May 5, 2015 Volume 86, Issue 28
’ THE LION S ROAR S O U T H E A S T E R N L O U I S IA NA U N I V E R S I T Y
A Student Publication
Campus Life Page 2
Opinions Page 3
Arts & Entertainment Page 4
Sports Page 6
News Page 8
LionsRoarNews.com
Lion nation aids Nepal after tragedy By Megan Ferrando A&E Editor
Over the April 25 weekend, news reached Southeastern’s campus of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the nation of Nepal. Throughout the tragedy, the Southeastern community has come together not only to aid those across the globe who suffered tremendously, but also to support the over 300 international students who come from Nepal. Word spread quickly that Nepal was in need when current Student Government Association chief of staff and Nepalese native, Suraj Ayer, sent out a plea for aid to Southeastern faculty and students through email. “Nepal does not have enough resources to fight back this sudden emergency situation,” wrote Ayer. “Hence, I want to initiate fundraising within my university to help the needy ones in Nepal. We need your support at this tragic moment.” Many affected in Nepal are in need of food, clean water, sanitation, communication means, electricity and shelter, since many houses have been destroyed. The lack of communication affected many of Southeastern’s students as they struggled to contact their family. “Like every Nepalese at Southeastern, I was utterly shocked and devastated by the news. I tried to call my parents immediately but couldn’t reach them. I felt tremors inside,” said Ayer. According to CNN, the earthquake was the worst natural disaster Nepal has suffered in over 80 years. At this time, more than 7,040 have been reported dead and nearly eight million have been affected in various ways. “[For] most I know here, their family seems to be safe,” said junior physics major and Nepalese native Nisha Lama. “A few have had their relatives die. Some of the people have had their houses completely destroyed.” According to United Nations resident coordinator for Nepal Jamie McGoldrick, bringing in relief materials has proved very
The Lion’s Roar / Megan Ferrando
Since word spread of the massive earthquake in the Gorkha District of Nepal on April 25, international students from Nepal began fund-raising efforts in all academic departments, as well as in the Student Union, Sims Memorial Library and Pennington Student Activity Center. Donations are also being accepted through GoFundMe online. difficult since the international airport is jampacked. The airport has one runway and can only fit limited numbers of aircrafts. Different humanitarian groups are attempting to provide much needed supplies, including the American Red Cross.
According to Lama, the Red Cross is one possible organization they will send all donations to. One of multiple ways funds have been raised is through the GoFundMe page set up by Ayer. In just four days, this page alone has raised over
$4,000. Students have also set up donation boxes in multiple departments and locations around campus including the Student Union,
see NEPAL pg. 7
Senator addresses budget cut Hammond named Cleanest City concerns at Student Town Hall By Sara Patrick Editor in Chief
By Heather Jewell Staff Reporter
The time for parading around with signs saying “save higher education,” “no funds-no future” and “no cuts” has passed. The cutbacks will occur whether students statewide want them to or not. According to Louisiana Senator Elbert Guillory, changes could include the alteration of TOPS eligibility. A cap on TOPS has been passed in the Senate to make the money received based more on a family’s income. Scholarships may be affected by Governor Bobby Jindal’s budget cuts as well, but no official move has been currently made. Faculty salaries will continue to be at risk, educators have been unable to receive raises in eight years and others may be cut from their universities. Last Thursday, Guillory visited
see SENATOR pg. 2
The Lion’s Roar / Megan Ferrando
The Lion’s Roar / Heather Jewell
Senator Elbert Guillory discusses the possibility of alterations to TOPS eligibility and the effects cutbacks to education will have on college students.
see VIVA LA VIDA pg. 4
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The Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. recently named Hammond the 2014 Cleanest City in Division H of Louisiana. In 1959, LGCF was one of the first members of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. to host a “Cleanest City Contest.” This is the ninth time the home of the university has received this honor. “We are honored,” said Pete Panepinto, Hammond mayor. “It takes an incredible team effort all year long of city employees and volunteers to win this award. We have many people dedicated to litter cleanup, environmental education and beautification.” According to the LGCF website, the purpose of the “Cleanest City Contest” is to instill local pride in individual citizens to improve the appearance of towns and cities. Panepinto noted two organizations most dedicated to the beautification of the city: Keep Hammond Beautiful and the Hammond Garden Club.
The Lion’s Roar / Elizabeth Brown
see CARDINALS pg. 6
Weather Tuesday H 83 L 60
These two organizations gave a presentation for America in Bloom during their visit last Thursday and Friday. “The city’s Parks and Grounds Department is dedicated to litter cleanup and beautification efforts each and every day,” said Panepinto. In addition, the university has played a big role in keeping Hammond clean and beautiful. “Many people affiliated with the Physical Plant on campus work every day to ensure Southeastern is litterfree and beautiful by installing new landscapes and preserving the trees,” said Panepinto. “Southeastern students have volunteered for clean-up, the city days organized by Keep Hammond Beautiful and for clean-up activities during the Big Event.” Southeastern’s Big Event is a day where students clean up and offer other services to the community as a thank you for their support of the university. It has helped improve Hammond every spring for five years. Projects students worked on
during the past few years’ Big Events have included painting fences, raking and bagging leaves, picking up trash, washing cars and gardening. “It’s an absolute honor for our efforts to be recognized as a part of this award,” said Zach Whitehead, communication senior and co-head of the Big Event 2015. “The Big Event is held simply to give a big, well-deserved ‘thank you’ to Hammond for loving Southeastern. I feel very humbled that Hammond has won this award, and I am even more humbled to know that I was able to contribute to it.” Panepinto says it is important to educate young people about keeping the environment clean in order to continue winning the honor of Cleanest City. “We have invested more time in educating children about litter, recycling and the overall health of our environment,” said Panepinto. “This education and the incredible number of volunteers to help with cleanup days are critical to our success in the future.”
The Lion’s Roar / Morgan Ledet
see DSA pg. 8
Reminders Wednesday H 84 L 63
Final exams are next week. Seniors should complete all exams by Wednesday. Reschedule with professors if necessary.