The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Page: 3 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 23 x 12 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
y?ORTE£
iiOERSSi
STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION
Smith-Adams to be
first Honors dorm
The enrollment numbers for next year are looking a lot
stronger than we expected, so we decided to not shut
down Smith-Adams”
Dr. Jean-Noel Thomp-
son, vice president for
Student Life and Dean
of Students, joined the
Student’s Association for
their Wednesday meeting
and discussed next year’s
alteration of Smith-Ad-
ams into an Honors resi-
dence hall.
Dr. Thompson invited
Congress members to
present any questions
they had about Student
Life to him. Congress
members had inquiries
concerning changes in
sophomore housing for
next year.
Thompson said, “The
enrollment numbers for
next year are looking a
lot stronger than we ex-
pected, so we -decided
not to shut down Smith-
Adams.”
Smith-Adams is in-
stead being used to kick
off a pilot program tar-
geted at Honors students
who can then bring in
non-Honors room or hall
mates.
“I’m not sold on just
an honors-student com-
munity,” Thompson said.
"I don’t like the idea that
it could suggest privi-
lege to those doing better
academically, so we have
to be careful with that. I
like the idea of a fused or
merged experience, and I
think that’s what is hap-
pening.”
Resident Life is look-
ing to increase student
ministry opportunities
and working to bring
back history and tradi-
tion within individual
dorm halls.
Dr. Thompson also
talked about the possi-
bility of Soul Force, a gay
rights activist organiza-
tion, stopping by the ACU
campus sometime this
week. Soul Force has pre-
viously visited ACU on two
other occasions in 2006
and 2011. President Schu-
bert received a letter from
the organization asking
if they could visit ACU to
have more dialogue about
the issue of homosexuality
on campus.
“We’re having a whole
lot of dialogue on this is-
sue, and that’s not going to
stop. It’s critically impor-
tant, and we have to do a
better job of understand-
ing it,” Thompson said.
“We feel that we should
keep doing what were do-
ing and involve more folks
when we can in different
ways to have this discus-
ORGANIZATIONS
DR. JEAN-NOEL THOMPSON
VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFE AND DEAN
OF STUDENTS
sion, but we don’t feel that
we want or need an exter-
nal group to facilitate this
discussion.”
Thompson, along with
other ACU leaders, de-
clined Soul Force's in-
vitation and explained
their reasons for doing
so. Thompson believes
that the group will make
a stop at ACU regardless
of their response, possibly
this week. •
“This is such a com-
plex issue that no one
can get a full handle on.
We want to talk about it
because I think it is the
most pressing social is-
sue of our time, and we’ve
got to work through it and
understand it thro.ugh a
Christian perspective,”
Thompson said. “We care
for all of our students. We
want to help our students
make decisions that hon-
or'God whether you are
heterosexual or homo-
sexual.”
Several representatives did
not attend the meeting
Wednesday. The names are
as follows:
Laurel Blackman
Junior President
Christina Wise
Don Morris Center
Rep.
Diamond Cobb
CO BA Rep.
Josh Gil
Off-Campus Rep.
Emily O'Rear
Gardner Rep.
Christopher Sisk
CO B A Rep.
Shelby Ludwig
Nelson Rep.
Congress members
were also concerned
about the cancellation
of Dead Day. Though
Thompson was not di-
rectly involved in the
decision, he understood
the reasoning behind the
change.
“I think I understand
the rationale of getting rid
of it, but if I was sitting in
a student’s position then I
would be a little bummed
about not having it,”
Thompson said. “I think
the goal was to not over
crowd students when they
take their finals.”
Some Congress mem-
bers said that their finals
were in fact pushed closer
together.
“All these things hap-
pen for a reason with an
original intent in mind,
but sometimes it takes
getting some bugs worked
out,” Thompson said.
“They really need to hear
your voice, and if it’s not
happening then it maybe
something they need to
tweak.”
Thompson also dis-
cussed ACU’s relation-
ship with University
Park Apartments. He ac-
knowledged problems
had risen up between
UP and students having
mainly to do with rental
costs. As of right now,
however, ACU has nearly
half of a 40 year contract
to complete with UP. The
university confronts UP
with problems presented
by students and tries to
make changes within the
contract.
Thomson said, “We’re
trying to find ways to en-
hance thqt experience
and reduce the cost of the
apartments.”
Congress members also
were interested to hear
of any plans concerning
the university developing
areas that surround the
ACU campus.
“We’d love to surround
the campus with all kinds
of things. The one area
we do have control over
is Campus Court, and
we are starting to think
about doing some things
there,” Thompson said.
“There’s discussions
about the developing
area behind Lowe’s. You
better believe we're hav-
ing conversations about
what might a college
population like, but the
economy took that big
dip, and everything kind
of came to a stop. There’s
still hopefulness and dis-
cussions going on, but it
is a challenge.”
