A University Press magazine
April 2016
REVVING UP Page 12
Inside: People • Air Quality • Makeup and more
Inside:
People, page 4 Pollution, page 5 Corks, page 10 Racing, page 12 Makeup, page 16 EDITOR Grant Crawford
A University Press Magazine April 2016 This issue of UPbeat is a production of the University Press staff.
MANAGING EDITOR Kara Timberlake
Haley Bruyn Brandianne Hinton Trevier Gonzalez Danielle Sonnier
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Allison Pipkins ŠUniversity Press 2016
STAFF
Elisabeth Tatum
Josh Aych
Carolyn Kondos
Cover art by Josh Aych
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Speaking Through Dance Elissa Adams “I am never dancing again!” the then fouryear-old Elissa Adams, senior, informed her mother after a bad day at the dance studio. Elissa says her mother pushed her to continue. “I don’t know what she said, but I haven’t stopped since.” Elissa, now 22, has been dancing for 18 years and teaching at Debbie’s Dance Studio in Groves for the last four. “It’s probably my favorite thing to do in the whole entire world,” Elissa says. “I was shy growing up and dancing was my outlet, a way to communicate with my body, to speak without speaking. It’s more than just dance. It’s an expression of yourself.” Elissa teaches six dance classes each week — lyrical, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, tap and the company class, which is the studio’s competitive dance team. Tap and contemporary are her favorites. Eventually, she wants to open her own studio. Elissa receives her bachelor’s degree in English with a teaching certificate from Lamar University in May. She is apprehensive about relocating to begin her teaching career, because it means leaving her beloved hometown dance studio. “It’s funny because recital and graduation are on the same day, so it’s all going to end it at once.”
Story and photo by Brandianne Hinton
PEOPLE
April 2016
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Healing Power Aaron Gauthier Aaron Gauthier was injured in Iraq in 2009 during his fourth tour of duty. His ankle injury left him in agonizing pain, he says. “I was prescribed some of the most addictive and harsh pain pills to help ‘manage’ the pain,” the Bridge City senior, says. However, Aaron says that the pills made him feel worse, so he decided to look into a more holistic and natural approach. The engineering major researched different therapies and settled on essential oils, which he mixes himself. “There are blends of oils that combine nature’s concentrated qualities to help bring our bodies back to homeostasis,” he says. “A great oil for joint pain is JuvaFlex, which contains spearmint, cinnamon and other antiinflammatories when applied topically. Just like IcyHot or Biofreeze, I use it daily to reduce pain and swelling. Aaron says he started to see a decrease in the side effects that came with the conventional medicines. “It was easier to process the original injury and the pain associated without all of the other issues,” he says. As time passed, and Aaron’s pain diminished from excruciating to minimal, he started a small business selling the products. “At first, I was a supporter, I was supportive of healthy living, but not necessarily on board with all of the benefits,” he says. “Over time, and with many positive outcomes, I am a believer.” Story and photo by Allison Pipkins
Grappler at Heart Jeff O’Connor Some people dream of professional success in the mixed martial arts, but for Jeff O’Conner, it has been a hobby since 2006. “I think everyone should have some physical outlet and mixed martial arts is a great one,” Jeff says. “Growing up, I was the stereotypical nerd. I was uncoordinated. I enjoy MMA so much, because it doesn’t involve so much hand-eye coordination.” After the 26-year-old Pennsylvania native received his bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Kutztown University, he earned a master’s in math from Lamar University, where he now teaches statistics. He still makes time to train in MMA. A wrestler in high school, he has considered entering competitions. “The risk of injuries is lower, the risk of concussion is almost gone, and with submission grappling, you can train full force without getting worn down,” Jeff says. “You can only get punched in the head so many times, but you can tap out as many times as you need.” Jeff says he is just an average guy who enjoys the sport. “Doing real MMA competition doesn’t interest me, but I love competing in grappling, and I find it enjoyable,” he says. Though he chose a career in math, Jeff is still a grappler at heart.
