Chelsea HackneyCopy Editor

Incoming freshmen are facing some significant changes this fall, not least of which is a revamped Core Curriculum. Faculty voted last week to add two courses to the Core, as well as create a new minor in Digital Entertainment Technology.

“Fundamentally, it means there is a wide level of support for the new Core classes,” said Dr. Gregory

Straughn, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “In making this move, ACU maintains its place as an innovative lead-er in higher education.”

Core 110: Corner-stone will be a class for first-semester freshmen; Straughn said the main goal of the class is for students to learn how to fully engage in the college experience. Students will address questions such as

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

Tuition rates will rise 12 percent in the fall, bring-ing the cost of a credit hour to $717. A 15-hour semester will cost students $10,755, plus fees, books,

residence, meal plans and other expenses.

Dr. Jean-Noel Thomp-son, dean of students and vice president of Student Life, addressed the first question on many students’ minds: Where will this ad-ditional revenue go?

The unusually high rise in tuition comes after sev-eral cutbacks on the uni-versity’s part. Faculty and staff did not receive raises this year and administra-tors have not received rais-es in two years – a pattern Buck James, assistant vice

president for enrollment management, said “cannot continue indefinitely.”

“And we put off ap-proximately $1 million of deferred payments [last year] because of what was happening with the econo-my, and you can’t do that

forever,” James said.Thompson said the is-

sue is not unique to ACU, and the university has done its best to reexamine its policies with only the in-terests of the students and the future of the university in mind.

“Even with the endow-ment and gifts, those are sig-nificantly down around the world,” Thompson said. “We have complete restructured and are being much more ag-gressive in our fundraising.”

Christianna LewisContributing Reporter

ACU students have be-come more idealistic and people-oriented in recent years, according to freshman personality testing. But a new study shows speech pathology students are moving in the opposite direction.

Dr. Terry Baggs, as-sistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, has com-pared the personality types of about 300 com-munication disorders students from several universities, including ACU, between 2006-2009. He compared his results with those of a similar study conducted 30 years ago. The con-trast was stark.

Both studies used the Myers-Briggs Type In-dicator to evaluate the personalities of com-munication disorder students. This indicator identifies four oppo-site pairs of personality

Core Curriculum revised

Tuition to increase by 12 percent

Speech students’ strengths unique

a. Yes, the black smoke is ...b. No, they’re making it up as they go.c. Don’t even talk to me about that stupid show.

PAGE 5

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EVENINGS WITH ROYCEand Pam begin in Grapevine at the Gaylord Texan on March 23. The Moneys will end their tour with a dinner in Abilene on May 20.

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acuoptimist.comBREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENTVol. 98, No. 42 1 section, 8 pagesFriday, March 5, 2010

ADMINISTRATION

RESEARCHNATIONAL

see TEST page 4

see VOTE page 3

see TUITION page 4

ACADEMICS

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

When tuition increases next year, students can rest assured the salaries of Stu-dents’ Association officers will not follow suit. Wage freezes for SA officers were among a laundry list of amendments approved by Congress on Feb. 25.

Amendments to bylaws and rules of order need only the approval of Congress, but constitutional amend-ments must be ratified by

the student body. Students will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed amendments sometime in the next few days.

Tony Godfrey, SA vice president, said the organi-zation does not expect a budget increase any time soon, and to follow the precedent of increasing salaries as tuition increas-es would allow officers to pocket valuable funds. He said the unlikelihood of ACU staff receiving any wage increase contributed

to the decision.“The whole reason we do

this is to divert money back to the students and help students do whatever it is they want to do,” Godfrey said. “And SA shouldn’t be unique from any other de-partment in this area.”

The proposed amend-ments include a process for impeachment, which students must ratify before they take effect. The contro-versial impeachment of SA

Congress amends policiesSTUDENT GOVERNMENT

QUICK FACTS

The Faculty Senate voted to approve several additions to the Core Curriculum. The new courses will be offered begin-ning Fall 2010.

Core 110n Approved: 89n Not approved: 24

Core 120n Approved: 86n Not approved: 27

Digital Entertainment Technologyn Approved: 86n Not approved: 27n Abstained: 1 see AMENDMENT page 4

Ben WartonContributing Reporter

For the first time in ACU’s history, the U.S. Census Bureau is partnering with ACU in an effort to get an accurate count of the nation’s population in 2010.

Census questionnaires are being sent to off-campus students March 15 and in April to students living on campus. Student involvement in the census is normally low, said Anna Perrey, administrative coordinator for Student Life and census proj-ect manager.

“Colleges are generally harder to keep track of because students don’t know that they should fill out the forms,” Perrey said. “They think it is something their parents do because they live with them.”

The goal of the census is to take a snapshot of the population at the time the questionnaires are gathered. The Census Bureau wants to know where every person is located at a specific time, regardless of whom they live with when they aren’t in school. ACU was chosen to help raise awareness of this process and to get as many students to participate as possible, Perrey said.

Faculty and staff are also asked to participate through campus activities, class-room discussion and some speaking engagements. March 8-12 has been dubbed “Census Week,” during which a booth will be set up in the McGlothlin Campus Cen-ter from 11:30-2 p.m. every day. Students will be handing out pamphlets and bro-chures to inform students further about the census, Perrey said.

In addition to Census Week, a booth will be set up when it is time to return census questionnaires. Students who return their questionnaires to this booth in the Cam-pus Center will be entered in a drawing for a Chili’s gift certificate.

When It CountsUncle Sam wants you ... to help him get a head count.

CALENDAR AND EVENTSFriday, March 5, 2010

2CampusDay

10 a.m. Ko Jo Kai and Sigma Theta Chi bake sale benefiting the family of Jenny Bizaillion.

11 a.m.Praise Day

4 p.m.ACU Baseball v. East Central

6 p.m.ACU’s Black History Production in Cullen Auditorium. A second performance follows at 8 p.m.

10 a.m.Ko Jo Kai fundraiser at Sonic on Judge Ely Boulevard benefiting the family of Jenny Bizaillion.

