The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 41, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 16, 1994 Page: 2 of 6
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Sharia Stephens Editor in Chief
Serene Goh Managing News Editor
Debbie Crawford Opinion Page Editor
Melissa Stallings Opinion Page Editor
Dr. Charlie Marler Faculty Adviser
Editorial Board
t Serene Goh Kathy Colvett Brian Shaw Mark Houston
John Carroll Jodi Bain Melissa Stallings Debbie Crawford
' Marty Revcs Sharla Stephens Eileen Tan
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;.; The Optimist is a twice-a-wcek 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 are the opinions of the students on the Optimist Editorial Board
and do not necessarily reflect the 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.
EJook confronts
Once again ACU's position as a legit-
imately Christian-oriented university
ihas been questioned in a one-sided book-
Jet. Abilene Christian University: "Ever
Changing Never Changing" by David
Brown. ACU must answer charges of
apostasy that were raised in a booklet
"published in spring 1992 but were not
adequately addressed according to
Brown's opinion.
Most of the new book represents
Brown's opinions strung together with
references to the previous book The
Worldly University: The Apostasy of
ACU by Kevin Caulcy and Cleo Reeder
and quotes from the May 1 1992 edition
of the Optimist..
In that paper which can be found on
-file in the periodicals office of the Brown
Library six stories about the book writ-
ten by Optimist reporters addressed some
of the major points of the book.
) The vital emphasis of the stories was
that Cauley and Reeder failed to substan-
tiate their accusations against the univer-
sity by directly contacting the university
administration.
"Ever Changing Never Changing"
attacks ACU for not answering charges
such as "ACU supports and encourages
Max Lucado and other prominent false
teachers."
In an open letter written by Thomas
Warren and Roy Deaver who graduated
from Abilene Christian College in the
late 1940s an either-or methodology of
response is presented as the only respon-
sible answer to the charges.
Because ACU did not answer the
charges on the accusers' precisely
desired terms before the charges have
been repeated in the new book with
emphasis on how ACU avoided the
issues by being judgmental.
The image of a bully comes to mind. A
brash child wants so desperately for the
other kid to notice him that he punches at
him whenever possible at whatever he
perceives as weaknesses. However the
patient kid is wise enough to know that
bullies cannot be reasoned with on their
own terms so although the jabs might be
;fclt they are ignored a ploy that irri-
jttQcs the irrational bully but further
Jgfjoves the wiser kid's integrity.
On Page 14 Brown poses his first set
of rhetorical true-false questions which
World Famous Bean
I t
tit
Service and recognizable food replace milkshake machines woks
SI IE
Bean. I used to sit and count the
soaked napkins stuck to your ceiling. I
ufcftfl to stuff my face with the unidentifi-
able gunk sitting in the salad bar next to the
soup.
Kfcspite your old ugly stalls that served
hpaen knows what on faded plastic plates
Iffafrhfully visited you every meal main-
IJjqccause I did not own a car. Sadly you
wjre my social life the place where I hung
oUfconstantly contributing to the enlarge-
ment of my hips.
1 must applaud your efforts to distract
stddents from the food. You invited Mexi-
can students to perform cultural dances
students to throw themselves onto a giant
ve(cro wall even karaoke singers to sing
impromptu. But did you succeed? No.
I know the chicken you served under-
cooked on Monday with rice pilaf on Tues-
day as chicken fried steak on Wednesday
doused with gravy on Thursday and again
in" pot pie on Friday was originally prepared
edrly Monday and simply was disguised
throughout the week
And what about those combustive
ACU leaders
cannot be answered true or false because
they are not stated precisely. Throughout
the book Brown asks for cither-or truc-
fulse type answers when essays would be
more appropriate.
But if essays were provided what dif-
ference would they make?
Probably no more difference than the
six stories in the May 1 1992 Optimist.
Of 18 people quoted as supporting ACU
Brown's book labeled 17 by statement or
implication such things as judgmental
silly liberal apostate intellectually
snobby or deliberately misleading. The
one Optimist respondent supportive of
ACU who was not mentioned by Brown
said "I think if the people reading it are
naive enough it could hurt the school."
Which leads to possible motivcii
behind "Ever Changing Never Chang
ing." On Page 49 Brown writes "As far
as faithful members of the church are
concerned if ACU wants to continue in
this present sectarian denominational
mind-set and conduct it ought to die."
He then proceeds to explain why faith-
ful members of the church should not
become involved with an apostate lec-
tureship such as the one at ACU next
week.
