The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 55, Ed. 1, Friday, April 27, 2001 Page: 6 of 8
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Opinion
i ' 1.s '
6 Friday April 27 2001 Optimist
EDITORIAL
Crime updates
increase safety
t Hearing about cnme on campus is a good thing
' living in a cnme-frce community would be ideal but because ACU
Is not exempt from the real world students can take some comfort in
Tcnowing about the crime that happens on campus
Recent announcements by the dean during Chapel as well as e-
mails to all student accounts updating the ACU community about the
'recent problem demonstrate that this is a university that cares about its
students
The university should continue updating students about the man
who has confronted several
Recent announcements women on campus recently
The untversitys action in this
case should guide a policy of
keeping students Informed of
campus cnme through
announcements and c mails dur-
ing an ongoing situation as well
as on a regular basis through the
Optimist and a public record of campus cnme available to all students
This trend of greater openness benefits eeryone people arc safer
vhen they are aware of possible danger and students can trust an
administration that is willing to make public bad news as vvdl as good
I Having the information about criminal activity on campus also
gives eeryone in the community a responsibility to be alert and to
look out for one another
I Students need to report suspicious activity or people who just don't
seem to belong to the normal flow of campus life Reporting problems
promptly is the best way to increase odds of successful resolution
'. Being aware of cnme doesnt sohe the problem but it encourages
students to support cnme stopping campaigns which is a step in the
right direction
LETTERS
demonstrate this is a
university that cares
about its students.
Pledging should reflect
ACU's Christian mission
I will be graduating soon and
theres one thing on my heart that
I njust say
First I want to make it clear
that I like social clubs and the
opportunities that they offer to
make fnends and create memo-
nes However spnng rushes and
planning for fall activities have
gntedgmdift lime Io start talk-
5aSpVrrtorcjubs that is
riften hidden - pledging
The Texas state legislature
passed the ami hazing code in
1988 Thirteen years later things
at ACU seem better but as
Christians can we really be satis-
fied with where we are?
We have an even higher call-
ing to end hazing than those at
state schools As a faith based
institution we should be leading
the way to eliminate hazing on
college campuses Yet it seems
that just as we did with integra-
tion in the 60s we are dragging
our feet behind the rest
r It is an embarrassment to the
entire school that others are
shocked when they leam what
still happens here 1 believe our
school has provided a clear and
adequate hazing guideline
lib time for it to be enforced
and for people to be held
accountable If the administra-
tion doesn't want to enforce the
guidelines they publish then
they need to change them
Unfortunately administrators
alone cannot stop hazing It is
time for club members to start
asking themselves and their offi-
cers tough questions about what
goes on dunng bid night and
pledging It isn't only about com-
plying with state law it is about
whether each pledge is being
jjreated with the dignity and
respect that a human formed in
jhe image of God deserves
J Iffornoothermotivethanitis'
Illegal we should do more to
ftop hazing But for the
Christian there is a more com-
pelling reason Jesus neer said
"Do unto others as you had done
to you" He says in Matthew
7 12 " In all things do unto oth-
ers as you would have them do
unto you "
Please begin thinking about
what your role will be in pledging
next year 1 pray that each of you
chooses to model every word and
action after Christ
ik- -
" Hilary Stirman
junior history major
from Sugarland
Move social club
bulletin boards
As a member of a social club
I am concerned about a particu-
lar issue
Each social club has a board
that represents them This bul-
letin board contains pictures
information about rushes and
intramurals and even wedding
invitations Many people do not
even know there is a board
because of its location The
boards are located downstairs in
the Bean Sprout where they go
unnoticed
Many people especially
upperclassmen don't ever go to
the Bean Sprout and these are the
people active in social clubs
These boards use to be located
where the phones now are but
there are other bulletin boards on
the other side Small organiza-
tions are represented by these
boards
Since there is more participa-
tion and activ e members in social
clubs the boards should be
where everyone can see them A
lot of people on campus are
uninformed about social clubs
and moving the boards would
create awareness
- Susan Welch
junior integrated marketing
communication major
from Farmers Branch
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SA must interact with student body
I think they reiving
I really do Several limes since coming to
ACU in August I hcvrd "them" - ou know
the Welcome Week people or the Chapel
announcement people (remember them?) or
someone in conversation - say that the
Students Association consisted of elected offi-
cers and the enure student body
1 heard "them" sav that every one of us was
a part of SA
I don't believe them
I never real!) thought about it much until
Aaron Chase who recently won a run off to
become sophomore class president sal down
to talk with t couple fnends and I as we ale
Pizza Hut in the Bean
Chase told us he wis running for sopho
more president andvisktd us to sign his pen
tion which we did Then he asked us a very
important question a question I never heard
anyone from SA ever isk anvonc else before
"Whit would vou like to sec me do in
office'''
Aaron Chnse got three votes that night
In the course of our discussion the four of
us concluded that SA does not stand for the
Students' Association at all
Chase said the consensus of the students
he had nlked to is tint the SA comes across as
a distant being from which decisions are
made and those decisions ma) have some
Students'
Association
comes across
as a distant
being from
which decisions
A Chip From ".
