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

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Online Poll :What is your favorite band

that was formed at ACU?

a. The Rocketboysb. Swing the Leadc. The Rockin’ Extensionsd. All of them are lame.

acuoptimist.com

Pg. 3 InsideThis Issue:

Weekend sweep secures ACU spot on top of LSC South

Groups unite to serve Abilene community

University selects ‘Who’s, Who’of Abilene Christian University

Pg. 4 Pg. 8

Optimistthe

a product of theJMC network

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 :: Vol. 97, No. 49 :: 1 section, 10 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

Videos :: Podcasts :: Slideshows

Pg. 6: Moms in the Classroom: Full-time students care for children

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JMC Network shines at TIPA competitionBy Sondra RodriguezPage 2 Editor

Students from ACU’s JMC Network won 51 awards at the 100th Texas Intercolle-giate Press Association (TIPA) in Dallas on Saturday. Awards were given for media includ-ing newspaper, radio and television, and ACU compet-ed against University of Tex-as-Austin, University of North Texas and Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas Chris-tian universities.

TIPA was founded in 1909 at Baylor University and is the oldest collegiate press as-sociation, according to www.TexasIPA.org. The competi-

tion recognizes work in the field of mass communica-tion that exemplifies student press leadership and excel-lence from two and four-year institutions. TIPA also awards $4,000 per year in scholar-ships to students from these universities, based on student staff nominations.

The Optimist won first in overall excellence; KACU-FM won first in overall newscast and the JMC st-udent media won third place in the news-paper and television sweep-stakes. Overall, the JMC Network was awarded 14 first-place awards, eight second

See Awards page 5

By Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Bryan Evans could not at-tend his English class last se-mester. The classroom door was unlocked, but that did not

matter because the building doors were out of his reach.

Evans, freshman youth and family ministries major from Angleton, was born with spine bifida, a spinal cord defect, and because of this

he must use a wheelchair. He said some buildings on cam-pus are difficult to enter. The Zona Luce Building does not have an elevator, and Cham-bers Hall does not have eleva-tors or a wheelchair ramp.

“Chambers is completely inaccessible,” Evans said. “I cannot find a way to get into it at all. I had an Eng-lish class last semester, and they had to switch me out of Chambers and put me in

a different building because it’s inaccessible.”

Evans was able to take his English class last semester, but it was not in Chambers Hall. Moving students to different buildings is nothing new for the

English and psychology depart-ments, both of which reside in Chambers Hall. Students and professors who use wheel-chairs, motorized scooters or

Lack of access for disabled prompts review of campus

Rocketboys return to play ACU showBy Tanner AndersonPage Designer

After a one-month hiatus, The Rocketboys landed in Abilene once again to per-form at their alma mater and showcase some new songs.

The stage was set outside of the Hunter Welcome Cen-ter as prospective and cur-rent students walked around with multi-colored lips cour-tesy of Cajun Cones, and people found their desired listening locations.

The Rocketboys’, who changed their band name from Homer Hiccolm and The Rocketboys, arrival was not entirely nostalgia driven. Jenni Williams, Ad-missions Events Coordina-tor, helped prepare a Big Splash Event, which is used

to showcase the campus to high school students.

Williams said Big Splash Events are held in areas out-

side of Abilene as well. She said they have been to Hous-ton and San Antonio, and they usually take prospective

students to sporting events for the evening.

Jake Gonzalez, senior at Cooper High School, at-tended the event with Gilbert Mcoy, senior from Abilene high school.

“I like it,” Mcoy said. “It spices up my night and gives us something to do instead of playing guitar, work or Fa-cebook.”

The event was free to both current and prospective stu-dents, except for the snow cones; prospective students snacked for free, while cur-rent students paid the regu-lar prices.

“We just wanted to do something unique for ACU,” Williams said. “This is some-thing that we thought both

See Rocketboys page 4

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Lead guitarist Daniel Wheeler (’06) plays during The Rocketboys’ concert on campus in front of the Hunter Welcome Center on Monday.

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Todd Lollar (’00) speaks about living with cerebral palsy and how he found God at a Chapel forum in Moody Coliseum on Monday. Lollar’s visit is part of Disabilities Awareness Week at ACU.

Wheels of WisdomAlumnus shares story of faith, perseverance

See a video of Todd Lollar’s message he delivered at a Chapel forum Monday.

By Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Todd Lollar’s cerebral palsy and speech impediment did not keep him from earning his bachelor and master’s degrees. It did not keep him from continuing to search for a job after experiencing five years of discrimination from multiple businesses. And it did not keep him from delivering his message of encourage-ment and determination to students Monday night in Moody Coliseum.

Lollar (’00), a collegiate minister at the Uni-versity of North Texas, spoke for about 40 min-utes as part of the Alpha Scholars Program’s Disability Awareness Week this week. Sitting in his wheelchair, he shared his life story with a few hundred students.

“I encourage you to know your story,” Lollar told his audience. “Your story is just as pow-erful as mine. Know what God has done with your own faith, and it will help you share the Gospel with people who are lost.”

Lollar was born with cerebral palsy and nearly died shortly after his birth. His mother prayed he would become a minis-ter if God allowed him to live — which is exactly what happened.

“God is very purposeful and sovereign,” Lollar said.

Lollar studied business management at University of Oklahoma and graduated with

See Wisdom page 4

‘Blue Like’ author to speak at SummitBy Lezlee GutierrezStudent Reporter

The Students’ Associa-tion Congress is planning ahead this year to welcome Donald Miller, New York Times’ best-selling author, next se-m e s t e r d u r i n g Summit.

SA gave more than $ 2 , 0 0 0 to bring Miller to c a m p u s , and some are calling the event the “SA Wednesday” of Summit.

“We are very excited about this fall,” said Dr. Brady Bryce, director of Ministry Events. “We try hard to bring the speakers the ACU com-munity really want to hear from and we are definitely thankful to have him on our campus due to generous on-campus sponsorships.”

Miller will visit campus Sept. 23, where he will meet with faculty in the Adams Center of Teaching and Learning, followed by a speech in Moody Coli-seum. He also will meet with the public for a read-ing from his newest book, Million Miles in a Thousand Years, in the McCaleb Con-ference Room before de-parting from Abilene.

Miller’s book, Searching for God Knows What, was cho-sen as the book for the 2009 Freshman Common Reading

program. The book is about how the Gospel of Jesus ex-plains the human personality.

“This visit will provide the opportunity for students at our campus to be exposed to one of the leading au-thors of our time,” said Dr. Charles Mattis, dean of the First Year Program.

Miller’s book is the fol-low-up to Blue Like Jazz, a collection of essays re-flecting Miller’s non-reli-gious thoughts on Chris-tian spirituality. Miller also teamed up with Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson to write the screenplay for the film version of Blue Like Jazz, which will be shot in Portland, Ore.

Miller will be on a book tour for his next publica-tion, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, during his Abilene stop at ACU

Miller

See Author page 4

Students at our campus [will] be ex-posed to one of the leading authors of our time.

:: Dr. Charles Mattis, dean of the First Year Program

“

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See Access page 4

The Ben Richey Boys Ranch needs volunteers to help with the shooting stations and other various tasks dur-ing a dinner and auction. Volunteers will receive free dinner. For more infor-mation, call Jama Stacy at 338-3547.

The Holliday Hills Neighborhood needs volunteers for its cleanup day on April 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in West Abilene. For more information, contact Robert Lily at 864-8439.

ACU for Abilene will take place Saturday. This will be the final service day of the semester and students will work alongside faculty and staff to serve the community. The day includes a kick off at 8 a.m., service projects and a picnic lunch at noon with live music and several social justice vendors. Students interested can sign up in the Campus Center or the Volunteer-Service Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

Meals on Wheels is looking for volunteers to deliver meals to some of the homebound members of the community. The commitment is once a week. Volunteers will pick up the meals from the Meals on Wheel’s building and deliver them to people around Abilene. It takes one hour each week. Call Mitzi McAndrew at 672-5050 to volunteer.

The Christian Service Center needs volunteers to file requests in the donation center, sort and organize donations and occasionally pick up donated items. Volunteers are needed Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon or from 2-4 p.m. For more information, call Roberta Brown at 673-7531, or go to www.uccabilene.org/ministries/csc.htm.

Abilene Hope Haven needs vol-unteers to provide childcare, while parents are in a class. Volunteers are needed Monday through Thursday

from 6:45-8:15 p.m. For more infor-mation, contact Christine Spillers at 437-0611.

Communities in Schools at Fannin Elementary School needs volunteers for one to two hours be-ginning at 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Volunteers will give extra help to students in an after-school tutoring class. For more information, call Joe Cunningham at 675-7008.

The Center for Contemporary Arts needs volunteers to give free art lessons to kids, while providing the opportunity to learn about art through the ArtReach program. Volunteers do not have to be artists and are needed Monday through Friday from 1-5 p.m. For more information, call Katherine Trotter at 677-8389 or e-mail kather-ine@center-arts.com

Noah Project, a center for victims of family violence, needs volunteers

to answer its hotline from 6-10 p.m. Training will be provided, and after completing training, volunteers can sign up for time slots. Volunteers can sign up as often as needed.

The Salvation Army needs vol-unteers Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to sort and hang clothes, take donations, organize shelves and mark items. Open-toe shoes are restricted. For more information, contact Cecilia Barahona at 677-1408 or send an e-mail to cecilia_barahona@uss.salvationarmy.org.

Find out volunteer opportunities by visiting the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center’s Web site at www.acu.edu/vslc and clicking on Volun-teer Opportunities. For more informa-tion or to sign up to help, contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center in the Bean Sprout.

