University Press April 12, 2018

UNIVERSITY PRESS

The Newspaper of Lamar University Vol. 94, No. 21 April 12, 2018

SSC grand opening set for today Cade Smith UP staff writer

The renovated Setzer Student Center will open its doors to the public, at 12:30 p.m., today. The opening will feature various activities inside the building.

“We’re excited after a 16month renovation process, we’re going to have the grand opening of the Setzer Center,” Terry Mena, associate vice president of student engagement and dean of students, said.

Mena said that the kickoff will start outside the Quad entrance to the building with

Vicki McNeil, vice president of student engagement, who will introduce speakers, including Lamar University President Kenneth Evans and Brian McCall, chancellor of the Texas State University System.

“We are also going to have an alumnus who was part of some of the history of the Setzer Student Center,” Mena said. “Each speaker will talk about what they have contributed towards the development and the reconstruction of the Setzer Center. After the speakers, we will then proceed with the ribbon cutting.”

Following the commencement ceremony and ribbon

cutting the doors will open.

A variety of activities will be set up by the Cardinal Activities Board, Brandie Van Zanden, associate director of student involvement and programming, said.

“What we are going to have set up is sort of like a treasure map to different locations around the inside of the student center for different giveaways,” she said. “In the ballroom will be a custom made phone case booth for students to make phone cases. We will also have caricature artists

See SSC, page 3

UP photo by Hannah LeTulle

Faculty and staff got a preview of the Setzer Student Center renovation before its grand opening today. Campus wide events will begin at 12:30 p.m.

LU to host sexual assault awareness events in April Eleanor Skelton UP contributor

cottage industries. We can go way back, I’ve looked at 17th century, 18th century, 19th century groups, they all had to create revenue streams.

“The Branch Davidians were in several of these small businesses.

They refurbished cars, they made things that they sold — but one of the businesses, and there were only six men involved, was buying guns wholesale and selling them retail at gun shows. If you know anything about gun shows, they’re not very regulated.

“In June of 1992, a UPS driver was delivering a box to Mount Carmel. The box was dropped, it fell open, and empty pineapple grenade shells fell out. The ATF was contacted. The local sheriff’s office was

With the explosion of allegations against celebrities, the rise of the #MeToo movement, and politicians expressing inappropriate views of women, the time is ripe for frank discussions and exploration of sexual assault.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Lamar’s Student Health Center’s health education specialist Marie Murray is organizing several events on campus in the next few weeks to highlight the issue.

The first event was “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes,” April 3, and continues with a “Bringing in the Bystander” training workshop at 10 a.m., April 21, and concludes with “Denim Day” on April 25. The events are presented in partnership with Lamar Institute of Technology.

“I work to increase awareness, knowledge and skills, so that students feel comfortable speaking up and acting in situations to prevent sexual assaults and domestic violence from occurring or continuing,” Murray said.

“Walk A Mile in Her Shoes” featured men wearing red high heels. “(It is a) fun way of opening up dialogue between all students concerning sexual assault,” Murray said in an email. “And the men get the perspective of what it’s like to walk in ‘her’ shoes.”

The “Bringing in the Bystander” workshop is a half-day event developed by the University of New Hampshire.

“The workshop is intended to educate and empower students so that they can confidently and successfully intervene in sexual assault or domestic violence situations,” Murray said.

“Bringing in the Bystander” is open to all students and lunch will be provided, but only 35 spaces are available. Students can register at lamar.edu/healthed.

All students are encouraged to wear denim on April 25, Murray said. “Denim Day” is part of an international movement that grew out of a 1998 Italian Supreme Court decision overturn-

See WACO, page 4

See AWARENESS, page 6

UP graphic by Shelby Strickland

Remembering Waco Siege at Mount Carmel Editor’s note: This is the second in a four-part series about the shootout between government forces and members of the Branch Davidian cult in Waco that occurred 25 years ago.

Shelby Strickland UP editor

Between February and April 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted an ill-advised and poorly planned raid on the Branch Davidian sect’s compound in what came to be known as the Waco Siege.

“The FBI’s hostage rescue team was called in, snipers and all, and there was a 51-day standoff,” Stuart Wright, LU sociology, social work

and criminal justice chair, and an expert on religious and political movements, conflict and violence, said. “At the end of 51 days they would basically bring in military tanks. They introduced CS gas into the Mount Carmel building where the sect members are, gassed them for six hours. There were 24 children in there. Some of them died of suffocation — they probably were dead before the fire even broke out from being exposed to so much CS gas.”

The United States is supposedly prohibited from using CS gas on its own citizens, Wright said.

“The Branch Davidians were a communal group, so any time you have communal organization like that, if the people don’t work outside in regular jobs, they have to have what is called a revenue stream,” he said. “They usually create their own

Biology to screen ‘Chasing Coral’ film, Tuesday Sierra Kondos Staff Writer

Coral reefs around the world are disappearing at an extraordinary rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery in the documentary, “Chasing Coral.” Lamar University’s biology department faculty and students will host a free public showing of the film.

Followed by a Q&A, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, in the John Gray Center, Price Auditorium.

LU biology alumnus marine ecologist/geologist Joanie Kleypas was an advisor for the documentary.

“Few humans spend time in the ocean, and so they are understandably unaware that this is going on,” she said in an email interview. “The cast and

crew portrayed the struggles of getting the underwater footage of a coral bleaching event, and the struggle of having to watch corals and other reef animals die en masse. That is the power of the film. It shows the emotional impact of watching a masterpiece of nature being destroyed.

