On the surface, Abilene seems like a pretty boring place. As a college student looking to enjoy a life away from campus, you may find yourself at the mall every weekend, believing that it’s the only interesting place in the whole city. Young adults shut themselves up in their dorms or with their social clubs, as the word floats all around ACU’s ... [Read More…]
New Brew = New buzz, Campus needs another coffee option
Despite the convenience and familiarity of the Starbucks brand, it may not be the best fit for the campus's needs. It does the job, providing the typical seasonal drinks through the fall, winter and spring while maintaining the reliable options year-round. With Starbucks being the household name for easy and recognizable coffee, it has become ... [Read More…]
Discerning our vocations
What comes to mind when you think of the term vocation? I’ll wager that for many of us, we think of career choice. That’s important, but I want to convince you that career choice comes not first, not second, and not even third when it comes to discerning vocation, or calling. ACU’s mission is to “educate students for Christian leadership and ... [Read More…]
Graduating into uncertainty: The job search facing the class of 2026
Walking across campus, past GATA Fountain and the halls of the Mabee Business Building, the conversations I overhear have a familiar, anxious rhythm. Whether it’s at the Bean or after Chapel lets out, the talk among my fellow seniors inevitably turns to the future. We’re just months away from graduation, a moment we’ve worked toward for upwards ... [Read More…]
A northerner’s perspective: Snow your roll
Being an out-of-state student, like anything, has its ups and its downs. I didn’t know ‘boots and jeans’ was its own dress code or that “y’all” refer to the Dallas and Fort Worth area as “the metroplex.” But what I lack in southern charm and awareness, I make up for in dealing with the colder elements. For example, this still-developing snowstorm, ... [Read More…]
Minimum wage jobs teach valuable lessons
The expectation from my parents when I turned 16 was that I get a job so I could pay for things on my own, such as gas, clothes or going out to eat with friends. This is the expectation for many other teenagers like me when they turn 16. Not only was I able to earn my own money through having a job, but I was also able to learn responsibility, how ... [Read More…]
When coffee stops helping and starts hurting
I first started listening to heavy metal music in my junior year of high school. During my 20-minute commute, I blasted screaming vocals through my speakers, not because I loved the sound, but because I needed something strong enough to keep me awake. By then, my caffeine addiction was so intense that three energy drinks a day couldn’t keep me ... [Read More…]
Student attendance makes a difference at games
Wildcat athletics programs perform better at home than on the road nearly every season. The football team just wrapped up its regular home season 5-0 with an average game attendance of 9,077 people, including a 12,000-fan sell-out crowd for the Homecoming game against Tarleton State University. The sold-out crowd against Tarleton played a huge ... [Read More…]
Normalize counseling on campus
The popular saying is 'college is the best years of your life,’ yet behind the highlight reels is the dark reality that suicide is among the leading causes of death for college students. The stigma around mental health only leads to suffering in silence, but normalizing counseling can save lives. The 2024-25 Health Minds Study found that ... [Read More…]
Give me back my em dash
I am not anti-AI. I’m not angry at or scared of it as a concept, but I do have one bone to pick. AI ruined my favorite punctuation mark. ChatGPT in particular has coined the em dash as its signature. Honestly, the word “signature” doesn’t quite get across how much the program uses em dashes. Put in any prompt, and an em dash will sneak into its ... [Read More…]