4-7:30 p.m.A beach bash will take place in the Mall area. The free event will feature music and volleyball.

7-10 p.m.The Biannual Art and Craft Fair will take place in the Campus Center Living Room. The event will feature baked goods, refreshments and art. For more information, e-mail wbr90a@acu.edu.

1-3 p.m.The Undergraduate Research Festival will take place in the Adams Center of Teaching and Learning, the Campus Center Living Room and the Brown Library.

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.An Autism Education Workshop will take place at Highland Chuch of Christ. For more information, call Dennis Cavitt at 674-2479.

7:30-9 p.m.Shorts! will be presented by the Department of Theatre in Culp Theatre. For more information or to buy tickets, call 674-2787.

8 a.m. to 4 p.m.ACU for Abilene

7:30-9:30 p.m.The Office will be presented by SHADES in Cullen Auditorium. Tickets cost $6.

Calendar and Events

Friday15

Wednesday Thursday Saturday

ACU for Abilene will take place Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students who are interested can sign up in the Campus Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. through Friday.

Social club rushes will take place through April 23. For more information about specific rush locations and times, go to myACU.edu.

Earth and Enrichment Day will take place at the Abilene Zoo. The event will celebrate the earth, while educating attendees about

animals at the zoo. Tickets cost $5. For more information, go to www.abilenetx.com/zoo.

The Mayor’s Round-Up 5K Run will take place Saturday from 8:25 a.m. to noon. The race will begin at City Hall. Registration for persons over 18 years old costs $23. For more information or to register for the race, call 676-6246 or go to www.abilenerunners.com.

The Abilene Philharmonic Classical Concert will take place

Saturday at the Civic Center from 8-10 p.m. Tickets cost $12-35. For more information, call 677-6710.

David Frizzell and Friends in Concert will take place Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at the Civic Center. For more information, call 676-6211.

The Gamma Sigma Phi Benefit Softball games will take place April 23-26. The deadline to register teams is Friday. For more information, e-mail Hutton Harris at jhh03c@acu.edu.

Shorts!, a series of 10-minute plays, will be presented by the Department of Theatre on Friday and Saturday, and April 23-25 at 7:30 p.m. in Culp Theatre. Tickets

cost $10. For more information, call 674-2787.

Student organization annual update forms are due in the Student Organizations office by May 4 at 5 p.m. The form is mandatory for student organizations to be recognized during the 2009-10 school year.

Wildcat Willie applications are available in the Teage Athletic Office. Applications are due and try-outs will take place April 24.

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62 11Chapel

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Campus Day216 17 18

Volunteer Opportunities

About This PageThe Optimist maintains

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

Groups may send announcements directly to jmcnetwork@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at sar06g@acu.edu.

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

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

Announcements

ACU Police Tip of the Week

Be respectful of neighbors by ending gatherings and lowering noise levels at a reasonable hour.

Monday, April 61:10 a.m. The ACU Police as-sisted the Abilene Police in a search for an interpreter.4:25 p.m. The ACU Police as-sisted a citizen who was airing up a bicycle tire at the Station.4:55 p.m. The ACU Police assisted the Abilene Police with a vehicle accident on Ambler Avenue.7:35 p.m. The ACU Police re-sponded to a vehicle accident in the Nelson Hall parking lot.

Tuesday, April 79:07 a.m. Someone reported a suspicious vehicle at Elmer Gray Stadium, but the vehicle was gone when the ACU Police arrived.9:58 a.m. A burglar alarm sounded at the Calling Center, and the ACU Police reset the alarm.10:32 a.m. The ACU Police refueled gas cans on campus. 12:37 p.m. Someone reported a suspicious subject on Judge Ely Boulevard, but the subject was gone when the ACU Police arrived.5:19 p.m. Someone reported that a baseball hit his vehicle, and the ACU Police document-ed the report.

Wednesday, April 812:15 a.m. The ACU Police issued a traffic stop on Campus Court because a driver was speeding. 1:15 a.m. Someone reported a suspicious vehicle in the Big Purple parking lot, and the ACU Police identified the driver. 6:50 p.m. Someone reported a disruptive subject in Chambers Hall, but he left when the ACU Police arrived.7:15 p.m. The ACU Police assisted the Abilene Police with a vehicle accident on Judge Ely Boulevard.7:29 p.m. Someone reported parking violations on Campus Court, but the ACU Police did not find any upon arrival

Thursday, April 94:10 a.m. Someone reported a couple fighting over keys on Washington Boulevard, and the male was advised and left when the ACU Police arrived.4 p.m. Someone reported a

suspicious vehicle on Harrison Avenue, but the subject was having car troubles.

Friday, April 102:46 a.m. Someone reported three intoxicated students at Barret Hall.4:35 a.m. Someone reported an intoxicated driver near cam-pus, but the ACU Police was unable to locate the subject. 11:35 a.m. The ACU Police returned found items to a sub-ject at The Grove apartments.1 p.m. Someone reported a suspicious vehicle near cam-pus, but the subjects had run out of gas. 4 p.m. The ACU Police per-formed a foot patrol of the Hunter Welcome Center, discov-ered two doors were unlocked and secured them immediately.

Saturday, April 1112:30 a.m. The ACU Police issued a traffic stop on Campus Court for speeding, and arrested the driver on several outstanding Taylor County warrants. 8:10 a.m. The ACU Police assisted the Abilene Police with a burglar alarm at The Grove apartments.10:10 a.m. Someone reported cru-elty to animals at University Park. 11:42 a.m. Someone reported a subject soliciting money in the Mabee Hall parking lot, but the ACU Police was unable to locate anyone.

Sunday, April 1210 a.m. Someone reported several lights turning on and off in Smith Adams Hall, but the ACU Police was unable to re-set the breaker box, and left mes-sages with Physical Resources.9 p.m. Someone reported a harassment near campus.

Always report suspicious activ-ity to ACUPD at 674-2305 or 674-2911.

Police LogEdited for space

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

Students receive recognition for academic accoladesBy Tanner AndersonPage Designer

Students this year are being recognized for their collegiate achievements, and some do not even realize it.

“I received what?” was a common reaction for stu-dents who opened envelopes addressed to them that con-tained certificates congratulat-ing them on their acceptance

to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. In all, 150 students from ACU were recognized by the annual volume, which highlights academic achieve-ments and campus leaders.

“I received something in the mail; I really thought it was a scam until I noticed the ACU logo,” said Kyle Moore, senior accounting major from Double Oak.

Moore has been involved with the Students’ Associa-tion Congress, participated in Spring Break Campaigns and is a member of the men’s social club Frater Sodalis.

Another 50 students will receive further recognition as University Scholars at Chapel on the Hill on Thursday. In or-der to receive this honor, stu-dents must have a minimum GPA of 3.5, experience in their

fields and a faculty nomination from their departments.

Their experiences may vary from lab research to fieldwork or mission trips.

Madison Saniuk, political sci-ence and Spanish major from Arlington, is one of the 50 stu-dents who will be receiving Uni-versity Scholars recognition.

Saniuk will be attending law school next fall at the Univer-sity of Virginia and founded

the student organization ACU for the International Rescue Committee in 2007. She also has been involved with the International Justice Mission and Social Justice committees on campus.

“It’s helpful professional-ly to be involved with these organizations,” Saniuk said. “But it also helps to have something that you are pas-sionate about.”

Saniuk does not applaud herself for her achieve-ments, instead she claims her achievements come from an-other source.

“It’s a huge honor and it’s humbling more than any-thing,” Saniuk said. “This is something that I appreci-ate, and it’s the glory of God that we’re able to accomplish these achievements.”

Network leader chosen for 2009-10 By Kaitlynn SellgrenStudent Reporter

Hail to the chief, not the president but Colter Hettich. Hettich, current features edi-tor of the Optimist, will be next year’s editor in chief for ACU’s stu-dent news-paper.

Under his leadership position, Het-tich, senior journalism major from Abilene, will be in charge of the entire JMC Net-work, said Daniel Johnson-Kim, senior journalism major from Abilene and current editor in chief. In addition to overseeing the production of two newspa-pers a week, Hettich also will organize the online and multi-media content at www.acuopti-mist.com.

The job of editor in chief en-tails more responsibilities than it once did, said Kenneth Pybus, co-adviser of the JMC Network and assistant professor of jour-nalism and mass communica-tion. Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, once said edi-tor in chief of the Optimist was the most difficult of all student jobs, Johnson-Kim said.

The hiring of Hettich was determined by Money, the Op-timist publisher; Cade White, co-adviser of the JMC Network and instructor of journalism and mass communication; Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of the De-partment of Journalism and Mass Communication, John-son-Kim and Pybus. To become the new editor in chief, Hettich submitted an application and participated in an interview with a committee made up of the aforementioned people.

While Hettich was the only applicant for the position, it is not unusual for only one per-son to go through the applica-tion process, Johnson-Kim said. This position is more of a self-selection process, and people weed themselves out before ac-tually applying.

Hettich’s first test as editor in chief will be hiring his staff for next year and producing the graduation issue of the Optimist during finals week, Johnson-Kim said. He then will spend the summer redesigning the news-paper, as any new editor in chief does. The editor in chief usually changes from year to year, mak-ing it more of a senior position.

Johnson-Kim, who was the first person to be in charge of the new JMC Network, the com-bined student media news’ op-

erations, will graduate in May and will move to New York City to attend the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia Uni-versity. There he will pursue a master’s degree in new media.

While Johnson-Kim said Het-tich is a great writer and has the ability to pick up slack, the new editor in chief must realize it is a demanding position.

After the Optimist took the Texas Intercollegiate Press As-sociation’s title of best overall newspaper, Hettich said he has big shoes to fill.

