When he is home, Thomas Robinson lives with his parents at the top of a church. He attends every Sunday service and knows most of the faces at Manhattan Church of Christ, where his father is a senior minister.

However, Robinson does not believe in God.Robinson, senior English major from New York City, said he used

to be Christian but now is atheist.“It’s hard to say when it hap-

pened,” Robinson said. “It’s not one thing that kicked me off. I just had to be honest with myself. Admit-ting was a hard thing; it felt like I was betraying an old friend.”

Like Robinson, about 5-10 per-cent of the student body is not Christian, according to the office of Admissions and Enrollment Management. The proportion of non-Christians is greater among international students, the office said.

Steven Gist, international students’ recruiter, said the ma-jority of students from East Asia are not Christian, with the exception of Malaysians and Koreans. In Japan, less than 1 percent of the population is Christian, Gist said.

“I have no hard data, but 50-50 is what it feels like to me,” Gist said, relying on his conversations with interna-tional students and to the “preference” box students check on application forms.

Laura Blake, coordinator of International Students Servic-es, said she thinks the ratio of Christians to non-Christians among international students is a little higher, “maybe 60-40,” because most African and Latin American students at ACU are Christians.

Blake said international students come from diverse cul-tures and include Muslims, Buddhists and non-believers, but most feel welcome and fit easily into ACU’s student body.

“Some students struggle in Bible classes,” Blake said. “[Bible classes] are one of the most challenging parts of being a non-Christian student at ACU. It might help these students to talk to Christian friends who could help explain what is being discussed in the Bible classes.”

Dan McVey, professor of Islamic studies and world reli-gion and a former missions coordinator in Africa, lived in Ghana for 23 years and knows what it feels like to have a different faith than the majority. McVey lived in Accra, the capital of Ghana, for most of the time and also spent five years in Yendi, where Islam is dominant.

McVey said one of the difficulties for non-Christian stu-dents at ACU is dealing with classes that are colored with the perspective of a conservative, American Christian culture. He also said non-Christian students often feel a sense of conde-scension from many of the other students and even faculty.

However, McVey said international students are eager to ad-just and make the most of their educational experiences, and he is pleased with the steps the university has taken toward greater diversity in Chapel programs and the way classes are taught.

Patrick Wei, a Chinese exchange student from Shanghai, said he came to ACU to learn about communication and Christian culture. He said he is interested in learning how the Christian culture contributes to the social stability and has enjoyed the

hospitality of Christians in Abilene.

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

ACU WEATHER

Wednesday

40%

ThursdayHigh: 79 Low: 65

Friday

High: 84Low: 66

High: 82Low: 58

Online Poll : Is ACU welcoming to students who

are not Christians?

a. No. They are mistreated. b. I don’t know. I have not met one. c. No. They should leave. d. Everyone is welcome at ACU.

acuoptimist.com

Pg. 3 InsideThis Issue:

West Texas Flames: An in-depth look at grass fires in the area

University to offer newpeace and social justice minor

Student wins SpringBoard contest with football-inspired business plan

Pg. 3 Pg. 6-7

Optimistthe

a product of theJMC network

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 :: Vol. 97, No. 53 :: 1 sections, 10 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

Videos :: Podcasts :: Slideshows

Page 10: Scott, Knox drafted into NFL; Malone earns try-out with Bills

Dick Schissler :: staff photographer

Lora Courtney, senior interior design major from Auburn, CA.; Casey Cope, graduate student from Coppell; and Angela Darden, graduate student from Midland study in the Brown library on Monday.

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Nick Martinez, graduate student from San Antonio, and Jacob Luedecke, sophomore psychology major from San Antonio, paddle hard during the canoe section of the Red Dirt Adventure Challenge on Saturday.

By Shelby HoltStudent Reporter

The Red Dirt Adventure Challenge on Saturday proved successful, reaching its fund-raising goal and involving more than 30 teams.

The Outdoor Club orga-nized the marathon event, which included running, bike riding and canoeing.

“The turnout was good; we had 72 participants and about 30 volunteers,” said Alex Wann, president of the Outdoor Club and junior en-vironmental science major from Torrington, Wyo.

Although this year’s involve-ment numbers declined from prior years, no one’s spirits dropped, said Colter Lane, co-director of the Red Dirt Adven-ture Challenge and junior phys-ics major from Kalispell, Mont.

“Due to the date of the event — it’s toward the end of the semester — and the amount of other events going on,

we’re happy with the out-come,” Lane said.

Extending the marathon’s registration deadline to Satur-day proved a success because the Outdoor Club had five teams sign up on the morning of the race, Lane said.

Even with the relative suc-cess of the event, some de-tails went awry.

“We had a miscommunica-tion between staff members and a few course difficulties, but everything worked out in the end,” Lane said.

One ACU student was in-jured in a biking accident that called for paramedics, he said.

“The student was ban-daged by the paramedic and insisted on finishing the race with his partner,” Wann said.

The marathon began with a running section, and then continued through the canoe-ing section.

The weather Saturday was

Library open late for final pushBy Lezlee GutierrezStudent Reporter

The pressure of the end of the semester and finals week may be on students’ minds, but the Brown Library is of-fering some extra help.

The library will extend its hours of operation dur-ing the last two weeks of the semester to assist students

as they prepare for final exams. The new extended hours began Sunday and will conclude May 7. The library will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m., including Wednesday evenings from 6-8:30 p.m. It also will be open Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. and Sundays from 1:30 p.m. until 3 a.m., including 5 -7 p.m. on

Sunday evenings. The library will close May 8, the last day of finals week, at 5 p.m.

“The most important as-pect of this idea is to provide a response to the request for additional hours at the library from the students,” said Dr. Mark McCallon, as-sistant director of the Brown Library and associate profes-sor of library science.

The addition of the ex-tended hours initiated as a request from the 2007-08 Students’ Association Con-gress for the library to offer more hours for students to study and use the comput-ers in the facility during fi-nals week. The library then began offering more hours

Students tackle Outdoor Club Challenge

The Faithless Few

By Camille VandendriesscheAssistant Copy Editor

Christian

Christian

Christian

Christian

Other

By Shelby HoltStudent Reporter

What is 650 feet long and can be found in Sherrod Park? Hole five at the new Wildcat Disc Golf Course.

Not only does ACU have the bragging rights to the longest disc golf hole in Abilene, it also has a one-of-a-kind course created by disc golf professional and world champion, Jay Reading.

Reading, who attended the University of Northern Iowa, played football and blocked for NFL quarterback Kurt Warner; but to re-lax, he and his friends turned to disc golf.

Now Reading and his wife, Des, are world champion disc golf professionals

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, throws a disc at the Disc Golf Demo outside of Moody Coliseum on Tuesday. The demo was of-fered in conjunction with the grand opening of the Wildcat Disc Golf Course at Sherrod Park.

See Non-Christian page 4See Course page 5

See Library page 5

Disc golf pros help roll out campus course

See Outdoor page 5

The turnout was good; we had 72 par-ticipants and about 30 volunteers.

:: Alex Wann, president of the Outdoor Club and junior

environmental science major from Torrington, Wyo.

“”

Slice of student body pledges no allegiance

to Christian beliefs

Five to 10 percent of the student body is not Christian.According to the office of Admissions and Enrollment

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 Wheels’ 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 information, contact Christine Spillers at 437-0611.

Communities in Schools at Fannin Elementary School needs volunteers

for one to two hours beginning 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

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature needs volun-teers to greet patrons, assist with art activities, sell books and make visitors feel welcome. Volunteers are needed Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1-3 p.m. For more information, contact Debby Lillick at 673-4586.

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 as often as needed.

The Salvation Army needs volun-teers Saturdays 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.

The Ben Richey Boys Ranch needs volunteers for its Clay Break Classic at Abilene Clay Sports on Saturday from 12:45-3:15 p.m and 2:45-5:15 p.m. Vol-unteers will set up the shooting stations and organize the dinner and auction. For more information, call Jama Stacy at 338-3547.

Global Samaritan Resources needs volunteers to sort through clothing and repack boxes. Volun-teers are needed anytime Monday through Thursday. For more infor-mation, contact David Catalina at 676-9991.

