During a night of reflection and inside jokes, the 2010-2011 Students’ Association executive officers passed the torch to the 2011-2012 SA executive officers in the

traditional Changing of the Guard ceremony.SA created a new budget handbook, re-

vised the dancing and chalk policies, gave students more options in dining and had a hand in key events of the year such as speak-ers Shane Claiborne and Blake Mycowski

and FilmFest this year, said SA President, Sam Palomares, senior communications major from Elsa. He thanked departments across campus that helped make these ac-complishments possible.

Jared Elk, senior political science major from Savoy, attributed SA’s success to the teamwork and unity exhibited in this year’s SA officers and Congress, referring to the year as one of SA’s most productive.

Awards, both serious and sarcastic, were handed out to members of Congress as well as faculty and parents. The executive secretary, treasurer and president each passed down an object to next year’s executive officers.

Optimistthe

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

acuoptimist.com

1 section, 8 pages

weatherinside

page 3

websitenewsThe Department of Journalism and Mass Communication has selected student media leaders for 2011-12.

page 5

featureFind the “hole” story on Abilene’s donut market including where to find the best donut, the best location and the best hours.

78° 52°

Wed. Fri. Thurs.

83° 55° 86° 64°

The HOLE Story, page 5

Vol. 99, No. 54

Abilene Christian University

Bin Laden death conjures mixed emotions

Students’ Association ushers in new executive officers

ACU sends off Dr. George Pendergrass, director of mul-ticultural enrichment, as he moves to Nashville to pursue his love for music.

P e n d -e r g r a s s , whose last day was April 29, plans to move to the Te n n e s s e e capital to devote more time to singing with his group, Merging Blue.

“We’ve received some opportunities to take our endeavors to another level, and so I’m going to go, and I plan on making that hap-pen,” Pendergrass said.

Pendergrass said he frequently had traveled to Nashville to be with the group, which has been singing together on-and-off for three years.

Pendergrass has served as a leader and mentor to many students at ACU for the last four years.

“I love connecting with young people from around the world and interesting parts of life,” Pendergrass said. “I just know that

Director to leave, pursue passion

see CULTURE page 4

Linda Bailey, Editor in Chief

Christian Burch Page 2 Editor

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer Members of the presiding and new executive officers for the Student’s Association gather together as Dr. John Willis speaks on behalf of them before praying a blessing upon them at the Changing of the Guard at the Fairway Oaks Country Club.

FACULTY

newsThe Abilene Ruff Riders, Abilene’s professional indoor football team, will start their season this month. Students can purchase tickets for $5.

see SA page 4

CAMPUS

Response from students and faculty to the killing of Osama bin Laden has varied widely across cam-pus, ranging from jubila-tion to skepticism.

Dr. Neal Coates, associ-ate professor and chair of the Department of Political

Science said bin Laden’s death is a victory for any-one who loves freedom.

“My first response is re-lief that a mass murderer is off the scene,” Coates said. “When you see people wav-ing flags, they aren’t cel-ebrating someone’s death, they are celebrating that an opponent of freedom

who has committed great atrocities will no longer do that. This person is no lon-ger able to kill people who

want to be free.”For Tanner Agee, junior

agriculture major from Cedar Hill, bin Laden’s

capture is also a big relief. Agee said he found the re-sponse from social media particularly interesting as news of bin Laden’s de-mise broke late Sunday.

“It’s interesting that Twitter gave us more in-formation initially, even though most of it was wrong,” Agee said. “But I’m

really proud that America was able to finally accom-plish something they set out to do.”

Zach Freed, sophomore psychology major from Abilene, said he did not be-lieve bin Laden’s capture would be a major victory in

STAFF REPORT

Passing the Torchsee TERROR page 4

JOZIE SANDS // Online Editor

A model poses for the crowd at the end of the runway during the “In the RED Fashion Show” on Saturday night.

Pendergrass

My first response is relief that a mass murderer is off the scene.

DR. NEAL COATES // associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science.‘‘ ’’

CAMPUS

The “In the RED Fashion Show” used the runway to engage students and the community alike in a cause rooted at ACU, raising more than $1,800 to combat sex trafficking Saturday night.

Whitney Puckett, senior advertising and public re-lations major from Mel-bourne, Fla., produced the fashion show and said more than 200 people attended.

“The greatest part was that the audience was a mix of everyone; overall it was mostly college students, but there were a lot of people

from the community and there were a lot of differ-ent age ranges, from 3 to 90 years old,” Puckett said.

Lily Assaad, sophomore psychology and marketing major from Cairo, Egypt, attended the show, notic-ing its underlying purpose.

“I loved how they incor-porated the heart behind

the fashion show into the intermissions, into the speeches, into the videos; it was very clear what was going on,” Assaad said. “It’s not like they just had a sign that said, ‘By the way, this is for sex trafficking.’ It was clearly for the cause and I

Samantha SutherlandContributing Reporter

Fashion show promotes RED cause

see RED page 4

acuoptimist.com

Find more photos from SA’s Changing of the

Guard online.

Summer Videographer Needed ACU Leadership Camps is looking for a summer videographer from June 5-July 22. For more in-formation, visit the Camps office in the basement of the Campus Center or visit www.acucamps.com for more information about ACU Leadership Camps.

Study Abroad Fall 2011Spaces still are available in the Oxford and Mon-tevideo Study Abroad Programs for Fall 2011. Students can enroll in CORE 120 and CORE 220 in Oxford, and $1,000 scholarships are available for the Montevideo Study Abroad Program. For more information, visit the Study Abroad Office in Room 124 of the Hardin Administration Building.

Upward Bound Sum-mer Advisers Students interested in helping disadvantaged high school students now can apply to become Upward Bound sum-mer advisers from May 29-July 8. Advisers will receive free room and board, plus $925. For more information, call 674-2529 or 674-2713.

All-school Chapel The Cha-pel Office encourages stu-dents to participate in “Bring Your Professor to Chapel Day” and invite their profes-sors to Chapel as a part of the campus-wide effort to attend Chapel every Monday.

Swing Cats The Swing Cats meet every week, 7-9 p.m. on Sundays in Cullen Au-ditorium. No partners or experience are required.

FCA The ACU chapter of Fellowship of Christian Ath-letes meets at 9 p.m. every Thursday in the Campus Center Living Room.