“Daniel did an incredible job with the paper and managing the network,” Hettich said. “I just want to help take it to the next level.”

Hettich will be responsi-ble for the twice-weekly pub-lication of the Optimist and ensuring that radio, broad-cast, video and print work together seamlessly.

“The newspaper business is adapting to the times, and right now nobody really knows where it’s going,” Hettich said. “I want to help prepare every staff member and myself for when we leave here, and deliver a quality product.”

E-mail Sellgren at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Hettich

Bargain Books

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Carlos Preciado, a missionary from Miami, looks through a book outside The Campus Store on Wednesday. The Friends of the Library sponsored the book fair in the Campus Center that began April 6 and ended April 8.

E-mail Anderson at: tsa04a@acu.edu

next fall. This new book is scheduled for release in early September and aligns with the Summit dates, Sept. 20-23.

Miller’s visit to ACU was made possible by the many sponsors that worked with the SA Congress, including the Cen-ter for Youth and Family Minis-try, the First Year Program and the College of Biblical Studies.

“This event is very special and quite expensive,” Bryce said. “There are several mem-bers of SA graduating this May who will not get credit for the visionary work they have done this semester that will pay off next semester.”

Page 4 Wednesday, April 15, 2009FROM THE FRONT

Access: Faculty reviews buildings

crutches cannot even enter the building because of the stairs leading to the doors.

Last January, one of Dr. Laura Carroll’s students who used a wheelchair sat outside Chambers Hall in chilly weath-er for more than 20 minutes before someone came by the classroom to deliver her mes-sage that she could not get into the building.

The incident motivated Car-roll, assistant professor of Eng-lish, to action. She is now the chairperson of a Faculty Senate-appointed committee that will soon review disability access to buildings on campus, beginning with Chambers Hall. Chambers Hall was built in 1929 and was last renovated in 1970.

“This building needs to have some updates if possible,” said Vickie Smith, instructor of Eng-lish. “There are some obvious obstacles when you’re dealing with an older building.”

Smith has experienced her own problems with Chambers Hall. She underwent ankle sur-

gery last December and was un-able to climb the stairs to her third floor office for more than two months.

“Of course, it’s very trau-matic to be away from your of-fice when you’re trying to build a syllabus or do lesson plans,” Smith said.

The English department of-fers classes to almost 3,500 students every year, includ-ing 150 English majors, one of whom uses a wheelchair, said Dr. Nancy Shankle, professor of English and chair of the department. The psychology department has about 200 psychology majors and 45 graduate students.

With so many students tak-ing classes, Shankle said it has become routine for either her or Dr. Richard Beck, associate professor of psychology and

chair of the psychology depart-ment, to reschedule at least one departmental class each semes-ter to meet student needs.

“It takes time. It inconve-niences everyone to do this,” Shankle said. “And if a student is injured during the year, we have to make the adjustment very quickly and then get the message to the students.”

Shankle said renovating Chambers Hall with an elevator has been researched in the past, and the cost of such a project would be at least $150,000.

“It’s very expensive to do it,” Shankle said. “The ques-tion I have is: at what point are we going to provide ac-cess to educational resources that students deserve in these two departments?”

Continued from page 1

Rocketboys: Band to release new albumprospective and current stu-dents could enjoy.”

Williams said it was relatively easy to contact The Rocketboys at their new location in Austin, and the band jumped at the opportunity to play in Abilene once again.

“It’s a little bit of nostalgia coming back,” guitarist Daniel Wheeler said. “I’m glad we’re staying connected. It’s cool to stay involved, and we feel pretty fortunate that we have a town that’s filled with support.”

The six-man group, which has been a full-time band since last spring, showcased some of

its latest work, playing songs titled Like Ice in Water, All the Western Winds, Sights and Sounds and Islands.

Wheeler said The Rocket-boys will begin a five-week tour in June with the band Dear Future to promote their new upcoming full-length al-bum, 20,000 Ghosts.

The release date for their album is not certain, but the band hopes to release it either late in the summer or early in the fall.

Wheeler said the album will have 11 tracks and will be 45 minutes to an hour long.

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Mitch Holt (’07), guitarist for The Rocketboys, plays in front of a crowd of students at the Hunter Welcome Center on Monday night.

Wisdom: Alumnus encourages students to livea bachelor’s degree. But af-ter feeling dissatisfied for focusing on personal gain, he decided to pursue voca-tional ministry and enrolled at ACU to earn a master’s degree in Biblical studies.

“Life is more about who God is rather than who we are because who we are is found in him,” Lollar said. “The more we know about God, the more we know about ourselves. He made us in his own image.”

Three years later, he graduated from ACU; however, he experienced trouble obtaining a job. Because of his disabili-ties, few business owners would hire him. Over the next five years, Lollar only was able to attain low-wage, odd jobs.

But after meeting the re-gional director of The Navi-gators Ministry, an inter-

denominational, nonprofit organization that mentors people one-on-one, Lol-lar found his job. He now works with students on the University of North Texas’ campus in Denton.

“He’s a humble brother in Christ,” said Mark Lewis, assistant dean for Spiritual Life and Chapel Programs. “He did amazing things to love people and to encour-age people.”

Lollar said he does not consider his disabilities to be hindrances.

“I just wanted to come here and encourage these students to live a life that’s beyond themselves,” Lollar said. “Weak is the new strong. God’s power can be available through your weaknesses.”

Author: Sponsors make visit possible

E-mail Anderson at: tsa04a@acu.edu

Continued from page 1

E-mail Gutierrez at: jmcnetwork@acu.eduE-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

E-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Todd Loller (’00) discusses his life during Monday’s Chapel forum in Moody Coliseum.

There are some obvious obstacles when you’re dealing with an older building.

:: Vickie Smith, instructor of English

“”

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Page 5CAMPUS NEWS

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Service groups unite for volunteer event By Chelsea HackneyStudent Reporter

The Service Action Leader-ship Team is celebrating the 10th anniversary of ACU for Abilene on Saturday by doing what it does best: service. Stu-dents will spend the morning at 13 different sites, from the Food Bank to the zoo, as they strive to make an impact on the Abilene community.

Many student groups, in-cluding several social clubs, have come together for this annual event, setting up their own service projects as part of the day’s activities. Court-ney Patterson, senior business management and market-ing major from Orlando, Fla., and co-chair of the event, said SALT is planning on a turnout of 150-200 students, partly because of the diversity of the groups involved.

This year’s event is intended to be better than previous ones. Instead of everyone scattering to their respective sites and

going home at noon, everyone involved is invited to return to campus for a free lunch and live entertainment in the Mall area in front of Moody Coliseum. Al-though only volunteers can eat, the rest of the event is open to the entire student body.

To help pull it off, SALT partnered with Wishing Well, an organization that provides clean water to people in Africa and has a large following on campus. Both organizations saw this as an opportunity to bring together a diverse group of students for a common pur-pose. In fact, the theme of this year’s event is United, based on Psalms 133:1.

“That was one of the first things we started with,” Pat-

terson said. “We really liked the idea of everyone coming to-gether and serving in unity.”

During the concert in the Mall area, some student organizations, including TOMS shoes and Handbags of Hope, will have booths set up for students to visit. The goal is to bring together all kinds of service oppor-tunities, both in the Abilene community and worldwide, said Maegan Terrell, soph-omore social work major from Garland and co-chair of ACU for Abilene.

“This will be an event that people walk away from think-ing, ‘I actually did something productive with my day,’ ” said Casey Monsees, junior history

major from Denver and co-di-rector of Wishing Well.

Wishing Well looks for people with a strong desire to serve, she said.

Not only does SALT want to bring different service organiza-tions together, but more impor-tantly, it wants to draw together students with servant hearts.

“Our challenge to ACU this year was to get more people involved, especially clubs and groups, instead of each of us being a single entity,” Terrell said. “When it comes down to it, it isn’t about us; it isn’t about SALT; it isn’t even really about ACU. It’s about God.”

Students can sign up for ACU for Abilene in the Campus Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Service sites will be avail-able on a first-come, first-serve basis. T-shirts designed by 25 Cloth also can be purchased for $8, and the proceeds go to feed families in developing countries. The event begins at 8 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m.

Fair links students with opportunitiesBy Ryan ElamStudent Reporter

Students looking for a job or internship but who are intimi-dated by face-to-face interac-tion with employers may have found their solution: a virtual job fair.

From Wednesday through Monday, the West Central Texas Career Consortium is teaming up with the ACU Career Center to conduct a virtual job fair. The fair is a convenient way for students of all ages to locate jobs, as well as summer internships.

“Everybody needs to en-gage the career search pro-cess as early as possible…those that start early will have advantages late,” said Tim Johnston, executive di-rector of the Career Center and associate vice president for Enrollment Management in University Relations.

Last fall more than 150 stu-dents and alumni participated in the fair; however, the virtual job fair is not limited to ACU students. The fair is open to ACU, Hardin-Simmons Uni-versity, McMurry University, Angelo State University, Dyess Air Force Base and some other academic organizations in the West Texas area.

“The virtual job fair is an opportunity for employers and students, both those that are graduating and need full-time work to those who need intern-ships, to connect electronically for a condensed period of time,” Johnston said. “Employ-ers will be communicating what jobs they have, and it makes it easy for students to quickly explore the different opportunities online.”

The fair offers a range of internships and part-time and full-time opportunities, includ-ing ministry, information tech-

nology, agriculture, health care and business, Johnston said.

Students can find jobs of-fered locally, nationally and internationally.

The virtual job fair has many opportunities that apply to every major, said Bradon Owens, employer relations manager in the Career Center.

With the economy the way it is, finding a job is becom-ing harder than ever.

