Jonathan Smith, Author at The Optimist

City debate to focus on student housing again: Three-person limit could be raised to four if council agrees

October 15, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor The Abilene City Council will meet Oct. 23 to discuss the possibility of raising the number of unrelated people living in one house from three to four Jeff Armstrong, development services manager for the Community Development Department, which polices zoning ordinances, said the current occupancy limit is ... [Read More…]

Site team visits, reviews COBA: College waits for word as accreditation effort in final stages

October 10, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor Following a three-day visit from three college of business deans from around the country, the College of Business Administration waits for an official announcement in January to see if the college was recognized by the highest accreditation organization in the world, said Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of COBA. The visit ... [Read More…]

SA hopes to put a face to the data: Committee gathers student input before reporting to Congress

October 8, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor A proposal approved at the Oct. 1 Students' Association meeting will recommend student pictures be made available on the directory of myACU. Student opinion on the proposal will be collected before a final decision is made about presenting the proposal for final approval to the appropriate university officials, ... [Read More…]

The invisible director: Massey lets students control the show

October 3, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor If Kendall Massey had it his way, you would never know he was here. That's the mark Massey wants to leave on his new position as director of student productions, most notably on Freshman Follies and Sing Song. "I want productions to have everything to do with the students and the people involved and the focus ... [Read More…]

Schubert: Financial issues still key: In state of university speech, warns that pressure may be $6M

September 24, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor Phil Schubert, vice president of finance, told about 230 faculty and staff members at Tuesday's State of the University address that the university can expect budget pressures of between $4 million to $6 million over the next two years. Schubert said that figure is a worst-case scenario and that he hopes, ... [Read More…]

Renowned philanthropist speaks on business ethics

September 17, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor Philanthropist Bernard Rapoport spoke to students Tuesday from all three Abilene colleges on business ethics and public life. Rapoport, who speaks to students on topics usually relating to business ethics, conducted one session at noon with students that was invitational only; student government leader ... [Read More…]

Bermudan students worry about home: Students lose communication with family, friends

September 12, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor Students from Bermuda were left worried over the weekend as the eye of hurricane Fabian-the worst storm to hit the island in 50 years-passed directly over friends and family on the island. "I felt like the distance between Abilene and Bermuda had tripled because I couldn't reach anybody to see that they were ... [Read More…]

Officials grant fewer exemptions: Credit-based Chapel system pushes down one-time excuses

September 10, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor One-time Chapel exemptions are becoming rarer under the new attendance policy that allows students extra opportunities to receive Chapel credit, said Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life. "With a credit-based system it means that there is not the same need for giving as many one-time exemptions," Barnard said in ... [Read More…]

Departments find ways to cut: Colleges choose different ways to handle across-the-board reduction

September 5, 2003 by Jonathan Smith

By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor Financial difficulties forced all departments to cut their budgets by 8 percent for this school year. Departments could choose where the cut came from and have handled the cuts differently. Departments from the College of Arts and Sciences can take the money from either their operating budget or from money ... [Read More…]