The Grace Museum is always in need of volunteers. Volun-teers play a vital role in the daily

operation of the museum. The minute visitors walk through the door, the experience in the mu-seum relies on capable and trained volunteers. For more information about volunteer opportunities at The Grace Museum, call 673-4587.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is always looking for college stu-dents to be matched with a “little brother” or “little sister.” “Bigs” can eat lunch with “littles” once a week for 30 minutes at the child’s school for the Lunch Buddies program, or arrange activities with the child through Wildcat Kids or the community-based program. For more information, contact Jamie Bearden from Big Brothers Big Sisters at 677-7839.

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.

Last day of class

11 a.m.-NoonChapel will be a praise day with an end-of-the-year blessing in Moody Coliseum.

Noon-1 p.m.The Brown Bag Concert featuring the ACU Wind Ensemble will take place in Cullen Auditorium. Attendees should bring a lunch.

10 a.m.-Noon The Stephen Fite Children’s Concert will take place at the Civic Center. Tickets cost $4.50. For more information, call 676-6211.

Noon-1 p.m.A Budget Workshop will take place in the Hunter Welcome Center. Lunch will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, e-mail careers@acu.edu.

7-9 p.m.An Evening of Short Documentaries will take place in the Morris Center, Room 320. The event is free.

7-9 p.m.The One Night student devotional will take place in the Beauchamp Amphitheatre.

10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Texas State Technical College graduation will take place in Moody Coliseum.

2 p.m.Rhyme and Rhythm will take place in the Beauchamp Amphitheatre. The event is free.

Calendar and Events

Friday29

Wednesday Thursday Saturday

Friday is the last day of class. Monday is Dead Day, and no classes will meet. Students will take final exams May 5-8.

Dead Day recycling, sponsored by SALT, will take place Monday. Students who are moving out can donate clothes and furniture before summer.

Textbook reserve is available in The Campus Store. Students must present a fall schedule to order books. The service is free.

The Call Her Blessed Luncheon will take place at the Civic Center on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $30. For more information, call 690-4520.

Peace and Social Justice Studies will be offered as a new

minor in the fall of 2009. For more information, call David Dillman at 674-2095 or e-mail him at dillmand@acu.edu.

Mall Cop will be shown for the Free Movie Night on Friday at 8 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium.

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

Midnight Breakfast will take place in the “World Famous Bean” on Monday from 10:30 p.m. to midnight. The breakfast costs $5 or a meal plan.

CreditedChapelsto date:

CreditedChapelsremaining:

Checkup

71 02Chapel

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Campus Day230 1 2

Volunteer Opportunities

Announcements

acuoptimist.comnA video of the Backyard BashnA video of the GSP benefit soft-ball gamesnACU debuts Wildcat Disc Golf Course nIn Your Words - Ring by Spring

ACU Police Tip of the Week

Get campus emergency information with the free, fast and easy ACU ALERT. Go towww.acu.edu/acualert.com to register.

Police LogEdited for space

Monday, April 2011:30 a.m. Someone reported marijuana at University Park.12:02 p.m. Someone reported a female student was arguing with subjects off campus, but the student was asking advice. 1:10 p.m. The ACU Police as-sisted the Abilene Police with a vehicle accident near campus.11:05 p.m. Someone reported a fight near campus, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.11:06 p.m. Someone reported subjects throwing water balloons at people on the Lunsford Trail near University Park, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.

Tuesday, April 219:58 a.m. The ACU Police booted a vehicle in the Cam-pus Center parking lot and issued the owner multiple citations. 11:18 a.m. The ACU Police un-locked a vehicle in the Barret Hall parking lot. 11:18 a.m. The ACU Police re-moved a boot from a vehicle in the Campus Center parking lot 6:07 p.m. The ACU Police as-sisted the Abilene Police with a ve-hicle accident on Ambler Avenue.

Wednesday, April 221:57 a.m. The ACU Police patrolled the Texas State Technical College campus in reference to a recent burglary.10:53 a.m. The ACU Police as-sisted the Abilene Police with locating a student.11:15 a.m. The ACU Police checked the welfare of a student at University Park, but was unable to locate the stu-dent and contacted the family. 12:37 p.m. The ACU Police as-sisted a disabled motorist on Ambler Avenue.3:15 p.m. The ACU Police as-sisted the Abilene City Marshal with the arrest of a student with outstanding warrants.6:29 p.m. Someone reported a magazine salesman at University Park, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.

Thursday, April 237:30 a.m. The ACU Police monitored a school zone on Judge Ely Boulevard.1:50 p.m. Someone reported a vehicle accident in the Ed-wards Hall parking lot.4:05 p.m. Someone reported a theft at Gibson Health and P.E. Center.6:20 p.m. The ACU Police re-sponded to an incomplete 911 call from Elmer Gray Stadium, but no one was at the phone upon arrival.8:03 p.m. Someone reported a suspicious subject solicit-ing money at Barret Hall, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.

Friday, April 242:25 a.m. The ACU Police con-tacted a suspicious subject on Campus Court and took the sub-ject to the station for questioning. 10:21 a.m. Someone reported a suspicious subject soliciting money near the Foster Science Building, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.3:40 p.m. Someone reported suspicious vehicles at Will Hair Park, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.7:08 p.m. Someone reported a vehicle blocking a road near campus after one vehicle rolled into another. The ACU Police did not find any damage to vehicles or drivers.8:38 p.m. Someone requested the ACU Police to turn the lights on at Elmer Gray Sta-dium, but they already were on when the ACU Police arrived.

Saturday, April 2512:48 a.m. Someone reported shots fired and a fight at the Grove apartments, but the ACU Police was unable to locate any subjects.5:21 a.m. A burglar alarm sounded at Physical Resources, and the ACU Police checked and secured the facility.7:10 a.m. Someone requested the ACU Police unlock the concession area at Elmer Gray Stadium, but the ACU Police did not have a key.8:51 a.m. Someone reported a stolen vehicle at The Grove, but the ACU Police was unable to lo-cate the vehicle or any suspects. 10 a.m. The ACU Police as-sisted the Abilene Police with a loose goat near campus.3:30 p.m. The ACU Police is-sued a traffic stop on Lincoln Drive because a driver had expired registration.4 p.m. The ACU Police di-rected traffic for the Abilene Police in reference to a vehicle accident near campus.

Sunday, April 266:48 p.m. An alarm sounded at the Education Building; the ACU Police was unable to reset it, and notified Physical Resources. 9:50 p.m. Someone reported a subject ringing door bells near campus, but the ACU Police could not locate any subjects.10:02 p.m. A parent called to check the welfare of a student returning from home, but the ACU Police could not locate the stu-dent and contacted the parents.10:50 p.m. Students reported returning to their home, and the front door was open. The ACU Police did not find any-thing missing.

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

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

SpringBoard Challenge awards $40,000 in prizesBy Laura AcuffOpinion Page Editor

Jody Walker walked away a big winner after the sec-ond annual SpringBoard Ideas Challenge awards dinner Saturday. The se-nior finance major from New Braunfels joined two other contestants who won $7,500 each for their busi-ness plans in the student, community pre-revenue and community post-reve-nue categories.

Walker’s mini-business plan stemmed from watch-ing his father, a coach, stay up late to filter through tapes of games and play-ers. Walker thought, “Why not use the Internet?”

“I asked a bunch of people, different coaches,” Walker said. “No one had ever done this before, so I thought it would be a good idea.”

The awards dinner capped off the annual com-petition, which challenges participants from the ACU and Abilene communities to develop their own mini-business plans. This year, the competition awarded $40,000 in prize money to 16 winning competitors. Ryan Stephen, senior fi-nance major from Houston and SpringBoard student planner, said the event in-cluded an estimated 225 people in attendance and featured Harvard gradu-ate and entrepreneur Dr. Chris Kersey, who serves as a managing member and partner of Camden Part-ners Holdings, LLC. Kersey spoke on the topic, “What they don’t teach at Harvard about entrepreneurship.”

“There are a lot of mis-conceptions about what it means to be an entrepre-neur, including who is an entrepreneur, what skill sets you need to be an entrepreneur and what it takes over the long term to be a successful entrepre-neur,” Kersey said. “You don’t learn everything at an Ivy League college. A lot of life’s lessons are through real life experiences.”

Kersey’s advice in his speech for budding entre-preneurs included a list of four goals: 1) Find a men-tor. 2) Be the contrary, or propose the different, inventive idea 3) Fail for-ward, or learn and benefit from unsuccessful endeav-ors. 4) Network.

