The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, February 6, 2009 Page: 4 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Optimist and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 4
FROM THE FRONT
Friday, February 6, 2009
Madagascar: Students pray for country
Continued from page 1
position. Ravalomanana fired
Rajoelina from his post Tues-
day, but Rajoelina has contin-
ued to organize protests.
“L’ve been passing on news
to the other Malagasy students
and to my other American
friends and other interna-
tional friends here,” said Ra-
harinomenj anahary, who was
not part of the Madagascar
Presidential Scholars program
but came to ACU for graduate
work in 2007.
President Ravalomanana
has visited ACU’s, campus
twice — once in February
2005 to tour the campus and
visit the 24 students he sent to
ACU as part of the Madagascar
Presidential Scholars Program,
and again in May 2008 to wit-
ness the students' graduation.
Ravalomanana received an
honorary doctor of laws degree
and praised the students in his
speech during the ceremony.
“I am proud of you. Your
country, your families and your
professors are proud of you,”
the president said on stag£.
“I hope you understand what
a treasure you will have when
you receive your diploma from
ACU. Having a degree from an
American university is highly
valued around the world, but
to graduate from an excellent
university where God is hon-
ored is priceless.”
The students attended a
second commencement for
family and friends in Madagas-
car in July. Dr. John Tyson, vice
president for development; Dr.
Royce Money, president of the
university, and several other
members of the ACU admin-
istration, faculty and staff also
traveled to Madagascar for the
special commencement in the
students’ home country.
The scholarship program
was created after Ravaloma-
nana met Tyson in 2003, when
the ACU administrator was
visiting the country on the
first trade mission sponsored
by the - U.S.-Madagascar Busi-
ness Council. Ravalomanana,
a Christian, was intrigued by
ACU’s mission and wanted
Madagascar’s best and bright-
est to receive their education
at ACU and return to their
home country to help in his ef-
forts to pull it out of poverty.
A national search began, and
the chosen 24 students from
15 regions of the Republic of
Madagascar enrolled in the fall
of 2004. In exchange for full
tuition covered by the Mala-
gasy government, the students
pledged to return to their home
country for at least two years,
but some remained in the U.S.
to pursue graduate work, after
getting permission from the
president’s office to do so.
The World Bank, the United
Nations, the U.S. and other
developed countries’ leaders
have praised Ravalomanana
for his ongoing plans and vi-
sion to make his country a
tourist destination and build
its role in the world economy.
The African Union has con-
demned Rajoelina’s move to
overthrow the president. UN
chief Ban Ki-Moon said he was
sending Haile Menkerios, the
UN assistant secretary general
for political affairs, to visit the
island in the Indian Ocean and
hoped to mitigate the situation
by encouraging the opposing
sides to talk, according to Reu-
ters Wire Service.
Laza Razafimanjato, gradu-
ate student from Antanana-
rivo, said that before the vio-
lence toned down, he checked
the Web for news hourly.
“It actually has been hard to
focus on things because liter-
ally after the riots apd when
things calmed down, I was
pretty much OK getting back
to my routine but I wanted an
update every day,” Razafiman-
jato said. “I was looking at pic-
tures of what is going on and
looking at what is going on."
He was shocked by the news
and wrote messages to his fel-
low Malagasy students who
had returned to the island with
a population of more than 17
million after completing their
degrees at ACU. After discov-
ering his family and friends
were safe, he knew he had only
one thing to do: pray.
Razafinmanjato said he
knew his prayers and the
prayers of his church members
and ACU community would
bring peace to Madagascar.
Razafinmanjato’s faith was
reinforced when he chatted
with a friend who also was a
member of the 24 students
who first came to ACU more
than four years ago.
“She really feels the prayers
are coming their way and
knows they are helping Mada-
gascar,” Razafinmanjato said.
E-mail Johnson-Kim at: djj04a@acu.edu
Rides: Professors try to make a difference on campus
Continued from page 1
He said skateboarding to
class provides cardiovascu-
lar exercise every morning,
and he also uses the time
he spends walking or skate-
boarding to clear his head or
listen to Podcasts.
Jim Cooke, professor of
environmental science, does
not like the term “alternative
transportation,” but. instead
refers to minimizing car usage
as simply something everyone
should do.
“I ride a bicycle because
I like it; it’s fun, it has lots of
benefits, but also because I
think it’s the right thing to do,”
Cooke said.
