b. No, the iPhone already has won our hearts.

PAGE 5

Optimistthe

acuoptimist.comBREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENTVol. 98, No. 25 1 section, 8 pagesWednesday, November 18, 2009

Forecast InsideWILDCAT FOOTBALLemerged on top after Saturday’s playoff nail-biter against Midwestern, 24-21. Get Optimist analysis and gamebreakers.

Page 8

Online

Wed Thu Fri

47°69° 48°73° 51°59°

THE MAYAN CALENDARends Dec. 21, 2012, and some worry the world might end with it. The new film 2012 might shake you up, but we’ll be around for ’13.

Page 6

Can the Droid compete with the iPhone?

Visit acuoptimist.com to join the discussion.

PHOTO

Warehouse Fire

LOUDandCLEAR

Weekday Getaway

a. Yes, people are ready for something new.

c. We are all going to die in 2012.

‘Credible Witness’ addresses social inequalityFACULTY

Adrianna CastanedaContributing Reporter

ACU faculty met Tuesday to discuss Dr. Salter McNeil’s latest book about spiritual and social reconciliation, A Credible Witness.

On Jan. 10, Dr. Salter McNeil, president and founder of Salter McNeil & Associates and leader in the field of racial, ethnic and gender reconciliation, will continue the conver-sation on racial reconcili-

ation at ACU through a discussion of the book.

Dr. Garry Bailey, as-sociate professor of con-flict resolution, and Dr. Stephanie Hamm, assis-tant professor of social work, team-led a faculty

reading group centered on McNeil’s book. Hamm said the group could lead toward reconciliation and greater cultural compe-tence on campus.

“Reconciliation is an issue happening now in

our country, and histori-cally, religious groups have not been coming to-gether on these issues,” Hamm said.

United by Faith, a faith-based group of ACU fac-ulty and students, meets

once a month to talk about issues of race reconcilia-tion with the intent of fur-thering the movement on campus and throughout the Abilene community,

Gradspreparefor jobmarket

ECONOMY

Brittany BrandContributing Reporter

Recent rises in unemploy-ment have worried some students searching for job opportunities after graduation.

The unemployment rate rose from 9.8 per-cent to 10.2 percent in October, the highest rate since 1983, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Web site, www.bls.gov. Since the start of the recession in Decem-ber 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 8.2 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 5.3 percent-age points.

Ben Martinez, junior accounting major from Abilene, said finding a job will be one of his biggest challenges after gradua-tion if the economy does not improve.

“If the unemploy-ment rate continues to rise, there will be greater competition for jobs,” he said.

The Web site reported construction, retail trade and manufacturing in-dustries were experienc-ing the most job losses. The ACU Career Center

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

A two-alarm fire burnt an Abilene warehouse to the ground at 401 Plum St. on Monday. Abilene firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 5 p.m., after a passing motorist noticed smoke coming from the building and called 911.

Abilene Fire Department Lieutenant Greg Goettsch said he believed the fire began in the northwest corner of the 40,000-square-foot building. By 11 p.m., workers had collapsed

standing walls and were remov-ing rubble to extinguish remain-ing hot spots.

“At this point, we don’t have a dollar estimate of the losses and still no injuries reported,” Goettsch said. “I think we’ll be out here all night.”

The investigation for the cause of the fire continues.

If the warehouse was equipped with sprinklers, they were not working properly, Go-ettsch said. Half of the AFD’s force – about 30 firefighters, five engines and two ladder trucks – worked for hours to prevent the fire from spreading.

“Ninety percent of the time, one sprinkler head will extin-guish the fire,” Goettsch said. “It’s really uncommon for this many Abilene firefighters to be on the scene.”

In addition to the sheer size

Student artists make showing at area competitionART

Christianna LewisContributing Reporter

The Big Country Art As-sociation Competition in-timidated many students, but it didn’t keep them from participating – or winning.

Last year, judges awarded first, second and third place to art professors, not students,

although the contest is open to anyone in the Big Country. So, when Isaac Castillo, junior fine arts major from Pleasan-ton, got a call from the BCAA treasurer, he said he thought she was just asking him to pick up his rejected work.

Instead, he was in-formed his sculpture, an untitled abstract made

from plaster, milk jugs and balloons, had won third place.

“I wondered if anyone was interested in look-ing at this,” Castillo said, beaming, “As it turns out, I guess they were.”

Rolando Diaz, a well-known artist and 1979 ACU graduate, chose the entries for the show, which included several by

ACU students, said Dan McGregor, assistant pro-fessor of art and outgoing president of the BCAA.

Diaz then selected three Best in Show win-ners from the paintings, photographs and sculp-tures. Each of the winners received cash prizes, and the BCAA honored them

Fire destroys warehouse

LOCAL

see JOBS page 4see FIRE page 4

see READING page 4

acuoptimist.com

View a 360˚ panoramic ofthe scene as firefighters battled

the blaze Monday night.

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

Eric Grasham, senior ceramics major from Dallas, threw 100 bowls in his classroom for the Empty Bowls project.see CONTEST page 4

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

Above: Firefighters worked through the night to ensure all hot spots were extinguished and all walls collapsed. Below: Five engines and two ladder trucks were among more than a dozen emergency vehicles around the building on Plum Street between North 4th Street and North 5th Street.