Kersey said the one tip he hoped students would take from him is a deter-mination he adopted from Winston Churchill’s famous “Never give up” speech giv-en during World War II.

“It would be fantastic if the budding entrepreneurs in this group took a great experience at SpringBoard, went back to their class-mates and started nurtur-ing other entrepreneurial ideas,” Kersey said. “I just really want to encourage students that your ideas are going to evolve over time. Keep at it. Better ideas will come. Listen to the folks around you, tweak those ideas and if you do, the world is your oyster.”

Also speaking at the event were master of cer-emonies Dr. Richard S. Ly-tle, dean of ACU’s College of Business Administra-tion; Michael L. Monhollon,

dean of HSU’s Kelly School of Business; Abilene Mayor Pro Tem Sam Chase; Matt Boisvert, SpringBoard fac-ulty adviser and marketing instructor at ACU; Jim Por-ter, entrepreneur-in-resi-dence for ACU’s College of Business Administration; and Dan Garrett, vice chan-cellor and president of the ACU Foundation.

Stephen said he hoped the diversity among the speakers helped extend interest for the dinner be-yond the ACU community.

“We had a great response from the community,” Ste-phens said. “Our goal was to make sure it felt like much more than an ACU event, and I think that goal was definitely accomplished.”

Minor focuses on peace and justiceBy Linda BaileyStudent Reporter

ACU will offer a minor in peace and social justice studies next semester. The 18-credit hour interdisci-plinary program is available to all students as a comple-ment to any major.

Dr. David Dillman, profes-sor of political science, said the minor will be a combina-tion of old and new classes.

“The purpose of the mi-nor is to use some current courses and combine them with some new courses to form some sort of a whole,” Dillman said.

The minor will draw from seven different depart-ments and three colleges in the university.

“We hope by doing that, people who have a little room in their majors can find room to add a minor,” Dillman said. “In many cas-es they would have already taken one or two of these courses anyway.”

The Department of Politi-cal Science is in charge of the minor, but Dillman said he could see it getting rotated to someone else down the road.

“We don’t really want one department to have owner-ship of it,” he said. “It really is a joint endeavor.”

Dr. Debbie Williams, as-sociate professor of English,

said she thinks the interdis-ciplinary approach is the strength to this minor.

“I think it will allow us to use principles from dif-ferent major fields to look at ways that we, as Chris-tians, can impact people in the United States, as well as people around the world, to effectively be advocates for them and help improve their quality of life,” Wil-liams said. “Thus, minister-ing to them as Christians in a way that perhaps we won’t think to do if we just focus on our major’s field only.”

Dillman said he hopes the minor’s classes will help stu-dents discuss and think about how to resolve tensions.

“We live in a time of a lot of world tension, and I think we need to be think-ing about those issues,” he said. “I think these courses are designed to help people think about those issues.”

The minor also will focus on the Christian call to cre-

ate peace on both a large and small scale.

“I think as Christians we have a special obligation to be peacemakers, and this is a way to focus on issues of peacemaking and how we can be peacemakers in the world as we interact in the world,” Dillman said. “We need to prepare not only from an academic view, but from a Christian point of view.”

Williams said, based on her observations of students on campus, she thinks the minor will be popular.

“I think the response that the main student body has to projects like Wishing Well speaks to the majority of stu-dents’ commitment to help-ing others,” Williams said.

SpringBoard WinnerS

Winners from the student category

n 1st Place- Jody Walker plan: Tape Trade

n 2nd Place- Jacob Poulette plan: We-MakeGame

n Honorable Mentions:n Virginia Aguilar plan: Fine Prints By Design and Melandish Games n Tyler Goudeau plan: Petra BackPack n Darrien Grays plan: MyMovies.tv n Krissy Heavin plan: Vivant n Jonathon King plan: Coup Marketing/ Advertising System n Rich Tanner plan: Pure Entertainment

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Evan O’Rear, freshman Bible youth and family ministry major from Huntsville, trys to dunk Aaron Shaver, sopho-more Bible missions major from Hawkins, at the Backyard Bash at Smith-Adams Hall on Saturday.

e-mail acuff at: lka06a@acu.edu

Eyes on the Target

I think as Christians we have a spe-cial obligation to be peacemakers, and this is a way to focus on issues of peacemaking and how we can be peacemakers in the world...

::Dr. David Dillman, professor of political science

“

”

e-mail Bailey at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

acuoptimist.com See if anyone hits the bullseye in a video profiling the Backyard Bash festivities.

Page 4 Wednesday, April 29, 2009FROM THE FRONT

Non-Christian: Atheist students face fear, judgment from Christians

“Most people are atheist in China; I have been an atheist in the past 34 years,” said Wei, who is unsure of his beliefs. “In Shanghai, people don’t trust other people very much. You can’t tell who is good. Here, it is completely different. People tend to trust you.”

Still, the fear of being re-jected does exist among in-ternational and even Ameri-can students. Some keep their religious beliefs to their families. Others, like a Muslim student who asked his name not be used, tells only his close friends about his faith because he worries about his physical safety and fears the stereotypes Americans have toward Muslims. However, he said he feels comfortable at ACU because he knew what to ex-pect; he even enjoys Chapel and Bible classes.

The judgment of others does not matter as much for Robinson, who talks openly about his religious opin-ions. Robinson’s parents are both Christian, and he said his Christian beliefs were so strong during his freshman year he would argue with atheists about religion.

But, he began to question his faith during his sopho-more year and faced a lot of problems during his transition from Christian to atheist.

“It started my sophomore year, and I admitted it my ju-nior year,” Robinson said. “At first, it makes you feel hope-less and meaningless. When I talk to Christians, they say ‘I would not want to live in a world without God.’”

Robinson said it took courage to accept his new beliefs, but he felt supported by his friends and only faced a few hostile reactions.

“Sure, I have been called a couple of words,” Robinson

said. “I hate how Christians here group atheists together.”

After becoming an athe-ist, Robinson did not trans-fer because he wanted to stay with his friends. How-ever, he thought about cre-ating a support group for atheists because he knew atheists at ACU who were afraid to tell people they were not Christians.

Dr. Stephen Allison, asso-ciate professor of psychol-ogy and Robert and Mary Ann Hall, chair of psychol-ogy and intercultural stud-ies, said it is common for students coming from con-servative, Christian back-grounds to struggle with their faith during college and even become cynical about religion.

“Between 18 and 30 [is] a time of a lot of inquiry,” Al-lison said.

He said several factors can influence a change of faith, such as being away from home for the first time or interacting with students from diverse backgrounds.

Allison, who directed the University Counseling Center for 18 years, said students also begin questioning their faith when they experience a family disruption, such as the divorce of their parents.

However, it is common for people who experience a change of faith to become be-lievers again; it can happen when they become parents themselves because the idea of not allowing their children to know about Christianity bothers them, he said.

“They don’t necessarily go all the way back; they are usually not as conserva-tive as before,” Allison said. “But most people heal from their experiences, and they come back around.”

Regardless of backgrounds and experiences, non-Chris-tian students still have to deal

with the requirements of a Christian university.

Chapel, Bible classes and class prayers may cause strug-gles, especially for those who have no religious experience.

Gist said he tells interna-tional recruits early in the re-cruiting process that they have to attend Chapel almost every day and take 15 hours of Bible classes — only six hours for most transfers.

“It is a very important part of the conversation with pro-spective students,” Gist said. “I am very upfront about the Christian requirements. I try to give a picture to the best that I can. At some point, no matter how I share, some people don’t know what it’s like.”

He said some international students come from such dif-ferent backgrounds that the culture shock is inevitable.

“Some students come, and they are like, ‘Wow, this is re-ally a Christian place,’” Gist said. “For some non-Chris-tian students, it is so foreign, so strange that they feel re-ally uncomfortable.”

He said students have two choices: either explore Christi-anity and reconcile or withdraw and completely reject it.

“I haven’t seen very many people rejecting it, but I do see many people shocked,” Gist said.

Dr. Rodney Ashlock, assis-tant professor of Bible, min-istry and missions, said two years ago, a Japanese student approached him at the end of his Old Testament class and told him she was not Christian. He said they talked a lot, and he tried to answer all of her ques-tions about Christianity, begin-ning with the basics.

“What we take for granted was a strange world to her,” Ashlock said.