“This is a difficult job mar-ket. Students who are seeking an internship or full-time job should make use of every op-portunity they have to interact with employers,” Owens said.

Students can register for the virtual job fair at colleg-ecentral.com/wctcc.

All students need to do is register,

E-mail Hackney at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Elam at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Jamming Junior

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Ian Smith, junior youth and family ministries major from Waco, performs a song at the ArtWalk in downtown Abilene on Thursday.

Awards: ACU wins recognitionplace awards, 10 third-place awards and 19 honorable mention honors.

ACU students have at-tended TIPA for 89 years and always have done well, but not always this well, said Kenneth Pybus, adviser of the JMC Network and assis-tant professor of journalism and mass communication.

“The awards we won are all important basic elements of a good newspaper,” Pybus said. “It is evidence that the construction of the News lab and the philosophy be-hind converged media is successful and is producing quality work.”

Daniel Johnson-Kim, senior journalism major from Abilene and editor in chief of the Op-timist, won nine individual awards. He said 51 wins proves “convergence is a great idea” and that the hard work from students in the department was not for nothing.

“We know now that we truly are one of the best de-partments, the best in the state,” Johnson-Kim said. “The education we’re get-ting here will benefit us when we get into the profes-sional world.”

John Best, KACU station manager, said he anticipates more wins based on this year’s success.

“As we start to better un-derstand the converged pro-cess and we start to create and work together more than we have now, we’re going to see an improvement in content and quality,” he said. “That will produce more wins.”

Johnson-Kim said the JMC department must move for-ward, not backward, from here and expects future JMC Network staff members to uphold the precedent of high-quality journalism.

“It’s great that we won, but that just means it’s going to get harder, and we have to do better,” he said.

Our challenge to ACU this year was to get more people involved, espe-cially clubs and groups, instead of us being a single entity.

:: Maegan Terrell, sophomore social work major from Garland

“”

Continued from page 1

Putting Science on Display

Heather Leiphart :: staff photographer

Kendra Gregory, senior environmental science major from Pittsburgh, discusses her research as part of the Un-dergraduate Research Festival in the Brown Library on Tuesday.E-mail Rodriguez at: sar06g@acu.edu

A clump of boys weighed down by football pads and helmets clash into each other as the sun sets one fall afternoon at Arthur Sears Park.

During Mighty Might Eagles’ practice, 8-year-old Angel Guitierrez focuses on his responsibili-ties: beating his blocker and sacking the quarterback.

Seated in an olive green camping chair a few yards off the practice field, his mother focuses on hers: watching her son and reading 20 pages for her morning class.

“Whenever the weather is nice, I just sit out there on my camping chair,” said 26-year-old Lezlee Guitierrez, sopho-more advertising/public relations major from Abilene. “I usually just read, but half of the time I’m watching him, so it is kinda hard to concentrate.”

While Lezlee finds time for her homework during foot-ball practice, April Guitierrez, no relation, reads for her classes while opening jars of Gerber baby food and wiping her 11-month-old son Elijah’s drool-filled face.

“To calm him down when I’m reading a textbook, I’ll read to him,” said April, junior accounting major from El Paso. “He’s learned a lot about business.”

Several students at ACU study full time while raising a child at home. Rather than worrying about only grades, notes and assignments, students like Lezlee and April bal-ance their time with the challenges of motherhood.

Both would like to focus all of their attention on their schooling, but Elijah needs to be changed and Angel has practice.

They are mothers first, students second.

Lezlee’s story

The summer after graduating from Abilene High School in 2000, Lezlee discovered she was pregnant with Angel.

The news was hard; the decision to keep the baby was not.

“My mom suggested getting an abortion,” said Lezlee, who was 18 when she got pregnant. “I was like, ‘Forget about that.’ I just felt like it wasn’t her responsibility; it’s mine, so she didn’t have any say in it anyways.”

Marrying Angel’s father was not an option. He already had several children with other women, and Lezlee ques-tioned if he would be a good example for her son.

Her mother warned her once the child was born every-thing would change. Lezlee decided to find a school out-side of Abilene where she could earn some college credit before her mother’s warning came true.

“I kept asking myself, ‘What am I going to do?’” Lezlee said. “That’s when I decided to go ahead and get some

credits while I could before the baby came.”Never a devoted student in high school, Lezlee said she

would have excelled had she had more encouragement. Her parents were too preoccupied with their marriage troubles and divorce proceedings to pay much attention to her or her siblings, she said. Rather than focusing on her studies, Lezlee spent most of her time with friends. Today she ad-mits her study habits affected her grades and her chances of getting into college.

“I was a, ‘barely enough to get by’ kind of student,” Lezlee said. “I know if I could have pushed myself a little more, I would have done better.”

With mediocre grades, Lezlee settled for the ESS Col-lege of Business, a small business school in Dallas that only offered associate degrees. She hoped to work in an attorney’s office upon completion of a two-year program.

But her plans fell apart when she discovered she had been misled. The school was not accredited, and the time she spent in the classroom had been for nothing. When she uncovered the truth of her educational situation, she was more than eight months pregnant.

“I got stuck with the bill and no credit,” Lezlee said.With her belly at full size, she chose to collect her loss-

es and return to Abilene. “I left on a Thursday and had him on that next Mon-

day,” Lezlee said.

On Feb. 7, 2001, Lezlee gave birth to Angel Luna Guiti-errez. She chose the name Angel because her grandmoth-er’s name was Angelita and her middle name was Angela. Her son has a different reason for the origin of his name.

“Angels are the best thing in the whole world,” Angel explained.

The first time she held Angel in her arms, she was con-fronted by the realization of her mother’s prophecy — her life would never be the same.

“That’s the first thing that scares you when you have a kid: everything they do depends on you,” Lezlee said.

While lying in her hospital bed, she began wondering who would take care of Angel while she worked dur-ing the day. She worried if she would get a job that paid enough to provide for her son, and where she and her new baby would live.

Lezlee quickly got a job as a bank teller at a local bank to cover the unforeseen expenses of a newborn baby and began renting a house from her aunt. For three years she jumped from bank to bank, making just enough to get by. Relatives watched her infant son, while she worked.

When Angel was about 1-year-old, Lezlee said she tried to reconcile with her son’s father. She hoped to inject a father figure into Angel’s life, but after several incidents of infidelity, Lezlee had enough and called it quits with her son’s father for good.

“We always argued, and I just don’t think it’s healthy to be around a bad environment,” Lezlee said. “I like know-ing he’s just my kid, and whatever I say goes.”

While struggling to pay the bills and constantly living from paycheck to paycheck, Lezlee decided the banking business was not for her.

“I realized that I didn’t want to work there forever and that I needed to go back to school,” Lezlee said.

Angel was 3 years old when she traded her job as a bank teller for one waiting tables at night. She took what-ever classes she could afford during the day at Cisco Ju-nior College, and never neglected her main responsibility: raising Angel.

While earning credits at Cisco, Lezlee met Manuel Vasquez through a friend. They started dating and have been dating for four years. He works for a wind energy company and grew into the father figure Lezlee always had wanted for Angel.

“It was hard at first because Angel wasn’t used to him being around,” Lezlee said. “He was used to it just being me and him, and all of a sudden somebody’s here all the time. At first he was like, ‘You’re still here? When are you going home?’”

After four years of slowly collecting credits at Cisco, Lezlee transferred to ACU in the fall of 2007.

At 26 years old, she hopes to graduate in 2010, a decade after the day she first stepped into a college classroom. Although the unplanned birth of her son may have slowed down her graduation plans,

she could not imagine the past 10 years without Angel.

“We’re just really close because we kinda grew up to-gether,” Lezlee said “I was just a kid when I had him.”

April’s story

April stood in her University Park apartment bathroom staring at the pink home pregnancy test she just bought at Wal-Mart.

She followed the instructions closely. She prayed she was not pregnant. She feared what a positive result would mean to her life plans and reputation.

Slowly a faded pink positive sign appeared on the test, displaying the beginning of a detour in April’s education and life.

She quickly took the other test that came in the box, just to be sure.

“I might as well,” April said she thought to herself. “Maybe that was wrong; let’s try another one.”

A positive sign appeared a second time, and April grabbed her cell phone to dial the number of her child-hood sweetheart, Israel Zapata.

Israel, 24, lived in El Paso and at the time was earning an associate degree in automotive technology at West-ern Technical College. The two had been dating on and off since high school, and their romantic relationship had been long-distance since its inception. April was one semester into her junior year at ACU, and Israel said the two would talk to each other on the telephone daily and he was expecting a phone call that evening.

“He was actually excited about it,” April said. Israel was visiting his parents and remembers rushing

back to his apartment. Worried of their reaction, he told his parents the next

day. Just as worried, April told hers soon after. “A lot of people were mad because we weren’t married

and because I was going to school and he was still going to school, so my parents just didn’t really understand,” April said.

“There was a lot of criticism,” Israel added. Both families took the news soberly, Israel said,

but had disagreements on what the couple should choose to do.

April was born out of wedlock, and her mother’s expe-rience of raising a child at a young age without a spouse was not what she wished for her daughter; she wanted April to have an abortion.

Israel’s father is a minister; he saw an abortion as shirk-ing responsibility and a sin in God’s eyes.

“My mom had me when she was 18, and didn’t want me to follow in her path,” April said.

“My dad pretty much raised us that when we make a mistake, we’re the ones that take care of it; it’s our conse-quence,” Israel added quickly after.

After frequent fights on the telephone with her moth-er, and lectures from Israel’s father, the couple decided it was time to get married and live with the consequence of their actions.

