The Optimist Print Edition: 10/21/2009

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Optimistthe

acuoptimist.comBREAKING NEWS, VIDEOS, PHOTOS, DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENTVol. 98, No. 18 1 section, 8 pagesWednesday, October 21, 2009

Forecast InsideWORLDWIDE WITNESSis recruiting students who want to follow their faith wherever it leads them — even if wherever is Argen-tina or Papua New Guinea.

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Online

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WILDCAT FOOTBALLlost the lead in the fourth quarter this weekend and was not able to gain it back before the final whistle.Find out what happened.

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Was Homecoming everything you hoped for?

Visit acuoptimist.com to join the discussion.

VIDEO

Homecoming 2009

LOUDandCLEAR

Emily LoperContributing reporter

The Art and Design De-partment’s ABI/NYC art show premiered Oct. 8 at ACU Cockerell Art Gal-leries. The show features former ACU students who have lived and worked in New York City.

Jack Maxwell, art and design department chair and gallery direc-tor, said he wanted a fall show that would demonstrate to current students the success ACU graduates realize after they leave Abilene. Maxwell said the pur-pose of the show is to

honor graduates and to encourage students to reach their goals.

The exhibit showcases the work of four alumni who have made significant achievements in some of the most competitive mar-kets in the world of art, in-cluding design, illustration, animation and fine art.

“Each of the artists is uniquely talented and gifted,” Maxwell said. “What ties them all together is the fact that they’re NYC artists from ACU.”

Maxwell said the featured artists are Jeff Rogers (’02), Jan-na Luttrell (’02), Jesse

Willmon (’99) and Ryan Feerer (’05). The show contains no set theme; however, the artists’ works, which include Broadway posters, con-ceptual art and band album art, still function together cohesively to

Graphic design artists bring NYC to AbileneART

Christianna LewisContributing Reporter

ACU’s marketing club is facing difficulties in providing its ser-vices to student clubs and events.

While AMA’s goal is to be the marketing center for student orga-nizations on campus by creating ads and strategic marketing cam-paigns, ACU’s recent advertising restrictions are stifling, said Zach-ary Cook, senior finance and marketing major from Dallas.

“I think they really want the student groups to succeed, but the way the rules are set up, that’s not going to happen,” Cook said. “There are too many rules to dance around.”

Early last semester, the administration prohibited the display of fliers anywhere on campus except on campus bulletin boards and in the ad kiosk. Other forms of advertising, such as stickers, post-ers and chalk writings on sidewalks, also were disallowed. The fli-ers displayed in the kiosks must receive a stamp of approval from the Campus Center information desk.

Cook said he knows many of the administration’s guidelines are necessary to protect the university’s image but they seem to undermine student activities. He argued students only go to the kiosk when they know what they’re looking for, and the login ads fail to catch attention. He said he thinks this inability to communicate with the student body is causing a decrease in stu-dent involvement in clubs and events.

“The student life here has taken a tremendous step down – not because people aren’t still doing cool things, but there is less they can do to get the word out,” Cook said.

Mauri Westbrook, director of student organizations and ac-

see DESIGN page 4

Jill DougherContributing Reporter

ACU jazz students and Monks Coffee Shop have joined forces to create a weekly jazz night at Monks for those who en-joy playing or listening to jazz music.

Jazz Night is a free, informal event that al-lows students, faculty and the public to bring an instrument to Monks and play jazz music ev-

ery Tuesday night from 8:30-10 p.m.

Derek Brown, director of jazz studies at ACU, said he created the event as an outlet for jazz stu-dents to share their skill.

“Performing is when you learn the most, which got me thinking to find a place where students can practice what they’ve learned,” Brown said.

Jazz groupsto play Monks

MUSIC

Congressmen push public serviceCOMMUNITY

Chelsea HackneyCopy Editor

Students and faculty brushed shoulders with power when former U.S. congressmen Bill Goodling and Sam Coppersmith vis-ited campus Monday and Tuesday.

The congressmen are part of the national Congress to Campus program, organized by the Stennis Center for Public Service to encourage college students to consider careers in public service.

“There are any number of ways to get into public service,” said Coppersmith,

a former Democratic repre-sentative from Arizona who served from 1993-1995. “The wisest thing to do is get involved in the community.”

Dr. David Dillman, pro-fessor of political science, planned the visit; the po-litical science department has orchestrated the event several times in previous years. Although the Stennis Center pays travel expens-es for the congressmen, universities that choose to participate in the Congress to Campus program must be able to provide lodging for

see JAZZ page 4

The Weekend in Photos

The Need For Approval

Image courtesy ofBLOGS.ACU.EDU/ARTANDDESIGN

see ADS page 4

see FORUM page 4

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff Photographer

Student fliers must be approved before being placed on the ad kiosk.

Advertising policies have student organizations frustrated and looking for loopholes

a. It could not have been better.b. The football team lost. What else matters?c. I slept — through everything.

HEATHER LEIPHART Staff PhotographerBill Goodling, former U.S. congressman, addressed students about the importance of public service.

STUDENT LIFE

Announcements

CALENDAR AND EVENTS

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

2CampusDay

Fall Break

23FRIDAY

7 p.m. ACU Volleyball vs. Midwestern

22THURSDAY

11:30 a.m.Men of Strength and Style luncheon and fashion show

4 p.m.Guitar Hero Tournament at Abilene Public Library

21WEDNESDAY

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 [email protected].

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

41Chapel CreditedChapelsto date:

Checkup 30CreditedChapelsremaining:

Volunteer OpportunitiesDisability Resources needs volunteers for its annual Pumpkin Patch Oct. 1-31. Slots are open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. Volunteers will sell pumpkins, drive hay-

rides and take pictures. Contact Kathy Deather-age at 673-4820 for more information.

Key City North Kiwanis Club needs voluntweers for its annual Kiwanis

Fish Fry at the Abilene Civic Center. Help is needed from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 23 and between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Oct. 24 to set up tables and chairs, prepare and cook the fish, serve drinks,

clean up, etc. Contact Gene Linder at 673-7622 for more information.

The Pi Kappa men need volunteers to assist them with a fall neighborhood cleanup in the Carver neigh-

borhood. It will take place at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 24 at the G. V. Daniels Recreation Center. Work will continue until about 2:30 p.m., but volunteers can work in shifts. Contact Scott Stewart at 210-865-1584 for more information.