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

Announcements

CALENDAR AND EVENTS

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

2CampusDay

5 p.m.Double-Elimination Flag Football Tour-nament

7 p.m. Free Movie Night in Cullen Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

7:30 p.m.ACU Theatre Mauri-tius Studio Premiere

8 p.m.The Nutcracker at the Paramount Theatre

7:30 p.m.ACU Theatre Mauri-tius Studio Premiere

19THURSDAY

4 p.m.New Moon release party at the Mockingbird Branch of the Abilene Public Library

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

62Chapel CreditedChapelsto date:

Checkup 9CreditedChapelsremaining:

Volunteer Opportunities

The Salvation Army needs volunteers on Nov. 26 to serve Thanksgiving dinner. Call 677-1408 for more information.

The Veterans Associa-tion needs volunteers to serve Thanksgiving din-ner at the Abilene Civic Center on Nov. 26. Call Jim Defoor at 674-1328 for more information.

The Salvation Army needs volunteers to help shoppers select Angel Tree toys, keep Angel Tree records, label items and receive gifts. Contact Ce-cilia Barahona at 677-1557 for more information.

The International Res-cue Committee needs volunteers for its Thanks-giving Dinner on Nov. 26. Volunteers can cook, set up tables, serve dinner, or clean up. Volunteers are also needed to drive the refugees home. Con-tact Georgia Saniuk at gls05e@acu.edu for more information.

The Christian Service Center needs volunteers to fill requests for cloth-ing, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc. from the donation center. Volun-teers may work Friday or Saturday from noon-4 p.m. Contact Jim Clark at 673-7531 for more information.

Literacy teachers are needed at the Interna-tional Rescue Commi-tee. Volunteers will help refugees learn to read and write. All volunteers are required to attend an IRC orientation and a literacy workshop and must commit to two to four hours per week for at least three months.

Meals on Wheels is look-ing for volunteers to de-liver hot meals to seniors and adults with disabili-ties each week. Volun-teers may work once a week, Monday-Friday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Contact Elisabeth Rodgers at 672-5050 for more information.

The International Res-cue Commitee needs volunteers to set up apartments before refu-gees arrive. This includes shopping for household supplies, assembling furniture, and putting away kitchen and food items. All volunteers are required to attend an IRC volunteer orientation and must be available during weekday afternoons. Re-liable transportation and ability to perform minor physical labor are also required.

The College Heights Friendship House needs help with children’s activi-ties from 3-5 p.m. Mon-day-Friday. Call 829-6514 for more information.

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

HERO, Hendrick Equine Rehabilitation Oppor-tunities, is in search of volunteers to walk or jog alongside horses to support and assist clients with challenges. Requires at least one hour per week. Sessions run Sept. 29 through Nov. 19.

Breakfast On Beech Street serves breakfast to homeless and lower-income members of the Abilene community, and is in need of volunteers to serve and prepare break-fast. Breakfast is served at the First Christian Church on 3rd and Beech Street from 6:30-7:15 a.m. Volunteers must arrive at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 5 a.m. on Tuesdays. If interested, visit the First Christian Church’s Web site at www.fcca-bilene.org/outreach.html.

The premiere of Mau-ritius will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 in The Culp Theatre. Call 674-2787 to purchase tickets. Tickets are also available online at www.acu.edu/theatre and at the Box Office in the Williams Performing Arts Center, open from 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Skillet’s Awake & Alive tour with Hawk Nelson will take place at 6 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Abilene Civic Center. Tickets can be bought in advance for $18.50 or $23 at the door. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $15 each. Tickets can be bought at Beltway Park Church, Lifeway and Mardel Stores, or online at www.iTickets.com.

Roots Art and Design Exhibition will take place from 7-9 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Shore Art Gallery. It is an exhibit

of paintings, sculpture, architectural and interior design by five ACU se-niors. Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided.

A free movie night will take place from 7-11 p.m. Nov. 20 in Cullen Auditorium. Watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for free with a valid student ID.

A double-elimination flag football tournament will take place from 5-11 p.m. Nov. 20 at the intramural fields. The tournament will be hosted by the women of Delta Theta, and all funds will go to Meals on Wheels to feed families during the holidays.

Residence Life will begin hiring residence assistants Dec. 1 for the 2010-11 school year. Apply through ACU CareerLink.

The Prairie Song Proj-ect will present a con-

cert at 8 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Williams Performing Arts Center Recital Hall. Admission is free.

Reserve textbooks for the spring semester before Dec. 31. Reserv-ing books is free and can be done in The Campus Store.

The ACU Percussion Ensemble and Steel Drum Band will present a concert at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 in Cullen Auditorium. The concert will feature works by composers Lou Harrison and Steve Reich, as well as con-temporary sounds for the steel drum band. Admis-sion is free.

The Abilene Education-al Supply book fair will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 17-18 in the McGlothlin Campus Cen-ter. All funds will benefit the Brown Library.

The Abilene Ballet Theatre will present The Nutcracker at 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Para-mount Theatre. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for

senior citizens and children. Tickets can be purchased in the Para-mount Theatre lobby. Call 675-0303 for more information.

Santa will arrive at 11 a.m. Nov. 21 at the Mall of Abilene. Abilene Per-forming Arts Company’s Fusion Dance Team will also perform. Santa will be in the women’s Dil-lard’s courtyard through Christmas Eve.

Alice in Wonderland will take place at 7 p.m. in the Van Ellis Theatre at Hardin-Simmons Univer-sity. Call 670-1405 for more information.

A New Moon release party will take place at 4 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Mockingbird Branch of the Abilene Public Library. There will be a trivia game and a look-alike contest.

