becausewe’re an awesome act.”

Deanna Meredithjunior psychology majorfrom Houston

Varsity women’s soccer should be addedACU’s football

roster lists thenames of 90 men;

the women’s volley-ball team’s roster lists

13 names. Notice any dis-parity? The baseball team has28 players, the softball team 20.The men’s golf team has nineplayers. No women’s teamexists.

The administration and theAthletic Department have beentalking for several years aboutthe possibility of adding awomen’s varsity sport to ACU’slineup. Now is the time for theuniversity to act.

According to Title IX of the

E d u c a t i o nA m e n d m e n tof 1972, anye d u c a t i o n a li n s t i t u t i o nthat receives any federal fund-ing must provide equal oppor-tunities for males and femalesto participate in athletics.

Obviously, the administra-tion can’t snap its fingers andadd a sport; however, for ACUto enter its centennial year withsuch an inequality in athleticswould be unacceptable.

Women’s soccer would be agreat addition to campus. SusanHardcastle in the IntramuralOffice said 25 women signed

up for club soccer this spring.However, only eight have beenable to commit to the team. Theinterest in women’s soccer isevident, but without an officialteam, scholarships and schoolsupport, students might find itdifficult to devote time to ath-letic activities.

Varsity athletics providesopportunities for students toattend ACU. Many athleteswould not be able to attendwithout the athletic scholar-

ships theyreceive. Withmore menable to par-ticipate in

sports, more men receive schol-arships. Life isn’t fair, but inthis case, administrators havethe power to even the score.They should act quickly and atleast take steps to hire a coachand begin recruiting by nextyear.

If women’s soccer doesbecome a varsity sport, thatdoesn’t mean administratorsshould give up on women’sgolf. Although golf might notdraw as much interest as soc-

cer, its addition would still bewelcome to campus.

Adding women’s golf andsoccer would not only providemore gender equality on cam-pus, it also would draw moreprospective students. JaredMosley, athletics director, andDr. Gary McCaleb, vice presi-dent of the university, said inWednesday’s issue of theOptimist that they have receivedphone calls from students ask-ing about these sports. Manystudents make their collegedecisions based on what theschool can offer, and ACUshould offer more women’ssports.

In Your Words

VIEWSFRIDAYFebruary 18, 2005 OPTIMIST Page 11A

OPTIMIST Editor in ChiefJonathan Smith

Managing EditorLori Bredemeyer

The Optimist Editorial Board

Opinion EditorJaci Schneider

Copy EditorTiffany Williams

Faculty AdviserDr. Cheryl Bacon

Ad ManagerChristi Stark

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication,

Abilene Christian University

Editorial and letter policyUnsigned editorials are the opinions

of the Optimist Editorial Board and may notnecessarily reflect the views of the universi-ty or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and let-ters are the opinions of their creators andmay not necessarily reflect the viewpoints ofthe Optimist, its Editorial Board or the uni-versity.

The Optimist encourages reader re-sponse through letters to the editor but re-serves the right to limit frequent contributors

or to refuse to print letters containing per-sonal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erro-neous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words orless. A name and phone number must beincluded for verification purposes. Phonenumbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892

Abilene, TX 79699E-mail letters to:

[email protected]

Optimist contact informationNewsroom:(325) 674-2439

Sports desk:(325) 674-2684

Advertising office:(325) 674-2463

Photo department:(325) 674-2499

Subscriptions ($45/academic year):(325) 674-2296

Online:www.acuoptimist.com

“I’m in Sing Songactually because Ijust pledged, andI’m kind of beingforced to, but Ithink it will befun.”

In My Words Daniel Barcroft

Are you planning to go to Sing Song? Why or why not?

Life isn’t fair, but in this case, administrators have the power to even the score.

The issue:Administrators andthe AthleticDepartment are con-sidering adding varsi-ty women’s soccer orgolf.Our view:Leadership should actquickly to create ateam to end the dis-parity between gen-ders in athletics.The solution:The department needsto take steps to begina women’s soccerteam as soon as pos-sible and not close theoption of adding golf.

Lisa Lynchsophomore elementary education majorfrom Dumas

THE

Arts EditorSarah Carlson

Chief PhotographerBrian Schmidt

“No, because I’mgoing home.”

David Hoisingtonsophomore communication majorfrom Waco

“Well, I’m goingto be helping outwith video pro-duction, so I’llactually beinvolved in it.”

John Kincaidsophomore communication majorfrom Abilene

“I would if Icould, but I’mworking. Iwanted to be init, but I foundout too late.”

Jeffrey Sparksfreshman psychology majorfrom Abilene

If I only read a few news sto-ries here and there, I would usethis space to apologize for mycountry.

Apologizefor the messcreated in Iraq.Apologize forthe growingthreat of globalwarming be-cause of car-bon dioxidee m i s s i o n s .And most re-cently, I’d apol-ogize for thedeaths of so

many in South East Asia’stsunami and for forcing NorthKorea’s communist governmentto create nuclear weapons.

At least that is what somewant me tothink — somelawyers, expertsand foreignleaders.

B l a m i n gAmerica is thegame, and atstake is achance to dipinto the United States’ treasurechest or the opportunity to atleast pass the blame for sometragic event.

When North Korea announ-ced last week that it did havenuclear weapons, everyonewanted to know why Koreacontinued its nuclear weaponsprograms when the entire inter-national community desired itto cease.

Korea’s answer: PresidentBush made us do it.

In a statement released bythe North Korean ForeignMinistry, North Korea said ithas “manufactured nukes forself-defense to cope with theBush administration's evermoreundisguised policy to isolateand stifle” its government.

North Korea’s assertion isabsurd to begin with. Nuclearthreat certainly did not deterPresident Bush from invadingIraq; it actually encouraged theinvasion.

More ridiculous than that,however, is the notion thatPresident Bush is somehowmore responsible for NorthKorea’s nuclear program than

North Korea’s desire for power.North Korea’s communist

government would love noth-ing more than the ability tohold the international commu-nity hostage in order to have itsdemands met. To suggest thatits nuclear weapons are meantsimply for protection from theUnited States seems like a fee-ble attempt by North Korea tomask its true intentions.

More disturbing than thecountry’s assertion, this week agroup of three lawyers said itwould file suit against Thai-land’s government, the Frenchhotel chain Accor and—youguessed it—the U.S. govern-ment for the deaths of 12Austrians and Germans in theDec. 26 tsunami.

Herwig Hassalacher, one ofthe lawyers filingsuit, said U.S.authorities didnot give enoughwarning aboutthe impendingtsunami.

“We have evi-dence they didnot warn us,

even though they knew a quar-ter of an hour later about thestrength and location of thequake,” Hassalacher said.

And there you have it. Thecause of at least 12 out of290,000 deaths from the tsuna-mi was U.S. negligence.

I have no way of knowingwhat the Hawaii-based tsuna-mi warning center knew onDec. 26, but it seems to be aninsult to the forces of nature toplace blame on U.S. authorities.

America has become an easytarget in this age where some-one is always to blame andsomeone must pay when thingsgo wrong. We have power. Wehave money. And as long as wedo, someone will desire to havea piece of that.

In the end, I don’t feel likeextending one apology for mycountry—at least not for any ofthese accusations.

Tragedies happen. Greedymen desire more power. Andevery once in a while, Americahas nothing to do with it.

JonathanSmith

Ask theQuestion

World playing‘blame U.S.’ game

Respond to Smith at: [email protected] or [email protected]

“Evil men do not understandjustice, but those who seek theLord understand it fully.”Proverbs 28:5

“The right-eous care aboutjustice for thepoor, but thewicked have nosuch concern.”Proverbs 29:7

“Learn to doright! Seek jus-tice, encouragethe oppressed.Defend thecause of the

fatherless, plead the case of thewidow.” Isaiah 1:17

The Bible is filled with pas-sages such as these, demandingjustice and calling those wholove God to seek it out. Oftenwe forget these, or do not takethem seriously enough.

As I sat watching the movieHotel Rwanda recently, I wasreminded of a column I read inSojourners magazine. As theauthor, Brian McLaren, thoughtabout the film, he couldn’t helpbut think of its importance to

Christianity and how this is thetype of movie that should bepromoted in churches, not ThePassion of the Christ.

