September 18, 2014

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UNIVERSITY PRESS A THIRTEEN-TIME ASSOCIATED PRESS MANAGING EDITORS AWARD WINNER

The Newspaper of Lamar University Vol. 91, No. 3

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Series of events set for Hispanic Heritage Month KRISTEN STUCK UP MANAGING EDITOR @kristenstuck Hispanic groups on campus are holding a series of events through Oct. 15 to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. “One big event that we are going to be doing for the whole series will be our conversations,” Cynthia Parra, assistant director of student development and leadership, said. “It’s a panel discussion.” The Education Initiative Association will hold a mixer, Oct. 8, and will also hold an event helping international students renew their deferred action for childhood arrivals, or DACA. “They are holding the DACA renewal affair here on Sept. 27,” Shelby Murphy, student director of multicultural programming, said. “They will be here all day, and basically, EIA members

will be volunteering and helping people renew their DACA status — helping with the paperwork and processing it.” EIA will bring in lawyers for free to advise students and to help them with the paper work involved in renewing their DACA status. “Last year, they processed about 35 students, so this year, they hope to exceed that,” Parra said. “Basically, they are just here to assist students so that they can come to school.” The DACA status for a student allows them temporary status in the U.S. so they are able to get a job and go to school, Murphy said. “DACA status doesn’t give you anything.” Parra said. “It just says you can go to school here and get a job. “Faith. It’s a lot of faith. If you’re coming here illegally, at any point you can be detained. I guess you live like that every day. Depending on the immi-

gration officer, they can choose to not accept your status and lock you up anyways and send you back. That’s what a number of our students — whether they are international students or Latino students — have to deal with every day.” Latinos at Lamar have only 12 percent representation and there are only five predominantly Latino groups on campus, Parra said. “It has grown two percent in the last year, which says that these groups are actually doing some peer mentoring and helping each other with filling out their DACA status,” she said. “There are different rules for getting into school if you are not a citizen. (The groups) are very involved in helping their peers come to higher education.” Jesus “Chuy” Negrete will speak in the Science Auditorium at 7 p.m., Oct. 1. See HERITAGE, page 2

Illustration courtesy Danielle Meshack

AT YOUR SERVICE SGA President ready to lend a helping hand

Lamar will host its first “Thank a Donor Day,” 11 a.m.-6 p.m., today, in front of the Brooks-Shivers Dining hall. “Thank a Donor Day” was created to educate students on the importance of the donations that the university receives. The event will include music, fun, games and a scavenger hunt. All students attending the event will receive a free T-shirt. Students will also have the opportunity to write thank you notes to Lamar University’s donors.

CAROLYN KONDOS UP CONTRIBUTOR “I’m not in this position just to have the position,” Sabrina Lewis says. Whether handing out T-shirts or cutting cake at events, the new Student Government president says she will be there to lend a helping hand to students. A double major in sociology and political science, Lewis says she aspires to be President of the United States. “This experience is really like a mock,” she says. “It’s good practice with politics and dealing with people. You learn that not all answers are black and white. Until you are in that seat, it’s completely different when making a decision. You have to think about the people.” The Wichita Falls native says that part of her plan as president is to enable students to be more involved in the workings of the university and SGA. “I do believe there will come a time that every student will need to know something that the president or vice president may not know, but you need to know how to get those answers yourself,” she said. “That is why I try my best to bring the administration to meetings. When students feel that they are being heard, they are more likely to voice their concerns.” Lewis says she will also look at ways to make student life on campus more appealing in order to retain students. As a freshman, Lewis says she was quiet and reserved, until a friend “dragged” her to a pageant. “I would go to the dining hall to eat, and then go to the library — it was my home away from home,” she says. “(But) in that pageant, you had to give information about yourself, and one of those questions asked about your career path. It got me to thinking about what I wanted to be. I had to write a speech, and I figured out that I wanted to be President of the United States one day.” Her pageant ‘uncle’ was Quentin Jiles, a former SGA president. “He brought out a different side of me that I had never seen before,” she says. “He remembered me when someone asked about an internship, and from that point I got involved with SGA. I became a class senator, then supreme court justice. I also ran for vice president, and then president.” Lewis says her mother is her inspiration. “She has nine kids, and she has been through a lot of things,” Lewis says. “Somehow, some way, she still manages to be a mom — even if not right away, she still manages.” Her mother has worked as the first cook for the See SGA, page 5

‘Thank a Donor Day’ festivities to begin at 11 a.m., today

Deaf Comedian to Perform at Lamar, Sept. 27 LANE FORTENBERRY UP CONTRIBUTOR

UP Lainie Harris

Student Government Association President Sabrina Lewis and her brother, freshman Chris Lewis, walk across the bridge at the John Gray Center, Sept. 15. When she is not serving the students of Lamar, she relaxes by spending time with her dogs, King Jay Jay and Precious.

Deaf comedian C.J. Jones has performed on thousands of stages across the world. And now he’s adding Lamar to his list. Jones will perform in the Science Auditorium at 7 p.m., Sept. 27. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public. “The story of how I became deaf is a story I share on stage,” he said in a video relay service interview. “I don’t want to spoil it for the people who are attending my performance because it’s all part of the act.” Jones love for acting and performing came to him at a young age, he said. “I started acting at 5-years-old,” he said. “I used to watch my brother act and it was pretty inspiring. When I was born I always loved being on stage. It’s my passion. I absolutely love making people laugh.” He attended Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated with a business degree. However, he decided to take a different career path. “I don’t really enjoy working 8-5 shifts,” he said, laughing. “The real reason I didn’t fully purSee COMEDIAN, page 8

Homecoming planning underway for Nov. 1 CAROLYN KONDOS UP CONTRIBUTOR This year’s Lamar University Homecoming theme is “Rise of the Red.” The event begins Oct. 27 and ends with the football game against Houston Baptist, Nov. 1. The week leading up to the game will feature a variety of events under the title, “Nightmare on Red Street.” “Everyone on campus is really enthusiastic about this project and has gotten on board to help,” Courtney Horton, assistant to LU

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President Evans, said. Horton is helping organize the Homecoming parade. “When our committee began making plans, we were a bit nervous about getting enough students involved to have a quality parade,” she said. “The tremendous response was far more than we dared to hope for and we are thrilled.” When President Kenneth Evans joined the university in July 2013, he decided it was time to resurrect the parade. “When I arrived, I asked about the traditions of Lamar,” Evans said, adding that he was

told of the Homecoming parade, and how much fun the event used to be. Nearly 40 student organizations have committed to building floats for the parade, Horton said. The Signing Cardinals won a drawing for $250 toward their Homecoming float budget. “This is the student organizations’ opportunity to put their best foot forward to communicate to the Lamar community, and the Southeast Texas community — what they are

www.lamaruniversitypress.com

See HOMECOMING, page 2

LU’s 1963 Homecoming Parade went through downtown.

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