“The family was the hardest to deal with,” April said. With family and Israel a few hours drive away, April

kept her pregnancy a secret while she completed the semester. She heard rumors she would be dismissed from the university for getting pregnant out of wed-lock, and it convinced her to keep the news within a small group of friends.

“We really couldn’t tell anybody because I had always heard that ACU looks down on it,” April said.

According to the 2008-09 ACU Student Handbook, there is a policy that prohibits premarital sex. “Cohabita-tion and/or sexual immorality, including both heterosex-ual and homosexual behavior,” is a Category Three vio-lation of the student handbook. Disciplinary responses to a Category Three violation may include, but are not limited to, “suspension from the university, an account-ability agreement; loss of privilege; minimum fine of $100 or restitution; discretionary assignments; loss or reduction of scholarships; participation in educational programming; eviction from university housing; delay in or prohibition of registering for classes; denial of read-mission without approval of Dean of Students or his or her designee,” according to the Student Handbook.

The couple decided April would put her education on hold and take a semester off for the pregnancy.

She returned to El Paso, and the couple married Feb. 29, 2008. Elijah Zapata was born May 9, 2008.

Like Lezlee’s experience, the couple said the focus of their lives changed the day their son was born. Even April’s mother fell in love with her new grandson.

“She loves him now; he’s her world,” April said. “When he was born, she pretty much cried because she was so happy about him.”

While the couple adjusted to being new parents, they de-cided April would resume her education. Although she was eager to get back to school, she was not looking forward to returning to ACU without her new husband and son.

They did not have a place to live in Abilene, and Is-rael was searching for a job, so April traveled back to ACU alone.

She would spend most days crying on the telephone. She cherished every moment she could spend on the phone talking to Elijah and Israel.

“The hardest things were not being able to touch him or hold him,” April said. “I remember before I left I would just hold him and cry because I felt like I was neglecting my role as a mother because I thought I was making other people take care of him because I wasn’t able to.”

The tears dried when her son and husband moved to Abilene in October. The couple lived in a small one-bed-room apartment in UP filled with a mix of textbooks, baby food and toys, until they moved to an apartment complex off campus in January.

April splits her schedule going to class and working part time at the “World Famous Bean.” Israel works in the tire and battery center at Sam’s Club.

Israel said the couple “tag-teams” when taking care of Elijah. When one is at work or class, the other watches their son.

Although the couple struggles to pay the bills and relies on food stamps to cover some grocery costs,

they are content with just being together. They may not have the typical story of an ACU family, but their pride to be at ACU can be seen through their wardrobe.

“I hope people would understand more that we’re hap-py with what we are and yeah it is hard, but we are a fam-ily,” April said while wearing an “ACU Volunteer” T-shirt.

Her husband nods in agreement in his ACU baseball cap, and Elijah reveals a toothless smile while drool and snot drip onto his Willie the Wildcat T-shirt with the words “On my way to ACU!” in big, bright, purple letters.

Anomalies in the classroom

Although Lezlee and April’s sons have years be-tween them, their mothers’ weekdays both begin the same way: early.

Lezlee is up by 6:30 a.m., preparing breakfast for An-gel and finishing last-minute homework at the same time. While Angel catches up on his favorite teams on the NFL Network between bites of his cereal, Lezlee gathers her and her son’s things for school.

In April and Isaiah’s apartment, Elijah is usually the first one up in the morning.

“He’s an early riser,” April said. “He’s the alarm clock; we never set our alarms.”

After teeth are brushed, Elijah is dressed and the couple says their goodbyes, Israel heads to work at Sam’s Club, and April drops their son off at daycare before traveling to her first morning class.

Angel exits his mother’s SUV at Ortiz Elementary School. Lezlee always sneaks a kiss whenever Angel’s friends are not looking.

“I’m embarrassed when she gives me a kiss, but not when she gives me a hug,” Angel said of their morning ritual. “When my mom kisses me, it’s not just one time, but two or three times and she keeps kissing me and the other kids start looking at me.”

“He’s my baby,” Lezlee explains.Most of Lezlee’s classmates in her classes have no idea

she has a 7-year-old son at home.Lezlee’s cover as a regular student is only blown when

the discussion digresses from the lesson of the day. “My son’s team won this weekend,” Lezlee said to a

student adjacent to her desk in her 9:30 a.m. class.“You have a son?” an eavesdropping student said, in-

terrupting.April also flies under the radar in the classroom.She said she does not talk about her home life with her

classmates much, but when she is asked, she opens up.After class, Lezlee and April head to their part-time jobs. Some days Lezlee waits tables at Olive Garden during

the lunch hours before her afternoon classes. Others, she works nights after the school day is done.

April works a similar schedule, spending most of her weekday afternoons and some evenings preparing and serving food in the Bean.

Lezlee picks up Angel around 5 p.m. at his school. If there is no sports practice, they head home where Manuel usually is waiting for them. Lezlee tidies the house and prepares dinner before focusing on the homework she has left over for the evening.

“Usually most moms aren’t busy like that, but my mom’s busy,” Angel said. “My mom always has to work, read a book and do her study work out of a book.”

Israel leaves his job and picks up Elijah from daycare around 2:30 p.m. Depending on the day, April is at work or in class, so Israel watches Elijah during the afternoon.

April gets home around dinnertime, and Israel ei-ther heads to work or continues to watch Elijah while April works on homework. When Israel is not there to help, April splits time completing her assignments and playing with her son yearning for attention.

April said she has to manage her time between home-work and taking care of her son — a balancing act she sees as harder than the schedule of an average student.

“It’s hard when I have a report due and I need to take care of him and sometimes he doesn’t want to go to bed on time,” April said.

One evening April wrote a paper outside while Elijah swung on his swing outside.

“He just sat there and watched the cars while I finished my paper,” April said.

Between 8-9 p.m., both mothers tuck their sons into bed.

If all of their homework is done, each mother heads to their beds for much-needed rest — another day of balancing motherhood and being a full-time student is a night’s sleep away.

Abandoning selfishness

April understands it takes self-sacrifice and devo-tion to be a good mother, but deep down she admits she sometimes envies other students’ freedom to do whatever they want.

While she used to be able to “hang out all night” or spend time out of the house with her husband, now she must constantly make sure Elijah has ev-erything he needs.

“I really just bottle it up,” April said of her envy. “I have to constantly remind myself that it’s not just me any-more, and I can’t be selfish with what I want to do with my time.”

She hid her pregnancy and is weary when she tells peo-ple her story. She said she lies to people about when she and Israel were married because she has grown tired of the judgmental responses she sometimes gets.

“Living on a Christian campus, I think they’re more like-ly to condemn,” April said. “I lie a lot about the date that we were married or I don’t even explain to people.”

Like April, Lezlee does not regret having Angel, but said it might have been easier had it been expected.

“Other students just don’t understand how much work it is,” Lezlee said. “Some of them just go to class or work, and some of them don’t even work.”

She said she often has trouble getting everything done and can see oncoming difficulties if she works as an an-chor for a television station. Lezlee said the strange hours and demanding deadlines in the news business might put a strain on her motherly responsibilities. But this simply will be another obstacle she and her son overcome.

“I’m glad I have him,” Lezlee said. “No matter what, your life is going to be on pause to have a kid; you just don’t know what stage of your life you’re going through at that time.”

Both women said they thank God for the men in their lives who help them through it all.

Manuel is a constant anchor who encourages Lezlee whenever she is overwhelmed. He helps whenever he can and is a great example for Angel, Lezlee said. Lezlee’s de-votion to her son and dreams to graduate from college attracted Manuel to her and inspires him to reach for a better life.

“It’s hard; it’s not easy. During the week we’re constant-ly busy,” Manuel said. “When I get off work, she’s trying to cook dinner or clean up, and at the same time trying to do her school work.”

Lezlee plans to marry Manuel, but not until she is done with school.

“We just have so many bills right now, so I said ‘Forget the ring. Let’s wait until I finish school,’” Lezlee said.

Likewise, April said Israel always has been there for her. He said their love and their son grow daily. Although they do not always know how they will pay for rent, daycare and life’s other expenses, they lean on each other and God.

“You learn how to love,” Israel said. “You have to learn how to love this new person that came into your life right then and there. You have to love everybody that is around you supporting you, and I’ve grown to love my wife more than I used to.”

Both mothers hope to instill the dedication to edu-cation they have, and agree there is one lesson their children must learn: wait until the right time to start their own family.

“I love my life and I love where I am right now and I wouldn’t give it up for the world,” April said. “We are young and we did make life-altering decisions, but it doesn’t mean that we’re bad people.”

Homework, money troubles and the day-to-day stress-es of motherhood may overwhelm Lezlee and April. But they do not regret the decision to put their educations on hold and have their children.

They both recognize the positive effect motherhood has on their work ethic and determination to succeed, and have daily reminders of the joy their sons bring to their lives.

Lezlee thanks “the Lord every night” for Angel. Elijah is April’s “whole world.”

Life after

That’s the first thing that scares you about having a kid: everything they do depends on you.

:: Lezlee Guiterrez, sophomore advertising/public relations major from Abilene

“”

BIRTH

I have to constantly remind myself that it’s not just me anymore, and I can’t be selfish with what I want to do with my time.

:: April Guitierrez, junior accounting major from El Paso.

“”

Page 7Page 6

FocusWednesdayApril 15, 2009

Lezlee helps Angel work on his receiving skills in the front yard. E-mail Johnson-Kim at: djj04a@acu.edu

Israel keeps Elijah entertained in the Brown Library while April studies.

Lezlee and Angel take a break from front-yard practice.

Unbeknownst to most of their classmates, a sophomore and a junior at ACU are more than

full-time students:

They are full-time mothers.