2 p.m. ACU Baseball v. East Central

8 p.m.ACU’s Black History Production in Cullen Auditorium.

6 SATURDAY

The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities. Groups may send announcements directly to optimist@jmcnetwork.com.

To ensure 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.

AboutThis Page

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Volunteer Opportunities

The Noah Project needs volunteers to cover the domestic violence crisis hotline between 6 and 10 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call Yvonne Myers at 676-7107.

Love and Care Ministries needs help with its clothing ministry and street feeds at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. To sched-ule a time, call Terry Davis at 670-0246.

The City of Abilene’s Adaptive Recreation Services needs volunteers to help mentally and physi-cally challenged adults with activities between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Activi-ties can include arts and crafts, exercise, ceramics, bowling, field trips, etc. For more information, contact Barbara Liggett at 676-6575, or e-mail barbara.liggett@abilenetx.com.

Breakfast On Beech Street serves breakfast to Abilene’s homeless community and is in need of volunteers. Breakfast is served from 6:30-7:15 a.m. at the First Chris-tian Church at 3rd and Beech Street. Volunteers must arrive at 5:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 5 a.m. Tuesdays. For more information, visit the First Christian Church’s Web site at www.fccabilene.org/outreach.html.

Meals on Wheels is looking for volunteers to deliver hot meals each week to seniors and adults with disabilities. Volunteers may work

once a week between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more informa-tion, contact Elisabeth Rodgers at 672-5050.

The Alzheimer’s Associa-tion needs volunteers any time 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Volun-teers must be present for at least one hour and will perform various office du-ties. For more information, contact Libby Connally at 672-2907.

The American Heart As-sociation needs volun-teers any time 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Volunteers will help with general office tasks and assist with mailings. For more information, contact Kay Alexander at 627-0070.

The Christian Service Center needs volunteers to fill requests for clothing, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc., from the donation center. Volunteers may work from noon-4 p.m. Fri-day or Saturday. For more information, call Jim Clark at 673-7531.

The Food Bank of West Central Texas needs volunteers to sort and stock food items between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information or to schedule a group of six or more volunteers, contact Janice Serrault at 695-6311, or email abfoodbk@camalott.com.

The Salvation Army needs volunteers Monday through Saturday. Volun-teers may help sort and price items in the thrift store, help in the kitchen or

do yard work. For more in-formation, contact Cecilia Barahona at 677-1408.

Abilene Hope Haven needs volunteers to pro-vide child care between 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Monday through Thurs-day. For more information, contact Kathy Reppart (before 3 p.m.) at 677-4673 or Christina Spillers (after 3 p.m.) at 437-0611.

The Abilene Boys and Girls Club needs volun-teers from 3:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday to assist children with a variety of activi-ties. For more information, contact Mark Denman at 672-1712.

The International Rescue Committee needs volun-teers to teach English and mentor refugees. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Daina Juryka-Owen at 675-5643, ext. 16.

The Betty Hardwick Center needs volun-teers from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on any weekday. For more information, contact Katie Fawcett at 325-690-5128.

Find more volunteer opportunities by visiting the Service-Learning and Voluteer Resources Web site at www.acu.edu/slvr and clicking on Volunteer Opportunities, or visit the Service-Learning and Volunteer Resources of-fice located in the lower level of the McGlothlin Campus Center.

5 FRIDAY 9 p.m.Nine O’ Clock worship service at University Church of Christ. Refreshments to follow.

7 SUNDAY

Announcements

Equine Assisted Psycho-therapy is now available to staff, faculty and students through the Counseling Center. For more informa-tion, call 674-2626.

The Upward Bound Pro-gram is in need of students to serve as summer advis-ers. The program is looking for encouraging, energetic and responsible students to assist in preparing high school students for college. For more information, call 674-2529 or 674-2514.

The Shinnery has extended its deadline for submissions until Friday.

Justice Week, sponsored by the International Justice Mission, ends Friday. ACU’s Black History Production will take place Friday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Cullen Auditorium as a part of Justice Week. Admission is free.

ACU’s Wind Ensemble will perform a concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Cullen Audito-rium. Admission is free.

The deadline to sign up for intramural volleyball is Friday. The cost is $75 per team, and games will begin March 22. For more informa-tion, contact Susan Hard-castle at 674-2555, or e-mail susan.hardcastle@acu.edu.

A Chapel forum, spon-sored by the Broom Col-loquium, will take place at 7 p.m. Friday in the Biblical Studies Building. The forum

costs $5, and interested students can sign up in the Center for Christian Service and Leadership in the lower level of the McGlothlin Campus Center.

Registration for online summer classes is now open. For more informa-tion, contact your aca-demic adviser.

The Pete Brewer Quartet will perform at 8 p.m. March 25 in the Williams Performing Arts Center as part of the Guest Artist series. Admission is free.

HIGHway Bible study will meet at 9 p.m. Wednesday in The Grove Clubhouse. All students are welcome.

The Student Social Work Association is sponsor-ing a Diabetes Services Planning Group meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 8 and 22 and April 12 and 26. The meeting will be to plan for World Diabetes Day next fall and will be at Hillcrest Church of Christ. For more information, contact Darrell Jordan at 674-4886.

The women of Ko Jo Kai and Sigma Theta Chi will be hosting a bake sale from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Friday benefiting the fam-ily of Jenny Bizaillion.

The deadline to give intent to submit to ACU’s Springboard Ideas Chal-lenge is March 24. For more information go to www.springboardchallenge.

com or e-mail Ashley Mar-tindale at springboardchal-lenge@gmail.com.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Chapel will be the first Thursday of each month in Room 258 in the Foster Science Building. All ACU students who participate in BBBS are welcome to attend.

The women of Ko Jo Kai are sponsoring a fundraiser from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday at Sonic on Judge Ely Boulevard. to benefit the family of Jenny Bizaillion.

Filmfest 2010 is sponsor-ing a worship at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Living Room in the McGlothlin Campus Center.

Fall Registration begins with Honors students and Graduate students on March 31. Contact your academic adviser for more information.

Spring Break will be March 13-20.

