University Press Sept. 20, 2018

UNIVERSITY PRESS

The Newspaper of Lamar University

Vol. 95, No. 3 September 20, 2018

Homecoming set for big finish Parade to highlight weekend activities Rachel Hellums UP contributor

Lamar is halfway through Homecoming week and there are still plenty of opportunities to join in the festivities.

“We’ve had such a good turn out with the students so far — students are excited and engaged,” Brandie Van Zanden, associate director of student involvement and programming, said. “I’m just looking forward to the rest of the week and coming out to the football game on Saturday.”

Van Zanden said that more than 1,000 students have partic-

UP photo by Vy Nguyen

The Cardinal band, dance team and Big Red entertained onlookers during the Homecoming Week kickoff, Monday, in the Quad.

ipated in events over the course of the week.

There were tie-dye shirts at the Block Party and Headphone Disco on Monday, DIY Alphabet Name Signs and Laser Tag on Tuesday, Hump Day with the Greeks and Late Night Breakfast on Wednesday.

“We want to make sure there’s a little bit for everybody,” Van Zanden said. “We have those very active students like at Headphone Disco and then we have the students who are more chill and crafty — we try to make Homecoming appeal to every student.”

Today, Homecoming T-shirts will and other Homecoming swag be given away free to students with ID from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Student Organization Annex Lawn, A comedy show featuring surprise special guests will be held See HOMECOMING, page 2

Music of Words

Arcadia offers community renewable energy opportunity

New library dean Almquist forgoes violin for career among stacks

Eleanor Skelton UP contributor

Mandy Forsythe UP contributor

With all the talk of climate change in the news, many people are turning to alternative “green” energy sources.

Arcadia Power aims to connect people with renewable energy sources for those passionate about green energy by acting as an intermediary between customers and energy providers.

Customers pay Arcadia, who in turn pays the utility company, keeping consumer’s electric bills the same, while ensuring that some or all of their usage is powered by wind. This model creates a way to power a home with green energy besides attaching a solar panel to the roof or putting a wind mill in the yard.

“It’s our ultimate goal to make investing in green energy as affordable as possible,” Natalie Rizk, Arcadia Power public relations manager, said. “We want to make sure that everybody (can participate) — not just the Googles and the Amazons of the world, even renters.”

The company offers a number of options on their website, in-

When he began college at the University of North Texas, Arne John Almquist wanted to be a violinist.

“I have three degrees in music,” he said. “My wife was my accompanist in college — she was going to be a music historian. She’s actually the one who went into libraries first.”

Almquist, the new dean of LU’s Gray Library, took a job as a student worker in the UNT library.

“I was doing a doctorate in music and decided I don’t want to do the doctorate in music,” he said. “So, I became a staff member, and then gradually moved up the ladder, got the degree, and so on and so forth.”

A native of Buffalo, New York, Almquist most recently worked at Northern Kentucky University, where he established what he calls a 21st-century library.

“What that entails is providing the greatest breadth of information in a way that is as transparent and seamless to the user as possible — realizing that we cannot build truly comprehensive liUP photo by Noah Dawlearn

See ALMQUIST, page 5

Arne John Almquist browses the Gray Library stacks. Almquist joined the LU library as dean this fall.

See ENERGY, page 4

25 3 10.2

Examining escalating China, US tariff dispute Olivia Malick UP managing editor

China and the United States are at war — a trade war. And the main weapon? Tariffs.

This week, Donald Trump announced a new round of $200 billion in import tariffs on Chinese goods, and China has promised to retaliate with a further $60 billion in tariffs on U.S. imports. How do tariffs work and what does this all mean for the average American consumer?

Hiroki Watanabe, Lamar University assistant professor of economics, said the economy has a natural tendency to let whomever can produce goods and services most cost effectively to actually

By the Numbers UP graphic by Olivia Malick.

produce them. As an example, Watanabe compared himself to the EDM musician Zedd.

“Let’s say I can write a paper in one month and a song in two

www.facebook.com/UPLamar

Percentage of tariffs imposed

by U.S. on Chinese steel Percentage of steel imported

by U.S. from Chinese

Percentage that all steel imports dropped following imposition of tariffs on China

months,” Watanabe said. “Zedd, on the other hand, can write a paper in one month and a song in one month as well. It looks like it makes no difference whether I or

Source: Forbes

Zedd writes a paper. We both take a month to write one. However, I should be, and will be, the one writing a paper because I have a comparative advantage in

www.lamaruniversitypress.com

writing papers.

“Consider how many songs we have to sacrifice to write a paper.

It takes me a month to write a paper, and with that time I could have completed just half a song.

On the other hand, Zedd will have to sacrifice as many as one whole song to write a paper. The number of songs that you have to forgo is called the ‘opportunity cost of a paper,’ and this is the only cost concept we use in economics.