April Guitierrez tries to get her studying out of the way, while her 11-month-old son, Elijah, explores the desktop in the Brown Library.

By: Daniel Johnson-Kim, Editor in Chief; Photos by: Zak Zeinert, Chief Photographer

ViewsWednesdayPage 8

Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous

information or invasion of privacy.Please limit letters to 350 words or

fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to:ACU Box 27892

Abilene, TX 79699

E-mail letters to: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Editorial and letter policy

Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

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Editorial and Management Board

Daniel Johnson-KimEditor in Chief

Michael FreemanManaging Editor

Sommerly SimserMult. Managing Editor

Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

Zak ZeinertChief Photographer

Grant AbstonSports Editor

Lydia MelbyArts Editor

April 15, 2009

Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463

Optimistthe

Fox News and CNN do not have flags. The Orange Coun-ty Register and the New York Times do not have anthems

or salutes. Do not

pledge al-legiance to them. Do not swallow ev-ery word that comes from any media outlet with-out question.

Consider the cold, hard fact that humans

write every word of the news — humans who make mis-takes, humans who have opin-ions and humans who rarely have the time or resources to get every perspective.

Sympathetic media is part of a broader problem: an increasing disinterest in objectivity and open debate.

John Milton wrote it best, “Let [Truth] and falsehood grapple; whoever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?”

The 2008 presidential election drew a line in Amer-ica’s sand — Democrats on one side, Republicans on the other. A head-to-head democratic contest, partic-ularly one with the highly pervasive campaigning of 2008, elicits loyal support. But much of that sentiment outlived the election, fur-thering division.

The Sean Hannitys and Keith Olbermanns of na-

tional media thrive on this division. They make it ap-pear as though profession-al journalists interpret the news, instead of fulfilling their true obligation: re-porting the news. Biased commentators have blurred the essential line between opinion and news.

This trend would have been far less dangerous 100 years ago; in fact, newspapers began as platforms for politi-cians to further their agendas. But technology has allowed individuals to drown them-selves in concurring opinion, via mobile devices, televi-

sion, newspapers, magazines, blogs, satellite radio and oth-ers. Milton’s “open encoun-ters” should be more preva-lent than ever; but instead, we seem to use these avenues to seek out others who agree with us, falsely affirming the Truth in our ideology.

Join me in rocking this trend, from the grassroots up. Let us cast mainstream labels aside and define our-selves with something great-er than liberal, conservative, moderate or independent. Do not be ashamed if you feel a beloved ideal losing its hold; but more impor-tantly, do not be proud if you help another refine his or her stance.

ACU forces us to serve. It gets us into the community a few times, gives us a comfort-able glimpse of poverty and

provides us enough time to snap a few pictures of ourselves laughing and hugging the i m p o v e r -ished. Unfor-tunately and inev i t ab ly , the begin-ning of the d i s t o r t i o n of a heart of

service begins with a grade.Conditional service evolves.

We have the desire to serve, but we have a greater desire to let people know we are serv-ing. Maybe our service is not necessary for a class anymore, but everyone is watching now. We want everyone to know we played tag with a group of impoverished children on the other side of town, and we want everyone to know we take precious time out of our day to bless an old soul across town with some goodies. But we don’t want people to know we want them to know.

So we make it into some-thing social. We organize a concert and make T-shirts to raise money for a cause, but end up spending more or-ganizing the event than was raised at the event. We start to believe we can’t help anyone unless we have enough mon-ey to give because, after all, a check in the mail is the most personal form of service.

Consider non-profit orga-nizations devoted to building structures that will enhance the lives of peoples across the globe. Consider the “save a child with one click” groups on Facebook. The intent for both, and all organizations of this nature, is service. But,

how complicated are we mak-ing service by inserting hun-dreds of middlemen when we could just walk outside and humble ourselves directly to the needs of others? Of course, we’d get less publicity if we all did this.

From here, there is a dan-ger service may turn into a stepping stone to good, Chris-tian publicity and reputations — something that is about us. It’s something we want people to see, something we want to do loudly.

But Christ does not tell us to be loud or boastful. On the contrary, he tells us to “not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).

Try not talking about your service. Try quietly going to a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter or any other place in need and just serve. Spend a day existing to help others. Use yourself instead of mon-ey or materials. Don’t take pictures of yourself with the poor souls whose lives you’ve saved and plaster them all over Facebook. Avoid turning service into an event and de-cline the T-shirt. Don’t docu-ment it on an application for graduate school and don’t try to impress the world with how much you’ve helped the unfortunate ones.

That’s called pride, not ser-vice. Learn the difference.

Sara Rodriguez works through the night. She washes windows. She vacuums carpets. Some-

times students are locked out of a building or leave an item in a locked room, and she has the opportunity to assist them.

Although the job is not an easy one, ACU janitors like Sara say they are pleased with the respect they receive from those on campus.

It is no simple task rid-ding the campus of all 4,800 students’ crumpled-up gum wrappers, leftover pizza box-es and other items tossed in places besides designated

trash bins. Each day and night, custodians scour the campus doing just that, allowing ACU to maintain a healthy and clean environment.

A career in the janitorial industry may not sound ap-pealing to some because of the hours and responsibili-ties, but those employed by ACU appear satisfied thanks to students and staff who take the time to acknowledge their outstanding efforts.

Val Mascari, director of services for Witt, Fiala, Flan-nery and Associates Facility Services, ACU’s contracted housekeepers, said he could not ask for a more exception-

al janitorial staff. The impact students and ACU staff have on a custodian’s life can be positive or negative. Mascari said ACU has had a posi-tive effect on those working to keep our campus clean through small, but meaning-ful acts of appreciation.

“A girl called in and asked if she could do something special for the workers in Bar-ret Hall for Valentine’s Day,” Mascari said. “Little things like that show our workers they are appreciated.”

For Thanksgiving, Nan-cy Coburn, director of the Volunteer Service-Learning Center, and the Service Ac-

tion Leadership Team gave Wal-Mart gift cards to each custodian as a thank you for all their hard work.

Participation like this from all departments and student groups could con-tinue the positive relation-ship between all campus workers and students.

The present relationship between janitors and stu-dents, faculty and staff may be altered by intentional disrespect of the campus grounds. When someone commits an act of vandal-ism, he or she does it to a person, not only the cam-pus. If keeping the campus

clean is not enough motiva-tion in and of itself, think of people like Sara.

Common courtesy should dictate respectful treatment. Staff members at a Christian

university should be offered that much at the least.

True service avoids public celebration

ACU staff deserves respect from students, faculty

Political opinion should transcend party lines

E-mail Rodriguez at: sar06g@acu.edu

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

The issue:ACU janitorial staff members work hard to keep the campus in pristine condition.

Our view:When students vandalize campus or otherwise disrespect the efforts of ACU staff to keep campus clean and functioning, they disrespect the workers themselves. The solution:Disrespectful behavior toward ACU staff misrepresents the university and Christian ideals and should not be tolerated.

Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor

Cody VetetoChief Videographer

DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager

Sondra RodriguezPage 2 Editor

Kenneth PybusAdviser

Cade WhiteAdviser

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

‘ACU Career Center Ca-pabilities Expanded by 21st Century Vision’ in the Wednesday, March 25 Optimist, Tanner Knauth brought up a great point about ACU being ‘proactive in trying to place graduates in jobs in their respective fields.’ He suggests that by

expanding the capabilities and resources of the Career Center, graduates could be less worried or concerned.

The 21st Century Vi-sion agrees with Tanner and started enhancing the capabilities of the Career Center for fall 2009. We encourage all students

to visit the new Career Center in the Hunter Wel-come Center. You will see first hand what ACU has committed in the way of resources, people, and fa-cilities to provide the best possible career services to students, staff, faculty, alumni and parents. Since the Career Center reorga-nization last June, we have taken our message to the streets, the Internet, the classroom, the library, the Bean and to your parents. The Career Center’s three-pronged approach includes career Counseling, Coach-ing, and Connections.

From as early as the freshman year through graduation, we partner with academic departments and other key groups on cam-pus to provide career assis-tance in these three areas.

Just this spring semester alone, we will host or co-host 3 career fairs/expos, 4 indus-try specific presentations by ACU alumni, coordinate on-campus interviews, complete over 70 hours of open advis-ing in the Library Commons, present over 2 dozen group/class presentations, offer over 60 mock interviews, and com-plete more than 200, one-on-one advising appointments.

Yes, these are tough eco-nomic times. Yes, school debt is a reality for most students. Yes, finding that first career opportunity takes a lot of work. The Ca-reer Center can help.

We encourage all stu-dents to begin working with the Career Center no later than your sophomore year. Many organizations only hire from their intern-ship pool and many sum-mer internship positions require applying and inter-viewing in the fall. Many students start too late — don’t be one of the many. Start early! Come visit the

Career Center in the Hunter Welcome Center or look for us in the Library Commons on Wednesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.

Letter to the Editor

The Career Center Team:Cynthia Cooke

Career Development

Rebekah Davis Office Manager

Tim Johnston Executive Director

Daniel OrozcoAssociate Director

Bradon OwensEmployer Relations Manager

Career Center provides career opportunities

E-mail Hettich at: clh05d@acu.edu

By Colter Hettich

Running of the Bull

By Sondra Rodriguez

Please Be On Time

Let us cast mainstream labels aside and define ourselves with something greater than liberal, conservative, moderate or independent.

“”

We have the desire to serve, but we have a greater desire to let people know we’re serving.

“

”

best Masters’ finish in six tries and made some memo-ries along the way.

“I’ve gone every year,” Mike said. “[Chad] rents a house for the week, and in the past, his caddie, me and one of his junior college teammates stay, and it’s been the four of us, but our parents came down this year, so there was six of us.”