G. V. Daniels Recreation Center needs volunteers for its Fall Festival on Oct. 31 from 5-9 p.m. Contact Justin Whiteley at 676-6443 for more information.

A Ghost Tour will be presented by the Abilene Preservation League from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Swenson House. Tickets for the trolley tour and the house tour are $15

per person. Tickets for the house tour are $10. Call 676-3775 for more information.

The Men of Strength and Style luncheon and

men’s fashion show will take place at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 21 in the Hunter Welcome Center. Admis-sion is $25. Call 677-7895 for more information.

A Guitar Hero tournament will take place at 4 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Mocking-bird Branch of the Abilene Public Library. Competition registration is at the door, and the event is free.

Flu vaccinations are now available in the Health Clinic Monday- Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on a walk-in basis. All students, staff, faculty and their dependents are welcome.

The cost is $15, and stu-dents can charge this to their student account.

October 21, 2009 Page 3Campus News

Adrianna CastanedaContributing Reporter

Looking for a way to explore different coun-tries and cultures while serving God? Worldwide Witness offers many mission trips to various places for college stu-dents who want to do just this.

Deanna Meredith, graduate missions ma-jor from Houston, be-came involved with Worldwide Witness two years ago on a two-month mission trip to Buenos Aires.

Meredith said the ex-perience was a great op-portunity to live abroad; broaden her view of the church as a global church and more of a relational ministry; and was more realistic than any other trip with which she has

been involved.“I just worked with

the missionaries and got a feel for what the missionary life was like,” Meredith said.

Brent Bailey, junior Biblical text major from Houston, traveled to Papua New Guinea with Pioneer Bible Transla-tors, an organization that provides Bible translations, teaches literacy and plants churches. WWW part-nered with PBT to ar-range the trip.

Bailey said the trip was incredible; he spent time in the “bush” learning the language and working with people throughout their daily activities.

“One of our main goals was to learn the language, so, it was a really cool feeling being able to communicate

with people who lived on the other side of the world,” Bailey said.

Dr. Gary Green, di-rector of WWW and missions coordinator for Latin America and South Pacific, has been working with students to find the right mis-sion for them.

Green said students should participate in the program for many reasons.

“The program gives students the oppor-tunity to serve people outside of their comfort zones and gives a better understanding of your strengths,” Green said.

Recruiting for the program starts in the fall, and training begins in the spring, he said.

Students can choose to help with youth min-istry or orphanages, or

plant young churches in more than 50 locations.

Information will be available in the Mc-Glothlin Campus Center

in November for stu-dents interested in the program.

To apply, visit the Web site, www.world-

widewitness.org. The application fee is $40.

Worldwide Witness welcomes applicantsSERVICE

Brittany BrandContributing Reporter

The Region 14 Education Service Center will con-duct a free Family Con-ference for children with disabilities and their families on Oct. 24 at the First Baptist Church.

The event, co-spon-sored by the Ministry of Counseling and Enrich-ment, will feature class-es for parents, children and siblings dealing with different aspects of living with disabili-ties. It lasts from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and free breakfast and lunch will be available.

Melissa Richardson, event coordinator and Region 14 consultant for autism and low-incidence disabilities, said the conference of-fers a great networking opportunity for those in the Abilene area af-fected by a disability, whether their own or that of a loved one. She said parents will get a break, and children get to come have fun.

The parents can at-tend classes such as Special Education 101; Trust and Guardian-ship; Transition; and Working with Law En-forcement.

Brothers and sisters of those with disabili-ties can attend a ses-sion focused on coping with disabled siblings. A speaker with person-al experience is sched-uled to share her fam-ily’s story and advice on how to cope, Rich-ardson said.

A session on so-cial skills and arts and crafts will be geared specifically toward chil-dren; in the afternoon,

they will go to the Fam-ily Life Center for recre-ation with volunteers.

Richardson asks chil-dren attending be no younger than 4, but she said there is no upper age limit.

This is the fourth year for the conference. As many as 100 people have attended in the past, and event plan-ners hope to reach that number again this year, Richardson said.

Students from ACU, Hardin-Simmons Uni-versity and McMurry University will volun-teer at the event, and a representative from the Special Olympics will speak.

“We hope that par-ents come away with

new information,” Rich-ardson said.

For more informa-tion, contact Richard-son at [email protected].

Conference addresses living with disabilitiesHEALTH

Casey OliverContributing Reporter

Six student leaders are singing a new song after the Office of Student Pro-ductions chose them to be the 2010 Sing Song hosts and hostesses Oct. 6.

The hosts and host-esses are Erick Carter, junior theatre major from Abilene; Kara Du-Bose, senior ad/PR ma-jor from Fort Worth; Erika Goldman, senior interdisciplinary major from Lakewood, Colo.; Alex Howard, senior youth and family minis-try major from Hender-

son; Wade Huggins, se-nior Bible, missions and ministry major from Abilene; and Cassey Owens, senior finance major from Dallas.

Students tried out for different reasons. Carter said he hoped being a host would give him expe-rience in his major.

“I auditioned because I had seen prior involve-ment within the the-atre department from hosts,” said Carter. “Last year, I was a part of a tap number, and I got to see firsthand how much hosts contribute to the show.”

Since being selected, the hosts and hostesses have talked informally about song selections for the show, but those will not be finalized until the Sing Song retreat Dec. 11-13, Howard said. Dur-ing the retreat, the group will also begin working on their responsibilities as hosts and hostesses.

“It’s our job to craft the show and get songs

synched to give the best show possible,” Howard said. “We have to make sure we give the show 110 percent.”

Carter agreed with How-ard but recognized the val-ue of having fun, too.

“If I’m not enjoy-ing myself, the audi-ence won’t enjoy them-selves,” Carter said. “I have to be on top of what I am responsible

for to help the show move along.”

Carter said although hosting the show is im-portant, setting an ex-ample and being part of the tradition is just as crucial.

“I want to be an exam-ple as a host for others who think they may want to get involved with Sing Song and be a leader,” he said. “It’s an honor to take on this role. To be chosen is a great privi-lege for me.”

For Howard, giving back to ACU is an im-portant part of hosting Sing Song.