The Hendrick Hospice Care Tree Lighting Cer-emony will take place at 3 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Mall of Abilene. The tree will be on display at the Mall of Abilene through Jan. 2.

18WEDNESDAY 20 FRIDAY

November 18, 2009 Page 3Campus News

Bailey NealContributing Reporter

The Honors College is au-ditioning Honors students for parts in a new murder mystery written by stu-dents for a dinner theatre performance in the spring. Students can come by the Honors offices and read selections from the script from 5-7 p.m. Thursday during the first round of a short audition process, said Bethany Scroggins,

programming director for the Honors College.

“The script for the show is written by Hon-ors students and per-formed by Honors stu-dents,” Scroggins said. The judges will fill about 10 parts. Scroggins said the decision will be based on how well a student fits the director’s vision for a character, not their major or theatre experience.

The Honors College has organized around six

murder mysteries in past years, Scroggins said, al-though this performance is only the second con-secutive one in several years, Like the ACU mas-querade, this dinner is a production the Honors College wants to reinstate as an annual tradition.

Scroggins said last year’s murder mys-tery auditions pulled in three times the number of students as available parts. When the parts

had been cast, the di-rector was surprised to find none of the actors were theatre majors.

“I think it just kind of proves that Honors stu-dents have varied interests and that they are very good at multiple things,” Scrog-gins said. “We’re encour-aging people to come by if they’re interested, not really if it’s something they want to do in their future.”

Once auditions are finished, rehearsals will

start for the production, which is expected to show either in February or early March. Last year, the murder mystery was performed for prospec-tive Honors students, but this dinner will be open to all students.

“The people at the din-ner are usually involved in the play,” Scroggins said. “They have a role, if not a speaking part or lines.”

The location and menu of the event are still be-

ing finalized, because they depend heavily on details in the script. Once the script is finished, then advisers can deter-mine logistical things, in-cluding the ticket price.

Excerpts from the script can be picked up from the Honors College office in Room 100 in Zellner Hall.

Honors College begins murder mystery productionACADEMICS

Jill DougherContributing Reporter

Mu Phi Epsilon, an honor music fraternity, will col-lect canned goods for the West Texas Food Bank during the Canned Food Jive at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Williams Performing Arts Center.

The Canned Food Jive will consist of both vocal and instrumental perfor-mances by members of Mu Phi.

Entry to the recital costs two canned food items per person. Donated cans will be taken to the Food Bank to help feed people during the Thanksgiving holidays.

Mu Phi’s president, Jill Nelson, junior vocal music education major from Fort Worth, said past audiences were composed of mostly music majors because it

was an opportunity to gain needed recital credits.

“This is the first year we’ve advertised,” Nelson said. “I’m hoping people that aren’t just music ma-jors will attend.”

Members of the club are given the opportu-nity to perform a piece of their choice. Most perfor-mances are vocal solos, with the exception of one duet, Nelson said.

Mu Phi’s recording secretary, Arielle Collier, sophomore vocal perfor-mance major from Mes-quite, said she is glad to be participating in some-thing that will give back to the community.

“It’s a great way to help out the less fortunate peo-ple of Abilene,” she said. “It’s one of our most suc-cessful activities that Mu Phi sponsors.”

Other activities include singing for the elderly at the Christian Village Retire-ment Home, Nelson said.

Meredith Morgan, sophomore vocal music education major from Ar-lington, said she is look-ing forward to the recital. She said students should take advantage of oppor-tunities to get into the holiday spirit and sup-port a good cause – espe-cially when organizations make it affordable.

“It’s easy to blame cost issues as a factor for not attending school events, but there are no excuses now,” Morgan said. “There’s bound to be Ramen packages lying around somewhere.”

Mu Phi Epsilon collectsdonations at Food Jive

SERVICE

contact Neal atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

contact Dougher atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Liz McClellan, junior family studies major from Austin, collects donations in the Cam-pus Center for Come Together ACU, a service project to feed families in need during the holidays.

November 18, 2009From FrontPage 4

at a reception during ArtWalk on Saturday.

Castillo was out of town during the cere-mony; he said he would receive his $100 check in the mail.

Several other ACU art students have been rec-ognized in other shows. Corbin Cawyer, senior fine arts major from Col-leyville, won first place in the sculpture catego-ry in the Center for Con-temporary Arts’ second Intercollegiate Student Art Competition.

Exhibit organizers accepted a number of art pieces from ACU students, although the

competition was open to all Abilene colleges, Cawyer said.

Cawyer received a $100 prize for his bronze sculpture at the awards ceremony Thursday.

These competitions are more than an oppor-tunity for art students to earn a little cash, said Geoff Broderick, profes-sor of art.

Art shows offer ex-posure to rising artists – vital to a professional career in art – and af-firm students’ belief in their ability, he said.

Winning a Best in Show award at his first art competition outside ACU certainly got rid of Castillo’s anxiety, Cas-tillo said. He is already

planning to submit his work to several art shows in the spring.

“It’s hard to imagine making any money with art,” he said. “Some-thing like this really builds your confidence. It’s like I could actually be a real artist.”

Students can see win-ning artwork from all the colleges at the Cen-ter for Contemporary Arts at 22 Cypress St. through Dec. 30. The BCAA competition’s en-tries are also on display at ACU’s Cockerell Gal-lery at 1133 N. 2nd St. through Dec. 4.

offers many resources for students seeking employment in these or other industries - on and off campus.

