The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 9, Ed. 1, Tuesday, September 19, 2006 Page: 6 of 10
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VlEWSTUESDAY
OHMS!
Par
Tuesday Stflmtot 11 UK
Pledging time has arrived and
peidpp caeieee are working
to gain tr approval and
acceptance of their older dub
Pledging hat many negative
aspects at students' grades drop
thty an puahtd btyond thtir
physical Imtt and txdudat many
ctab toosfuts.
umi
EvakMfte pledging in Hght of
ACUi minion and purpose
and put an and to traditions that
contfadkt that purpoM.
TuEtoCatNifei
-TRS
TV I ft
Staff should respond respectfully
Wow. Criticize Alumni Rela-
tions and expect to get burned.
First was a mean-spirited over-the-top
response from the
director of Alumni Relations
regarding Mr. Field's evalua-
tion of the graduation party
m May. This letter certainly
took strides In the building
of relationships with future
and current alumni particu-
larly in the JMC department
Then someone with very
dose ties to Alumni Relations
but not currently employed
to that office (much wiser and
slightly more sly than the di-
rector responding) chastises
and pokes run at criticisms of
ACU for making you pay upon
arrival at a birthday party.
Perhaps we shouldn't ex
Freshman
I feel obligated to respond
to the article entitled "Enjoy
freedom of freshman year" by
Jared Fields.
As a freshman I am of-
fended by the patronizing tone
of the article. I did appreciate
learning about how the Chapel
card-swipe works; I didn't know
mat there was a card-swipe by
an official before anyone could
get credit But there was abso-
lutely no need to couch this In-
formation In phrases that make
the freshman class sound like.
3-year-olds or students with
mental disabilities.
IMfned eeHerWe are the opinion
of the Qpekrttf and may not necessarily
reNeot the views of the university or Its
Observe
Pledging Is upon us.
It's that overwhelming
time when men and women
forget their school work lives
and friends for a four-week
nothing-but-club period.
Clubs create a unique
atmosphere on campus
and are a good fit for some
students. They can give
someone a place to belong
and help members create
memories of what they did
while at the university In
a way that not many stu-
dent groups can. However
the cons outweigh the pros
when looking at the way the
clubs induct new members
through pledging.
Pledges will be subjected
to physical activities early-
morning meetings and a
dress code and In the end
pledges will have a new-
found loyalty to the club
and university learn cov
46.M. r I
pect ACU to foot the bill for fun
when invited to attend a party
yet Celebrate Abilene adver-
tised admission fees. What a
Joy for AQTs neighbors who
were Invited to arrive only to
be unable to enjoy the fun be-
cause of unexpected fees. It Is
also noteworthy as an earlier
letter stated that ACU did ad-
vertise prices for other events
not only that day but through-
out the year of the Centennial
Celebration and all other e ents
on campus: ballgames plays
admission to special events. Be-
sides why shouldn't we expect
ACU to foot the bill for a car-
nival? It's been done numerous
times before and your 100th
birthday only comes once.
A former boss taught me
expresses
Latter to the editor in
response to Fields' column
addressed to freshman.
But that was certainly not
the part of the article that of-
fended me the most. Regard-
less of whether the Jackets
were "cool at your high school"
letter Jackets have two very ma-
jor benefits. They are typically
quite warm which is nice In
the cold snaps that west Texas
does indeed experience. And
jzy mr i
i I ij 4f. I o
(ttscki obscenity defamation erroneous
Information or Invasion of privacy
Plieee limit letter to 350 words or
fewer. A nam and phone number must be
included for verification purpose. Phone
numbers will not be published.
Address letters to
ACUftoaznea
E-mall letter to:
pledging
eted club se-
crets and be
Initiated Into
an exclusive
group.
Many say
these traditions create uni-
ty but this cycle of training
new members only breeds
an attitude of "since I went
through it you will too."
Many unlnvolved with the
Inner-workings of club watch
this process take place vcar
after year wondering how
something so seemingly un-
intentional exclusive and
often unkind can draw such
a large following. Clubs ex-
clusively choose members
for various reasons. One rea-
son is to limit the number of
new members that join each
year. A women's club mem-
ber said this exclusivity is
required so the pledge class
Is small and can bond bet-
ISmmIIaIa
IRflRw
letter to the editor about
previous letters addressing
Centennial Celebration.
about "rhino-skin". Rhino-skin
is what you need to be In a po-
sition where everyone is not
going to appreciate vour work.
I was leading Chapel a rhino-
skin Job. He also reminded mc
of lessons learned in kindergar-
ten: respect others' opinions
and think before responding In
anger. This advice has already
been given but yet to be heeded
on any side of the arguments.
In short if vou're going to
be in charge find more con
iV AWkX? . &
the importance of high school letter jacket
they represent four years of
hard work and dedication.
My letter Jacket boasts two
Texas All-State Band patches;
three State Solo and Ensemble
patches; one State One-Act Play
patch; one State Spelling and
Vocabulary patch; one patch
indicating my involvement with
the Crossmcn Drum and Bugle
Corps; and countless other
patches from regional and
district events In which I com-
peted. I worked hard for those
patches and I am rightly proud
of them. Your casual dismiss
Uptimist
with a more skeptical lens
Many say these traditions create unity but this
cycle of training new members only breeds an
attitude of "since I went through it you will too."
tcr during the pledging pro-
cess. But what about those who
wanted to Join but were voted
against because they didn't
know enough names In club
because they didn't look the
part of that club or because
they simply attended too
many rushes of competing
clubs7 How docs choosing
a few and excluding the rest
Imitate Christ the claimed
purpose by many clubs7 No
other student group on cam-
pus excludes people the way
social clubs do.