Campus Store BuybackThe Campus Store is accept-ing any unwanted books, purchased at any time from any location, for immediate cash from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. May 9-13. They also will be collecting books of no value for recycling.

Online Summer CoursesRegistration for online sum-mer courses now is open. Students can choose from 15 courses, and each course is three weeks long. For more information, visit www.acu.edu/summeronline.

ACU Choirs Students interested in joining an ACU choir now can register for the Univer-sity Chorale (201.01 or 211.01), which will meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m. for the fall semester. Also, students can audition for the A Cappella Chorus and the ACU Singers. The A Cappella Chorus will meet Mondays and Wednesdays at 3 p.m., as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. The ACU Singers will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. To sign up for an audition time, contact Dr. Sean Pullen at sean.pullen@acu.edu.

Relationships 101 Pam Money will teach a one-hour credit course entitled FAM 440: Rela-tionships 101. The course will be offered in the fall semester on Wednesdays from 3-3:50 p.m. The course will examine the relationships between roommates and friends, as well as couples who are dating or married. Students will learn practical interpersonal skills that will help them to create meaningful relationships in life.

Team Tatum Walk/Run for a Wish The ACU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is raising funds to help fulfill the wish of Tatum Kate Flam-ing, a local girl who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2009. Students can help support Flaming by participating in the Team Tatum Walk/Run for a Wish 5K on May 7. Pre-registration is $15, and walk-up registration costs $20. To learn more about Tatum’s story, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/tatumkate.

announcements

06Friday

Madison Middle School is looking for male volunteers to participate in a weekly “Boys2Men” lunchtime program for eighth grade boys. Speakers will address dif-ferent aspects of growing up. Contact Jeff Womack at 692-5661 or jeffrey.womack@abileneisd.org.

The Salvation Army Volunteers are needed at the 1726 Butternut St. Salvation Army to sort and price items and help with kitchen or yard work. Volunteers are welcome any time Mon-day-Saturday. Contact J.D. Alonzo at 677-1408, or visit www.satruck.com for more informa-tion on the program.

GED Tutoring Just Peo-ple, Inc., needs volun-teers to tutor adult GED students. Volunteer times are flexible. Contact Jus-tina or Alana at 672-2118 for more information, or email jthompson@justpeopleinc.org.

Mesa Springs Healthcare Center needs volunteers 8 a.m.-5 p.m., any day of the week, to help with fun activities for the residents, including playing in-struments, calling bingo and sitting and talking. All help is appreciated. Contact Laura Reynolds at 692-8080 or lgreynolds@sears-methodist.com.

International Rescue Committee Students can work with refugees who moved to the United States, teaching English, helping with homework and mentoring. Volunteer times are flexible. Call Daina Juryka-Owen at 675-5643 ext. 16 to make an appointment. For more information on the Inter-national Rescue Commit-tee, visit www.theirc.org.

Dyess Youth Center needs help with a Ping Pong Exhibition from 4-6 p.m. every Friday. Volunteers will preside over tournaments and help with an exhibition for the students. Trans-portation will not be provided, and volun-teers cannot have any sexual assault charges or charges pending. For more information, contact Sheri Frisby at 696-4797, or email sheri.frisby@dyess.af.mil.

Betty Hardwick Center Volunteers are needed in several departments at the Betty Hardwick Center, specializing in mental health. Students can help mentally and physically challenged people play games, run track and go bowling. Students can volunteer from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Monday-Friday. Contact Angel Seca at 690-5235 for more information.

Abilene Hope Haven is seeking volunteers for childcare any night, Monday-Thursday from 6:45-8:15 p.m. For more information, contact Kathy Reppart at 677-4673.

Windcrest Alzheimer’s Care Center needs vol-unteers to clean out and organize closets any day, Sunday-Friday, at any time during the day. Con-tact Chris Stephenson to arrange a time at 692-1533 or clstephenson@sears-methodist.com.

Meals on Wheels Vol-unteers are needed to deliver meals to seniors and adults with dis-abilities. Routes are available 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Monday-Friday. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, with a valid driver’s license, auto insurance and a desire to serve. Training is provided. Students may be exempted from one Chapel per week if delivery time conflicts with Chapel. Contact Samantha Barker at 672-5050 or sbarker@mealsonwheelsplus.com.

National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Students can assist with art activities, sell books and welcome visitors from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1-3 p.m., Tues-day-Saturday. For more

information, contact Debby Lillick at 673-4586, or visit www.nccil.org.

Center for Contemporary Arts needs a gallery assis-tant to help with exhibit setup and preparation. The work can be done any time from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday. Call 677-8389 or email info@center-arts.com.

Aimee’s Art Studio is seek-ing volunteers from 9-10 a.m. or 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, to assist with ho-meschool fine arts classes. No formal art skills or train-ing is required. The studio is a five-minute walk from ACU’s campus. For more information, contact Aimee Williams at 672-9633.

Da’Cipher 360 The youth peer ministries group Da’Cipher 360 is in need of new or used sports equipment, art supplies and board games for its summer program at G.V. Daniels Recreational Center. The program is designed to keep children off the streets and out of trou-ble. A donation box and information table will be located in the Campus Center until May 13. Oscar’s Mexican Restau-rant is giving a $10 gift certificate to students who get involved. For more information, visit www.dacipher.org.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

calendar & events

04 Thursday05 07Saturday

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volunteer opportunities

2Campus Day

11 a.m. ACU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s “Make A Wish” Chapel presentation in Moody Coliseum

Golf NCAA Divison II South Central/Midwest Super Regional in Georgetown, Ky.

11 a.m. Small group Chapels at various locations around campus

8 p.m. Choral Concert in the Williams Performing Arts Center Recital Hall

11 a.m. Praise Day in Moody Coliseum

12 p.m. Wind Ensemble “Brown Bag” Concert in Cullen Auditorium

Track and Field Lone Star Conference championships in Stephenville

10 a.m.Team Tatum 5K hosted by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the intramural softball fields across from Elmer Gray Stadium

71

Chapel

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Checkup02 Credited

Chapels remaining

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

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

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

Wednesday

For Rent:1 -1 bedroom/1bath unfurnished apts.$300/mo. (no pets & no smoking)utilities not included, located within walking distance to ACU, available June 11233 ½ WashingtonCall 325-677-1943 if interested.

Two nice 1 bedroom apartments on same property as our home.Available June 1Also, one large 4 bedroom/2 bath house.All listings located 1/2 block from campus on College DriveNo Smoking/No petsCall 672-9633 or 370-5122 if interested.

