February 11, 2016

UNIVERSITY PRESS

The Newspaper of Lamar University

Vol. 92, No. 14 February 11, 2016

LU celebrates African American History Kara Timberlake UP managing editor In observation of African American History Month, Lamar University will host a series of events, beginning Monday, aimed at teaching students and faculty about historical events.

“We have a diverse population,” Vernice Monroe, special assistant to the president for university multicultural enhancement, said. “We celebrate the national months that commemorate achievements of a group of people, so we look at Hispanic Heritage Month, we look at Women’s History

Month. That’s our goal — to make sure that the Lamar community, as well as the larger community, is aware of these contributions.”

The events begin with “A Night at the Museum: African American Living Exhibit” in the Setzer Student Center Ballroom, beginning at 7 p.m.

“The members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the African Student Association will dress as historical figures,” Cynthia Parra, office of diversity and inclusion assistant director, said. “As visitors walk through the ‘museum,’ the figures will come to life and tell their story.”

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

and the Lamar University Chapter of the NAACP will sponsor an expo showcasing local black-owned businesses, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, in the SSC Arbor.

Wednesday’s events conclude with a panel discussion with local African American business entrepreneurs, 7 p.m., in the SSC Ballroom.

On Thursday, the “Clap Back” Talk Show will take place in the SSC Ballroom at 7 p.m.

Black Student Association president Aliyah Thomas said the talk show will discuss issues happening in the black community.

“On social media, the big

thing is the clap back, which is when you say something back as a rebuttal,” Thomas said.

“This is the students’ opportunity to come and clap back, and give their opinions on each topic. It’s going to be like ‘The Talk’ or ‘The View.’

“We’re going to have a little round-table discussion. We’ll give our opinions and take it to the audience to see what they have to say. We’ll bring up the whole Jada Pinkett and Will Smith thing with the Oscars, Stacey Dash saying that there should be no Black History Month, things like that.”

Thomas said she thinks it is important to get young students

talking about their culture.

“I feel like now, in today’s world, we do a lot of talking on social media, but we don’t do a lot of face-to-face conversation,” she said. “ I just want people to understand that it’s extremely vital to remember the hard times, because without the struggle there is no success. I think sometimes we get caught up in simply the history without comparing it to what we have in the future.

“Those rights that people fought hard for — take advantage of those.”

On Feb. 24, ExxonMobil’s See EVENTS page 8

Leadership conference encourages students Brandianne Hinton UP staff writer

Jamie Barclay works on her “flea circus,” part of her multi-media exhibition “Pearl” which opens Friday at High Street Gallery.

Barclay layers ‘Pearl’ Lamar graduate to unveil recent multi-media artwork, Friday Brandianne Hinton UP staff writer Jamie Barclay, local artist and Lamar University graduate, will present her latest exhibit, “PEARL,” at High Street Gallery, opening Friday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“This is probably the most personal work I’ve done in a long time,” she said. “It didn’t really start out that way, but it ended up being really personal.”

Barclay’s show is named for a character in her flea circus, but it also has a deeper meaning within each of the works of her exhibit.

“I start with an idea, that idea starts to grow and connect, and make

nets that go in all different directions,” she said. “It comes from all over the place. The idea is that this is circuitry in your cerebral thoughts, your ruminations on those and the mutations that those take. So, there are all sorts of different ideas and memories and things like that that find themselves in my work, and then become mutated by experience or other things like literature.”

Barclay likens the journey in her creative process to a grain of sand in an oyster.

“Memory is like the sand that gets caught in the oyster and we’re all like the oysters,” she said. “So those

Barclay’s exhibition features paintings, above, video and See PEARL page 2 T-shirts.

UP photos by Brandianne Hinton

The office of student engagement held a leadership conference, Saturday, which focused on the skills and steps required in “Becoming a nextgeneration leader.” The conference included a series of lectures and break-out sessions geared toward helping students reach their full leadership potential.

Johnny Quinn, Olympian and keynote speaker, kicked off the daylong conference with a motivational speech about his personal struggle, in which he encouraged emerging leaders to, “Think like an Olympian.”

“It all starts with you and how you think,” he said. “We have to have a point of decision. The first step is to draw a line in the sand and be all in.”

Quinn spoke of his personal struggles with injuries as an emerging professional athlete during his brief stints with the NFL and CFL. He emphasized that there is a price on making a commitment and there’s always pain involved, but pushing through “the messy middle” on the way to the goal will reap its own reward.

“There’s always a reward — always,” Quinn said. “It might be different than you thought, but there’s always a reward, and the reward is so much greater than the struggle through the process.”

Quinn encouraged emerging leaders to do the work, and be available for unexpected opportunities.

“Listen and move,” he said. “Be intentional in your direction.”

Quinn gave students autographed cards that said “Dream Big!” and left students with his best advice.

“As you start to establish yourself, be a good listener. It’s the best advice I can give you.”

LU Ambassadors accepting applications Elizabeth Grimm UP staff writer The Lamar University Ambassadors are a group of students who represent the university at official events and also the student body.

“It’s a prestigious honor to be selected,” Shannon Copeland, director of alumni affairs and advancement services, said.

The group is accepting applications through March 4 for a position on the fall roster. Students can pick up an application packet in 102 Rudy C. Williams Building in the John Gray Center. There are 20 openings and interviews for the ambassadors will take place April 4-7.

Copeland said the ambassadors mainly work presidential

level events where the president is working with external constituents.

“That would be alumni, donors or maybe Texas State University System Board of Regents,” she said. “They get to help be the face of our students, stakeholders of the university who are very important to the university.”

Ambassadors attend monthly meetings, Copeland said.

“They also agree to work a minimum of two events per year,” she said. “They get to choose from Courtesy photo the events that are available — The Lamar University Ambassadors are seeking applicants for duties beginning such as, they can do a community in the fall. The Ambassadors represent the school at official functions. service event, volunteer in the presidents suite that’s in the and help at alumni events (or) at either a business or a social etiMontagne Center, a pregame re- the scholarship dinner.” quette training class, where we ception with the president, or The ambassadors also attend get a speaker to teach them the they could volunteer to help at the mandatory training events. proper etiquette and they get to regents meeting. They can come “One of the ones that we do is practice at a dinner,” Copeland

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said. “We sometimes do conversation skill training and networking training. We help them learn how to build résumés, go on interviews — that kind of thing. Or do professional school applications, or maybe personal statements from law school or medical school applications.”