He said when some students approach him, his goal is not to convert them but to explain to them the story of Christianity.

“Then it’s their decision,” Ashlock said. “If I don’t have a huge class, I try to get to know every student. But [non-Christian students] don’t typ-ically advertise.”

Vibulano Hun, junior pre-med major from Sihanoukville, Cambodia, said people do not ask him about his religious be-liefs because they assume inter-national students like him are not necessarily Christian.

Hun, a Catholic who still sees American Christianity as for-eign, said he likes Bible classes but does not always understand the purpose of Chapel.

“Chapel sometimes does not make sense to me,” Hun said. “I know it’s mandatory, but what you believe is in your heart.”

Gist said during the four years he has worked with inter-national students, he witnessed only two to three transfers because they did not want to attend Chapel. The accommo-dation to the Christian environ-ment depends on the maturity of students, he said.

“Fundamentally, it is about crossing culture and learning about other cul-tures,” Gist said.

Raised in a Christian, con-servative background, Gist ex-perienced cross-cultural chal-lenges himself by pursuing a master’s degree at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vt., a “very liberal, secular” institution.

“It was a great experience for me to see different per-spectives,” said Gist, who also studied in Belgium for eight months and lived in Japan from 1998 to 2001.

“There are stereotypes on both sides,” he said.

Gist said he does not talk to all incoming international students because some, like student-athletes, are recruited by other departments.

Linda Brivule, junior man-agement major from Riga, Lat-via, came to ACU in the spring

of 2008 on a track and field scholarship. Brivule, 25, is not a Christian, and does not have to attend Chapel because students 25 years and older are exempt. However, she does have to take Bible classes.

“I knew I had to take [Bible classes],” she said. “It’s not a big deal. At first I was very con-fused, but I spoke personally with the teacher. I told him I was not Christian; his reaction was positive. He explained me the basics.”

Brivule said she went to Cha-pel 12 times before she turned 25 years old. She said she was shocked to see the other stu-dents not paying attention in Chapel and instead playing games on their cell phones. It would make more sense if stu-dents had the choice between going to Chapel and taking Bi-ble classes, she said.

Brivule, a former world ju-nior champion and the NCAA Division II 2008 national champion in the javelin throw, said she did not experience a culture shock in Abilene be-cause she has traveled around the world for track and field meets. She said she fits well in the Christian environment and has good relations with other students.

She said she does not waste time worrying about what other students think of her beliefs; she said her focus is on track, school and her future.

“I came here to change my life, to study what I want,” she said.

Jared Mosley, director of athletics, said although inter-national student-athletes often do not have the opportunity to visit the campus, head coaches inform them of the school’s re-ligious requirements when they are recruited.

“We highly encourage that there is no surprise,” Mosley said. “We encourage the coach-es to let [student-athletes] know early in the process.”

He said he hopes all stu-dent-athletes take something productive out of Chapel and Bible classes. He also said the presence of non-Christian stu-dents is valuable to ACU and he would not want the school to be for Christians only.

“That’s life; wherever you go, there are people from different backgrounds,” Mosley said. “It shapes who we are, what we be-lieve. It’s beneficial and adds to the process.”

Robinson took one year of Biblical Hebrew and two of Biblical Greek. He said he reads Bible verses regularly, and Isaiah is his favorite book of the Bible.

“I am a philosophical ‘Jesu-sist,’” Robinson said. “[Jesus’] teaching and person are phe-nomenal; he is the most for-ward thinker ever.”

But as much as he has en-joyed his Bible classes, Robin-son said he dislikes Chapel.

“As somebody who used to be a Christian, I hate [Chapel],” Robinson said. “Because I grew up Christian, I still respect what they talk about, but when you force someone to attend, it takes everything out of it. It’s not a personal thing anymore.”

Despite his admiration for

Jesus, Robinson rejects Christi-anity and religion.

“Religion is one of the most powerful things on Earth,” Rob-inson said. “It can unite but also create a lot of division.”

He said his father is one of the most inspirational people in his life, but he has not told him he is no longer a Christian.

“I told my mom,” Robin-son said. “She says it’s just a phase.”

Robinson said the people he grew up with at the Manhattan Church of Christ do not know either, and he hopes they will not react negatively.

“I’d like to think that they will still accept me,” he said.

Continued from page 1

E-mail Vandendriessche at: cxv06a@acu.edu

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 5FROM THE FRONT

Outdoor: Survey seeks racers’ response to Challenge

beautiful, and the temperature was comfortable; the only thing holding the contestants back was the stiff wind, Wann said.

“When the racers were re-turning to shore, they were rowing against the wind, making the task much hard-er,” he said.

After canoeing, the racers ran to the biking section. After the bike race, the participants ran 25 more yards to the finish line, Wann said.

In the Hard Core division, the first place award of Cam-elback backpacks went to Chris Herrington, sophomore interior design major from Abilene, and Campy Pounds, senior exercise science major from Angleton, who complet-ed the race in about an hour.

The Just For Fun division win-ners, James Woodroof, junior Bible major from Brentwood,

Tenn., and Greg Hunt, fresh-man environmental science major from Dallas, received the same award.

An online survey is available for participants to complete about each leg of the race.

“We’ve received some con-structive criticism, but over-all people like that the race is for beginners and is run by college students.”

Wann and Lane said they appreciated all the partici-pants, volunteers and the support of the Students’ As-sociation Congress.

For the list of results of the Challenge, log on to www.acu-outdoorclub.org.

Continued from page 1

Course: Professional players teach students sport at opening who participated in ACU’s new disc golf course inau-guration Tuesday afternoon. The Wildcat Disc Golf Course is a nine-hole course found on the Sherrod Park proper-ty by Smith-Adams Halls.

Within a year, the univer-sity realized the project’s conception and creation.

Reading became involved with the new disc golf course after he met Deonna Shake in April 2008 at the National Physical Education Confer-ence. Later, the two brain-stormed and devised a way to create a course on campus.

Shake, instructor of ex-ercise science and health, teaches a disc golf class this semester and was the proj-ect director and manager in charge of the disc golf course’s creation.

“The main thing is we’re

about to construct a new wellness center; so we tried to think of courses we could offer outside, so that we wouldn’t have gym space problems when they are un-der construction,” Shake said. “So we thought disc golf would be one of the several new courses we would offer.”

The grand opening of the course was celebrated by a red ribbon cutting and a disc- throwing display by Jay and Des Reading and other local disc golf players. Each disc golfer displayed different techniques and throws, while the Readings explained the proper grips used to create the desired throw.

Nine holes are located on the course, and each hole is sponsored by groups or so-cial clubs on and off campus.

“I really want this to bless a lot of people, and I think it will, from youth groups to [other

universities],” Shake said.She said the course is free

to the entire Abilene com-munity, and all an individual needs to play is a disc.

“The amount of elevation change is very unique to disc golf in Abilene; we are also bragging about the longest hole in Abilene,” Reading said. “So this course has two features that are not found anywhere else in the city, so I designed this area for both experienced and beginning disc golfers in mind.”

Reading said disc golf has two essential elements: tim-ing and technique. He said once a player learns to throw the disc flat and level and let the disc do all the work, the game is turned on and be-comes magic.

Continued from page 1

Library: Hours to accommodate students during final two weeks last semester, but only during finals week as compared to this semester’s two-week extension.

“It will definitely help me get more work done in a timely manner,” said Alv-ina Scott, sophomore social work major from Mansfield. “The computer availability is especially important to me because I need to make time to study that will com-ply with my work schedule.”

The new hours are de-signed to help the library accommodate students who will study earlier and later during the final weeks of the semester.

“We hope the extra use of the library can give us some feedback as to how we can further accommodate our students,” McCallon said. “We can use this information to make adjustments in the future semesters if needed.”

Other amenities avail-

able at the library, such as Starbucks and Team 55, will not extend their hours but will continue to be avail-able during their normal hours of operation. The cir-culation desk, as well as all other library services, will be available during the ex-tended hours.

The library is typically open from 7 a.m. to mid-

night on every weekday ex-cept Friday, when the library closes at 5 p.m. The library also is usually open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays and mid-night on Sundays.