CareerLink is one of the tools available to students looking for a job. ACU CareerLink is an online career-man-agement system where employers can post job openings, and students can browse potential jobs and internships.

Debora Fahasoavana, junior business man-agement major from Madagascar, has taken advantage of an on-campus job working at the desk in A.B. Morris

Hall. However, she also is worried about find-ing a job after gradua-tion. She said she hopes to get an internship but has only a year to find employment before her visa runs out.

“There are a lot of businesses here, so I am a little optimistic,” Fahasoavana said.

Fahasoavana said her biggest fear is go-ing home, because the economic situation is much worse there than it is here.

Martinez remains op-timistic for the future, as well, despite the ris-ing unemployment rate.

“I plan to do an intern-ship with Ernst Young in the spring of 2011 and

then come back to ACU for graduate school,” Martinez said.

Martinez said he hopes Ernst Young, one of the largest account-ing firms in the U.S., will hire him full time after he finishes graduate school. He said he thinks the internship would in-crease his chances of being offered a position at the firm.

For more information about CareerLink, visit www.acu.edu/campu-soffices/careercenter/careerlink.

Bailey said. He pointed to the public apology made by Dr. Money in 1999 as an example.

Dr. Money’s apology was delivered in a South-west Christian College auditorium filled with Af-rican-American students who had been excluded from mainstream univer-sities. Money apologized for past injustices ACU committed through its

acceptance policies – or lack thereof – for African-American students.

Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik, director of faculty enrich-ment, said the reading group and faculty discus-sions with McNeil are all part of a “bigger picture.” Harapnuik said the discus-sions are leading to a pre-sentation by Tim Wise, an anti-racist author, who will speak to students, faculty and other Abilenians on March 2.

Wise will explain how

to identify “systems of privilege,” specifically that of whites in America, said Dennis Marquardt, education technology project manager. Wise will discuss how the sys-tems developed and if they exist today, particu-larly on campus.

“This might irritate people and cause an up-roar, but it will prepare the campus,” Harapnuik said.

of the building, Goettsch said the intense heat of the blaze exhausted fire-fighters quickly. Rotat-ing teams gave fatigued firefighters opportunity to rest, and American Red Cross volunteers provided water, sports drinks and snacks. At

7:15 p.m., Goettsch said the fire was contained.

Wes Ratliff, owner of Automated Copy Sys-tems Inc., began leas-ing space in the ware-house four months ago. He received a call from Paul Johnson, the prop-erty owner, at 6:45 p.m. Monday.

“I didn’t know for sure what was happen-

ing,” Ratliff said. “We weren’t even sure it was our building.”

Monday’s flames de-stroyed 90 copy machines. Ratliff said he moved the machines from ACU’s campus to the storage fa-cility last week.

Reading: Racial, ethnic relationships examined

FACULTY

Jobs: Outlook gloomyECONOMY

Continued from page 1

Fire: 40,000 square feet burned, cause unknown

LOCAL

contact Hettich atclh05d@acu.edu

Contest: Local competitionrecognizes student artists

ART

Continued from page 1

contact Lewis atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

contact Brand atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

contact Castaneda atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

From the age of 11, Laura Kaminsky knew she was called to healing.

Kaminsky, freshman psychology major from Houston, comes from a family she says has “strong hands,” and a grandfather whose massage therapy skills were said to have cured headaches.

“It’s kind of the only thing I was born good at – it was a gift to have it,” Kaminsky says. “People always start asking you, ‘Well, what do you want to be?’ I knew I wanted to be a massage therapist.”

From an early age, Kaminsky had given back massages to friends and family, but her mother helped her realize the ex-tent of her talents.

“One day, I was giving her a massage, and my mom just told me, ‘You’re blessed to do this. What you do is a blessing,’ and it just went from there,” she says.

Kaminsky, a California native, says a Christian col-lege was the only option for her, which is why she ended up at ACU. Kamin-sky says this is where many of her dreams began to fall into place.

“I had been scared to tell my dad – I’m an athlete, so to say I want-ed to do something so ‘froofy,’ I was afraid he was going to ask me why

I wanted to do that,” Kaminsky says.

Instead, she says, her fa-ther listened to her plans, including her decision to get a business degree rath-er than immediately attend massage therapy school. Though she expected his support, his response ex-ceeded her expectations.

“He told me he would pay for my higher educa-tion, that he wanted me to have that,” she says. “My dad’s very supportive of his girls. He wanted me to have that degree.”

After that, Kaminsky says she worked diligently to learn how to become a licensed therapist.

“I talked to a woman at an Abilene school of mas-sage to learn what classes I’d need to take, and she gave me a list,” Kaminsky says, laughing as she pulls out a handwritten list from her desk. “She was really prepared.”

Her goal, Kaminsky says, is to open a Chris-tian massage therapy par-lor, where her gift will be used for ministry as well as business. Ideally, she plans to begin training for her license her junior year, allowing her finish both her undergraduate and massage therapy de-grees concurrently.

To achieve this, Kamin-sky says, she keeps to a pretty strict lifestyle.

“I don’t go out and par-ty – I don’t, because I want to be a mom someday,” she says. “I do it because I

want to tell my kids that it is possible.”

In the meantime, how-ever, Kaminsky is practic-ing her gifts for free for anyone who needs some prayerful relaxation.

Her dorm room func-tions as a welcoming pink and white oasis with “Free Massages” writ-

ten neatly on the door. Inside, a soft lamp and soothing music offer a quiet setting.