Copeland said that there are a variety of benefits to being an ambassador, such as enhancing the students’ résumés or being featured in an ad.

“They are chosen, a lot of times, whenever the university needs someone to be a subject in a video or an ad that goes on TV, or a billboard that goes up, or they need pictures of the students to put in a brochure,” she said.

See AMBASSADORS page 2

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

INSIDE

Thursday, February 11, 2016 University Press

PEARL

Page 2

“There is no creature whose inwward being is so strong that it is not greatlty determined by what lies outside.”

— George Eliot

from page 1

memories become mutated. They become pearls, and they start to give way to form. That was my beginning point for creating these works of art.”

Barclay’s exhibition includes inspirations grounded in characters in opera, literature — including her own poetry — and her experiences. She is also inspired by her Southeast Texas heritage and incorporates fish in various pieces, including a small oil painting of a woman shaving off her fish beard.

“Fishing goes way back in my family, so it’s kind of like the language of this area — my location, my upbringing and everything,” she said. “Since it’s a flea circus, there are different characters that weave in and out of my story that I identified with, such as the bearded lady.”

Barclay’s exhibit includes handbeaded fabric pieces inspired by Moroccan wedding blankets, called Handiras, large, woolen fabrics woven and elaborately beaded as a celebration of marriage in Moroccan culture.

“Each bead is like a prayer or a wish for a happy marriage to this person,” she said. “I thought that was a really powerful thing. I started working with that, and that opened up a lot of other creative outlets and connections and things.”

Other pieces in the show include digital art on T-shirts, and photography.

She also combines different creative processes.

“I would paint something, and then I would take a picture of it and upload it and manipulate it in my different

photo apps, and then after I manipulated it then I would come back and try to paint that,” she said. “So, it was sort of like taking it through that stage of necre, those different layers and mutations.”

Barclay said the process of creating is a piece of art in itself.

The reception for the exhibition doubles as a ’70s-themed party. Visitors are encouraged to dress appropriately for the theme. The event will also include an informal jam session and s’mores by the fire pit for all who want to participate.

High Street Gallery is located at 2110 Victoria St. in Beaumont.

For more on Barclays art work and clothing line, visit her Facebook pages at buffalo.gal and at jamie.havard.

The following is a poem

by Jamie Barclay that inspires her artwork

One house. An alien in a love craft of glitter and macaroni.

Your breath reveals secrets written by wet fingers and cold noses.

A basket of minstrels emerge from dark waters while little fox children lick their teeth.

They are trading bubble gum for vodka.

Her cup is covered in splinters, with thread like legs of children’s laughter.

Buzzing they are dancing on the waves in furious motion.

We gaze in her mouth of dazzling teeth of pearly pink cupies! They are drifting by and crooning at kitties.

They are trading vodka for bubble gum.

UP Brandianne Hinton

Artist Jamie Barclay holds a self portrait while wearing a shirt she designed. Her various works will be on display beginning Friday at High Street Gallery.

AMBASSADORS

We are just campfires lingering in the sky.

Happy ghosts, no longer needing fish or kings, leaving our cumbersome bodies that have endured decades of wrenching transitions.

They all exist under the Tom Tom Tom in time’s electric thimble.

One house with hums of mischief echoing across the white tundra tapestry of infinity.

from page 1

“They’re usually the first students who are called upon to do that.”

As an ambassador, students are more involved and informed, and get many networking opportunities, Copeland said.

“The administrators at Lamar know who they are — they get to meet with them (and) they get to meet with distinguished alumni that they may have not had the opportunity to meet,” she said. “They get to meet the regents.

“There’s a black tie event that the president does called ‘Presidents Circle,’ and they help work that event — and the university rents them the formal wear. It’s a volunteer service, so we don’t want it to cost the money to be able to do it, because they are working on behalf of the university.”

Applicants should be outgoing and able to speak publicly because of the networking involved, Copeland said.

“Usually, at a lot of our events, if alumni are here and they want to give back their time, they want to hear what the students are up to,” she said. “They want to compare how it is now to how it was then, and they want to know what opportunities students have.”

Ambassadors also help with recruiting prospective students.

“They really want to know the real scoop — ‘What is it like in college?’ ‘If I moved here, what dorm should I live in?’ ‘What majors are Lamar University known for?’

Copeland said.

“So (ambassadors) know all of this information and they’re able to talk to anyone from a prospective student to a graduate who graduated 50 years ago to a regent.

Sometimes they get to meet with legislators who are here on campus or they might go with the president to city council when we have the proclamation.”

LU Ambassadors Elohor Okene, left, Danielle Ellis and Vaughn Ogrydziak.

Copeland said the ambassadors are selected to represent all colleges, as well as being diverse.

“We may not have every single major, but we try to make sure that all the colleges are represented, that we have an equal number of males and females,” she said.

“We make sure that ethnically they are as diverse as the campus is diverse. Even classification, we make sure that we have sophomores, juniors and seniors within the organizations, so they represent all of the classes.”

Applicants must be full-time, have attended Lamar University for at least one semester, and be a sophomore, junior or a senior who is not immediately graduating.

They must also maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0.

There should be a letter of recommendation by a faculty or staff member when turning the application in, Copeland said.

“We want to make sure the ambassadors are role models to the other students so we want to make sure they’re ethical and they have a good code of conduct,” she said.

For more information, call 880-8921.

NOTICE

The University Press can be read online at www.lamaruniversitypress.com.

Advertising rates can be found on the site, along with practically all information that a person might be looking for.

CALENDER

February 11 History Day

Setzer Student Center 1-6 p.m.

Construction Career Forum

Gray Library, 8th Floor 6-8 p.m.