The Spring Break Cam-paign Committee is spon-soring a send-off devotional at 9 p.m. Thursday in the Beauchamp Ampitheater. All students participating in Spring Break Campaigns are encouraged to attend.

The Bible Bowl will be April 10 on ACU campus.

The Meek Blood Center is sponsoring a blood drive April 16.

March 5, 2010 Page 3Campus News/From Front

Jeff CraigSports Editor

Abilene Christian Uni-versity students, alumni, faculty and staff have an opportunity in the next few months to thank Dr. Royce Money and his wife, Pam, for their years of service to the universi-ty with a series of cross-county celebrations.

A series of 12 celebra-tions, each entitled An Eve-ning with Royce and Pam, begins March 23 in Grape-vine at the Gaylord Texan and will conclude with a dinner at the Abilene Civic Center on May 20. Don Garrett, sponsor or-ganizer for the event, said the celebrations present an occasion for those with connections to the univer-sity to show appreciation for the Moneys as Royce transitions to his new role as chancellor.

“We look for places where there are large

concentrations of alum-ni and people who are active within the univer-sity,” Garrett said. “This gives them a chance to say, ‘Thank you.’”

Celebrations will be conducted in many ma-jor Texas cities, includ-ing Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, Aus-tin, San Antonio, Mid-land/Odessa, Temple and, of course, Abilene. Events also are sched-uled in Atlanta, Nashville and Southern California.

Garrett anticipates varying levels of atten-dance at the events. He expects 100-200 people to attend the reception at Pepperdine University but is prepared for sev-eral hundred attendees in Dallas/Fort Worth.

There are two cel-ebrations scheduled in Abilene. Faculty and staff are invited to at-tend a dinner in the Teague Special Events

Center on April 27, with a concert in Cullen Au-ditorium afterward; a second event will con-clude the series at the Abilene Civic Center on May 20. John Tyson, vice president for de-velopment, is involved with the Abilene cel-ebrations and said the event will allow alumni and friends to express gratitude, but, he add-ed, anyone is welcome. Tickets are $35.

“It’s an evening to hon-or and express apprecia-tion for the Moneys,” Ty-son said. “It’s basically a time to remember their time in office.”

For more information about the 12 events can be found at www.acu.edu/alumni/president/index.html.

Moneys honored nationwidePRESIDENT

Shea RattanContributing Reporter

The Study Abroad office will announce the win-ners for its annual pho-to contest on March 29 in the Campus Center Living Room.

“This is another ac-tivity that brings Study Abroad groups togeth-er and allows them a chance to come back and interact with one another,” said Rachel Brown, Study Abroad coordinator.

The Study Abroad Photo Contest is an an-nual competition for students who partici-pated in an ACU Study

Abroad program dur-ing the previous year. Typically, the contest garners significant par-ticipation from former Study Abroad students, Brown said.

Contest winners will be announced and re-ceive prizes throughout the evening. In previous years, prizes have been gift cards to places such as Rosa’s Cafe, Peet’s Coffee and Box Office Video, although this year’s prizes have not yet been selected.

Page Prather, senior international studies major from Lamesa, said the event is a fun time to hang out with other

people who have stud-ied abroad.

“It gives students a chance to show off their pictures,” Prather said.

Pictures are judged in four different cat-egories. The first is On Site, which must cap-ture scenes from one of the ACU Study Abroad host cities: Montevideo, Leipzig or Oxford. The second is Cross-Cultur-al, which portrays ex-periences outside the host city. Landscape is the third and includes only scenery, excluding people as point-earn-ers. The last is “Just for Fun,” which may include pretty much anything,

according to a Study Abroad Office email de-tailing contest rules and requirements. Off-site judges will select first-, second- and third-place winners from each cat-egory, including a Best of Show category.

The winning photos will be displayed in the Study Abroad Office and also may be featured in ACU publications.

Prather said the con-test allows students to share Study Abroad sto-ries with those who have yet to experience tavel-ing internationally

“This is an awesome way to share that excite-ment with other people

who know how you feel and also gives students a chance to show off the fun places that they went to and the fun

things that they have done,” Prather said.

Students submit photos for Study Abroad contestINTERNATIONAL

Abby AndersonContributing Reporter

What began as a midterm final study for graduate students enrolled in the School of Social Work, T1D has become a group dedicated to the sup-port, advocacy and edu-cation for families living with Type 1 Diabetes.

T1D, formally known as the ACU Diabetes Ser-vice Planning Group, ex-panded from its original purpose, to provide com-munity and support for families who have mem-

bers diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, to increase awareness of the condi-tion and available com-munity-building activities within Abilene and the surrounding areas.

In addition to regular meetings, an upcom-ing 5K walk, a T1D Fun Festival and World Dia-betes Day celebrations will raise awareness and support for people living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Darrell Jordan, assis-tant professor of social work, said he is excited about what T1D already

has done to raise global awareness and antici-pates the group’s plans to further the cause.

T1D was created to “fill a void by providing psychosocial support to parents and children with Type 1 Diabetes and is now taking on a life of its own,” he said.

This was reflected Nov. 14, 2009 when Abilene joined in an international effort to show support on World Diabetes Day, which Mayor Norm Archibald declared as Nov. 14.

The World Diabetes Day logo, a blue circle,was arranged in blue lights around the Frontier Texas Monument to show support, Jordan said. The Abilene Civic Center was also flooded with blue lighting for the night.

The group will con-tinue to meet twice per month at Hillcrest Church of Christ to pro-vide support to one an-other and to families of those newly diagnosed. The large group will of-ten split into breakout

groups of siblings, par-ents and children with diabetes.

In addition to a time of discussion and sup-port, medical salesmen, doctors, nurses and others living with Type 1 Diabetes will speak about healthy habits and lifestyles.

It’s about “releasing the pressure,” said Steve Eller, certified EAP ther-apist and counselor in the Counseling Center. “If we can do that, then it’s a lot easier to deal with the tough times.”

Eller joined the pro-gram about one year ago, and is the facilita-tor and leader for T1D. He also helped create a T1D blog where parents and kids can share sto-ries and provide a sense of community.