“We scientists usually fail to portray the beauty of coral reefs and the devastation of their loss. This film captures both, and I am forever grateful to the ‘Chasing Coral’ team for achieving that.”

Kleypas is a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

“For the past 20 years I’ve leveraged NCAR’s research to understand how climate change affects marine ecosystems, and particularly coral

www.facebook.com/UPLamar

reefs,” she said. “Unfortunately, coral reefs are hit hard by both the heating up of the planet and by ocean acidification. I study these impacts, and it’s clear that coral reefs are dying off quickly, mainly through acute heat stress, which causes coral bleaching and often, coral death. It’s also clear that ocean acidification, the lowering of the pH of the ocean, is a chronic stress to corals, that affects their ability to grow and recover from bleaching events.

“My research focus now is in finding solutions to this coral reef crisis. That is, I use models to understand where reefs are more likely to survive into the future. I also have a field project in Costa Rica to help speed the recovery of damaged reefs.

See CORAL, page 2

Courtesy image

This side-by-side comparison shows the effects of bleaching on coral

www.lamaruniversitypress.com

www.twitter.com/UPLamar

QUOTE OF THE DAY

INSIDE

Thursday, April 12, 2018 University Press

AWARENESS

“In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”

— Mark Twain

from page 1

ing a rape conviction because the victim wore tight jeans. The Health Center will host a photo booth in the Recreational Sports Lobby where students can show off their denim in support.

Diane Foreman, assistant director at the Student Health Center, said the Health Center provides counseling and limited medical services to any student who reports sexual assault, and all services are confidential.

“The student is then encouraged to report the assault to the Lamar University Police Department as well as the campus Title lX Coordinator,” Foreman said in an email.

Murray said students must be the ones to take action to prevent sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence.

“It is only through their actions that change can occur,” she said. “Actions can start with simple discussions.”

If a student is in a situation where they feel they need an off-campus resource, the Beaumont Child Abuse and Forensic Services office has helped victims from six months to 83 years old, Brenda Garison, consultant and certified examiner, said.

Her office performs an exam that gathers evidence along with underwear and sends the rape kit to the Department of Public Safety, where it is stored for up to two years. CAFS also provides antibiotics for STDs after an assault.

Beaumont Police Department Lt. Karen Froman has worked in the sex crimes unit since the mid-1980s and said

CORAL

Page 2

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.

she strongly encourages victims to report assaults as soon as possible, as delay makes prosecution challenging.

“The further away you get from an event, we’re going to lose evidence,” she said, adding other factors like statute of limitations, tracking down witnesses and relying on their memories. “More and more in this society, where in the past we absolutely were going to believe a victim, (with) people with watching CSI shows and all that, they want evidence, they want forensics. Timeliness is very important.”

Garison said the medical exam can be embarrassing for men as there is no male nurse examiner.

“I had a 28 year old male in Orange County, he came forward,” she said. “He kept telling me, ‘If he would do this to me, he’d do it to anybody’. They found (the suspect) guilty in Orange County.”

Froman said she used to hold workshops for Lamar and shared some of the advice she gave students over the years.

“Even if you decide not to [report], which I don’t advocate for, you’re got to talk to somebody,” she said. “Counseling, counseling, counseling.

“First of all, trust your instincts. Don’t let anybody push you. If it doesn’t feel right, it is not right, step away. Don’t be embarrassed.”

Froman said she recommends students go out in groups and use the buddy system.

“I’ve always said that if you’re out, and you see your friend is getting wasted, say

OK, she may need that or he may need that, so I’m gonna be his buddy — I’m gonna be his watchdog,” she said. “And tomorrow, I might decide I’m gonna go out, and somebody’s going to watch over me. I think that’s the most important thing. When you see somebody in a vulnerable place, step up.

“There’s always the possibility that somebody out there is a predator and you don’t know who they are, so just always make sure you’re either aware of your surroundings or if you’re in a vulnerable position, have a good friend.”

Froman and Garrison also warned that even over-the-counter medications like Benadryl can be used as a date rape drug, not just the ones students may have heard of, like Rohypnol. Benadryl showed up in a hair test in one of the cases Garrison worked with.

“In Jefferson County, we’re very victim-oriented,” Froman said. “When you call the police, the first thing we’re going to do is get you to a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program. Then we’re going to do the interview with you, get our evidence, stabilize you.” “(If) we got a guy out there doing it to you, he’s out there doing it to other people, too.”

For more, call the Student Health Center at 880-8466 or visit lamar.edu/ healthed. Beaumont Child Abuse and Forensic Services is located at 810 Hospital Drive, Suite 190. Call 832-0421 or visit cafstx.com for an appointment.

“The purpose of the film and lecture is to educate the audience of the butterfly effect of human actions, and what every day people can do to help lessen the harm that pollutes coral reefs and the ecosystems of ocean inhabitants,” she said.

Hoch is engaged in the study of the microbiology of algal-coral interactions, leading to coral morbidity and mortality in both Belize and French Polynesia.

“Over the past two years, I’ve been involved with a group of collaborators focusing on how the overgrowth of the attached algae, like seaweeds, on the reef next to the corals are causing the death of the corals,” he said.

Hoch said that because the algae are

growing so vigorously, they pollute the coastal environments with nutrients around the world.

“No matter what coastline you’re at, if there’s a river that people are living on, they dump their sewage waste into it, and it adds nutrients, fertilizing the algae in the sea,” he said. “What comes out of rivers — waste waters, fertilizers on land — that are running into the ocean are impacting the algae.

