The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 39, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 9, 1994 Page: 2 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
" - .... . v-i a .- .... ..... mj iH
-w.ftHM miiXiiwimwwa
ioi imwwww rnw umiWWMWMmnniMniii
tf' ..i'
c .!
itfj
iMwwwiciinaiiwi . . . ygiww: . " ' ." ' mrwmvksffmmmm mMmmamWMm- .. - - . jmh
i.Em:i
5Tf'-
.1
1 I
(
I
""nnr.;?
Optimist
Sharla Stephens. Editor in Chief
v Serene Goh Managing News Editor
Debbie Crawford Opinion Page Editor
Melissa Stallings Opinion Page Editor
Dr. Charlie Marler Faculty Adviser
cf
Editorial
Serene Goh Kathy Colvett Brian Shaw Mark Houston
John Carroll Jodi Bain Melissa Stallings Debbie Crawford
Marty Revcs Sharla Stephens Eileen Tan
The Optimist is a twice-a-week publication of the students of the Department of Journal-
ism and Mass Communication of Abilene Christian University and serves as a journalism
laboratory for the department's students.
The unsigned editorials arc the opinions of the students on the Optimist Editorial Board
and do not necessarily reflect (he policies or views of the university.
The signed columns cartoons and letters to the editor are the opinions of their creators and
do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist Editorial Board or the university
administration.
Kids disrupt
Distracting screams from children dis-
turb movie watchers who expect an
evening of entertainment.
To view newly released motion pic-
tures individuals must pay between $5
and $5.50 in most cities. Dollar shows
only cost $1.50 to $2 but concessions
tan rou inuiviuuuis.
Drinks usually cost between $1.25 to
f $3; popcorn prices fit the same dollar
t range. No candy is priced under $1.
By the time individuals scat themselves
for the movies they have paid enough to
expect and demand quality entertainment.
People attend movies for more than
entertainment they ulso want to relax.
Few individuals in society have time to
bounce from theater to theater critiquing
every motion picture playing. People
reserve time in their busy schedules to
leave busy homes pay hard-earned
money and relax in theaters where other
people's lives arc projected on screens.
Movies provide release as individuals
forget their own problems if only for a
little while and watch other people.
The depth of their involvements can be
seen from the front of theaters as faces
smile cry frown or display expressions
The Optimisx encourages reader response through letters to the editor but wc
reserve the right to refuse to print letters that contain personal attack obscenity
defamation erroneous information or invasion of privacy.
The Optimist refuses to print any letters that do not include a signature or lcttets
that bear requests for the writer's anonymity.
We reserve the right to limit frequent writer? and edit letters when length or gram-
matical errors become a problem.
Letters submitted to the Optimist should be limited to 350 words or less.
Address letters to:
"Optimist Editor" .' . i.
ACU Box 7892 ..-... .: ." r
; or bring the letters to Room 308 of the Don H. Morris Center; - v ..-.
Decisions
Students need
Wc don't have to think through many
big issues as students all the
important answers have been given to us.
For instance whom should we date? The
general answer is: Whomever we might
want to marry in a few months. How often
should we attend Daily Assembly? Every
day unless we have more skips. How
'late can students stay out at night? Until
11:30 p.m. during the week and 1 a.m.
"weekends for certain if you live in
'dorms though recommended if you live off
campus.
'. Similar simple answers written 'and
''unwritten make life at ACU so clear-cut
'and undemanding that we don't have to
question.
"' But we do.
For some bizarre reason many students
'on campus don't buy into everything we've
'been fed about what to believe and how to
act. We wonder why the idea of students
' 'engaging in occassional high-octane bevcr-
'ages or unpredictable wavy active motions
'seems to bother whoever made the rules
forbidding students to enter establishments
'where such things might occur.
' 'We wonder just who this faceless "They"
fs who decided that we ore not capable of
making such judgment calls ourselves.
!rw - mw $"
Board
movies
of anger. Laughter sobs and shouts also
can illustrate this involvement. During
the movies only the characters live while
the viewers ignore their own problems.
Money time relaxation and personal
concerns all arc sacrificed for an evening
at the movies. The lights dim and the
previews begin. The babies scream.
Adults grumble under their breath
silently praying the unlucky parent will
take the child outside. The mumbles
become loud "shhhh's" as the parent tries
to quiet the screams in the theater. Then
statements from other views are verbal-
ized for the parent to hear and follow.