“If we really had the mindand heart of Christ, this is themovie we would be urging peo-ple in our churches to see,”McLaren wrote.

Often, Christians are so fo-cused on another’s salvation andtheir eternal needs that they for-get to see their physical needs.We are called to defend thosewho are defenseless, helpingthose who cannot help them-selves, etc.

Hotel Rwanda shows the hor-rors of genocide between theHutus and the Tutsis. Nearly amillion people were slaughteredin the massacre, a tragedy al-lowed to happen because notenough was done by the UnitedNations or other foreigners.People failed to intervene out offear or lack of caring enough,

and millions suffered for it.One person, Gary Haugen,

worked at the U.S. Departmentof Justice and traveled to Rwan-da to direct the United Nation’sgenocide investigation in thecountry. He was so affected bywhat he saw he went on to cre-ate the International JusticeMission, a Christian organiza-tion that uses law enforcementprofessionals to rescue victimsof injustice throughout theworld.

In his book, The Good Newsabout Injustice, he writes of hisexperience sifting through massgravesites in Rwanda, conclud-ing that the bodies were notsimply “lifeless clods on thedust heap of a fallen world.”They were all created in theimage of God and had at onetime been cried over by theirmothers. His team would not beable to count all the bodies inthe graves, but their creator had

numbered even the hairs ontheir heads.

Christians should be at theforefront of efforts to stop injus-tice in the world. Our responsi-bility is to care for much morethan our own country and com-munities. Hotel Rwanda is amovie that should be discussedin churches and communities asa powerful testament to thepower to fight evil in the worldand the necessity for good peo-ple to not stand idly by whiledestruction runs rampant.

While it might seem impos-sible to combat the injustices inthe world, such as forced prosti-tution, slavery and female geni-tal mutilation, the power tofight evil comes when youacknowledge its existence andrecognize the suffering othersendure. When you put a nameand a face to the child sold intoprostitution in a Cambodianbrothel, you give her a lastshred of dignity. This is bothour calling and responsibility.

Sarah Carlson

I am theEnemy

Christians should be at the forefront of efforts to stop injustice in the world.

Christians need to rise up in defense

Respond to Carlson at:[email protected] or [email protected]

“Yes, because somuch of the stu-dent body is init, and it’s goingto be fun andawesome.”

Julie Davissenior exercise science majorfrom Memphis, Tenn.

... U.S. authoritiesdid not give sufficient

warning about theimpending tsunami

A Friday, February 18, 2005CAMPUS NEWS


Steel beams loom in thesky, rising from big dirt holesin the ground; cars haphaz-ardly park around the con-struction site. Workers in yel-low hardhats flood what oncewas a student parking lot.The construction continues.

As expected, constructionon the new residence hall,A.B. Barret Hall, locatedacross Campus Court fromBrown Library, should becompleted by Aug. 1.

The three-story residencehall is several weeks behindschedule but should still becompleted on time, said JackRich, executive vice presidentof the university.

Contractors and subcon-tractors working at differentspeeds is one factor that con-tributes to the schedule, hesaid. ACU has hired as manyas 25 different companies toconstruct the residence hall.

The $6.5 million, 43,000square-foot hall will differ

from other buildings on cam-pus.

“It’s pretty unique,” Richsaid. “It won’t be like any ofour other halls.”

Rich said the residence hallis divided into four sectionscalled pods that extend threefloors high. Eight rooms openinto a commons area on eachfloor, in each of the four pods.There are no hallwaysbetween the four pods, so res-idents will have to go outside

to get into each different pod.The residence hall will also

contain a classroom environ-ment and include a coffeehouse, said Dr. Mimi Barnard,director of Residence LifeEducation and Housing, in ane-mail.

“The spaces that wouldhave been hallways in a tradi-tional corridor building, suchas Nelson or Mabee, werereconfigured for the 22 small-er lobby spaces in BarretHall,” Barnard said.

“I suggested we put a class-room in the facility, and as weknow that students love tohang out and drink coffee, wethought a coffee house con-cept would be very valuable.”

The construction of BarretHall began after housingbecame a problem last fallwith the large incoming fresh-man class. Eighteen freshmanwomen lived in Sikes Hall, asophomore residence hall,this year.

“We had a housing issuelast fall with not enoughplaces for everyone,” saidKevin Watson, chief adminis-trative services officer, in an e-mail. “We anticipate anothergood number in the fall, so wedecided it was time to proceedwith the building.”

The residence hall willhouse 165 students, includingresidence directors and assis-tants.

Barnard said she expectssophomores to live in Barret

Hall in the fall based onenrollment projections.

The residence hall will bethe first housing constructioncompleted for underclassmenin more than 25 years, Watsonsaid. University ParkApartments, for upperclass-men, was completed in 1994,and Smith and Adams hall’swere completed in 1978.

In the future, more con-struction will occur on cam-pus, Rich said. In correlationwith the CentennialCampaign, a new buildingwill be built across fromWilliams Performing ArtsCenter.

As for now, completion ofthe residence hall by Augustcomes first, and the universitywill move forward with long-range plans when funding isthere, Watson said.

“We are not ahead ofschedule,” he said. “The time-line is very, very tight.Everything has to go just rightfor us to make it.”

A.B. Barret Hall’s completion expected

to be on schedule


New residence hall built after 25 years


They haven’t felt the glow ofthe stage lights or waited in cos-tumes in a small gym for SingSong to begin in seven yearsand they won’t again this year.

Social clubs Trojans and TriKappa Gamma cannot partici-pate in Sing Song this yearbecause they don’t have therequired 35 interested mem-bers.

TKG, a women’s social club,actually has more than enoughmembers needed to participatebut was unable to this yearbecause the club is re-charter-ing this semester.

TKG member Erin Dimas,sophomore agribusiness majorfrom Sacramento, Calif., is oneof more than 30 women whopledged this semester.

“We didn’t feel that we hadtime to plan and undertake aSing Song act while we werestill trying to get to know eachother,” Dimas said.

Membership grew by 300percent this semester whenTKG decided to recharter. Nowthe group has 44 members,

which gives members hope fornext year’s competition.

“We’ve already talked aboutdoing Sing Song next year to getus back out there and into thescene of the alumni, so they andall of the clubs can see that weare still here,” Dimas said.

She also said the membersare excited to finally be visibleagain on campus, and TKG isjust coming out of its lull, aphase that all clubs eventuallygo through.

Members of TKG will takehomemade treats to freshmanparticipating in the freshmenclass act during practice thisweek.

Mariah Angeny, president ofTKG and senior accountingmajor from Deary, Idaho.

TKG plans to use browniesand cookies as encouragementto the underclassmen, as well asa marketing tool to get theclub’s name out, Angeny said.

“We are trying to define our-selves again, so we are just tak-ing everything as it comes,” she

said. “We are definitely going tobe involved next year in SingSong though.”

Trojans plan to be involvedin Sing Song next year as well,but the club cannot this yearbecause it doesn’t have enoughmembers.

Trojans have about 20 mem-bers, said Joshua Swarb, vicepresident of Trojans and seniorbiology pre-vet major fromMonahans.

“We wanted to petition the

minimum numbers policy tosee if we could still participate,but looking at our members,many are not active, and thosewho are active are seniors whoare really busy and couldn’tcontribute much,” Swarb said.“We realized we wouldn’t makemuch of a show with our num-bers this year.”

He also said they needed toadvertise their club more heavi-ly in the fall, like the other clubsdo.

Trojans also aren’t participat-ing this year because the mem-

bers feel they often are over-looked, said Jeffrey Thigpen,president of Trojans and seniorbusiness management majorfrom Troy.

“We don’t have enoughmembers to participate, but wealso didn’t receive proper notifi-cation about Sing Song meet-ings, events or anything goingon with the production of SingSong like other groups partici-pating,” Thigpen said.

He said because the groupwas kicked off campus severalyears ago, it had been labeled asa bad club and been overlookedas a whole on campus, whichcontributed to its small num-ber.

This year, members ofTrojans are going to help withsecurity for the second year in arow.

They hope to increase theirmembership next fall so theycan participate in Sing Song.

“We want to be as active inas many things on campus thatwe can, but obviously, ournumbers limit what we can beinvolved with,” Swarb said.“Until we have the numbers,we’ll remain an invisible clubon campus.”