Story and photo by Carolyn Kondos
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Helping Hand Elia Rivas
Moving to America from Nicaragua at the age of 19 is quite the culture shock, but Elia Rivas didn’t let it stop her. The now 44-year-old, full-time college student has worked at The Spindletop Center, which offers services for people with mental health issues, intellectual and developmental disabilities, substance abuse and early childhood intervention, for almost 10 years. Elia says that in her native Nicaragua, people with mental health issues cannot get the care they do here. “There’s no programs like the Spindletop Center, no education on how to care for them or how to help them live happy lives,” she says. “I would see them on the street when I was younger, I always felt bad and had sympathy for them.” Elia came to her profession relatively late in life. In the mornings she would drop her son off at school. “I would always see the teachers and aides that were helping the special needs children to and from the bus, I wanted to help them, too — I wanted to be a part of their lives,” she says. Elia is working toward a degree in special education, and hopes to become a teacher. “It will be hard leaving my friends at Spindletop,” she says. “That will always be my home, and where I found my true calling. I was put on this earth to help those who can’t help themselves, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
Story and photo by Elisabeth Tatum
Rockin’ Wildlife Chester Moore
Story and photo by Danielle Sonnier
The stereotype of a rocker is a raspy voice, unrecognizable tattoos on leather-like skin, and no verbal filter. Former bassist/songwriter Chester Moore, however, is no stereotype. Though he still rocks his wild hair, the Orange-native is a well-respected outdoors writer. In 2014, Chester established Wild Wishes, a program for children who have suffered a loss or have a terminal illness by providing the children with a chance to interact with their favorite animals. “It lets kids be kids again,” he says. “Kids who have been through severe loss, abuse or neglect, see something as simple as our little short-tailed opossum, or our prairie dog, and tap right back into the essence of childhood.” Chester owns The Kingdom Zoo: Wildlife Center in Orange, where he keeps the animals. He has granted nine wishes to date, and the kids’ typical reactions have been total joy, he says. “All kids like animals to some extent, and I have spent my entire life in pursuit of animal encounters,” Chester says. “I love wildlife and have a deep understanding of it and of children, so it’s a perfect way to reach kids.” For more information, visit www.thekingdomzoo.com/wild-wishes.
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Free Stylin’
There are many things you wouldn’t expect to see an 8year-old do. Hair weaves probably fall into that category. Andrew Ramirez did his mother’s weave for his brother’s graduation when he was in third grade. “I didn’t know what I was doing, but my mom was like, ‘Just do whatever to my hair.’ She loved it,” the Houston junior says. Andrew perfected his skills by watching YouTube videos and having a mentor in high school. The business management major says he believes that people establish themselves with their hair. “It’s helping their self-confidence,” he says. “Whenever they look good, they feel good.” Andrew says
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Andrew Ramirez he looks up to Lady Gaga, especially her song, ‘Hair,’ with the lyric, “I’m as free as my hair.” Andrew plans to earn a cosmetology degree and dreams of owning his own salon — partly for the “uniform.” “Wherever you go, you have to wear black. I love that, because I already love black,” he says. The 19-year old may love monochrome clothes, but when it comes to his hair, which is currently bright purple, there are no rules. “I just find my hair is a canvas that I can paint on,” he says. Andrew loves what he does, as there’s always something new to learn. “Hair is an endless art canvas that you can pursue into any form you want.”