Cooke uses a bike on cam-
pus, a gas-efficient motorcycle
to navigate the town and a hy:
brid Prius car when necessary
for other travel. He said he
chooses these modes of trans-
portation for efficiency, ^er-
ase and fun, and also in order
to make a “green” impact.
“If we had a more bicycle
friendly city and a more bike
friendly campus, then we
would begin to change the
car culture and positively
impact the issues of obesity,
health, traffic congestion,
parking,” he said. “If we went
to more of a bicycle culture
or bicycle frame of mind...
then we could change our
current car culture.”
To increase the use of
bikes on campus as opposed
to vehicles, Cooke initiated
a program in the past called
the “Purple Bike Program,” in
which students were given the
opportunity to use painted
purple bikes on campus with-
out any responsibility or own-
ership of the bike. In this way,
students could commute on
campus and use any purple
bike parked on the university
grounds and then leave it out-
side for another student to
use. Although the idea was un-
successful at the time because
of funding and bicycle mainte-
nance issues, Cooke said there
is a possibility of trying the
Purple Bike Program again in
the future.
“You might think you
can’t make a difference,” he
said. “But there are things
that you can do, and the way
you change the world is by
changing yourself.”
E-mail Spano at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu
______t
SA: Congress OKs kiosk
Continued from page 1
like something he would want
to do.
“It’s a way to educate my-
self about the process and
serve my peers,” Penfield said.
“I’m excited to be a part of SA,
even though I’m not a part of
SA. I’m excited to be a part of
the process.”
Penfield said his first inter-
est, as elections co-chair, was
not to take away the students’
voices by docking votes for
elections violations. >
“I don’t think the students’
right to vote should be sacri-
ficed if a particular candidate
breaks the rules,” he said.
Instead, Penfield said he
would consider fining candi-
dates for serious infractions,
especially if they occur several
days before the elections.
“I would say be a little harsh-
er on people breaking cam-
paigning rules right before elec-
tions,” he said.
Penfield also said he ap-
proved the use of gimmicks
STAR: Group
Continued from page 1
successful in comparison to its
benchmark. In the eight years
of the group’s existence, she
said it has been ahead of the
market’s standard for investing
and making money every year
except one.
“We’ve had a pretty good
track record,” Pope said. “Very
few actively managed funds
have a track record of exceed-
ing the benchmark to the ex-
tent [that STAR does.]”
The group is invested in 25
corporations, including IBM,
Nike, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and
others,, Any money earned goes
directly to the university’s en-
dowment fund.
Although STAR is an ex-
and electronic publicizing, like
Facebook, in campaigns.
“We can make all the rules
we want and encourage people
to follow them,” he said. “But
something as big as cyberspace
would be hard to enforce.”
* Congress ended the meeting
by considering a resolution that
formally would endorse the
new ad kiosk, which Physical
Resources will begin building in
the upcoming weeks.
Gardner Hall Rep. Julianne
Hart, author of the resolution,
said it was a piece of fluff and a
public relations statement.
Sophomore Sen. Tony God-
frey argued for the necessity of
the resolution.
“We need a kiosk,” he said.
“We need to keep this on the
administration’s minds, so' it’s
not put on the back burner.”
Congress passed the kiosk
resolution 35-1-1.
The next SA Congress meet-
ing is Wednesday at 5:10 p.m.
in Hart Auditorium.
E-mail Linton at: Icrl04b@acu.edu
earns profit
tracurricular activity without
academic credit, Pope said the
group is beneficial to students
interested in a real investment
experience and pursuing a ca-
.reer in financial management.
Jody Walker, STAR presi-
dent and senior business ma-
jor from New Braunfels, agreed
that STAR is a positive experi-
ence for business majors.
“You can learn many of the
principles in the classroom, but
this is the real world,” Walker
said. “It’s one of those things
that’s always changing. If you’re
good at reading companies and
expecting -future outcome of
companies, you can make a lot
of money.”
E-mail Spano at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu
The official ACU ring proclaims allegiance to Abilene Christian University
and pride as a Wildcat. It also demonstr^^^^^^
With one official design
that portrays the story and ®|y|
spirit of the university, graduates IS
who wear the official ACU ring are
immediately identifiable. A visible symbol
of achievement and honor, it is the only ring sold on campus.
Students are eligible to order a ring after successfully completing 60 hours,
Only 13 days left to purchase your ring!
Purchase your ring
February 2 - February 20,2009
The Campus Store
9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
SPONSORED BY
_
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, February 6, 2009, newspaper, February 6, 2009; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth903963/m1/4/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.