Colter HettichEditor in Chief

The 40-year-old closed-loop system that heats and cools most of the campus’ air has reached maximum capacity, and Physical Resources and the Board of Trustees are working with a national engineering firm to re-place it. Don McLeod, central plant manager for Physical Resources, has participated in sev-eral meetings and said firm representatives have spent a lot of time on campus.

“It has gone past a couple of approval stages, and we have the basic design [for the new system],” McLeod said. “We can cool what we have right now, but if there is any growth, we’re maxed out.”

That growth does not include the Student Recreation and Well-ness Center. Physical Resources used utility management soft-ware to estimate the demand the Recre-ation Center would place on the system. Scott Colley, director of Physical Re-sources, said energy-saving construction methods will allow the system to support the facility as-is, according to computer calculations.

The current underground system cir-culates 95,000 gallons of water per day to cool campus, and 75,000 gallons in the fall and winter to heat it. Four 12-inch pipes and countless smaller ones

are used for both heating and cooling, making it impossible to heat one build-ing and cool another at the same time. New pipes will be added to the current loop, although in an attempt to avoid buildings, they will not follow the old loop exactly.

Colley estimated laying the pipe would take nine months, with up to five crews working independently. Replacing as-phalt is less expensive than repairing

PHOTOS

Wildcat Soccer vs. HSU

Forecast InsideEDITORIALThe fear and panic associ-ated with Swine Flu prompted our editorial board to weigh in on responsibilities of individu-als and administrative

Page 6

Online

Wed Thu Fri

61°79° 60°80° 56°73°

WILDCAT SOCCERsuffered a dramatic overtime loss against local Hardin Simmons University Thurs-day. Find out what went wrong for the Wildcats.

Page 8

Will hand sanitizerdispensers help stop

the spread of disease?Visit acuoptimist.com to see what

the ACU community is saying.

VIDEO

Chris Thomsen Show

Optimistthe

acuoptimist.comBREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENTVol. 98, No. 8 1 section, 8 pagesWednesday, September 16, 2009

A Fair-Weather Fan

LOUDandCLEAR

PAGE 5

Chelsea HackneyCopy Editor

Students’ Association re-designed congressional committees to reflect its new image of honesty, effi-ciency and flexibility, said SA Vice President Tony Godfrey. Instead of form-

ing five or six committees as it has done in the past, the Congress will be divid-ed into only three groups: finance, internal affairs and external affairs. The purpose is to increase the Congress’ ability to deal with any situation, said Godfrey, junior political

science and English major from Burleson.

“Whether we meet op-portunities or obstacles, we want to be prepared to interact as fluidly as pos-sible,” he said.

To do that, each com-mittee will be given the authority to create task

forces – Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president and dean for Student Life, is responsible for the name – if and when issues that need special attention arise. The three committees are larger this year than in the past, with 14-16 members. This

makes it easier to carve them up into the smaller task forces.

For example, SA Trea-surer Luke Cochran, se-nior finance major from Round Rock, has already set up two different task forces in the finance com-mittee to deal with appro-

priations and conference requests, respectively.

In fact, the system for hearing conference requests has been over-hauled entirely. Student organizations often re-quest funding for trips to

Committees restructured to increase efficiencySTUDENT GOVERNMENT

Linda BaileyOpinion Page Editor

Research can be the bane of a student’s existence, but the Office of Under-graduate Research, di-rected by Dr. Greg Powell, M.E. Pruitt Professor of chemistry, is trying to im-prove its reputation. This year marks the first for the department, formed

as part of ACU’s 21st Century Vision.

“It was the Vision Leadership Team that decided undergradu-ate research would be

an area of emphasis, because it provides stu-dents with experiential learning, so that it’s not just textbook learn-ing or classroom learn-

ing but actually learning by doing something,” Pow-ell said. “The Vi-sion Leadership Team saw this as an opportunity to

make ACU a place where people know academics is taken seriously.”

Many students are in-volved in research proj-ects in the spring and

fall semesters, but Powell said he wants research to be a year-round activ-ity. To that end, the office supported seven students in research projects last summer.

ACU also had its first Undergraduate Research Festival, a three-day event, in April, although it was conducted by the Honors College, the Ad-

ams Center for Teaching and Learning, the McNair Scholars Program and the Brown Library, not the Office of Undergradu-ate Research. Powell said planning is underway for a second festival next se-mester.

“Last year’s festival generated excitement

UTILITIES

Casey OliverStudent Reporter

Freshman Follies is a weekend of good memo-ries for many students. Part of the fun is the chal-lenge to create clever lyr-ics in line with the theme; this year’s freshman class will have to think retro for the 2009 theme, “Peace, Love and Follies.”

This psychedelic throwback came after a lot of planning and dis-cussion between the Stu-dent Production Office and Tom Craig, director of student productions. The committee has been meeting together to look for a trendy and relevant concept for the show since last April.

“We wanted some-thing fun that the stu-dents could relate to,” Craig said.

For some students, Follies is not just a fun way to bond with room-mates and neighbors; it’s a family tradition.