“The other piece of the story, is that around the world there has been a loss of fish that eat the algae. So, the corals are trying to survive in that kind of condition.”

More information on their research can be found at Lamar.edu/chasingcoral.

from page 1

Our team is growing corals in underwater nurseries and then planting them back out to the reef, and in the process, we are learning how to select, breed, and grow corals that are more resilient to climate change.”

Kleypus will co-host the panel discussion with Michael Hoch, LU associate professor of biology; Ana Christensen, associate professor of biology; and Harley Myler, professor and chair of the Phillip M. Drayer department of electrical engineering.

Christensen’s research studies brittle stars on the Australia Great Barrier Reef and the Meso-American Barrier Reef in Belize.

CALENDAR

April 12

Setzer Student Center Grand Opening Ceremony Setzer Student Center 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. (special activities until 4 p.m.)

April 12

Freeing Men, Imprisoning Women: A Study of a Civil War Woman's Work to Free Confederate Prisoners Reaud Events Center 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

April 12-15

“The Importance of Being Earnest” University Theatre 7:30 p.m., April 12-14, 2 p.m., April 15

April 17

History in Motion: Screening and Discussion of "Hidden Figures" Dishman Art Museum, room 101 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

April 18

Art History Lecture Series “What’s He Doing in There?

Photobombing in the Italian Renaissance” Dishman Art Museum 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

April 19

REDtalks presents: Don't Fall for Fake News Gray Library, 6th floor 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

April 21

Health Center Workshop "Bringing in the Bystander" CICE Building, Room 113 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

& FUN RU UN

WALK/RUN K/RUN /// BEAUMONT MONT APRIL 21, 2018 ATT 8 AM START A TEAM TODAY @ LUPUSTEXAS.ORG FORR DETAILS - 713-529-0126 26

UNIVERSITY PRESS • Thursday, April 12, 2018

Page 3

Transition fair helps students adapt to college life Vy Nguyen UP staff writer

The Lamar University Disability Resource Center held its fourth-annual Access Transition Fair, April 4, in the Sheila Umphrey Recreational Sports Center.

The fair offers information and guidance for local junior and senior high school students with disabilities.

Kyle Mutz, director of the disability resource center, said 193 participants from 15 different high schools, with 20 different campus and community resources participated this year, up from 60 the first year.

“It’s important to be able to meet people in person and tear down that stigma of getting accommodations for their disabilities, because there are options and choices to help them be successful no matter what their challenge is,” he said. “Hopefully, this will inspire them go out, try to do something and not settle for anything less.”

SSC

Students participated in adaptive sports including wheelchair basketball, goal ball and adaptive rock climbing.

“The Recreational Cen ter, and Intramural Sports, Houston Parks & Recreation and the entire university community played an important role in helping to host and provide the activities,” Mutz said.

Mutz said the DRC tries to accommodate students with disabilities academically.

“Some accommodations that we have for the students currently include more time for tests, a more quiet testing area and sign language interpreters,” he said.

Caleb Andrews, Nederland High School senior, said the fair helps people with disabilities understand that during college they will still have access to get help.

“Even though we are going to be adults, we could still have people that help us even after high school,” he said.

Mutz said that he enjoyed meeting the students, shaking

their hands and talking to them.

“The fair also help students interact and connect with other people with disabilities one-on-

one,” he said. “They said, ‘Hey, that guy is a director, and he’s achieving things even though he’s in a wheelchair,’ and this

gives them hope.”

For more information, visit lamar.edu/disability-resourcecenter, or call 880-8347.

Mena said that there will be a photo-op location set up in the SSC atrium.

he said. “Then we will be able to go right into the food court area where Chick-fil-A, Jason’s Deli and Panda Express will o p e n and begin to serve students.”

Each of the restaurants inside the Setzer Student Center will be giving out free samples to visitors, Jack Spurlock, marketing manager of dining services, said “Every restaurant location has menus directed towards college campuses so they will have limited menu options,” he said.

“Students will be able to use their declining balance to purchase food at all of the new dining locations.”

Mena said that the restaurant locations will also feature activities.

“We will also have students and staff stationed throughout the building, answering questions for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community guest UP photo by Hannah LeTulle members,” he said. “As people “People will be able to take walk through the building they photos of their first time in the will be informed on what is in student center with a tag line,” that area.”

In the Barnes and Noble Bookstore, students will be able to register to win a skateboard, a wave board or a guitar.

“Winners will be announced by telephone by the end of the day,” Melanie Hawthorne, assistant manager, said.

“We are looking forward to seeing the fresh, newness of the Setzer Student Center,” she said.

“I love seeing the growth of Lamar that we are experiencing.”

Mena said that he is excited about the opening of the Setzer Student Center, as it has been a long process to rebuild it.

“I am excited for the students, especially the current students,” he said. “They have given a supporting environment in dealing with the blue wall (which bordered the construction area), and were patient with the university and the builders to get to this point. I am excited for them to see all of the hard work that has occurred these past months.”

UP photo by Vy Nguyen

Particpants in the Access Transition Fair play wheelchair basketball in McDonald Gym, April 4.

from page 1

set up on the first-floor, and then we will have bingo on the second floor.”

Page 4

WACO

Thursday, April 12, 2018 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

from page 1

contacted. The driver had to do that by law.”

And so began the ATF investigation of the Branch Davidian, who were led by David Koresh.

“The investigation didn’t really go very far,” Wright said.