“ACU has been a re-ally cool place to grow as a person,” Howard said. “Hosting is kind of a way to give back and is a great opportunity to represent the school that has done so much for me.”

Students can see the hosts and hostesses in action during the Sing Song 2010 show, “Name Fame,” opening Feb. 18 in Moody Coliseum.

Hosts and hostesses anticipate practice, productionSING SONG

Photo courtesy of Gary GreenDavid Conley, junior youth and family ministry major from Spring, at the Susanna Homes orphanage in Obuzor, Nigeria.

contact Castaneda [email protected]

contact Brand [email protected]

contact Oliver [email protected]

It’s an honor to take on this role. To be chosen is a great privilege for me.ERICK CARTERJunior theatre major from Abilene

October 21, 2009From FrontPage 4

inspire viewers, namely current ACU students.

Four former students are presented in the show, but Maxwell said they are not alone in their success.

“There are many other students that are working just as hard and getting their names out there,” Maxwell said. “This is just a glimpse.”

Feerer, graphic design graduate from Terrell, said the show allows current students to see ACU has an excellent art

and design department that truly equips its stu-dents for the future. After graduating from ACU, Feerer earned his master of arts in design from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He then went on to work for Funny Garbage, a design studio with clients such as Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

Feerer said ACU gave him the confidence to approach the graduate school of his choice and earn an additional degree from one of the most

“premier” design schools in the United States.

Maxwell said this show, featuring East Coast artists, will be fol-lowed by a similar show next spring, presenting ACU art and design de-partment graduates who work on the West Coast.

This show will run through Nov. 4 at Cock-erell Galleries at 1133 N. 2nd St.

Brown contacted Monks and proposed the idea of an open jazz night on Mondays or Tues-days, because they are typically the least busy nights for the coffee shop. They eventually decided on Tuesday.

“Since then, it has been a goal to make Tuesday night the busi-est night Monks has seen,” Brown said.

Jazz Night, began about a month ago, and the au-dience increased to 30-40 from 15 visitors every Tuesday night, he said.

“What begins as back-ground music soon de-velops into a concert,” Brown said.

Aaron Cavitt, senior interdisciplinary major from Abilene, plays the tenor sax for an ACU jazz combo that played during one of the Jazz Night events.

“Our whole combo played a number, and then pretty soon, differ-ent people joined in,” Cavitt said. “It was a pretty big jam fest.”

Emily Garner, senior nursing major from Dallas, happened to be at Monks on the first Jazz Night.

“I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere of Monks, and Jazz Night really adds to it,” Gar-ner said. “It’s awesome to just drink your coffee and enjoy people having fun with music.”

tivities, said the approval process for student adver-tising is relatively simple and accessible. Because student events are given priority in the limited dis-play space, the majority of clubs and events have no problems promoting themselves. Login ads also are available as a promo-tional tool.

Westbrook said the approval guidelines are to protect student orga-nizations from miscon-ceptions.

“We want to make sure everything we put on cam-pus is perceived correctly and can’t be misunder-stood,” Westbrook said.

Administration asked Johnson to revise the flier for Entra a la Plaza. The original flier featured a silhouette of a couple

salsa dancing and could have been misinterpret-ed as promoting an open dance, Westbrook said. While student organiza-tions may express cul-ture through dance, they are not permitted to or-ganize dances.

Johnson, sophomore marketing major from Frisco, said he under-stood ACU’s rules but felt the rules inhibited the expression of Latin culture in their applica-tion to the flier.

“For us, we had a flier that we worked a long time on, and then we had to use something that didn’t look good,” John-son said. “We understand, but it’s hard for us be-cause we feel like it goes against our culture.”

Cook also had difficulty understanding the deci-sion about the flier. The same day the flier was

rejected for revision, an-other group of students was permitted to pass out “Sex and the Single Chris-tian” pamphlets, he said; he thought the pamphlets had as much potential to be misunderstood as the Entra a la Plaza flier.

AMA’s attempt to creatively market wom-en’s sports also was rebuked. Cook admit-ted AMA went outside ACU’s guidelines in its marketing campaign, but he said the sanc-tioned promotional out-lets are ineffective, and the restrictive environ-ment on campus fosters an “ask for forgiveness rather than permission” mentality among the student groups.

Continued from page 1

Jazz: Tuesdays come to lifeMUSIC


Forum: Inspires service

COMMUNITY


Design: Nationwide talentART


Ads: Flier controversySTUDENT LIFE

the members, as well as ensure enough par-ticipation to justify the visit. Past congressmen have included George Wortley, R-N.Y.; Norman D’Amours, D-N.H.; Barry Goldwater, R-Calif.; and Harold Volkmer, D-Mo.

The program pur-posely sends a biparti-san pair to educate stu-dents about government and the importance of community involve-ment. Coppersmith said sending a Republican and a Democrat is one of the best parts of the program, not only for students, but also for the speakers, because it gives them a chance to meet other congressmen and women with differ-ent perspectives. Cop-persmith and Goodling, a Republican representa-tive from Pennsylvania

who served from 1975-2001, said several times, jokingly, how feisty dis-cussions between mem-bers could get.

The congressmen had the opportunity to show some of that pas-sion during the two-day event. They spoke to sev-eral classes and local or-ganizations, participated in a question-and-answer session with the Young Republicans and College Democrats and made a guest appearance on the political talk radio show, The Professors.

Coppersmith and Goo-dling talked about several things besides the joys of public service, including health care, environmental legislation and contracting. The two even told stories about run-ins with famous names like Bill Clinton and Nancy Reagan.

Although the purpose of the presentations was to inspire students to

public service, the con-gressmen did not shy away from questions about the stresses of public office.

“I always said that it was more difficult than the life of a professional athlete,” Goodling said. “At least the profession-al athlete is home for the home games.”

Goodling ended most of the segments with a favorite saying of his to emphasize the impor-tance of public service.

“Every generation leaves just a few, small problems for the next generation,” he said. “To make sure you don’t sit around with nothing to do.”

contact Hackney [email protected]

contact Dougher [email protected]

contact Lewis [email protected]


Bill Goodling, former congressman from Pennsylvania, speaks with Sam Coppersmith, former congressman from Arizona, in the Honors Commons in Zellner Hall on Monday.

contact Loper [email protected]

I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere of Monks, and Jazz Night really adds to it. EMILY GARNERSenior nursing major from Dallas

FocusOctober 21, 2009 Page 5

RIGHT: Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, talks with friends during the Homecoming Pregame

Lunch on Saturday.