Story and photo by Trevier Gonzalez
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Campus air quality up to par for EPA standards A dark, thick substance thrusts upwards into the sky, only to fall, splatter, and soak into the earth — a sign of good things to come. More than a century after the Texas Oil Boom at Spindletop in Beaumont, an entire region has developed an industrial economy focused on the exploration of fossil fuels. Smack dab in the middle of it, lies Lamar University. Large chemical refineries, like the ones located around Southeast Texas, are a large source of air pollution for the community that live around them. Petroleum industries release chemicals through air emissions
Story, graphics and layout by Grant Crawford
April 2016 including volatile organic carbon, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matters and sulfur dioxide. When air dispersion is low, emissions can create a hazardous atmosphere. “First of all, air emissions should not be confused with air pollution, which is defined as elevated concentration of air pollutants from air emission that exceeds a threshold level such that public health or welfare is compromised,” Jerry Lin, director of the LU Center for Advances in Water and Air Quality, said. There was a time when people might be concerned about living in an area chock-full of chemical plants, but in the past 10 years, the air quality of Southeast Texas has progressed. “In general, I think the area’s plants have improved their emissions dramatically,” Thomas Ho, chair of LU’s chemical engineering department, said. In 1978, the quality of air on campus was so detrimental, that it was causing concerns for the health of the community. Ammonia, mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide, phenols, chlorinated phenols, and sulfuric acid emissions plagued the campus. The area was filled with so many toxins, that there was a stench in the air that allegedly caused students and university personnel to have stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. Since then, the quality of air on Lamar’s campus has improved slowly. “The EPA continues to tighten up the standards,” Ho said. “Ten years ago, we were in non-attainment (for federal air quality standards).” Air pollution is determined by the actual concentration of air pollutants, not the proximity of the emission source. If any pollutant concentration exceeds the regulated concentration, the area is classified as a non-attainment area. The Clean Air Act is a federal law that requires the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. “EPA and TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) are always watching us,” Ho said. “Right now, we’re in compliance, so you don’t need to worry.” If a plant exceeds the emission permit, they are subject to fines and other severe penalties, Lin said. “That can have serious consequences for the plant at fault,” he said. “The regulatory agency in Texas is TCEQ and they have emission auditors that regularly check on the emission from the plants. The U.S. has relatively stringent Na-
See AIR page 20
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Studies show exposure to SO2 results in higher rates of childhood asthma. When combined with nitrogen oxides, VOC reacts to form ground-level ozone. NOx can penetrate deeply into lung tissue causing premature deaths in extreme cases.
Infographic by Grant Crawford
Breathing CO can cause headache, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea.
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A real Story by Danielle Sonnier Photos by Josh Aych
Corks’ sports participation
amarcus Corks is not your typical jock. The large motorized wheelchair is probably a clue, but Jamarcus is as much a part of the Lamar University sports community as the tallest basketball player or the strongest member of the football team. The Orange senior, who has cerebral palsy, is a manager for the baseball and football teams, as well as a sports broadcasting major. “Cerebral palsy and sports tie together very well, because sports actually help me deal with it,” he says. “When I got into sports, it kind of forced me to be around other people. I got used to being around people, they got used to me, they learned me, and I learned them, and I took on more of their traits, and they took on a lot of mine.” Jamarcus says that sports has been his passion since he was a child, especially attending West OrangeStark High School, where football is king. “I went to all the games and cheered along with everybody else,” he says. “I screamed and hollered until I went hoarse, and I would stay