Chad matched his career-best finish at a major tourna-ment after finishing second at the 2003 PGA Champion-ship. In 2006, Chad actually was atop the leader board for two rounds at the Masters be-

fore finishing tied for third. But this time was different — Chad opened the tourna-ment with five birdies, estab-lishing a Masters’ record, and was the leader for the first two rounds after shooting an opening round of 65 before a second-round 72.

After falling behind by two strokes entering Sunday’s final round, Chad joined Perry and Cabrera in a playoff after Perry scored a bogie on No. 18. But Perry and Cabrera both record-ed par on the first playoff hole, while Chad recorded a bogie to end his run.

“Me and Chad watched it every year on TV growing up and we have some spe-

cial memories,” Mike said. “To have your name on the leader board is cool, and to play as well as he did was very exciting, and I’m very proud of him.”

But despite getting to watch his brother just miss a win at the Masters, Mike took a few special memories away, in-cluding an autograph from his favorite player growing up. In Wednesday’s par three tour-nament, Chad was paired with Tom Watson, a two-time Mas-ters winner, eight-time majors tournament winner and one of Mike’s all-time favorites.

“I got to meet him and get his autograph and say, ‘hello,’ so that was something

I will never forget,” Mike said. “Chad actually got me a signed golf ball from him, and I got my hat signed. It was my two favorite golfers — Chad’s No. 1 and Tom’s No. 2, so that was pretty cool.”

Mike also got another souvenir as Chad’s caddie tossed Mike the golf ball Chad used to birdie the first five holes, establishing a Masters’ record.

“Walking from the No. 8 green to the No. 9 tee box, you can get pretty close,” Mike said. “[Chad’s] caddie Judd said, ‘Hey Mike,’ and throws the golf ball that he made five birdies with to me. A lot of fans turned to look, but that

was cool, and I have that golf ball at my house.”

Despite being Chad’s brother, Mike was able to follow Chad around rela-tively unnoticed all week, taking in the atmosphere and enjoying Chad’s run atop the leaderboard.

“I kind of walked by my-self and talked to friends and everything, but going along it was kind of me, and that’s how I like to do it,” Campbell said. “On 18, I got to come inside the gallery ropes up by the gallery tent and I watched the playoff with Amy, his wife, and our parents and his agent.”

But despite watching his

brother just miss a first-place finish, Mike returned to ACU after an exciting weekend, getting to witness his brother set records as well as an opportunity to meet one of his idols.

“I could tell he was disap-pointed, which is natural, but we were very pleased with the way he played,” Mike said. “He can take a lot of positives away from the experience, and we are proud because he played awesome.”

up until the pole vault, and the winds shifted on him. He could have qualified had he cleared a bar but he will do another one here before long.”

The throwers and pole vaulters fought strong winds in San Angelo on Thursday as three pole vaulters earned automatic qualifying bids. Cal-lie Young, Landon Ehlers and Cory Altenberg all earned bids with their performances.

Young jumped a personal best of 12 feet, 11.5 inches de-spite the high winds in San An-gelo. Ehlers cleared 16-6, while Altenberg improved his previ-ous mark by jumping 16-10.75. Nick Jones won the discus and placed second in the shot put.The Texas Tech Invitational was delayed three hours Thursday evening due to high winds.

“The winds died down, but then it got really cold once the sun went down, but I was re-ally proud of how they hung in there and competed,” Hood said. “We came out relatively injury free. That was the thing I was most worried about in that kind of weather.”

Hood said Amos Sang was the highlight for the Wildcats in Lubbock. Sang finished just five seconds behind the automatic quali-fying mark in the 5,000-me-ter. Desmond Jackson hit an automatic qualifying mark

by running the 200-meter in 21 seconds flat.

“Desmond’s mark is the best ever for him and the second in the nation so far this season,” Hood said.

Jordan Johnson hit a provi-sional mark in the 400-meter by running a 47.45. Harold Jackson was just .02 of a second away from hitting an automatic mark in the 400-meter hurdles.

“If we can get Harold in that, that would add some depth to an event where we haven’t had anyone for a while,” Hood said.

On the women’s side, Kim Prather hit an automatic mark in the 200-meter; Azraa Rounds hit a provisional mark in the 400-meter and the 4-by-100-meter relay team hit a provi-sional mark as well.

This weekend, the Wildcats will split up once again with some of the distance runners, javelin thrower Linda Brivule and a few jumpers traveling to Walnut, Calif., to the Mt. SAC Relays. The rest of the Wildcats competing will travel to Baylor for the Michael Johnson Classic on Saturday.

Hood said the Mt. SAC Re-lays would have good compe-tition for the distance runners, including some international competitors. The Michael Johnson Classic will consist of mostly Texas schools in addi-tion to Colorado.

and survived a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, allowing just one run. Benedict was credited with her third win of the season as ACU held on to win 12-10.

“It’s awesome that we don’t have just one or two players carrying the team,” Wilson said. “Everyone can produce; all the girls have been working hard and practicing well.”

In game two of Friday’s dou-bleheader, Kim Partin pitched a complete game to notch her

ninth win of the season in a 4-1 win. Despite leaving 10 run-ners on base, TSU scored its only run in the seventh inning, while ACU got one run in the first, two in the third and one in the sixth. Second baseman Jackie Gentile and short stop Melissa Rodriguez led ACU, each going 2-3 with 1 RBI.

In the series finale Saturday, the TexAnns jumped out to a 4-1 lead after scoring four runs in the top of the third inning. But with two outs and runners on second and third in the bot-tom of the fourth, catcher Jes-

sica Shiery stepped to the plate and hit a towering shot over the center field fence to tie the game at four.

In the bottom of the sev-enth inning and the game still tied, TSU intentionally walked Shiery. Genevie Ramirez then came in to pinch run for her and advanced to second on a single by Rodriguez. With two outs, left fielder Shelby McEl-vain hit a walk off single to score Ramirez and give ACU a 5-4 win.

Partin, who took over for starter Gregoire in the third

inning, pitched the final 4 1/3 innings, allowing no runs while striking out three to earn her 10th win of the season. Shiery led ACU’s offense, going 2-3 with 3 RBI, while center fielder Caitlin Nabor went 2-3.

Results for ACU’s double-header against UT-Permian Basin on Tuesday were un-available for press time. ACU finishes LSC play with a three-game road series against East-ern New Mexico beginning Fri-day at 1 p.m.

the first set 7-5 before drop-ping the second set 2-6, but Drummond came back in the final set to win 7-5 and take the match. In the No. 3 singles match, Jaclyn Walker defeated Paula Dinuta 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, and Dina Pavlin won the No. 4 singles match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. De-spite the split, the Wildcats

came up short in the end, losing the match 4-3.

ACU looked to even up the weekend with a match against the No. 14 team in Division II, Northeastern State. The Wildcats dominated the Grey-hounds from the beginning, sweeping all three doubles matches to take an early 3-0 lead. The singles matches were well contested in the top three slots, with two of them going

to three sets. Squillaci, Drum-mond, Walker, Carver and Natalie Friend all won singles matches as ACU took five of six matches.

After the weekend’s match-es, the women move to 21-4 on the season and 6-0 in confer-ence play. The men will return to action Saturday against con-ference opponents East Cen-tral and Southeastern Okla-homa. East Central is currently

second in the conference with a record of 10-17 overall and 2-1 in conference. Southeast-ern Oklahoma sits last in con-ference with an 0-2 conference record and 7-7 overall record.

“It was a great weekend for the girls, and now we hope that we have a similar weekend for the men this weekend,” Jones said.

Softball: McElvain hits walk off single in finale

weeks now and is picking up the slack in the four hole and has been huge for us,” Bonneau said.

Latz finished with a game-high three hits and 3 RBI, while Hall finished 3-4 with 1 RBI. Starting pitcher Preston Van-cil earned a no-decision after going 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and striking out nine, while closer Brad Ruther-ford earned his eighth win of the season after pitching the final 2/3 innings and allowing no runs on no hits.

In game two, Northeastern State bounced back with an 8-5 win after scoring three runs in the final three innings to break a 5-5 tie. Offensively, center fielder Thomas Bumpass led the team with three hits, while first baseman Bret Bochsler,

third baseman Cameron Wat-ten and Schmitt all had two hits. Relief pitcher Matt Sulli-van picked up the loss despite allowing just one unearned run in 3 1/3 innings.

On Saturday, ACU opened with a 5-3 win, as starting pitcher Cameron Aspaas im-proved to 7-1 after going 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. Northeast-ern State opened with a three-run first inning but managed just six hits and no runs the rest of the game.

The Wildcats scored three runs in the third to tie the game and scored two runs in the fourth to take the lead for good after Bumpass and Page each recorded RBI sin-gles. Bumpass finished with a game-high three hits, while Page and Schmitt added two hits. Page had a team-high 2

RBI, while short stop Willie Uechi and Schmitt had the other Wildcat RBIs.

“[Aspaas and Vancil] got us deep into the game and they keep getting better and better towards the end of the season which is a good sign,” Bonneau said. “Seeing those two have back-to-back weekends pitch-ing well is good for us.”

In the series finale, ACU jumped to a 3-0 lead through five innings before Northeast-ern State scored three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. With two outs and Uechi on second in the eighth, Wat-ten singled to center to score Uechi and give the Wildcats a 4-3 win. Rutherford picked up his second win of the series after pitching the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on two hits. Starting pitcher Coo-per Page earned a no-decision

after going six innings, allow-ing three runs on three hits.

Offensively, Latz finished 2-4, while Watten went 1-3 with a game-high 2 RBI. Page and Hall had the other RBIs for the Wildcats, as ACU earned its seventh series win of the season.