Continued from page 1

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Professional disc golf player Jay Reading tosses a disc toward a goal near the Campus Center on Tuesday, as students leaving Chapel watch. Reading taught several students how to play during the course’s grand opening. E-mail Anderson at: tsa04a@acu.edu

Painful Past

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Serge Gasore, senior psychology major from Rwanda, speaks at a Chapel forum Thursday night about his experiences during the genocide in his na-tive country in 1994.

ExtEndEd Hours

The Margaret and Herbert Brown Library will have longer hours during the last week of class and finals week. The library opens at 7 a.m. and closes at midnight.

n Wednesday, April 29: 7 a.m.-6 p.m., 8:30 p.m.-3 a.m.n Thursday, April 30: 7 a.m.-3 a.m.n Friday, May 1: 7 a.m.-3 a.m.n Saturday, May 2: 9 a.m.-3 a.m.n Sunday, May 3: 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m., 7 p.m.-3 a.m.n Monday, May 4: 7 a.m.-3 a.m.n Tuesday, May 5: 7 a.m.-3 a.m. n Wednesday, May 6: 7 a.m.-6 p.m., 8:30 p.m.-3 a.m.n Thursday, May 7: 7 a.m.-3 a.m.n Friday, May 8: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Lark Mason, sophomore art major from New York City, completes the canoeing part of the Red Dirt Adventure Challenge on Saturday. E-mail Holt at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Gutierrez at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

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Up in Flames

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January 22Comanche County — 450 acres burned, off US 377 between CR 277 and CR 205; four homes, two barns threatened.

Legend

500 acres burned

1 structure destroyed

100 acres burned

Jones County — 2,500 acres burned, between CR 354 and FM 600; five cabins, 20 outbuildings destroyed.

February 18Coleman County — 1,000 acres burned, south of Highway 153, east of FM 2132; one structure, one vehicle destroyed.

February 24Callahan County — 600 acres burned, near FM 603, CR 258 and CR254.

Runnels County — 500 acres burned, near Ballinger.

February 26-27Taylor County — 2,500 acres burned, southern Taylor County.

March 5Taylor County — 300 acres burned, near Tuscola; a historic school house and abandoned church destroyed.

March 23Coleman County — 600 acres burned, 40 miles southeast of Abilene; a barn and trailer home destroyed.

April 7Stephens County — 3,200 acres burned, north of Brecken-ridge on US 183.

Callahan County — Clyde Intermediate School and Clyde High School evacuated, fires touch school fence-line.

April 9Brown County — 100+ acres burned, north of Bangs on CR 585 and CR 110; one structure destroyed, 35 threatened.

Throckmorton County — 300 acres burned.

Fisher County — between Hamlin and Rotan; five homes threatened.

Eastland County — 7,000 acres burned.

Jones County — 50 acres burned.

Young County — 3,000 acres burned; 100 homes evacuated.Young County — one home destroyed, north of Highway 380.

Leriam Gonzalez :: contributing photographer

Water spills onto the ground as a Big Country resident watches fire streak across a field Feb. 24.

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Zak Zeinert:: chief photographer

Firefighters race down West Lake Road to help battle a grass fire Jan. 22.

Jozie Sands :: staff photographer

Lieutenant Randy Doan of the Abilene Fire Department walks away from a grass fire Feb. 18.

Heather Leiphart :: staff photographer

Firefighters attempt to squelch a Tuscola blaze March 5.

The burn ban for Taylor County was lifted Tuesday, and the county lost only 290 acres due to wildfires in April, accord-ing to the Texas Forest Service. But grass fires have scorched

West Texas earth relentlessly for the past four months, burning thousands of acres and hundreds of structures —stretching local fire departments to their limits.

Design by: Colter Hettich, Features Editor

Information gathered from reporternews.com

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

Newsroom:(325) 674-2439

Sports desk:(325) 674-2499

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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 29, 2009

Multimedia desk:(325) 674-2463

Optimistthe

It is a time of celebra-tion. Graduation: when those of us who finally have finished their college career

walk onto the stage as students and leave the stage as alumni. It is a time to remem-ber, to take pride in an e n o r m o u s accomplish-ment. But for many, it

is a time of great fear.The ACU graduating class

of 2009 will be entering one of the worst economic cli-mates in recent memory. With countless jobs being cut and unemployment on the rise, the outlook is grim.

For many, this is the time when the cherished recol-lections spent in college are traded in for the reali-ties of adulthood and the real world. This is the time when memories of Sing Song, spring break cam-paigns and social clubs be-come pictures on the desks of 9-5 jobs.

We gain something much more important during our time here than merely a di-ploma. Hopefully during our four (or five) years here as undergraduate students, we have gained something more valuable than a frilly piece of paper in a frame: community. It is this com-munity that was perhaps a large attraction to come to this place, and it is this com-munity that hopefully we will retain after we leave.

Perhaps a silver lining in this current economic downturn is that it has forced many Americans to put things into perspective. The pursuit of the million-dollar home, the luxury car and the reckless overspend-ing that created this mess have been dampened as many suddenly find them-selves mainly concerned with providing basic needs

for their families. Adjust-ments have been made. Dreams have been re-evalu-ated, and when we come out of this recession, we will be better for it.

We have learned to value what is more important than careers or the things that have been pursued by so many for so long. We have learned the people around us are what make our lives so rich. Perhaps many will begin to learn faith is what makes the hard times more bearable. Our community and our faith is what will pull us through these hard times.

Community and faith: these are more valuable than any diploma. These can sustain us during a cold economic climate that is sure to test those who are now entering the workforce and those who have found themselves reassessing re-

tirement because of finan-cial setbacks.

It is impossible to gauge where we will be a year from now; just ask anyone who re-cently has lost a job. Those of us who still have years remaining here should take hold of every opportunity we get: academically, spiri-tually and socially. Here we are given a place to not only strengthen our resumes, but to strengthen our faith, and we should never take it for granted.

We can leave ACU know-ing these things are not found only here. If we can-not take our friends and community with us, we know our faith will stay with us wherever we find ourselves one year, five years, ten years from now. Although the times are tough, in the bigger picture we have little to fear.

For the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

This semester has been a grueling 15 weeks, but now students can see a light at the end of the finals week

tunnel. The semester is a marathon, but what if you are a sprinter?

This sum-mer, ACU will offer shorter s u m m e r sessions. In-stead of the traditional

five-week summer sessions, students now can take three-week sessions. But why stop there? Students such as me, the sprinters, have a difficult time maintaining momentum throughout a long semester. By the time midterms come, I am burned out and bored with the routine.

ACU should consider adopting a system universi-ties such as Stanford, UCLA, Denver, DePaul and North-western, among others, use: the quarter system.

The quarter system divides the school year into four 10-week sessions. Students usually are expected to at-tend three of these sessions, but may attend the fourth to graduate sooner. Stanford University, which uses the quarter system, has its au-tumn session Sept. 21 through Dec. 11, winter session Jan. 4 through March 19, spring ses-sion March 29 through June 9 and summer session June 22 through Aug. 4.

The quarter system is a faster paced learning envi-ronment and requires stu-dents to keep focus through-out the semester and budget their time wisely. I believe the quarter system would improve attendance in class because it would eliminate students hitting “the wall” or getting bored by classes that seem to drag on forever.

Students wishing to grad-uate earlier would love the quarter system and the abil-ity to obtain 48 credit hours a year (12 credit hours each session). Because of the

ability to take more classes in a year, students also can graduate as a double major in a timelier manner.

ACU also could adopt a schedule similar to schools in Australia and New Zealand that break up their quarters to give students four weeks off during Christmas and 2-4 weeks off for Easter. This could be extremely appeal-ing to students at a Chris-tian university who want to spend extended time with their families during Chris-tian holidays.

Some students may not like the quarter system. They like the slower paced semesters and the long sum-mer breaks. Most colleges and universities in Amer-ica still use the semester system, which is why ACU should do its homework before adopting the quar-ter system. The administra-tion can use the success or failure of the faster paced summer schedule to gauge student interest. It also could experiment with a few 10-week classes during the fall and spring to see if students are interested.

Another argument against the quarter system is how it would affect the study abroad program. However, ACU could look to the exam-ple of Northwestern and its ability to have a successful study abroad program.

The quarter system defi-nitely has pros and cons, but I feel the pros outweigh the cons. A faster-paced ed-ucational environment that requires more time man-agement not only prevents boredom, but also prepares students to work in a fast-paced work environment.