My Mind
Paul Anthony
indirect effect upon the student body at some
point but who really cares anyway?
This is a problem
Because when average Joe Student walks
into the Campus Center and sees dozens of
gaudy fl) ers telling him to v ote for a candidate '
biscd on their clever slogans or their fun use
of computer graphics hogets cheated of actu-
ally finding out what these candidates plan to
do for him
And when these smiling clever candidates
gel elected into office they may do important
things in regards to block tuition and secunty
but lhc do not ask average Joe Student any-
thing about fhese subjects So he gets cheated
agiin this time of having the ability to tell the
people he elected what he thinks
Finallv when its time for the next years
elections average Joe Student sees these
gaudy flyers again and cheats himself He
thinks "What did they do for me? I don even
know who they are!" And he doesn't vote
And this is most definitely a problem
"1 talked to several people who weren
going to vote in the run offs because they
didn't know it was a separate election" said
Jeremy Gordon who will be the junior class
treasurer next year
This is only an example that is indicative of
a much bigger problem
Gordon told me in an interview that most
students dont know what SA does Period
Forget knowing what the officers are doing or
what issues they are pursuing Most students
dont even know what the Students'
Association does'
"People don't think things SA does applies
to them" Gordon said
And donlt you think that of all things stu-
dent government should do it should apply
to the people it supposedly represents?
It is time to stop relying on the candidate
with the catchy slogan and biggest smile It is
time to start demanding a little more interac-
tion from our own government
After all arent we all part of SA?
Comments may be sent to Anthony at
paaOOaeacu edu or to the Optimist at optimistO
jmcacu edu
Experience the 'ACU Difference'
111 never forget the first unit 1 met Dr
Oirlcy Dodd
It was the first semester of m sophomore
year when I had his diss on persuasion
The first day of class 1 came in a little early
which is not common any more and pro-
ceeded to take my scat
Dr Dodd asked me what I had in my ther-
mos that 1 faithfully earned around like i
knight would his annor
It was just a simple cup of coffee from the
World famous Bean that 1 had doused with
sugar and milk in order to ovcrnde the orig-
inal taste
When Dr Dodd asked about my concoc-
tion I thought he was going to tell me that no
dnnks were allowed and that this was going
to be a class th it only consumed knowledge
not coffee
Instead he noticed thai it was almost
empty and immediately went up two flights
of stairs to bnng me a fresh cup which did-
nl make me squirm as the previous cup had
My first reaction was that tins guy was just
trying to show off on the first diy of class or
1
Guest Column
If you haven't
seen this
difference yet
don't give up.
Jason Mida
SA President
that he just wanted the exercise that I know
he is devoted to
The lesson I took from that day is that Dr
Dodd wanted nothing more than to be in my
life to be my fnend and to be a servant for
his students
That is the "ACU Difference" ladies and
gentlemen I was lucky enough to see that
first hand and to be blessed because of it
This community is composed of those
who wish to serve those who wish to be in
the lives of students those who have given
up much to be here and those that want to
stay because they believe in what they are
doing
If you haven't seen this difference yet
don't give up
Itls out there but ub not on some sign iti
not on a brochure us not something that is
necessanly tangible us the heart of this com-
munity My prayer is that you will be blessed by
someone like Carley Dodd and that you in
turn will become a blessing to others
Comments may be sent to the Optimist at opti-
mistO jmc acu edu
CORRECTION
Maybe 'B' is OK too.
In my most recent column 1 used a liule maihe
nutlcal slelght-of hand to support my claim that
when guessing on an exam one should always
choose C Surprise! My math was wrong who
would have guessed that 13 15- 3? So those
of you who prefer to alternate between B and
C please feel free - Matt Lowe
IN YOUR WORDS
President George W. Bush has been in office for more than 100 days. How do
you think he's done so far?
to !&'' fflCila
yffy
;i II be happy with th; Bush presiden-
cy as soon as he keeps Steiribrenner
and the Yankees from winning the
World Series again "
'. Tim Spain
'.senior youth and family ministry major
' from Martin Term
"As well as could be expected which
in my opinion is not very well "
Colin Peden
senior biology maor
from Grapevine
M
"He lost control of the campaign
finance agenda "
Jessica Free
junior political science major
from Prescott Ariz
"He's done pretty well I wish we
would do more with the environ-
ment "
(Crista Smith
junior electronic media major
from Austin
Optimist
Editor in Chief Opinion Editor
Jessica Smith Barrett Koczkur
Managing Editor Faculty Adviser
Amy Wilson Dr Merlin Mann
Advertising Manager
Cassandra Lopez
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are the opinions of their creators and Abilene TX 79699
do not necessarily reflect the view- optimlst9jmcacu.edu
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 55, Ed. 1, Friday, April 27, 2001, newspaper, April 27, 2001; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101715/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.