“I have been really excited to be a part of Freshman Follies since I saw the show when my older sister was in it,” said Julie Tarter, fresh-

Folliesdrawsfriends,family

STUDENT LIFE

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

Don McLeod, central plant manager, checks on Physical Resources’ newest chiller, which helps maintain a proper water temperature.

see SA page 4

see FOLLIES page 4

KEEPING IT COOL

see RESEARCH page 4

JOZIE SANDS Chief PhotographerA giant fan on the cooling tower helps chill water before it reenters the underground loop.see LOOP page 4

New office, philosophy for undergraduate researchACADEMICS

... It’s not just textbook or classroom learning, but learning by doing something.DR. GREG POWELLM.E. Pruitt professor of chemistry

Physical Resources is preparing for what could be a five-year overhaul of the university’s agedheating and cooling system. For now, students can relax: the current system should be able to bear

the load of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

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 jmcnetwork@acu.edu.

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

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

AboutThis Page

AnnouncementsCALENDAR AND EVENTSWednesday, September 16, 2009

2CampusDay

8 a.m.Silent auction benefit at Taylor County Courthouse

9 a.m.West Texas Fair & Rodeo at theTaylor County Expo Center

7 p.m.Parents Weekend

11 a.m.Parents of the Year presentation in Moody Coliseum

8 p.m. Freshman Follies

18 FRIDAY

8 a.m.West Texas Fair & Rodeo at the Taylor County Expo Center

9 a.m.Immunizations in theHaskell Memorial Hospital Education Building

4 p.m.ACU Soccer vs. Dallas Baptist

7 p.m. ACU Volleyball vs. West Texas A&M

“Cover-to-Cover Book Club” in the Abilene Public Library Main Branch Auditorium

17THURSDAY

8 a.m.Silent auction benefit at the Taylor County Courthouse

West Texas Fair & Rodeo at the Taylor County Expo Center

11 a.m.Study Abroad Fair in the McGlothlin Campus Center

5 p.m.“Careers in Sports” question and answer session, featuring Lance Barrow

ACU in Germany - Spring 2010 informational meeting in the Bean

16WEDNESDAY

18

Chapel

CreditedChapelsto date:

Checkup

53CreditedChapelsremaining:

Calvary Baptist Church will conduct a churchwide garage sale to benefit its parking lot beautifi-cation project Friday and Saturday begin-ning at 7:30 a.m. at 1024 Richland Drive.

The Peddler Show – “A Perfect Street of Shops” will take place at the Abilene Civic Center from 3-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Personalized gifts and jewelry will be on sale. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for children 12 and younger.

The West Texas Fair & Rodeo will be open Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m.-11 p.m. at the Taylor County Expo Center. There will be exhibitions, a carnival and food vendors.

A silent auction will begin Monday at the

Taylor County Expo Center. Bidding will be open daily un-til Sept. 25 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and all proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.

The Texas Depart-ment of State Health Services will sponsor an immunization clinic providing free or reduced flu shots Thursday from 10-11:30 a.m. and from 1-3:30 p.m. at the Haskell Hospital Edu-cation Building.

Freshman Follies tickets will be on sale in the Campus Center from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. Tickets are $5 for students with a valid ID, $10 without.

European Bou-tique Sale will offer second-hand clothes from 8 a.m. to sell out on Saturday at 2635 Madison Ave.

Volunteer Opportunities

Kelsi WilliamsonStaff Photographer

The ACU Study Abroad Fair gives students an opportunity to learn more about semester and summer programs in Oxford, England; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Leipzig, Germany The fair began Monday and runs through Fri-day from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Campus Center.

“Usually, it’s a pretty good turnout, and people are here all throughout the day,” said Study Abroad Coordinator Rachel Brown.

Students can put their names on an e-mail list, see flyers with important dates and fact sheets about the three destinations and pick up registration packets at the booth.

Tina Tamez, Study Abroad student worker and senior Spanish major from Stockdale, said the fair is one of the program’s biggest and best methods of advertisement.

“We’ve actually had students apply just be-cause of the Study Abroad Fair,” Tamez said. “We get a lot of people on the interest list.”

Many Study Abroad alumni volunteer to work the booth. Stacy Brown, junior man-

agement major from Wimberley, studied in Oxford during the Spring 2009 semester and helped answer questions at the fair Monday.

“I really enjoyed my experience in Oxford and want to encourage everyone who is in-terested to go,” Brown said.

For students unable to make it to the fair, Brown said most of the information will also be available in the Study Abroad office lo-cated on the first floor of the Administration Building.

Study Abroad Fair draws crowdEVENTS

Love and Care Ministries needs help with its clothing min-istry and street feeds Monday-Friday at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. To schedule a time, contact Terry Davis at 670-0246.

The Center for Con-temporary Arts is looking for people to greet patrons, answer phones and help with gallery shows. Vol-unteers are needed Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. and 5- 8 p.m. Con-tact Saybra Giles at 677-8389 for more information.

The Salvation Army needs help sorting and pricing items. Help is also needed in the kitchen and lobby, and yardwork

may be involved. Vol-unteers are welcome Monday-Saturday at 1726 Butternut St. Contact Cecilia Bara-hona at 677-1408, or visit satruck.com for more information.

The National Cen-ter for Children’s Il-lustrated Literature needs volunteers to assist with art ac-tivities, greet visi-tors, give tours, sell books and create a welcoming envi-ronment Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 1-3 p.m. Contact Debby Lillick at 673-4586 for more informa-tion.

contact Williamson atkkw07a@acu.edu

September 16, 2009 Page 3Campus News

Lizzy SpanoArts Editor

Featured Texas authors and musicians will pres-ent their work and cel-ebrate their art with the Abilene community at the ninth annual West Texas Book and Music Festival next week. The festival is the second-largest yearly book fes-tival in Texas.