Lack of members influences clubs’

ability to participate


Tri Kappa Gamma, Trojans not in Sing Song

By TIFFANY TAYLORPAGE 2 EDITOR

The President’s Circle Dinner,an event for donors who gave$1,000 or more during the pastschool term, will be conductedSaturday from 5 to 7 p.m.

An estimated 650 donors willattend the reception, whichbegins at 4 p.m. The main eventwill include a short speech by Dr.Royce Money, president of theuniversity, and a 30-minute filmabout international alumni andstudents.

The film, created by MartinPerry of Phillips Production, incooperation with Ron Hadfield,director of creative services,focuses on ACU's continued goalto influence the world, saidBarbara Hejl, director of steward-ship and coordinator of the din-ner.

This year, the filmmakerstraveled to Madagascar to filmthe new ACU students beforeleaving their country.

“They wanted it to be a spe-cial dinner to bring together thedonors to the university for the

purpose of thanking them fortheir partnership,” Hejl said.

Although Glenda Knight,director of university events, saidthis event isn't a black tie event,she did say a little bit of “glitz” isinvolved.

This year’s theme is“Celebrating the Influence ofACU Throughout the World,” anemphasis on the evangelistic partof ACU's mission statement,Knight said.

“We try to make this our top-notch event of the year. We doour best without being frivo-lous,” Hejl said. “Everything wespend, we consider the budget-ing implications.”

More than 100 flags will dec-orate the room, and internation-al students will attend the hour-long reception, wearing theircountry's traditional dress.

“The flags that we’re usingrepresent all the ACU alumni,either where they have done mis-sion work or where they are liv-ing,” Knight said.

Hejl said the committee plan-ning the dinner askedARAMARK, the caterer, to planfoods that reflected cultures allover the world.

By VALERIE HANNEKENSTAFF WRITER

Last Friday and Saturdaythe students performed Alae:The Roots are Deeper Still inCullen Auditorium. Studentsworked to perform the show,which depicted black culture.The cast included Essence ofEbony members and studentvolunteers who wanted to bea part of the show.

Cullen Auditorium wasfilled with a much youngerage group than usual for theFriday performance.

“The first night was a com-munity night, and we invitednonprofit organizations tocome with children,” said La

Shae Sloan, Essence of Ebonyadvisor and director ofStudent Services andMulticultural Enrichment.“We also invited ACU BigBrothers Big Sisters to bringtheir kids and attend for free.”

The cast members and pro-duction staff wanted to reachout to the community andinvolve children and studentsin the performance. LocalAbilene schools were invitedto watch the show as well.The cast and directors wantedan audience of all ages.

“Approximately 800 peo-ple attended Alae last week-end, and [ticket sale revenue]was close to $1,200,” Sloansaid.

Kimberly Roach, whograduated in 2003, helped asan assistant director for theproduction. Roach worked onpast Black History shows

when she attended ACU andvolunteered to help with theshow this year.

Casaundra Johnston andCourtney Jackson, both classof 2002, were two other assis-tant directors who helpedorganized this year’s produc-tion.

“I think that the showwent well, and I was reallyproud of the cast,” Roachsaid.

Besides the evident audi-ence approval, participantsand directors felt accom-plished with the turnout ofthe show, she said.

“I thought both nightswere excellent,” Sloan said.,“and the students who partic-ipated had fun.” BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Alae, played by LaQuiera Gantt, senior marketing major from Hagerstown, Md., talks to her friend beforeleaving to meet her father for the first time during the Black History production, “Alae: The roots aredeeper still,” in Cullen Auditorium on Saturday.


Two construction workers from Tittle Luther Partnership, a con-struction company building the new hall, work on the steel frame ofA.B. Barret Hall on Thursday afternoon.

International students,more than 100 flags at dinner for donors

‘Glitzy’ dinner to thanksponsors on Saturday

E-mail Taylor at: [email protected]

Interest high for Black History show More than 800 peopleattended production in Cullen Auditorium

E-mail Hanneken at: [email protected]

“The timeline is very, very tight. Everything has togo just right for us to make it.”

Kevin Watson, chief administrative services officer

“We realized we wouldn’t make much of a showwith our numbers this year.”

Joshua Swarb, vice president of Trojans, senior biology major from Monahans

SPORTSFRIDAYPage 1B OPTIMIST February 18, 2005

LSC SouthStandings

current through 02-16-05

Men’s BasketballTeam Div. Tot.A&M-Commerce 6-2 19-4Midwestern State 6-2 14-9A&M-Kingsville 5-3 14-9West Texas A&M 5-3 11-12Angelo State 4-5 11-13E. New Mexico 2-6 9-14ACU 1-8 8-16

Women’s BasketballTeam Div. Tot.Angelo State 8-2 20-3ACU 7-3 16-7West Texas A&M 7-3 16-7A&M-Commerce 7-3 12-11Midwestern State 4-6 9-14Texas Woman’s 3-7 10-12E. New Mexico 3-7 9-14A&M-Kingsville 1-9 5-18

BaseballTeam Div. Tot.E. New Mexico 0-0 3-1ACU 0-0 4-2West Texas A&M 0-0 2-1Tarleton State 0-0 1-1Angelo State 0-0 1-3A&M-Kingsville 0-0 0-3

SoftballTeam Div. Tot.Texas Woman’s 0-0 2-0Angelo State 0-0 8-1A&M-Kingsville 0-0 8-2ACU 0-0 6-4Tarleton State 0-0 5-4E. New Mexico 0-0 3-4

Upcoming events in Wildcat

sports...(home events in italics)

Friday, February 18SB: Diamond Dame Classic, 1p.m.BSB: Cameron, 2 p.m.

Saturday, February 19SB: Diamond Dame Classic, 1p.m.BSB: Cameron, 12 p.m.TK: Sooner Invitational,Norman Okla.MB: Texas A&M Kingsville, 4p.m.

Sunday, February 20BSB: Cameron, 1 p.m.

Tuesday, February 22SB: St. Edward's, 5 p.m.

ScoresTuesday

Women’s basketballACU 75, Angelo State 66

SoftballACU 9, Panhandle State 1 ACU 5, Panhandle State 0

By WARREN GRAYSPORTS WRITER

Alex Guiton was just toogood to take off the floorTuesday night.

Guiton scored a career-high27 points Tuesday as the ACUwomen’s basketball teamtopped Angelo State 75-66 inovertime in San Angelo.

The freshman guard played

the entire 45 minutes of thegame, hit six 3-pointers andcommitted just one turnover.

Guiton was left open whenASU defenders double teamedmore experienced players, andshe took advantage of it, headcoach Shawna Lavender said.“She did a great job of takingthe ball to the basket and tak-ing care of the ball.”

The Rambelles entered thegame as the No. 8 team in thenation and No. 3 in the southcentral region. Conversely, theWildcats entered on the heelsof one of their worst losses of

the season, an 85-60 home set-back to West Texas A&M. Butthose factors didn’t stop theWildcats from taking a seasonsweep against Angelo State, thefirst time that has happenedsince the 1999-2000 season.

The key for the Wildcats, asit has been all season, wasturnovers. ACU committedjust 15 of them, down from 33in their previous game.

“Offensively I was prettyhappy with how we played,”Lavender said. “We executedand were patient.”

Although most of the offen-

sive execution could be con-tributed to Guiton’s play,Stephanie Riles came up withperhaps the biggest play of thegame. With less than 10 sec-onds to play in regulation andthe score tied, ASU’s CourtneyNowlin drove to the hole, spunand looked to give theRambelles the win.

But Riles would have noneof it and blocked the shot.

“I knew I didn’t want to foulher,” said Riles, who addedthat the referees had been inher ear all night about gettinginto players with her body.

“Basically, I knew what she wasgoing to do. I knew the girlwas going to spin; she does itall the time.”

The defensive stand keptthe Wildcats alive, and al-though they failed to score ontheir final possession, theywere spurred on in the extrasession by Riles’ hustle.

“They had momentum, andthen Steph came up with a bigdefensive stop and came downwith the ball,” Lavender said.

Lavender said it was hustle

Wildcats upset No. 8 ASU on the road

By STEVE HOLTSPORTS WRITER

Twenty-two ACU track andfield athletes will travel toNorman, Okla., this weekendto compete in the Sooner

Indoor Invitational, with thehopes of adding to the numberof athletes and relays that havequalified for the indoornational meet.