TexasACU RUSTLES UP A

H O M E C O M I N GKELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer




KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

ABOVE: Kara Dubose, senior Ad/PR major from Fort Worth, performs at JamFest with Thus Far.

LEFT: 2009 Homecom-ing Queen Megan Holland, senior middle school educa-tion major from Houston, embraces her father as her name is called.

Members of Alpha Kai Omega cheer as Megan Holland is announced as this year’s Homecoming Queen during halftime at the football game against West Texas A&M on Saturday.

Kelsey Young, senior biochemistry major from Pago Pago, American Samoa, shows how liquid nitrogen froze a banana, which was later used to hammer a nail into a board at the Chemistry Circus on Thursday.

OpinionPage 6 October 21, 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

E-mail letters to: [email protected]

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Editorial and Management Board

Colter HettichEditor in Chief

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Laura AcuffFeatures Editor

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Optimistthe

By Jordan BlakeyAtaraxia

ACU filed an amicus curiae brief – in the form of a let-ter – Aug. 26, supporting the final approval of a set-tlement involving Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. The U.S. District Court for the Southern Dis-trict of New York will make the final call in the case.

Google aims to make available digital copies of millions of out-of-print and hard-to-find books. Google has no plans to release an e-reader to complement the current GoogleBooks system, however, empha-sizing how important it is that readers be able to access the system from desktops, notebooks and

mobile devices.Surprisingly, copyright

concerns have taken a back-seat to worries about future violations of antitrust laws. Concerns extend beyond American borders, across the Atlantic to Europe.

The European Commis-sion said the settlement as-is would create a situation where “the vast number of European works in U.S. li-braries that have been digi-tized by Google would only be available to consumers and researchers in the U.S., but not in Europe itself,” the Independent reported Oct. 17.

EU Media Commis-sioner Viviane Reding said Europe “had most to of-

fer and most to win from books’ digitization as long it can sort out the legal issues that prevent book scanning,” according to the Independent.

In an attempt to reassure Europeans and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who publicly criticized Google’s efforts, Google executives flew to Germany to meet with publishers.

American universities – including Abilene Chris-tian University – have plen-ty to win, as well. Access to these books would save re-searchers significant time and money, both valuable in the research process. ACU students also would be able to access rare

books instantly from their iPhones and iPod Touches.

The Boston Globe wrote that the existence of “or-phan books, titles that are believed to be under copy-right but whose ownership is difficult to ascertain,” is overshadowing the possi-bility for advancement. The Globe contended copyright information exists for mil-lions of out-of-print and hard-to-find books, and more than 30,000 publish-ers in 80 countries have already taken advantage of Google’s partner program.

Users are allowed to preview only 20 percent of most entries, and Google keeps a close eye on traf-fic patterns to prevent

individuals from creating multiple accounts in order to piece together entire books. Google provides links to the publisher’s on-line bookstore and other online retailers. Partner-ing publishers also receive weekly reports of traffic for their books.

We support the final ap-proval of this settlement, but the devil is in the de-tails. If the fine print is not

carefully worded, Google could end up monopoliz-ing content next to im-possible to find anywhere else. But the transparency Google has shown so far leaves us confident a solu-tion can be reached that would allow Google, the publisher and the reader to benefit equally.

Settlement would enhance learningEDITORIAL

Spooky show sparks demonic debateCOLUMN

E-Span Lizzy Spano

After watching an epi-sode of the cheesy TV show Ghost Adventures with a group of friends last week-end, I d r o v e home late at night to a dark, q u i e t house. I tiptoed to my room as my housemates slept, and I climbed under the safety of my covers, with scenes from the ghost-hunting show still run-ning through my mind.

I’m usually skeptical when it comes to ghost stories or haunted hous-es. However, when you’re the only one awake in an old, creaky house and you just watched a moderately scary show, sounds that wouldn’t normally fright-en you tend to seem a little more threatening.

Our dog knocking something off a table in another room and a room-mate arriving home late left me lying wide awake and still, listening for un-

usual noises and watch-ing for moving shadows on the wall – all thanks to a few bad actors and the special effects team that created Ghost Adventures.

The show features three men who lock them-selves in “haunted” loca-tions overnight, taunting the supposed spirits that dwell in attics and old plantation houses and en-couraging them to show themselves. Highly edited footage and spooky mu-sic accompany the crew as they creep through houses and encounter spirits who don’t want them there.

Despite the unconvinc-ing cases they present, this show – and other movies and shows with similar themes – are not only pop-ular, but often taken for complete truth, as well.

The thrill of the spiritu-al realm has always been a draw for people of all ages, whether it is Ouija boards, stories around a campfire or exorcism-themed mov-ies. With Halloween ap-proaching and the movie Paranormal Activity play-ing in theatres, the topic of ghosts, hauntings and evil spirits are present in more places than reruns

of Travel Channel televi-sion shows.

When this topic is dis-cussed, the debate is al-ways the same: do ghosts really exist?

Research, personal ex-periences, unexplained “spiritual” encounters and even Bible verses are used to argue they do. However, when it comes to roaming spirits stuck in an in-between world after death, I’m certain ghosts are nothing more than a result of imagination and coincidence. From a Chris-tian perspective, the pres-ence of ghosts means the absence of heaven and hell – which does not cor-respond with my beliefs.

However, ghosts are often confused with very real demonic forces, and the line between them has become unclear. Demons, or satanic spirits that have the power to possess in-dividuals, appear in the Bible numerous times, suggesting their presence on earth is more powerful and authentic than noises in the attic.

The nonchalant atti-tude toward demons re-flected in movies and TV shows suggests our soci-

ety has muddled the real-ity of their existence and created our own watered-down version of some-thing that should not be taken lightly.

While they shouldn’t be taboo or even eliminated as a lighthearted source of entertainment, ghosts should be recognized for what they are: imaginary. The attraction of mov-ies such as Ghost Busters or Casper was that their innocent and humorous ghost stories were clearly false. Today, the subject of ghosts is used to thrill and inspire fear in a majority of people who believe they are real.