The festival, spon-sored by the Abilene Public Library and the Abilene Reporter-News, will take place at vari-ous locations around Abilene on Sept. 21-26. The event will give visi-tors an opportunity to attend book-signings,

presentations and con-certs at little to no cost.

“It has several pur-poses,” said Glenn Dromgolle, festival co-chair. “One is to call at-tention to literacy, [for people] to read more books by Texas writ-ers and listen to more music by Texas singers and songwriters.”

The event will also raise money for the Abilene Public Library. Library members hope the event will raise awareness of library programs and the Friends of the Library organization, which helped promote and sponsor the event, said Ricki Brown, city librar-

ian and festival steering committee member.

For those interested in writing books, nu-merous children’s au-thors will present their books and speak about their experiences of writing and being pub-lished, Brown said.

Several distinguished Texas authors will be present at the festival, including Bryan Bur-rough, best-selling au-thor of The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil For-tunes; Newbery Honor Book author Kathi Ap-pelt, author of The Underneath and other children’s books; and retired general James U.

Cross, author of Around the World with LBJ.

“Many people don’t know about Texas au-thors,” Dromgolle said. “Most schools don’t offer courses in Texas literature, and a lot of them are not as well known as they should be. Texas has a lot of good writers.”

The festival will also feature two-time Grammy award-winning group Brave Combo of Denton and the Texas Swing Kings from Aus-tin, as well as other local bands, including Happy Fat and Slim Chance.

“The Brave Combo plays a variety of mu-sic,” Dromgolle said. “It

appeals to people across age groups; young peo-ple like them, middle age people like them, your grandparents like them. They are really an interesting mix of music styles.”

The band, which de-scribes itself as “nucle-ar polka” with a dash of rock-and-roll, has ap-peared in an episode of The Simpsons and com-posed the theme song for Bakersfield P.D., a FOX Television series.

The Brave Combo and Texas Swing Kings will play at the Paramount Theatre on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets can be pur-chased for $15 at the theatre and the library’s

main branch on N. 2nd Street. Other concerts and a Gospel Hymn-Fest will take place free of charge in Minter Park.

“It’s a good time for people who like the written word to get together and celebrate,” Dromgolle said. “We would just encourage people to come out and en-joy this. This is a pretty big thing for Abilene, and we would love to have more people participate.”

Book, music festival highlights written wordENTERTAINMENT

Sondra RodriguezManaging Editor

Thomas Campbell, one of the men responsible for the Campbell-Stone reformation movement, gave his famous Declara-tion and Address in 1809. In it he said, “The church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one; consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all things according to the scriptures.” Since then, Christians have striven to break down barriers between churches that distract from the message and mission of Christ.

In that spirit, thou-sands of Christians will gather in a Great Com-munion to commemo-rate the bicentennial of Campbell’s Declaration in Moody Coliseum on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.

The first Great Com-munion took place 100 years ago in Pittsburgh when churches gathered to honor the centennial anniversary of the piece and more importantly, the movement it sparked. The Disciples of Christ Historical Society is coor-dinating the second Great Communion “to promote the celebration of our heritage,” according to the society’s Web site.

Churches in Australia, Africa, New Zealand, In-dia, South America and cities in at least 23 states in North America, includ-

ing Abilene, will sponsor a Great Communion, said Douglas Foster, professor of church history, director of The Center for Restora-tion Studies and member of the Stone-Campbell dia-logue and the Disciples of Christ Historic Society.

Foster said he be-gan talking to leaders from the three church streams – the Disciples of Christ, the Church of Christ and the Christian Church – in Abilene in December about partici-pating in the Great Com-munion in October.

“We had a meeting that was really a prayer and fasting meeting to come together, pray about this and see what we might discern God wants us to do,” he said. After the meeting, the Bicentennial Task Force was created, and Foster was named chair.

The task force decid-ed to conduct the event in Moody Coliseum, no small feat. Foster said he is amazed at the hard work being done for the unification of Christians.

“It’s a communion ser-vice to bring people who love Christ and want to manifest this unity in one small way,” he said.

“Now we’re saying, let’s come together.”

Foster said he hopes students will attend the Sunday afternoon event and show sup-port for combating sec-tarianism and attitudes of exclusiveness.

“Even though we don’t agree on every single thing, and even though sometimes we’ve had differences that have kept us apart, this is a visible manifestation of our unity in Christ, and we really want everyone who thinks that’s impor-tant to be a part of it,” he said. “It can be a piece of a very healthy under-standing of the nature of Christ’s church and one way of showing the world what it means to be united in Christ.”

Foster said the event will be about an hour and 15 minutes long and will include singing, a brief sermon by Foster and the Lord’s Supper. More in-formation is available at www.greatcommunion.org, and a Chapel forum about the event will take place Oct. 1.

Bicentennial communion celebrates reformation

SPIRITUALITY

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff PhotographerMarsha Smith, R.N., prepares a flu vaccination in the Medical Clinic on Tuesday.

contact Spano ateas07a@acu.edu

contact Rodriguez atsar06g@acu.edu

It’s a communion service for people who love Christ and want to manifest this unity in one small way.DOUGLAS FOSTERProfessor of church history, director of The Center for Restora-tion Studies and member of the Stone-Campbell dialogue and the Disciples of Christ Historic Society

September 16, 2009From FrontPage 4

landscaping, so the new loop will follow side-walks and parking lots whenever possible.

McLeod said one of his first goals is to re-place all pneumatic

controls with direct digital controls, an im-provement that would reduce wasteful energy consumption.

