The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 55, Ed. 1, Wednesday, April 26, 1989 Page: 2 of 6
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Opinion
Optimist
Volume 77 Number 55 Page 2
Wednesday April 26 1989
Common
' Common sense.
It just might be the best kept secret
around these days.
In second grade I didn't have much
common sense and I called Fat Bobby
fat right to his face.
'Fat Bobby got me in the wrist with
his freshly sharpened No. 2 pencil.
Common sense.
-A lack of this vital characteristic
caused me to shave the eyebrows clean
off my forehead with a razor one day. I
proceeded to prance downstairs and
deny to my mother that anything was
wrong as she screamed bloody murder.
&4$to&KdB8
T UXWtCARE
1 FWdUrCREttEP
Restless Heart pleases audience
To the Editor
I want to commend the Students' Association for the excellent choice of en-
tertainment it found in Restless Heart. The concert was definitely worth the
cost to students and the general public. JeffRoach proved once again that he is
an outstanding musician and his band did ACU proud.
The S A served the students by finding entertainment they could get excited
about. And the faculty and staff members who attended seemed to have a foot-
tapping hand-clapping good time. Thanks for an enjoyable evening.
AfchelcMoris
Communication Services
What seems right not always so
To the Editor
The SA Senate recently has been the object of both praise and criticism. The
senators have been commended for following their Christian consciences. They
did what they believed was right by upholding the constitution. I beg the
"ACU difference" from this praise. Just because a person thinks he is right
does not make him so. Paul states he kept a clear conscience while persecuting
Christians. Actually he was not boosting his reputation in God's eyes.
By its vote the SA Senate showed its belief that the constitution prohibited a
president the students wanted. How can they condone a constitution that
disallows what the students expressly want? No Christian principles would be
broken if the constitution were changed to fit the students' needs.
However I believe Darren could have remained president within the con-
stitution. The SA displayed its power to interpret the constitution last Monday
when the members decided against Darren's candidacy for re-election. The SA
vice president used this power when she wrote a memo to the candidates before
the election. It explained that contributions to a campaign are to be construed
as part of the $100 limit. The constitution makes no such specification.
Given this interpretive power and the vagueness of the significant clause
Darren should have been allowed to participate in the special election. The
clause in the constitution states that the rule-breaking candidate must be dis-
qualified. As Wallis Hampton eloquently explained in a previous letter it does
not say Darren must be excluded from all future elections.
Unfortunately the SA did not use its interpretive power in the students'
favor. Letters are only useful for venting frustrations. No matter how vocal the
students are we have been rendered powerless. And this by an SA who follow-
ed its Christian consciences.
Maria Kelly
Junior graphic design major
Conroc
Optimist
Kenneth FlPybua Editor In Chief
Hebekah Olbbi Wednesday Edition Editor
Tom Craig Friday Edition Editor
Cindy Ueper Opinion Editor
Mary Banks Sport Editor
Julia Fitzpatrlck Features Editor
Kenny Jonee Chief Photographer
June Stlgers Wadnasday Assignments Editor
Blaka Dunnavent Friday Assignments Editor
Laura Morgan Managing Nawa Editor
Tr Opumial rounded In 1112. la published semi-weekly
axcefit durmg tha eummer vacations and Anal examine'
Dona by student el the Joumalisni and Mass Communlcs
Hon Department pi Abilene Christian University Abilene
Taaw7Mgg
sense not always commonplace
Common sense.
A void in the common sense depart-
ment causes some people to insist on
pushing a shopping cart throughout the
grocery store although the right front
wheel on the thing is turned sideways
and refuses to roll freely.
I've seen many an upstanding house-
wife break a healthy sweat while trying
to maneuver such a cart up and down
the aisles instead of opting for a perfect-
ly good shopping cart.
Common sense.
Your "friends" may have a tem-
porary absence of common sense when
Kavln Marshall OraphicsDasign Editor
Qratchan SchulU Copy Flow Editor
Dawn Traal Associate Sports Editor
John Paul Brownlow Star) Photographer
VVandy Hornbaker Start Photographer
Tarrl Wast - Copy Editor
Jennifer Green Associate Copy Editor
Eric McMillan Ad Production Manager
FrU Millar Ad Production Manager
Holly Howard -Ad Sales
Sherd Weeterman Classified Ad Manager
Julie Stigers Hl I
they poke you firmly on a feverishly red
and sensitive arm and then ask if you're
sunburned.
Common sense.
People without good honest common
sense do the craziest things: drive a car
without wearing a seatbelt smoke lit
Balance which focuses on spiritual
allows room for less stressful living
Those of you who have followed
the "Lifeline" articles this year I
hope have been enlightened
educated and encouraged by the
contributing authors.
Such vital mental health issues as
chemical abuse family communica-
tion eating disorders sexuality
stress and depression have been ad
dressed by on-campus ex
perts.
Each has dealt with the
assigned topic in a sen-
sitive professional manner
and enriched us spiritually
by integrating a biblical
perspective into their writ-
ings. My gratitude is extend-
ed to each of these authors
and to the Optimist staff
for deeming "Lifeline"
meritorious for publica-
tion. As the end of another
semester draws near and I
ponder the task of penning
one final article and mak-
ing it relevant to the
stressors each of us is sub-
ject to at this time of the
academic year the word
"balance" comes to mind.