CLASSIFIED

Will Pay Cash For Dorm Size RefrigeratorsMust Be Working/Have All Shelves$25-Square Box Model$30-Larger ModelsCall Bernie 325/370-3633 325/672-6385

May 4, 2011 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

Students selected to lead JMC organizations

Hannah Barnes and Chris-tine Painter have been se-lected to serve as the editor-in-chief for the Opti-mist and the group ac-count direc-tor for the student-run advertising and public relations agency, Morris & Mitchell, respectively, for the 2011-12 school year.

Faculty members chose Hannah Barnes, junior graphic design and advertising major from El Paso, to serve as editor for the Optimist.

This year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Opti-mist. Ken-neth Pybus, journalism

and mass communication professor, asked Barnes to consider becoming editor to help re-

design the look and feel of the Optimist.

“Professor Pybus talk-ed with me about doing it, since I’m a designer,” Barnes said. “He thought I could do a good job re-designing it and making it different for this year. Be-ing in the loop of what’s going on is by reading (the Optimist). I think it would draw a lot more attention to have it visually striking.”

Barnes said she consid-ers this position an oppor-tunity to gain skills in or-ganization, leadership and

publication design, aside from her background in graphic design.

“I guess this will help me see what I’m capable of and what I like and don’t like,” Barnes said. “I’m open to whatever, as long as I can do what I like to do, which is design.”

As for the newly-formed advertising and public re-lations agency, Morris & Mitchell, Christine Painter, junior advertising and pub-lic relations major from North Richland Hills, was chosen as group account di-

rector to help stimulate ex-pansion after the agency’s first year of production.

“We’ll have more growth and more clients this year,” Painter said. “The agency is still in its early stages, but I expect to get more clients, so we can show what we’ve done and get more recognition in the Abilene community.”

As account director, Painter will head projects for advertising, branding and market research.

“I want to work in an agency one day, and it re-

ally helps to get prepared here in college for what we’ll be doing in the real world,” Painter said. “Jour-nalism students have the Optimist, broadcast majors have the radio station and now with the agency, Ad/PR students can get experi-ence while in college.”

For more information, visit the Optimist online at www.acuoptimist.com and Morris and Mitchell at www.morrisandmitchell.com.

Nikki MimmsContributing Reporter

STUDENTS

contact Mimms atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

STACY ACTON // Staff Photographer

Dr. Derek Brown, director of jazz studies, performs with the Air Force’s Band of the West, Dimensions in Blue.

Blue JazzAssociate dean prepares to retire

David Wray will retire from his post in the College of Bib-lical Studies after 21 years on staff at ACU.

“I’m at retirement age – I turn 66 in May – so I’ve de-cided to make the transi-tion,” Wray said.

Wray served for five years as associate dean of spiritual life and co-curric-ulum in the College of Bib-lical studies. He now will devote the majority of his time to a nonprofit, faith-based ministry in Abilene, called Faithworks, where he serves as a chair.

Faithworks is a 13-week program that helps unem-ployed people gain neces-sary skills in order to provide livelihood for themselves and their families.

“It’s a remarkable pro-gram,” Wray said. “The ministry’s really taken off and done well.”

Wray said one reason for his decision to retire at this time is so opportuni-ties for others to come in behind him, who have fin-ished their programs, will be made available.

“I’ve never felt better about ACU and about the College of Biblical Studies,” Wray said. “We’ve got great, very young scholars.”

Mike Cope, adjunct pro-fessor in the College of Bibli-cal Studies, said he respects Wray’s decision to devote more time to Faithworks.

“David is maybe the most influential spiritual leader I’ve ever had in my life,” Cope said. “As an elder at the Highland church, as a friend, as a guide, as an as-sociate dean in the college where I teach – in every dif-ferent place – he’s just been a source of great encourage-ment and direction for me.”

Cope began working as a preacher at the Highland Church of Christ in 1991,

about the same time Wray began working full time at ACU, Cope said. Wray has been an elder at Highland for 25 years.

“There’d be no real way to replace David Wray,” Cope said. “He’s an irreplaceable kind of individual.”

Rosten Callarman, third-year master of divin-ity student in the Graduate School of Theology, would agree with Cope.

“He’s a mentor to all,” Callarman said. “He’s kind of like a cross between a grandfather and a friend, in a lot of ways.”

Callarman said it will take time, but eventually people will not view the next asso-ciate dean as “David Wray’s Replacement.”

“It’s not that he neces-sarily has big shoes to fill, it’s just the impact he’s had on so many students’ lives is huge,” Callarman said.

Callarman lives in a community with many

other Graduate School of Theology students, which he describes as a “local, in-tentional, new monastic” community. Callarman said Wray likely will play a bigger part in their com-munity and others similar.

“My little community has talked with him a lot,” Cal-larman said. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him. Any time I have a problem or need wis-dom, I’ll go try to knock on his office and say, ‘Hey Da-vid, help me.’ He’s kind of one of those guys that it’s easy to talk to him for a while.”

Wray is not worried at all about leaving the university, but excited about his “encore career” with Faithworks.

“I’ve never felt better about where we are as a university, particularly as a college,” Wray said. “It’s in great hands. It’s been terrific years at ACU.”

Bailey GriffithCopy Editor

FACULTY

contact Griffith atbng10a@acu.edu

Painter Barnes

Page 4 May 4, 2011FROM THE FRONT

whatever I’m doing, I’ll always be connected with students in some form or fashion.”

While in Nashville, Pen-dergrass said he and his wife will dedicate their time to the business, Trouba-dours Educating Through the Performance and the Arts. TEPA educates and informs organizations on a variety of issues by utilizing the performing arts to enhance the effect, Pendergrass said.

Pendergrass said he thinks it is important for people to take time out of their lives to show others how important they are.

As director of multicul-tural enrichment, Pender-grass was the sole full-time staff member of the Office of Multicultural Enrichment and led a team of five stu-

dents who represent the di-versity of the ACU campus.

“I think the students re-ally need to have a louder and a more prominent voice in making sure that the campus is totally diver-sified,” Pendergrass said.

Pendergrass said he believes the student body needs to develop an equity that reaches far beyond ethnicity and race.

“There needs to be a greater awareness of the social, gender and reli-gious diversity on campus,” Pendergrass said. “Diver-sity brings balance, and it heightens our world view. We become better citizens of the world because of it.”