February 15

Fall Spring 2016 non-payment purge after 5 p.m.

February 17

Guest artist jazz concert:

Joe LoCascio and Woody Witt

Rothwell Recital Hall 7:30-9 p.m.

February 20

TALH Spring Review 2016

Gray Library, 8th Floor 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

February 23

Academic Lecture Series

Richard L. Price Auditorium, 7-9 p.m.

February 24

LU Literary Festival Presents Elizabeth Harris

108 Maes 7-9 p.m.

February 25

Undergraduate Research Faculty Talk

Landes Auditorium 3:30-5 p.m.

February 25

LU Theatre and Dance Presents A Year With Frog and Toad

University Theatre 7:30-9 p.m.

3

OPINION

UNIVERSITY PRESS February 11, 2016

Pro-rape idiots shame us all So-called ‘neomasculinists’ do not speak for ‘real men’ In a time when people are making strides towards gender and sexual equality, it’s easy to forget that there are still people holding equality back.

The group Return of Kings, known for being pro-rape advocates, attempted to hold gatherings across the globe, Saturday, including in Nederland, where followers of the deranged club could have a meet and greet.

Some party, huh?

The international meetup was cancelled after Daryush Valizadeh, founder of ROK, posted on the group’s website that he “can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend.”

Valizadeh has publicly stated in a tweet that neither he, nor his followers want rape to be legalized.

You might think, maybe this was all just one big misunderstanding — they surely can’t support the legalization of rape.

Well, think again.

ROK first drew widespread attention on the Internet after Valizadeh, otherwise known as Roosh, posted an article on his own blog forum titled, “How to Stop Rape.” Oh good, Roosh is just trying to help millions of women everywhere from being sexually abused.

Wrong.

Roosh has added to the article, after all of the controversy, mind you, that the piece is simply satire, but he’s not fooling anyone. Feel free to take a gander at it — real top shelf stuff.

In the post, Roosh talks about how he has a sister and that he hopes she never gets raped — aw, how sweet. He then gently moves into the idea of the constant fear of being imprisoned for rape that men live under.

His solution?

“Make rape legal if done on private property.”

The idea that this will somehow prevent people from being raped is ludicrous. Want to know why?

In his blog, Roosh said that

Commentary

Grant Crawford UP editor

UP illustration

by Grant Crawford

under his proposal, “A girl will protect her body in the same manner that she protects her purse and smartphone.”

So, Roosh is telling me that women, without his proposal in effect, care more about their data plan than their own bodies.

Please tell one woman that to her face — see what happens.

He also says that, because consent would be given when entering someone’s home, that a girl would absolutely not enter a private room with a man she doesn’t know or trust, unless she is absolutely sure she is ready to sleep with him.

Wow! I didn’t realize that Roosh could read the minds of every woman on the planet.

Maybe he’s got something here (real satire). Basically, under his proposal women wouldn’t be able to visit men’s homes without first thinking, ‘Hmm, I guess I’d have sex with him.’

A majority of the grotesque statements on the blog’s comment section say that a man would never target a woman in his own home, because that person could then identify them — as if no one has ever been raped by a person they know.

Also, unless mentally im-

paired, I’m pretty sure a woman could identify a man who raped her. After all, he did just RAPE her.

Let’s remind ourselves, though, that Roosh did claim that he isn’t in favor of legalizing rape.

Now let’s look at the rest of the story where he goes into detail about how legalizing rape would be good for the world, and that men wouldn’t have to live in fear of raping someone that didn’t want to be raped. He then puts it all into one sweet synopsis.

“Let’s make rape legal. Less women will be raped because they won’t voluntarily drug themselves with booze and follow a strange man into a bedroom, and less men will be unfairly jailed for what was anything, but a maniacal alley rape.

Until then, this devastating rape culture will continue, and women who we treat as children will continue to act like children.”

Did you catch how Roosh is essentially blaming women for being raped? I did.

Even if the leader of ROK wasn’t advocating the legalization of rape (cough, cough, OK), the rest of his followers certainly do, as is evident in the comment

sections of the ROK website.

ROK says this is an idea to help protect women.

Women, they don’t give a flying you-know-what about you.

In fact, they’d prefer if you went back to the kitchen where, in their minds, you belong.

I do not claim to know what women think or want, and am honestly hoping that women aren’t offended that I’m even talking about this. But the ROK, though, they’ve got women figured out.

While skimming through Roosh’s infamous blog post, a popup appeared on my screen to sign up for a free newsletter.

The title read, “The True Nature of Women,” and underneath that was, “Signup to my free game tips newsletter and learn the truth about women,” as if all women have a secret devious plot to rid the world of us men.

Other material found on the ROK website is, seriously, ground-breaking stuff. The site includes posts titled, “You-GoGirlism Is More Toxic Than Feminism,” “Why women shouldn't work,” “5 reasons to date a girl with an eating disorder,” and here’s a good one,

“The Intellectual Inferiority of Women.”

Need more evidence that this group hates feminists — and generally anyone that’s not heterosexual male?

The about section of ROK’s website reads, “Return Of Kings is a blog for heterosexual, masculine men. It’s meant for a small but vocal collection of men in America today who believe men should be masculine and women should be feminine.”

Underneath that it says, “women and homosexuals are strongly discouraged from commenting here.”

What foundation of ideas does this group live by, you might ask? Neomasculinity is the “code” they live by, and one post tackles that subject: “It aims to aid men living in Westernized nations that lack qualities such as classical virtue, masculinity in males, femininity in females, and objectivity, especially concerning beauty ideals and human behavior.”

The neomasculinists believe in a list of innate traits that both men and women have. They believe that men are more liable to have traits such as, dominance, independence, intelligence, rationale and analytical thinking.

They believe women are more likely to be submissive, dependent, wildly emotional and share cooperatively.

Then they go further, saying, “The idea of ‘gender equality’ is a myth that has no scientific basis.”

ROK even likens us to that of dogs and cats.

“Forcing men to cooperate, share, and nurture like a woman is as unusual as training a house cat to bark like a dog.”