“You can come and be who you are in an unthreatening and non-judgmental environ-ment,” Eller said.

T1D spreads diabetes awareness, supportSERVICE

Photo courtesy of the Study Abroad Office

“Bicycle in Amsterdam,” taken by Liz McClellan, junior family studies major from Austin, during the Oxford Spring ’09 se-mester, was the Cross-Cultural winner in last year’s contest.

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

contact Anderson atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

ACADEMICS

Vote: Courses strengthen coreContinued from page 1

contact Rattan atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

“What is truth?” Core 120: Human Person and Identi-ty will teach students how to examine the self and its relationships with others.

These courses will not be part of the graduation requirements for current students, so for them, the most important part of the vote was the new minor proposed by the School of Information Technol-ogy. According to the ap-plication submitted to the University Undergraduate Academic Council, it is de-signed to prepare students “for careers in various tech-nical aspects of the enter-tainment industry.” It, like the Core classes, will be of-fered beginning Fall 2010.

Dr. Tracy Shilcutt, as-sociate professor of his-tory and Faculty Senate chair, said all full-time em-ployees who hold faculty rank at or below the level

of department chair were eligible to vote on the cur-ricular items. Determining who was eligible, however, was a somewhat conten-tious issue within the Fac-ulty Senate. Some faculty members were hesitant to allow the dean of each college, as well as upper faculty members like the provost, vice presidents and president to vote.

“I believe that there should be a place in the process of Core Curricu-lum approval for the entire group of employees, whose primary role is teaching to express, their support or re-jection for the issues,” said Dr. Kim Pamplin, chair of the Department of Chemis-try and Biochemistry.

“I believe there should be an opportunity for this voice to be heard without the inclusion of employ-ees whose primary role is not teaching.”

After much discussion, the deans composed a let-

ter to the Senate stating their intention to abstain from the vote.

“Questions have been raised regarding the lan-guage of the Faculty Hand-book as to who is eligible to vote,” Straughn said. “While these concerns are being worked out, the deans are seeking to en-rich conversations about the core through means other than voting.”

It seems most faculty members were pleased with the results, regardless of whether they voted.

“For those teaching courses in the new Core, they will be preparing for courses that they them-selves have never taken, because they didn’t exist,” Pamplin said. “For many, this is very exciting, and I’m sure it will produce some interesting challenges.”

contact Hackney atceh05c@acu.edu

Thompson said some “tan-gibles” will benefit, such as intramurals and student organizations. Other “in-tangibles,” such as infla-tion and a dangerously old heating and cooling sys-tem, must be addressed.

Policy changes have been made to alleviate some of the financial pres-

sure this tuition rise will bring. The university has set aside $500,000 for re-turning students who can-not afford the increase, expanded its scholarship fund from $17 million to $19 million, and extended the eight-month payment plan to 12 months.

James supports tu-ition freezes for incom-ing freshmen and said ACU administrators are

“strongly considering” the system to further relieve pressure on students.

The mandatory stu-dent activity fee also will increase. Thompson re-assured members of the Students’ Association on Thursday that not a dollar from next year’s tuition or student activ-ity fees will go to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Members of SA ex-pressed the need of stu-dents to know they will ben-efit from their extra dollars. James said record numbers of applications indicate the prestige of the university is quickly growing and the price of the ACU experi-ence, compared to other institutions, is worth it.

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

“We wanted to try and catch the students’ atten-tion somehow,” Perrey said. “What better way than through their stomachs?”

Perrey said census data is useful and af-fects how the govern-

ment distributes money throughout the country.

“It’s important to know how many people live in Abilene because it may mean the gov-ernment gives the area more money,” Perrey said. “This affects col-lege students because more money can be given

to universities for grants and scholarships.”

Austin Holt, junior biblical text major from Granbury, said he be-lieves students can ben-efit from participating in the census.

“If grants and scholar-ships are being affected by the number of people

at ACU, then I think everyone should fill it out,” Holt said. “I am al-ways looking for more scholarships, and if this can help get some, then I am all for it.”

March 5, 2010From FrontPage 4

traits, according to www.myersbriggs.org.

The test identified 62 percent of speech thera-py students as Judging, Sensing and Feeling, or JSF, signifying a more detail-focused and task-oriented personality, Baggs said. Thirty years ago, the majority of stu-dents were Intuitive and Feeling, or NFs, meaning they were people-per-sons driven by values and possibilities.

“Students have moved to Sensing and Judging personality types, and dra-matically so,” Baggs said.

Both SF and NF per-sonalities want to help people but in different ways, said Career Coun-selor Rachel Phillips-Buck. While NFs em-power others and make them feel better, SFs like to help people in more quantifiable ways that can be checked off a list.

This shift from NF to SF is contrary to the movement of the stu-dent body as a whole, Phillips-Buck said. She believes ACU’s values and philosophical ideas have attracted more and more big-picture, people-oriented NF students.

NF personalities make up only four of the 16 possible Myers-Briggs personality types, yet they represented more than 48 percent of incoming stu-

dents in 2007, Phillips-Buck said. This ratio of NFs is more than double the national average.

This divergence from the historic norm may be explained by a change in the demands of speech therapy, said Dee Kirby, clinic coordinator and assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders.

“We’ve moved into where we need to be more accountable in what we do,” Kirby said. “It wasn’t like that back when I started.”

But this change has surprised Baggs, who said he believed the challenges of speech therapy today require NFs capacity for sponta-neity and creative think-ing. He noted almost all of the 16 personality types were represented in communication disor-ders students.

“There is no ‘better’ personality type,” Baggs said. “They can excel with the personality traits they have by utiliz-ing them.”

Students can find more information about how to discover their personality type through the D!scovery Program at www.acu.edu/campu-soffices/careercenter.