Apparently ACU's mission is unclear
to some people and needs to be reiterat-
ed. "The mission of Abilene Christian
University is to educate its students for
Christian service and leadership through-
out the world" according to its published
purpose.
ACU is a school not a church. ACU
has strong religious connections that
seem too strong for some people's pref-
erences and too weak for others.
The people who must decide whether
the university's religious commitment is
sufficient are the people who attend and
support ACU. Brown's book insists
ACU's commitment has weakened into
apostasy. His opinions if noticed at all
by the students or supporters of ACU
must be understood in the context that
they are after all opinions precariously
based on out-of-context material not
meant to be balanced or fair.
Brown has presented something to
consider and the responsibility passes
from him to whomever reads his message
to decide what if anything to do
with it.
'My old Mend looked
... new? Like the frog
that became a prince
you were trans-
formed' Serene
Goh
Megawhat
microwave ovens you used to have. You
know the ones that sat around waiting for
unsuspecting students to place their plates
of sauerkraut inside then disintegrated the
sausages and splatter their contents all over
the walls of the machine. Those ovens had
character they had minds of their own.
You even tried interactive meals encour-
aging students to wok out bake their own
waffles and make their own milkshakes.
You allowed certain groups of students' to
prepare your menu every once in a while.
You had the African Mission Fellowship
I eaawammamJiWW.
Roaches represent Satan's insects
Ml "Their angular limbs their jerky movc-
1 ments their dry metallic noises all
suggest cither machines that have come to
life or life degenerating into mechanism."
C.S. Lewis from Surprised by Joy
C.S. Lewis must have had roaches in his
house.
From my experiences I could start a sup-
port group for people terrorized and victim-
ized by roaches.
The humid climate in my hometown of
Beaumont has resulted in a population
explosion of cockroaches tree roaches fly-
ing roaches and every other kind of roach
imaginable.
Every residence in Beaumont from the
filthiest housing project to the most pol-
ished mansion has roaches.
Since my family moved there in 1983 1
have taken showers with roaches and have
been greeted by them in kitchen cabinets.
One of these insects decided to crawl up
the drain of mv bathroom sink one morni
Swimsuit edition affects
Thursday I was walking to my mailbox
before Daily Assembly but before 1
reached my destination I saw a group of
guys hovering over a magazine.
1 tried to look inconspicuous but I want-
ed to read over their shoulders to sec what
merited such attention. I saw three women
in swimsuits and suddenly realized: Today
is the day Sports Illustrated delivers the
world renowned swimsuit edition. D-Day
for women of ACU.
I cringed with emotions mixed between
disgust and jealousy and I left to meet my
friends. I looked up and saw that's right
folks one of the male counterparts of our
Chapel gang had his own issue and he and
another friend were entranced.
I looked around the Campus Center.
Every male on campus seemed to be
enthralled by a copy of the Sports Illustrat-
ed edition that was worth its weight in gold
speaking from a male standpoint. The men
who didn't have their own copies poor
soUls looked on with friends or even
people they didn't know
I felt sick to my stomach but I wanted to
see what these supermodels had to offer
Quietly I snuck up behind two male
friends I almost didn't want to open my
eyes but curiosity seized my attention. I
booth the International Students Associa-
tion booth and a luau.
But you changed.
At first it was just little things. The wok
disappeared. So did the port-a-salad bar.
Then you took the milkshake machines
away by using the excuse that students had
tried blending lettuce and tomatoes in their
shakes and refused to remove the fibrous
residue. Pretty lame Bean.
Wc students saw right through you.
When you finally divulged your secret and
closed for major renovations we weren't at
all surprised. Wc just were disappointed in
you.
No more playing "Guess the vegetable on
your plate" no more messing around with
our food no more milkshake blenders. I
even remember some of my dearest friends
discussing plans to apply for positions at
Dairy Queen.
Duh Bean. Nice going.
I almost didn't recognize you after your
surgery. Fresh paint major rccarpeting and
refurbishing yuppie black-andwliit-pfc-tures
on the wall wow. My old friend
'I believe Satan tent
roaches to earth after
the flood to
reintroduce evil
Into the world.'
Dcana
Nail
Not Quite Blonde
ing and I almost swallowed my toothbrush.
After one roach which was roughly the
size of Kansas parked itself on my nose
while I was sleeping and awaited my reac-
tion I arrived at a conclusion roaches
arc messengers of Satan.