Who’s forcing men to be nurturing? If anyone knows, tell me.

I might need a nudge.

ROK says that Western civilization forces men to share.

What’s that you say? They’re against sharing? That’s the first thing you learn as a child.

It’s weird to think that a group of such “masculine” men could be scared of gender equality, when they’re saying how dominant they are. The Return of Kings might not deserve our media attention, but they do deserve our criticism.

I’m a journalist, so I’m all in favor of freedom of speech.

But any group that spouts such lunacy desrves it thrown back in their faces.

“Real men” should not stand idly by and let these idiots represent “masculinity.”

UPeditorial Campus should join African American celebrations

Black History Month, or National African American History Month, is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history.

Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.

It’s been a long time since Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington, and, thankfully, race relations have improved since, but they’re still not where they should be.

While some people think of the

United States as a post-racial society, most realize that we’re far from it. It’s hard to call our society post-racial when our law enforcement officials have become notorious for killing innocent African Americans. It was only last year that people finally began to realize that the Confederate flag is symbol representing slavery.

Everyone should take time to think about African American history. If we look back at the progress that great people like M.L.K., Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks made, we can then use them as an example as to how we should strive

Editor ......................................Grant Crawford Managing Editor.................Kara Timberlake Photo Editor ...................................Josh Aych Web Editor..............................Melissa Conley Staff ..............Desmond Pickens, Haley Bruyn, .....................Coty Davis, Trevier Gonzalez, ...................Tim Collins, Elizabeth Grimm, .............Carolyn Kondos, Kyle Swearingen, .....................................Brandianne Hinton Advertising .............................Melissa Conley Office Manager.................Jac’Quor Williams

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for equality.

People might say, “There’s a Black History Month? Why isn’t there a White History Month?” The answer is simple — because white people weren’t oppressed and enslaved for hundreds of years, that’s why.

Also, it’s been more than 50 years since schools in the U.S. were desegregated, but if you go to class today, you might notice a pattern in the classroom.

White people sit next to white people, and black people sit with black people.

This is not to say that everyone in a typical algebra class is for segregation, but

Individuals who wish to speak out on issues should send a letter fewer than 400 words in length to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 10055, Beaumont, TX 77710, or drop letters off at our office in 200 Setzer Student Center. The writer’s name, address, telephone number and ID number must accompany each letter. Letters received without this information cannot be printed. Letters may be edited for length, grammar, style and possible libel.

Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the UP student management. Letters by the same writer on the same subject will not be published. Poetry and religious debates will not be published.

there still seems to be a barrier that people don’t want to cross.

There are events going on all over campus beginning next week, recognizing African American History Month.

There is also a Black History Month exhibit at the Beaumont Art League that highlights local African American artists.

So, this week, take a moment of your time to look back on history and see where we’ve been as country, in the hope that it will help us see where we’ll be in the future.

A future that, hopefully, will be color blind.

The opinions that appear in editorials are the official views of the University Press student management as determined by the UP Student Editorial Board. Opinions expressed elsewhere on this page are the views of the writers only and are not necessarily those of the University Press student management. Student opinions are not necessarily those of the university administration. ©University Press 2016

Page 4

Thursday, February 11, 2016 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

Avoiding Cliché Gifting

UP illustration by Haley Bruyn

A little thought goes a long way on Valentine’s Day Haley Bruyn UP staff writer Sunday is Valentine’s Day, which means stores are filled with red and pink treats, cards and flowers, and every size and color of stuffed animal.

Sure, it’s nice to get a big heart-shaped box filled with fancy chocolates, or a giant stuffed panda that says, “I love you ‘BEAR-y’ much,” but those don’t really require much imagination. Not to mention, they are probably way overpriced.

This year, why not take a little more time and give your Valentine something a bit more personal?

Candy is a traditional Valentine’s Day gift — especially chocolate. Instead of shelling out $20 or more for a big box of sweets in mystery

flavors with weird fillings, why not make a gift box you know your date loves? Find a pretty box or bag, and fill it with things your Valentine will actually like. What’s their favorite candy? A bag of miniature Reese’s is much less expensive than a box of chocolates, so you can spend that leftover money on a package of their favorite cookies, or maybe the ingredients to bake something yourself.

You can add cute non-edible gifts, too. Instead of an animal holding a heart, why not get your partner a stuffed version of their favorite animal?

They have just about everything on Amazon, and twoday shipping is your friend.

Frame a picture of the two of you and include it in the box.

Take a minute to think about what your Valentine would get

excited about, or what gifts say, “I know you.”

Another traditional Valentine is a bouquet of roses. Red roses are usually the go-to because they represent romantic love — but they are also really pricey. Ditch the over-done red rose and take a second to Google “flower meanings.”

There are tons of things you can say with flowers. Sunflowers represent dedicated love, tulips signify perfect love, Ranunculus (buttercup) is for radiant charm or attractiveness, orchids say, “You are exotically beautiful and feminine,” and Amaryllis represents worth beyond beauty.

When you give your sweetie the flowers, tell them why you chose them. It shows the time and thought you put into choosing the gift. But, if you know their favorite

flower, that’s also a great choice.

Heart-shaped jewelry is another popular love token.

It’s a sweet symbol that says, “You have my love.” While this is a great option, there are other jewelry gifts that say the same thing, and your significant other may appreciate it more. If you have a pet name for your valentine, why not have it engraved onto a necklace or bracelet? You could engrave your anniversary, or maybe an inside joke the two of you share. For the price of a mass-produced jewelry store heart, you can give a one-of-akind gift that is sure to impress.

If you want to go totally non-traditional, there are romantic ways to break the mold. Does your Valentine hunt? If you bring a hunting

Keep it simple, ladies COMMENTARY Carolyn Kondos UP contributor Valentine’s Day is a day to go all out — sexy clothes, lots of perfume, fancy expensive gifts. Ask most women, and that’s what the holiday is all about.

However, a lot of men want something a little more low key. Contrary to what some girls might think, do NOT buy your man cutesy underwear. New underwear tells your man a couple of things: He needs to change the ones he has on, or that you do not appreciate him enough to consider his feelings and desires.