Pendergrass said he believes college is the per-fect environment to chal-lenge students to become those citizens.

“We need to continue to demand continual diversi-

ty and allow ACU students to get a true multicultural experience because it is ul-timately making us a better people,” Pendergrass said. “When we live that life out, we get the best display of who God really is.”

Jane Palmer, graduate student of social work from Bronx, New York, works with Pendergrass as the team leader for the Keystone Team of the Office of Multicul-tural Enrichment.

Palmer said Pendergrass has a special gift for making students feel right at home.

“He does everything 100 percent and always goes out of his way to help students, especially inter-national students,” Palm-er said. “He loves students. That’s his passion.”

in the war on terror. He said he believed anoth-er member of al-Qaida would rise up and take his place.

Freed said he was par-ticularly disappointed in the way Christians were responding to bin Laden’s death. He said celebrating his death could trigger in-

tensified response from members of al-Qaida. He also said he was disap-pointed that no glory was being given to God.

“I find most Chris-tian’s reactions to his death kind of heartless. No glory is being given to God; it’s all going to the U.S. military,” Freed said. “People are bring-ing up the death of Herod

and other oppressors of God’s people, but in the Bible it wasn’t a cel-ebration of one person’s death but rather of the liberation of the people. That’s not the way peo-ple are celebrating bin Laden’s death.”

Scott Adrian, senior political science and com-munication major from Los Angeles, agrees with Freed. He said Christians should not be rejoicing in bin Laden’s death.

“As a Christian, I don’t think anyone should ever rejoice in another creation of God dying,” Adrian said. “So I was a bit disgusted with how many people were happy because they were cheer-ing for violence which puts us on the level with

the people we were fight-ing. People are blinded by their patriotism; they should see their Christi-anity first.”

Sunday evening, Presi-dent Obama addressed the nation, saying the kill-ing of Osama bin Laden should help bring closure to the families of those killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

College Democrats president Rebecca Dial, junior political science and history major from Lexington, S.C., said

the president delivered a good speech that ap-pealed to Americans.

“President Obama spoke about what Ameri-cans wanted to hear in-stead of what they need-ed to hear, as this event helps bring closure to many, many Americans,” Dial said. “I don’t think this will end terrorism by any means though.”

Young Republicans president Aaron Escobe-do, senior history major from Lamesa, said the president’s speech should bring comfort to many of the families victimized on Sept. 11.

“It was a good speech given at the right time. It’s good that we know that bin Laden was killed and we knew he was dead,” Escobedo said. “It wasn’t anything super spectacular; I’m glad that he did echo some of the things that happened on 9/11 as far as remember-ing those families.”

Dr. David Dillman, professor of political sci-

ence, said the capture of bin Laden was a political victory for the president, but likely would not cre-ate any long-term politi-cal harmony.

“I don’t think it’ll gen-erate unity. It will be a temporary uptick in Obama’s approval rating, but there are too many other issues out there to generate much unity,” Dillman said. “Even after 9/11 the unity didn’t last too long. There’ll be some euphoria, but its tempo-rary. It’s certainly not a bad thing for Obama. It’s good political news.”

For Dillman’s col-league Coates, Obama’s speech Sunday was right on target. Coates said the President indicated there was still work to be done.

“The president hit a triple if not a homerun with his statement that justice has been done,” Coates said. “It’s a state-ment that supporters of George W. Bush can ap-preciate and supporters of Obama can appreciate. It’s a statement that peo-ple in Middle East can also appreciate. Two un-derlying virtues of Islam are peace and justice.”

SA Secretary Martha Mar-quez, criminal justice major from Comanche, passed down a calen-dar to next year’s execu-tive secretary, Katherine Handy, sophomore Eng-lish major from Plano.

“As secretary, you’re going to need this, and if you lose it, you’re going to go crazy,” Marquez said.

SA Treasurer Chris Shim, senior finance ma-jor from Atlanta, passed down a copy of The Wealth of Nations, to Carson Hen-ley, junior biochemistry major from Colleyville and next year’s executive treasurer.

Palomares passed down the SA Bible and president pin to Connor Best, junior political sci-ence major from Sacra-mento, Calif. With the pin, the new executive officers began their term

as SA executive cabinet with high hopes.

“I can personally say I’m excited for this execu-tive officer team and the

things we’re going to get done next year,” Best said.

really appreciated that.”The models, who all were

ACU students, added their own flair to the runway and took advantage of the op-portunity to try something different, Assaad said.

In the RED was hosted in the Windsor ballroom. Shawna McDanel, junior graphic design major from Early, described the show as having a classy yet simplistic décor, in-cluding red balloons at the head of the catwalk and strands of white lights woven on the out-skirts of the room.

McDanel said the mod-els, for the most part, wore elegant attire that had splashes of red incorpo-rated throughout as well as some accessories from Eter-nal Threads, the organiza-

tion through which the Red Thread Movement works.

McDanel represented the Movement at the show and said that the models all wore Red Thread bracelets, and she saw strong support from the audience.

“Even though people got Red Thread bracelets with their tickets, they still bought additional brace-lets for their family and friends,” McDanel said.

The night featured 35 models and was orchestrat-ed by a team of over 20 ACU students, Puckett said.

“I have never seen a team with such a great work ethic and that not only did their assigned task, but also did their own thing to help oth-ers,” Puckett said. “The fashion show was fun, but there was a whole cam-paign that led up to this.

There was a full objec-tive we wanted to make known not just to college students but to the entire Abilene community, and I feel like we accomplished that very well.”

Puckett said the team expects to continue to produce a fashion show for the community to en-joy in years to come and will continue using it to highlight outreaches.

“When I think about

the show, I don’t think about the clothes; I think about how many people that came knowing they were supporting the Red Thread Movement,” Puckett said. “I look for-ward to seeing other causes that we support as well for future shows. “

CAMPUS

Terror: Students, faculty react to terrorist leader’s death

People are blinded by their patriotism; they should see their Christianity first.

SCOTT ADRIAN // senior political science and communications major from Los Angeles‘‘ ’’

contact staff atoptimist@acu.edu

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

2010-11 Students’ Association Executive President Samuel Palomares hands the SA Bible to incoming president Connor Best at a ceremony on Saturday.