New equipment will help, but Physical Re-sources also wants to improve the energy effi-ciency of existing struc-

tures, as they did in Sikes Residence Hall.

Colley and McLeod ex-pect the project to take five years from start to finish.

on campus,” he said. “It was really nice to see how many students were enthusiastic about shar-ing their search results. I think now there is some momentum building as a result of that.”

Powell says he hopes to use that momentum to expand programs that have typically remained squarely in the science de-partments. He encourages all students and faculty to get involved in research, and he said his office is working to bring in other subjects and majors by demonstrating what a valuable learning experi-ence research can be.

“Classroom knowledge is reinforced, but you are given an opportunity to apply that knowledge to a particular research project or problem you are trying to solve,” he said.

Opportunities such as these are only possible with the full support and participation of faculty members acting as men-tors to students.

“A big part of the ACU

difference is the faculty’s willingness to spend time with students in the first place,” Powell said. “Estab-lishing a relationship with a faculty mentor is a big advantage of undergradu-ate participation in re-search, because you get to see that faculty member in action tackling a partic-ular problem, helping you with the investigation.”

Sarah Boyd, senior graphic design major from Abilene participat-ed in a research project this summer with Robert Green, professor of art and design.

Boyd researched maps during the summer for a series of five paintings of famous historical jour-neys Green was creat-ing. Boyd spent close to 80 hours searching for maps and old books and learning about frames and canvases.

It was Green’s first experience with under-graduate research, and he said he would like to do it again.

“It was very beneficial for me,” Green said. “It is the kind of thing that happens more frequently

in other departments – because they are involved with hard science, and they have graduate students who are ready to handle it – but hasn’t typically been available to people in our department.”

Boyd said the work she did was interesting, and although she is unsure of her plans after college, she thinks the research will help her whether she attends graduate school or decides to join the workforce.

“It gives you an experi-ence to learn about a trade you are studying outside the classroom,” Boyd said.

Both Powell and Green said undergraduate re-search is important for students applying to grad-uate school and could be a good recruiting tool.

“Research is very im-portant in some fields for acceptance into gradu-ate school,” Powell said. “It gives you advantages over some applicants if you have one or two years of research experience.”

ences, and in the past, those requests were put be-fore Congress as a whole. However, the number of requests began to over-whelm Congress – meet-ings became nothing more than a string of presenta-tions by student groups, Godfrey said. As a result, the decision was made to hand over all confer-ence requests to the new finance committee.

“For the first couple of weeks, we anticipate short, empty meetings,” Godfrey said, speaking of Congress. “But once they see that emptiness, they’ll fill it with more productive legislation.”

SA’s by-laws give the power to create commit-tees to the president, in

this case, Charles Gaines, senior criminal justice ma-jor from Cedar Hill. He then selects students to place on each committee. However, most of the plans for re-structuring were made by Godfrey, so Gaines turned the project over to him. He said he did not want to get in the way of his staff. Instead, Gaines will chair the external affairs com-mittee, along with co-chair Kara DuBose, chief communication officer.

“My committee would be working with the other universities, under-standing how their stu-dents’ associations work,” Gaines said. “We don’t have this down perfect. We take the good and bad and mix it all together to try to come with the best Students’ Association we

can have.”Jared Elk, SA chief de-

velopmental officer, knows the by-laws backward and forward, and was respon-sible for making sure SA followed the rules in the creation of these new com-mittees. He said he sup-ports the decision.

“Those are groups of people that [the execu-tive officers] can have at their disposal to help get projects done,” said Elk, a junior political science major from Savoy. “I think it’ll take a little bit of get-ting used to, but it’ll help committees focus on see-ing projects through from start to finish.”

Loop: Plans to replaceUTILITIES

ACADEMICS

Continued from page 1

Research: Outside the box

contact Hettich atclh05d@acu.edu

SA: hierarchy restructuredSTUDENT GOVERNMENT

Continued from page 1

contact Hackney atceh05c@acu.edu

contact Bailey atljb07a@acu.edu

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

Andrew Morrison, freshman finance major from Argyle, dances to Michael Jackson’s Bad with the men of Edwards during a rehearsal Thursday night.

Continued from page 1

man undeclared major from Shallowater. “My family really enjoyed getting to see her hav-ing fun with her new friends, and now I’m ex-cited to get to show my family what I’ve been working on.”

The show’s peace-and-love atmosphere has been planned down to the last light. Craig said some tie-dyed props might be making an appearance on stage. Every student in the show has been hard at work, and even students

not involved in the pro-duction can see it.

“I’m not in Freshman Follies, but I can defi-nitely appreciate all of the work that kids are putting in to their acts,” said Charlie Holt, fresh-man biochemistry ma-jor from Idalou. “The guys on my hall are re-ally trying to make their act stand out.”

Craig said the response to “Peace, Love and Fol-lies” has been positive.

“People have been buying tickets online and e-mailing our of-fice tons of questions,” he said.

Students, faculty, staff and parents have four chances to catch Fresh-man Follies in Cullen Au-ditorium: Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Follies: ’60s theme a hit with participants, patrons

STUDENT LIFE

contact Oliver atoptimist@jmcnetwork.edu

Continued from page 1

FocusSeptember 16, 2009 Page 5

Fair playWest Texas Fair and Rodeo brings big time to the Big Country

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

LEFT: The West Texas Fair and Rodeo ferris wheel serves as a traditional fair attraction. This year’s fair will be in Abilene from Sept. 11-19.