While women may want the works, presents like stuffed animals, bottles of perfume or jewelry, the loveable lugs we hang with are much simpler creatures.

So, just what do these mysteriously intriguing men really want on Valentine’s Day? Here are some thoughts from a completely unscientific survey.

Spending time together It doesn’t have to be expensive or mind-blowingly extravagant. Freshman Jason Enrriquez said that he would be happy to go to Cheddars and attend a Christian concert with

his special someone.

No distractions Junior Kade Burman said he likes his date’s company and undivided attention, and that he prefers “steak, Netflix and chill.”

Burman said he thinks men spend time worrying about giving a likeable, non-cliché gift that is more impressive than last year’s without breaking the bank, because that’s what women want.

“It almost has to be perfect every year, and it has to be different,” he said.

His perfect night, on the other hand, would be “dinner, without worrying about bills or what the upcoming week holds, a night of conversation with the one person you fell in love with, followed by a little surprise in the bedroom.”

Romance Let your man take the initiative to love on you the way that they desire. Junior Josh Davis said that he would treat his date to breakfast in bed, and buy her favorite roses for her.

“Then I would surprise her with her favorite restaurant, we would laugh, and talk about the happiness that we’ve had,” he said.

Senior Alfredo Leget said that he wants his relationship to seem like it’s Valentine’s Day every day.

“Why take one day to express love when it should be every day,” he said.

Time with family and friends It is important to remember that this day is not only for couples, but spending time with all loved ones.

Graduate student Tonmoy Uchiha said that he would like to hear his mother say, ‘I love you.’ She lives in Bangladesh, and he has not seen her in four years.

“She would also explain how saying, ‘I love you’ doesn’t need any special day, but it’s good to have an occasion to celebrate love for everyone,” he said.

Graduate student Jeremy Marks, a graduate at Lamar said that he would like to spend the day with the people that he’s closest to.

“Maybe go out to eat with friends and family, and just have a good relaxing evening,” he said.

To sum it up, ladies, all you need to do is simply appreciate your man.

It doesn’t mean you can’t get the stuff you want as well, but taking the initiative to surprise your guy will pay off. And remember, the simple things work.

knife into a trophy store or certain gift shops they will engrave the blade or handle for a reasonably small fee. Similarly, if you go to a sign shop, you can get custom decals made in any design you can imagine to put on just about anything. Try booking a teetime at a nice course for your golfing Valentine, or maybe plan a special day at the Houston Zoo or Moody Gardens if your love loves animals.

No matter what you do, your Valentine should appreciate the gesture. If you take time to think about the gift, it’s bound to make an impression. If you think your sweetie would really love the Hallmark, cupid-clad, pre-packaged gifts — go for it. Just show your Valentine that you care.

Did y™u kn™w?

• Fifteen percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day. • More at-home pregnancy tests are sold in March than in any other month.

• Penicillin, a popular treatment for venereal diseases such as syphilis, was introduced to the world on Feb. 14, 1929. Happy VD! • The phrase “Sweets for the sweet” is a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1.

• Every Valentine’s Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.

• On average, men shell out $130 each on candy, cards, jewelry, flowers and dates.

That’s more than double what women commit to spending.

• Worldwide, more than 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day each year.

• Seventy-three percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.

• In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods

on St. Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future husband.

Compiled by Haley Bruyn

MARDI GRAS

5 UNIVERSITY PRESS February 11, 2016

‘Fat Tuesday’ turns Big Easy into party town Mardi Gras is a historical celebration that usually begins in mid-January and is the last celebration before Ash Wednesday and Lent.

While Mardi Gras celebrations are held in many places, nobody does “Fat Tuesday” quite like New Orleans.

The final four days leading up to Mardi Gras are filled with the largest

and oldest parades or Krewes. Each Krewe has its own theme for the year.

A staple of the Krewe of Bacchus is the Kong family with King Kong, Queen Kong and baby Kong. Parade-goers attempt to throw beads onto the Kong floats.

At the parades revelers are thrown various beads and stuffed animals. Mil-

lions of beads are thrown every year.

And no self respecting New Orleans parade would be without music.

Once the revelers are gone, the trash clean up is fast and furious. After the last float passes hundreds of people armed with rakes “sweep” all the trash into the street where it is then scooped up by bulldozers.

Parades start in the afternoon, where families with children dance and follow the floats. In the evening, it is time for adults to party, and the bevarages flow as the beads fly.

Come Ash Wednesday, the beads and trinkets disappear for another year until Mardi Gras comes aorund again.

Picture package by Josh Aych

Page 6

Thursday, February 11, 2016 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

A man, his mind and a bike Frenchman bikes through Beaumont on trip from Miami to San Diego Haley Bruyn UP staff writer There isn’t much that can keep Aurelien Fourrier off of his bike. Not rain, not wind, not even a broken tooth. On Jan. 3, he set off on two wheels (pulling a third behind him on his bike trailer) from the Atlantic Ocean in Miami Springs, Fla. to the Pacific Ocean in California.

Fourrier is French and has spent very little time in the states — and none in the South before his trip.

“I was looking for a big adventure for a long time,” he said. “I started with some touring in Sicily last year, and I’ve seen a couple of movies and read a few books that inspired me, and I’ve been more and more attracted to the U.S. — especially since I work for an American company.”

For six months out of the year, Fourrier is a guide for Backroads, a company that specializes in active travel, escorting people on biking and hiking tours around the world.

A friend invited Fourrier to celebrate the New Year in Miami, and with his work schedule free for the winter he started making plans.

He purchased maps of the best trails for biking through the southern states, and set up a blog on crazyguyonabike.com. As for accommodations, when he’s not staying with friends, he uses a service called Warm Showers.

“Warm Showers is like Couchsurfing, but it’s

specifically for cyclists — it’s working very well,” Fourrier said. “It’s supposed to be just a place to sleep, but the people are so nice. They almost always offer a warm meal or to take me out to dinner or something.”

Even though he’s met interesting people, Fourrier wasn’t setting out to make friends on this trip. He wanted time alone.