JOZIE SANDS // Online Editor

Lauren Johnson, junior political science major from Newport Beach, Calif., walks down the runway at the “In the RED Fashion Show” at the Windsor Hotel ballroom on Saturday.

Continued from page 1

Culture: Director leaves to pursue music career

FACULTY

Continued from page 1

SA: Best takes officeSTUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Continued from page 1

contact Bailey atljb07a@acu.edu

Red: Students combine fashion, philanthropyCAMPUS

contact Sutherland atoptimist@jmcnetwork.com

Continued from page 1

contact Burch atclb10b@acu.edu

FocusMay 4, 2011 Page 5

the hole storyAfter months of donut research, we’ve discovered Abilene’s best – and worst – donut experiences. Judging on criteria such as taste, appearance, atmosphere, texture and packaging, we guarantee this tasty advice will save Abilenians from any donut debacles.

best donut

best glazed

best chocolate be

st v

ar

iet

y

best location

best hours

BK Donuts. BK’s glazed donuts stood out from the rest because of the distinct flavor of the glaze. A sweet mix of sugar and vanilla tantalized our tastebuds. Combined with a dense, donut foundation, this glazed confection is worth an out-of-the-way drive to South 14th and Texas.

Jack & Jill Donut Shop. Not every Jack & Jill Donut Shop is created equal. Abilene’s Buffalo Gap Road location outshines the rest – literally. With large windows lin-ing three of its walls, this donut shop provides a quaint and relaxing Saturday morning atmopshere. Customers can sit at a long yellow counter or gather in booths or tables with friends. The donuts aren’t spectacular, but among donut dives in Abilene, this Jack & Jill is the only place we’d recommend dining in.

Jack & Jill Donut Shop. The South 14th location breaks the breakfast mold, giving patrons 24-hour donut access. A neon sign alerts customers to hot, fresh donuts. This location allows college students and night owls a chance to get their hands on the sticky sensations.

AM Donuts. AM offers pa-trons a plethora of pastry possi-bilities. In addition to the classic glazed and it’s chocolate coun-terpart, AM sells maple covered, cinnamon-sugar crumble, sprin-kled, bear claws, donut holes and a variety of cake options. Beyond the typical donut, AM boasts an assortment of fritters, kolaches, crullers, apple burritos, cinnamon rolls and honey buns. And the cof-fee isn’t bad either. For the adventurous donut fanatic, AM is the place to broaden donut horizons while knowing the quality will always remain top notch.

While on our search for the perfect pastry, we hit a few bumps along the way. Some shops just weren’t up to par.

Jack and Jill on Pine and Ambler – This small store, located in a gas station parking lot, offers a slim selection – especially after 9 a.m. Dandy Donuts – After standing in Dandy Donuts for a mere five minutes, our hair and clothes were saturated with the tell-tell scent of a donut deep fryer. Abilene Donuts – Although this is a new location, bars covering the windows and doors don’t create a friendly atmosphere. The donuts weren’t anything special, but at $.45 per donut, the price was right. Donut Time – This local donut eatery has one of the most exciting shop names, but one of the most poorly ventilated locations. A greasy atmosphere followed by a greasy donut just wasn’t our style.

AM Donuts. When in hot pursuit for a Saturday morning donut fix, AM blows the rest of Abilene’s donuts out of the fryer. AM donuts are made fresh at the shop on South 1st and Willis and provide donut connoisseurs a pastry strong in all aspects. Though their glaze doesn’t stand up to a BK donut, AM offers an overall, quality donut that will satisfy any breakfast craving. The large donut made of a light batter with a hint of cinnamon handles any topping tossed its way.

AM Donuts. Two types of people exist in the world – those who reach for the glazed donut and those who reach for the chocolate covered. Fans of the latter should reach for AM’s creamy chocolate icing that doesn’t overpower or get lost in the taste of the fried pastry underneath.

Guest ColumnBy Keyi Zhou

The tsunami, earthquake and nuclear plant explo-sions devastated Japan. But some relevant infor-mation that is spreading rapidly on-line shocks me more.

The other day, I read an article on one of my Net pal’s blogs. He forwarded it from a per-son named “dingbangb,” declaring that the nu-clear pollution is actu-ally caused by a Japanese atomic bomb test. At the beginning of the article, the author gave the source of the news: PhoenixTV.

PhoenixTV is one of the most famous TV sta-tions in HongKong, which is considered a relatively objective news source in China. To confirm the in-formation, I searched its news website.

Japan’s earthquake was presented on the front page as a special cover-age with lots of reports. I searched carefully and did

not find anything about a Japanese nuclear bomb test. I searched “Ja-pan’s atomic bomb test” on Google and found out the information and analysis of this “atomic test” are all from personal blogs, which none of the mainstream media have reported.

Dongsheng Li, another online friend, forwarded the article. “I swear I will never buy Japanese prod-uct,” he commented. “I will never need Japanese product, no matter live or die.”

I texted Li, “PhoenixTV never reported that Japan is having atomic bomb tests. The source is wrong.”

He said, “I have knowl-edge on military affairs. You need to know better.” He avoided my point.

“I am not a scientist, but I study journalism. I know how to distinguish false news from the truth accord-ing to its source,” I replied.

We started arguing. My point was this information came from an unreliable source, and actually, the person who wrote it lied about the source. I didn’t

think a person that lied about the source in order to add credibility to him-self could be objective.

Li did not confront my question at all. All he said was that Japan definitely has the ambition to make its own atomic bombs. Li did not argue with me about the credibility of the source but kept avoiding my ques-tion and only focused on his erroneous assumption.

In Li’s most shocking statement about why the mainstream media did not report it, he said: “The in-formation is too sensitive. They will not let journal-ists know.”

The article Li forward-ed looks rational. In con-text, the author creates misunderstandings by us-ing esoteric language that seems to make sense but only obscures the truth.

The roots of some Chi-nese hatred toward Japan began when it invaded China during World War

II. China has built several museums to memorialize the war. In China, every student learns about the war in schools. The hatred from history still exists.

Rumor prevails when it gives people what they want, or it confirms peo-ple’s imagination and prejudice. As long as someone presents the in-formation with the six el-ements of news, and if it fits people’s appetites, it spreads quickly.

Critical thinking skills are important. Unfortu-nately, most people don’t think because thinking requires energy, time and may even cause an-guish and exhaustion. However, without think-ing rationally and inde-pendently, people always will follow their feelings, create rumors and make bad decisions.