“In this case, Zedd is less cost effective in paper writing than I am because his cost of production is one whole song rather than mine — I can get away with just See TARIFFS, page 4

www.twitter.com/UPLamar

QUOTE OF THE DAY

INSIDE

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

Thursday, September 20, 2018 University Press Page 2

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

HOMECOMING from page 1 tonight in the Montagne Center at 7:30 p.m.

The Homecoming Pep Rally and lighting of the bonfire is set for 6:30 p.m., Friday, at Spindletop Field. The Homecoming Court will be announced at the event.

A full day of activities for both Lamar students and alumni is on the slate for Saturday.

From noon to 5 p.m., visitors can tour the Dishman Art Museum with the director, Dennis Kiel. The exhibition “Mum,”

by Nancy Newberry, is on display.

“I had an opportunity to see it a while back and it got written up in the New York Times and Houston Photo Fest,” Kiel said, “I saw how she approached the mum phenomenon — she’s photographed them in her own way based on her own memories, but also the way

Tells Boyde, Houston freshman, left, and Adonnis Robinson, Houston freshman, play at the Big Red Chair photo event during the Homecoming kickoff, Monday, in the Quad.

UP photo

by Vy Nguyen

she has composed the imagery and positions is quirky — which I was immediately drawn to.”

Also on display will be Lamar study abroad student’s “Drawings of Japan.”

“Christopher Troutman, the drawing teacher, took 10 students to Japan as a part of study abroad and they went to various schools while they were there,” Kiel said.

Visitors will have an opportunity to create their own mum as an art activity with Joanna Hyatt from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., as well as listen to live music in the gallery of the Dishman Art Museum.

The Homecoming parade will start at 2 p.m. at West Lavaca St. and there will be a contest for the most creative float.

From noon to 5 p.m., there will be Big Red’s Ride Classic Antique Car Show at

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum.

“Last year we were planning for 2025 cars and we had over 50, so it was very successful,” Troy Gray, museum director, said. “When I came (to the museum) it was my mission to get more involved with the university. So the car show just really accelerates that mission we have to be connected with Lamar events.”

The Spindletop gusher will be set off at 4 p.m.

The week’s events end with Lamar’s game against Southeastern Louisiana University at 6 p.m. at Provost Umphrey Stadium. Tailgating starts in the Montagne Center parking lot at 3 p.m.

For more information on Homecoming events, visit lamar.edu/homecoming.

Upcoming Homecoming Calendar Thursday, September 20 Homecoming Spirit bootH 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Student Org Annex Lawn Homecoming comedy SHow 7:30 p.m.

Montagne Center Friday September 21 Homecoming pep rally & bonfire 6:30 p.m.

Spindletop Field Saturday, September 22 Second annual car SHow 11 a.m.

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum Homecoming art extravaganza 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Dishman Art Museum Homecoming parade 2 p.m. create your own mum 2:30 p.m.

Dishman Art Museum tailgating 3 p.m.

Montagne Center Parking Lot Homecoming game – lu vS. SoutHeaStern louiSiana 6 p.m.

Provost Umphrey Stadium

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.

CALENDAR

Sept. 21

Presentation: “Hidden Figures: the Mathematics of Katherine Johnson and Rudy Horne” Lucas Engineering 119 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Sept. 21

LU Soccer vs. Central Arkansas LU Soccer Complex 7 p.m.

Sept. 22

Drawing in Japan Dishman Art Museum, second floor gallery 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sept. 23

LU Soccer vs. Northwestern State LU Soccer Complex 1 p.m.

Sept. 24

REDtalks presents: Privilege and Diversity Gray Library, 6th floor 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Sept. 25

LU Volleyball vs. Incarnate Word McDonald Gym 7 p.m.

Sept. 26

Volunteer Fair Live Oak Ballroom, Setzer Student Center 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

3

FEATURE

UNIVERSITY PRESS Thursday, September 20, 2018

Gardens In Bloom Shangri La re-opens one year after Harvey Cassandra Jenkins UP editor

UP photos by Cassandra Jenkins

ORANGE — Imagine being washed away by one hurricane. Now, imagine that times three. The Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center of Southeast Texas has survived its third hurricane in little more than a decade.

Persevering through both Hurricane Rita and, later, Hurricane Ike, the employees of the botanical garden thought they had seen the worst. That was, of course, before Hurricane Harvey pummeled through the Southeast Texas region, flooding homes, schools, buildings and, once again, the gardens.

After more than a year, the doors of the Shangri La gardens were finally reopened, Sept. 12, although the repairs are far from complete. Marlene Cox, head of guest services and events coordinator, said that while the gardens remained mainly untouched by Harvey, the buildings and surrounding areas took a heavy toll.

“The gardens are beautiful,” she said.

“They weren’t damaged in the flood, but all of our buildings were. We’re not back in our buildings yet. We are hoping this week our furnisher will come in and then we’ll be able to get our school program started for the first week of October.”

Along with the employee’s main office, Shangri La’s Exhibition Hall and Discovery Theater were also damaged.

Cox said they are hoping to have the buildings restored by the end of the year.