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out until about midnight, one in the morning at a football game, and my mom would never understand why. She’s like, ‘I don’t see why you’re so crazy about this,’ and I was like, ‘I love it.’” Although Jamarcus cannot physically compete, he says he feels he is a part of the team. “I’m with these guys every day, every game, every practice — rain, sleet, snow, blazing sun — I’m there with them every day, and it’s a privilege to say that I’m a part of this team, I’m a part of this organization,” he says. “I help these guys out whenever I can. It’s also an honor (that they) claim me and speak of me the way that they do. “I do this because I feel like if I’m not doing this, if I’m not doing something, that I’m wasting my time — that I’m not doing what God put me here to do. I have changed lives simply by standing there with a smile on my face. I have inspired people to be better just by standing there with a smile on my face.” Jamarcus smiles a lot. In fact, it is probably his most dominant feature. He smiles despite a tough upbringing, of which his cerebral palsy is down on the list. One of his earliest memories is a visit to a specialist. “The doctors told me I didn’t have a purpose in life,” he says. “That was a complete and total shut down. When I was three or four years old, they said I would probably never walk. “That turned out to not be true, because being around regular kids, I was just like, ‘I want to be like them, I don’t want to be stuck in this wheelchair for the rest of my life, I don’t want to be unable to walk, I don’t want to be a vegetable.’” The idea of someone having to tend to him every second every day is torture, Jamarcus says. “It kills me — I don’t know why, I don’t know what does, it just flips off this thing in my head and I’m just like, ‘Go away!’” he says. “If you’re a friend and you’re just following me around
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team player not limited by cerebral palsy “I’m tougher than I look, trust me. I fall all the time.” that’s cool, but if you’re following me around and helping, let me get that myself.” Jamarcus rolls his eyes as he describes every day occurrences in which people think they are helping. “Heaven forbid I drop my phone, my wallet, my keys — Oh my lord, people flip out,” he says. “And don’t even mention if I would fall. If I fall down while walking, all hell breaks loose.” At first, Jamarcus would act appreciative of the assistance, but a few years ago, he started standing up for himself. “I’m tougher than I look, trust me,” he said. “I fall all the time. When I go home, I fall all the time. My parents do not freak out, and they’re in their 70s. They don’t freak out. Stop freaking out.” Jamarcus says he uses every ounce of strength he has to do everything he can each day. “I hate having spare time,” he says. “Everyone needs an off day, but having spare time where I could be doing something productive with it is something I can’t even handle.” Being the football and baseball manager helps him manage his own needs. “I do this because if I’m not doing it, I’m wasting my time and not doing what I could be doing,” he says. “There is no other way I would imagine my life right
now. I’m able to be a part of these teams, to say all these great things, and to be so happy with my life right now.” Being a manager means being part of the team, and being part of a team means being part of a brotherhood, Jamarcus says. “On a field, it doesn’t matter whether you’re black, white, Hispanic, Mexican, whatever — you’re just a brother,” he says. “The love we all share with each other is completely mind-boggling to me. I have never known such a thing.” Being so involved with the players and sports over the years has helped mold Jamarcus into who he is now, he says. “Being around them actually caused me to absorb some of their traits, such as being who I am and saying what’s on my mind, not caring what people think, doing my own thing, regardless of the wheelchair or the walker,” he says. “After a while they stopped seeing it. They were blind to it.” If one sees Jamarcus around campus, he seems calm and collected. But when he gets around the coaches and players, he changes, he says. “You can’t be a dainty little flower,” he said. “I mean, I can’t even be like that and I’m one of the nicest guys people meet.
See CORKS page 19
Jamarcus Corks interracts with local baseball fans near the dugout at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
DIRT TRACK
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PHOTO STORY BY JOSH AYCH AND GRANT CRAWFORD
DAREDEVILS The Golden Triangle Raceway Park sits about ten minutes outside of China — Texas that is — and every weekend a collection of local and national drivers gather to compete on the dirt track. They all have different aspirations, but the common thread that unites them is the adrenaline rush. Drivers arrive hours before the race to prepare the car. They put on new tires, check the wheel bearings and the inner workings of the engine to make sure every-
thing is in top condition before donning their specialized flame retartant suits and helmets. Before the official races start, the drivers, joined by an old school bus, spend 20 minutes on a series of laps to pack the track in hopes of avoiding dangerous sliding. The drivers follow that with hot laps to get the cars ready to race, before doing any last minute tweaks on the vehicles. When the race starts, the sound of the cars revving to top speeds is deafening.
Drivers try to outmaneuver each other for top positions. Unlike NASCAR, where the races are more than 200 laps over three hours, these enthusiasts have only 15 laps to decide the winner. While bumping each other is prohibited, as the cars slide around the dirt, there are inevitable dings and smashes. Even the best drivers barely cover their costs. For most it’s just an expensive hobby. But next week, they will be back at it again.
