The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 42, Ed. 1, Tuesday, February 24, 1987 Page: 2 of 12
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"Now rAere fAr remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest
these is love" I Cor 13:13. -'' ":"" .
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The optimist it published semiweeMy except during the summer vacations and final examinations by
the Journalism end Mass CommunlcaUon OSvUlon of Abilene Christian University Abilene Texas 79699. The
Optimist Is affiliated with the Associated CoSetfate Press the Tr Intercollegiate Press Association the
Southwest roum3iri Congress the Associated Press and the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Press Association.
Editorial opinions appearing in the Optimist ere views of the editorial board and do not necessarily reflect
th offldcl policy of the ACU administration.
Signed Columns represent the individual views of the authors.
editorials
Winning counts little
' Winning isn't everything it's
the only thing.
This powerful but twisted state-
ment seems to have become the
guideline by which our social clubs
live when- preparing for Sing Song
competition.
But winning really isn't
everything. Sing Song means a lot
more to AL.U tnan winning com-
.petitions and upholding traditions.
TSing Song should be fun for those
5 participating. But lately the com-
r petition has become too fierce.
fj For example a rule limiting par-
; tidpants to practicing no more than
C a total of 28 hours allegedly has been
p violated. Rumor has it that Siggies
y- practiced jmore than the allotted
amount of time. The Siggies how-
ever claim they spent 20 minutes of
every practice hour in a devotional
period and were making up for those
20 minutes in a couple of hours one
S Saturday cveri8lg.r
i Galaxy is 0 naW siiailar
t rumors. Maybe&e rmsiWai-e true
maybe they aren't.
But the whole idea seems to have
gotten out of hand. Clubs are going
overboard to make sure they win.
Other clubs are making accusations
that may or may not be true.
And then of course there are the
HI age-old arguments that certain clubs
always win the competitions.
it xac iruin oi ine matter is tnat
larger clubs nave a better chance
than smaller clubs. The judging
system leans towards the larger
clubs.
Size helps vocals and vocals are
40 percent of the entire overall com-
petition. Because vocals count for
such a large percentage of the
overall winner's score the larger
groups have parts covered better
more volume and a better chance of
winning the overall competition.
Costumes and originality each
count 30 percent of the overall
score.
i
Ae need
Ij'a called "An Expression of Con-
cern." J Kevin Ford received a copy of the
Expression of Concern" in the mail
from a Christian brother Tommy
gicks of Forth Worth. Ford is the
Jnilpit minister of a small congregation
;)- 35 members at its Sunday morning
iervice in Morton near Lubbock.
j The "Expression" which has been
published in a good many conservative
Christian magazines and is signed by
rjtore than 200 brotherhood preachers
& being mailed to congregations
throughout the brotherhood. It makes
flirec statements.
g First it expresses deep concern "over
the liberalism that is so evident in the
Mrotherhood today." Under the second
Subheading it expresses concern over
the evolution controversy surrounding
ACU ".and we feel that it needs to be
ifropcrly resolved" by an Independent
investigation among other requests
yhe third statement says the group op-
tioses "both radicalism and liberalism."
fjnderthh final subheading is an urge)
"brethren everywhere" to not "sit
iUy by and watch the cause of truth
I talked with Hicks several weeks ago
Brett Veto
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Originality includes the idea
choreography audience appeal and
lyrics. So in actuality lyrics and
choreography only count a small
percentage of the overall judging.
Somehow this doesn't quite seem
fair. Lyrics are as important as
vocals.
And many people will claim that
the judges are biased. We believe
however that the judges are com
pletely objective. The judges chosen
are impartial and free from influence
except for two cups of free coffee
they are given during the perfor-
mances. But every competition lies in the
opinion of that performance's three
particular judges. Not everyone will
agree with their decisions and
everyone has their own opinion.
And of course every year some
club has to take a swipe at another
club in its program. Sub T can't
perform becsiaiejhey can'tjehave !
Other'-'club's' riWaffifflSr7&:
childish feats. ' '
All these factors tend to make us'
think the competition has gotten out
of hand. We do not see Christian at-
titudes exhibited in the winners
much less the losers.
We need to keep in mind that it is
important that we have fun and love
each other first keeping each other's
best interest in mind. Then and on-
ly then can we consider winning.
That idea may seem a little naive.
Saturday night after the sopho-
more class finished its performance
they filed back into the gym to find
the freshman class had formed a vic-
tory line around the room. The
freshman slapped hands with the
sophomores and congratulated them
on their performance as the other
class filed through the line.
That's the attitude clubs need.
Somehow we can't picture Galaxy
doing that for Frats or Frats for
Galaxy.
Let's hear it for naivete!
9?i
positive
and he seemed to be legitimately con-
cerned for the well-being of the school.
Several other men connected with the
"Expression of Concern" whom I have
spoken with have given me the same
impression.
Hicks told me that if the university
has not answered the group's requests
by February a second "Expression of
Concern" will be published this one
with more than 1000 signatures.
I urge these brothers not to rush to
the printers; ACU has been faithful to
its cause.
First the accusations; Two biology
professors were accused of teaching
evolution as fact in their biology
courses. Dr. Bert Thompson founder
of Apologetics Press published a book
Is Genesis Myth? documenting the
claims that these two professors were
advocating evolution. The book created
an uproar in the brotherhood and has
resulted in the "Expression of Con-
cern" The brethren that support these
.claims also are riled that ACU ap-
"pointed members of the Board of
Trustees to conduct an investigation in-
to these claims. The board subsequent-
ly cleared the men after interviewing'
i. 1
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1 v letters to the editor i . :
.Single ratings
reflect movie?