One student, Amanda Buchanan, senior psychol-ogy major from Lubbock, took advantage of Kamin-sky’s offer.

Buchanan said stress and sleeping badly had

caused back pain and sent her searching for relief.

After their initial con-tact, Buchanan went to Kaminsky’s dorm, where she said Kaminsky did something that made quite an impression.

“She asked me if I had any prayer requests, and she prayed with me over those prayer requests before she began,” Buch-anan says. “That spoke volumes to me about her faith.”

Kaminsky says prayer is something she uses throughout the massage process, praying not only over students’ requests but also over specific parts of the body that hurt or need healing.

The half-hour mas-sage, Buchanan says, was similar to a past profes-sional massage, and she notes Kaminsky made an effort to create a compa-rable atmosphere.

Afterward, Buchan-an says, her back pain went away, leading her to recommend a friend who suffered chronic back problems.

“She was very, very sweet,” Buchanan says. “She doesn’t charge any-thing – she wants to prac-tice. She wants to have people to work on.”

Kaminsky continues to offer free massages and studies any type of mas-sage a student requests before her appointments. Her skills range from ba-sic to specialty massag-

es, which target specific problem areas.

Kaminsky says her years as an athlete prepared her for clients with sports inju-ries, as well. From middle to high school, Kaminsky says she played every sport available and hopes to play intramural volleyball. She was also a cheerleader and a dancer, which gives her an understanding not only of the muscles athletes use, but also the best ways to help relieve their aches and pains.

At this point, Kamin-sky offers massages only for girls, because working from her dorm does not allow for a broad clientele. Howev-er, she says she enjoys meeting people through her work, and she hopes she can continue to use it to minister to others.

“Healing doesn’t need to be a religion,” she said. “I just keep my religion in the healing that I do.”

1 Corinthians 12:12 is Kaminsky’s “theme” verse.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ,” Kamin-sky says, quoting from memory. “Being an ath-lete, I was always on a team, and with this, well, it takes more than one person to heal. It takes two – I’m just his tool.”

FocusNovember 18, 2009 Page 5

contact Leahy atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Cara LeahyContributing Reporter

ealingHhands

Freshman capitalizes on gift for massage therapy

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Above: Tori McFadden, freshman nursing major from San Antonio, receives a massage from her roommate, Laura Kaminsky, freshman psychology major from Houston. Kaminsky hopes to one day own her own Christian massage therapy parlor.

Below: Kaminsky massages roommate McFadden. Kaminsky normally prays with clients before beginning massage therapy treatment.

OpinionPage 6 November 18, 2009

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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Optimistthe

By Jordan BlakeyAtaraxia

An earthquake shakes the foundation of a house. Entire buildings collapse into one anoth-er as glass and metal fall from the sky onto the ongoing destruction and mayhem below. Giant waves, taller than the Eiffel Tower, rise up and swallow cities whole. All of these are scenes from 2012, the latest dooms-day blockbuster to hit theatres. Although the scenes of destruction are the product of spe-cial effects and comput-er-generated images, the movie leaves many peo-ple wondering, “Could this really happen?”

It’s a silly question, and asking it has no more validity than pos-ing the same question

after seeing Mike Myers in the film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. However, that has not discouraged thou-sands of people from starting blogs and pub-lishing books searching for, or giving evidence of, the coming apocalypse.

All of the hype about the end of the world was sparked by one little his-torical fact: the Mayan Long Calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012. Some be-lieve on that day, a cata-strophic event will oc-cur, wiping out mankind. Others believe there will be a transformation that brings about a “New Age” of civilization.

Many of these ideas cannot be traced to the Mayans, but to Western

interpretations of the Ma-yan calendar, according to a modern-day Mayan elder, Chile Pixtun, in a story for the Associated Press. The story goes on to say, “Most archaeolo-gists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth [in 2012] is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials.”

For Christians, a ma-jor problem with the the-ory is the lack of Biblical foundation. While the Bible does describe to some extent the end of the world, the Bible also makes it very clear no one knows when the end times are coming. Jesus states in Matthew 24:36,

“No one knows about the day or the hour, not even the angels in heav-en, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Many have tried to make connections be-tween current events and those described in the Bible. A Web site called www.the-end.com proclaims, “The year 2008 marked the last of God’s warnings to man-kind and the beginning of a countdown of the final three and one-half years of man’s self-rule that will end by May 27, 2012.” Another Web site, Survive2012.com, claims, “There is zero scientific evidence that anything will happen, but there are numerous things that could easily

threaten the human spe-cies in the year 2012, such as a geomagnetic reversal, asteroid strike or supernova. Or some-thing more intimate, like a flu pandemic or a nuclear war.” All of this should reinforce the idea this panic has no basis in reality but is in-stead mere speculation.

We have seen this be-fore. From the Y2K panic to the mass hysteria fol-lowing the radio broad-

cast of War of the Worlds, the alarm far outweighs the reality. It is much more likely Dec. 22, 2012, will be much like Oct. 31, 1938, the day af-ter War of the Worlds was broadcast, or Jan. 1, 2000 – completely ordinary.

‘2012’ depicts popular, false theories EDITORIAL

Technology trumps human contactCOLUMN

Sondra Not Sandra Sondra Rodriguez

Nov. 6 marked the be-ginning of a clash of the techies, as digital con-noisseurs began to com-pare the features and ca-pabilities of the n e w l y released D r o i d , made by Motoro-la and sold by Verizon Wireless, with those of Apple’s iPhone.