NATIONAL

Census: Campus numbers includedContinued from page 1

RESEARCH

Test: Examining student behaviorContinued from page 1

contact Lewis atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

President Daniel Paul Wat-kins in 2009 brought to light the need for a clearly defined process. Proposed article V.2 requires a 3/4 majority to impeach an of-ficer. If the vice president or treasurer resign or are impeached, the president

Another proposed amendment loosens the requirements for official resignation. Members

no longer need to find a replacement as long as they submit a letter of resignation to the presi-dent. Godfrey said the amendment was crucial for SA to accomplish anything this semester. Reaching quorum – the number of present mem-bers required to vote on a bill – traditionally has been difficult for SA, but an unusually large number of representa-tives studied abroad this

semester and failed to identify a replacement.

“We had to impeach all the students who went to study abroad; not be-cause they did anything wrong, but because liter-ally it would have been impossible to pass any-thing without them,” Godfrey said. “We didn’t have quorum at our first meeting and we couldn’t pass the budget, which means students couldn’t access their funds.”

Officers hope the SA App for iPhone and iPod touch will be available for students to use to vote on the amendments. If the ap-plication is released in time and student involvement is high, they plan to use the app in the upcoming SA elections. Students without a mobile device will be able to participate in the same capacity online via e-mail.

Amendment: Impeachment outlinedContinued from page 1

ACADEMICS

Tuition: Credit hours increase $77Continued from page 1

contact Hettich atclh05d@acu.edu

contact Hettich atclh05d@acu.edu

contact Warton atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

ArtsMarch 5, 2010 Page 5

lights, camera,

Action!FilmFest 2010 draws interest from student artists.

vimeo.com/user1444399

Watch all of last year’sFilmFest entries online.

1. Imma BeThe Black Eyed Peas

2. BedRockYoung Money (Feat. Loyd)

3. Need You NowLady Antebellum

4. Tik TokKe$ha

5. Bad RomanceLady Gaga

6. Hey, Soul SisterTrain

7. How LowLudacris

8. Rude BoyRihanna

9. Say AahTrey Songz (Feat. Fabolous)

10. In My HeadJason Derulo

Billboard Top 10

Shutter Island (R)HHHHI“Director Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio reteam again to adapt author Dennis Lehane’s novel about Teddy Daniels (Di-Caprio), a United States marshal who searches for an escaped psychiatric patient on a mysteri-ous island. Featuring an all-star cast, Scorcese’s psychological thriller also stars Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley.”Rottentomatos.com

Alice In Wonderland (G)HHHHH“After falling down a rabbit hole, young Alice (Mia Wasikowska) gets lost in an incredible fanta-syland, where she experiences strange ordeals and encounters peculiar characters, including a caterpillar (Alan Rickman), Cheshire cat (Michael Sheen) and Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Director Tim Burton’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale also stars Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover.“Rottentomatos.com

Box Office Hits

DVD Releases

Up In The Air(Paramount Pictures)

Mar. 9

The Blind Side(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Sherlock Holmes(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Mar. 23

Mar. 30

Alan Cherry Contributing Reporter

ACU’s annual student-run short film competition, FilmFest, kicked off with an informational meeting Friday.

The theme of this year’s FilmFest is Timeless. Submitted films will be screened at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene on April 11, and the event will run from 7-9 p.m. The 2010 co-chairs are Christina John-son, junior English major from Dal-las, and Jonathan Davis, senior mar-keting major from Dallas. They will be working with a committee made up of Perry Henderson, Sandra Am-stutz, Lucas Wright and Jordan Havens.

The event has grown in size each year, with around 1,000 people at-tending last year. Davis said he ex-pects more films to be entered this year than last year and for the Para-mount to again sell out for the event.

“This is going to be the best year FilmFest has ever seen” Davis said.

This year, a cash prize of $1,000

will be awarded to the

best film. Trophies will be awarded on an individual basis in other categories, including Best Pro-ducer, Best Director, and Best Writer.

Student filmmakers are already be-ginning work on their productions.

“I am really looking forward to the filming process,” said Josh Tumblin, ju-

nior theatre major from Nashville, Tenn.Every year, FilmFest conducts a se-

ries of workshops to assist filmmakers in different areas of production. This year, instead of having the individual workshops on different days, the work-shops will all take place in one day, back to back. The workshops will cover directing, screenwriting, sound design, shooting, editing and lighting design.

Interested stu-dents and fac-ulty members are invited to come to the

Campus Center Living Room this

Saturday; the work-shops will start at 9

a.m. and finish around 5 p.m.FilmFest boasts many opportunities

to get involved, especially for the musi-cally inclined. Wright, junior electronic media major from Abilene, said this year FilmFest is trying to get songwrit-ers and performers connected with pro-ducers and directors to add a level of completeness to the film submissions.

Davis thinks very highly of the event and what it can do for participants.

“FilmFest really does have a way of changing students’ lives,” Davis said. “There are more ways to get con-nected through things like [this] then most people are willing to believe. ACU has such a vast network of alumni in the filmmaking world that things like FilmFest are great springboards into the circles that those people inhabit. This business is about who you know.”

Email the Optimist at:optimist@jmcnetwork.com

FilmFest really does have a way of changing students’ lives.

JON DAVIS

FilmFest Co-chair, Senior Marketing Major from Dallas

OpinionPage 6 March 5, 2010

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

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Editorial and Management Board

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Optimistthe

By Aaron CavittMac-n- Tex

On Tuesday night, Tim Wise, a well-known an-ti-racist speaker and activist, spoke in one of ACU’s most nontra-ditional forums to date. The forum, which lasted more than two hours, gave the audience a new perspective on white supremacy in society and our responsibility to change.

We are glad Wise came to speak, and we think he hit topics that we can and should implement as people and as Christians.

Wise began his lecture outlining guilt versus responsibility. After an anecdote involving an unwashed pot of gum-bo and a house full of roommates, Wise said it didn’t matter that he

didn’t create the mess; he was just tired of liv-ing in its nastiness. He has to clean up the mess because no one else will. Likewise, we may not be responsible for the mess of race relations, but we have a responsibility to clean it up.