To the Editor:
As the movie committee director I can
safely posit that I am probably one of
the main causes of this raging con-
troversy about the kinds of movies
shown on campus. I would like to clari-
fy my position before the student body
but I must say that this view may not
reflect the views of everyone on the
Senate.
" I think there definitely needs to be a
distinction between what movies should
and should not be shown on campus
However I do not feel that this distinc-
tion lies on the barrier between R and
PG-13. 1 am the first one to admit that
not all R-rated films should be shown
on campus. Cobra 9Vt Weeks Year of
the Dragop and About Last Night real-
ly have no place on campus because of
the basic themes that lie at the heart of
their stories. But do we discriminate
against other films of the same rating
just because of the letter grade given
them by the MPAA? Do we ban Ordi-
nary People and Platoon because of
their rough edges? Can we deny the
merits of The Killing Fields and
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expressions of concern
fielder's
choice
thomas I. graham
both the professors the student whose
allegations began the controversy and
10 graduates selected at random from
the years 1981-84 These men also talk'
ed with a student from the 1970s who
says he was taught evolution without
refutation. The accusers are basing
some of their accusations on his and
similar claims.
I know that Dr. William J. Teague
the president of the university has ac-
cess to the same information that I am
using to base this column. I also know
Dr Teague would not ignore these
'serious accusations against ACU. He
too cares about the future of this in-
stitution So what has been done?
In ACU's Institutional Statement
dated one year ago Teague said: "ACU
does not has not and will not advocate
evolutionary theory either organic of
Salvador simply because there is no
way to make a G-rated versidn of the
events in Cambodia and EL Salvador?
Shall we ignore the filmic artistry of
Aliens Children of the Lesser God or
The Name of the Rose because they
might make us uncomfortable?
I think there is a dangerous trend ris-
ing. We are locking ourselves away
from all secular influences to the exclu-
sion of some very beneficial experi-
ences. If you'll recall Paul did not say
avoid secular philosophies he warned
not to be fooled by them. If we are to
follow the advice of some of the recent
letters to this paper we must exclude
all works that do not hold Christ fust.
That means we are to ignore Plato Sar-
tre Camus Nietzsche and for that
matter William Faulkner. I have very
strong Christian convictions and I hold
Christ as my Lord but I strongly be-
lieve that we can learn so much from
the "heathen" of the world.
Can't you. learn a whole lot more
about life relationships and the world
from the R-ratcd likes of Platoon Or-
dinary People and The Killing Fields
than you will from the safe "moral"
entertainments of An American Tail
and Star Wars
There are evil influences roaming
about out there just as Peter said.
There arc also good influences out
there though they are cloaked by un
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theistic as fact.... We acknowledge that
we make mistakes; we reject the charge
that such mistakes are intentional or
calculated to deceive."
Mistakes of method are not the same
as mistakes of intent and mistakes of
method can quickly be mended.
Changes have been made to include
more clarification in the future. Addi-
tional changes that have been made in-
clude offering refutation of evolution in
the classroom and discussion of the
biblical account of creation.
Dr Perry Reeves the dean of the
College of Natural and Applied
Sciences said professors will be ''more
open and sharing of our faith with our
students" in the future.
The College of Natural and Applied
Sciences also has scheduled at least one
seminar to be conducted for March 12
dealing with organic evolution the age
of the earth and geological evidence for
a universal flood. This type of seminar
was suggested to Teague in a letter
from a former student who attended
ACU In the mid-1970s. The seminars
arc designed to help students gain a bet-
ter understanding of the relationship
between their faith and their profession.
I hope many.more such seminars are
m.
vw
christian things. It is up to us to cut
through the immorality disregard it
and find the ultimate truth of a piece of
work Yet we must also watch out for
the destructive messages that come in
neatly wrapped packages like Top Gun
and Rambo.
I'm not forcing anyone to see an R-
rnted film. Besides when we brine an
eapavB-eB.
I
R-rated film on campus and edit out thV
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When you have Christ you have the
ability to see Worldy dangers yet you
must be able to find worth In man and
his actions and sec what they can teach
you. I find it frightening that those who
attend R-rated movies are being labeled
unChristian. Isn't this the same attitude -that
labeled Jesus a "glutton and a-
drunkard" as he ate meals and drank
wine in the homes of ungodly tax col '
To close I must reiterate my originfcj
point. All R-rated films are not suitable
for viewing on campus just as all PG
films arc not suitable. But we should .
pick and choose the films that (have
something good to say something to
teach us rather than banning a whole
group that falls under a general letter
grade.
Lowell B. Bartholomew :
Baltimoro Md.
forthcoming.
But the point here is this: The uni-
versity is committed to God's work.
When mistakes or errors arise that con-
tradict that work they need to be
pointed out so they can be corrected.
But they do not need to be repeatedly
published and distributed throughout
the brotherhood.
Ford has no connection with ACU
nor had he ever heard of the controver
r
sy until he received the "Expression of
Concern." But he was certainly
suspicious of ACU after receiving the
mailing from Hicks. "It bothers me"
he said. "But all you hear is their aide."
But the university's faithful actions
will speak loudly to the Fords who
receive the "Expression of Concern"
as they have to some members of the
brotherhood.
A letter from the faculty of the Har-
ding Graduate School of Bible reflects )
this:"We wish to express our appreck- V
tion for Abilene's long-standing con-
tribution to our brotherhood our sup-
port in this pressing time and our con-
fidence in your ongoing commitment to
the ideals of Christian education."
This is an example of the expressions
pfconcernweneed. - . r . .
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 42, Ed. 1, Tuesday, February 24, 1987, newspaper, February 24, 1987; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92102/m1/2/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.