As ACU faculty and ad-ministration continue to evaluate the curriculum, they also should look at alternative scheduling op-tions, which could create a unique and challenging edu-cational atmosphere.

School shootings are not a recent trend. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whit-man, a University of Texas

student, killed 14 people and wounded 32 others from the campus’ bell tower. Almost 41 years later, Seung-Hui Cho, a student at Virginia Tech Uni-versity, killed 32 people in the deadliest shooting by a single gunman on a school campus in U.S. history.

The average student might be outraged, confused or fright-ened by the frequency of school shootings, and understandably so. But allowing students with a Concealed Handgun License, CHL, to carry firearms on cam-

pus poses more dangers than benefits — especially at ACU, where the highly trained ACUPD can enter a building and engage a shooter once a three-officer team has assembled.

A bill that would prohibit public universities in Texas from instating any rule that forbids CHL-holding students from bringing their firearms on campus has passed the committee in the House and awaits a vote. The House bill would not apply to private in-stitutions, but a similar bill in the Senate will.

“Chances for passage in the House — if it gets there — look strong, as 76 members have

signed on to support the bill … in the Texas Senate, 13 mem-bers have pledged support for an identical measure,” accord-ing to the Houston Chronicle.

Jimmy Ellison, ACU chief of police and member of the Texas Association of College and Uni-versity Police Administrators’ executive board, said the TA-CUPA fought to exempt private institutions from the bill and is in the “middle of the road” on the issue. Ellison stressed his personal dedication.

“On the surface it seems like an easy fix, but the flip-side is there are lots of things to think about,” Ellison said. “I understand the CHL holders’

desire to defend themselves, but I also have a responsibil-ity to the masses.”

A dangerous situation he de-scribed was that of a CHL holder living in a residential hall, par-ticularly if his or her roommate is not licensed. He also said the officers’ mission in an active-shooter situation is to enter a building, find the shooter, en-gage and terminate the threat.

“Imagine: one of my of-ficers rounds a corner and there’s a CHL-holding student standing there with a weap-on,” Ellison said.

In addition to Ellison’s sce-narios, other dangers exist.

In an active-shooter situ-

ation, decisions are made in a split second, under an extreme amount of pres-sure and terror — which also could result in indecision, poor decisions and “freez-ing.” An armed student is no guarantee of safety.

If either of the current bills or a similar one is signed into law, we implore ACU administrators to continue the disallowance of CHL-holding students to carry firearms on campus.

Quarter system offers alternative schedule

Concealed handgun laws would endanger students

Graduates may face career climate with optimism

E-mail Knauth at: txk07a@acu.edu

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

The issue:Two concealed handgun laws in the Texas Legislature would allow students to carry firearms on campus.

Our view:The ramifications of passing such bills transcends self-defense.

The solution:Allowing students to carry firearms on campus opens too many issues to counterbalance potential self-defense benefits.

Colter HettichFeatures Editor

Kelline LintonChief Copy Editor

Cody VetetoChief Videographer

DeLaina ParkerBroadcast Manager

Sondra RodriguezPage 2 Editor

Kenneth PybusAdviser

Cade WhiteAdviser

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

From what I read in this paper, I don’t expect this ar-ticle to be printed, but I feel

like someone needs to say something, or these opin-ions will go on unopposed.

It is upsetting to me that this newspaper continually supports and promotes the far left government, just as all the “mainstream” media outlets do (ABC, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Headline News).

However, Fox News Chan-nel, the No. 2 rated cable channel behind only USA, posts better ratings than these five “mainstream” media outlets combined,

and you still discredit their news as “biased.”

From said article, you wrote “every journalist, despite his or her best intentions, has some level of bias.” That statement is very true, however, when the far left media portrays the right as evil and un-American.

I do not see any articles in the Optimist written about how biased these media outlets are.

Fox News presents the news as is, and just be-cause it’s different from the swayed reports from NBC, it must be biased to-wards the right.

I am most upset at how this newspaper publishes ar-ticles such as this one to a pri-marily conservative audience.

If this paper is by the students, for the students, shouldn’t the articles

stand for what the major-ity of ACU students want to hear?Letter to the Editor

Emery Dudensingjunior mathematics major

from Sagerton

In response to the previously published column,

‘Fox broadcasts deplorable bias’

‘Optimist’ favors biased, left-wing media outlets

E-mail Self at: rcs06g@acu.edu

Adjustments have been made. Dreams have been re-evaluated, and when we come out of this recession, we will be better for it.

“”

By Ryan Self

Self Examination

By Tanner Knauth

My Take

very good with a tough field of about 40 competitors.”

In 2008, Daniel Maina dominated the 3,000-me-ter steeplechase, winning the Penn Relays en route to capturing the national title. This year, Maina finished in sixth place, impressive con-sidering Maina has battled a nagging injury all year. Mai-na’s time of 8:51.44 was the second fastest in Division II this season, and Burroughs said he thought his speed-ster had recovered from his injury and is ready to make a splash at the LSC and na-tional championships.

“Daniel performed really well in some strange condi-tions,” Burroughs said. “When we left Abilene, the tempera-ture was in the mid-90s; when Daniel ran, the temperature was in the upper-50s, so quite a change,” Burroughs said.

Maina’s teammate and fel-low Kenyan Amos Sang en-tered the men’s 10,000-me-ter as one of the favorites, and he did not disappoint. Sang crossed the tape before any other competitor and just ahead of ACU’s Cleo-phas Tanui, who finished in second place. Both run-

ners earned automatic bids to the national meet. In the women’s 10,000-meter race, Winrose Karunde put in a strong performance, finish-ing in 15th place, good for a provisional qualifying time. Burroughs particularly was impressed with how Sang and Tanui pulled away from the competition, even lap-ping some competitors.

“It was a really good per-formance; it was interesting watching the race unfold. A few miles into the race, a group of about eight began to pull away. At about four miles, the pack began to slow, and Amos began to separate from the lead group,” Bur-roughs said. “After Amos got about a 30-foot lead, Cleo-phas took off with Amos, and they began to pull away.”

Next up for the Wildcats is the Oliver Jackson Open at ACU. Last year ACU put on a show at home with the men’s team winning the dis-cus, 800-meter, 1,500-me-ter, 5,000-meter, 110-meter hurdles, both relays and the pole vault. On the women’s side, ACU won the 800-me-ter, 1,500-meter, 3,000-me-ters and the javelin.

put the Wildcats up two. Right fielder Travis Latz followed Schmitt with a solo home run before first baseman Bret Bochsler capped the inning off with a three-run home run, scoring shortstop Willie Uechi and designated hitter Cameron Watten.

The 6-0 first-inning lead would be more than enough for Vancil as ACU won 7-1 to earn a split Friday. Offensively, Page led the Wildcats with four hits, while Bochsler and Schmitt fin-ished with a game-high 3 RBI.

In game one of Friday’s doubleheader, the Wildcats suf-fered an extra-inning loss after a bases-loaded wild pitch gave Tarleton State a 3-2 win. After Schmitt tied the game at two in the top of the third with an

RBI double, neither team could break the tie going into extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, relief pitcher Andrew Yacek walked the first batter he saw before a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second with one out. After an intentional walk, Yacek gave up a single to load the bases and followed with a wild pitch that allowed the Tex-ans to grab the win.

Starting pitcher Cooper Page earned a no-decision af-ter pitching five innings, allow-ing two runs on six hits, while Yacek fell to 3-2 with the loss. Watten and Schmitt had the only RBI for the Wildcats.

Saturday, Tarleton State bounced back to score three runs in the fifth and sixth in-nings to win 6-3 in game one of the doubleheader. Starting pitcher Kevin Justice fell to 7-2

after going five innings, allow-ing four runs on seven hits, while Tarleton State starting pitcher settled down after al-lowing three runs in the first in-ning to pitch 6 2/3 innings, al-lowing three runs on seven hits in the win. Schmitt, Latz and Bochsler had ACU’s only RBI.

“We’ve shown some bright spots but haven’t put every-thing together in recent weeks, but hopefully it will be different for the tournament,” Uechi said.

In Saturday’s finale, Schmitt became ACU’s single-season RBI leader with 89 after the Wild-cats exploded for 12 runs in the final three innings to win 17-11. Relief pitcher Matt Sullivan, one of six ACU pitchers, picked up the win to improve to 4-3, while Brad Rutherford pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close the game and earn his 10th save.