CONTACT JONES AT
MNJ10A@ACU.E0U
Fishing Club hooks
awards in first event
ACU’s Fishing Club reeled
in multiple awards and
the 14th place national
ranking in the BoatU.S.
Collegiate Bass Fishing
Championship Series
tour at Lake Lavon in Al-
len last month.
The Cabela’s Collegiate
Big Bass Bash was ACU’s
newly founded Fishing
Club’s first official com-
petition.
"It was worth going be-
cause just about everyone
won something. They had
great sponsors who were
giving away small priz-
es each day,” said Kirk
Mann, freshman finance
major from Abilene.
Nelson Goldsmith, a
sophomore finance ma-
jor from Abilene, caught
a 6.76-pound largemouth
bass, which gave him a
second place finish in the
tournament, according
to ACU Today.
“The fishing was on
and off for some people
through the whole lake,”
said Riley Nipper, a junior
information technology
major from San Antonio.
“They would bite one
minute and then you’re
searching for them for the
next couple of hours.”
Nipper became inter-
ested in fishing and was
involved in tournaments
in high school.
“I love the challenge
of trying to figure out
what the fish will bite on
that day and the thrill of
searching for a big fish,”
Nipper said.
Groups from Universi-
ty of North Texas, Univer-
sity of Texas-Tyler, Texas
Christian University, arid
many others from around
the nation also competed
in the event.
"The Big Bass Bash was
my first tournament to go
to," Mann said, “I had a
lot of fun there and they
really set it up all nice. It
was great to meet anglers
from other schools. My
experience was amazing
LESLIE LEWIS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
High school students perform during the Abilene Jazz Festival Monday night at the
Paramount Theater.
CAMPUS
Freshmen plan first formal with dance
Freshmen attending this
year’s Freshmen Formal
can expect a blend of west-
ern style and uptown el-
egance. The event is sched-
uled for 7 p.m. on Friday at
Lytle Bend Ranch.
The theme this year is
“Denim and Diamonds.”
The formal will include
food and live music. At-
tendees will receive a T-
shirt at the end of the night.
Attire is semi-formal, but
cowboy boots are accept-
able because two-stepping
music is anticipated.
Lytle Bend Ranch is de-
scribed as a covered, en-
closed pavilion and a game
area in a real Texas ranch
setting. It is used for many
events, includirig get-to-
gethers, picnics, weddings,
rehearsal dinners, and
parties.
“This formal is prob-
ably going to be more in-
teresting than previous
years because there will be
dancing,” said Caleb Wil-
liamson, freshman youth
ministry major from Thou-
sand Oaks, Calif. “I think
formal will be more en-
joyable this year. Plus, the
theme gives formal a great
atmosphere.”
Williamson, a member
of the Freshman Action
Council, said 150 tick-
ets have been sold so far,
but that tickets were only
available for purchase un-
til April 9. No tickets will
be sold at the door, but he
hopes that the individuals
that did purchase tickets
will enjoy themselves.
Jaci Isham, freshman
multimedia major from
Decatur, is also a member
of thi^ year’s Freshman Ac-
tion Council.
"FAC has worked really
hard planning this and we
hope everyone has a won-
derful evening and creates
memories they will never
forget!” Isham said. “Es-
pecially since it’s the first
Freshman Formal with
dancing.”
Christina Wise, a fresh-
man communication
sciences and disorders
major from San Antonio,
described why freshman
should attend the event
and why the event happens
every year.
“The purpose of formal
is to unite the freshman
class,” Wise said. “It’s kind
of a celebration for mak-
ing it through our fresh-
man year. Formal is a night
where we can relax and
have fun and not think
about homework. There is
going to awesome music
and great food the whole
night and I’m really excited
for everyone to come out
this year.”
The fishing was on and off for some people throughout
the whole lake. They would bite one minute and then
you’re searching for them for the next couple of hours.”
RILEY NIPPER
JUNIOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MAJOR
FROM SAN ANTONIO
at the Big Bass Bash.”
Mann hooked a third
place finish in one of his
weigh-ins and received
a gift card and fishing
lures.
“I have grown up go-
ing to the lake, and when
we were not at the lake,
me and my friends would
always go find the little
ponds around Abilene to
fish," Mann said, “I just
got into fishing by just
growing up doing it.”
Almost 100 anglers
registered for the compe-
tition and weighed in 119
fish.
The BoatU.S. Colle-
giate Bass Fishing Cham-
pionship Series is the
largest of its kind in the
nation.
CONTACT WILLIAMS AT
DNW11A@ACiJ EDU
m c
OFF
our Sunday evening buffet,
with current college ID!
8 Years
VISA
Voted
e’s BEST
Cuisine!
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. 100, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 11, 2012, newspaper, April 11, 2012; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth896729/m1/3/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.