This is not to say we should be hiding under covers or checking our attics for demons in-stead of ghosts. Instead, we should realize ghosts are nothing to be afraid of, aside from entertain-ment purposes. Demonic forces, on the other hand, should be approached as an entirely separate – and very real – presence in our world.

THE ISSUEGoogle plans to make digital copies of hard-to-find books available to American universities.

OUR TAKEWe support approval of the settlement, but Google must be careful not to monopolize the rare content.

Holiday teaches valuable lesson

COLUMN

Hacked Off Chelsea Hackney

My mother never liked Halloween.

It wasn’t the candy or the costumes or even the dirty l o o k s “ r e a l ” C h r i s -tians give you when-ever you forget to call the H a l l o w -een party a “Fall Festival.”

She always just steered us away from what most people con-sidered to be in the spirit of the holiday – ghouls, witches, ax mur-derers – and focused on the lighter aspects, like the costumes.

My mom is an excellent seamstress and somehow managed to pull off ex-actly what we asked for year after year, no matter how complicated.

“OK, so I want to be the Swan Princess, but I want to wear the dress she wears at the very end, not the one when she gets kidnapped. You know, the one with the feathers on the shoul-ders and the long, see-through sleeves and the pointy things on her hands? And she has that thing, you know, that thing? I wanna be that.”

One year, my fam-ily even went together as characters from Peter Pan, who was played by me, of course. Those green tights had more holes than tights by the time Mom made me stop wearing them six weeks later.

Obviously, my mom worked up some enthu-siasm as Oct. 31 crept nearer. But, she made sure we grew up with a healthy distaste for

all things gory – I think that’s why I still can’t watch scary movies without jumping so hard I spill the popcorn of the guy three seats down.

I can’t speak for oth-er parents, but I think my mom made a good choice. Some people might say I was sheltered, or I missed out on some great films along the way. Some might argue there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the holi-day in a way that reflects its historical roots in the

Mexican holiday, El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. But that’s not the point.

The point is, Mom was able to teach us discern-ment – a skill few of us learn until much later in life. She took an event that played a big part in our elementary-school lives and helped us de-cide what was harmless fun and what was darker and probably not healthy for kids – or Christians – to dwell on.

Halloween is probably harmless. Black cats and green goblins ultimately aren’t a matter of life and death. But, because of Mom, I’m better pre-pared to face whatever the commercial world tries to push on me, the good and the bad.

So, bring on the pump-kins. Santa, you’re next.

Email the Optimist at:[email protected]

The point is Mom was able to teach us discernment – a skill few of us learn until much later in life.

contact Spano [email protected]

Hackney


Spano

OpinionPage 6 October 21, 2009

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Optimistthe

By Jordan BlakeyAtaraxia

ACU filed an amicus curiae brief – in the form of a let-ter – Aug. 26, supporting the final approval of a set-tlement involving Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. The U.S. District Court for the Southern Dis-trict of New York will make the final call in the case.

Google aims to make available digital copies of millions of out-of-print and hard-to-find books. Google has no plans to release an e-reader to complement the current GoogleBooks system, however, empha-sizing how important it is that readers be able to access the system from desktops, notebooks and

mobile devices.Surprisingly, copyright

concerns have taken a back-seat to worries about future violations of antitrust laws. Concerns extend beyond American borders, across the Atlantic to Europe.

The European Commis-sion said the settlement as-is would create a situation where “the vast number of European works in U.S. li-braries that have been digi-tized by Google would only be available to consumers and researchers in the U.S., but not in Europe itself,” the Independent reported Oct. 17.

EU Media Commis-sioner Viviane Reding said Europe “had most to of-

fer and most to win from books’ digitization as long it can sort out the legal issues that prevent book scanning,” according to the Independent.

In an attempt to reassure Europeans and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who publicly criticized Google’s efforts, Google executives flew to Germany to meet with publishers.

American universities – including Abilene Chris-tian University – have plen-ty to win, as well. Access to these books would save re-searchers significant time and money, both valuable in the research process. ACU students also would be able to access rare

books instantly from their iPhones and iPod Touches.

The Boston Globe wrote that the existence of “or-phan books, titles that are believed to be under copy-right but whose ownership is difficult to ascertain,” is overshadowing the possi-bility for advancement. The Globe contended copyright information exists for mil-lions of out-of-print and hard-to-find books, and more than 30,000 publish-ers in 80 countries have already taken advantage of Google’s partner program.

Users are allowed to preview only 20 percent of most entries, and Google keeps a close eye on traf-fic patterns to prevent

individuals from creating multiple accounts in order to piece together entire books. Google provides links to the publisher’s on-line bookstore and other online retailers. Partner-ing publishers also receive weekly reports of traffic for their books.

We support the final ap-proval of this settlement, but the devil is in the de-tails. If the fine print is not

carefully worded, Google could end up monopoliz-ing content next to im-possible to find anywhere else. But the transparency Google has shown so far leaves us confident a solu-tion can be reached that would allow Google, the publisher and the reader to benefit equally.

Settlement would enhance learningEDITORIAL

Spooky show sparks demonic debateCOLUMN

E-Span Lizzy Spano

After watching an epi-sode of the cheesy TV show Ghost Adventures with a group of friends last week-end, I d r o v e home late at night to a dark, q u i e t house. I tiptoed to my room as my housemates slept, and I climbed under the safety of my covers, with scenes from the ghost-hunting show still run-ning through my mind.

I’m usually skeptical when it comes to ghost stories or haunted hous-es. However, when you’re the only one awake in an old, creaky house and you just watched a moderately scary show, sounds that wouldn’t normally fright-en you tend to seem a little more threatening.

Our dog knocking something off a table in another room and a room-mate arriving home late left me lying wide awake and still, listening for un-

usual noises and watch-ing for moving shadows on the wall – all thanks to a few bad actors and the special effects team that created Ghost Adventures.

The show features three men who lock them-selves in “haunted” loca-tions overnight, taunting the supposed spirits that dwell in attics and old plantation houses and en-couraging them to show themselves. Highly edited footage and spooky mu-sic accompany the crew as they creep through houses and encounter spirits who don’t want them there.

Despite the unconvinc-ing cases they present, this show – and other movies and shows with similar themes – are not only pop-ular, but often taken for complete truth, as well.