BELOW: ACU alum Mark Powell sings with the band Lariat to the Friday-night fair crowd. Other fair entertain-ment includes exhibits and a petting zoo.

Fair-goers enjoy colorful diversions at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo on Monday.

Colorful rides illuminate the night sky as part of the annual fair festivities.

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

OpinionPage 6 September 16, 2009

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

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

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters

containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to: ACU Box 27892 Abilene, TX 79699

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Editorial and Management Board

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

Sondra RodriguezManaging Editor

Laura AcuffFeatures Editor

Linda BaileyOpinion Page Editor

Jozie SandsChief Photographer

Brandon TrippSports Media Director

Sommerly SimserMultimedia Editor

Chelsea HackneyCopy Editor

Liz SpanoArts Editor

Scott StewartPage 2 Editor

Jordan BlakeyCartoonist

Multimedia Desk(325) 674-2463

Kenneth PybusFaculty Adviser

Cade WhiteFaculty Adviser

Christi StarkAdvertising

Optimistthe

By Jordan BlakeyAtaraxia

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is getting ready for an early flu season this year. The flu always hits schools hard with so many bod-ies packed together, but to make matters worse, we have to protect our-selves against the dread-ed swine flu.

If you have been on campus at all in the last week, most likely you have noticed the hand sanitizer dispensers mounted on walls and stairways, especially in high-traffic areas such as the Campus Center and Moody Coliseum.

While we commend ACU Administrators for providing students with free and easily ac-cessible hand sanitiz-er, ultimately, it is up to students to protect themselves and others from all flu strains.

Dr. Ellen Little, phy-sician and director of the Medical Clinic, sent all students an e-mail outlining specific guide-lines for flu prevention. It also mentioned ways to protect others if you catch the bug.

Students should re-member to wash their hands with soap and wa-

ter frequently, particu-larly after sneezing or coughing. Hand sanitizer is great on the go, but it is not a substitute for good, old-fashioned hot water. Also, when you sneeze and cough, use a tissue; if one is unavail-able, sneeze or cough into the inside of your arm, never in your hands. Avoid sharing drinks or food, even if you’re sure you and your friends do not have the flu. These habits will help stop the spread of germs.

Know the symptoms of the flu. To learn the signs, visit www.acu.

edu/flu. If you have flu-like symptoms, see your doctor. If you have a fe-ver, don’t go to highly trafficked areas and risk infecting other people.

Flu shots are anoth-er option for preven-tion. The ACU Medical Clinic is administering

shots for $15. While this method might not be right for everyone, it is recommended for those at higher risk of catch-ing the flu.

The flu is impossible to avoid entirely with-out locking yourself in a sterile room for two

months, but when stu-dents make a conscious effort at prevention, they increase everyone’s chances for health.

Flu prevention students’ responsibiltyEDITORIAL

Missing wallet causes identity crisis COLUMN

Hacked Off Chelsea Hackney

Losing my wallet could be quite possibly the worst experience of my c o l l e g e career, if not my e n t i r e life – it’s in the running with the k i n d e r -g a r t e n musical and seventh grade volleyball tryouts.

I’d like to say I lost it in my rush to escape a burn-ing building or rescue a drowning child. I’d even be OK with armed rob-bery. Actually, I put it on the back of my car while I pumped gas and just for-got to pick it up before I drove away. I don’t know how long it held on, but eventually, my poor wal-let flew off the car and into the street, never to be seen again.

Not a complete idiot, I realized it was miss-ing when I got to work. I immediately called to see if someone had seen my blunder, pitied me and turned my wal-

let in to the gas station attendant. They hadn’t.

I should get research credit for the past week. I’ll call my experiment “Life as a (really) poor college student.” Af-ter calling my bank, all three credit unions, the Social Security Ad-ministration, both po-lice departments and my mother, I had suc-cessfully canceled any and all documents that might identify me as a real person.

I thought my check-book and shiny new $15 student ID would hold me over until my debit card and driver’s license arrived.

My mistake. It turns out you need govern-ment-issued identifica-tion to do, well, anything. You can try to buy cold medicine and bread with a check at Walmart. How-ever, without a driver’s license or a Social Secu-rity card and photo ID, the poor cashier has to shake her head sadly and wait while you decide whether you want clear sinuses or a sandwich.

That’s why I got ex-cited when the Abilene

Police Department called this morning to tell me my wallet had been found. I visual-ized walking into the office. My wallet would be there, shiny and fat, and my identity would be restored.

What I found was a mangled and muddy black wad of leather and metal, the result of run-ins with thousands of tires and three days of rain. The found prop-erty clerk smiled as she handed it back to me. I walked to my car disap-pointed – and hungry.

OK, the government is trying to protect my iden-tity. I appreciate that. But for a college student away from home and Mom’s filing cabinet full of personal documents, living without a wallet is

tough. It probably saved me some money in the long run, and my driver’s license number is now printed indelibly on my brain, but I still could have done without the lesson.

After a week, my new debit card has yet to arrive, and I’m still on the lookout for my Social Security card. So, if you happen to meet a Venezuelan drug lord named Chelsea, let me know. I’d like my iden-tity back.

THE ISSUEACU administrators placed hand sanitizer dispensers around campus in an effort to prevent the spread of germs.

OUR TAKEWhile we appreciate the free hand sanitizer, we think students are ultimately responsible for their health during the flu season.