“When you normally come in before a visit, you go through the exhibit hall and it shows you the history of Shangri La,” she said. “There’s a short film to watch, that really is a great film. Then, you go out and tour the gardens.”

Cox said the gardens’ outpost tours, which included riding on a pontoon boat around the grounds, won’t be set to open until the spring, as the boats and piers were damaged.

Despite the hardships that have been thrown at them, Cox said she’s excited to be able to re-open and offer some of the annual events just in time for the holidays. Some of the upcoming events include the Scarecrow Festival and Christmas Strolls. “(The Scarecrow Festival) is where all the organizations, families and churches build scarecrows,” she said. “We have groups come from Harris County to come out and see the fall colors and all the scarecrows. We get some realistic looking ones and then we get some crazy ones that have an interesting spin on them. The event is free for everyone.

“The Christmas Strolls are also free this year, so everyone can come out and enjoy them. During the Christmas Strolls, we collect food for Orange Christian Services, the local food pantry.

We’re hoping to make this one of our biggest food drives this year.”

Cox said she is happy the gardens are up and running after so long and hopes everyone will come out and explore the gardens and participate in the local events.

“We’ve been focused on trying to get the buildings repaired and we’ve still got some work to do, but the gardens are in great shape and we just wanted to try and get them open, so people can come out and enjoy it.”

Shangri La is located at 2111 W. Park Ave. in Orange. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Mondays and Sundays.

For more information, visit starkculturalvenues.com or call 670-9113.

The entrance to the Here We Grow! Children’s Garden, above left, features two figures made entirely of pots, plants and rubber boots. The Children’s Garden features several interactive programs for kids. Appropriately named for its bright yellow, pink and green flowers and foliage, the ‘Color Wheel of Flowers,’ above, can be found in the center of the gardens with an assortment of lively plants.

Wildlife Curator, Robert Morgan, above, shows a young girl a snake during the Up Close with Nature program. Morgan catches critters found in the garden for the live display and releases them back into their habitat later in the day. The Exhibit Hall and Discovery Theater, left, were both damaged during Hurricane Harvey and are still being repaired. The gardens also feature their own greenhouses, above right.

Page 4

ENERGY

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

from page 1

cluding a free plan that guarantees 50 percent of a dwelling’s electricity will be sourced by wind power at no additional cost without changing the existing electric company. A premium plan charges by kilowatt hour to replace 100 percent of your energy with wind power. Neither plan has any commitment or cancellation fees.

Someone who used 500 kWh in January would have 250 kWh of wind power added to the grid with the free plan, and 500 kWh added under the premium plan, Kiran Bhatraju, Arcadia Power CEO, said in an email statement.

“I’m a big fan of the program,” Alicen Flosi, director of the Lamar Office of Sustainability, said. “It’s a good idea, because then you don’t have to put in solar panels and if you move you can take it with you.”

Flosi said she signed up for the plan that covers 100 percent of the energy in her home.

“I pay a little more, but to me it’s worth it to use renewable energy,” she said.

Arcadia Power also offers a solar community allowing customers to purchase a share of a community-owned solar panel and save on the monthly bill for renters in homes and apartments that couldn’t normally use solar power and energy efficiency products like Nest thermostats and LED lighting.

All electricity is essentially the same once it enters the power grid, like a cup of water looks the same as other water when dumped into a river, Arcadia’s website states.

Arcadia monitors local energy markets to find lower energy rates and notify customers with email alerts, Rizk said.

When customers sign up online, they receive monthly statements by email. The company auto-drafts the payment three days later and sends the funds to the utility company. Arcadia ad-

TARIFFS

vises customers to pay any outstanding balances and cancel automatic billing with their utility company before activating the service. Customers’ energy usage and how much is replaced by renewable sources is available in their online account.

The power going in and out of the grid is the same, Rizk said.

“It’s just electrons,” she said.

Flosi said that while she has the 100-percent plan, she understands that college students may want to go with the free option.

“As long as people are doing something, that’s great,” she said.

“Maybe this is an option so that we’re using renewable energy. I think it’s great for college students, renters and apartment people.”

A Renewable Energy Certificate is created every time one Graphic courtesy of Arcadia Power megawatt hour of renewable en- Customers pay Arcadia, who in turn pays the utility company, keeping consumer’s electric bills the same, while ensuring ergy is generated, according to that some or all of their usage is powered by wind.

Arcadia’s website, and are also varied, but include about 2 mil- our customers,” she said. “Enused by government officials to the utility bill.” lion megawatt hours of renew- tergy is a leader in clean generaAEP Swepco and Entergy track renewable energy. able energy, Kirschvink said. The tion. More than half of the energy Texas service most utility cusRECs can be purchased by incompany’s renewable sources are we supply to meet utility demand tomers in Southeast Texas and all dividuals, but Arcadia purchases hydro, solar, biomass, landfill comes from efficient natural gasof those customers qualify for them for customers to save them gas, waste heat recovery and fired generation and clean nufree and premium wind plans, the hassle, Rizk said. wind renewable energy credits, clear generation.”