Head coach Jon Murray saidhe hopes all the athletes quali-fy this weekend so the teamscan stay home from the sched-uled Clemson Invitational thenext weekend and focus onpracticing for nationals.

Athletes looking to qualifyat the Sooner InvitationalSaturday will be long jumpersTarrant Fuller and VladyslavGorbenko; sprinter MarvinBien-Aime in the 60-meterdash; Bernard Manirakiza andMartin O’Kello in the 800meters; and a handful of men’spole vaulters.

Qualifications key at Sooner meet

In the midst of the strugglethe men’s basketball team hasendured this year, I have hadno greater joy than watchingthe maturation of David

Baxter in hist w o - y e a rcareer atACU.

Dick Vitalehas gone onand on aboutthe waysDuke’s juniorguard J.J. Red-ick has madethe transfor-mation from a

spot shooter into a completeplayer. Redick has added theability to shoot on the move,drive to the hole, improvedhis on-ball defense andemerged as a leader on thefloor.

The same can be said forBaxter. He’s added a mid-range shooting attack to com-plement his long-range abili-ties, raised his assists-per-game average by nearly two,and he is averaging six pointsper game more than last year.

He’s shattered Rodney Lee’ssingle-season record for most3-point field goals, tied CoreyStone’s single-game record forthrees in a game with eightpm Jan. 24 where he posted44 points—good for second

most on ACU’s all-time singlegame bests.

Baxter’s stats, however, areextraneous to the energy andleadership he’s provided forthe Wildcats this year.

My favorite David Baxtermoments this year didn’t in-clude his record-setting per-formance or a game where hedominated on the offensiveend, but how he used his sen-ior leadership to spark histeam in moments when itwasn’t easy to lead.

My top three David Baxtermoments:

3. Feb. 12 vs. West TexasA&M, Moody Coliseum—After five straight losses,Baxter ran onto the floor forwarm-ups with an unexpect-ed energy, bobbing his head tothe music as we’ve grownaccustomed to seeing him domore than the past two sea-sons. It wasn’t anythingextraordinary, but it justshowed his never-say-die atti-tude and his efforts to boostthe morale for the rest of theteam.

2. Jan. 27 at Texas A&M-Commerce, A&M-CommerceField House—Facing the No.9 team in the nation, theWildcats were overmatched,but Baxter did what he couldafter a poor start and single-handedly took on a couple

hundred Commerce studentswho began heckling himearly. Instead of avoidingthem or playing scared, heprovoked them, coming outon the floor waving his armsas they “booed” and puttinghis hand behind his ear as ifthey weren’t making enoughnoise. The game ended in ablowout as ACU fell by 44points, but Baxter showed hewasn’t afraid to play hard in ahostile environment.

1. Feb. 5 at West TexasA&M, WTAMU Events Cen-ter—The Wildcats playedtheir best conference game ofthe season excluding the winagainst Angelo State on Jan.24. The team played withmore intensity than usual,moved well on defense, andled for much of the gamebefore losing control with justduring seven minutes left toplay. Baxter fouled out withjust a couple of minutes left toplay when the game was vir-tually out of reach. BeforeBaxter left the court, however,he went around and slappedhands with his remaining fourteammates on the floor,encouraging them for theirmuch-improved performanceand their revived competitive-ness.

Baxter: Icing on burnt cake

By LAURA STORKSTAFF WRITER

Three former coaches andtwo former athletes will beinducted into the ACU SportsHall of Fame on Saturday at11:30 a.m. in the CampusCenter Hilton Room.

Wes Kittley, former headtrack and field coach; DewittJones, former head footballcoach; K.Y. Owens, formerassistant football coach; GregFeasel, former all-Americaoffensive lineman; and Dr.Camille Coates-Clark, formerwomen’s track and field stand-out, will be recognized at theannual luncheon for theiraccomplishments at ACU.

Jared Mosley, director ofathletics, said the Lettermen’sAssociation, a group of athleteswho have been awarded a letterin a sport at ACU, nominatesthose they feel deserve consid-eration for induction into theHall of Fame. Then the Hall ofFame Committee looks at thenomination forms—accom-plishments, achievements,etc.—to determine who will beinducted.

“The difficult part for thecommittee is to narrow downbecause we have so many for-mer student athletes who haveaccomplished a lot,” saidMosley, who added that thisFebruary’s inductees are verydeserving of this honor.

Kittley led the men andwomen track and field teams to29 NCAA Division II nationaltrack and field championships,while Jones led ACU to its sec-ond NAIA Division I national

Five to joinACU SportsHall of Fame

ACU moves to secondplace in LSC with

win over Rambelles

Twenty-two to competein Sooner Invitational to attempt to make cut

Individuals to behonored, inducted

on Saturday

Kyle Robarts

Kyle’s Column

See CATS Page 3B

See HALL Page 3B

See ROBARTS Page 2B See TRACK Page 2B

By JARED FIELDSSPORTS WRITER

Wednesday evening theWildcat softball team hosted adoubleheader against Panhan-dle State. The Wildcats ralliedbehind superior pitching towin by scores of 9-1 and 5-0.

Head coach Chantiel Wil-son said she was pleased withher team’s play.

“I thought that our pitchingwas very good, and our offenseand defense did well, too,”Wilson said.

In the first game, JenniferLeal allowed only three hitsand one run, improving to 4-1on the year. The bats went towork early for the Wildcats.Katie Bryan hit a two-runhome run in the 1st inning togive the Cats a 2-1 lead.

In the second, the offenseput six runs on the board.Daisy Barcena had a two-runhome run and Jade Wilsonknocked in two runs with adouble. The offense quieteddown, and scored only one runbefore the game was over.

Allison Crouse started onthe mound for the Cats in thesecond game. Crouse threw acomplete game and allowedonly three hits in the game.

Once again the Wildcat batsput runs up early as theyscored four runs in the firstinning. Catcher AshleyWhittenburg had a two runsingle to lead the first inningrally. The Cats scored oncemore in the fourth off of aKatie Bryan single on their wayto the shut out.

“Everyone did their job,and everything came togetheron the field,” Wilson said.

The sweep moved theWildcats to a 6-4 overallrecord on the season. TheWildcats host the ACUDiamond Dame Classic thisweekend at Wells Field. TheCats played two games Thurs-day.

Today the Wildcats playNebraska-Kearney at 4:30p.m., and on Saturday theyplay Fort Hays at 1 p.m. andSE Oklahoma State at 3:30p.m.

The weekend tournamentwill give the Cats a good earlyseason challenge.

“This weekend’s games aregoing to really test our team,”Wilson said. “Some of theseteams are just starting, sothey’re fresh. The SEOklahoma State game will betough because they always fin-ish at the top of the standingsat the end of the season.”

Women beat LadyAggies, bring early

record to 6-4

Softball team wins doubleheader

E-mail Fields at: [email protected]


Junior leftfielder Claudia Stephens slides safely into third with a steal behind Panhadle State’s third basemen Jennifer Costeldia in the bot-tom of the first inning of the Wildcats’ 5-0 win in game two of a doubleheader against Panhandle State on Wednesday. Stephens then scoredon an error by Lady Aggie catcher Jessica Sheridan. She finished the game with two runs on two hits.

RACHEL LAU/Contributing Photographer

Lucky Hadebe stretches as he warms up for track practice on Wednesday. Twenty-two members of thetrack team will travel to Oklahoma this weekend to compete in the Sooner Indoor Invitational.


Wildcats starting shortstop Brennan Herrera, a senior transfer from the University of Oklahoma, throwsto home during fielding drills in practice on Wednesday. They play a double-header on Saturday.

Women’s athletes compet-ing will include Jessica Blair inthe triple jump; Brooklyn andJessica Hunt in the 200-meterdash; Jessica Hunt in the 60-meter dash; Addeh Mwambain the 800 meters; Allison Tatein the 200-meter dash; and thewomen’s 4x400-meter relayteam.

With at least one meetremaining before the NCAADivision II Indoor NationalChampionships in Boston, thetotal number of qualified ath-letes and relays is 32.

