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The apologetics of CORE poetry

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I was a second-semester freshman, sitting in CORE 120, worried about our in-class assignment. Dr. Steven Moore had just told me and the other 70 students in the class we had 10 minutes to write a poem. The only other guideline: we had use the phrase "blue sweater". The 10 minutes expired all too quickly. I'd barely written poetry before, and had ... [Read More…]

Downtown Abilene’s much needed facelift

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At 1:17 a.m., the line is a twenty minute wait. Almost every table is filled with college students from ACU, Hardin Simmons and McMurry. Several cops sit together to make sure nothing gets out of control. Business is booming as usual at Whataburger. But what else are college students supposed to do after midnight? Or even after 10 p.m.? The sad ... [Read More…]

Keeping faithful, even in darkness

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For many, the college years are when reality really hits. Serious illnesses become more real, friends get divorced, families fall apart, houses get robbed, buses crash, money gets tight and good people miss out on opportunities they deserve because of circumstances that are out of their control. More and more students will experience people they ... [Read More…]

Pros and cons of “pre-Christmas”

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I have a confession to make. I've already put up my Christmas tree. Here's my reasoning behind it: According to tradition, the holiday season starts on Thanksgiving (or after Santa makes his appearance at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade). Once I return from Thanksgiving break I will only have three weeks left in my apartment before ... [Read More…]

Charging for online news is essential

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The Abilene Reporter News has been planning for quite some time to implement an online subscription service for its news coverage. If this plan is realized, the Reporter News would be following a trend of many other newspapers around the country in converting to an online format instead of a daily delivered print product. With this change, ... [Read More…]

Jets proving to be all talk while franchise crashes

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The New York Jets need to shut their pie holes. The Jets (3-6) are terrible. This is an understood truth. They've scored one touchdown in their past two games, and that was in garbage time during their 30-9 loss to the Miami Dolphins. They've proved they're all talk and no walk. Before the Oct. 28 Miami-New York matchup, the Jets returned to ... [Read More…]

Thanksgiving: a time of free food

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If there is one thing I'm thankful for, it's free food. Here in Abilene, I run a tight ship financially. Bi-monthly visits to United fill my pantry with the basics: bread, milk, eggs, Ramen and Ben & Jerry's "Americone Dream". I ration food like a Depression-era family and have slowly begun to embrace leftovers. It's not the most glorious (or ... [Read More…]

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