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Breaking down the 2015 SA Executive Office candidates

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Whether it's during national, local or even Students' Association elections, the Optimist has had a long-standing tradition of endorsing candidates. The purpose of endorsing, like everything else on the opinion page, is to start a conversation. It gets people talking, not just about the candidate the editorial board thinks is right for the job, ... [Read More…]

SA candidates need competitors

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It's really unfortunate that there is only one candidate for both the SA presidential and vice presidential races this year. Beau Carter is running unopposed for president, and Caleb Orr is running unopposed for vice president, but this year's ballot box says more about how the ACU student body has changed than it does the candidates ... [Read More…]

Local attention from ISIS points to Dyess Air Force Base

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Abilene, the not-so-small small town of West Texas, populated by about 120,000 people. Abilene, where students complain nothing ever happens, and, well, nothing ever happens. Based on this perspective, it's hard to think anyone would ever target Abilene for anything - concerts, fairs or malicious acts included, which is why it was so hard to ... [Read More…]

New revenue sources welcomed if they mean lower tuition

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ACU has made plans to open a new campus in Dallas. Many important details have yet to be decided, like its exact location or which graduate programs will offer on-campus classes rather than online. But even without knowing the details, ACU's incentive and drive behind the plan is clear: money. Universities across the country are seeing their ... [Read More…]

TEDxACU is sharing ideas at a high price

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Ten presenters are coming to Cullen Auditorium April 17 as part of an independently organized local TED event called TEDxACU. According to the TED website, "In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience." The cost of "sharing" for students ... [Read More…]

Should the new student activity fee cause concerns?

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The creation of a student activity fee has generated mixed feelings among students. The fee, which will be $25 per semester, is effective next fall. This will produce $95,000 that will go toward funding students entertainment, such as concerts, and hiring a part-time position to find said entertainment and of course all the allocations to student ... [Read More…]

Is age a factor in keeping professors relevant?

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Young people complaining about old people is a first-degree cliche. So we just want to clarify: that's not the point of this editorial. The point is that universities are one of the few environments where a large group of people in their early twenties spend their days listening to and learning from people twice their age. And this age gap affects ... [Read More…]

ACU marketing inconsistent with technology in classrooms

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You're sitting in class and you observe the students surrounding you"”trying their best to ignore the professors. There is the guy in front of you watching the golf tournament, the girl on your right scrolling through Pinterest and the students next to you iMessaging each other while simultaneously planning their spring break trip on their ... [Read More…]

Why we report on indictments of students

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On Page 1 of this publication, one of our reporters wrote a story on the sexual assault indictment of Jacob Windsor, who was enrolled as an ACU student last semester. Though we as staff realize the sensitivity of this story and of the allegations in the indictment, we determined it was important enough information to share with the student body ... [Read More…]

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