Baxter struggledSaturday as ACU playedhost to West Texas A&M;he was three of 18 from thefield and one of 11 from 3-point range. In the closingminutes when ACU wasdesperately trying to makea comeback and Baxter hadfired numerous unsuccess-ful 3-point attempts, Iheard a fan behind me say,“pass the ball David!”They also yelled, “playwith your team David!”

He was obviously hav-ing an off night, but ifthere has been anybodywho’s played with the teamthis year, it’s been him.And if I were the coach andever needed someone tohelp pull me out of a bighole and hit some big

threes down the stretch;even if he was 0 of 20 I’dchoose David to shootthose shots without adoubt in my mind 100times over.

The clock will mostlikely run out on Baxter’stime as a Wildcat with ahome game againstMidwestern State on Feb.26, and though the team’srecords probably aren’twhat he envisioned whenhe came to ACU in the Fallof 2003, I hope he leavesknowing that he showedwhat it meant to be aleader when it is the hard-est to be one: in the midstof struggle.

Page 2B Friday, February 18, 2005SPORTS JUMPS

Robarts: Player learnsto lead in tough times

Track:Team isready fornationals

Continued from Page 1B


E-mail Robarts at: [email protected] E-mail Holt at:

[email protected]


Senior guard David Baxter gets physical with West Texas A&M guard Steve Jackson during ACU’s 83-97 lossto WTAMU in Canyon on Feb. 5.

Bring it home

championship in five seasons. Owens, who was also

inducted into the Hardin-Simmons University SportsHall of Fame in 1997,acquired an overall record of55-36-2 and was the defensivecoordinator for the Wildcats.

Coates-Clark helped ACUwin the Lone Star Conferencetitles from 1985-87 andNCAA Division II outdoortitles in 1985 and 1986. Shealso set a school record, whichstill stands, of 11.25 in 1987.

Feasel was one of the mostdominant offensive linemenin ACU football history,according to a press release.He was a first team all-LoneStar Conference selection in1979, NAIA all-District IVand honorable mentionAssociated Press college divi-sion all-American. Feasel isjoining his brother GrantFeasel in the Hall of Fame,which makes them the firstpair of brothers inducted intothe Hall.

An additional inductionwill take place May 28, adding

five more members to the Hallof Fame, for the centennialcelebration, said Lisa Murphy,executive assistant to the ath-letic director, who added thiswill be the only time twoinductions will take place inone year.

The May inductees includeOve Johansson, who stillowns a world record for thelongest field goal kicked in agame at 69 yards, Sylvia Dyer-Barnier and Don Conder, for-mer national track and fieldstandouts, Tom Teague, for-mer football linebacker andJon Bradley, former golfer.

plays like that that led to thewin. After a back-and-forthgame down the stretch, theWildcats pulled away by hit-ting the glass, making defen-sive plays anddiving forloose balls.

“We justo u t - h u s t l e dthem,” Laven-der said. “Thekey was re-bounding. Wedidn’t give upthe offensive rebounds late,which we had been doing.”

Riles would finish thenight with 14 points and eightrebounds, and fellow Wildcatpost Jamie Boles added 17points and four boards andgave ACU a 64-62 lead with ajumper with 1:57 left in over-time.

The win was especially bigfor ACU as they look to posi-

tion themselves for the LoneStar Conference Post-SeasonTournament. At 16-7, 7-3 inLSC South Division play, theWildcats sit at second place inthe division, tied withWTAMU and Texas A&M-Commerce. Continuing itsroad trip, ACU took on TexasWoman's on Thursday andwill play Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.

Both games appearwinnable on paper, TWU is10-12, 3-7 while TAMUK is 5-18, 1-9, and the Wildcats willclinch a spot in the post-sea-son tournament with one winin their final four games. Butthat’s not what this team isthinking about.

“Our goal isn’t just to getthe tournament, we’re playingfor more than that,” Lavendersaid.


Friday, February 18, 2005 Page 3BSPORTS JUMPS

RACHEL LAU/Contributing Photographer

Freshman Allie Watts hurdles a barrier during Wednesday’s offseason volleyball practice on the football practice field. Both the volleyballteam and the football team have begun offseason training to prepare for next season.

Cats: Guiton aids win,scores career high 27Continued from Page 1B

E-mail Gray at: [email protected]

Hall: Former coaches,athletes to be honored

E-mail Stork at: [email protected]


Wildcat junior shortstop Daisy Barcena fields a grounder into herglove during the 9-1 game one victory, as a part of the double-header sweep of Panhandle State on Wednesday.

How high can you fly?

Guiton

Gotcha!

B Friday, February 18, 2005CAMPUS NEWS

By LAURA STORKSTAFF WRITER

For Jeremy Gudgel, SingSong won’t be about what hap-pens on stage but what happensbackstage.

As organizer of Sing Song se-curity, Gudgel, sophomore en-vironmental science major fromAndrews, said he is in charge ofrounding up 20 volunteerbouncers to guard all doorsaround the backstage entrances.

Because it’s his first time tobe in charge of security, Gudgelasked last year’s head of securi-ty, Jeff Thigpen, to not only helpwith the event but to supply 12men.

Thigpen, president of Tro-jans, said when Gudgel askedhim to help, he and his clubjumped at the opportunity.

“We are trying to be as visi-ble as possible as a club,” saidThigpen, senior business man-agement major from Troy. “It’snot always the most fun job, butbecause we are not in SingSong, we want to help out howwe can.”

Although Gudgel is excitedto run security this year, Thig-pen said he doesn’t necessarilyenjoy working security.

“It’s difficult to deal with alot of people participating inSing Song,” Thigpen said.“They think we are difficult anddon’t want to listen to us. Wehave to derive our own author-ity.”

Gudgel and Thigpen bothsaid they plan to ask friendswhom they know they can trustto help with security.

Thigpen said he is askingmen from club who helped lastyear because he knows he willnot have to worry about whatthey’ll be doing on the job.

“I can trust them and won’t

have to keep my eye on them,”Thigpen said.

With a few good men help-ing, Gudgel said he isn’t wor-ried anything extreme will hap-pen at the event.

“I’ll lay down the law if Ihave to,” he said. “But it’s justSing Song, and I don’t thinkanything bad will happen. Noterrorist or anything like that.”

Although Gudgel voluntarilywill not be able to view theshow, he said it will be fun to dothe job.

“This is something I aminterested in,” Gudgel said. “I’mthinking of going into the mili-tary, and this would just be kindof cool to do.

“I also wanted to be a part ofSing Song and the productionstaff,” said Gudgel, who willspend his weekend guardingdoors wearing a yellow staffshirt.

Men to keep Sing Song safeTeam in charge

of security to helpguard doors of Moody

E-mail Stork at: [email protected]

By DANIELLE LINTHICUMSTAFF WRITER

When students think of ush-ers at musical productions, theymight envision tall men in darksuits and bow ties, solemnly di-recting audience members totheir seats with whispered in-structions and penlights.

The ushers at Sing Song,however, are bright-eyed, giddyfreshmen dressed up in theirbest 1980s-themed costumes,passing out programs and help-ing people in the spirit of ACUhospitality.

“The freshman ushers’ mainjob is to help people find theirseats,” said Kendall Massey, di-rector of student productions.“But they do much more thanthat.”

In keeping with this year’s

Sing Song theme, “Off theCharts,” about 150 freshmenwill perform a medley of songsfrom the 1980s. The ushers willperform their songs and chore-ography on the floor of MoodyColiseum, accompanied by theSing Song hosts and hostesses.

“They’ve been practicing acouple of hours every week,”Massey said. “They’re workingpretty hard.”

The ushers have been excitedand enthusiastic workers, saidBrittany Groves, the director ofthis year’s ushers.

“They just picked up andwent with it,” said Groves,sophomore graphic designmajor from Oklahoma City.“They’ve been great to workwith.”

In the past, freshmen ushers

designed and wore T-shirts astheir uniform, but this year theywere able to be more creative,Groves said.

“Their costumes are awe-some,” she said. “Everyonebrought their own personalityinto it, and they are very ’80s-style.”

Freshman usher BeckyHackler, undeclared major fromOverland Park, Kan., said sheand other ushers had a lot of funwith their costumes.

“Most of the costumes arepretty out there—lots of giantsleeves, side ponytails andneon,” Hackler said. “It’s morefun that way.”