“I’ve played three years with [Schmitt], and to see him have a great year and to see all the hard work pay off is good,” Uechi said.

Offensively, second base-man Chris Hall, Watten and Bochsler led the team with three hits, while Bochsler and Watten each had a home run and 3 RBI. Schmitt finished 2-6 with 3 RBI, while Latz and Uechi each had two hits and 2 RBI.

The Wildcats now will turn their attention to Southeastern Oklahoma who they will play in the first round of the LSC Base-ball Championship on Saturday.

“This team can do a lot of damage, and we’ll wait and see who shows up and how we re-spond to the tournament atmo-sphere,” Bonneau said.

women participated in two re-lays (4-by-100 and 4-by-200). In addition to the relays, an assort-ment of field events took place, including shot put, tug-of-war, water balloon toss, washers and an egg relay.

In the men’s division, GSP swept all four relay races, placing first and second in each event, while Galaxy fin-ished third in the relays but swept all the field events.

Corey Moore, junior exer-cise science major from Deca-tur, was apart of the winning 4-by-100, 4-by-200 and 4-by-

400 relay teams for GSP.“Overall we did really good

and we wanted to represent GSP the best way we could,” Moore said. “This was a team effort. We maybe don’t have the fastest or strongest guys, but we know how to use our talents to work together.”

Jeff Warr and Grant Zeller of Galaxy took first place in the washers competition.

“We’ve played for a couple of years, but we just play for fun all the time,” said Warr, sophomore marketing major from Abilene. “We saw they had washers in the track meet and thought it would be fun, so we entered.”

On the women’s side, Ko Jo Kai won both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relays. Amber Smit-tick, senior psychology major from San Antonio, anchored the 4-by-100 relay for the Kojies.

“I think we did really well,” Smittick said. “We had a lot of girls come out and compete and we had a good showing. I think they need to advertise it more and get more people involved because it was really fun.”

This was Smittick’s final in-tramural competition at ACU.

“I’m glad I was able to end it on a good note,” Smittick said. “It was very fun to finally compete at ACU in my favorite

sport from high school.”Sigma Theta Chi won the

women’s tug-of-war competi-tion. Laura Touchette, senior marketing major from St. Louis, came out of the crowd to help the Siggies win the match.

“It was a last-minute team we put together, but we com-peted really well and pulled out a win,” Touchette said.

With the semester coming to an end, the track meet served as a good event to close out the intramural season.

“It’s a fun way to end the se-mester,” Hardcastle said.

Pittsburgh. Knox turned heads at several tryouts and contin-ued to grab the Bears’ atten-tion with his performance in the NFL Combine.

“We’re looking for someone who can stretch the field along with Devin [Hester],” said Greg Gabriel, the Bears director of col-lege scouting, in a news release. “At the [Texas vs. the Nation] All-Star Game and the Combine, he caught everything.”

Lovie Smith, head coach of the Bears, emphasized a need to add depth at the wide re-ceiver position and was pleased with a strong receiver class.

“Receiver-wise, we knew that was a position we need-ed to add some players, and we did. Iglesias, with what he brings as a good steady re-ceiver, to the speed of Johnny Knox and the combination we got with Kinder, I feel good about them,” he said.

Scott, who raised eyebrows with his off-field incidents prior to ACU, was selected by the Bengals, a franchise known for taking a chance on players with questionable pasts. But de-spite Scott’s troubled past, the Bengals saw a talented football player and felt comfortable with

Scott, willing to give him an op-portunity to prove himself.

“To be honest, he’s had a little bit of a troubled past, but that was when he was a young guy,” said Jim Anderson, running backs coach for the Bengals, in a news release. “He’s going to come in here and do the things that we need him to do to be the very best football player that he can be and help us win.”

Monday, the Bengals cut two running backs, former first-round pick Chris Perry and Gary Russell to help clear room for Scott. Scott will join James Johnson, DeDe Dorsey and Kenny Watson as back-ups to starter Cendric Benson. Thomsen said he thinks Scott is entering a great situation in Cincinnati and will get an op-portunity to prove himself.

“I think Bernard is getting into situation that is ideal for him,” Thomsen said. “The run-ning back coach has coached 25 years and is a veteran that has coached five pro bowlers. He saw something in Bernard and really pulled for him, and that’s important.”

In addition to Scott and Knox, several other ACU play-ers heard their names called — just a few hours after the draft, as former offensive line-

man Joseph Thompson, tight end Kendrick Holloway and quarterback Billy Malone all got invites to try out.

Holloway, a former first team all-LSC tight end, said he did not expect to hear his name on draft day, but was hoping for a call after the draft after talking to several teams before the draft. Holloway was contacted by the Cleveland Browns and was invited to try out as a fullback with the pos-sibility of being signed and brought into training camp af-ter a good performance.

“I was real excited and I was nervous and shaking,” Holloway said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a call like that is shocking. I called my mom

who was at work, and she just started screaming, and I had to tell her to calm down.”

Thompson, another first team all-LSC performer, re-ceived a phone call from the Browns as well, earning an invite to tryout. Despite the invite, Thompson said the wait was hard but it allowed him to focus on the things that really mattered.

“It was tough [waiting], but it was also an improvement on my faith and allowed me to focus on things that really mat-

ter,” Thompson said. “When you don’t know what is going to happen in life, you focus on what you can control.”

Thompson also was excited for the opportunity to join Hol-loway in Cleveland.

“It will be good to have the opportunity to be around some-one and to have someone you can relate to on a deeper level in a strange place,” Thompson said. “I can encourage him, and he can encourage me.”

Malone, who ended his ACU career owning nearly every school passing record, was invited to tryout for the Buffalo Bills and will look to get a job backing up starter Trent Edwards.

With all the attention ACU received with this year’s recruit-ing class, it has the potential to be the top class to ever come out of ACU’s football program.

“It’s awesome because one thing I can think about that it is pretty important is that it’s not just for my personal gain, but to put Abilene Christian on the map with one of the largest recruiting classes to go to the NFL and getting that exposure to ACU because I love ACU,” Thompson said.

Down 2-0 after two in-nings, Katie Cornelison singled home Sawyers to bring the game within one. In the third, however, the fireworks began. With the bases loaded and one out, Sawyers came up to bat. As she did all tournament long, she delivered, hitting a grand slam down the left field line that gave ACU a 5-2 advantage it would not relinquish. Sawyer’s RBI double in the fifth extend-ed the lead to 6-2, and after four more ACU runs, the game was called due to the run rule. Gregoire picked up the win for the Wildcats.

On Sunday, the Wildcats kept their momentum with a victory over Central Okla-homa. In the first round, the Wildcats went up early after back-to-back homers by Melissa Rodriguez, and Sawyers gave them a 3-0 lead. Another homer, this time by Jenny Kulp, and two unearned runs off Broncho errors put ACU at its final tally of seven. Kim Partin picked up the win for her 11th of the season. She al-lowed two runs, one in the fourth and one in the sixth, but ultimately they meant

nothing as the weekend be-longed to the Wildcats.

Not only did the Wildcats succeed as a team this sea-son, but some individuals were honored before the tournament Thursday night. Jessica Shiery, Gregoire and Sawyers made first team All-LSC South Division. Shiery also took home the LSC South Division Player of the Year award.

“[Shiery] is a tremendous athlete and softball player. She has worked really hard this year, and she has been a big leader to this team. She is very deserving of the award,” Wilson said.

Wilson was awarded with 2009 Coach of the Year honors for the LSC South Division as well.

Next weekend brings a challenge for the Wildcats; they will play host to rival An-gelo State. The Rambelles are ranked fifth in the nation and took two of three from ACU in early April. The Wildcats will not only have a chance for revenge, but the oppor-tunity to win the entire LSC tournament. The first game of the best of three series will be Friday night at 5 p.m. at Poly Wells Field.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 9SPORTS JUMPS

E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

E-mail Gwin at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu

E-mail Harris at: tch05f@acu.edu

E-mail Craig at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu E-mail Abston at: gda04b@acu.edu

Softball: ACU, Angelo St. to play for LSC crownContinued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Continued from page 10

Baseball: Cats to play Southeastern Oklahoma

Intramurals: First track meet in six years successful

Track: Home meet next for Wildcats

Draft: Trio of players get invited to try out for teamsContinued from page 10

By Chandler HarrisAssistant Sports Editor

Gamma Sigma Phi and Ko Jo Kai won the intra-mural track meet April 21. This was the first intramu-ral track meet in six years, said Susan Hardcastle, ad-ministrative coordinator for intramural sports.