Bhatraju said.

Arcadia Power “It’s a shared-savings model, which represent about 2 percent Entergy Texas provides eleccurrently has members in 24 so we are able to share in the savof generation sources used to tricity to about 450,000 cusTexas metro areas. ings that we provide for our meet utility demand in 2017. tomers in 27 counties and owns Arcadia works directly with members,” she said.

“While still a small portion of and operates power plants with wind projects, including several Arcadia Power is based out of our utility generation, technologabout 30,000 megawatts of genin Texas — Panther Creek Wind Washington, D.C. and includes ical advances are making renewerating capacity, including nearly Farm, Papalote Wind Farm, Pemore than 175,000 members able energy as well as certain 9,000 megawatts of nuclear nascal II and Pyron Wind Farm. from all 50 states, Bhatraju said.

Entergy Texas has received distributed energy resources in- power.

The company, founded in 2014, several customer inquiries creasingly cost-competitive,” she “There’s all types of technolois BBB accredited. through social media about Arca- said. gies out there and it’s getting There’s a small subset of peodia Power, Kacee Kirschvink, EnThe Houston market is deregcheaper as technology prople who only qualify for premium tergy communication specialist, ulated, meaning that customers gresses,” she said. “The whole inmembership, Rizk said, but Arcasaid. can choose which utility com- dustry is changing — it’s an dia tries to make their services as Energy companies produce or pany to sign up with, but Beau- interesting time to be part of the free and affordable for everyone buy power on the market for their mont is in a regulated market electric utility industry.” as possible. customers, she said. Entergy has since the rates are set by the PubThe idea behind sustainability According to the most recent a net metering policy for renew- lic Utility Commission, is reduce, reuse and recycle, Flosi reports from Arcadia Power, able energy sources, including Kirschvink said. said. their members have generated solar and wind power.

“We understand that some “Try not to use as much enmore than 300 gigawatt hours of “The Public Utility Commis- customers like to have renewable ergy,” she said. “Whatever energy clean energy and have averted sion of Texas sets the rate we pay energy as an option for their elec- you use, try to use renewable.” more than 250,000 tons of CO2 customers for renewable power,” tric generation, and we continue For more information on emissions to date. The company she said. to look at ways to provide clean, green energy, visit arcadibrands itself as, “The new face of Entergy’s power sources are affordable and reliable energy for apower.com and entergy.com.

from page 1

half a song of sacrifice to write a paper.”

Watanabe said that whomever has the lower opportunity cost has the comparative advantage.

However, tariffs interrupt this process and create artificially high costs, he said.

“Suppose the government of my country decided to impose a tariff on Zedd’s song, to protect my songwriting ego,” he said.

“With the tariffs, Zedd’s songs’ price will become artificially high to the point where it goes above my songs’ price.”

Tariffs disrupt the free market and create unnecessary production, Watanabe said. “(The tariff) sends out a wrong message to the world, and I start spending my time writing songs because, although I suck at songwriting, I can still beat Zedd’s price thanks to the tariff — at the expense of as many as two papers per song,” he said. “Zedd can do it by giving up just one paper. As the tariff distorts the free market, both I and Zedd start to produce things that we do not have a comparative advantage in.”

Watanabe said eventually the price of the songs from Zedd would become so expensive that people who were willing to buy those songs will no longer be able to afford them.

“Zedd used to be able to sell his songs and earn some profit, which makes him happy, and the buyers used to be happy because they could buy what they wanted for the price lower than what they were ready to pay,” he said. “All the happiness is now gone because of the tariff. In economics, this reduction is called a ‘deadweight loss’ — neither Zedd nor potential buyers will win in this otherwise mutually beneficial situation. “’Deadweight loss’ is any economist’s nightmare

and we work very hard to find a way to eliminate it.

In this case, the solution is pretty simple — drop the tariff.”

Watanabe said America needs to be producing whatever it has a comparative advantage in, instead of products like steel, for example, because there are countries that can produce steel more efficiently than the U.S. “The current tariffs seem to be based on the alleged unfair trade tactics by our trading partners and protectionism for our domestic industries,” he said. “If one country is subsidizing materials needed for production, then I am getting those materials at a discount because the other country’s taxpayers are paying for my cheap materials. If this is for protectionism, I may secure an industry like steel instead of where my comparative advantage lies, but my people will have to pay an unnecessarily high price for steel and we will see some deadweight loss.”

Kelly Weeks, LU professor of management and marketing, said that when the playing field of the world trade market is imbalanced, tariffs are imposed in order to balance it, but it doesn’t always solve the problem at hand.

“The country that has the tariff imposed on them retaliates and then imposes their own tariffs,” he said. “For instance — China. Trump imposed a 25 percent steel tariff on them and then they imposed tariffs on the U.S. “The playing field keeps shifting and then there’s a domino effect, and it continues to shift which makes the situation more complicated. Trump’s idea behind imposing those tariffs was to level the imbalance in order to try and fix or help our trade deficit.”