Freshmen to usher in ’80sGroup to perform,

distribute programs,help patrons find seats

E-mail Linthicum at: [email protected]

“Most of the costumes are pretty out there—lots of giant sleeves, side ponytails and neon.”

Becky Hackler, freshman usher and undeclared major from Overland Park, Kan.


Freshman Ushers, dressed in their best ’80s attire, sing and dance during Sing Song dress rehearsalWednesday night in Moody Coliseum. About 150 freshmen performed a medley of songs from the ’80s.

By SHAVONNE HERNDONSTUDENT REPORTER

The Sing Song dance teamwill be the first to open the 49thannual Sing Song. Hard work,long nights and many practicessoon will pay off, as the teamwill perform Friday and Sat-urday.

According to a press release,this year’s theme is going back intime for a recap of some of thebest musical entertainers fromthe last half century.

“Our opening number willbe Rocking in the USA and theclosing number Dancin’ in theStreets,” said Heather Edmond-son, sophomore speech patholo-gy major from Abilene.

Teri Wilkerson, the choreog-rapher for the dance team, has

done a good job leading theteam, said Amy Walker, sopho-more nursing major fromPortland, Ore.

“Teri is a wonder woman.She just thinks up amazing cho-reography right on the spot,”Walker said. “Teri reminds us ofhow thankful we should be toGod that we can move our bod-ies and use our talents.

“For me, being on stage anddancing is my creative outlet. Ilove to watch people laugh andhave fun at Sing Song. I love toentertain, and I think that mostof the dance team would tell youthe same thing.”

ACU’s dance team will warmup the crowd and prepare themfor the show ahead.

“I think the numbers andchoreography have great variety,and they will be crowd pleas-ers,” Edmondson said.

Aside from Walker andEdmondson, the dance teamincludes Ashley Berres, fresh-

man psychology major fromLakeville, Minn.; ElizabethBillingsley, sophomore interdis-ciplinary major from Leander;Erin Wilson, sophomore Eng-lish major from Austin; ShelbySkidmore, freshman businessmanagement major from Aus-tin; Kathrine Skidmore, seniorinterdisciplinary major fromAustin; Stephanie Fleet, fresh-man accounting major fromBrownwood; and Brandi Patton,senior psychology major fromRichland Hills.

“All of us performed in SingSong last year except the newfreshmen, and we all look for-ward to performing again,” Ed-mondson said. “It is a fun bond-ing time between the dancersand hosts and hostesses, and wecan’t wait to experience thatagain.”

Friday, February 18, 2005 Page 5BCAMPUS NEWS

E-mail Herndon at: [email protected]

Dance team opens Sing Song Group of nine womenwill perform in 49thannual production


Members of the Sing Song dance team perform during the number ‘Waterloo’ at the show’s dress rehears-al Wednesday night in Moody Coliseum. The team also will perform in the opening and closing numbers.

Struttin’ their stuff

By EMILY CHASTAINSTUDENT REPORTER

In the early 1900s, a manpeople called Pancho Villa wasthe legendary “Robin Hood”of Mexico.

Now, more than 100 yearslater, his descendant lives withthe family name but in aslightly different location:ACU.

Francisco Villa, freshmanbusiness management majorfrom Mexico City, is the great-grandson of Pancho Villa, alegendary revolutionary gen-eral the United States knowsbetter as a bandit. PanchoVilla helped the poor andevaded the powerful, eventu-ally helping to defeat the fed-eral army in Mexico.

Villa said having a famousperson in his family tree hasinstilled in him a larger senseof nationalism for his countryand people.

“When I came here, I camehere thinking how to bringMexico here and take the U.S.back to Mexico—to have animpact on how the two coun-tries relate,” Villa said.

Villa, like many otherHispanics, takes his heritageseriously.

“It’s shaped everything Ithink about,” Villa said. “It’severything really.”

Villa is one of 345 studentsat ACU who identifies them-

selves as Hispanic, and one ofmany who desires to find abalance between his cultureand the one in which he nowlives.

According to the Office ofStudent Multicultural Enrich-ment, Hispanics make upabout 7.2 percent of the stu-dent body. Nationally, His-panic students accounted forabout 7 percent of studentsenrolled in all four-year uni-versities in 2000, according tothe National Center forEducation Statistics. Thismeans ACU’s numbers arefairly consistent with thenational average.

For some students and fac-ulty, however, just having thenumbers is not quite enough.

“Many of them feel a senseof being tolerated on campusbut not fully accepted and notfully included,” said LaShaeSloan, director of the Office ofStudent Multicultural Enrich-ment. “There’s still a barrierand a division. They don’t justwant to be tolerated; theywant to be a part of.”

Villa said the efforts ACUputs forth to help Hispanicstudents feel more at home areprobably in a transition stageright now. He said there’s stilla lot to be done, but ACU hasmade a good first step byoffering organizations such asHispanos Unidos and theInternational Students Asso-ciation.

Hispanos Unidos, a studentorganization that strives forgreater understanding andappreciation of the Hispanic

culture, hosts programs andevents around campus de-signed to share the Hispanicway of life with other ACUstudents.

Sloan said Hispanos Unidosis an organization that hasbeen very important to theHispanic students on campusbecause it “offers a support forstudents who want to be withother students who identifywith their same culture.”

ISA is another organizationdesigned to meet the needs ofinternational students andeffectively integrate them intothe community. It hosts eventssuch as the Chai Café, a foodfestival and the culture showEthnos.

Diana Guiterrez, seniormarketing and managementmajor from Honduras andpresident of ISA, said organi-zations such as ISA andHispanos Unidos are impor-tant for Hispanic students sothey can “know that there arepeople like them who areaway from home and whomight not get to go home theirwhole careers while they’rehere.”

Guiterrez goes home mostChristmas breaks and somesummers.

“I feel lucky that I get to gohome as much as I do becauseI know people like one of myfriends who hasn’t been homein four years,” Guiterrez said.

Sloan said missing friendsand family at home is one ofthe hardest parts for Hispanicsstudying at ACU. Communityis not only important but nec-

essary for Hispanic students,she said.

“That’s why groups likeHispanos Unidos have stayedaround so long,” Sloan said.“There’s a need for that con-nection and community andbeing with people who thinklike you do in many ways andspeak like you do and singsongs like you do and worshipGod in a way that you have.”

Participation in family lifeis strongly encouraged inHispanic households, Sloansaid. Many Hispanic familiesare large, and unity helps con-tribute to identity.

Villa, too, said communityis a vital part of the Hispanic

way of life. “I think that the Hispanic

community is pretty activehere at ACU, but I think[ACU] could be doing more,”Villa said. “If you go to a big-ger school, there’s so many ofyou that you’re not as differ-ent.”

Sloan said many Hispanicstudents struggle with tryingto share their culture whilealso fitting in with the otherstudents.

“I think for any studentwho is a minority or studentof color there is a dichoto-my—a dual life that you live,trying to be true to your ownculture and background but

then also trying to integrate tothe mainstream and some-times having to give up one tobe part of another,” Sloan said.

For Villa, however, a small-er school gives him more of achance to share his cultureand develop a community ofhis own.

“I like to be here. I reachthrough more people,” Villasaid. “People are more inter-ested in what you know andwho you are. I can expressmyself and show them mycountry.”

Hispanic students find ways to engage campus using their culture

E-mail Chastain at: [email protected]

ISA, Hispanos Unidosprovide opportunities to be involved, educate

FOCUSFRIDAYPage 6B February 18, 2005OPTIMIST

Dr. Mark Tucker says he is having a ball.He said it to his career-long mentor, Dr. Edwin S.

Gleaves, now Tennessee State Librarian and Archivist. He said it to Abilene Reporter-News reporter Loretta

Fulton when she interviewed him a year ago about hisnew position as dean of library and informationresources at ACU.

And after a year at Brown Library, he still says it. ButTucker wasn’t always so sure.

As a member of the library’s visiting committee from1997-2000 and 2002, Tucker catalogued his first impres-sion of ACU in 1997 as “too good to be true.”

“I had trouble processing the spirit of ACU,” Tuckersaid. “The way people here are devoted to each other. Ithought, ‘This is not real. What I’m seeing is a façade.’”

But each year he returned with the visiting commit-tee, Tucker found the same thing.

“These people really do feel about each other like theysay they do,” he said, a hint of marvel still in his voice.