West’s antics result of abuse

COLUMN

Bread with Tomato Colter Hettich

When Kanye West took the microphone from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the MTV Vid-eo Music A w a r d s F r i d a y , I heard, “I’m hap-py for you Tay-lor, I’m gonna let you finish, but I want everyone to see what an idiot I am.” Of course, what West interrupted the “best female video award” winner to say was how much he liked Be-yonce’s nominated video.

Unless you were as hammered as he was when he shattered Swift’s moment, you could smell the alcohol on his breath through the screen — even in standard definition.

Apparently, I am not the only one impressed with his refined skills as a tool.

During some pre-inter-view chatter with CNBC’s John Harwood, cameras reportedly caught Presi-dent Barack Obama’s thoughts on the incident. When an unidentified voice asked why West would do that, Mr. Obama replied succinctly, “He’s a jackass,” according to Associated Press.

But this incident was not isolated. In 2006, West jumped onto the stage at the MTV Europe Music awards after his “Touch the Sky” video lost to Simian’s “We Are Your Friends.” Amid a flood of expletives, which seems to come all too natural to West, he declared that he should have won because it “cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it … I was jumping across

canyons … If I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility.”

If West had any cred-ibility, the loss would have been his.

Other than being glo-rious displays of igno-rance, West’s interrup-tions had one dangerous thing in common: alco-hol abuse.

He was spotted on the red carpet before the awards show began, touting a bottle cognac. Some reports said event officials had to ask him to leave the bottle behind.

So what? He hurt a girl’s feelings and hope-fully embarrassed him-self, but no one was hurt, right?

Thankfully, yes, no one was harmed, but I fear we are being condi-tioned to the effects of alcohol abuse. From Da-vid Hasselhoff’s drunken attempt to eat a cheese-burger to the late Edward Kennedy’s fatal drive that cost a young woman her life, the evidence is raw and plentiful.

Alcohol is not evil, but for the evil in us knows how to abuse it. If you drink, take it seriously — for your sake, but also for the sake of bystand-ers like Taylor Swift.

Email the Optimist at:jmcnetwork@acu.edu

Unless you were as hammered as he was, you could smell the alcohol on his breath through the screen — even in standard definition.

contact Hettich atclh05d@acu.edu

contact Hackey atceh05c@acu.edu

Hettich

Hackney

However, without a driver’s license or a Social Security card and photo ID, the poor cashier has to shake her head sadly and wait while you decide whether you want clear sinuses or a sandwich.

September 16, 2009 Page 7From Sports

Hamilton: Admirable struggle

what make Hamilton a hero, anyway. His resiliency and deter-mination to win his fight are what should make him an inspira-tion. His struggle will prove to be far more difficult to face than any major league fast-ball, yet a victory will be far sweeter than any home run.

COLUMN

Overtime: Soggy victory for WildcatsFOOTBALL

bar. The game went into overtime, and both teams had chances to score, but neither was able to find the net.

“I think our girls got a little tired,” Wilson said. “I also think the mud was definitely a factor on both teams.”

The Wildcats came

into the game with an even 2-2 record, but it fell to 2-3 with this loss. HSU is now 3-1.

In spite of the loss, Wil-son praised the team for outshooting the Cowgirls by a margin of 27-25.

“We created more op-portunities for ourselves,” he said. “That’s something we can build on, and a positive we can take away from this.”

The Cowgirls finished last season with their sixth straight American South-west Conference Champi-onship win. Hardin-Sim-mons has played in the Division III NCAA tourna-ment eight times in the last ten years.

The Wildcats beat the Cowgirls 3-1 when they met last year. In that game, the Wildcats scored two goals in the first five min-

utes, and Lawson held HSU to a single goal, leading ACU to victory.

The Wildcats have strug-gled on offense this sea-son, scoring only two goals in their first four games. Their success will depend on Lawson’s performance between the pipes. It will be her job to keep ACU in the game until the offense can score consistently.

The Wildcats’ next game

is against Dallas Baptist University. The Patriots are 2-3-1 entering Friday’s game. The Wildcats played excellent defense when they faced DBU last season, but were unable to pro-duce any offense and lost 1-0. ACU will meet DBU at home on Friday at 5 p.m.

Heartbreaker: Abilene showdownSOCCER

The Wildcats defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 20-14 in overtime at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Drew Cuffee intercepted the ball and returned it 81 yards for a touch-down to win the game.

“It was an exciting game,” quarterback Zach Stewart said. “Obviously, you have to give a lot of credit to the defense. They played huge and picked the offense up at the end of the game to seal the win.”

The game was a sloppy battle to the finish. The Wildcats’ offense was able to move the ball, but they were plagued by three turnovers. Overall, they had 371 total yards com-pared to the Lions’ 182. The Wildcats improved to 3-0 for the season and 1-0 in conference, while the Li-ons fell to 0-3 for the sea-son and 0-2 in conference.

The game was a field position battle in the first half. The rain was steady throughout the half, putting a damper on the teams’ perfor-mance. They were still

tied at zero at halftime. In the third quarter,

quarterback Zach Stewart rushed 31 yards, setting up the second drive of the half that put the Wildcats on the board. The drive went 58 yards and was capped with a five-yard touchdown run by Daryl Richardson, which gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.

The play for the extra point added some drama to the game. ACU initially failed to earn the extra point because of a bad snap, but got another at-tempt, because one of the Commerce players was offside. This one point became pivotal when the game ended up tied at the end of regulation.

Stewart threw an in-terception that was re-turned for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 early in the fourth quar-ter. The Wildcats then ran the ball 62 yards to score on a Richardson rush and take a 14-7 lead with 6 minutes, 19 sec-onds left in the game.