Weeks said that the tariffs Trump imposed on

China are having a positive effect on the economy so far.

“There’s a lot of indicators you can use to measure how an economy is doing compared to the past,” he said. “One of those is unemployment rates. Right now, I think it’s the lowest it’s been since 2000, it’s somewhere around 3.8 percent.

“You can use the gross domestic product. I believe at the end of President Barack Obama’s second term the GDP was around 1.8 percent and right now GDP is 4.2 percent, so we can see GDP has more than doubled since Trump took over. We can see what the stock market has done since President Trump took over so I think (the tariffs) are already having an impact and, according to the data, it’s a very positive impact.

“I think what a lot of people need to do is kind of put aside their personal feelings — we all have personal feelings for this or that kind of candidate — we need to put that aside and just look at the facts.”

Watanabe said that the trade war with China is a lot like the Smoot-Hawley tariff act of 1930. “(That tariff) greatly exacerbated the Great Depression,” he said.

The Smoot-Hawley tariff act implemented protectionist trade policies and resulted in raised tariffs on more than 20,000 U.S. goods. The retaliation of the tariff act by America’s trading partners reduced U.S. imports and exports by more than half during the Great Depression.

However, Weeks said the overall economic impact of the current situation is hard to say.

“I don’t think it would ever get to the point of a full-blown trade war because we need China and China needs us,” he said.

UNIVERSITY PRESS • Thursday, September 20, 2018

ALMQUIST

Page 5

from page 1

braries,” he said. “There is a lot of information out there that people don’t have access to, or it’s hard to get access to it. In a 21st-century library, what we do is we combine the collections that we have here in the building, those things that we buy electronically that you have access to, and everything else in the world.”

The goal, Almquist said, is more than just getting information to the student as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is also about helping students to become more effective at doing research.

“It’s not just that we’re a great big box of books,” he said.

“It is that we have people who can help you to navigate information much better.”

Almquist said his greatest accomplishment is a degree program that the NKU library faculty taught. The program was entirely online and composed of students from 15 different states. It conducted million-dollar research projects across Kentucky and neighboring West Virginia to improve the libraries of rural communities. “(In) a lot of counties, the people who worked at the libraries didn’t have degrees,” he said. “There was a required certificate that they would get — it was 18 credit hours worth of course work. They all had to have it, legally, but in a lot of smaller, poorer, remote counties, you couldn’t bring in a degreed librarian.

“We led an effort partnering with a community college and a state library, and went into the poorest, rural counties in Kentucky and worked to strengthen the libraries by using our degree program to teach the people who worked there how to be better library employees — we gave them skills, we gave them a better perspective, more knowledge and travel grants.”

Almquist also built an archive to house rare, historic,

UP photo by Mandy Forsythe

Arne John Almquist is the new dean of Gray Library. important collections from donors’ contributions.

“Special collections give the students a chance, when they’re studying a particular period in history, of actually touching materials — things that came from that time — which can help them to build a stronger understanding with those earlier periods,” he said.

Almquist said one of his goals is to build on Gray Library’s information literacy program.

“We’re looking for new ideas — how we can make that better, how we can teach people better, how to use information resources,” he said. “In terms of getting information, we’re looking at new ways to make it easier

7 n o ral 7

u m a r Int otball

to get more complete information and access to our resources.”

Almquist said he came to Lamar because he saw a lot of potential here, and because of his love of the campus and city.

“It is a fantastic place,” he said. “It is a place that is dynamic, and I think it is growing.

It has a great future ahead of it.

There are people here who want to do new, fantastic things. I love this place.”

Almquist said that he lives by a quote from author Alan Cohen, “It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer

Fall 2018

meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change, there is power.”

“Change is something that is constant,” Almquist said. “We try to grab onto the things that we’ve done over and over again, and we feel like that’s comfortable, that’s going to be safe. Because change always happens, if we try to stay where we are, we are going to be in a worse position.

“Being innovative, learning new skills, embracing change, and continuing to grow is going to be the safest way, and the way you will probably be the most successful in life.”

“In a 21st-century library,…we combine the collections that we have here in the building, those things that we buy electronically…and everything else in the world.”

Arne John Almquist

SUMMER 2019 STUDY ABROAD

Flag Fo

e u d s e i r t n e

Travel WRITING Comm 4396

28 r e b m e t p e S

PHOTOJOURNALISM Comm 3381

BRIGHTON, ENGL AND

e t a D t Star ber 8 Octo

g n i t e e M s e l u R @1pm

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All rules meetings will be in the McDonald Gym Rm 117 ALL INTRAMURAL SPORTS ARE FREE! All currently enrolled Fall 2018 LU & LIT students/faculty/staff are eligible to compete in all leagues. For more information sign up online for each sport with imleagues.com OR e-mail us at intramurals@lamar..edu or visit us at Lamar.edu/intramurals lamar.intramurals

luintramurals

luintramurals

JUne 2019 informa attion meeting Join us to find out all about this study abroad trip to one of England’s most historic and cultural cities.