“About three or four months later, the ATF investigator went to the federal magistrate in Waco and applied for permission to get an arrest warrant for David Koresh. The magistrate, Dennis Green, turned him down. He said, ‘You don’t have enough evidence here. I don’t see anything,’” That is not the only thing that happened that November.

“We had a presidential election and we had a surprise winner — Bill Clinton, governor of Arkansas, won the race,” Wright said. “He won for a number of reasons, but one of the platforms he ran on was gun control — tighter restrictions on guns.

“The ATF, I think, saw political opportunity here. The two previous presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, were literally card carrying NRA members, so the ATF was the more disfavored (of the) federal agencies. They didn’t get priority in budgeting.”

Wright said with a new administration, and somebody new calling the shots in the White House who would be an ally, the ATF saw political opportunity.

“They started interviewing some ex members (of the Branch Davidians),” he said.

“Some of them gave exaggerated accounts that couldn’t be supported, but they took those and put them in the application for a search warrant.”

What most people would have expected to be a search and potential seizure turned into a paramilitary gun raid.

“The (ATF) claimed that the Branch Davidians were stockpiling weapons,” Wright said.

“They paved them out to be this far-right, militia kind of group that was going to conduct some kind of attack on Waco, and they also charged them with converting legal semi-automatic weapons to automatic weapons, which you can do if you have a gun license, a federal firearms license, which they didn’t have.”

Wright said that, according to survivor David Thibodeaux, the Branch Davidians did have automatic weapons, but they weren’t to be used for any apocalyptic purpose as was implied.

The men thought they were covered by the firearms dealer’s federal license who was selling them the guns at retail.

“The ATF conducted a socalled surveillance operation,” Wright said. “They moved in agents across the street in a vacant house. They had multiple opportunities to arrest (Koresh) on his own.”

The Branch Davidian leader would jog up and down Double Ee Ranch Road right in front of the surveillance houses.

“David Thibodeaux and David Koresh actually went

over to the surveillance house when the guys first moved in with a couple of pizzas, knocked on the front door and tried to introduce themselves, because it’s kind of out in the middle of nowhere,” Wright said. “The undercover agents got real nervous and basically just said, ‘Thanks for the pizza. We’ll talk to you later.’

“What was really strange to everybody was that they passed on these opportunities to arrest Koresh peacefully, without conducting this very dangerous, high risk raid, which research shows about 90 percent of the time results in injury or death.

If your objective is to take the least lethal, or least dangerous, path forward, which is a policy and a protocol of all law enforcement, why would they pass on this opportunity?”

It was later essentially confirmed that the ATF’s goal was to gain publicity, Wright said.

“On the day of the raid, they had their own press officer and a whole staff of people getting ready to issue VHS tapes and photos, but they hadn’t even bothered to contact EMS people,” he said. “Any time you conduct a dangerous, high-risk assault or raid like this, you contact emergency medical services because people get injured and have to go to the hospital.”

It was later concluded by the House committee on the judiciary of the congressional investigation that the raid was unnecessary.

“They didn’t have to do it, and it cost a lot of lives,” Wright said. “It basically wiped out that religious community all together — 76 people killed.”

At the criminal trial in January 1994, the government charged the Branch Davidians with murder and conspiracy to murder.

“They were acquitted of those charges,” Wright said.

“They convicted them of involuntary manslaughter, and so there were eight or nine who had to spend between eight and ten years in prison.”

During the midst of the Waco trial, Randy Weaver’s trial came up in Boise, Idaho (Weaver had been arrested after a siege at Ruby Ridge which was covered in part one of this series).

“The jury acquitted Randy Weaver of all serious charges,” Wright said. “The only thing he got slapped with was not showing up for a court hearing. The Weaver family turned around and sued the department of justice for wrongful death, and the United States DOJ knew they didn’t want to go to trial with this information, so they paid the Weaver family $3.1 million.

“The same thing with Waco six months later. They were looking at a whole lot more of a payoff there — hundreds of millions of dollars, so they fought it.”

Any examonation of the Waco Siege throughout the years has had to deal with competing narratives.

“If you’ve seen any of these documentaries — and I’ve watched all of them — you’re still getting the strong law enforcement narrative that claims that the Branch Davidians shot first, which they didn’t,” Wright said. “I was sitting in the courtroom during the civil trial when an ATF agent took the stand and testified under oath that he was a member of the ATF dog team. When the ATF raid team pulled up in front of Mount Carmel that morning, two ATF agents who were members of the dog team got out first, and the first shots fired were to kill the dogs. If somebody else says something different, they must have either not read the court transcripts, or they weren’t in the trial because that’s exactly what hesaid.”

“We know who fired first.

Did the Davidians think they were getting shot at? Possibly.

There was some confusion there, it happened within a matter of seconds and everybody started shooting. We’ll never know really because we have competing testimonies even under oath of what happened.

“It was never necessary to conduct a dangerous, high risk assault on this group. They could have arrested David Koresh and all those people would still be alive. It’ll make you angry.”

Next week: Reviewing the ‘Waco’ television miniseries.

Spe ecial Sc creenin ing

CHAASINGG CORRAL iew Surv ve ey - Richard V Ve evers

hosted e by film docum mentary consulta ant and LU biology biolog gy alumnus

Dr. Joanie Kleypas senior scientist, National Cent Center for Atmospheric Researrch ch joined by LU coral reef research faculty

Maatt Hoch, Ana Christensen and Harley Myler

APRIL 17 • 7 PM Price e Audittorium John Grra ay C Cent entter

FREE SCREENING!

