August 25, 2015 Volume 86, Issue 4
’ 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
LionsRoarNews.com
News Page 8
Barker returns to Hot August Night for the second time for a second cause By Heather Jewell Staff Reporter
Hot August Night is a time of laughter, fun and sharing Lion Pride in Hammond. One Hammond resident, however, saw it as an opportunity to open hearts and bring awareness to the Hammond community of the struggles one of their youngest members’ faces on a daily basis. Five year old Trevor Rickerson suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a disease which has left him in a wheelchair for most of his life. Rickerson was diagnosed when he was under a year old, leaving him with only 10 percent of muscle usage due to the disease causing his voluntary muscles in his back to begin deteriorating. According to their GoFundMe page, “Trevor’s Cure Dat Foundation,” spinal muscular atrophy is a progressively degenerative disease, which eventually claims the lives of its victims and is the number one genetic
killer of children under the age of two. Rickerson will never walk, and his disease will eventually rob him of his ability to swallow, breathe properly and hold his head up. So far, they have raised $8,005 of their $10,000 goal through the page. When 11 year old Brody Barker heard his parents discussing Rickerson, he wanted to help. “I heard my mom and dad talking about it, and I wanted to donate money to him,” said Brody Barker. This is not the first time Brody has been compelled into action to help others. Just last year he raised $1,100 for the Tangi Humane Society. Brody Barker’s mother, Stacey Barker, says Brody loves spending time at the animal shelter. “He likes helping people,” said Stacey Barker. The 11 year old decided to play it old school and raise money through a lemonade
stand, Brody’s Best of the Best Lemonade because according to Brody Barker, “it is always kinda hot.” On the day of the big sale, both boys were in attendance and multiple groups came to show their support by adding their own contributions to the Rickerson’s fund. The Ponchatoula Lions Club donated $250 and Daniel Edwards of the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office presented $500. Community members buying lemonade would often pay for a $2 cup of lemonade with a $20 bill, donating the rest. Some gave money without buying lemonade at all. “He’s a really cool kid, and he just needs a new wheelchair,” said Brody Barker. Trevor has been in the same wheelchair for four years and is growing out of it. The specially fitted wheelchair he needs costs $44,000. Trevor also needs items including a shower seat, walker and other forms of equipment for when he gets
Editor in Chief
Louisiana is moving towards hands-free calling while driving. Police officers everywhere are cracking down on driving while talking on the phone. According to Revised Statues 32:300.8, engaging in phone calls is prohibited in all school zones. The fee will depend on the jurisdiction where the citation was given. “I think they wrote the law because there was information made available to them that this is a safety issue, and I think it might have to do
with public opinion,” said the university Police Lieutenant Patrick Gibson. “Individuals may think I’m a safe driver, but public opinion thinks differently.” Gibson believes the recent law passed will increase safety on campus and in the community. He disagrees with those who think the implementation of this law was unnecessary. “I think people shouldn’t be using cell phones at all while driving,” said Gibson. “We had too SAFE DRIVING continued on pg. 8
The Lion’s Roar / Megan Simon
It is now against the law to talk on a cell phone and drive in a school zone. The fee amount charged for violating this law depends on the jurisdiction the citation is given.
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This is not the first time Brody Barker (middle) attended Hot August Night with the intent to raise funds for someone other than himself. Last year he attended and raised over $1,000 for the Tangi Humane Society. This year, he wanted to help out his new friend, Trevor (right) in getting a new wheelchair. older. The Rickerson’s also are in need of a new car. Once they obtain the new wheelchair, it will weigh 420 pounds, which is too heavy for the current lift that transfers Trevor into the
vehicle. “The best part of all this is the friendship that has come out of it; Brody is such a good person and has been an amazing role model for Trevor,” said Brittany
Rickerson, Trevor’s mother. Though the boys’ friendship is still young, they enjoy each other’s company while playing video games on Playstation and hanging out.
University has ‘no worries’ for the academic budget
LAW CRACKS DOWN ON CALLING AND DRIVING By Megan Simon
The Lion’s Roar / Heather Jewell
By Megan Simon Editor in Chief
A lot of work was done this past summer by Vice President for Administration and Finance Sam Domiano and Budget Director John Paul Domiano along with their team to tackle the many worries concerning the academic budget and its effects on students and faculty. The team began working on the budget in early July. It was then submitted to the System Office for August 3. The budget for the University of Louisiana System will have the nine schools discussed by a board of supervisors Wednesday, August 26. 115.6 million dollars is the operating budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. In the end of Spring 2015, there were questions circulating around campus about the magnitude of the budget cuts and what the consequences were going to be. Even though the potential for cuts was greatest at 1.6 billion dollars, as of now, the Budget Office was able to reduce the cuts to zero. “Because our budget increased slightly compared to last year, there were no budget cuts to departments,” said Sam Domiano. “There were lots of things said and done throughout the session, but in the end, there weren’t cuts, which we were very grateful for. Legislatures had to work really hard to get us to that point, and we are grateful that there was not a cut.” Although students will not be experiencing any aftermath from the rumored budget cuts, there was still a 10 percent increase in tuition due to the LA GRAD act, but this will be the
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last year the 10 percent will be administered towards tuition. Due to the increase in tuition, the Budget Office was more aware of the students’ needs and kept this in mind while budgeting. “When we were looking at the fees, we [were] very sensitive to the fact that students already have the 10 percent increase,” said Sam Domiano. “So, we were very careful about the fact that’s already going to be an increase in costs students would have to bear. Quite honestly, we are very sensitive to the fact that students have had those tuition increases over the course of these past few years. Cumulatively speaking, we understand that there have been multiple increases and that becomes more of a burden that’s being placed on our students. We were trying to be careful where fees were being implemented.” While determining what fees were necessary for students to pay as opposed to those that weren’t, the office found there were two critical areas that needed funding in order to help both students and faculty directly. One of these areas was the student technology fee. The technology fee was administered in the late 90’s and has not been adjusted until now. Sam Domiano believes the fee will give students the technology they deserve and learning wouldn’t be possible without it. “Our needs were outpacing our funding,” said Sam Domiano. “We implemented a fee that was like the student technology resource fee. It BUDGET continued on pg. 8
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What do we need to know? The Lion Traxx has two routes now, the green and gold routes.