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The friends you miss the most

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While I'm not a graduating senior, I can only imagine the bittersweet moments of walking the stage. On one hand, you're "free" from school and chapel credits, bean food and curfew, but on the other, you're leaving a home behind. I've recognized that the last week of school is perfect for boomerangs of friends hugging or hand-holding with the ... [Read More…]

We need student loan reform

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First, let's start off with some numbers so you can understand the absolutely miserable situation we are in. $1.48 trillion in total U.S. student loan debt 44.2 million Americans with student loan debt Student loan delinquency rate of 11.2 percent (90+ days delinquent or in default) Average monthly student loan payment (for borrower ... [Read More…]

What the Optimist is – and what it isn’t

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Around the newsroom, we often joke about how our work sometimes makes people mad. We've been accused of chasing scandals, promoting gossip or trashing groups on campus. We've been accused of not having school spirit or not caring about positive things. After writing for the Optimist for four years and serving as editor-in-chief for one year, I ... [Read More…]

And for the first time, I did it my way – the best way

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After four years of writing countless, harsh, informative and sometimes pointless articles, I have no more words left inside me. For the first time, I am speechless. Therefore, I have decided to use the classic hit 'My Way' from Frank Sinatra as my outlet for expression; to explain how I have felt during the past six months of my senior ... [Read More…]

The undeviating dilemma

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In our society, we are stuck in constant dilemmas, but one of the most prevalent and problematic is the dilemma between political ideologies. We live our lives and separate groups of people based upon who you voted for in the last election. We disagree with each other simply because the other doesn't align with our political party. We lose all ... [Read More…]

Thanks for the memories, dear Christian college

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Graduation is 25 days away (and counting). It seems like an appropriate time to fight through the senioritis, chug down another coffee and think about what's changed in the four years since I walked on this campus as an eager 18 year old who could miraculously function without sleep, or the aforementioned coffee. While it's true that I sit here ... [Read More…]

What you need to know about the Syrian civil war

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Let's talk about the Syrian civil war and how it has become the potential for a international proxy war. Unsurprisingly, there is a great deal of confusion about how the Syrian civil war even started. In 2011, Bashar Al-Assad, President of Syria, responded to Arab Spring protests by killing and imprisoning hundreds of demonstrators. Shortly ... [Read More…]

Letter to the Editor: To my mom as she retires after 39 years at ACU

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-by Michael Bacon, son of Dr. Cheryl Bacon, retiring chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication  The word hero gets overused a lot in today’s world. On a given day, the title ‘hero’ might be given to an athlete, movie star, talk show host, or any one of a number of people that make a temporary splash in a particular line of ... [Read More…]

How to judge the success of ACU

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Many students, staff members and alumni will agree that our university has a beautiful campus, great professors and an even better community, but one problem we are facing is how we judge success for ACU. We have a wonderful stadium, beautiful buildings and a new line at the bean. This, however, is not what makes ACU our home. We need to be ... [Read More…]

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