It looked like ACU was going to win in regulation, but a score-less Commerce offense

drove down and tied the game with 32 seconds left. A 20-yard touch-down pass to receiver Taylor Fore brought the score to 14-13 with less than a minute left in the game. Fans wanted Guy Morrison to go for the win, but he elected to kick the extra point and play into overtime.

ACU won the coin toss in overtime and chose to play defense first. Drew Cuffee made an incred-ible interception off his hip in the first play of overtime before return-ing the ball 81 yards for the game-winning touch-down. Head coach Chris Thomsen was proud of his team’s performance

in the face of such ter-rible weather conditions.

“The weather was a downpour, and we haven’t played in something like that in a really long time,” Thomsen said. “There were some things we had to adjust to as a team. I thought our guys did a good job of feeling the situation out and making

adjustments and doing what they had to do to win the game.”

“Everyone should come out to see Ij play,” Mock said. “She can do some amazing things.”

Shawna Hines, ju-nior middle blocker, was impressive with 11 kills and six blocks in the two matches. She also received LSC rec-ognition as the Defen-sive Player of the Week and is in fifth place on the ACU all-time block

list after a superb start to the season – a total of 307 blocks.

“I was so excited,” Hines said about reach-ing the milestone. “I don’t know if I can get there, but I’m gunning for No. 1.”

Abilene Christian opens conference play against three-time de-fending LSC champions West Texas A&M in Can-yon at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Wildcats are fo-cused on winning the title this year and making it to

the regional tournament after losing to West Texas in the finals of last year’s conference tournament.

“We’re expecting to take conference and go to regional,” Hines said. “We’ve been saying since last year – whenever we lost in conference by four points – that this was the year we are tak-ing conference back.”

Streak: Winning continues for Wildcats in Dallas

VOLLEYBALL

the competition at the ACU Classic with a .317 hitting percentage and 15 service aces, proving she belongs there.

“This year, getting her on the outside, it just feels like a real achievement for her and for us as coaches to get her where she be-longs and to see her really excel,” Mock said.

Schilling said she had to make some adjust-

ments to her game, but has made progress.

“Just being able to prove myself in my po-sition was really reward-ing for me,” Schilling said. “For me, to show everybody I can actu-ally do it, and I will be successful – I just hope I continue that through the season.”

Schilling: On the outside

VOLLEYBALL

Continued from page 8Continued from page 8

contact Knauth attxk07a@acu.edu

contact Knauth attxk07a@acu.edu

JOZIE SANDS Chief Photographer

Nick Jones pushes through the A&M Commerce defense Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.

Continued from page 8

contact Cantrell atjrc07f@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

contact Gwin atagg07a@acu.edu

Austin GwinAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcat defense played 108 minutes of great soccer, but it wasn’t enough to pull out a win against Hardin-Simmons University. The Cowgirls scored in double over-time for a 2-1 victory.

“We played hard, but I feel that Hardin-Simmons played a little harder than us today,” said head coach Casey Wilson. “If we are going to start win-ning ball games this year,

we are going to have to want it as much or more as the other team.”

Midfielder Carlyn Powers scored with a header off a penalty kick to finish the Wild-cats. The ball soared just outside of ACU goalie Crissy Lawson’s outstretched hands.

Hardin-Simmons tried to take advantage of a great scoring opportu-nity in the final two min-utes of regulation time,

Wildcats lose in double OT

SOCCER

SportsPage 8 September 16, 2009

Ryan CantrellAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcats defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 20-14 in over-time at the Cotton Bowl on Satur-day. Drew Cuffee intercepted the ball and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown to win the game.

“It was an exciting game,” quarterback Zach Stewart said. “Obviously, you have to give a lot of credit to the defense. They played huge and picked the offense up at the end of the game to seal the win.”

The game was a sloppy bat-tle to the finish. The Wildcats’ offense was able to move the

ball, but they were plagued by three turnovers. Overall, they had 371 total yards compared to the Lions’ 182. The Wildcats improved to 3-0 for the season and 1-0 in conference, while the Lions fell to 0-3 for the season and 0-2 in conference.

The game was a field posi-tion battle in the first half. The rain was steady throughout the half, putting a damper on the teams’ performance. They were still tied at zero at halftime.

In the third quarter, quarter-back Zach Stewart rushed 31 yards, setting up the second drive of the half that put the Wildcats on the board. The drive went 58 yards and was capped with a five-yard touchdown run by Daryl Richardson, which gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.

Wildcats weather the stormFOOTBALL

Hamilton: Atypical heroThe Last WordBy Jeff Craig

American society is starved for heroes. We immortalize individuals in the spotlight, placing overwhelming expecta-tions on them. Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton’s ongoing struggle with substance abuse captivated the nation while he was at the height of his career in 2008. Just one year later, though, America’s infatuation with Hamil-ton seems to be waning.

Hamilton captured the imagination of the nation putting up MVP-like statistics in 2008. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 130 runs while compiling a .302 batting aver-age. The pinnacle of Hamilton’s season came in July when he wowed the crowd at old Yankee Stadium with a home run derby that would have made Mickey Mantle proud.

Hamilton’s story was particularly inspir-ing in light of his well-documented battle with substance abuse. From the No. 1 draft pick in 1999, Hamilton fell to such a low point that he was out of baseball for three seasons. But, Americans love the underdog and soaked up the legend of Josh Hamilton, cheering for him on and off the field. Over the last year, things have changed.