After 10 years of sordid experiences with
these insects I have concluded that God
would not have created such horrifying
creatures to torment humans. I almost have
7 opened the pages
alewly. They were
there women who
had bodies obviously
not from this world.'
Jodi
Bain
To The Limit
peered over a large shoulder and what to
my surprise did I find? Leslie Niclson
naked and pregnant in a promotional for
Loaded Weapon II.
I felt relief and then I was perplexed.
What was so funny about a naked pregnant
man? I wished I had the answer but I still
do not know. Something in their hormones
make men rush to a copy of the swimsuit
issue.
Granted I realize all men do not think a
picture of Leslie Niclson is funny nor do
they all think scantily clothed models
beside a pool arc remarkably interesting
but I know what I saw Thursday. 1 saw
'muny guys with the edition.
The more I considered the magazine the
looked ... new? Like the frog that became a
prince you were transformed. I guess you
look good now.
I don't have my doubts about food poi-
soning when I eat In you now. You've
acquired Mexican Chinese and Italian cui-
sine sandwiches a permanent salad bar
health foods desserts. You also have a deck
annexed to yourself for when I don't feel
like being indoors.
Even your service has improved; I hear
it's because of a certain man named Mr Ed
the Dear Abby of ACU. He's got his
employees serving hot rolls to students and
everything.
Although I miss your milkshake blenders
woks and the port-a-salad bar I guess I can
live with someone else's cooking. Anything
is better than my own.
I also can eat in peace now because I
don't have to worry about particles falling
from the ceiling. No more unwelcome
Gummi Bears dropping onto my dessert or
dried Coke-soaked nupkins in my sand-
wich. Yeah I think can live with that. Way
to go Mr. Ed. You're all right.
Ja JSjflHj
biblical proof to back this conclusion.
Noah was an intelligent man. Would he
have brought a male roach and a female k
roach into a dark place in which he was to $ f
be isolated for 40 days and 40 nights? I
think not.
Therefore I believe Satan sent roaches to
the earth after the flood to reintroduce evil
into the world.
I know about nil the roach rumors such "
as how the insects arc indestructible and
even could survive a nuclc&r war.
The only solution to the roach problem
now is to live in an area with a low roach -.
population. I can deal with traffic and crime
rates just give me a roach-free life.
My husband who is from Alaska told V
me that no roaches exist in his home state "
because they arc unable to survive the
eold.So they arc not indcstructablc after all.
Forget about the bear maulings and ;
deathly cold winters I'm packing my bags
(or Alaska.
both sexes
funnier it became although my relief I
was short-lived. When I finally nabbed an '
issue I opened the pages slowly. They
were there: women who had bodies obvi-
ously not from this world or at least not
directly from Mother Nature.
I looked at Kathy Ireland and wondered
"What is it?" I turned to a male friend to
inquire but before I even could formulate
the question he said "She has three chil-
dren you know."
As I continued my quest for understand-
ing I grew sick of the fact Kathy Ireland is
a mother of three. I heard it many times
and I guess she docs deserve a little credit. I
give credit where credit is due and I
believe most of the credit goes to her plas-
tic surgeon.
What 1 wouldn't give for a body like that.-:
But do I want to be her? No wayl Not U '
chance. '. j
I am happy right where I am. Kathy Irc- ;
land is married with three children so f
don't have to compete with her.
I guess it all boils down to this: I'll never'
look like her and most guys on campus
will never have a chance to date her. So as
far as I'm concerned Sports Illustrated can
mail out an issue to every man on campus.
Happy reading.
Open up to cultures
To the Editor.
In response to Brian Shaw's Feb. 1 1
column I would like to reassure Shaw
that multiculturalism hardly "poses one
of the greatest threats to human rela-
tions in our nation."
According to biblical teaching which
Shaw mentions the second greatest
commandment after loving God is:
"Love you neighbor as yourself in
Matt. 22:39. Loving our neighbors
often means trying to understand them
and their cultures. Being willing to read
the literature and history of our neigh-
bors helps to build relationships rather
than to threaten them.
I would encourage Shaw to reconsid-
er his position on multiculturalism and
I also would encourage him to cele-
brate black history this month by read-
ing the works of Alice Walker James
Baldwin or some other notable non-
white author. He (night find thm
enlightening and enjoyable
Jan Little
Senior English major
Abilene
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 41, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 16, 1994, newspaper, February 16, 1994; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92225/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.