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s n o i s s e f n o C UPbeat
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Column, illustration and layout by Haley Bruyn
April 2016
of a makeup addict
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lmost every day, I get emails from Ulta, Birchbox or Walgreens about the “points” I’ve accumulated. I could easily hit “unsubscribe” and the emails would cease to appear in my inbox, but I do not. Actually, I love getting those emails. I love seeing what the newest trend is, or what celebrity is now endorsing Pantene (it’s Selena Gomez, if you were wondering), and I like being reminded that I have $5 to spend on that lipstick I’ve been eyeing. Hi, my name is Haley, and I am a beauty product addict. It started innocently enough. When I was a little girl in the 90s, Bath and Body Works, Claire’s and Limited Too all sold sparkle-filled, berry-scented lotions and body sprays that were too enticing to ignore. While I had the glittery, sugary-sweet cosmetics, I couldn’t help but envy my older female cousins. They had “real” makeup. Their face cream came in a glass jar, not a plastic tube, and they could wear lipstick in public and my mom didn’t say anything about it. Granted, I was five, but even then I understood that just because my eye shadow pallette had 50 different colors, it wasn’t as valuable as the single pot of iridescent Estee Lauder eye color my mom used when we went out to dinner. My friends and I would frequently sneak into our mothers’ bathrooms to test out the latest Mary Kay acquisition, or sniff whatever spicy adult perfume was within reach of our grubby hands. We always got caught, though. The evidence
was all over our faces, and frequently the bathroom counter and floor. Our moms were never mad. OK, maybe a little annoyed, but after a sigh and a, “What did I say about getting into my makeup?” our faces would be washed clean of all the color we’d applied in the wrong places, and we’d be sent on our way. It wasn’t just makeup. My maternal Grandma always had Pond’s cold cream at her lake house, and she would let me rub some on my face if I asked. My paternal Grandma has always used Avon perfume, and that smell would linger around the house long after she’d packed up and gone back to Florida. My mom used Cetaphil face wash to take off her make-up, and to this day, she has at least one generic bottle in her bathroom at all times. My babysitter had a tiny, antique compact of solid perfume that looked like a piece of jewelry, and I would turn it in my hands over and over, smelling the powdery floral scent of a bygone era, wondering when I would graduate from Tweety Bird body spray to something as glamorous. Makeup was a marker of maturity, in my mind. Perfume was the way someone remembered you, and washing your face and putting on creams was a ritual reserved for the regal and wise. Of course, I wanted to wear makeup and use cream on my face — that’s what I’d seen the
See MAKEUP page 18
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MAKEUP
April 2016
from page 17
women I love and respect doing. I wanted to be like them. There were rare moments here and there when my mother would swipe a sheer shimmery gold gloss across my lips at my behest before we went out, and I would feel like a princess. Seriously, one swipe of the most subtle color in my mother’s make up repertoire, and I felt glorious. OK, yes, I was probably six or seven at this point and it was only lip gloss, but the fact remained — I was wearing makeup. I was special. My addiction only grew from there. I tinkered with my plasticized powders and experimented with different color combos in my room. In middle school I got interested in theater. I had an excuse to have “real” makeup of my own. The colors were garish, and the application was much too heavy, but it was fun, and I was learning. I was learning that makeup could change a lot about the way you look — pale, tan, dirty, mustachioed, ghastly, old, young, tired, ethereal and, of course, beautiful. In high school, I was desperate to feel beautiful. Not many girls wore a full face of makeup their freshman year. It was mainly eyeliner, blush and gloss. I remember saving my allowance to buy “Benetint,” a rose scented lip and cheek stain from Sephora, and being nervous the first day I wore it to school. No one I knew wore lip stain, so I prepared myself to defend my new look to any person who might accost me for my choice. No one said anything, of course. But I would have been ready if they did. By the way, I recently found out that Benetint was originally developed to help an erotic dancer liven up her, ahem, nipples. I really don’t know how I feel about this, but I digress. By my sophomore year, makeup had become a bonding ritual between my friends and me. My friends Evee, Sarah, and I all took tennis