Scientific panel discusssion sion and reception to ffollo ollow the screening

Watch the trrailer ailer chasingcorral.com lamarr.edu/ /chasingcorral Sponsorship Acknowledgement: TriBeta Biological Honors Society • The Green Squad & LU Office of Sustainability Department of Biology • College of Arts and Sciences • College of Engineering

UNIVERSITY PRESS • Thursday, April 12, 2018

Page 5

‘Clybourne Park’ a tale of miscommunication Vy Nguyen UP staff writer

Courtesy photo

Mitchell Junious, who plays Albert, above, and Amanda Hawkins, who plays Francine, rehearse a scene from Beaumont Community Players production of “Clybourne Park.” The show continues today through Sunday, and April 19-21 at 7:30 p.m. with a mantinee at 2 p.m., Saturday.

Some parts of “Clybourne Park” will make you laugh, and some parts will tug hard at your emotions.

Beaumont Community Players’ production of Bruce Norris’ play, which runs through April 21, is a must see.

The play is about communication, or rather the lack thereof. The characters seem to talk each other’s heads off, but not once do they stop to listen to one another.

The ensemble, directed by Donny Avery, is great. The seven actors and actresses, playing dual roles, create a synergy on stage that achieves emotional intensity, smoothly building comedic to gutwrenching scenes.

The first act is set in central Chicago in 1959. Russ (James Jackson) and Bev (Rachel Cain) are a married couple who are in the process of moving out of their home in the Clybourne Park community. Their friends start coming to their home one by one, starting with Jim (Dexter Broussard), a local minister. He is shortly joined

by Karl (Johnathon Hankamer) and Betsy (Alexa Guilbeau), a couple who live in the same neighborhood.

Russ and Bev’s black maid, Francine (Amanda Hawkins), is helping the couple pack, with the

help of her husband Albert (Mitchell Junious). Despite their best intentions, the couple keep getting dragged into the white characters’ conversations, with comic and uncomfortable results.

Throughout the first act, we see that Russ is grieving over a personal tragedy, which Bev is trying to avoid by keeping herself occupied with frivolous projects and false cheerfulness.

Karl has come by to tell Russ that the new owners of the home will be a black family and to convince the couple to not sell. He openly shows his distaste for the “colored” family, by stating that the value of the neighborhood will go down as more lower income families move in. When Karl hypothetically questions Francine about the possibility of white families moving into black neighborhoods, and states that it would actually be an advantage to colored people, Russ blows up and kicks everyone out, ending act one.

The set change at intermission is a performance in itself, and well worth staying in one’s seat.

The second act is set in the same house 50 years later. The same actors are now playing completely different roles. The house is now run down, and a young white couple have bought it as part of the gentrification of what, for a long time, has been a black neighborhood.

Now it is a black couple who are uncomfortable with the white couple coming in and changing their neighborhood.

In the second act, the dialogue has its most comedic and profound impact when politeness and the disregard for sensitivity is tossed out of the window, and the characters start slinging racist jokes at one another. There is a lot of talking, but no one really tries to understand anyone else.

In the intimate setting, one is pulled into the conversations taking place. One feels that one is actually in the room with them.

Overall, “Clybourne Park” will keep you on the edge of your seat, while keeping your brains busy analyzing every details.

It really makes one think about how, even 50 years later when things supposedly have drastically changed, they still stayed the same.

The play’s relevance will not be lost on the audience.

“Clybourne Park” is presented Friday and Saturday, April 19, 20 and 21, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee at 2 p.m., Saturday.

Tickets are $18, seniors and students under 18 are $16. Student rush tickets available for $10 at the door as available.

BCP is located at the Betty Greenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 4155 Laurel.

For more info, visit www.beaumontcommunityplayers.com.

The cast left to right, Dexter Broussard (Jim), Rachel Cain (Bev), Johnathon Hankamer (Karl), James Jackson (Russ), Mitchell Junious (Albert), Amanda Hawkins (Francine) and Alexa Guilbeau (Betsy).

Page 6

Thursday, April 12, 2018 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

UPsports briefs MEN’S TENNIS The Lamar University men’s tennis team took a break from Southland Conference action Sunday to face UTSA in a nonconference match in San Antonio.

The Cardinals built a 2-1 advantage only to see the hometown team rally to edge LU, 4-3.

The Cardinals took the opening match of the day by posting a 6-3 victory on court No. 1 doubles.

The doubles’ victory by junior Logan Powell and senior Benny Schweizer would be the only win the Cards could muster in falling behind early, 1-0.

LU didn’t allow the early setback to hamper their start in singles. Big Red roared out of the gate to take the first two singles matches 6-0, 6-1.

The Cardinals held the momentum to take their first lead of the day with another straight-sets decision on court 2. Schweizer overpowered the Roadrunners’ Gabriel Bugiga, 6-3, 6-2.

UTSA battled back to reclaim the advantage with wins on courts 5 and 3. The two UTSA wins forced the Cards into a position of needing wins on the final two courts for the overall win. The Cardinals got a win at No. 4 singles when Nicolas Mayr ousted Javier Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-4, to tie the match at 3.

The deciding point came down to No. 1 singles, which went to a third set before being decided.

Junior Sebastian Santibanez dropped the opening set, 6-4, but rallied for a 6-2 decision in the second. Santibanez didn’t have enough gas in the tank and dropped the third set, 6-1.

The Cardinals return to action Friday when they host Nicholls State at 3 p.m. from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.