Tucker and his wife, Barbara, moved to Abilene withtheir 15-year-old part-cocker spaniel, Macy, to become apart of this spirit. He came with a trail of experience,including 24 years at Purdue University in WestLafayette, Ind., the last 13 of which he spent directingthe largest library in the university’s system.

A new vision

With the first year at ACU behind him, Tucker hasformed concrete ideas about where he wants to lead BrownLibrary and the Abilene Library Consortium as chair of itsadministrative council.

At many colleges and universities, the library plays aperipheral role in student studies.

“It’s not part of the core of what it means to be a stu-dent,” Tucker said. He plans to change that at ACU.

Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, university provost, said he andTucker have spent hours discussing a vision for BrownLibrary. A faculty committee that began meeting this semes-ter will form a concrete plan after analyzing a proposal,“The ACU Library for the 21st Century,”, by Tucker andlibrarians Carisse Berryhill and Melissa Johnson.

Some of the features in the proposal include a commonsarea for coffee and conversation and computer worksta-tions designed for teamwork. Plans also include offeringprinting and binding services and high-end computers forcreating multimedia presentations.

Filling the hole

Tucker’s work during the pastyear has resonated well withcampus faculty and staff.

“Dr. Tucker is a fine scholaras well an administrator,”VanRheenen said. “He brings tothe position many years ofexperience in higher education,having worked in a liberal artscollege as well as a research uni-versity.”

When searching for areplacement after MarshaHarper’s retirement in 2003, theSearch and Review Committeenarrowed applicants to two andrecommended Tucker for the position.

“Dwayne VanRheenen called me and asked for names” ofpossible applicants, Tucker said. “Then he said, ‘What Ireally want to know is, can I interest you in applying?’”

Tucker called himself an easy sell. “I was ready for a change,” he said. “I was 57 when I

came here. Generally, that’s a little late to make a decisionon your last job.”

In making that decision, Tucker sought advice from Dr.Edwin S. Gleaves, the Tennessee State librarian, whoencouraged him to accept the offer.

“Mark had looked at a number of positions before then,”Gleaves said. “He and I had been serving together on theACU library visiting committee for three years, so I knowMark had a good insight there in a way others may nothave.”

Finding his niche

From his freshman year at Lipscomb University to today,Tucker has relied on Gleaves as a mentor and friend. Gleavessaid he remembers Tucker as an apt freshman English majorinterested in books and literature, but said he didn’t knowthe role he would play in Tucker’s decision to study libraryscience.

“All the librarians at Lipscomb were women,” Tuckersaid. “I couldn’t figure out how you could work in a libraryand be a male.”

Then he met Gleaves, whoencouraged him to attendgraduate school. Tuckerearned a master’s degree in1968 from the school oflibrary science at GeorgePeabody College, followed byan education specialist degreein library science in 1972.

Tucker completed his edu-cation with a doctorate inlibrary and information sci-ence from the University ofIllinois in 1983.

Through the years, certaincharacteristics have equippedTucker for success, Gleavessaid.

“He’s always been able toapproach things with a wry

sense of humor, and it’s sort of helpful when you get intoscholarship because it can be very, very demanding,” hesaid.

VanRheenen, who has noticed similar traits, listed severaladjectives that describe Tucker, including witty, reflective,insightful and articulate.

But Tucker hastens to defer such praise.“God gives us gifts and talents to honor him,” Tucker said.

“I do enjoy what I do. I think that’s part of God’s plan.”In other words, Tucker is still having a ball.

Keeping the ball

Story by Jennifer Anthony

Pictures by Emily Chastain

Design by Mallory Sherwood

“I was ready for a change. I was 57 when Icame here. Generally, that’s a little late to

make a decision on your last job.”

Mark Tucker, dean of Brown library and information

Left: Books from Tucker’s collection in his office; several of which arewritten by himself.

Below: Tucker flips through a book on his desk entitled “Passages.”

rolling

Tucker stands alongside rows of books Thursday afternoon inside his haven and favorite place to work: Brown Library.


Sing Song video a tedious task

By MITCH HOLTSTAFF WRITER

Behind Sing Song’s choreo-graphed songs and club andclass competitions, a videoproduction crew works aroundthe clock to provide profes-sional video for the produc-tion.

Much of the Sing Songvideo crew prefers beingbehind the scenes rather thanbeing in the spotlight.

Producer and director ScottDelony, junior electronic mediamajor from Houston, said heloves filming Sing Song andplaying such a big part in theshow without people knowinghe is there.

Delony said Sing Song ismostly about clubs and classesdelivering their prepared rou-tines. Many Sing Song partici-pants who complain about theevent’s late night preparationdon’t realize the hard work ofthe production team.

“For the Sing Song video,our job is critical,” Delonysaid. “If there was no produc-tion crew, there wouldn’t be avideo.”

“The equipment ACU pro-vides for the video crew isadvanced enough for whatneeds to be done,” he said.

The crew would like newerand better equipment, but theschool does a good job of keep-ing decent equipment aroundfor Sing Song, he said.

Michelle Ordener, seniorelectronic media major fromWaco, said in the past she pre-ferred being on the perform-ance side of Sing Song, but

since she began helping withthe technical side, she prefersher new task.

Sing Song’s video technicalcrew works long hours beforeand after each show and prac-tice. In reality, the technicalcrew’s job becomes moretedious than the tasks of theperformers, Delony said.

The technical crew will beworking many hours to makethis year’s Sing Song video asolid production, he said.

“The show could be runwithout the video crew. As faras supplementing the show, weadd that extra ‘wow’ factor byhaving the main action on thescreens while the show is goingon and performing severalother important tasks.”

Production crew workslong hours filming acts

behind the scenes

E-mail Holt at: [email protected]


Kendall Massey, director of student productions, speaks to Sing Song participants as part of a devotion-al before the first full dress rehearsal in Moody Coliseum on Wednesday.

Calm before the storm


By SHAVONNE HERNDONSTUDENT REPORTER

Seekers of the Word, a stu-dent drama group, is gearingup for another productivesemester. They plan to travelto Atlanta and Houston andvolunteer in the Abilene area.

“We love performing intown as well as out of town,”said Abby Loe, sophomorepsychology major fromCanyon. “We’re always openfor new churches, retreats andother functions to performat.”

The group is taking a

Spring Break Campaign toAtlanta and a weekend trip toHouston. Locally, Seekers willbe performing at HopeChurch.

At ACU the students willperform at the InternationalStudents’ Association Chapel,and tentative plans have beenmade to perform at MiddletonPrison. They will also serve atliving centers, drug rehabilita-tion facilities, AIDS clinicsand church outreach pro-grams.

Their mission emphasizesthat Seekers is a Christianministry. Because the organi-zation has a deep responsibili-ty to Christ, they continuallystrive to make the Bible cometo life through religiousdrama.

The group performs shortskits, which cover a widerange of Christian issues.Under the guidance of RodneyAshlock, instructor of Bible,missions and ministry, the 15performers choreograph andwrite the skits.

“Our skits are very adapt-able and speak to the audience,ranging from children, toyouth, to prison inmates,”said Seekers president JohnLeedy, junior youth and fami-ly ministry major fromHouston. “All of our skits arewritten and produced bySeekers.”

“Each skit doesn’t bringyou to a conclusion. We try tobring up questions that wefeel every Christian shouldask, and when people come to

us after a performance, it’susually to let us know howthey found their ownanswers,” said DonnaRagland, junior art illustrationand business administrationmajor from Fort Worth.

Seekers receives feedbackfrom the performances andbrings different twists to theirskits.

“It’s always nice to hearthat our skit has made kidsthink about God from a per-spective they haven’t before,”said Loe. “Many people havetold me how the skits havetouched them and where theyare in life at this momentbecause of it.”

Seekers of the Wordplans Campaign,

other performances

Drama group seeks to spread Gospel

E-mail Herndon at: [email protected]

EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer

Justin Smith, freshman music major from Abilene, practices his sax-ophone in the Williams Performing Arts Center on Tuesday afternoon.

Getting his groove on


By DANIELLE LINTHICUMSTAFF WRITER

When students’ lives are hec-tic, they often say they are busyand stressed enough without theaddition of parking problems,like gettingtickets forparking illegal-ly. But the ACUpolice say theyare doing allthat they can toalleviate stu-dents’ frustra-tion over inconvenient parking.