PE, first period. Halfway through the period, we were allowed to start getting ready in the locker rooms. For Evee, this meant braiding and re-braiding her long, shiny, dark hair, or straightening her flyaway wisps with a travel straightening iron that lived in someone’s locker. Sarah would line her eyes with the matte black shadow in her Too Faced brand Smokey Eye pallette and powder her face. I did my best to line my eyes and add a sheer sparkle to my lids. Mascara and Chapstick or some tinted balm was the final touch. When the bell rang, we were usually passing around a bottle of body spray or someone’s perfume. When I started college, my roommate, Meagan, introduced me to an entirely new concept — makeup as an art form. She was a stunningly beautiful girl to begin with, but used her intimidating collection of
Laura Geller makeup to make her look like a Middle Earth fairy with a sun tan. She glowed and somehow appeared to not be wearing any makeup at all (even though I knew she had spent a considerable amount of time perfectly applying powder and curling and crimping and spraying and setting). I borrowed her “Hot Momma” blush, and she borrowed my “Princess” perfume. She taught me that makeup is about showing the world the best version of you, and that it’s okay to take pride in your skills. Eventually, I got to a point where I was wearing makeup every single day. My legs were always shaved and lotioned, my hair always had mousse in it, and I wore the same perfume I’d started wearing in middle school, only much, much more. I was 19, and I knew what I wanted the world to see, and what parts of me I wanted to hide. Suddenly, I became the person my mother turned to for beauty advice. She wanted me to pick out her lipstick for a party, or help her choose which perfume to wear. My godmother, my aunt, my cousins and my friends — everyone seemed to want me to help them pick out razors or eye shadow, and I loved it. But then I stopped. I stopped wearing makeup one day. My boyfriend at the time told me he didn’t like it. He said I was prettier without it. So, overnight, I stopped wearing makeup. I felt naked at first, but soon, that feeling went away and I forgot why I put it on in the first place. When I broke up with that boyfriend, I still wasn’t wearing makeup like I used to. Maybe once a week, twice if there was a special occasion, but it was hurried, and I didn’t enjoy it. It was more of an obligation than anything else. Enter: Grace. Grace is one of my best friends, but she lives in a
different town. I went to see her and we got dressed up. Then she asked if I would put makeup on her. When I put makeup on people I love, I get to highlight the things I think are most beautiful about them, and they trust me enough to let me choose what they present to the world. Of course, I said yes, but for the first time, I hadn’t packed enough of my own makeup to put a full face together. Grace, who has never worn much makeup, had to dig her small bag of powder and mascara out of a drawer in her bathroom. As I was dusting a shimmery beige powder over Grace’s eye, she said something that stopped me in my tracks. “I don’t understand why you stopped wearing makeup for fun — you loved it.” “For fun” was the part that got me. For fun. I wore makeup for fun. Since I was a little girl, makeup had been something that made me smile. It was fun to play with my mom’s makeup, and it was exciting (if scary) to try a new trend, and it was empowering to know I’d covered my insecurities and that I looked nice. I didn’t wear makeup because I felt I had to, I did it because I wanted to — because I liked it. So now, my bathroom counter is covered with brushes and sponges, creams and oils, and lots and lots of makeup. I have two different body washes in my shower, and three different kinds of face wash, not counting the exfoliators, and I can’t count the lotions. Some products I like, some I love, some I’m just trying to use up so I can make room for something else (I’m cheap, so if I bought it I’m keeping it). I don’t wear makeup every day, and I don’t feel naked without it. I wear makeup because I love the ritual. I love that L’Oreal lipstick still smells the same way it did when my mom wore it, and I love that nothing takes makeup off better than Cetaphil and a wet washcloth, and I love that it’s my turn to be the cool older cousin who lets the kids play in my makeup, so they can feel special, too. I let someone’s opinion about the way I look and the way they thought I should look rob me of something I have loved my entire life. So what if my boyfriend didn’t like it when I wore red lipstick? It made me feel powerful. Yeah, maybe the natural look is more appropriate for some occasions, but if I want to wear bright purple lipstick, you better believe I’m at least going to try it once. Why? Because makeup is fun.