Clubs also claim that
throughout the pledging
process each activity Is for a
reason either to teach pledg
MMYnk
structive ways to handle criti-
cism than demeaning others.
After all they attended your
events unlike many critics
and their feedback should
be as valuable as those who
praised our work. The office
of Alumni Relations should
serve as ambassadors for
ACU these letters were disap-
pointing in reaching this goal
Thanks for a great v ear cel-
ebrating the Centennial. Your
work on these events is appre-
ciated and they were enjoved
by many students faculty
staff alumni and neighbors.
Brad Carter
Former director
of AlumntRelations
brad .carteracu.edu
al of my Jacket as "uncool" Is
tantamount to declaring those
achievements unworthy of at-
tention. I do not wear the jack-
et In order to shove my accom-
plishments In students' faces. I
wear It mainly to remind myself
of the victories I achieved in
high school and to show others
that hard work docs pay off.
My blood sweat and tears
were ground Into more foot-
ball fields than I can count this
summer with the Crossmcn.
That patch Is Incredibly mean-
ingful to me. Practicing for an
hour and a half every day for
es secrets or
the history
of the club
or to break
them down
to become
stronger people.
Still clubs don't do any-
thing throughout the year
that requires Its members
to be stronger other than
the flag football games each
week. It Is not a club's re-
sponsibility to "build boys
Into men" as one club presi-
dent said of Bid Night.
Every student on campus
is an adult and docs not need
a group of peers making
them into "men" or "wom-
en." We respect that endur-
ing such a hard process will
Inevitably unite the pledging
class but frankly the pledg-
ing process as It stands to-
day only pushes pledges to
do more than they think and
Sharpen your
sword for battle
Spiritual warfare Is real.
It happens everyday.
It doesn't only happen in
third-world countries. It's
happening
right here
right now
in this town
filled with
churches
and church-
going Chris-
tians. There
are bat-
tles being
fought all
around us
and we are
part of the greater war be-
tween angels and demons.
But the demons aren't
Just fighting angels;
they.'rc fighting us. What
arc we su'ppdsc tb dd? Are
we supposed
to just sit
back and let
this unseen
war silently
take
Cm
Micas
Jlauaei
e victims? ' are doing a
Ephesians get around to reading good job m
6 talks about the Bible
the Armor
of God. The
Lord has given us protec-
tion for this war. He's
prepared us to enter into
battle. He's given us our
weapon our double-
edged sword that comes
from knowing the Word
and 1 have let it become
dull.
My weapon the only
thing I have to slay my
enemies has become dull
not sharp enough to elicit
a minor flesh wound.
And what am I doing
about it? Hardly anything.
two years eventually resulting
in winning first chair In the Tex-
as All-State Band. You can bet
that patch means something
to mc. And that's what mat-
ters what my jacket means to
mc. Maybe you think those ac-
complishments are worthless.
You've obviously never drilled
vocabulary words for weeks on
end but I am not going to be-
little your choice of activities.
But looking at my Jacket
takes mc back to San Antonio
where I played my solo In front
of an enormous crowd. It takes
me back to the University of
MaHorySchlabach Lauren Sutton DanWJohnaon
Editor In Chief Opinion Editor Sports Editor
Jared Field BrianSchmktt MkftatoJtmtMC
Managlng Editor ChW Photographer Art Editor
MHchHolt KelslPaaca Shelby Coate
Copy Editor Features Editor Video Editor
are often physically capable
of.
During this time more
pledges are sick tired and
emotionally drained from
all the pledging activities re-
quired of them. Schoolwork
Is often not a top priority
and many pledges' grades
drop because they aren't
able to complete everything
required of them.
The pledging process
should be evaluated to re-
flect the mission and pur-
pose of the clubs. Now It
serves as a month of Initia-
tion rituals where club mem-
bers can frighten and push
pledges to do anything to fit
In with the select group. Per-
haps that is the true purpose
of clubs.
I see what's happening
'and maybe I'll say a hasty
prayer but maybe I won't.
I'm too lazy to dive
deeper into the word of
Cod and spend time with
my Creator. There always
seems to be something
else I want to do before I
get around to reading the
Bible or praying. And when
I do start reading the Bi-
ble I tend to get bored at
times.
But that's exactly what
Satan wants from us.
He'll do anything to
keep us from growing
closer to the one who la
his enemy. He's here ex-
panding his territory over
us because we're fighting
with dull swords that are
how becoming rusty. What
a great ad-
. .vantage he
There always seems ha8.
to be something else . Satan and
Iwmttnlnhofnrol his demons
or praying this unseen
war. We're
helping the
very one whose only pur-
pose In life is to cause
destruction strife and
calamity. Is that really
something we want to be
doing?
I'm thinking It's about
time to sharpen that sword
of mine. How's your sword
looking?
Wisconsin where I conducted
the Crossmen Drum and Bu-
gle Corps in their semi-final
round performance. It takes
me back to Austin where
I was In the final round of a
competition In which five hun-
dred thousand students have
participated.
That's plenty cool enough
for me.
Eric Wyatt
freshman music major
from Stamford
eswOSaOaaitdu
ChrMttark
AftenfehgMaiasv
Kerne Pytej
Advloor
sjanee oekstMs eeitoono ens loners
ire Ins opinions of their creators and may
not nooesssrly reflect the viewpoints of the
qpeVnef or the university.
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rsspense through letters to the editor but
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 9, Ed. 1, Tuesday, September 19, 2006, newspaper, September 19, 2006; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth99950/m1/6/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.