The thrill of the spiritu-al realm has always been a draw for people of all ages, whether it is Ouija boards, stories around a campfire or exorcism-themed mov-ies. With Halloween ap-proaching and the movie Paranormal Activity play-ing in theatres, the topic of ghosts, hauntings and evil spirits are present in more places than reruns

of Travel Channel televi-sion shows.

When this topic is dis-cussed, the debate is al-ways the same: do ghosts really exist?

Research, personal ex-periences, unexplained “spiritual” encounters and even Bible verses are used to argue they do. However, when it comes to roaming spirits stuck in an in-between world after death, I’m certain ghosts are nothing more than a result of imagination and coincidence. From a Chris-tian perspective, the pres-ence of ghosts means the absence of heaven and hell – which does not cor-respond with my beliefs.

However, ghosts are often confused with very real demonic forces, and the line between them has become unclear. Demons, or satanic spirits that have the power to possess in-dividuals, appear in the Bible numerous times, suggesting their presence on earth is more powerful and authentic than noises in the attic.

The nonchalant atti-tude toward demons re-flected in movies and TV shows suggests our soci-

ety has muddled the real-ity of their existence and created our own watered-down version of some-thing that should not be taken lightly.

While they shouldn’t be taboo or even eliminated as a lighthearted source of entertainment, ghosts should be recognized for what they are: imaginary. The attraction of mov-ies such as Ghost Busters or Casper was that their innocent and humorous ghost stories were clearly false. Today, the subject of ghosts is used to thrill and inspire fear in a majority of people who believe they are real.

This is not to say we should be hiding under covers or checking our attics for demons in-stead of ghosts. Instead, we should realize ghosts are nothing to be afraid of, aside from entertain-ment purposes. Demonic forces, on the other hand, should be approached as an entirely separate – and very real – presence in our world.

THE ISSUEGoogle plans to make digital copies of hard-to-find books available to American universities.

OUR TAKEWe support approval of the settlement, but Google must be careful not to monopolize the rare content.

Holiday teaches valuable lesson

COLUMN

Hacked Off Chelsea Hackney

My mother never liked Halloween.

It wasn’t the candy or the costumes or even the dirty l o o k s “ r e a l ” C h r i s -tians give you when-ever you forget to call the H a l l o w -een party a “Fall Festival.”

She always just steered us away from what most people con-sidered to be in the spirit of the holiday – ghouls, witches, ax mur-derers – and focused on the lighter aspects, like the costumes.

My mom is an excellent seamstress and somehow managed to pull off ex-actly what we asked for year after year, no matter how complicated.

“OK, so I want to be the Swan Princess, but I want to wear the dress she wears at the very end, not the one when she gets kidnapped. You know, the one with the feathers on the shoul-ders and the long, see-through sleeves and the pointy things on her hands? And she has that thing, you know, that thing? I wanna be that.”

One year, my fam-ily even went together as characters from Peter Pan, who was played by me, of course. Those green tights had more holes than tights by the time Mom made me stop wearing them six weeks later.

Obviously, my mom worked up some enthu-siasm as Oct. 31 crept nearer. But, she made sure we grew up with a healthy distaste for

all things gory – I think that’s why I still can’t watch scary movies without jumping so hard I spill the popcorn of the guy three seats down.

I can’t speak for oth-er parents, but I think my mom made a good choice. Some people might say I was sheltered, or I missed out on some great films along the way. Some might argue there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the holi-day in a way that reflects its historical roots in the

Mexican holiday, El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. But that’s not the point.

The point is, Mom was able to teach us discern-ment – a skill few of us learn until much later in life. She took an event that played a big part in our elementary-school lives and helped us de-cide what was harmless fun and what was darker and probably not healthy for kids – or Christians – to dwell on.

Halloween is probably harmless. Black cats and green goblins ultimately aren’t a matter of life and death. But, because of Mom, I’m better pre-pared to face whatever the commercial world tries to push on me, the good and the bad.

So, bring on the pump-kins. Santa, you’re next.

Email the Optimist at:[email protected]

The point is Mom was able to teach us discernment – a skill few of us learn until much later in life.

contact Spano [email protected]

Hackney


Spano

that Krysta Grimm head-ed into the net.

Sunday was Senior Day, and the Wildcats wanted to win, not only to obtain the No. 1 spot in the conference, but also out of respect for their teammates.

“We’re going to miss them off the field more than on,” said Courtney Wilson, midfielder. The ACU seniors were able to walk away with a win in their final regular-season home match, pushing their record to 10-4-1 and 5-1-1 in the Lone Star Conference.

This was the last home game for the Wildcats. ACU, first in the LSC rankings, will finish its final three regular-sea-son games on the road, starting with Eastern New Mexico on Friday.

against Central Oklaho-ma. The Wildcats beat the Bronchos 3-2, but surprisingly, the five-set victory was the first this year for the Wildcats.

“It’s great to know your girls can go out there and pull out a win in a match like that,” Mock said. “It’s unusu-al for it to be this far into the season before it happens. We should have won the match earlier, but when it mat-tered, we showed up, which is always good.”

The Wildcats have two crucial matches this week. The first,

against Midwestern State, will be critical. Midwestern is third in the Lone Star Confer-ence standings behind the second-place ’Cats.

Midwestern boasts a 5-2 conference re-cord but only a 9-18 record overall. On the other side of the net, the Wildcats have a 6-1 conference record and a 20-5 overall record.

Saturday’s home match will feature Cameron University. Although the 2-5 Cam-eron squad may not be as tough an opponent as Midwestern, Mock still understands the importance of the con-ference match.

“Every conference weekend is huge,” Mock said. “We need to keep up the intensity. We can’t let our guard down.”

That intensity has led the Wildcats to 19 wins in their last 21 matches, a record that has not gone unnoticed.

“I love having such a great volleyball team on campus,” said Mallory Haggerton, freshman undeclared major from Keller. “I am a huge vol-leyball fan, and I take a lot of pride in our vol-leyball team.”

some outside linebacker to counter Flemming’s speed, but I am not sure that would have helped much.

The Wildcats are still in a great position not only to make the playoffs but also to get a first-round bye. The Wildcats have fallen to No. 4 in the regional rankings after the loss, but they could move up quickly, due to the quality of opponents left on their schedule.