The Wildcats play Texas Wesleyan in a non-conference game Wednesday before travel-ing to play second-place Cam-eron in a four-game LSC series beginning Friday at 3 p.m.

“We like to have midweek games and get guys playing time, and it’s good for pitch-ers that did not get to pitch,” Bonneau said. “It’s good to throw against a good team and have a midweek game to prepare us for a big weekend against Cameron.”

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Page 9SPORTS JUMPS

Continued from page 10

Baseball: Cats take three of four from Northeastern

Tennis: Women improve to 6-0 in conference play

E-mail Gwin at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Tripp at: bjt07a@acu.edu

E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

Track: Jackson’s mark second best in nation

E-mail Harris at: tch05f@acu.edu

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Campbell: Brother of ACU head golf coach finishes tied for second

Heather Leiphart :: staff photographer

Raymond Radway competes in the 400-meter at the ACU Triangular.

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

The Wildcats used strong pitching performances over the weekend to win three of four from Northeastern State and become the first team in the Lone Star Conference to qualify for the LSC Baseball Championship Tournament beginning May 2.

With the wins, ACU improved to 34-12 overall and 27-9 in the LSC, extending its conference lead to two games after second-place Cameron split its series with Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Wildcats remained at No. 9 in Collegiate Baseball magazine poll and are the highest-ranked

LSC team in the nation with Cameron at No. 21 and Angelo State at No. 24.

“It’s always tough after an emotional high to come back [after the Angelo State series] and play,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “Our hit-ting was slow, but overall we got the job done and played pretty decent.”

The Wildcats opened the four-game series with a come-from-behind 4-3 win Friday. After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the sixth, ACU an-swered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning af-ter right fielder Travis Latz

hit a two-run home run, his eighth of the season.

Then in the bottom of the seventh with one out, pinch hit-ter Anthony Walsh got things going with a single. After a fly out to put Northeastern State just one out away from taking game one, second baseman Chris Hall came through with an RBI double to tie the game. After left fielder Davis Page fol-lowed with a walk and catcher Jordan Schmitt was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Latz singled to left to give the Wild-cats a walk-off win.

“He’s been really hitting the ball well lately for about four

Coach catches brother’s Masters success Four Wildcats qualify for NCAA championships

By Austin GwinSports Writer

The softball team continued its impressive late-season surge by sweeping the Tarleton State TexAnns last weekend, improv-ing to 34-11 overall and 12-3 and tied for first in the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats have won 18 of their last 20 games and have just one LSC series remaining.

With the series sweep, the Wildcats secured at least sec-ond place in the LSC South Di-vision and would keep the tie-breaker for second with TSU if ACU lost its final four games. While most of the 18 wins

have come from dominating pitching, the Wildcats relied on their offense this weekend and came from behind twice to earn the sweep.

“Every team in the LSC is competitive,” head coach Chan-tiel Wilson said. “We just need to keep playing mistake-free baseball and we will keep win-ning games.”

In game one Friday, the TexAnns came out of the gate swinging. After three hom-ers in the first two innings, TSU had a commanding 5-0 lead against ACU and starting pitcher Jacque Gregoire. ACU

battled back with three runs in the bottom of the third after a bases-loaded walk and a two run single by Melissa Rodri-guez to make the score 5-3.

TSU stymied ACU with four more runs in the fourth inning off reliever Kim White to boost the score to 9-3. However, in the fifth in-ning, TSU committed four errors defensively, and the Wildcats took full advan-tage, knotting the game at nine behind RBI base hits from first baseman Katie Cornelison and pinch hitter Emily Farrier. Cornelison and third baseman Nancy Sawyer both hit home runs

in the sixth to give ACU a 12-9 lead.

Relief pitcher Britney Bene-dict kept the TexAnns scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

While watching the final round of the Masters Golf Tournament, it might have been surprising to see an ACU golf shirt and hat flash across the screen during the first playoff hole between Chad Campbell, Angel Cabre-ra and Kenny Perry.

But for ACU fans, it was a familiar face as head golf coach Mike Campbell watched intently as his younger brother Chad lined up for a putt on 18 to force another playoff hole. Chad’s 6-foot par putt just missed, and he was forced to watch as Cabrera defeated Perry in the second playoff hole; how-ever, Mike witnessed Chad’s

By Brandon TrippBroadcast Assistant

The women’s tennis team continued to prepare for a national title run, playing two matches over the week-end, while the men’s team had the week off. The Wildcats played an-other Divi-sion I oppo-nent in the University of North Texas, and also competed against conference and regional ri-val Northeastern State.

“We needed a good week-end to just kind of make sure we are still fresh and ready for conference,” head coach Hutton Jones said.

The women began the weekend against their eighth Division I opponent of the season when they faced the Mean Green of North Texas. The Wildcats began the match dropping the doubles point after los-ing two of the three in close matches. Sara Drummond and Dina Pavlin dropped the No. 1 doubles match 8-3, before ACU came back to win the No. 2 doubles as Cassie Carver and Irene Squillaci took down Cat-alina Cruz and Narine Ka-zarova 8-5. In the third and final doubles match, Jaclyn Walker and Lauren White dropped a close 8-4 deci-sion to Irina Paraschiv and Rachel Wilhelm.

Despite falling behind 1-0 after the doubles matches, the Wildcats fought hard, winning half of the matches in singles play. ACU won the No. 2, 3 and 4 matches, two of them going to three sets. In the No. 2 match, Sara Drummond played Ma-dura Ranganathan, taking

SportsWednesdayPage 10 April 15, 2009

Standings

SCOREBOARD

Wednesday

BaseballACU vs. Texas Wesleyan, 3 p.m.

Thursday

Track & FieldMt. SAC Relays, noon

Friday

Track & FieldMt. SAC Relays, noon

SoftballACU at ENMU, 1 p.m.ACU at ENMU, 3 p.m.

BaseballACU at Cameron, 3 p.m.

Saturday

Track & FieldMt. SAC Relays, noonMichael Johnson Classic, 9:30 a.m.

Women’s TennisACU at Seminole State, 9 a.m.ACU at East Central, 2 p.m.

Men’s TennisACU at SE Oklahoma State, 9 a.m.ACU at East Central, 3 p.m.

SoftballACU at ENMU, 1 p.m.

BaseballACU at Cameron, 1 p.m.ACU at Cameron, 3:30 p.m.

:: Home games listed in italics

Upcoming

Saturday

SoftballACU 5, Tarleton State 4

BaseballACU 5, Northeastern State 3ACU 4, Northeastern State 3

Women’s TennisACU 8, Northeastern State 1

Scores

Cats Topple TexAnns

Baseball team extends conference lead to two games

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

First baseman Katie Cornelson catches a throw from pitcher Kim White to get the out in ACU’s 5-4 win over Tarleton State on Saturday.

By Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

The track and field teams competed in three meets last week, and four athletes earned automati-cally qualifying bids to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in May. On Tuesday, three multi-ath-letes traveled to San Angelo for the David Noble Angelo State Multis. On Thursday, more athletes competed in San Angelo, while others traveled to Lubbock for the Texas Tech Invitational.

No athletes qualified with their performances at the San Angelo Multis, but head coach Don Hood said he was encour-aged by what he saw.

“It was Amber Brooks’ first outdoor meet and it was an opportunity for her and Andy Henson to learn what it’s all about,” Hood said. “Amber is fighting a re-ally bad tooth problem and she fought through that pain and competed for the most part really well.”

Hood said Henson looked fantastic and had some great flashes of brilliance, but they were not enough to do what he wanted to do.

“He learned what his weak-nesses are and can use that to get better,” Hood said. “James Hardin had a really good day

Wildcats sweep Tarleton State, remain tied atop LSCSoftball

Track & Field

Baseball

See Campbell page 9 See Track page 9

See Baseball page 9

See Softball page 9 See Tennis page 9

BaseballTeam Div. OverallACUCameronAngelo St.SW Okla.ENMU

Tarleton St.

27-925-1124-1220-1618-1817-18-1

34-1234-1231-1526-1823-2220-23-1

Central Okla. 17-19 21-24SE Okla. 16-19 19-20TAMU-K 15-21 19-26NE State 12-23-1 17-27-1WTAMU 12-23 19-26East Central 11-25 12-32

SoftballTeam Div. OverallAngelo St.ACUWTAMUTAMU-KTarleton St.

TX Woman’s

12-312-39-87-87-84-11

36-734-1132-1728-1824-1924-24

ENMU 2-12 20-20

Photo courtesy of Mike CampbellMike (left) was on hand at the Masters on Sunday as Chad tied for second.

Heather Leiphart :: staff photographer

Outfielder Davis Page swings at a pitch in ACU’s 11-8 win over Southeastern Oklahoma on March 22. The Wildcats are 34-12 overall and 27-9 in the LSC.

Women’s tennis team splits pair of matches

Briefs

n Andrew McDowell was named the LSC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week on Thurs-day after his performance in the 110-meter hurdles at the Texas Relays in Austin. His time of 14.16 is the nation’s top time in Division II.

n Camille Vandendriessche was named the LSC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after becoming the first Wildcat to win the decathlon at the Texas Relays in Austin. The win automatically qualified him for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships.

n Javelin thrower Linda Brivule was named the LSC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after setting the NCAA Division II record in the javelin with a throw of 184-6 at the Texas Relays in Austin.

oFFenSive leaderS

Batting Averagen Jessica Shiery (.453)n Brooke Whittlesey (.359)

Hitsn Brooke Whittlesey (51)n Katie Cornelison (50)

RBIn Katie Cornelison (45)n Jessica Shiery (40)

Jones