Children who arc too young to sit
through a 90-minutc movie without dis-
turbing other viewers should stay at
home People who invest so much to
attend movies do not react kindly to
screaming or constant whining in their
cars.
Parents want to watch movies too.
However children should be left at home
to avoid the embarrassing and frustrating
situations probable when children misbe-
have. Movies are ruined when screaming
voices cover the actors' statements.
practice trusting
"... Free circulation of
Ideas can only help
people sort through
Issues and make more
firmly grounded
decisions.'
Kathy
Colvett
Time to Live
Thank you "They" for reducing our
need to think and grow by developing self-
discipline from honest decisions about
whether or not some things should be part
of our lives.
Most of us will be good little students
and obey though we privately may dis-
agree with the decisions piade for us but
not by us.
Wc know and appreciate that this vThey"
undoubtedly has done many other good
things for us but some limitations still
chafe students who desire greater freedom
to test ideas we encounter in the relatively
conservative town of Abilene
Disagreement fj OK Sludeijts faculty
administrators and staff are welcome' to
Kfej
1 '
BEHBBMiBIMBBBMHBBH
Opinion
'"f ' . :; "Mijg - j.-vm ; "t- i'.; mm "
PRIMARY AMD ' . LXTERMlrCD TO mmU
SECOMDAflY .1 yj OVERCOME THKT. " ;
P06UC EDOCMOK.. j f-. 1 . . j
H y I rm f v
. ii 1
i .zsmu Hi!
Underdogs
Mistreated beings deserve a break from struggles
Just once 1 would like to sec Wile B.
Coyote barbequc that annoying Road
Runner. I mean toast that stupid bird and
douse him with steak sauce With the
amount of money he spends on Acme
firearms I find it amazing that the company
already has not granted him preferred cus-
tomer status.
Instead of watching him fall from one of
those cliffs in the middle of nowhere going
"Whaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo ... " I'd like to sec
that happen to the Road Runner. Hch hch.
That would make me very' happy.
Surely all those nights Wile spends
dreaming up new ideas and going through
Acme catalogs haven't been in vain. Why
doesn't this dog have its day? I wonder if
he's even heard that McDonald's serves
McChickcn burgers?
And what about Elmer Fudd and that
wabbit? Why doesn't he ever catch Bugs?
Just-apcck on the nose fihd' Fudd softens.
The poor man needs to change his taste in
stew or become vegetarian because he was
Questions grow more complex
So many mysteries arc yet to be solved
in a child's world. Like "How many
stars ore there in the sky?" Or "Why does
my kitty have whiskers?" Or "Who paints
the rainbow?"
As a parent I always enjoy these kinds of
questions from my kids because they give
me a chance to laugh and play. I can come
up with any answer I want like "God put
just enough stars in the sky to guarantee a
sparkly sky for you to lay in the grass and
watch on warm summer nights" or "Kitty's
whiskers arc there to tickle your face when
you cuddle with her."
But the discussions become require a lit-
tle more finesse when the 4-year-old
becomes a pretty pre-teen. Conversations
now run more along the lines of "Mom a
boy at school said yesterday he can't wait
for summer because he wants to sec all the
girls in bikinis." To which Mom chokes
back the reply "What? How old is this boy
and how many times has he repeated fourth
grade?"
Sometimes the questions are about
own judgment
agree or disagree on any issue "They"
choose as long as they arc prepared to
face the consequences for their manners of
disagreement.
Rumors freely circulate the campus
about people in hot water for offending
other people in the community in some
vague or trivial ways and if the difficulty
cannot be smoothed the offending party
sometimes disappears.
Disagreement takes forms such as fla-
grant violation of rules private seething
small discussions and organized protest.
Varying opinions arc published in the Opti-
mist and discussed in forums and people
present issues to deans or other campus
authority figures.
Avenues for supporting or opposing
fdeas and standards arc available- that will
not place students in danger of suspension
and the free circulation of ideas can only
help people sort through issues and make
more firmly grounded decisions that will
help them in later life.
Think. Express Reconsider. Speak up.
Nothing changes without something acting
upon it in physics or in ideology.
If the discussion that follows idea-churning
Is convincing the utiknowjf "fjheyw
might listen too.
'What If we had a day
that honored aft
mistreated beings for
tho obses$tont tttay
could never fulfill?'
Serene
Goh
Megawhat
not cut out to be a ruthless hunter
1 wonder if Pepc Ic Phew ever will win
the heart of that cat he mistakenly thinks is
a skunk if Marvin the Martian ever will
rewire his space detonator to go off when
he wants if Sylvester will catch Twccty.