“You always bike with your guests so you are always making sure they are doing fine. So you never really bike for yourself — ever,” he said. “This is quite a difference. This is just for me.”

Fourrier made the decision to bike without the distraction of music or audiobooks.

“I really want to be with my mind,” he said. “When you work for Backroads, you’re never really by yourself. I really wanted to take time to figure a few things out in my head.”

Although his plan was to make the trip solo, he’s had a bit of company along the way. Fellow Backroads guide, Trevor Husted, joined him in New Orleans, La. and will accompany him until he reaches Austin.

“If you tried to tell me that I’d be biking though Texas and Louisiana in the middle of ski season with a crazy Frenchman, I’d

have said ‘no way,’” Husted said.

The two of them had already had their fair share of adventures by the time they made it to Beaumont, Jan. 27.

As the pair made their way to Baton Rouge, La., Husted found himself alone, a ways behind Fourrier after fixing a flat tire.

The roads that day had been particularly rough. He passed a few men loading a boat onto a trailer. They all said hello as he passed.

“They came up to me about five minutes later,” Husted said. “They said, ‘Do you want to get in? The road is pretty bad the whole way,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, sure, my partner is up ahead.’ I got in the car, went up to their hunting camp, had a beer with them, got to go see some alligators and they showed me around.

“Meanwhile, Aurelien is on the road somewhere up ahead, and I have no clue where he’s at, but I know that he’s probably doing just fine. We get back in the truck and come up to him and he’s walking his bike — he’s got a flat tire.”

There was no way Fourrier and Husted would make it safely into Baton Rouge before nightfall, so one of their new friends offered to drive them the rest of the way.

“Sure enough we get to the place we were staying that night, a friend of

French cyclist Aurelien Fourrier is exploring the southern United States on his bicycle and stopped in Beaumont, Jan. 27.

UP Trivia Each week the University Press staff will compile a series of questions related to the week in history. How will you do? Answers follow the questions.

Q. What famous human rights activist was released from prison on this day in 1990?

A. Nelson Mandela was released from prison at age 71 after serving 27 years of a life sentence on charges of attempting to overthrow the apartheid government.

In April 1994, he was elected president in the first all-race elections.

Q. What African-American singer, actress, producer and model died on this date in 2012?

Courtesy photo

Trevor Husted, left, joined French cyclist Aurelien Fourrier on his journey across Louisian to Texas. Fourrier is making a cross-country ride from Florida to California. our friend’s house, and it turns out (the driver and our host) were cousins and they knew each other,” Husted said. “They looked at each other and went, ‘No way!’ so we all had a beer together.”

The hunters weren’t the only kind strangers the cyclists encountered in Louisiana. A chance encounter with a friendly farmer on a stormy day showed Fourrier and Husted just how hospitable the South really is.

“A farmer who was driving by asked us if we were OK, because it was really pouring rain and I told him we were fine,” Fourrier said.

The farmer said, “Hey,

you’re French,” when he heard Fourrier’s accent.

“He said he lived around the corner, so we should just stop by to get a rest — take a break and get warmed up,” Fourrier said.

“We didn’t really want to stop, but we didn’t really have a choice because he was standing outside of his house motioning for us — he was so nice. He lit a fire and gave us some local food that his girlfriend made, and a glass of milk and new socks.”

Husted clarified that the local food was a bowl of gumbo.

“He was a very happy and funny farmer from Louisiana with a strong accent, so for me that was the

A. Whitney Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in California. She was cited in Guinness World Records as the most awarded female act of all time, and is one of pop music’s bestselling music artists of all time. She is also the only artist to have seven consecutive No. 1 hits on Billboard Hot 100. She is the only woman to have two No. 1 Billboard 200 Album awards.

Q. Who was appointed to the position of attorney general by President Bill Clinton

real Louisiana experience — a really deep cultural experience,” Fourrier said.

After a night in Beaumont, Fourrier was back on his bike, heading toward Austin, where he had an appointment with a dentist after breaking a molar on a granola bar while crossing the Texas border.

Apparently, riding the roads is not all gumbo and free beer.

Fourrier updates his blog regularly with stories and photos of his travels.

He is still in Texas (because it’s gigantic). To see what this crazy French man is up to, visit www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/aurelieninusa.

on this day in 1993?

A. Janet Wood Reno was the first female attorney general, serving from 19932001, and was the second longest serving attorney general after William Wirt.

Q. Space shuttle Endeavour took off in 2000, what was its mission?

A. The mission was to collect information for the most detailed mape of the Earth ever made. The Endeavor also carried the first African American female astronaut Mae Jemison on Sept. 12, 1992.

7

SPORTS

UNIVERSITY PRESS February 11, 2016

ACU rejects LU revenge Cards lose to ACU 71-67 Cade Smith UP contributor The Lamar Cardinal basketball team played the Abilene Christian Wildcats for the second time this season, Monday. The Cardinals were looking to avenge their 80-71 loss to ACU earlier this season.

However, LU suffered another loss, falling 71-67 in the Montagne Center. The Cardinals are now 10-14 on the season (2-10 SLC), and have lost their last seven games.

“We try to go out there and play our hardest every game,” freshman Nick Garth said. “We have a game plan in place and we try to execute it every game”.

The Cardinals had a slow start to the game. With 11:21 left in the first half, ACU led 24-11. The UP Grant Crawford Lamar defense soon picked up Abilene Christian University center Duran Porter blocks Lamar junior forward Marcus Owens’ shot during LU’s 71-67 loss to ACU in the Montagne Center, Monday. their play, forcing the Wildcats to turn the ball over six times, ACU to under 40 percent from to the rim,” Price said. “We ended bringing LU within two points at the field for the half, but were not up passing the ball to Josh able to score.

Nzeakor. He normally works in the end of the first half.

“It’s tough when shots aren’t the block and around the paint.

“Going into the game — it’s a falling,” Garth said.