The only way to act on our responsibility, however, is to learn the difference between ig-norance and denial. Ig-norance is not knowing, Wise said; denial is an unwillingness to con-front the truth. “White privilege” is the privilege of being oblivious and ignoring other people’s lived reality. However, we can’t be oblivious; we’ve got to face these prob-lems head on.

Wise said the race problem has no “quick fix,” but the solution begins with awareness of what is going on. We have to know what is going wrong in order to make a change. This idea of knowledge and awareness might seem frustrating to students because we want to hear one or two specific ac-tions guaranteed to bring about change. However, the more important is-sue is acknowledging the problem and then find-ing ways along the way to change our culture’s subconscious prejudices.

The second part of Wise’s solution is to hold institutions ac-countable while under-standing we will not see

justice in our lifetime. First of all, we don’t even know what a just society looks like; second, it will take a long time to fully eradicate racism. Also, Wise says there isn’t re-ally an end. Justice is a constant struggle, some-thing with which we can identify as Christians. We live in an imperfect world, and perfection is unattainable. That doesn’t, however, give us a free pass to ignore the world’s problems. Institutions in which we participate must reflect a push toward equity.

Jesus presented this idea when he taught about taking care of the poor, orphans, widows and anyone else in our community who might

need a hand. James said, “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” As Christians, we are called to take Wise’s claims a step fur-ther – because it is not just his claim. It is God’s charge to us.

As students, we don’t have to agree with Wise,

but we do have the re-sponsibility to look at our own actions and bi-ases and make an inward change. We can’t change the racial problems in history, but we can start working to change the future of race relations and, according to Wise, it all starts with ac-knowledgement of the problem.

Wise’s ideas reinforce Christian obligation EDITORIAL

THE ISSUETim Wise, an anti-racist speaker and activist spoke during Tuesday night’s forum.

OUR TAKEWise’s directly opinions on racism, white privilege and acceptance directly relate to our obligations as Christians.

Sticky note listswill not triumph

COLUMN

Irony and Whine Kelsi Williamson

I am currently suffering from list-overload. I can’t remember where I wrote what down, when it’s due or what list it’s on. Heck, I don’t even remember how many lists I’ve created in the past couple of days. Although my efforts to stay on top of my daily tasks are quickly vanishing amongst a multitude of lit-tle pieces of paper--and I’m afraid I might not recover--my list-love stays strong.

My fixation with list-making started at a young age. I would use those brightly colored, K-shaped post-it notes to organize to my hearts content. The genesis: chore lists and pack-ing lists. Slowly these elementary attempts at structure evolved in both breadth and complexity. With detailed accounts of exact Christmas gifts to purchase for my fam-ily with exact prices and exact locations of pur-chase, I would have won child multi-tasker of the year if the award exist-ed. My lists began as a way to form a plan of ac-tion. They taught me to prioritize and then work productively to com-plete both the impor-tant and menial deeds of a normal day.

But somewhere along the way, the meaning and reasoning for those pages of yellow highlighter and scratched out abbreviations has changed. No longer do I make lists in order to com-plete a task, but instead I have begun to make lists in

order to escape from even beginning a task. Hence the list-overload.

And it’s just getting worse. Sometimes I am tempted to jot a few notes down on my hand with no intention of getting to them in the near future. My fear is that I am going to soon just become a huge walk-ing to do list-perhaps this will work to my advantage because of the attention the large amount of per-manent marker on my skin will bring; but those odds don’t seem great. I want to return to the time where I

was organized but not over-ly-confined: prioritized but not over-committed. I want to feel the satisfaction that comes from the squeak of blue highlighter (for where else can you use blue high-lighter but in a to do list) over the finished and per-fected name of something I had to work for.

I have hope that this cur-rent state of surplus sticky notes will end, however. This hope comes first in completing this column and the small encouragement I will receive in marking it off my daily list of tasks. But more importantly, I refuse to become slave to the lists because no matter their number nor length, at the end of the day, I have much to be thankful for and much to look for-ward to that can neither be planned nor recorded in any list.

Email the Optimist at:optimist@jmcnetwork.com

My fear is that I am going to soon just become a huge walking to-do list.

contact Williamson atkkw07a@acu.edu

Williamson

Radical Christianity exists at homeCOLUMN

Hacked OffChelsea Hackney

At some point, I’m either going to have to stop at-tending Invisible Children events or stow away on a cruise ship h e a d e d for sunny Northern U g a n d a . Every time I watch a video or hear someone speak about the injustices perpetrated there – or in any number of countries – I feel compelled to fight it. I want to commit acts of greatness, of strength and, most importantly, of radical faith. I am called to right social wrongs.

But am I really listen-ing to what God is call-ing me to do? Is the voice I’m hearing his or some twisted, Revolver-esque

echo of my ego? Soci-ety has conditioned us to view certain acts and certain words and cer-tain careers and certain missions as the “mis-sion field,” as the place where radical faith is lived out. These are the places God calls people. He doesn’t call someone to a dentist’s office or a bank chair. We know this must be true be-cause God couldn’t pos-sibly use someone as or-dinary as an accountant to effect change.

The words “social jus-tice” evoke images of Hai-ti, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea or Sudan. Cardboard boxes, worn-out shoes, corrugated tin roofs, distended bellies – these are the hallmarks of our social and political overactivism. Books like The New Friars and The Irresistible Revolution cap-ture our attention because

the people in them are do-ing extreme things in the name of Jesus. And darn it, they’re just so cool. We can’t help but believe that’s what we should be doing, and we feel a little guilty that we’re not, like maybe we’re not truly following Christ the way he intended.

We feel guilty because we have warped our un-derstanding of what it means to be a missionary and a priest. We cling to a skewed belief that burning bush experiences come only to Christians living in the bush. That misun-derstanding is creating an entire group of Christians who believe they are inef-fective if they don’t sell everything they own and move half the world away. They’re missing oppor-tunities to use their jobs, their families, their homes, their income – and yes, even that oh-so-dreaded

word, stability – as a plat-form to do great things for the Kingdom.