While the Rangers have improved since last year, Hamilton has not. The Rangers have compiled their best overall record in ten years, but Hamil-ton has struggled at the plate. He has only ten home runs, and has had several stints on the disabled list, causing him to miss 56 games this season.

To make matters worse, photos showing a shirtless Hamilton, intoxicated, and posing with scantily clad wom-en at an Arizona bar surfaced this summer.

At first glance, Ham-ilton’s legacy may ap-pear tarnished, but nothing could be far-ther from the truth.

Hamilton handled the controversy with a resolve far more impres-sive than his baseball comeback. He owned up to his mistake. He admit-ted he had fallen off the wagon. Baseball’s Super-man had acknowledged his humanity. All too of-ten, professional athletes and celebrities refuse to acknowledge their mis-takes. Hamilton’s actions showed a level of matu-rity that is rarely imitat-ed. Josh Hamilton may never overcome his addictions; he is hu-man after all. He may never be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. He may never capture our attention like he did at the home run derby that summer night in New York. These ac-complishments aren’t

COLUMN

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

Freshman Julie Coppedge dribbles down the sideline.

Tanner KnauthSports Editor

The ACU volleyball team extended their winning streak to eight straight matches with a perfect 4-0 at the Dallas Baptist Lady Pa-triot Invitational at the Burg Center Friday and Saturday. The win im-proved ACU’s record to 9-3 for the season.

Senior Michelle Bacon had a huge weekend that included 18 kills against host team Dallas Baptist.

“Michelle Bacon played great,” said head coach Kellen Mock. “She

really carried us through the weekend.”

Recently named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week and ACU Classic Tournament Most Valu-able Player, junior Jordan Schilling continued to shine, leading the team with 131 kills.

Junior setter Ijeoma Moronu has an astound-ing 291 assists for the season. She scored 131 assists this week-end alone, once again proving her worth after earning LSC Setter of

Cats extend streakVOLLEYBALL

Tanner KnauthSports Editor

Jordan Schilling is off to a sizzling start this season. She already has earned recognition as the Lone Star Confer-ence Offensive Player of the Week, as well as be-ing named the ACU Clas-sic Most Valuable Player.

Schilling, a junior, currently leads the Cats in points and kills and leads the LSC in service aces with an impressive average of .56 per set. Even more impressive, this is the first time

Schilling has played the outside hitter position.

“We’ve known for a long time she would be an excellent outside, but because of injury we’ve never been able to play her there,” said ACU head coach Kellen Mock.

Schilling said she wanted to play outside, but because she had al-ways played middle, she was apprehensive about making the switch. It did not take long for her to hit her stride, though. She dominated

Schilling ShinesVOLLEYBALL

Angelo St. 1-0 2-1

MSU 2-0 3-0

Tarleton St. 1-0 3-0

Standings

THURSDAY

VolleyballACU at West Texas A&M, 7 p.m.

SoccerACU vs. Dallas Baptist, 5 p.m.

FRIDAY

TennisACU vs. Racket Club Invitational ACU vs. Islander Invitational

SATURDAY

Cross-Countryat Missouri Southern Stampede

VolleyballACU at Eastern New Mexico, 3 p.m.

FootballACU at Eastern New Mexico, 3 p.m.

HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS

Upcoming

FRIDAY

VolleyballACU 3, Southwest Baptist 1ACU 3, Arkansas-Monticello 1

SoccerACU 0 vs. Incarnate Word 3

SATURDAY

VolleyballACU 3, Southern Arkansas 0ACU 3, Dallas Baptist 0

FootballACU 20, TAMU-Commerce 14

TUESDAY

SoccerACU 0 vs. Hardin-Simmons 3

Scores

FOOTBALLTeam Div.

ACU

VOLLEYBALL

TAMU-K

Central Okla.

WTAMU

1-0

1-0

1-1

0-1

SE Okla. 1-1

ENMU 1-1 1-2

Team Div.

TAMU-C

SE Okla. TAMU-K

0-0

0-00-0

ACU 0-0 9-3

WTAMU 0-0 11-2Cameron 0-0 10-2

WOMEN’S SOCCERTeam Div.

MSUTAMU-C

0-00-0

WTAMU 0-0 5-0-1

SE Okla. 0-0 9-4

East Central 0-0 1-1-1NE State 0-0 2-2Central Okla. 0-0 2-3-1SW Okla. 0-0 2-3-1TX Women’s 0-0 2-3ENMU 0-0 2-4

TX Woman’s 0-0

Angelo State. 0-0East Central 0-0 8-5

Central Okla. 0-0 5-7ENMU 0-0 3-9SW Okla. 0-0 3-11MSU 0-0 2-11

NE State 0-2 0-3East Central 0-2 0-3

SW Okla. 0-2 0-3TAMU-C 0-2 0-3

n CBS Sports producer Lance Bar-row and Wildcat football announcer Grant Boone will be at ACU today speaking at the Hunter Welcome center to all those who are interested in a career in sports broadcasting.

Briefs

3-0

3-0

2-11-2

0-3

11-3

9-48-3

8-5

7-7

3-0-15-1

ACU 0-0 2-2

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

Cuffee interception propels ACU to win in overtime

LAURA ACUFF Features Editor

Fans get creative to deal with the rain.

JIMMIE JACKSON Staff Videographer

Cornerback Drew Cuffee intercepts the ball during overtime and returns it for a touchdown to secure the win.

see OVERTIME page 7

see STREAK page 7

see SCHILLING page 7

see HAMILTON page 7

see HEARTBREAKER page 7