What if all the downtrodden Looncy Tunc
bad guys finally had It their way? Yeah.
And'got oil the. little critters they Wonted
handed to them on a plate with silverware
and everything? Wow
'He It the only one
who It ahvayt then
to love me the
only source of Joy
that does not fade'
Debbie
Crawford
Holding His Hand
friendships. Sometimes they arc about
skills she's learning everything from
ballet to computer skills. I begin to wonder
how I will answer her when she questions
things to which I am still searching for the
answers.
Things like why does the Lord who
loves and cherishes us more than wc can
begin even to comprehend allow some of
our sweetest blessings to sometimes also
become sources of our bitterest pain? Or
maybe what can I learn from difficult rela
HHrt j
rmmmm
Crime is rights issue
Chicago Sun-Times Inc. 1994
Everyone understands how threatening
violence in Chicago and other major
American cities can be. This violence
also emerges as on important civil rights
issue.
The human toll of crime is underscored
in an annual report on race relations
released this month by the Human Rela-
tions Foundation of Chicago.
Conducted by researchers at North-
western University the race relations
report shows that a majority of all racial
groups feel safe in city neighborhoods ut
night. At the same time those most
threatened by crime arc likely to be most
pessimistic about the quality of life in
Chicago
According to the study 30 percent of
blacks and 18 percent of Hispanics
reported feeling unsafe in their neighbor-
hoods. The rate of whites feeling unsafe
was 15 percent. And almost one-fourth of
all blacks 22 percent reported unhappi-
ncss over the quality of life in Chicago as
qgposed to 14 percent of Hispanics and 7
' percent of whites. With trends moving in
Or we should go all the way and estab
lish Underdog Day aftcrall we have orA j
for the Groundhog. What if wc had a da
that honored all mistreated beings for the !
obsessions they never could fulfill? Surely
they deserve some form or recognition?
After all they try so hard. ;
And a day for underdog students 'too.
That's right. One day off from school juj
for being an underdog student even at
ACU. A day for students who were denied
As in their classes to give each a Tree A.
What a concept.
I can dream can't 1? I certainly feel sorry
for the scores of cartoon villiaus and super-
dumb bad guys I watch on television and if
the media. Why were all comic bad guyi
created grey-matter deficient? I wish I
could do something to compensate for all
the one-ton irons that have dropped on
Sylvester's head or all the bombs that
explode in Marvin's face.
Hmm I wonder if Wile has an Acrn
credit card? '
tionships that will make my heart more like
His? Or even when all the right advice has I
been given and all the prayers have been '
prayed where docs the strength come from
to watt?
The only answer 1 have to such question?
is that God will overcome. He is the onljf
absolute in my life. He is the only one who
sends real peace to a burning heart. He is
the only one who truly knows all the beauty
and all the ugliness in my soul and contin-
ues to bcur faithful witness to the beauty
while working in my heart to remove. th
ugliness. l
He is the only one who is always there to
love me the only source or joy that
doesn't fade.
I don't know if my daughter will buy that
answer easily. She may have to- search for
hersclflikeldid. i.
I do know she has a mother who wit
handle her concern in the same way she's
finally learned to handle all the other things
in life that arc out of her control on her
knees.
n nncltiun llirnnlinn .nun ! ...!. .fJ
first conducted in 1990 the findings sugr
gest perceptions of crime in the city may
outweigh the actual threat. ;
However no one should take comfort;
The findings succest nuMic enfotv hn
become a civil rights issue that whcnjji
viuimcu mulcts tnc most damage on
impoverished minorities.
Government is only part of the solu-
tion. To that end the current city admin
jstratlon must be judged by how wclf ii:
implements anu executes its plans fprvl
community policing citywidc and by howf
ciiccuvc uic new yi i emergency system
will be.
Even more Important however is the
behavior of individuals families and voN
untary groups such as block clubs arid
Mil I rMi ac
Experience shows that communities A
that mobilize to protect the safety of their
own citizens do a better job of doing so
than those that passively rely on the
police.
Individuals who know they can't get.
""j y"i runt-Hi ucnavior will oe ICkS
tcmnled in trv.
m
'v -1
M
9
4
M
W
V
K
- vti - I- " ---- i -m
9 A M '
-- A r-
' ft -
.(
.'.
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. 82, No. 39, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 9, 1994, newspaper, February 9, 1994; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92223/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.