The commercial is as epic as The Lord of the Rings and leaves the impression such an amazing piece of tech-nology is indestructi-ble – mostly because it looks like it was created by Transformers. Ac-cording to PC World, the Droid weighs less than six ounces, boasts an 854-by-480-pixel touch screen, a five-megapixel camera capable of DVD-quality video recording,

a sliding keyboard and a voice-activated GPS system – bad news for Garmin and TomTom.

It can multitask like no one’s business, con-nects with Google’s An-droid Market and about 10,000 applications, and the battery offers 385 minutes of talk time – just a few of its many features.

Maybe it’s because I came to ACU before freshmen were show-ered with iPhones, but all these new capabili-ties mean to me is more awkward conversations with people whose phones are attached to them like an append-age. It’s great you have the world at your fin-gertips, but how are your people skills?

We’re all guilty of it. We cling to our phones, waiting for a tidbit of information we’ve con-vinced ourselves we can’t live without.

We’ve become so ad-dicted to the ability to talk to anyone and look

up anything at the tap of a finger that we’ve come to believe it’s a bad thing when we aren’t reachable. We get a tiny high knowing we’re the first to share some juicy news, but it only lasts a few minutes till we’re Googling, Facebooking and Tweeting for our next hit.

But one of these days, your iPhone is go-ing to break, and you’re going to be left with a God-given sound box you forgot how to use.

You might have to pick up a newspaper – one that isn’t free and shoved in your face af-ter Chapel. Maybe you’ll have to get lost in a city to learn your way around, instead of hav-ing some robotic British

woman lead you to your destination like a child on a leash. Maybe you won’t have the chance to “thumbs up” your old college roommate’s pic-tures of her new baby – you might try congratu-lating her in person.

I’m not technologi-cally savvy, and I real-ize regressing in our communication devel-opment is quite unlike-ly, but for the sake of human interaction, give it a shot.

THE ISSUEMany theories and a recent movie predict the end of the world will occur in 2012.

OUR TAKEThese claims are not based on fact, but irrational fear seen time and again in predictions, such as Y2K.

Music contains valuable lessons

COLUMN

Little LindaLinda Bailey

Relient K has come a long way from its Sadie Hawkins Dance days. Maybe it’s my person-al bias t o w a r d Mat thew T h i e s -s e n ’ s a n g e l i c voice, but his sev-enth CD – re leased in October – is one of the best yet.

I bought the CD the day after it was released, and I began listening to it as soon as I started my truck. As I was driving down the road back to my apartment, I heard the chorus of the first song say, “I’d rather forget and not slow down than gath-er regret for the things I can’t change now.”

The lyrics are actu-ally the name of the CD, Forget and Not Slow Down, and they certain-ly capture the theme of the record.

The song expressed ev-erything I had been feel-ing all summer and soon became my favorite song on the album.

Everyone has regrets in life, but dwelling on them instead of moving forward is ridiculous and unpro-ductive. I made it my goal to forgive myself for all the things I wanted to change. I stopped wishing for a time machine and made it my goal to live life without regrets. Instead, I turned them into lessons learned. And all because of a song.

Music is a huge part of our lives. At any given moment around cam-pus, at least one person

is walking to class with headphones connected to an iPod in her ears. Runners on the trail are constantly listening to music, and parties and concerts devoted to mu-sic occur every weekend.

Whether we like it or not, the songs we listen to affect us. I’m not saying all of this to persuade people to change their music pref-erences but to encourage awareness of the deeper meanings in the songs they listen to. Lessons are just waiting to be learned in almost any song.

Being a Relient K fan since seventh grade has helped me cope with tri-als in life and learn a lot of things. The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek was the first CD I ever bought, and I’ve purchased all their albums since. I know the band has gone through sev-eral members and crossed over from the Christian record label into the more mainstream, but I think they are still creating pow-erful songs full of clever lyrics and thought-provok-ing messages with clear Christian undertones.

Over the years, I’ve ex-panded my music choic-es. I was even too cool for the band at one time. But, I always came back to Relient K, and that is one thing I don’t regret.

Email the Optimist at:optimist@jmcnetwork.com

contact Rodriguez at:sar06g@acu.edu

We’re all guilty of it. We cling to our phones, waiting for a tidbit of information we’ve convinced ourselves we can’t live without.

Whether we like it or not, the songs we listen to affect us.

contact Bailey at:ljb07a@acu.edu

Bailey

Rodriguez

The catch gave the Wild-cats a 21-14 lead.

“It felt good to be able to come back and make plays,” Johnson said. “I was glad I was able to help my team get a win.”

On the next posses-sion, ACU strip-sacked Eskridge on the MSU 18-yard line. A 28-yard field

goal by Morgan Lineberry was all the Wildcats need-ed to win the game.

MSU scored with 1:06 left in the game, closing the gap to 24-21. The Mustangs then attempt-

ed an onside kick, but the Wildcats recovered the ball and ran out the clock for the victory.

The Wildcats will ad-vance to play Northwest Missouri State at noon

Saturday in Maryville, Mo. Tickets cost $5 for stu-dents with a valid ID and $12 for nonstudents; for $489, fans can reserve a seat on the team’s char-ter plane. For more infor-mation, contact the ACU Athletic Department.

Julie Coppedge has even more time than Cooper to build on the success of the past semester. Cwoppedge was one of only two freshmen in the Lone Star Confer-ence to make an all-Conference team.