Laura AcuffCopy Editor

Bailey GriffithCopy Editor

Morgan DavisCartoonist

Tuition Equalization Grants might be on the chopping block as Texas makes cuts to its budget this year.

Texas students and ad-ministrators should start working now on a Plan B for college funding in the fall.

The state awards eli-gible students in private universities up to $3,808 per school year and for stu-dents in “exceptional need,” the state can award up to $5,712. About $4 million in TEG each year comes to

ACU students – a notewor-thy level of funding.

To prevent the state from significantly cut-ting TEG, Dr. Phil Schu-bert, president of the university; Dr. Kenneth Starr, president of Baylor University; and Dr. Den-nis Ahlburg, president of Trinity University, met with key Texas legisla-tors earlier this semester. They discussed the im-portance of these grants to students enrolled in private universities.

However, with the budget situation in Texas this year, TEG likely will undergo at least some cuts, said Suzanne Allm-on, senior adviser to the ACU president.

We appreciate Schu-bert’s and other members of the Independent Col-leges and Universities of Texas, Inc.’s support of TEG and dedication to preserv-ing the grants as much as possible, but students and administrators must be prepared for cuts.

Schubert said ACU won’t make any significant back-up plans until it’s determined whether their will be cuts and how much will be cut. However, stu-dents receiving TEG must be aware of what could happen, and start looking for additional means of funding in advance.

Administrators also should think about how they best can serve the needs of students rely-ing heavily on TEG. They should make these stu-

dents aware and help them find different ways to pay for college be-cause, if the university loses students, it also los-es money. With more time to research alternatives, students could apply for more scholarships, grants or summer jobs.

Although we would rather prevent TEG cuts all togeth-er, students relying on grants still should know what could happen, and prepare ac-cordingly – for their and the university’s sake.

OpinionPage 6 May 4, 2011

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: optimist@acu.edu

editorial and letter policy

By Morgan DavisThe Funny Funnies

TEG scholars should prepare for cutsEDITORIAL

Bin Laden’s death brings US closure

COLUMN

HomeskoolValidictorianBy Jeff Craig

Earlier this week, a team of Navy SEALS raided a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing Osama bin Laden and b r i n g i n g the world’s most noto-rious terror-ist to justice.

In a masterfully del ivered Sunday speech, President Obama spoke to the public about the “worst attack on the American people in our history.” He recount-ed the horrors of Sept. 11, 2001, and reminisced about a unified American family that came together nearly a decade ago.

He spoke of “hea r tbrea k and destruc-tion” and of the count-less families affected by empty seats at the din-ner table and children who have been forced to grow up without a mother or father. Bin Laden cer-tainly wrought heart-break and destruction. But perhaps even more atrocious, he spread loneliness and fear.

Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind a massive genocide, shroud-ed in religious ideology. On the darkest day in American history, bin Laden’s al-Qai-da killed nearly 3,000 peo-ple. Scores more have died around the globe since.

Americans are over-come with patriotism un-seen since 9/11 – this was personal. Response has been jubilee. Americans crowded the streets waving flags near the White House and Ground Zero in New York City. Fans at a game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies broke into a unified chorus of “USA, USA” as news of bin Laden’s death surfaced.

The first day of May will be remembered as a day of celebration in America. However, some are confused as to how we as Christians should respond. Should this be a day of rejoicing?

The answer is un-doubtedly, yes.

This is a day for Ameri-cans to celebrate, not in a man’s death, but rather in the closure it brings the families of all of his victims and the countless more af-fected by his actions.

Never again will an in-nocent person die at his hands. Never again will he cause entire societies to be afraid.

The reality is, we all were affected on Sept. 11. All of our lives changed forever. On that fateful morning, we all lost a good deal of inno-

cence – the world never has been the same.

The story of Osama bin Laden is a real-life tragedy. The story of an individual consumed by what he believed to be truth. Many others have followed suit. Many more still will.

So don’t confuse the chants of “USA, USA” or the mini flags as ela-tion over a man’s death, but rather they should be viewed as a form of closure: closure for the families of his victims – closure for us all.

The war on terror is not over. It may never be over. But, peace-loving people around the world who want nothing more than to live free can sleep a little easier to-night – and that’s cause for celebration.

Rumor prevails when it gives people what they want, or it confirms people’s imagination and prejudice.

contact the Optimist atjmcnetwork@acu.edu

the issueTuition Equalization Grants may be cut from the Texas budget taking away millions of dollars from ACU students.

our takeStudents receiving grants need to start working now to cover possible deficits.

contact Craig atjrc07d@acu.edu

Obtuseness obscures objectivityCOLUMN

contact the Optimist atjmcnetwork@acu.edu

Craig

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The story of Osama bin Laden is a real-life tragedy. The story of an individual consumed by what he believed to be truth.

Zhou

May 4, 2011 Page 7FROM SPORTS

Bouniol shoots bogey free first round to lead

This year at the NCAA Su-per Regional tournament in Kentucky, the Wildcats are looking for redemption. Last year after winning the conference tournament, the Wildcats had a disap-pointing regional tourna-ment and wound up on the outside looking in at the national tournament.

This year, the Wildcats, led by senior Cyril Bouniol, have come out with a roar-

ing start. Defending na-tional champion Bouniol led the Wildcat charge on Monday as the ‘Cats ended the day in second place out-right. Bouniol had six bird-ies in his opening round and never had to square in a number en route to his best round this season.

“It feels great, but it is a 54-hole tournament and all the teams are very close,” Bouniol said. “Ev-ery shot will matter, and that’s how my mindset is.”

ACU, at one over par

as a team, trails Wayne State by only two strokes. Even better news for the Wildcats is that they are four strokes ahead of fifth place, the final qualifying spot for nationals. Lone Star Conference champi-on Central Oklahoma had a rough first day finishing 10th and nine strokes out of the lead.

The second round was supposed to be played Tuesday, but because of inclement weather the golfers will have to play

both the second and third rounds Wednesday. It will be a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. That means that all of the golfers will start on different holes all at the same times.

“We’ll be fine. It will be just like most of the tour-naments we’ve played this

year,” junior Tyler Sheppard said. “Nearly every tourna-ment we have played in has been 36 holes the first day and 18 the second.”

The groupings will be foursomes based off of national rank.

Last year, Bouniol fin-ished in second at region-

als on a course in Duncan, Okla. which Head Coach Mike Campbell described as having the hardest pin placements he has seen. This year the course is tough in another way.