The college kid in a ban-dana and TOMS standing on the streets of Nicara-gua is no more and no less a follower of Christ than the woman who works through years of graduate school to get a steady job to make a steady income that she then chooses to invest in improving inner-city schools. I am in no position to judge the heart and mind of anyone, but I can judge their actions. And I’m tired of normal, everyday goodness being written off as boring, comfortable, ineffective or selfish. Turning your bank or your grocery store into your mission field simply requires a little more creativity.

contact Hackney atceh05c@acu.edu

Hackney

March 5, 2010 Page 7From Sports

him in a five-year span. Thomsen has made the Wildcats a perennial playoff team, taking them to four straight postseasons. Abilene Christian football is now a nationally recog-nized program.

Even more impres-sive than the records that have been set and broken since Thoms-en’s arrival is the man-ner in which he runs the program. Thomsen has compiled all the statistical numbers while managing not to compromise what this university stands for:

Christian leadership. Things like weekly de-votionals show his genuine concern for the men who come through his program.

After hearing from several players through-out the season, it was evident that they all ap-preciated the program’s commitment to them as people, rather than players who he can use for four years.

Thomsen’s men have also made their way into the NFL. ACU has had three players picked in the past three drafts. Johnny Knox, wide re-ceiver for the Chicago Bears; Bernard Scott, running back for the

Cincinnati Bengals; and Danieal Manning, safety for the Chicago Bears, are all on NFL rosters. And each player will say they got there because of Thomsen’s mentoring.

Glory: Thomsen has Wildcat football back on the radar

COLUMN

contact Tripp atbjt07a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

Lineman Tony Washington holds his son following the homecoming game Oct. 31.

Recent improvements to the stadium have made Shotwell even better, said Athletic Di-rector Jared Mosley. A new synthetic turf was laid in 2002 and a new scoreboard with a color animation screen was added in 2007.

“I think one of the things that jumps out about Shotwell is some of the improvements,” Mosley said. “They’ve made it one of the nicest stadiums in the area.”

Fans watching games at Shotwell have wit-nesses some talented

teams and historic mo-ments during the past 51 years. On Oct. 16, 1976, ACU kicker Ove Johannson kicked the longest field goal in the history of organized football – a 69-yard kick during Homecoming against East Texas State University.

On Nov. 22, 2008, the Wildcats hosted West Texas A&M in a second-round NCAA playoff game. The con-ference rivals combined for 161 points as the Wildcats beat WT 93-68, setting the record for most points in an NCAA playoff game. ACU run-ning back Bernard Scott

scored an NCAA-record seven touchdowns in the playoff game.

Both Thomsen and Mosley agree Shotwell is a great home for the Wildcats, but the idea of an on-campus stadium in the future appeals to them. While there are no current plans to construct a stadium on campus, Mosley said the university is always open to opportunities like building a stadium

“I think we always evaluate opportunities,” he said. “It’s one of those that would be very op-portunity-driven if there are donors interested in that in the future. It

would be one of the most expensive facilities ACU would ever undertake. Right now, Shotwell is a good option. and we have a good relationship with AISD.”

While the Wildcats will have no new stadi-um for 2010, there will be some improvements to Shotwell. Mosley said parking lot improve-ments and stabilization of the end zone seats are in the works.

And for now, the Wild-cats will continue to call Shotwell home.

Shotwell: Stadium seats more than 15,000ATHLETICS

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer

New turf was laid at Shotwell Stadium in 2002.

Washington was a “top performer” among the of-fensive linemen in four of the seven general work-out categories according to www.nfl.com. His 33 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds were good for sixth best among the offensive linemen.

“It was funny to watch the other guys before and after me bench 25 or 28,” Washington said. “I was just thinking about how I was going to put up 35 on them.”

Washington was the top offensive lineman in the standing broad jump, a drill that tests a player’s ability to explode hori-zontally from a standing position; his 9 feet 6 inch-es was almost a full foot ahead of Chris Degeare in 10th place.

Washington also fin-ished in the top 10 in the three-cone-drill and ver-tical jump. His 29-foot-1/2-inch vertical was tied for ninth best. His 7.52-second time in the three-cone drill landed him sixth.

“It was an eye-opening experience. I look at guys like [University of Oklaho-ma offensive tackle] Trent Williams and [Oklahoma State offensive tackle] Russell Okung, some of the best in the nation, and it was great competing against them, but beating them was even better,” Washington said.

The ACU lineman be-came the fourth player under Head Coach Chris Thomsen to receive an in-vite to the combine in the past four years.

“It is a good thing for these players to get their accomplishments recog-

nized at that kind of lev-el,” Thomsen said.

Former Wildcats John-ny Knox and Bernard Scott had impressive com-bines at last year’s event, and both improved their draft stock enough to be drafted by NFL teams.

“It just goes to show you that you can find good players anywhere; it doesn’t matter what level they played at,” Washing-ton said.

If Washington were drafted in late April, he would become the fourth player from ACU to be drafted in the past four seasons. The previous three were Johnny Knox, wide receiver for the Chi-cago Bears; Bernard Scott, running back for the Cin-cinnati Bengals; and Dan-iel Manning of Chicago.

Combine: Washington putsup impressive performance

FOOTBALL

Continued from page 8

contact Tripp atbjt07a@acu.edu

in a strong performance with 17 points and 16 rebounds for the game.

It was a night of ex-tremes for ACU. The Wildcats dominated on the boards, out-re-bounding the Bronchos 52 to 34. The ’Cats also shot 94 percent at the charity stripe, making 31 of 33 free throws.

However, the story of the game was the Wildcats’ vast number-of turnovers. ACU com-mitted 37 turnovers in the loss. Courtney La-ing, Autumn Whitaker

and Kelsey Darby-Hol-son all scored in double digits for the Wildcats as well.

The loss sends the Wildcats home earlier than they had hoped. ACU had the momen-tum after defeating No. 6 West Texas A&M in the season’s final game.

The Wildcats had also proven they could beat Central Oklahoma. The

Wildcats won a thriller with UCO 81-80 at Moody Coliseum on Dec. 19.

UCO will take on the winner of the game be-tween West Texas A&M and Southeastern Oklaho-ma in the LSC semifinals.