WOMEN’S TENNIS Lamar University’s women’s tennis team got singles wins from Jasmin Buchta and Kaela Di Giulio but fell short to rival McNeese, 5-2, Tuesday in Lake Charles, La. Trailing 1-0 after the doubles competition, McNeese added to its lead by picking up the first sin-

gles match of the day. Sophomore Jasmin Buchta put a stop to the run momentarily with her win at No. 1 singles. Buchta rolled through her match posting scores of 6-1 and 6-3.

Di Giulio would pick up the next Cardinal victory with a straight-sets decision over McNeese’s Marija Mastiloivc, 7-5, 61, on court No. 4. But, McNeese recorded wins on courts 3 and 2, prior to Di Giulio’s decision for the team win.The Cowgirls closed out the match with a three-set decision at No. 6 singles.

The Lady Cardinals return to action Saturday to host Southeastern Louisiana at noon from the Thompson Family Tennis Center.

SOFTBALL Shelby Henderson homered for the third straight game, but the Lamar University Lady Cardinals failed to complete a series sweep of the Sam Houston State Bearkats in Huntsville, dropping an 84 decision, Saturday.

The Lady Cardinals could not dig themselves out of an early hole that saw them trail 4-0 after one inning and 5-2 after two innings.

Henderson put the Lady Cards on the board with her sixth HR of the year, a two-run shot to left field in the top of the second to cut LU’s deficit to 4-2. The Lady Bearkats added an unearned run in the second off LU reliever Anissa Rodriguez to make the score 5-2.

The Lady Cardinals cut the SHSU lead to 5-4 in the top of the fifth on a two-run double by second baseman Kelly Meeuwsen.

The Lady Cardinals had a chance to tie the game later in the inning, but Meeuwsen was thrown out at the plate on a disputed call.

The Lady Bearkats broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to close out the scoring. Sam Houston’s Megan McDonald opened the inning with a single off Rodriguez. The Lady Bearkats got to Gruell for three hits in 1/3 of an inning to make it 8-4 before LU senior Amie Cisneros came on to get a 9-4-6 double play to end the inning.

The Lady Cardinals hosted the

Houston Cougars in a non-conference doubleheader, Wednesday (scores were unavailable at print time) before heading to Conway, Arkansas, for a three-game Southland Conference series with Central Arkansas, Friday.

WOMEN’S GOLF Elodie Chapelet and Eva Martinez won both of their matches on the day as the Lamar University women’s golf team placed second at the Cardinal Challenge at the Beaumont Country Club, Monday.

The Cardinals were 3-2 winners over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the morning round of the match-play tournament to move into the finals against South Alabama.

The title match came down to the wire, with South Alabama claiming a 3-2 over LU’s Brooke Duzan in the fifth spot.

The Lady Cardinals got off to a slow start in the morning match against the Islanders before heating up. Chapelet battled back after being down by two just four holes into her match for the No. 1 spot for a 2 and 1 victory. Olivia Le Roux did get off to a quick start in the third position, winning three of the first four holes before holding on for a 2 and 1 victory.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won at the fourth and fifth spots to even the match at 2, as it all came down to a battle between Martinez and Brooklyn Sutton of the Islanders in the No. 2 spot to decide the match. Martinez evened the match with a birdie on the 133-yard, par-3 17th hole.

After both players made par on the 18th hole, the match came down to a playoff, with Martinez winning on the second extra hole to propel the Cardinals into the finals.

In the title match against the Jaguars, Chapelet cruised to a 4 and 3 win over Siti Shaari in the No. 1 spot, while Martinez claimed a 1-up win in the second spot.

The Jaguars would win the final three matches, claiming the title with Berge’s par on the 18th hole.

UP photo by Matt Beadle

LU’s men’s tennis team will head into the Southland Conference Championship, April 2325 at the Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney, Texas.

The Lady Cardinals return to action when they compete at the Southland Conference Championships Monday at the Woodcrest Golf Club in Montgomery. The three-day, 54-hole event runs through April 18.

MEN’S GOLF Lamar University’s men’s golf team saw Sam Dumez shoot a 1under-par 71 to help the Cardinals move past Western Carolina to finish 12th at the Gary Koch Invitational in Gaston, N.C. Dumez birdied two of the final three holes to finish tied for 46th at 7-over-par 223 on the 7,042-yard, par-72 layout at the Gaston Country Club as the Cardinals posted their best round of the tournament, a 6-over 294 to pick up 10 strokes on Western Carolina to finish one shot ahead

of the Catamounts. LU had a three-day total of 897, while Western Carolina finished at 898.

LU’s Eason Wang shot an even-par 72 to finish the tourney in a tie for 54th at 225, one shot better than teammate Juho Kurikka, who finished in sole possession of 57th place at 226 after a final round of 76. Cody Banach carded a 75 to finish tied for 62nd at 230. Nikolai Schaffrath shot an 87 on Tuesday to finish with a 244 total for three rounds. LU’s Sydney Merunka, competing as an individual, had his best round of the tournament, a 76, on Tuesday to finish at 234.

The Cardinals return to action at the Southland Conference Championships, set for April 2325 at the Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney.

7

SPORTS

UNIVERSITY PRESS Thursday, April 12, 2018

LU senior Grant DeVore hits the ball in Tuesday’s non-conference, 3-15, loss to Northwestern State at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

UP photo by Cassandra Jenkins

Cardinal baseball falls to Northwestern State, 3-15 Cassandra Jenkins UP managing editor

The Lamar University men’s baseball team was unable to recover fast enough after a 21-inning doubleheader, Sunday as they fell 3-15 against Northwestern State in a non-conference matchup, Tuesday at VincentBeck Stadium.

