May 12, 2015 Volume 86, Issue 29
’ 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
Lions host SLC Championships By Heather Jewell Staff Reporter
Another season has ended for Southeastern’s track and field teams. Following their champion title from last year, the Lions finished third with 119.5 points, and the Lady Lions followed closely at seventh with 48 points. Stephen F. Austin’s men and women’s teams took home the title of Southland Conference Champions. This year, the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held on Southeastern’s campus with over a dozen schools in attendance. Beginning Friday, the meet lasted until Sunday afternoon. Presented by Tangi Tourism, it was the first conference event held at the Southeastern Track and Field Complex. Ninety-two of the Southeastern teams’ combined points were earned between the throwers. Senior Brett Olsen finished first in the men’s discus event; he earned 10 points with a toss of 181 feet, 7.75 inches. Following him in second place was Junior thrower Alex Young with a toss of 176 feet, 1.75 inches, earning him eight points. Young, alongside Lamar senior Sam Stabler, was named Male Co-High Point scorers; both athletes scored a total of 26 points throughout the competition.
Junior Thrower Misha Frazier continued to impress; in the discus event she scored six points for the Lady Lions when she threw 159 feet, three and 3/4 inches. She placed third in the competition. The women’s 4x100 meter relay team, Daijah Washington, Nakiya Smith, Shanetria Thomas and Kaelynn Smith also made it to the podium. With a time of 45.28 seconds, the girls were awarded third place. Sunday, the Lady Lions earned 22 points, the majority of which were due to success in running events. Placing sixth in the 100-meter hurdles was freshman Markeisha Jack, with a 13.98 time, earning 3 points. Sophomore Vanessa Williams came in seventh place in the 400 meters, with a 57.51 time and earning 2 points. In the 100 meters, junior Sharonna Williams placed seventh with a time of 11.80, earning 2 points. For the men, junior Ashley Riley placed fourth in the men’s 400 meters, earning five points with a time of 47.20. The men’s 4x100 relay team made up of Ken Breland, Raheem Brown, Dillon Brumfield and Kadarius Williams, with a combined time of 40.57 seconds, earned four points. Brown also earned his own four points
see TRACK pg. 6
2015 Louisiana Superintendent of the Year to speak at graduation By Emily Stephan Copy Editor
For approximately 1,175 students, a milestone in their personal and academic lives is fast approaching.
Patrice B. Pujol
The Lion’s Roar / Heather Jewell
Junior Gennard Paul competes in the Triple Jump at the Southland Conference Championships. Paul came in third in this competition, helping the men’s track and field team come in third place overall.
Seniors celebrate milestone with rings By Maria Goddard Staff Reporter
The Lion’s Roar / Tamara Alexander
The gold and green of the Southeastern ring possess special meaning. The gold represents value and endurance while the green represents the new life gained after graduation.
Seniors celebrated another milestone as they received custom-made class rings during one of their last gatherings before graduation. The Senior Ring Ceremony was held May 7 at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, and committees from the Alumni Association and Division for Student Affairs sponsored the event. The official ring, crafted by the L.G. Balfour Co., is only offered to alumni and students who are in good standing. Seniors must have at least 75 credit hours complete to receive the honor of representing the traditions and values of the university. Dr. Marvin Yates, vice president of Student Affairs, welcomed and congratulated the seniors called up by Dr. Joe Burns, who served as the emcee. Alexis Quackenbush, SGA president, assisted Yates as he handed the rings to
each senior and took a picture. “I think it is an important event because no matter where you go, when you run into someone who has that ring on, you will have something in common with them,” said Kathy Pittman, director of the Alumni Association. “You will know that they are part of the Southeastern family. The Alumni Association binds all these people together for this tradition that has been going on for nine years. We hope it will go on into perpetuity.” The gold represents value, endurance and education, while the green stone symbolizes new life found after earning a degree. The ‘S’ in the center stands for Southeastern, and the circle around it illustrates friendships and memories that go on forever. “I really enjoyed the ceremony, and it made me value the ring more and understand where it actually comes from,” said Lela Kaufman, senior
see RING pg. 8
Vigil honors Nepalese earthquake victims By Elizabeth Brown Staff Reporter
The Nepalese Student Association, with help from Multicultural and International Affairs, held a candlelight vigil for the nearly 8,000 fallen victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal. On April 28, an earthquake hit Nepal proved the worst disaster the nation has faced in over 80 years. Many areas are in ruins and millions of people need help. “More than 7,000 lost their lives and we wanted to remember those people,” said Binit Sharma Poudel, president of NSAS and Nepalese native. Held Thursday, May 7, Nepalese native and member of NSAS Nibha Manandhar began the vigil with an introduction to the event and a showing of a video about the earthquake’s effects on the people, including over 9,000 people injured, heritage sites destroyed and nine million adult and children in need.
“The point of this video is not to make the event sadder but to share a story,” said Manandhar. Following the video, Dr. Marvin Yates, vice president of student affairs, told the students from Nepal who were among the crowd that we as a university and as a community are here to provide for the students and to support them in any way possible. Suraj Ayer, Student Government Association chief of staff and Nepalese native, spoke to the members of the community, faculty, staff and his fellow students, offering many thanks for the support of Hammond and the Southeastern community in this time of tragedy. “This has not broken any of the students because we have a family here at Southeastern,” said Ayer. After Ayer’s various acknowledgements, candles were passed to the crowd, being lit one by one, followed
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see VIGIL pg. 2
LionsRoarNews.com
The Lion’s Roar /Elizabeth Brown
Two students gather together to light each other’s candles while crouching around a handmade mural of the country of Nepal. The candles were then used as a border of light around the mural.
Weather Tuesday H 88 L 68
The Spring 2015 commencement ceremony is set to take place at the University Center on May 16 at 10 a.m. Traffic is expected to be heavy, with parking spaces in the University Center area to be filled up quickly, likely before 9 a.m. According to a recent press release on the subject, “Harold Todd, director of University Police, said the section of University Avenue between West Tornado Drive and SGA Drive will be restricted from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that day. Local traffic will be allowed to proceed on University Avenue for as long as possible but will be diverted through the campus as congestion increases.” Empty parking in the Greek Village and Southeastern Oaks areas will also be utilized. At this year’s commencement ceremony, the university will be awarding the Doctorate of Nursing Practice for the first time. According to Executive Director of Public and Governmental Affairs Erin Cowser, there will be eight candidates for the degree at the commencement. Patrice B. Pujol, superintendent of the Ascension Parish School System and 2015 Louisiana Superintendent of the Year, will be the selected speaker at this year’s commencement. She has been noted for her outstanding abilities as superintendent, her exceptional leadership abilities being praised in particular. For almost four decades, she has been a mainstay in the world of education, serving positions as teacher, principal and assistant superintendent. She has helped make her school district one of the most celebrated in Louisiana, its District Performance ranking fourth best among all of the Louisiana public schools. As a college undergraduate, Pujol herself was part of the Lion nation, graduating with a bachelor’s in French Education in 1976 and later returning to Southeastern to earn her doctorate in educational leadership. Her dissertation focused on ways to improve academic achievement and efficiency in school districts. Being both a Southeastern alumna and an exceptional
see GRADUATION pg. 2
Reminders Wednesday H 91 L 69
Return all rental textbooks by 6 p.m. on Monday, May 18.