“It’s a completely dif-ferent style of course,” Bouniol said. “It has nar-row fairways and heavy, thick roughs. It is a de-manding course in terms of ball-striking.”

Austin Gwin Sports Editor

GOLF

contact Gwin atagg07a@acu.edu

Recap: No help comes to put ’Cats in playoff

“It’s always a good feeling to get the bats going early in the game. Doing so gives us confidence and allows the pitcher to breathe a sigh of relief and relax just a little,” Gilliland said.

Senior Brittany Rexroat went 5.2 innings and won her 13th game.

In the first of two games Saturday, Tarleton St. jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings due to errors.

“We dug ourselves into a deep hole at the beginning of that one,” Reeves said. “Give credit to our girls though; they kept fighting.”

After Starter Shelby Hall exited the game quickly, Peyton Mosley came in on relief, throwing five innings and only allowing one hit.

“It’s huge when you

have someone like Peyton who comes in under any circumstance and cleans up the mess. She played like a veteran and really stepped up when we need-ed her,” Reeves said.

Freshman Lyndi Smith had three hits in the first game en route to a comeback that fell short, as Tarleton got the better of ACU 6-5.

With the series knotted at 1-1 heading into the rub-ber match, ACU was in a must-win situation.

Rexroat started the rub-ber game and picked up in stride where she left off in Friday’s contest.

She cruised, throwing through four innings giv-ing up only two runs.

A Megan Brigance walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth ended the game and sealed the 15-6

win for the Wildcats.Abilene Christian had

done their part. Now they needed some help.

And the waiting game started.

“We had to sit around here for an hour for the Texas Woman’s-Angelo State game to end,” Reeves said. “When I found out that Angelo lost again, meaning we were out, it was hard. It was no fun telling the team that. It was an emotional time for us, especially the seniors.”

The four seniors – Melissa Mendoza, Brittany Rexroat, Ashley Calles and Candice Miller – all played a valuable role on the team, according to Reeves, and will be re-membered for their play.

SOFTBALL

contact Shake atbxs09a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

NFL: Gates goes in fourth

yards. Gates was named to both the AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team and the Daktronics All-American Team for his production in the 2010 football season.

The Dolphins saw a player that could help them stretch the field ver-

tically, something they had been lacking. Miami’s longest pass play from the line of scrimmage was just 57 yards, the fifth lowest long pass play for a team in the NFL last season.

Gates also will be asked to help in the return game. With his elite speed, Gates rep-resents a potentially major

upgrade in the return game. Last season the Dolphins ranked in the bottom third of kick and punt returns.

Gates is the fourth play-er from ACU in the last five years to hear his name called at the NFL draft.

ALUMNI

contact Tripp atbjt07a@acu.edu

Finale: Pitching lacks in loss

showed me they had a lot of heart to keep playing and battling hard.”

Duncan Blades led ACU in the first game when he went 4-5, hitting two home runs, a double and a single. Blades was a triple shy of the cycle, as he scored four times for the Wildcats. ACU would cruise to a 17-6 victory.

The second game turned into a slugfest as both teams combined for 39 hits and 30 runs. ACU scored 13 runs in the game, but came up short as the Bulldogs scored 17. With the loss, the Wildcats were elimi-nated from having a shot at making the postseason.

The third game virtually was meaningless for the

Wildcats, other than the fact that a win would put them over .500 in confer-ence. It was not meant to be as the Wildcats would fall in extra innings 12-11. The game was tied at 9-9 in the 11th inning when ACU scored two runs on a single by J.R. Roland. However, the two runs were not enough as SWOSU came back in the bottom of the 11th with three runs to win the game.

ACU was picked to win the LSC tournament, but instead will be watching as they host this year’s tournament. The Wildcats

were plagued by injuries this season and had prob-lems in the bullpen.

ACU will graduate 11 se-niors this year leaving some holes in the lineup that will need to be replaced.

“We have a lot of seniors leaving but we have already signed close to 10-15 kids so far,” Bonneau said. “We are going to finish our recruit-ing in early June to make sure we have the right guys to piece it back together and rebuild this program.”

BASEBALL

contact Cantrell atjrc07f@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

Wins: Women also advance

TexAnns early in the sea-son, defeating them 7-2.

“We knew we were go-ing to have to fight hard for this,” said freshman Micah Hermsdorf. “We’re confi-dent, we played our best, and it turned out. Coach said we worked hard, we played as a team, and we did a good job, but we’re

going to have to fight even harder for nationals.”

This will be the men’s fifth straight appearance in nationals, and the wom-en’s 16th consecutive berth in the national tourna-ment, which will be played in Altamonte Springs, Fla., May 11-May 14.

“I have to take all my finals early, before nation-als, because I’m going back

home to France as soon as the national tournament is over,” Mongin said. “I have a busy week ahead of me, but Coach always tells us to give our energy on the court, to stay positive and do the best we can. I’m happy with the way we played, and looking forward to nationals.”

TENNIS

contact Smith atmds10a@acu.edu

Continued from page 8

Continued from page 8

The boys showed me they had a lot of heart to keep playing and battling hard.

BRITT BONNEAU // Head Coach of the ACU baseball team‘‘ ’’

Every shot will matter and that is how my mindset is.

CYRIL BOUNIOL // senior golfer for the ACU Wildcats‘‘ ’’

Both the ACU men’s and women’s tennis teams won the South Central Regional tournament, as the women beat Tarleton State and the men defeated Cameron University.

The men’s No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams won, giv-ing the Wildcats a slight 2-1 lead heading into singles play. In singles, sophomores Hans Hach and Alfredo Desiati and junior Jake Hendrie each won points for ACU, with Hendrie’s win clinching the regional title for the Wildcats.

“This win gives us a lot of confidence heading to the national tournament,” said junior Bryan Joiner. “Everybody worked hard all season and we feel like we deserve this opportu-nity in Florida. Now our focus turns to our next opponent at nationals. We have many goals still to fulfill as a team and have a great opportunity to do something special.”

Sophomore Eldad Campbell lost his singles match in an extremely tight one against Cameron’s No. 2 Thomas Peixoto, 7-6, 7-6; Joiner and sophomore John Strahl did not finish their matches after Hendrie

clinched the title with the final team score of 5-2. It is ACU’s third win over the Aggies in as many weeks.