“We had over 60 partici-pants compete,” Hardcastle said. “Some students had suggested we bring this back and we thought it would be fun. Next year we will probably do it earlier in the semester.”

Each club that participat-ed received 25 participation points and a small number of points for each event it won. The men competed in four relay races (4-by-100-meter, 4-by-200, 4-by-400 and 4-by-800), and the

By Jeff CraigSports Writer

The track and field team’s long distance runners shined Friday in Philadelphia at the Penn Relays Carnival.

The Wild-cats added four more NCAA Divi-sion II Na-tional Cham-p i o n s h i p invites to an already long list of invites, with

Daniel Maina, Amos Sang and Cleophas Tanui combin-ing to gain four spots for the Championships in San Ange-lo on May 21-23. Head cross country coach Sam Bur-roughs, who accompanied the team to Philadelphia, said he was pleased with his team’s performance in the City of Brotherly Love.

“It’s a big race; it was the biggest track meet in the en-tire country being held that weekend,” Burroughs said. “The distance events are all

By Austin GwinSports Writer

The Wildcat softball team has won 42 times this sea-son, tying the school re-cord. More importantly the Wildcats have advanced to the finals in the Lone Star Conference tournament.

With the No. 1 seed and on their home field, the Wildcats dominated the south side of the LSC bracket en route to three victories last weekend. Both sides of the ball im-pressed the fans who came from all over the southwest to see their respective teams. The defense allowed a mere four

runs in the three wins, while the offense scored 21 runs.

“Our focus and our in-tensity were amazing,” head coach Chantiel Wilson said. “We are really playing as a team and gelling together well. It’s obvious our girls have a lot of respect for each other out on the field.”

In the opening round game Friday against Midwestern State, the Wildcats scored in the first inning and let the pitching and defense take care of the rest. A two-run double in the bottom of the first courtesy of Nancy Sawyers proved to be the

game-winning hit in a 3-0 game. ACU added the insurance run in the sixth when Jackie Gentile hit a solo shot off the score-board. On the mound for ACU, ace Jacques Gregoire was phe-nomenal, pitching her fourth complete game shutout of the season. The win improves her overall record to 20-4.

Saturday was not much different for the Wildcats as they shut down upstart West Texas A&M 10-2. The previ-ous day, the Lady Buffs had upset second-seeded Central Oklahoma 19-1. But the Wild-cats would have none of that.

Baseball team drops two of four to Tarleton St.

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

For the first time since 2006, the ACU football team had a player selected in the NFL Draft. But this year was twice as good as two former players, running back Bernard Scott and wide re-ceiver Johnny Knox, were select-ed in the 2009 NFL Draft, mak-ing it the first time since 1983 that multiple Wildcats were taken in the same NFL Draft.

The Chicago Bears selected Knox with the 140th pick in the fifth round, while the Cincinnati Bengals took Scott in the sixth round with the 209th pick.

“We’re just happy for those guys and that they are getting an opportunity,” ACU head football coach Chris Thomsen said. “They worked really hard for it, and I’m re-ally excited for them.”

One day before the draft, Thomsen got a call from for-mer ACU all-America defen-sive back Danieal Manning who spoke to Thomsen about the possibilities of the Bears drafting Knox. Manning, who was the last Wildcat drafted after being selected in the sec-ond round by the Bears in the 2006 draft, told Thomsen he thought the Bears had a good chance of selecting Knox.

“[Manning] called me after the draft and said ‘I told you,’” Thomsen said. “He’s excited to take Johnny under his wing, and it’s a blessing for Johnny be-cause Danieal is a super guy.”

Knox was one of three re-ceivers drafted by the Bears, joining Juaquin Iglesias of Oklahoma and Derek Kinder of

By Grant AbstonSports Editor

The Wildcats split their fi-nal Lone Star Conference series of the season against Tarleton State and fell to the third seed entering this weekend’s LSC Baseball Championship.

With Cameron holding a one-game lead over ACU, and Ange-lo State just one game behind in the LSC standings entering the final weekend of the regu-lar season, both teams swept their final series to finish 1-2 atop the standings. ACU (39-17, 30-14) fell eight spots to No. 25 in Collegiate Baseball’s national poll and will play fourth-seeded Southeastern Oklahoma State in its first game of the post-season tournament.

“I think we’ve been tested and gone through a tough

stretch of games,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “We’re glad that part of the season is over with and we’re looking forward to [the LSC Tournament].”

In Friday’s doubleheader, starting pitcher Preston Vancil had perhaps his best pitching performance of the season, leading ACU to a 7-1 in game two to split the doubleheader after losing game one 3-2. Vancil improved to 3-4 on the season after pitching a com-plete game, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out 13 in nine innings.

In the top of the first inning, left fielder Davis Page hit a one-out double before catcher Jor-dan Schmitt hit a home run to

SportsWednesdayPage 10 April 29, 2009

Standings

SCOREBOARD

Wednesday

Track & FieldOliver Jackson Decathlon, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday

Track & FieldOliver Jackson Decathlon, 10 a.m.Oliver Jackson Open, noon

Friday

SoftballACU vs. Angelo State, 5 p.m.

Saturday

SoftballACU vs. Angelo State, noonACU vs. Angelo State, 2:20 p.m.*

BaseballACU vs. SE Oklahoma St., 7 p.m.

:: Home games listed in italics* If necessary

Upcoming

Friday

SoftballACU 3, Midwestern State 0

BaseballTarleton State 3, ACU 2ACU 7, Tarleton State 1

Men’s TennisACU 5, Cameron 3

Women’s TennisACU 5, Tarleton State 0

Saturday

BaseballTarleton State 6, ACU 3ACU 17, Tarleton State 11

Sunday

SoftballACU 7, Central Oklahoma 2

Scores

From D-II to Draft Day

Wildcats advance to finals in LSC Softball Championship

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Johnny Knox (top) was taken by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round, while Bernard Scott (right) was selected in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals.

NFL teams choose Knox, Scott among NCAA elite

Football

Baseball

Softball

See Baseball page 9

See Softball page 9

See Draft page 9

See Intramurals page 9

See Track page 9

BaseballTeam Div. OverallCameronAngelo St.ACUSE Okla.ENMU

Tarleton St.

32-1231-1330-1423-2023-2122-21-1

41-1340-1639-1727-2428-2625-28-1

Central Okla. 22-22 27-28SW Okla. 21-23 28-25NE State 16-26-1 21-31-1TAMU-K 15-29 20-35WTAMU 13-29 20-33East Central 13-31 14-38

SoftballTeam Div. OverallACUAngelo St.WTAMUTAMU-KTarleton St.

TX Woman’s

15-314-49-88-108-106-12

42-1141-835-2132-2226-2226-25

ENMU 2-15 24-23

Heather Leiphart :: staff photographer

Catcher Jordan Schmitt tags Southeastern Oklahoma’s designated hitter Mike McCollum in ACU’s 11-8 win March 22.

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

Outfielder Kaleigh Johnson throws in practice March 24.

Briefs

n Head coach Chantiel Wilson was named the LSC South Division Coach of the Year in the annual postseason awards,

while pitcher Jacque Gregoire, catcher Jessica Shiery and third baseman Nancy Sawyers were all first team selections for the South Division. Shiery also was named the LSC South Player of the Year. First baseman Katie Cornelison, shortstop Me-lissa Rodriguez and outfielder Brooke Whittlesey were second team selections, while second baseman Jackie Gentile earned honorable mention honors.

n Tickets will be $3 for the LSC postseason baseball and softball games hosted by ACU. Three hundred tickets for baseball will be passed out at Chapel on Thursday and Friday, and 100 tickets will be passed out for the softball games at the gate.

INTRAMURAL STANDINGS

MENn GSP (1133)n Galaxy (790)n Frats (195)n Sub T-16 (130)n Trojans (110)n Pi Kappa (100)

WoMENn Kojies (795)n Siggies (604)n Delta Theta (582)n Alpha Kai (390)n GATA (60)

Hood

Wilson

Ko Jo Kai, GSP win intramural track meet

Track team adds four national qualifiers