“As long as Our guards passed it up to him — focus thing,” sophomore Quan we’re getting stops and they’re I guess they didn’t want to take Jones said. “We’ve been burying not scoring, we’ll eventually hit the last shot. We had the ball ourselves into holes recently, but shots.” touch Quan’s hands and touch tonight we played a good game.

During the second half, junior Nick’s hands — two guys who’ve It just didn’t turn out the way we Preston Mattingly came out of been playing well. The play broke wanted.” the game after taking an elbow in down.”

The teams were even throughthe face, causing a bloody mess.

The Cardinal bench only out the second half. Lamar held “He does our dirty work in the scored seven points and Price games,” Jones said. “So, we try to said that contributed much to the rally our team when one of our loss. own goes down.”

“Normally, teams we play In the second half, Lamar against, our bench is more explospent most of their time at the sive,” he said. “Their bench did a free-throw line, but weren’t able much better job than us. They UP Grant Crawford to knock down the shots when came off the bench and seemed Nick Garth takes a contested shot in the Montagne Center, Monday. they needed to, shooting 67 per- to have much more energy. That cent in the second stanza. was a key area that we suffered Garth led Lamar in scoring, they won’t give up until the sea“Plain and simple — if we from.” finishing with 20 points. Behind son is over. make our free throws, we win the The Wildcats’ freshman guard him was Jones with 16 and “Most championship teams game,” head coach Tic Price said. Jaylen Franklin, who has been Nzeakor with 14. have struggled,” he said. “No “We have to improve our free Abilene’s go-to player was slowed This was Jones’ third-straight team can just wake up and put a throw shooting. That was the dif- down by the Lamar defense in game with double figures, and he team together and become ference in the ball game.” the first half, but was still able to said he attributed it all to staying champions. It’s all part of a With a minute left in the end the game with 18 points. focused. process, and we know that. So game, Lamar trailed 65-63, and “We did a pretty good job on “Just trying to keep the team we’re going to continue to work had one more chance to equal the him in the first half getting him positive,” he said. “Everything and get better.” score, but were unable to get a in foul trouble,” Garth said. “He just fell in place and worked out The Cardinals will look for reshot off before the clock expired. didn’t play much. Second half, he for me tonight.” demption when they travel to UP Grant Crawford “I think we might have passed got his buckets, but we did a Price said he’s disappointed Houston Baptist University for Quan Jones shoots a layup against ACU up two opportunities to try to get pretty good job on him.” with the recent losses, but that an SLC matchup, Monday.

Cards ink 28 recruits on national signing day Coty Davis UP staff writer The Lamar University football team welcomed 28 new Cardinals to their nest, as part of college football’s National Signing Day, Feb. 3, at Dauphin Athletics Complex. This year’s signees include 11 offensive players, and 14 on the defensive end.

“We filled some immediate needs with this group, but at the same time are adding quality student-athletes to our team,” head coach Ray Woodard said. “These are young men who have succeeded on the field as well as in the classroom. I think our coaching staff did a great job finding talented athletes.”

After losing some valuable players from last season, the Cardinals acquired what Woodard described as arguably the

strongest signing class in the history of the program.

LU signed two three-star athletes, as well as several two-star prospects, to help them edge out foes Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State to obtain the top recruiting class of the Southland Conference.

“We felt we needed to get a little deeper on the defensive side, with the rest of the class we just went to where the talent was,” Woodard said. “We lost some defensive players this year, and we will be losing more next year and didn’t want to put the complete burden of trying to fill those needs in next year’s class.”

The Cardinals’ class of 2016 received a power ranking of 79.4, ranked fourth in nation among Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools by

247sports.com.

The Cardinals defensive recruits include four defensive linemen, five linebackers and five defensive backs. On offense, LU have added three offensive linemen, three receivers, two quarterbacks, two running backs and a tight end.

Of the 28 recruits, eight are from Southeast Texas, including wide receiver Shane Hudson (Beaumont), defensive back Jalen Barnes (Port Arthur), running back Austin Krautz (Nederland), deep snapper Christian Langston and receiver Caisen Sullivan (Port Neches), offensive lineman Kanon Mackey (Silsbee), tight end Mason Sikes (Lumberton) and quarterback Adam Morse (Groves).

“I think, coming off an 8-4

LU media relations

Coach Ray Woodard speaks during national signing day conference, Feb. 3.

season last year, we were able to target a lot of local players,” Woodard said. “They were able to come to games, they liked what they saw, and what we have done in the past. We had a number of local players commit early and they held their commitments through the recruit-

ing process.”

While fans will have to wait until the fall to see the new recruits in the fall, but for those who cannot wait to see football, the current squad will play the annual Crawfish Bowl Spring Game, April 16, at Provost Umphrey Stadium.

UPsports briefs Men’s Golf

The Lamar University men’s golf team couldn’t have asked for a better start to the spring season, claiming the team title and individual medalist honors at the James S. Litz Memorial, Tuesday.

LU combined for the lowest team score of the day with a combined effort of 291 in route to a nine-stroke victory over runner-up Incarnate Word, the host school, in the 11-team event. LU’s Zander Gous earned medalist honors when he defeated teammate Eason

Wang in a playoff with a birdie on the first hole of the sudden-death format.

“We improved throughout the fall season, and it’s good to see that momentum carried through into the spring season,” LU golf coach Jessie Mudd said.

“I'm proud of Zander and Eason — tying for medalist honors, and I’m so proud of the other guys for hanging in despite not having their best performances.”

Softball

The Lamar softball team starts their season, Friday, when they compete in

the UNLV tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. The Lady Cards will first play Syracuse University, then will finish Friday up with a game against the University of Nevada. Saturday, they’ll play Oklahoma University and Utah Valley University. LU will wrap up the tournament Sunday, when they play University of South Dakota.

Head coach Holly Bruder said this year’s pitching staff is the best she’s had in the four seasons since the return of softball.

“We’ve never had depth like this be-

fore,” she said. “All six pitchers will play their part this season. That’s a luxury we haven’t had before.”

Baseball

Senior infielders Stijn van der Meer and Jake Nash were tabbed as members of the Southland Conference Preseason Teams, including van der Meer’s first team selection.