From its beginnings as a Roman fishing village to a Regency hotspot, to being one of England’s most diverse, progressive and eclectic cities, Brighton and its surrounds has plenty to interest any major.

PURSUANT TO SECTION 30.06, PENAL CODE (TRESPA ASS BY LICENSE HOLDER WITH A CONCEALED HANDGUN), A PERSON LICENSED UNDER SUBCHAPTER H, CHAPTER 411, GOVERNMENT CODE (HANDGUN LICENSING LAW), MAY NOT ENTER THIS PROPERTY WITH A CONCEALED HANDGUN. CONFORME A LA SECCIÓN 30.06 DEL CÔDIGO PENAL (TRASPA ASAR PORTANDO ARMAS DE FUEGO) PERSONAS CON LICENCIA BAJO DEL SUB-CAPITULO H, CAPITULO 411, CODIGO DE GOBIERNO (LEY DE PORTAR ARMAS), NO DEBEN ENTRAR A ESTA PROPIEDAD PORTANDO UN ARMA DE FUEGO.

For more information, contact ahcoughlan@lamar.edu or the Study Abroad office

Page 6

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

7

SPORTS

UNIVERSITY PRESS Thursday, September 20, 2018

LASTING LEGACY LU alumnus celebrates 20 years as head track coach Mandy Forsythe UP contributor

Since 1988, Trey Clark has been going the distance for Lamar University.

After five years as a student athlete, five years as an assistant coach, and 20 years as head coach of the Lamar University track and field team, Clark is the longest tenured coach in the athletic department, as well as the longest head coach in the Southland Conference.

“There’s a lot of pride in being a part of the growth of the community and the university — to be able to walk around a go, ‘You know, I remember when that wasn’t there, and other things were in its place’ — to see other colleagues of mine that have gone on to be successful and have those relationships,” Clark said. “And really, at the end of the day, I think, for me, being a member of this community has always been about the relationships you have with other staff — Lamar has always been a family.”

Clark had originally wanted to be an accountant in college, but a life devoted to sports quickly prompted him to switch to kinesiology, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s from Lamar University.

“I thought, ‘You know, I really don’t want to sit behind a desk all day,’ because my life essentially to that point had been in athletics,” he said. “I decided then that I wanted to be a coach. Little did I know you have to sit behind a desk and do paperwork as a coach as well.”

Clark’s athletic career began in high school, where he played many sports including track, although running track in college was not his original plan.

“Growing up I would have told you I would be a college baseball player, but that wasn’t the path that I was supposed to go down,” he said. “At this point, yes, track and field is my favorite, but I am definitely a fan of all of the sports. I love football, basketball, baseball — you name it, if there’s a competition going on, I’m all in.”

Although his high school athletic career encompassed a variety of sports, when Clark went to college he had to specialize, like most college athletes do, in a single sport.

“I was strictly a track-and-field guy,” he said. “I ran the 400-meter hurdles, the 4x4 100-meter relay, and the 800 meters indoors.”

Now, as the head track and field coach, Clark has many advantages, including the opportunity to see new student athletes progress.

“The opportunity to train and work with student athletes day-in and day-out — it keeps me young,” he said. “I had coaches

UP photo by Mandy Forsythe

LU head track coach, Trey Clark, has been at Lamar for 30 years. He spent the first five as a student, the next five as an assistant coach and the last 20 years as head coach. Over the past 19 years, the track and field program has won 16 championships in his time as head coach. who invested in me and gave me everything they had to become successful.”

Like all jobs, however, being a coach has its fair share of cons, Clark said.

“Our life is a life where we make a lot of sacrifices for our families, and our families make a lot of sacrifices for us,” he said.

“There’s weekends where I don’t get to see my kids because we’re traveling and on the road. My family has to make sacrifices for me to be able to do this, and I am very appreciative of those sacrifices they make for me.”

In his time as coach, Clark’s teams have won many championships, an achievement he highly values.

“Over the past 19 years, we’ve won 16 championships,” he said. “That’s one of our greatest accomplishments.”

In addition to his teams’ championships, Clark has many other accomplishments as well.

“I have coached a young lady who went to the Olympics in 2000 — I thought that was pretty special,” he said. “We’ve had several All-Americans, and those are great accomplishments.

“But I think really, at the end of the day, to see former athletes who are high school coaches, teachers and professionals — to see their lives years later — really, that is probably the ultimate accomplishment.”

Clark has many former students, as well

as a former teammate, who have followed in his footsteps.

“I have one former student athlete who is the associate women’s head coach at the University of Arkansas in track and field, and I have another former student athlete who is the women’s cross-country coach at the University of Wyoming,” he said. “Then there’s a teammate of mine who’s actually the head track and field coach at Sam Houston State University.”

This season, Clark said he is optimistic about his team and what they will be able to accomplish. There are many returning members, such as Jamie Crow, winner of the Southland Conference individual cross-country title, Migle Muraskaite, who placed 34th in the nation in the heptathlon, and Thai Williams, who has gone to national meet for the past three years, who Clark said he believes will all show great promise. There are also new student athletes who show a lot of potential.

