Features Page 5
Highways & Byways
vol. 101, no. 44
friday, march 20, 2013
Nothing gets students more excited in Chapel than Dr. Steven Moore’s signature song
1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
administration
Interim named dean of CBS
INSIDE OPINION Two staff members describe their experiences on SBCs
Page 6
NEWS
mark smith editor in chief
Forward LENE, a new women’s running group, gaining members quickly Page 3
NEWS
FUN IN
Lent season challenging students Page 3
SPORTS
THE
SUN
Women’s basketball team falls in first round of regional tournament Page 8
SPORTS Baseball team defeats No. 1 Delta State and No. 24 Incarnate Word Page 8
NEWS Redbox and Netflix making waves at the movies Page 4
NEWS New camp directors preparing for summer
all photos by mandy lambright CHIEF Photographer Kelli Spencer, junior business management major from Littleton, Colo., enjoys the pleasant spring weather in the grassy mall area of campus with her dog.
Creek project to link city parks mark smith editor in chief
NEWS Justice Week to host authors, slam poets in April acuoptimist.com
VIDEO OME AND BSA present Black History Production, ‘Ruth’
acuoptimist.com
see dean page 4
local
Page 4
ONLINE
Dr. Ken Cu k r ow s k i has been appointed to dean of the College of Biblical Studies. cukrowski Cu k r ow s k i has served the position in an interim capacity since last March. Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost, sent an email to faculty and staff announcing the appointment on Thursday evening. “Dr. Cukrowski brings extensive experience to this role, including 14 years in teaching and administrative roles at ACU,” Rhodes said in the email. “I appreciate Dr. Cukrowski’s willingness to serve in this capacity and am confident in his ability to lead the College of Biblical Studies.” Last summer, Rhodes commissioned a search committee to review applications for the position, name and interview finalists and make a recommendation to the provost. The committee, led by Dr. John Weaver, dean of the library and educational technology, interviewed two finalists last month: Cukrowski and Dr. Mark Hamilton, as-
The first phase has begun on a multi-decade-long project that will ultimately serve to make Abilene prettier and give residents a fun place for recreation and economic expansion. And it’s all thanks to one nonprofit and a bunch of toilet water. The Cedar Creek Waterway will link six Abilene parks with trails along Cedar Creek on the east side of town. The trails will run 12 miles as the crow flies from Kirby Lake Park, located just south of the Loop, to Seabee Park, north of I-20. The waterway will also run through or next to Kirby Park, Cal Young Park, Stevenson Park and Will Hair Park, located a few blocks from ACU’s campus. Phase 1 of the plan includes the middle section of the waterway, from North 10th Street to South 11th. Eventually the waterway will
run north from Kirby Lake to Fort Phantom Lake. The project’s vision includes kayaking, horseback riding, outdoor concerts, restaurants, dams and waterfalls. The creek is not as interesting today. With less than three inches of rainfall since September, most of the creek is dried up. Some puddles dot the skinny waterbed here and there, while other stretches of the creek are up to three feet deep. The additional water would be recycled water from the city, which already carries up to 4 million gallons per day to college campuses (so yes, that is former sewage water in ACU’s sprinkler system), golf courses and lakes in Abilene. With an increased amount of recycled water directed to Kirby Lake and its spillway into Cedar Creek, the creek would be able to flow all the way through consistently, according to the organization planning the project. However, today it’s easier to find trash in the creek than knee or
curtis christian stafF Photographer Randy Barnett, Cedar Creek Waterway spokesman, points to some potential future plans in the waterway to Mark Smith, editor in chief of the Optimist.
waist-deep water. That’s one of the issues holding the waterway back that infuriates Randy Barnett, one of the project’s organizers, who said a large amount of tires and couches get dumped into or near the creek by people “too lazy to haul it to the appropriate place.” Barnett, the de-
velopment’s spokesman, said one time he even found a grand piano dumped in the creek. A few weeks ago, more than a dozen students and faculty from the Department of Agricultural and see creek page 3
campus
VIDEO Students enjoy Second Chance Dance
Moody undergoing construction josh garcia managing editor
acuoptimist.com
OXFORD Marissa Jones, our Oxford correspondent, details her latest experiences abroad theoxfordcommablog. wordpress.com
Seats have been tossed aside in preparation for a minor Moody face lift. The United States Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which in part requires establishments to accommodate disabled individuals if possible. Scot Colley, executive director of risk management and construction, said the Office of Construction and Risk Management has been
complying with the law by doing what it can to make popular spots on campus more accessible. “The Americans with Disabilities Act states that you need to fix what’s readily attainable,” he said. “So each year, we try to fix things that are readily attainable.” Last year, Construction and Risk Management installed a ramp and accessible seating in Cullen Auditorium. Construction is responsible for the work currently being done, along with several outside companies.
Colley said Moody Coliseum had been on their radar for a while. “We have an accessible seating program,” he said. “Each year, we try to do more things to make campus more and more accessible.” While Moody will receive an update in preparation for the move to Division I, the construction currently being done has nothing to do with that transition. “There’ll be some new striping and some new paint
Abilene Christian University
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mandy lambright chief Photographer Some of the lower sections in Moody Coliseum are being renovated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and add wheelchair ramps. Construction will conclude by the end of April.