For those new to the process, I would first like to say national rankings mean absolutely nothing. Although it hurts to lose the No. 1 spot, it really does not matter in the grand scheme. What do matter are the regional rankings, which deter-mine a team’s playoff seeding. In order to make the playoffs, a team has to be ranked in the top six in their region; to at-tain a first-round bye, a team has to be one of the top two ranked teams at the end of the season.

Regional rankings are not determined com-pletely by record. They also take into account a

team’s strength of sched-ule. The SOS is based on the team’s opponents’ re-cord and the SOS of the teams they play. The SOS can go up or down during the season, depending on how the opponents fare the rest of the season.

The best scenario for ACU’s future is as fol-lows: to have a real shot at being one of the top two seeds in the region, the Wildcats need to win the rest of their games and their opponents to win the rest of theirs –

except against ACU, of course. If that happens, the Wildcats would finish 10-1, with their only loss against a 5-4 team. And while it’s not the best situation, it should be enough to get ACU back into the top two.

Fear not, Wildcat fans. This is still a very good team with a very good chance at getting a high seed in the playoffs.

full-time athletic trainer.”Athletes must be 10

years removed from play-ing to be eligible for induc-tion into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame. Coaches, on the other hand, must be five years removed from coaching. ACU, it seems, was champing at the bit to induct former track and field stars Tracey Barnes and Delloreen Ennis-Lon-don. Both women are 1999 graduates of ACU, in their first year of eligibility.

Barnes has the distinc-tion of being the most decorated track and field athlete in ACU history. Be-tween 1996 and 1999, she amassed an astonishing 14 individual NCAA Na-tional Championship wins for the Wildcats. She also helped the Wildcats win

back-to-back national team championships in 1998 and 1999. She represented her home country of Ja-maica in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, finish-ing fourth in the 4x400 relays. Barnes graduated from ACU with a degree in human development and family studies.

“It’s a great honor to be inducted,” Barnes said. “My advice to ACU ath-letes is make goals and work towards them. Use the staff and facilities we have here; we have some wonderful teachers.”

Barnes’ teammate, Del-loreen Ennis-London, also highlights an excellent 2009 class. Ennis-London stands alone as the only woman in NCAA history to win eight national titles in hurdles. After graduating from the College of Business Ad-ministration, she went on

to represent Jamaica in the Olympics three times. She finished in fourth place in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and she still holds the top marks in NCAA Division II in the 55- and 100-meter hurdles.

“It’s a great privi-lege to be noted for my hard work in my years at ACU,” Ennis-London said. “I am humbled by this prestigious award.”

Former ACU golf coach Vince Jarrett is also a mem-ber of the 2009 inductee class. Jarrett stands as one of the most successful coaches in school history. Between 1986 and 1996,

his golf squads finished in the top two at every Lone Star Conference tourna-ment except one. His 1993 squad captured the only NCAA National Champion-ship in ACU golf history.

Reese had some simple advice for the ACU foot-ball team, as well.

“Enjoy it while you can,” Reese said. “It won’t be there forever.”

Two other 2009 induct-ees were neither player nor coach, but nonethe-less played a major role in ACU sports history.

Wes Speights served as the first full-time trainer in ACU history. Speights looked out for the-well

being of all ACU athletes between 1876 and 1985.

Dr. Jerry Strader has been a long-time supporter of ACU sports. He gradu-ated from ACU in 1952, is a former president of the Alumni Association and currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Strader also achieved the rank of Brigadier General serving in the Army Dental Corps.

Perhaps the most no-table member of the 2009 class is former ACU quar-terback Jim Reese. Widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in ACU history, Reese became the ACU starter in 1975 and led ACU to a 15-5-1 record over the course of two seasons. He still holds the ACU records for pass-ing yards in a game, with 564, and the average yards per completion record with 16.3 yards per catch.

Reese and the Wild-cats defeated Harding in the 1976 Shrine Bowl, and Reese was named the game’s MVP. Reese served as ACU offensive coordinator from 2000-2004, so he is also being inducted in his first year of eligibility as a coach.

“It really is a great hon-or, but I think it means more about how fortunate I was to play here at a great time,” Reese said. “It’s re-ally nostalgic seeing so many former players with whom I’m still friends.”

October 21, 2009 Page 7From Sports


Win: ’Cats win 20 games in back-to-back seasons

VOLLEYBALL

Hall: Wildcats induct diverse 2009 classHALL OF FAME

LSC: Ten wins for Wildcats

SOCCER

Loss: Playoffs still possible for ’CatsContinued from page 8

contact Tripp [email protected]


contact Craig [email protected]


contact Bartee [email protected]

OPINION

drives and not beat ourselves out there.”

The Wildcats’ best offensive drive came just before halftime as Gale led ACU down the field. Richardson scored on a 1-yard run with 14 seconds left in the half to make the score 14-12 Wildcats.

The Wildcats strug-gled in the second half and let a close game get away. The Buffaloes

forced ACU to commit some costly turnovers, on which they capital-ized. West Texas scored 32 points against a de-fense that had been giv-ing up only 15 points per contest entering the day.

The game came down to a third-and-four play for the Buffa-loes against the Wild-cat nine. ACU forced an incompletion, but a pass interference call gave the Buffaloes an-other first down. West

Texas scored to seal the victory 32-21.

“They played better than we did; they did not turn the ball over and we did,” said Head Coach Chris Thomsen. “Give them credit. I think they outplayed us.”

It’s a great privilege to be noted for my hard work in my years at ACU. DELLOREEN ENNIS-LONDON ACU Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

contact Gwin [email protected]


contact Cantrell [email protected]

Upset: Offensive implosionFOOTBALL

Fear not, Wildcat fans. This is still a very good team with a very good chance at getting a high seed in the playoffs.

Jeff CraigSports Reporter

The ACU Sports Hall of Fame ushered in one of its most diverse and prestigious classes 2009 Celebration Dinner on Saturday evening.

Members of the 2009 class include two track and field athletes, a star quarterback, a golf coach, an athletic train-er and a longtime ACU athletics devotee. In the midst of another suc-cessful athletics season, Athletic Director Jared

Mosley and the rest of the department took a night to step back and reflect on the proud tra-dition of ACU sports.