“Many students will come inafter getting a ticket and say theycan’t find parking, so they had topark illegally,” said JimmyEllison, chief of ACU police.“The truth is that the parking isthere, it’s just not always as closeor convenient as you wouldlike.”

Some students blame park-ing frustrations on the con-struction for A.B. Barret Hall,the new residence hall acrossfrom Brown Library. Parkingpatterns have been disrupted,but enough parking spaces are

open, Ellison said.“It may not be where stu-

dents are used to parking or afront-row spot,” Ellison said.

Any major university hasproblems with parking, Ellisonsaid. ACU actually has lessstringent rules and lighter finesthan most universities.

Ellison compared ACU’sparking frustrations to TexasA&M University, where fines aremore than triple the price ACU

charges for illegal parking. AtA&M University, officials willtow the offenders vehicle away,unlike ACU.

“I can understand students’frustration,” Ellison said. “Butwe have to be prepared for anemergency, so we are trying to befair and keep everybody safe.”

With Sing Song andLectureship coming up, manystudents are dreading the extravehicles and busyness aroundcampus; however, Ellison saidthe ACU police have a goodevents management system, andthe extra guests on campus will

not inconvenience studentsmuch.

Glenda Knight, director ofuniversity events, said while itcan be frustrating to receive tick-ets for illegal parking, it is anecessity to keep the campussafe.

“It’s a give- and-take situa-tion,” she said. “We try to allevi-ate as many headaches as possi-ble.”

Ellison said he wants toremind stu-dents that“ s e c o n d smean lives” ifan emergencyhappens oncampus. Hesaid it is hisand his col-

leagues’ job as campus police toensure ambulances or otheremergency services can beaccessed if needed.

“I have an open-door policy,”Ellison said. “You can feel free tocome down and talk to me anytime with your concerns or sug-gestions.”

He also said students andemployees should remember touse caution and to be patientwith the guests.

E-mail Linthicum at: [email protected]

Slight inconveniencesexpected because

of Lectureship guests

Police say ‘plenty of parking available’

EMILY CHASTAIN/Staff Photographer

Jennifer Walsh, senior marketing major from Keller, catches up on her business homework in BrownLibrary on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s a give-and-take situation. We try to alleviateas many headaches as possible.”

Glenda Knight, director of university events


By EMERALD MCGOWANSTUDENT REPORTER

Several Spring Break Cam-paigns still have openingsavailable for students, espe-cially for men.

Campaigns still looking forcampaigners are: Miami, Scot-land, Toronto, Washington,D.C., Alaska, Portland andChicago.

The Chicago campaign isspecifically looking for twomale campaigners over 21years old who could also helpwith driving on the trip.

“We had a couple of guysdrop at the last minute,” saidMichael Reeves, senior psy-chology major from Portales,N.M., and co-leader of theChicago campaign. “We stillhave enough drivers to go toChicago, but we could use a

little extra padding.”Reeves said he has 14

women and six men signed upfor the campaign so far, andhe requested male campaign-ers in hopes of balancing thatratio.

The Chicago campaign willfocus on serving the home-less. Campaigners plan towork in homeless shelters,soup kitchens, women’s shel-ters and Inspiration Café, anorganization set up to givehomeless people a restaurant-style meal that is served tothem by volunteers. Cam-paigners will also take part in“cultural immersion night” inorder to “get a feel for thestreet life of Chicago,” Reevessaid.

Clay Rich, senior account-ing and finance major fromAbilene and chair of SpringBreak Campaigns, said plan-ning for the campaigns is“going well, as expected. Thisbeing my third year, therehasn’t been any new problem

that I haven’t seen before.” But one problem Rich has

faced is the lack of male cam-paigners, though Rich saysthe ratios are similar to previ-ous years.

“We tell our leaders to tryto get a 50-50 ratio of men towomen, but that will probablybe very unrealistic just be-cause that’s the nature of it,”he said. “Some of the morepopular campaigns comeclose, but on the whole, menjust aren’t as involved withSpring Break Campaigns aswomen.”

Rich encouraged more stu-dents to get involved.

“Spring Break Campaignsare a great way to meet newpeople, make new friends andgain lasting memories,” hesaid. “It’s going to be reallyexciting, and the Lord willwork in wondrous ways.”

SBC looks to recruit more menPositions on missiontrips still available

to seven destinations

E-mail McGowan at: [email protected]


Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, dines and converses with Kenny McEntire (right), soph-omore journalism major from Bedford, and other men in Smith Hall on Wednesday.

Munching with Money

By TIFFANY TAYLORPAGE 2 EDITOR

A patchwork of Sing Songalumni and music-savvy mem-bers of the community consti-tute the 20 judges who willdecide which Sing Song actsreceive awards this year andwhich do not.

Sing Song judges are separat-ed into four groups to judgevocals, presentation, costumesand originality; their combinedscores decide who the overallwinner of Sing Song will be.

“Most of them think of it as avery big honor to be asked tojudge Sing Song. We havejudges flying in from as far asNashville, Tenn.,” said SusannaDrehsel, senior political science

major from Heidelberg, Germa-ny and manager of the SingSong judges.

She said the search for SingSong judges began at the begin-ning of December and endedJan. 31.

“We looked through a lot ofold Sing Song programs,” Dreh-sel said.

In addition, she sent an e-mail to the Alumni Office, Cam-pus Life and University Eventsasking for suggestions, she said.

Ted Starnes, former directorof university events, said he wascontacted in January aboutjudging Sing Song.

“I was pleased to be asked,”he said. “I have not been a judgefor Sing Song in a long time.”

Preferably, judges have abackground in Sing Song and anunderstanding of vocals or havesome other experience thatcould make them an informedjudge, said Kendall Massey,

director of student productions.“One thing we do look for is

variety; we try to keep an evenmale-to-female ratio,” Drehselsaid.

Between 35 and 40 peoplewere contacted, and “if peopleweren’t able to make it, we just

called the next person on thelist,” Drehsel said.

“We keep a list of everyonewho’s not able to do it so we cancontact them in the future,”Drehsel said, giving MayorNorm Archibald as an exampleof someone who has judged inthe past but could not judge thisyear.

“It’s definitely been a funexperience getting to knowthem, e-mailing them,” she said.“I definitely feel like I knoweach of them personally.”

Judges will be seated to-gether on the landings oppositethe stage in Moody Coliseum.

However, judges will not beallowed to discuss their choicesuntil after their scoring sheetsare taken.

“They sit at different stations,and we collect them before theyhave a chance to talk,” Drehselsaid.

Although the scores aredetermined by the judges’ dis-

cretion, some rules exist, suchas a time limit, which penalizesacts that take longer than threeminutes.

“The judges’ criteria is com-pletely new this year,” Masseysaid. He has created what hesaid he believes to be a clearer,fairer scoring system.

The new system makes everyjudge’s vote worth 5 percent ofthe total score. Nine peoplejudge vocals, three for eachnight, and this category is worth45 percent of the overall score.

Four judges will score actsbased on presentation, worth 20percent of the overall score.Three judges score costumes,worth 15 percent of the overallscore. Finally, four judges judgean act’s originality, worth 20 per-cent of the overall score.

As in the past, the vocalswinner will be announced atevery show. The winner in orig-inality will be announced at

Friday’s show. The winner ofbest costume will be awarded atthe first Saturday show, and thewinner of best presentation willbe awarded at the secondSaturday show, where the over-all winners will be announced.

Judges determining the bestin originality are Amy Pybus,Mary Crumbliss, Kitty Wase-miller and Ted Starnes. Judgesdetermining the best in vocalsare Hagar Lawson, Drew Brown,Paul Mata, Peggy Stirman, JeffNelson, Jim Edmonds, JasonMcArthur, Melissa Kirby andLarry Musick. Those judgingcostumes are Sharon Utley,Karen Randolph and LaceyUnderwood. Sarah Bass, LeeDaniels, Jack Reese and RobThomas will judge presentation.

Judges work together to rate club, class actsTwenty will evaluateperformances usingnew scoring system

E-mail Taylor at: [email protected]

“Most of them think of it as a very big honor to be asked to judge Sing Song.”

Susanna Drehsel, Sing Song judges manager

optimist_2005-02-18

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