First game of the season will be Feb. 19 when they play Southeast Missouri State at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

Page 8

Thursday, February 11, 2016 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

Lamar Allies encourages awareness Trevier Gonzalez UP staff writer When Gabbie Escamilla joined the Lamar Allies, the student organization that promotes awareness of LGBT plus issues, a couple of years ago, she found a group struggling to establish itself.

“Apparently, they were kind of a social group, really small, about 10 people that hung out every now and again,” Escamilla said. “(A friend) talked me into coming into a meeting because I was brand-new — I didn’t know what to get involved in.”

When the president at the time decided to leave Lamar, Escamilla and her friend, Tara Hoch, found themselves in leadership positions.

They were running elections, and no one volunteered for anything,” Escamilla said. “So me and Tara were like, ‘What do you need? We’ll do it for fun.’ I thought it was kind of well established enough to where we had a membership, but we didn’t. We’re starting from scratch. The first two semesters, all the way through 2015, it was just me and Tara.”

The organization has since made a breakthrough in memberships, and is becoming more visible on campus. The Allies seek to inform the community and treat everyone as equals, Escamilla said.

“Our actual little catchphrase is, ‘Hate is not a Cardinal value,’” she said. “We’re trying to look past the hate, and past what people in this area have been raised on believing. When it comes down to a world with human beings, it doesn’t matter.

Your religion, your orientation, your preference, anything — we’re all people.”

Escamilla said a Lamar Ally is anyone, whether straight or in the LGBT-plus

EVENTS

community who wants to fight for equal rights amongst all groups.

“But also be in a visible light, to where we’re showing that we’re not the stereotype of what everyone thinks the ‘gay’ people are,” she said. “Everyone thinks about those really ‘out there’ Pride events and stuff, but we’re all just normal people, all normal college students. We’re all just here to get an education, and have a good time together.”

Escamilla, along with the vice president Hoch, said she hopes the group could grow to become a legacy on campus. She said she feels the campus as a whole is not as inclusive with members of the LGBT as it could be.

“From my background, equal rights is really big,” she said. “I’ve definitely met people on campus that are like, ‘I’m scared,’ and I don’t want them to feel that way, so that’s kind of where it stems from. I felt that we needed (the group).”

Escamilla, whose mother, Cynthia Parra works in the student engagement office, told a story she heard from a longstanding group member who was worried about coming out to his family.

“He came seeking a safe place, because it was to the point where if he told his family, they would become physical with him,” she said. “He used to be really closed off. There was a point where we really didn’t know his name. He didn’t talk to anyone. He would talk to my mom because he was suicidal.

“And I remember we had one social event where I actually saw him laughing, and he said he felt happy and safe, and that was really important to me.”

Escamilla said that awareness of LGBT-plus issues has increased, and with it, there is more understanding and ac-

UP Trevier Gonzalez

Lamar University Allies president Gabbie Escamilla said the student organization aims to promote equality and understanding.

ceptance.

“People aren’t necessarily believing that there’s something wrong with you if you’re gay, if you’re trans, whatever — it’s becoming normalized,” she said. “They’re realizing that there’s a network of people just like them, and that they’ve had happy lives. I think they realized that they can be happy, too, and they realize that their happiness is above all else.”

Escamilla said that as an orientation leader during the summer of 2015, the students that she interacted with were completely different, and she sees a promising future.

“I knew we were going to be OK,” she said. “People were coming to me. We

weren’t allowed to affiliate as orientation leaders, but I wore a rainbow bracelet 24/7 as a hint to the world.”

Escamilla said she often runs into random people who congratulate her on the organization’s work.

“The fact that our name’s out there, it’s kind of crazy how it spread like wildfire, and the fact that the campus wants us here — it’s really great,” she said.

Being a member of Lamar Allies is not simply about getting together and hanging out. Escamilla said.

“They’re not only socializing, but they’re networking to get that college experience of what it might be like to be professional, to volunteer and to better themselves,” she said. “We’re trying to better the community.”

Without having a flamboyant, stereotypical approach, the Allies have made a point that everyone should be treated as equals, especially between members, Escamilla said. “(Members) thought there was going to be crazy glitter and rainbows everywhere,” she said. “They soon became the people I grew to count on the most.”

However, Escamilla said there is still a long way to go and much work still to be done. Escamilla told of a transgendered student whose family refuses to accept the student’s identity or new name.

The group has been working to help the student out.

As of now, surrounded by members of the Lamar Allies, the student has come to accept who they are, Escamilla said, adding that the student said, “I’m in college, I’m an adult. I need to be who I want to be.”

For more information, visit the Lamar Allies’ Facebook page.

from page 1

Black Employee Success Team and Lamar University will present a lecture by Lieutenant General Marvin Brailsford at 7 p.m., on the eighth floor of Gray Library.

Lamar Alive! will host a Black History game show, Feb. 25, in the SSC Ballroom at 6 p.m.

“There will be game show podiums for students to come up and play,” Kiet Le, associate

director of student activities and civic engagement, said. “Everyone that comes into the room will get to participate through handheld devices, and they will do random selections of people to come participate on the actual game show portion with the podiums.”

Le said the goal is to provide a fun, educational event for students.

“There will be various chal-

lenges for students to participate in,” he said. “There’ll be a dance off or a contest to see who can sing the best. All the trivia questions will be geared toward Black History Month, and the top winning person at the end of that night will take home some cash.”

The series of events will conclude with “Black Christian Music Through Time: From Negro Spirituals to Gospel to

Contemporary,” Feb. 28, featuring Lamar’s Psalm 150 Gospel Choir and local gospel groups.

Monroe said African American History Month celebrates the culture and the accomplishments of African Americans.

This year’s national theme is “Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories.”

“In keeping with the national theme, we looked at some historic sites honoring African

Americans through the National Park Service,” Monroe said. “It’s the centennial celebration of the National Park Service, a federal government agency that designates historic sites, so we concentrated on the hallowed grounds that focused on the history of African Americans in this country.”

For more information, call LU’s office of diversity and inclusion at 880-8216.