“We think we’ve got a great freshman class and we look to them to really be successful,” he said.

Being a coach at his alma mater has been a great experience, Clark said.

“It’s more than just a job, it’s something I’m very proud of — to not only be an employee but to be a graduate at the university,” he said. “It means more than just stepping out there and doing a job. For me,

A picture of Trey Clark, 1989, as a student at LU. it’s a lot of fun to still be able to represent the university that has, quite frankly, seen me grow up from a young man to the longest tenured coach in the department.”

The Cardinals’ first cross-country meet will be at Texas A&M, Sept. 22, and the first track meet will be at Texas A&M on Jan. 11.

For more information visit lamarcardinals.com.

Cards lose heartbreaking SLC opener to NSU, 49-48 Cade Smith UP staff writer

UP photo by Abigail Pennington

LU’s Darrel Colbert Jr., 7, looks downfield for a pass during the 49-48 game against NorthWestern State University at Provost Umphrey Stadium, Saturday.

The Lamar football team opened up Southland Conference play with a 49-48 loss to the Northwestern State University Demons, Saturday, at Provost Umphrey Stadium.

“Needless to say, we have a disappointed locker room,” LU head coach Mike Schultz said.

“I’m proud of our guys. I thought they fought hard tonight on both sides of the ball.”

The Demons scored fewer than five minutes into the game with a 85-yard drive. The Demons would continue to run up the score with a 38-yard pass from quarterback Shelton Eppler to junior wide receiver Quan Shorts to end the first quarter, 14-0.

In the second quarter, the Demons would tack on another 14 unanswered points before the Cardinals responded with a 3-yard run from quarterback Darrel Colbert. The Cardinals ended the half with a 25-yard pass from Colbert to senior wide receiver Dorian Gaston to trail 28-14.

“We started off slow offensively,” Schultz said. “We’ve got to get cranked up a little bit quicker, but I’m proud of how they fought back. Once the offense got going they did an incredible job.”

The Cardinals kept the momentum going opening the second half. The Cardinal of-

fense later scored in a 57-second drive that resulted in quarterback Colbert hitting junior receiver Jawun Ruffin from 45-yards out.

The Cardinal defense then held NSU to force a three-andout. The Cardinal offense returned and Colbert targeted Gaston with a 43-yard pass to even the score. Northwestern State quickly answered back with another touchdown to end the third quarter up 35-28.

“I was talking to a couple of my teammates during the game and (Zae) Giles told me that the game would come to me,” Gaston said. “When the ball is in the air, you’ve got to take the chance to make plays and that is what I did.”

NSU kept the lead until Colbert called his own number with 13:03 left, taking the ball in from three yards to tie it up.

NSU answered the Cardinal score in only nine seconds, with a 70-yard pass from Eppler to junior wide receiver Jazz Ferguson. NSU would return with the duo of Eppler and Ferguson to score again less than four minutes later to make the score 49-35. “(Ferguson) is an outstanding player,” Schultz said. “He’s as good as any player we’ve played this year. I think that he made the difference in the game for them.”

The Cardinals, however, refused to quit, scoring a touchdown and PAT, to bring the game to within a touchdown.

The Lamar defense stepped up and forced the Demons to punt with five minutes in the game. Lamar quickly drove down the field and when Colbert threw a 37-yard pass to Gaston, the Cardinals were in position to tie the game. However, NSU’s O’Shea Jackson blocked Elvin Martinez’s attempt at the extra point and LU came up agonizingly short.

Colbert completed 15 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns, rushed for 137 yards and had three scores. The LU offense recorded 493 total yards with 230 yards rushing.

NSU had 562 total yards.

“I trust all of my receivers because I know they can make plays,” Colbert said. “Coach told us that if we run the ball well we can get the vertical shots downfield. We just have to maximize our opportunities.”

The Cardinal defense was led by senior back Davon Jernigan with 13 tackles and three pass breakups, senior linebacker Chaston Brooks with nine tackles, and junior defensive end Daniel Crosley with six stops, including two for losses and a sack.

The Cardinals will look to redeem themselves as they return to action to take on Southeastern Louisiana in a Southland Conference matchup, Saturday. The game marks the culmination of Lamar’s Homecoming festivities.

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Thursday, September 20, 2018 • UNIVERSITY PRESS

BCP’s ‘Kiss me, Kate’ is heartwarming fun REVIEW Valarie Flores UP contributor

Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi used to be in love — “used to” being the operative phrase. Now divorced, actors Fred and Lilli are playing Petruchio and Katherine in a production of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” Fred has his eye on starlet Lois Lane, while trying to keep Lilli from abandoning the show. Oh yeah, there’s a couple of gangsters keeping an eye on the whole thing to protect their investment.

It will come as no surprise that mayhem ensues in Beaumont Community Players production of “Kiss Me, Kate” — and the whole thing is great fun.