“There is no way we could be unhappy

with the season we had,” Coppedge said. “We lost some games we shouldn’t have, fell short in the tournament – but the team we be-came is far more impor-tant than any statistic.”

November 18, 2009 Page 7From Sports

Playoff: Wildcats win in first round against MSUFOOTBALL

contact Cantrell atjrc07f@acu.edu

also a T-shirt and recogni-tion in Chapel.

“We are trying to cre-ate a good Christian at-mosphere,” Edwards said. “The MVP idea is to call out students and for them to know that there is a higher standard.”

Flag football has de-veloped a sort of “cult following” at ACU. The camaraderie alone makes it popular, but the large number of participants keeps it interesting for competitive students.

“Flag football is a huge part of the tradi-tion here,” Edwards said. “Students love to play it, and if they are not play-ing, they love to watch it. It really helps with the whole community thing.”

The conclusion of the fall semester means the end of popular sports such as flag football and water-

ball, but with the spring comes a whole new selec-tion of intramural sports.

“I think that basketball and volleyball are just as much a part of the tradi-tion as flag football,” Ed-wards said. “These events are held inside, so weather won’t hurt us. Bennett Gym also provides a more hom-ey environment inside of

the crowded gym, which adds to the experience.“

Edwards said the good thing about spring intra-murals is that students of any skill level can play. Stu-dents can play in the highly competitive Championship

League or in the more laid-back Recreational League.

Students interested in participating in ACU intra-murals can contact Direc-tor Kenli Edwards or stop by the intramural office in Bennett Gymnasium.

MVPs: Leaders honored by teamsINTRAMURALS

Continued from page 8

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Team: Players represented onall-Conference

SOCCER

Continued from page 8

Continued from page 8

contact Bartee atskb09a@acu.edu

Season: Players left with bitter taste in their mouths VOLLEYBALL

on ACU’s loss in the first tournament of the season. The Wildcats lost to Tru-man State University and the University of Nebras-ka-Omaha, both of which made the playoffs.

The Wildcats finished the season with a 3-1 loss to West Texas, the No. 6 team in the nation, in the LSC Championship on Sunday. The Wildcats were riding a 17-game winning streak

coming into the champion-ship match, and the mo-mentum was enough to carry the Wildcats to a 29-27 victory in the first set.

The Wildcats jumped to an 8-3 lead at the begin-ning of the second set, but West Texas went on a 22-5 run to close it out. The loss marked the end for the ’Cats.

In the third and fourth sets, West Texas jumped to early leads and did not relinquish them.

“We played the best set we played all season against WT in that first set,” Bacon said. “They just had too many good kills, and we made too many mistakes.”

As the first seed, West Texas had the luxury of playing the tournament at home. With the crowd be-hind them, West Texas was able to beat its 61st-con-secutive LSC opponent.

“They have a great volleyball fan base,”

Hines said. “Once they got the momentum, we couldn’t stop them.”

Playoffs or no play-offs, ACU finished with the second-best record in ACU volleyball history. It was certainly the best season since Head Coach Kellen Mock began coach-

ing in 2006, Bacon said.“This is the best team

I have been a part of,” she said. “Overall, one of the best ACU volleyball seasons yet.”

contact Gwin atagg07a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

I was glad I was able to help my team get a win.KENDRICK JOHNSON Wide Receiver

GAME BREAKERSThe Optimist picks players of the game and the play of the game.

n Offensive Player of the Game: RB Reggie Brown, 21 carries for 111 yards, 5.3 yards per carryn Defensive Player of the Game: LB Kevin Washington, 13 tackles, 2 sacksn Play of the Game: WR Dennis Campbell returned the open-ing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Campbell followed superb blocking as he went untouched down the middle of the field. n Play of the Game: In the third quarter with the score tied at 14, Safety Major Culbert stepped in front of a Zack Eskridge pass. ACU scored the next 10 points to win the game.

Flag football is a huge part of the tradition here. KENLI EDWARDSIntramurals Director

Austin GwinAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcat volleyball team will sit out dur-ing the NCAA playoffs, despite winning at least 25 games for the second year in a row.

The Wildcats finished ninth in the region – even with a 29-6 regular-sea-son record and the title of Lone Star Conference runner-up – one place shy of making the playoffs.

“It makes absolutely zero sense why some of

the teams are in there and we are not,” said junior starter Shawna Hines. “They need to change the playoff system.”

The Wildcats have a better record than four of the teams that made the playoffs and beat fifth-

seeded Pittsburg State twice during the season.

“It’s unfair that the fifth- through eighth-place teams got into the playoffs with worse over-all and region records,” said senior right side hitter Michelle Bacon. “It

seems like they didn’t even notice that we won 17-straight games before the LSC championship.”

Bacon said the South Central Regional commit-tee put too much weight

SportsPage 8 November 18, 2009

n Former ACU running back Bernard Scott be-came the third former Wild-cat to find the end zone in an NFL game this season. Scott returned a 96-yard kickoff for a touchdown for the Cincinatti Bengals in their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Scott joins Danieal Manning and Johnny Knox, both Chicago Bears, as Wildcats who have scored touchdowns this season.

n Tickets for the round two playoff matchup against Northwest Missouri State on Saturday can be purchased by calling the ACU ticket of-fice at 674-6853. General admission tickets are $12, but ACU students can pur-chase tickets for $5.

n Cross-country runner Amos Sang will represent ACU at the 2009 NCAA Division II National Champi-onship on Saturday. Sang earned an individual spot when he captured first place in the regional race at Nel-son Park earlier this month.