“Sunday, we had such heartbreaking losses where the guys left it all out there and really believed they were going to win,” head coach Will Davis said. “I can feel that it hurts. Trying to balance that emotion and these guys psyche, but we didn’t pitch very well or play defense very well tonight. I think we were just worn out.”

The Demon’s came out fighting as they scored their first run just moments into the top of the first inning after NSU infielder David Fry hit a line drive down left field to score the runner on third, 0-1. Before going down, Northwestern scored two more runs on junior J.P. Lagreco’s double RBI to score infielder Luke

Watson on third and Fry on first, 0-3. The Cardinals were unable to respond until the bottom of the second when sophomore Cole Girouard hit a wide ball to center field to allow LU’s Robin Adames on second to sail home, 1-3.

LU pitcher Junior Taylor sends the Demon’s packing in the top of third to plunge the Cardinals into the bottom inning where they scored another run after Adames wacked the ball to the far-right field wall for another RBI scoring sophomore Cole Coker, 2-3. The Cardinal offense stopped there as the Demon’s tacked on seven runs over the next two innings.

NSU’s Austin Stegall reached on a fielder’s-choice, bunt to advance to second and score junior Luke Watson on an LU error 4-2 in the top of the fifth. Minutes later, NSU’s Austin Townsend singled to right center for a double RBI that scored Stegall and Davis, 6-2.

Heading into the top of the sixth inning, the Demon’s added four runs on a single RBI by Watson to score outfielder Kwan Ad-

LU freshman pitcher Chet Jones started Tuesday’s game against Northwestern State University in a non-conference game at VincentBeck Stadium.

Jones pitched for the top of the first inning allowing four hits, three earned. kins, 7-2, with players on third and second. Lagreco returned to the plate hitting a homer over center field for three more runs, 2-10.

The Cardinals attempted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth scoring one on freshman Logan LeJeune’s ground ball to second base to score Coker, 3-10.

But, that was the last time LU would see the ball as Northwestern sailed through the remaining innings adding five more runs to finish the Cards, 3-15.

LU burned through several pitchers in Tuesday’s game starting with freshman Chet Jones who was retired after ½ an inning being swapped out for senior Jace Campbell who went through the top of the third before being switched for junior Taylor Rich, juniors Kristjan Storrie, AbeRee Hiebert and freshman Marcus Olivarez and junior Garrett Walker also saw an inning or more.

“We stretched our pitching really thin,” Davis said. “We had to

ask some guys to pitch that we haven’t had pitching a lot. We didn’t really have (Ryan) Erickson available, we didn’t have (Jack) Dallas available and that hurt us, but we didn’t want to waste more pitchers with another game on Friday” The Cardinals will return to Southland Conference play as they hit the road to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a threegame series starting Friday at 6 p.m.

Will Rockets continue to launch into playoffs?

COMMENTARY Caleb Adams UP contributor

With only a handful of games left until the playoffs start, the Houston Rockets sit on top of the throne with the best record in the NBA and have locked in

their No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

James Harden has had an MVP year, leading the league in points a game at 30 while also sitting third in assists at 8.8 a game. With the summer addition of all-star point guard Chris Paul, Harden has been able to

shoot at will with Paul’s great passing abilities opening the offense even more.

The Rockets are the epitome of the new style of basketball — shoot tons of threes and try to keep the game in a constant upbeat tempo. A perfect combination of a deep team clicking

together and Harden having an amazing season has launched the Rockets to the top, but there are a few things they will need to focus on to take care of the defending champion Golden State Warriors and whoever they face in the finals.

The Warriors were penciled in to play the Rockets in the Western Conference finals, but due to injuries to key players there’s a chance they will get knocked out earlier than expected. The Western Conference is tough, and there’s a chance of a long series in the early rounds for everyone. The Rockets have the best record but that doesn’t mean they have a guaranteed path to the finals. Even if Steph Curry’s injury keeps him out, the Warriors still have Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, potential Hall of Famers all.

Once the finals come, the East-leading Toronto Raptors have a chance, but the Cavaliers still have Lebron James so you can’t count them out.

Using Mike D’Antoni’s high speed offense, the Rockets have been able to put up the secondmost points a game at 113.2 and the most three pointers made with 1,200. They want to throw as many shots up as they can, and hope they are hitting and they don’t hit a cold spell at a bad time.

The Rockets’ defense will be a big point of contention throughout the playoff run. They need Clint Capella to dominate the paint so their shots on the outside come more often, and the ability for second chance points goes up.

If Harden plays defense this postseason the way he has during the regular season, it will show the rest of the team he is willing to do what he needs to do (we can’t just forget his poor defensive showing during last season’s Spurs debacle in the Western Conference semis).

Houston isn’t the best on defense, but they don’t have to be amazing with the amount of points they can score every night. This is the year they need to bury the ghost of playoff defenses past.

Off the court, the city of Houston would lose their minds if the Rockets followed the Astros as world champs. Seeing the banner raised at Minute Maid Park last week, a few streets over on Crawford, will motivate the Rockets to bring a third banner to the Toyota Center.

This Rockets postseason comes down to a few key questions. Will Harden continue his MVP-caliber play? If they make it to the finals, will Lebron James be there? Will the Warriors plummet due to injuries or will Kevin Durant carry the team?

All of these questions concern the Rockets, because as every Houston fan knows, anything bad that can happen most likely will.

For all his regular-season greatness, Harden has a lot to prove when it comes to the playoffs. This is his moment. All the pins have lined up for him to strike. He has the best collection of team mates he has ever had and he is in the form of his life.

Better make room in the rafters for that banner.