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CORKS
from page 11
People think I’m the sweetest, most innocent, defenseless thing on the planet, but those guys could tell you, ‘He is not defenseless, he is not sweet, and he is not fragile. He is as tough has any of us.’” When Jamarcus is on the sidelines, he is competitive and is not immune to giving out a little stick with some humor. “I’m hysterical, because I will talk as much crap to the umpires as anyone else,” he says. “At football games, I’m a completely different person because I will talk smack to a crowd that talks smack to us.” Jamarcus says interactions with the players has also changed his perspective on life. “I don’t take things near as seriously as I used to,” he says. “The baseball team would take my walker and put it in centerfield, in the middle of the field, and I’d have to walk over to it. I’d have to get it or they’d put it in the outfield, which is toward the back. I mean that was what really kinda calmed me down a little bit. Sports really have changed my entire outlook, my entire being.” Jamarcus says he had always dreamed of being an athlete, and his involvement with Lamar sports has fulfilled that. “It’s not only a dream — it was also a gift,” he says. “I want to be running those bases, knocking
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people off the plate.” The players consider Jamarcus as one of them, he says. “They don’t see me as any different,” he says. “They wish with all their heart like, ‘Give him a set of pads, give him a jersey, give him pants, suit him up with the rest of us, ’cause he is one of us. He is ours.’ They don’t even see me as a manager. They see me as a player.” The coaches also see Jamarcus as a team player. He says he is especially close to head football coach Ray Woodard. “He messes with me to no end, and he is the only coach I have ever had that talks to me as though I was one of his players — but at the same time, he treats me as one of his own children,” Jamarcus says. Jamarcus’ relationship with Woodard is special, he says. “I’m glad to have that in my life, especially right now, not having my mom, not having my dad,” he says. “My mom passed away, and my dad is not really able to take care of himself, much less me. Coach knows about my entire life, my entire history, and the fact that he does that is very nice.” Jamarcus plans on staying in the sports arena, hopefully as a radio announcer, and wants to give back to the sports that have given his life such meaning. “The love for the game holds everyone together,” he says. Jamarcus Corks is ever present in the locker room and says he is considered part of the team. However, it’s not all locker room banter. Sometimes, his job includes picking up the trash in the dugout.
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from page 9
tional Ambient Air Quality Standards set for protecting public health. In 2015, EPA strengthened the NAAQS for groundlevel ozone to 70 parts per billion (ppb), based on extensive scientific evidence about ozone’s effects on public health and welfare. “The EPA is kind of in the middle, between industry and environment groups,” Ho said. “Environment groups want it to be even lower — to 60 — and then the industry said that’s enough. It costs money to really continue to improve our quality. Right now, the standard is 70 ppb. If we want to lower it to 60, it may take billions of dollars for the industry to improve their emission consumption devices. “It depends on how much money you want to spend on it. It’s always related between the economics and the air quality. You can make it to zero pollution, but everybody would be bankrupt.” Despite the cost, there are legitimate reasons for increasing the regulations on chemical emissions. When chemicals are improperly emitted or leaked — adding
Every year, more than 4 billion toxic chemicals are released into the United States.
to the air pollution — it can have an effect on our environment and on our health. “To form ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere, it requires sunlight irradiating the mixture of volatile organic carbon and nitrogen oxides,” Lin said. “Both can be emitted from refineries and other sources, such as cars, small off-road engines — e.g., lawn mowers — gas stations, even commercial districts and households. Elevated ozone can cause respiratory problems and interfere with the growth of vegetation.” The sensitive populations particularly at risk from elevated ozone levels include children and the elderly. The oil refineries and chemical plants in Texas release tons of chemicals every year. In a report from the Environmental Integrity Project, it was found that from 2009 to 2011, emission events at chemical plants, refineries and natural gas operations released a combined total of more than 42,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2). The Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health labels SO2 as “extremely toxic.” SO2 is an example of a particle-forming air pollutant which is known to contribute to serious health issues including lung cancer. Studies connect SO2 emissions from petroleum refineries to higher rates of childhood asthma in children who live or attend school in proximity to those refineries. Industrial facilities in the United States release more than 4 billion pounds of toxic
Every year, 10 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into Earth’s atmosphere.