Briefs

VOLLEYBALL

Season ends at conference title game

PLAYOFF REDEMPTIONFOOTBALL

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

The Wildcats celebrate after knocking off the Midwestern State Mustangs 24-21 in last Saturday’s first round playoff game in Wichita Falls.

Ryan CantrellAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcats defeated Midwestern State Univer-sity in the first round of playoffs Saturday, coming from behind to outscore the Mustangs 24-21.

“It was an unbeliev-able game between two teams that were fighting and playing as hard as they could,” said Head Coach Chris Thomsen. “It was a tremendous game, and I was just glad to be a part of it.”

ACU’s defense was key in the playoff win,

sacking Zack Eskridge eight times and forcing two turnovers.

“We did a great job getting pressure today,” said defensive end Aston Whiteside. “It was not just me, though. We got pressure on the inside with Marvin Jones.”

Dennis Campbell took the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. However, ACU’s offense struggled in the first half, managing only three first downs and 60 yards of of-fense. Eskridge rushed for two touchdowns – includ-ing one for 25 yards – in

the second quarter. The Wildcats went into the locker room trailing 14-7.

The Wildcats held the Mustangs scoreless in the third quarter, and Mitchell Gale led the Wildcats on an 81-yard drive, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Edmund Gates, despite two penalties early in the drive. Gale found Terrell Woodall on a third and 12 to keep the drive going.

With 13:42 left in the game, ACU scored again, this time on a 41-yard catch by Kendrick Johnson, who had been sidelined in previous weeks with an ankle in-jury. The catch gave the Wildcats a 21-14 lead.

Wildcats defeat Mustangs to advance to second round

Sam BarteeSports Reporter

With as much talent as the ACU women’s soccer team has, everyone ex-pected quite a few play-ers to be chosen for the all-Conference teams. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of the nine women who were recog-nized Nov. 5.

Five women were nominated for the all-Conference teams, and four more were given honorable mentions. Even though the team didn’t advance as far as they would have liked, the players had nothing but good things to say about the season.

“Though on paper it might not look like we improved, we all know that we were such a bet-

ter team this year,” said Lyndsey Womack, se-nior forward. “I’m proud of all the girls who got awards. They definitely deserved them.”

Womack was the only ACU player elected to the first all-Conference team, but junior back Kendall Cooper was right behind her on the second team, along with three of her teammates. Cooper echoed Wom-ack’s optimism.

“This season really opened my eyes up to how much talent and team chemistry we have,” she said. “Despite the loss in the postseason tourna-ment, we were very suc-cessful, and I can’t wait to build on top of that my senior year.”

Womack headlinesall-Conference team

Jeff CraigSports Reporter

Flag football has a long history as an ACU tradi-tion. This season, teams will begin a new tradi-tion by naming their Most Valuable Player.

First-year intramu-ral director Kenli Ed-

wards implemented the MVP idea this season in an attempt to increase excitement surrounding

flag football. More than 80 participating teams were asked to select an MVP, via a vote by all team members. The winners receive not only personal satisfaction but also a T-shirt and recog-nition in Chapel.

Intramural flag football MVPs chosen by teammates

INTRAMURALS

see SEASON page 7

see TEAM page 7see MVPs page 7

see PLAYOFF page 7

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

Linebacker Kevin Washington tries to strip the ball from MSU running back BeeJay Mathis in last Saturday’s playoff game.

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Kojie pledge and team MVP Katie Cupit runs with the ball in an intramural flag football game earlier this season. All teams were asked to choose an MVP for the 2009 season.

acuoptimist.com

Go online to check out lists of MVPs from men’s and women’s leagues.

ACU at Northwest Missouri St. 12 p.m. Saturday

Tarleton St. at Cen. Washington2 p.m. Saturday

Division II Playoffs

MONDAY

Women’s BasketballACU 66, St. Mary’s 69

TUESDAY

Men’s BasketballACU 116, Baptist Bible 74

Scores

Angelo St. 5-3 6-4

Tarleton St. 7-2 9-2

Standings

FOOTBALLTeam Div.

VOLLEYBALL

TAMU-K

SE Okla.

Central Okla.

7-2

4-4

3-5

WTAMU 5-3

TAMU-C 4-4 4-5

Team Div.

Angelo St.

Central Okla.

10-3

7-6

Cameron 5-8 17-12

WTAMU 13-0 31-3

SE Okla. 6-7 22-14

WOMEN’S SOCCERTeam Div.

Central Okla. 7-3WTAMU 7-2-1 14-2-3

TX Woman’s 6-3-1 8-9-2

TAMU-C 5-5 10-8-1

Angelo St. 4-6 10-9

MSU 6-4 13-5-2

East Central 3-7 6-8-2ENMU 4-6 9-10

NE State 1-8-1 5-11-1

MSU 6-7

TAMU-K 6-7TX Woman’s 6-7 16-16

East Central 5-8 14-21Tarleton St. 4-9 10-21SW Okla. 3-10 6-28ENMU 0-13 6-23

ENMU 2-6 2-7NE State 2-6 2-8

SW Okla. 2-7 2-8East Central 0-8 0-10

9-2

5-56-4

3-7

18-13

16-15

17-12

10-24

14-6-2

SW Okla. 4-5-1 7-10-2

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

ACU 6-2 8-2

ACU 12-1 27-5

ACU 5-3-2 10-7-2

MSU 7-2 9-2

TAMU-C 8-5 24-9

SOCCER