I have found that many
of us experience extraor
dinary anxiety during times of exam-
inations and deadlines because we
have failed to manage time wisely
andor prioritize prudently.
These are skills that can be learn-
ed. I am grateful to the staffs of the
Learning Enhancement Center and
the Career PlanningTesting Center
for the invaluable services they pro-
vide in helping students set and
reach goals and learn skills necessary
to be successful as a student and
employee.
Another reason I have found that
contributes profoundly to one's abil-
ity or inability to function fully is
intra- and interpersonal balance.
Solomon spoke of "balance" in
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 when he outlined
ter steal jump the fountains of
Caesar's Palace on a motorcycle let the
toilet paper completely run out before
buying a new roll and stick gum
underneath the table at restaurants.
Just a little common sense can cure so
many of the ignorant things we do.
I guess we'll never be able to get col-
lege credit for passing a course in
common sense but I don't think it's
something you can learn in the
classroom anyhow.
And like I told my mom the stage
just won't be big enough for all of us to
be the valedictorian on the day of grad
SA president needs to call
a constitutional convention
Constitutional reform should be
Wes Smith's primary goal as Stu-
dents' Association president for the
coming year.
The problems of the past few
weeks in the disqualification of Dar-
ren Duvall from the office of SA
president have shown the necessity
of a radical review.
Many of the candidates for SA
president addressed the need for
changes in the constitution in their
Monday Chapel speeches.
The changes are needed and
soon. The constitution must be clar-
' ified before problems develop again.
However the reform should -not
be carried out by a committee of
senators appointed by the SA vice
president. And the reform should
not be carried out by students
hand-picked by the SA president.
The only way for Smith to give
the new constitution the support of
the Students' Association member-
ship is to call for a constitutional
convention.
our "times for everything ... and a
season for every activity under
heaven." Most of us readily identify
final exam week as a "time to
weep." I should like to challenge us
to look also for "times to laugh"
during these closing weeks.
The end of the semester is ob-
viously a time to study but students
physical v
familial f emotional
I 1 spiritual J 1
intellectual . social
N. vocational r
also need to include some time to
watch the sun set notice the Spring
flowers and visit with cherished
friends.
When explaining the Allison ver-
sion of balance in human per-
sonhood I typically draw a circle
and divide it into slices representing
various aspects of our nature
dimensions such as physical emo-
tional social familial intellectual
and vocational. In the middle of the
circle is an inner circle representing
the core of humankind i.e. our
spiritual nature.
All of our other facets are fed or
nurtured by our spiritual being. I of-
ten times ask clients to draw their
spiritual circle and their "pie slices"
uation. But that doesn't mean I didn't
pick up a few pointers on using com-
mon sense during my college years.
Common sense now tells me to stay
away from boys with sharp pencils
leave my eyebrows where they miracu-
lously grew back and avoid rubbing my
hands under a restaurant's table.
Pure common sense.
So the night Todd asked me to marry
him I didn't hesitate to take him up on
it because it was more than intuition or
a gut feeling that made me know he
wasn't like anybody I'd ever met.
Common sense told me that.
A convention in the fall will give
the document the support of the
student body many say the present
constitution is lacking.
The present constitution allows
for constitutional changes in Article
VII but in only one manner: a
ratification of amendments by a
two-thirds vote of Senate and a ma-
jority approval from the student
body.
To allow for a convention Smith
must work to amend Article VII. He
must first pass through Senate and
the student body a provision which
will make a convention of interested
students representing the student
body a constitutional way to amend
or change the constitution.
When the constitution is amend-
ed a convention in which perhaps
50 students from every class are
elected to attend can be conducted
and the problems which have devel-
oped over the past three years with
the present constitution can possibly
be solved.
to scale with their relative size
reflecting how much time energy
attention they are currently devoting
to each dimension.
To see how we slight critical
aspects of our personhood while giv-
ing inordinate amounts of attention
to others is usually enlightening. No
wonder we are unhappy unfulfilled
or just plain "grouchy."
A common example ot
this imbalance near the
end of school would be
studying 16 hours a day to
try to catch up by skipp-
ing meals and not exercis-
ing; avoiding friends; and
most importantly unplugg-
ing from our power source
by ceasing to pray read
the Bible or attend wor-
ship services.
I want to discourage us
from being too imbalanced
during these last days of
classes. After all we all
need to spend our quota of
time "embracing" as in
Ecclesiates3:15.
This summer would be
a good time to set goals for
achieving balance and ex-
perimenting with this on a
daily basis I believe such
a lifestyle will make a
significant contribution to your
peace of mind and spiritual well-
being. Have a great summer.
Dr. Steve Allison is a clinical
psychologist and director of the Uni-
versity Counseling Center.
On-campus confidential help
is available at no charge through
the University Counseling
Center east end of McKlnzle
Hall Ext. 2625 Monday-Friday
8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Twenty-four hour otT-campus
services are offered through the
Mental Health Association of
Abilene Crisis Line 677-8688.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 55, Ed. 1, Wednesday, April 26, 1989, newspaper, April 26, 1989; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101518/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.