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chemicals into the nation’s environment each year. In 2013, Researchers from MIT’s Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment found that air pollution causes about 200,000 premature deaths in the U.S. every year. “From the overall point of view, I think it’s a very good situation compared to other countries,” Ho said. “Pollution is so bad in China that people can’t find where they parked their car, because they can hardly see in front of them.” Globally, 310 kilograms of toxic chemicals are released into the environment by industrial facilities every second, amounting to approximately 10 million tons each year. The World Health Organization estimates that 4.6 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution. Although the American Lung Association gave Jefferson County an ozone grade of F, Lin and Ho both insist that there is no evidence that the plants around Lamar affect public health. While chemical emission regulations have improved in recent years, there are still dangerous possibilities concerning the amount of people that could be affected by a chemical plant’s worst-case scenario. In the United States, there is more than 10,000 firms that produce hazardous materials. In late 2012, a Congressional Research Service report found that more than 2,500 of these sites estimate that their worst-case scenarios could affect between 10,000 and 1 million people. More than 4,400 estimated that their worstcase scenarios could affect between 1,000 and 9,999 people. At the beginning of the spring semester, Beaumont’s ExxonMobil plant had its own emergency when a power outage forced operators to empty their systems by burning their product, Ho said. In that situation, the plant has to perform an emergency shutdown.
“Right now, we’re in compliance, so you don’t need to worry.” — Thomas Ho
“All the chemicals will be sent to a flare to burn off, and then, because it becomes too much, it doesn’t have a complete burning” he said. “That’s why you see a lot of smoke. All the chemical plants have an emergency system. If you have any unforeseeable problems, they can send it to a flare and burn it off. That day the quantity was too much, so it didn’t really burn everything off.” Ho said when smoke is pouring out of refineries like it was at ExxonMobil in January, it’s not too damaging if it only lasts a couple of hours. “The power was shut down because of lightning, but still a company is supposed to have those redundancy systems, in case something happens — to pick up the power,” Ho said. “It turned out, that day, the pickup system was not working. That’s pretty much worst-case scenario. Of course the real, real worst-case would be an explosion.” Lin said that energy generation and use, as well as meteorology, have a lot to do with pollution. “It’s a complicated process,” he said.
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Most energy is generated through polluting sources such as the burning of fossil fuels like natural gas and oil. Reducing air pollution can be accomplished by using energy efficient devices and facilities. The Energy & Environmental Research Center is leading a series of programs that provide the technical basis for a near-zero-emission facility. Such a facility would run more efficiently and exceed current air emission regulations. Weather conditions can strengthen or weaken an environment’s air quality. A strong wind can transport pollutants hundreds of miles, and weak wind can result in an accumulation of pollutants near the source of release. Lin said there are several ways of removing air pollutants. “Avoid engaging in outdoor activities under stagnant air conditions, maintain good engine condition of your vehicle — and spread the word,” he said. “Do your part to conserve the use of fossil fuel energy — gasoline, diesel, electricity from coal or natural gas power plants.” For those who are unaware of an environment’s daily air quality, the federal government created a public tool to condense the science of air quality each day into one of six colors, which offer guidance as to how pollution might impact people as grouped by their health and age. People who already overstretch their lung capability can check a forecast of air quality days ahead and adapt their activities to that information. Although, neither the environment nor the folks inhabiting SETX are in imminent danger, 100 percent clean air is a goal that we should never abandon — with any luck, one day, our planet will be as green as our grass.
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