“I think the key for to-day’s win was the team’s mental preparation; it’s not easy to beat a team three times in a row,” De-siati said. “We’ll be focus-ing on trying to build our minds to a better stage, which will be fundamental for nationals.”

The women’s team fol-lowed the men’s win and, like the men, won the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches to open up a 2-1 advantage over Tarleton State. The first three singles matches to end were won by Lady Wildcat sophomores Julia Mongin and Hannah Kelley, and senior Natalie Friend. Mongin’s 6-2, 6-2 victory was the closest of the three completed matches.z“After

seeing the guys win, we real-ly wanted this win even more so we can go to Florida with them,” said Mongin. “I just wanted to play well, have fun and win.”

The three quick wins didn’t allow the other

three singles matches to end as the Wildcats clinched the title with Kelley’s 6-2, 6-1 point, making the final team score 5-2. ACU faced the

SportsMay 4, 2011Page 8

Standings

Briefs

n The baseball team announced the addi-tion of 14 players to their 2012 roster. In-cluded in those 14 are two outfielders, four pitchers, one infielder and a catcher that will be transfers from community and junior colleges. Assistant Coach Brandon Stover indicated that five should play contribut-ing roles next season for the Wildcats.

n Senior sprinter Desmond Jackson was named the Lone Star Conference Male Track Athlete of the Week on Thursday following his perfor-mance at the Michael Jonson/Dr Pepper Classic at Baylor. Jackson placed sec-ond in the 100- and 200-meter runs, set-ting personal records in both events.

n The track and field team will compete at the Lone Star Confer-ence Track and Field Championships Friday through Sunday in Stephenville on the campus of Tarleton State University.

n The men’s tennis team will play in the NCAA Division II National Tournament May 11 in Alamonte Springs, Fla. The Wildcats will play the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic region, which will be either Bluefield State College or Shaw University.

Upcoming

BASEBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

UIWTarleton StSE OK. St.CameronSW OK St.TAMU-KAngelo St.ACU

24-923-1023-1022-1123-1318-1519-1716-17

33-1435-1129-1630-1432-1624-2225-2324-23

SOFTBALL

Team Div. Ovrl.

ASUUIW

TWUWTAMU

ACUTSU

11-10

15-615-6

14-7

11-1010-11

29-24

31-2140-10

40-14

28-2722-25

TAMU-K 5-16 24-31ENMU 3-18 13-41

Player Profile

Lyndi Smith, freshman outfielder from Uvalde, provided an offensive spark for the Wildcat

softball team last weekend in its series against Tarleton State.

Smith was 6-8 and scored four runs Satur-day alone. In the open-er Saturday, Smith had three hits – including a homerun that hit off the scoreboard that helped mount a sev-enth-inning comeback. On the weekend, she scored six runs, had six hits and one RBI.

Smith

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Jake Hendrie reacts after winning a crucial point in his match win against Nicolas Clerc of Cameron Univeristy. Hendrie’s win clinched the match for the Wildcats and will send them to the NCAA national tournament for the fifth straight season.

National Security

Mark Smith Sports Reporter

TENNIS

see WINS page 7

Receiver takes talents to South Beach

Edmund Gates, former all-American receiver, will follow in the footsteps of LeBron James as he takes his talents to South Beach, Fla. to play for the Miami Dolphins.

“Its just a blessing for me; it’s a real blessing,” said Gates. “It’s a dream come true. I have wanted this for a long time.”

Gates, who was projected as a fourth-round pick, was selected 111th overall by the Miami Dolphins. After be-ing drafted with the 111th pick Gates became the sec-ond highest Wildcat drafted since 2006, the year Danieal Manning was drafted by the Bears 42nd overall.

“I know those guys started it all for us here at Abilene Christian. They came first and that’s a blessing,” Gates said.

Gates is the second member of his family to make it to the NFL, joining his cousin Bernard Scott.

Gates also can look at his performance at the combine as to why he was drafted. Gates posted the fastest time for any wide receiver with a 4.37 40-yard dash, the third best vertical jump of 40”, and second best broad jump with a 10’11”.

Gates will join a receiv-er core consisting of Pro-Bowler Brandon Marshall, Davon Bess and a myriad of other young receivers. However, the Dolphins have a question at quarter-back with incumbent Chad Henne wondering about his future with the team.

With the uncertainty of the NFL lockout being re-instated, Gates is unsure what his next move is.

“I don’t really know. I am going to have to sit down with my agent and figure out what’s next for me,” Gates said.

Gates left ACU as just the seventh receiver in history to have a 1,000-yard receiving season. He also is among the school leaders in touchdowns, receptions and receiving

Brandon Tripp Sports Director

ALUMNI

’Cats strike out in season finales

ACU dropped two of three games this weekend and will miss the LSC post-season tournament for the first time since 1997.

ACU finished the year 24-23 overall, which was their worst season finish since 1995. ACU finished 16-17 in the LSC, fin-ishing ninth in conference.

ACU split the first two games against Southwest Oklahoma State on Friday. ACU won the first game 17-6 against the Bull-dogs, but SWOSU would respond by knocking off the Wildcats 17-13 in the second game.

“We scored a lot this week-end. I think we scored close to 50 runs. We played hard through the whole thing,” Head Coach Britt Bonneau said. “Overall it was a fun weekend. The boys

Ryan Cantrell Sports Multimedia Editor

ATHLETICS

The softball team fell just short of their postseason aspirations this weekend, after taking two of three games against the Tarleton State TexAnns.

In order to reach the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament, the ’Cats needed to take care of business against

TSU and get some help. Unfor-tunately, the help never came.

The Wildcats finish the sea-son 28-27, 11-10, tied for fourth in the LSC South.

In the opening game Friday night, ACU got out to a 4-1 lead after two innings.

Catcher Erin Gilliland hit a two-RBI double to start off the inning before she would score on an Ashley Calles double later in the inning.

Bryson Shake Assistant Sports Editor

Men’s and women’s tennis grab regional victories at home

DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Shortstop Aaron Oliver looks on from the dugout earlier this season.DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer

Megan Brigance stares down at home in an at-bat during the regular season.

see NFL page 7

see RECAP page 7see FINALE page 7

Playoff streak ends as ACU loses two of three

Help doesn’t come as season comes to end

I just wanted to play well, have fun and win.

JULIA MONGIN // sophomore tennis player for the ACU Wildcats‘‘ ’’