Page 8

Thursday, April 12, 2018 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

Rejaie to lecture on Renaissance ‘photobombs’ Abigail Pennington UP contributor

Azar Rejaie will present the lecture, “What’s He Doing in There? Photobombing in the Italian Renaissance,” at 6 p.m., April 18, in the Dishman Art Museum.

A free reception will be held from 5:30 p.m to 6 p.m., and is open to all Lamar students, faculty, and members of the Beaumont community.

“Azar Rejaie is a specialist in Italian Renaissance art, and her research focuses on artists who insert self-portraits of themselves into commissioned artworks,” Julia Fischer, LU assistant professor of art history, said.

Rejaie is an associate professor

of art history and department chair of art and communications at the University of HoustonDowntown. Her primary research interests include embedded selfportraiture, Perugian and Florentine studies, and the formation and manipulation of early modern identity.

Fisher said she is teaching Italian Renaissance art this semester and thought Rejaie’s research would be a perfect compliment to the course.

“But the topic is also inherently interesting, with artists promoting themselves by including themselves in the works that they are commissioned to do,” she said. “I also like that Rejaie has ‘photobombing’ in the title of her

A detail from Domenico Ghirlandaio’s “Adoration of the Magi,” from 1488, features a self portrait of the artist, second from right. talk, because what these artists are doing is a Renaissance version of this contemporary phenomenon. I’m most excited to see what artworks she chooses to discuss and the reactions she will get from the students.”

Through their self portraits, the lecture will give a glimpse of famous artists such as Domenico Ghirlandaio and Michelangelo.

While the rising status of select artists during the Renaissance period provides an explanation as to

why an artist might include a selfportrait, less is understood about why a patron would allow or encourage an artist to do so during a time when artists were considered nothing more than mere craftsmen, according to a release.

Fischer said the lecture will shed light on the partnerships that allowed artists and patrons alike to benefit from the appearance of an artist in a commissioned work of art “(The audience) will gain a deeper insight into artists during the Renaissance period and how, even back in the 15th and 16th centuries, self-promotion was still going strong,” she said.

For more information, www.lamar.edu/events.

Boomtown Film and Music Festival to hit Beaumont, April 19-21 The 11th annual Boomtown Film and Music Festival will be held Thursday, April 19 through Saturday, April 21 throughout Beaumont, Texas.

“This event has grown to be one of the cultural highlights of the Southeast Texas calendar,” Eric Mittal, Festival Public Relations Manager, said.

“This year we are excited to bring new artists and films to the stage, and to provide pricing deals that will fit exactly what you are looking for.”

The festival will kick off at 7 p.m., April 19, with a screening of films made in Beaumont at the Spindletop/Gladys City Boomtown Museum, including “The Blacksmith,” a short documentary about Rob Flurry, who teaches classes at the museum.

The event will also show “The Texas Filmmakers Showcase” and other films shot across Texas.

The event will include music from indie New Orleans band Mighty Brother and Mobley, a post-genre pop artist, along with others.

“We bring new and diverse bands every year to stay fresh, expose local talent, and introduce our community to artists that they may not have heard of before,” Julia Rodriguez, Festival Director, said.

The festival continues Friday, April 20, with film at the Dishman art Museum, starting at 6 p.m., and music at The Gig starting at 8 p.m.

“There will be a staged reading of the first-place winner of the screenplay competition, ‘Unpredictable,’ in conjunction with Beaumont Community Players, as well as the Texas premiere of ‘Killing Time,’ a documentary about a murder in our very own Port Arthur,” Rodriguez, said. “At The Gig, music will include Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires, real Alabama rock-n-roll, and Chew, a psychedelic experience.”

The most activity-filled day of the festival is Saturday, April 21, featuring films, panel discussions, and more music.

“We are excited to have films showing on three different screens,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll have films all day in the Jefferson Theatre from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., films in the Art Museum of Southeast Texas from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and faith-based films in The Gig from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“The 48-hour film race viewing will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson Theatre. The winners will be bestowed with trophies at the awards show at 7 p.m., followed

Coutesy photo

by the classic film “NeverEnding Story” that will show at 8 p.m.”

In addition to the films, there will be three panels at AMSET. “At 11 a.m., the filmmakers panel will feature individuals whose films are showing at the festival,” Rodriguez said. “At 3 p.m. there will be “Sell your Script” with Joe Lansdale and Aaron Koontz, both of whom are currently working in the film industry, followed by ‘Moderated’

by Gordon S. Williams.

At 1 p.m. there will be the Women in Film panel with working women in the industry, including Katie Cokinos, whose film

‘I Dream Too Much’ premiered in the Jefferson Theatre in 2016.

Later that night, at 8 p.m., music will start up again at The Gig where we will dance the night away with Birthday Club and Miears.”

Rodriguez says there are a variety of ticket options and discounted tickets that can be purchased online.

VIP tickets are $50 online, $60 at the door, and offer access to the mixer with the filmmakers and musicians. All Access Passes are $30 online, $35 at the door, and offer access to each day of the festival. Students can purchase All Access Passes for $15 at the door with a current student ID. Day passes are $10 for Thursday, $10 for Friday, and $20 for Saturday.

Additionally, mentorship tickets are available at $10 for a 10minute, one-on-one conversation with either Joe Lansdale or Aaron Koontz after their script writing panel. Tickets are limited to one per person.

“There are only 20 mentorship tickets, so get them while they last,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said this year’s festival promises to be the best yet.

“Come on out for our 11th year of good music, good films and good times,” she said.