Playoffs: Bronchos stun ’CatsWOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Continued from page 8

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

NUMBERS GAMEPoints scored by ACU forward Ja-mie Meyer in the Wildcats’ loss to UCO, an LSC postseason record.44

SportsPage 8 March 5, 2010

Standings

THURSDAY

SoftballACU 0, Midwestern St. 6

ACU 5, Midwestern St.10

Women's BasketballLSC Quarterfinals

ACU 105, Central Okla. 111

TUESDAY

BaseballACU 7 , St. Edwards 0

HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS

Scores

SOFTBALLTeam Div.

TWU

Tarleton St.

0-0

0-0

Angelo St. 0-0 17-2

BASEBALLTeam Div.

SW Okla. St. 8-3

SE Okla. St. 7-5 11-6ENMU 8-4 9-7

Northeastern 7-5 8-9Cameron 6-6 6-6

TAMU-K 0-0

13-6

8-5

6-11

11-6

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

ACU 0-0 8-9

ACU 6-2 12-2

ENMU 0-0 5-11

East Central 3-3 3-5

WTAMU 0-0 13-6

Angelo St. 5-7TAMU-K 5-7 9-7

Central Okla. 3-5 5-5

WTAMU 0-5 2-5

10-9

Tarleton St. 3-9 6-10

FRIDAY

Women's TennisACU vs. Lee College, 2 p.m.

Men's TennisACU vs. N.M. Military Inst., 2 p.m.

BaseballACU vs. East Central, 4:05 p.m.

ACU vs. East Central, 6:05 p.m.

SATURDAY

BaseballACU vs. East Central, 1:05 p.m.

ACU vs. East Central, 4:35 p.m.

Women's TennisACU vs. Incarnate Word, 9:05 a.m.

ACU vs. SE Okla. St., 2:00 p.m.

Men's TennisACU vs. Incarnate Word, 9:05 a.m.

ACU vs. SE Okla. St., 3:00 p.m.

Women's BasketballLSC Semifinals

HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS

Upcoming

Jeff CraigSports Editor

The ACU Wildcats’ sea-son ended in heartbreak Thursday night. UCO stunned Abilene Chris-tian 111-105 in a triple-overtime thriller in Bar-tlesville, Okla.

The Wildcats had an op-portunity to win the game in regulation. Head Coach Shawna Lavender called timeout with 2.9 seconds left, but ACU was unable to get a shot off, leaving the score at 74-74.

The Wildcats ap-peared to have defeat-

ed the Bronchos in the second overtime. Jamie Meyer hit a shot with .2 seconds remaining. The ACU bench prema-turely rushed the court, prompting a bench tech-nical. UCO sunk both free throws and sent the game into a third over-

time at 99-99. The Bron-chos soon pulled ahead and maintained the lead until the final buzzer.

The individual play of Jamie Meyer paced the Wildcats throughout the game. Meyer scored 44 points, setting the LSC tournament record for points in a game. Jody Mey-er, her sister, also put in

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

’Cats drop triple-overtime heartbreaker

n Senior shortstop Will Uechi is one hit away from becoming ACU's all-time leader in hits.

n Freshman forward Dosh Simms was named LSC South Freshman of the Year on Tuesday. Simms averaged 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game during conference play.

n The men's golf team fin-ished its first tournament of the spring in 12th place.

n The season's first ITA tennis rankings have the men's team ranked No. 25 in the country, while the women open the season ranked No. 7.

Briefs

Rounding the BasesBy Brandon Tripp

The Purple and White fe-ver is back. The past five seasons have seen ACU football return to its place of prom-i n e n c e in the ranks of Division II foot-ball – due in part to the efforts of one man.

Five years ago, a former ACU player was introduced as the new head coach. Chris Thomsen took over a middle-of-the-road program that had gone just 21-30 in the previ-ous five seasons. Since taking the reins as head coach, however, Thom-sen is an impressive 42-17 (including the vacated wins), better than any coach before

Hallowed HallsA four-part series on the venues of ACU Athletics

Jeff CraigSports Editor

Shotwell Stadium has been home to ACU football for a half century. From the 1-9 teams of 1990 and 1991 to the national champions of 1973

and 1977, Shotwell has been there for the good and the bad.

Upon completion in 1959, the new facil-ity was named Public Schools Stadium and was intended to be a field for the Abilene High School Eagles

and the Cooper High School Cougars. The stadium was renamed after its inaugural 1960 season in honor of longtime AHS Head Coach P.E. Shotwell.

The Wildcats played their first game at Shotwell in the fall of

1960 under the guid-ance of Head Coach N.L. Nicholson and have called the 15,000-seat stadium home ever since. The Wildcats averaged nearly 10,000 fans per game last season, which combined with a talented product on the field.

“Attendance has really gone up in the past few years,” said ACU Head Coach Chris Thomsen. “It has made it a great place for home-field advantage.”

THE GRIDIRON

ATHLETICS

Shotwell Stadium, home to Wildcat football

see SHOTWELL page 7

Brandon TrippSports Media Director

For the second straight year, the Wildcats sent at least one player to the NFL’s premier scouting event.

Offensive lineman Tony Washington fol-lowed in the footsteps of former teammates and current NFL play-ers Johnny Knox and Bernard Scott in com-peting in the pre-draft NFL combine.

Washington did not disappoint in his effort to prove to NFL scouts that he is not just an-

other small school draft day prospect.

Former Wildcat lineman impresses at NFL Combine

FOOTBALL

ACU football team returning to glory

COLUMN

Tripp

see GLORY page 7see COMBINE page 7

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

Tony Washington (far right) lines up in a game Sep. 9.

acuoptimist.com

Find more coverage of the Wildcats' heartbreaking

first-round loss.

KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer

Shotwell Stadium was constructed in 1959 as a home for Abilene and Cooper high schools. The Wildcats played their first game there in 1960.

KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer

Shotwell Stadium has the capacity to seat more than 15,000 fans. In 2009, the Wildcats averaged nearly 10,000 fans per game.

see PLAYOFFS page 7