“I think what’s re-ally special about this group is that, first of all, we are inducting two of the most dominating track and field women in NCAA Division II history,” Mosley said. “We’re inducting the only golf coach to ever win a championship for us and even our first

Rounding the Bases Brandon Tripp

After suffering their first regular-season loss in close to two years, the Wildcats have to move on and think about the rest of the season.

W e s t T e x a s made it quite ob-vious the W i l d c a t s have a lot of room for improvement. The biggest problem for ACU on Saturday was the inability to stop a runner on first contact. Perhaps it was a lack of focus. Or maybe West Texas coats its players in Vaseline before each game.

They also had no an-swer for the screens the Buffaloes threw early and often. Flemming was fast, and more often then not he beat the Wildcat de-fenders to the point of attack. I was hoping to see Justin Johnson come into the game and play


Coach Brock Sherwood talks to QB Mitchell Gale during a timeout in ACU’s loss against West Texas A&M.

Austin GwinAssistant Sports Editor

The Wildcat volleyball team extended its win-ning streak to eight games when it swept Southwestern Oklahoma State 3-0 on Saturday.

The victory pushed the win total to 20 for the season, giving the Wildcats back-to-back 20-win seasons.

“Not only did our usual starters play well, but we had some girls who hadn’t gotten a chance to play much this season step up and play well,” said Head Coach Kellen Mock.

The relatively easy victory over SW Okla-homa came two days after a five-set battle

SportsPage 8 October 21, 2009

MSU 4-2 6-2

TAMU-K 5-1 7-1Tarleton St. 5-1 7-1

Standings

THURSDAY

VolleyballACU vs. Midwestern State, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

SoccerACU at ENMU, 2:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

Cross-CountryACU at LSC Championships, 10 a.m.

VolleyballACU vs. Cameron, 2 p.m.

FootballACU at Tarleton, 6 p.m.

HOME GAMES LISTED IN ITALICS

Upcoming

FRIDAY

SoccerACU 1, Texas Woman’s 0

SATURDAY

Football ACU 21, West Texas A&M 32

VolleyballACU 3, SW Oklahoma State 0

SUNDAY

SoccerACU 2, Texas A&M-Commerce 1

Scores

FOOTBALLTeam Div.

VOLLEYBALL

Angelo State

WTAMU

Central Okla.

5-1

3-3

2-4

SE Okla. 3-3

TAMU-C 3-4 3-5

Team Div.

MSUTAMU-C

5-24-3

TX Woman’s 3-4 13-13

WTAMU 8-0 22-3

SE Okla. 4-3 18-10

WOMEN’S SOCCERTeam Div.

WTAMU 4-2Central Okla. 5-2 11-5-1

MSU 4-2 10-2-2

TX Woman’s 3-3 5-8

East Central 2-4 5-5-2

TAMU-C 3-3 8-6

Angelo State 2-5 8-7ENMU 2-4 7-8

NE State 1-4-1 5-7-1

TAMU-K 4-4

Angelo State 4-3East Central 4-3 13-14

Central Okla. 3-5 11-13Tarleton St. 3-5 8-17Cameron 2-5 14-19SW Okla. 2-6 5-24

Central Okla. 1-4 1-6NE State 2-4 2-6

East Central 0-6 0-8SW Okla. 0-7 0-8

n The football team dropped to No. 4 in Region Four of the NCAA Regional Rank-ings. The Wildcats also fell from No. 1 in the national poll to No. 9.

n All three former Wildcats playing in the NFL will be on the same field Sunday when the Chicago Bears meet the Cincinnati Bengals in a match up of two-loss teams.

Briefs

6-2

5-33-5

2-6

9-1819-7

12-12

14-9

10-2-1

SW Okla. 3-4 6-9-1

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

Ovrl.

ACU 5-1 7-1

VOLLEYBALL

ENMU 0-8 5-18

Victory boosts ’Cats to 20-win season

What Happened?FOOTBALL

ACU 6-1 20-5


Linebacker Kevin Washington looks dejected after the last play as the Wildcats lose to West Texas A&M on Saturday.

see HALL page 7

Ryan CantrellAssistant Sports Editor

A No. 1 ranking and a Homecoming weekend were spoiled as the West Texas A&M Buffaloes up-set the Wildcats 32-21.

The loss snapped a 17-game regular-season winning streak for the Wildcats. The last time ACU lost a regular-sea-

son game was in 2007 against West Texas A&M, 41-31. The Buf-faloes have beaten ACU in the past three reg-ular-season meetings in Abilene, all during ACU’s Homecoming.

The offense struggled in the fourth quarter with three drives for a total of minus nine yards as their lead disappeared.

“We have to be able to do what the ACU offense is known for, which is pro-ducing on the field and sustaining long drives,” said quarterback Mitchell Gale. “We would have a few good plays, then one bad one that would kill the drive. We need to go back to long, consistent

Wildcats’ shocking loss to West Texas A&M a Homecoming downer

KELSI WILLIAMSON Staff Photographer

Alyse Ritchie fights for the ball against Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday.

Sports Hall of Fame inducts six members

HALL OF FAMESam BarteeSports Reporter

The Wildcats managed to pull out two wins during the chaos and excitement of Home-coming weekend.

It was a promising start for the team with a 1-0 victory over Tex-as Woman’s University on Friday. Senior Aly-son Thomas scored the only goal off a penalty kick against the Pio-neers. The game was completely controlled by the Wildcats’ front line, and the TWU goalie had her work cut out for her.

“Our forwards were just faster,” said for-ward Lyndsey Wom-ack. “We outplayed them and won.”

Sunday’s 2-1 vic-tory against Texas A&M-Commerce gave the Wildcats their first 10-win season in ACU women’s soccer history. In an uneventful first half, the Wildcat de-fense, as tough as ever, left Commerce without any shots on goal.

However, the pace quickened with the start of the second half when freshman Lexi Stirling made a pass to Womack for the first goal of the game. Commerce quick-ly answered with a goal against an empty net, after some confusion near the box.

Thomas also played a huge part in the game; she aimed a free kick

Soccer sits atop LSC standings

SOCCER

see WIN page 7

see UPSET page 7

see LOSS page 7see LSC page 7

Step away from the ledge, ACU

OPINION

Tripp

ACU 5-1-1 10-4-1

Documents

The Optimist Print Edition: 10/21/2009