The musical, with book by Samuel and Bella Spewack and music by Cole Porter, scored plenty of laughs from the open-

ing-night crowd, Friday, with audience members engaged from beginning to end.

The acting was excellent and the comedy was snappy. The singing was phenomenal, with everyone holding their own in an impressive ensemble and each duo having great chemistry.

Dalton Wood plays a strong Fred, whose in-charge voice had such power, that there was a genuine sense of fear when, as Petruchio, his anger erupts at Kate.

Watching his character development from a know-it-all boss who yearns for Lois, a sweet and bold lover, played by a charismatic and confident Leslie Hicks, while still having desire for his ex-wife and leading lady, Lilli, an impulsive, aggressive, and emotionally-charged woman, played by the amazing Victoria LeBlanc, is the heart of the story.

Hicks and LeBlanc are powerful in contrasting ways. Both

confident and talented, their songs were executed with passion.

Almost stealing the show are the two gangsters. Patrick Anderson and Joe Fontana hit the lines perfectly, leaving the audience with aching stomachs from laughing so hard. The famous number, “Brush up your Shakespeare” was the number I was most excited to see, and they did not disappoint.

The set design was beautifully detailed in “The Taming of the Shrew” scenes. It shows how important every detail was to the production crew members.

Along with set, the costume design was fabulous with each costume unique. As Katherine in “Shrew,” Lilli’s wedding dress stole the show. It sparkled under the stage lights and matched the drama of the scene.

Beaumont Community Players is filled with passionate actors and techies who take time

Photo courtesy of BCP/Pete Churton

Leslie Hicks, left, Dalton Wood and Victoria LeBlanc perform a scene from “Kiss Me, Kate” at Beaumont Community Players.

out of their day to put on an amazing show — and their passion is obvious on stage.

BCP is located at the Betty Greenberg Performing Art Center, 4155 Laurel Ave. Show times are 7:30 p.m.,

Sept. 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, with a 2 p.m. matinee, Sept. 22.

Tickets are $23.00 for adults, $21.00 for students and seniors.

For more information, visit www.beaumontcommunityplay ers.com.

Main Street to present ‘The Book of Will’ Abigail Pennington UP contributor

HOUSTON — If one walks into any bookshop, one is guaranteed to find two books — the Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. However, the latter was never compiled during the Bard’s lifetime, and if not for his friends John Heminges and Henry Condell, the most celebrated playwright in the English language could have been lost to history.

How the collection came together is the subject of Lauren Gunderson’s play, “The Book of Will”, which opens Sept. 22 at Houston’s Main Street Theater.

Director Rebecca Greene Udden said the play highlights the importance of Heminges and Condell’s efforts to provide accurate versions of Shakespeare’s work.

“I think the story is so wonderful — just the thought that there is a possibility we wouldn’t have had Shakespeare,” she said. “It’s a very real possibility that Shake-

speare’s work would only have existed in corrupted versions of the folios that were printed.”

“The Book of Will” is a comedy and is written in contemporary language, Udden said.

“It’s not written in Shakespearian high-blown language, so there’s nothing that will take people a while to get used to,” she said. “It is absolutely accessible to everybody, and I think it will really help illuminate a period of time that people may only know from one point of view, but it’s also very interesting to know how theater was produced back then.

“You’d do one show and then maybe you’d do it again in a week, or maybe it would be two months before you did it again and you had 20 minutes to get ready to go on. You learned your part and just did it. It’s just such a different way of work than we are used to, so I think that’s really fascinating for anybody who really loves the theater.”

Udden said that she hopes those who attend the play will develop a greater appreciation for

“The Book of Will”

Photo Courtesy of Main Street Theater

Shakespeare’s work.

“A lot of people are put off by Shakespeare, but I think it helps to know that he wasn’t rushing his work,” she said. “He wasn’t sitting there thinking, ‘People are going to be studying this in high school 400 years from now.’ He was just writing to entertain and to express himself. I hope that even students who find themselves reluctant to study Shakespeare will understand what an extraordinary tal-

ent he was at the time, and the importance of how lucky we are to still have his work.”

One of the challenges Udden faced during the production is creating scene changes in a theater smaller than other places the play has been produced, she said.

“Playwrights write the plays with a proscenium theatre in mind, so they have quick scene changes where things appear and disappear,” she said. “We don’t

work in that kind of theater, so we had to solve some of the scenic problems in different ways.

“There is sort of a dream sequence in which the bed disappears and, well, there is no place for the bed to disappear to in our theatre, so it’s just out there. In a proscenium theater you have a wagon that comes on and then rolls off, but in our theater, we have to have people come on stage to make the scenic changes, so it takes a few seconds longer and is not as seamless as you would see in a big proscenium theater.”

Main Street Theater was founded in 1975. The theater seats 99. It is located at 2540 Times Boulevard in Houston’s Rice Village.

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students, and $36-$48 for non-students depending on date, section and availability.

All tickets are on sale via phone at 713-524-6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com.