We hear about poverty almost every day here at Abilene Christian University. We hear how children die and how we can and should help them. We hear about it so much, that we become immune to what we are told. It's not that we don't care; it's just that it no longer affects us. The organizations that come to speak are often daunting. They require a ... [Read More…]

The music scene in Abilene is alive, but ill. Upon arriving in Abilene, students hailing from larger cities with flourishing music scenes are generally shocked at the sparse selection of live music here. For those that don't want to listen to the live background music of Lucky Mule Saloon or Midnight Rodeo, there are few options outside of an ... [Read More…]

You might say I was brainwashed into coming to ACU. From the very beginning, I had "Future Wildcat" stamped on my passport of life. Yeah. I was "that kid." The one whose parents and grandparents had gone to ACU. The one who grew up going to the homecoming parade and Sing Song every year. The one whose grandfather served on the Board of Trustees. ... [Read More…]

"James Arthur Slater founded the Optimist in 1912." I've heard that statement so many times and said it so often over the past 25 years, it's easy to overlook the true and full story. In the summer of 1912, Jesse P. Sewell was named president of the Campbellite-founded Christian college in Abilene – the fifth president in seven years. He knew ... [Read More…]

My days are numbered. College is almost over and the real world is getting closer and closer. And it's not the kind where you get to drink and be sexually promiscuous with eight random roommates. It's the kind where a body running solely on Ramen drags itself from interview to interview before finding somewhere to spend the rest of your life. One ... [Read More…]

During my internship at the Abilene Reporter-News, the news assignments ranged from rodeo events to children reading to dogs. These are my stories. I applied for internship after internship after internship in December and January. It is unbelievable how early some deadlines are. After countless hours spent searching online for good internship ... [Read More…]

If you want to buy the the latest entry in the Super Mario Bros. franchise, you won't have to leave your dorm room, house or other dwelling. For the first time in its history, Nintendo is allowing owners of its 3DS console the ability to buy and download a full, retail game directly to their device. With this move, and plans to continue to make ... [Read More…]

After four years of working for the Optimist and sleeping through classes, and it is time for me to write my last Optimist column and graduate. ACU has been good to me. I've learned a lot in classes and even more working for the Optimist. Faculty members have let me barge into their offices with inane questions and have invited me into their ... [Read More…]

I thought I would walk to downtown Abilene from my house. My house is about a mile from campus, next to the Riatta Ranch Apartments. It took a long time to get to the Paramount Theater. It was about 1:30 in the morning when I started out, and 3:00 in the morning when I finally got back home. People are pretty slow without cars. It was strange to ... [Read More…]