September 9, 2014 Volume 86, Issue 5
’ 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
By Megan Simon Staff Reporter
College is no easy feat, especially when students are worried about paying for it. It’s more stressful when one does not know how to navigate through the shark-infested waters of student loans and credit. Unfortunately, there is no road map pointing to the best way to survive the traps of taking out student loans, but there are resources out there to provide help for the average college student. According to personal finance writer Abbey Hayes, the five most common mistakes students make when taking out student loans are assuming they need the student loan, not exhausting other options, spending all the money offered, failing to figure out monthly payments
and failing to keep track of debt acquired. There are plenty of ways to avoid taking out a loan, such as choosing a cheaper school, committing to a school offering a scholarship, attending a work-based school for free, working while attending school part-time or putting off college until one has enough money saved up. One of the most common mistakes is students tend to spend all the money given to them. They do not realize they have to pay back the loan in the end. Instead, they either use the money given to them to fully pay for schooling, which would be too expensive if the loan was not given, or they use it on non-school related extras just because it was given to them. In addition to the top five, financial expert Robert
Farrington explains in his article “Two Expensive Student Loan Mistakes to Avoid” how college graduates who delay in payments can make student loans even more expensive. “You will have to repay your student loans,” wrote Farrington. “There are very few ways to get out of student loan debt without paying them back or getting them forgiven via special student loan forgiveness programs. But waiting on paying back your loans just allows them to grow. If you don’t start making payments on your student loans, interest will accrue and the debt will just grow over time. Even waiting one to two years after graduation could see your student loan balance balloon by 10 percent or more.” For those interested in
student loans, it is important to have a general plan on how it will be repaid so graduates do not fall in the traps Farrington described. Being aware of what mistakes to avoid when taking out loans is not the only aspect students need to be aware of. There are also different types of loans offered. In order to understand the different types of loans, one must first understand the difference between an unsubsidized loan and subsidized loan, for this can be crucial to students who classify themselves as either undergraduate or graduate among other reasons. According to FAFSA. gov, subsidized loans are “based on financial need and are available only to undergraduate students. The
see LOANS pg. 8
By Melanie Mann Opinions Editor
Kliebert’s Turtle and Alligator Farm is facing child abuse complaints from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Located in Hammond, the farm was reported to the Department of Child and Family Services after teaching a six-year-old boy to handle alligators. According to the complaint, the boy was permitted to “wrangle dangerous alligators and crocodiles, placing him at risk of virulent infection and serious injury from bites, scratches, head butts and thrashing.” Mary Kliebert, a family member who is not the boy’s mother, responded to the complaints in an interview with the Associated Press. “It’s been in the family for seven decades,” said Kliebert. “The whole Kliebert family has been through this.” She went on to say children are only permitted to handle baby alligators or larger ones with their mouths taped shut. DCFS declined to comment due to confidentiality restrictions; however, social work professor Corie Hebert explained the process by which child abuse is investigated. After the initial call, the DCFS workers will make an assessment regarding the level of risk to the child. If the information indicates there
could be a substantial level of risk, an investigator will be sent to the home to determine if the child is safe. “Basically, a safe child is one who lives in a home where there are no threats of danger within the family or when the parents possess sufficient protective capacities to manage any threats,” said Hebert. “A child is unsafe when threats of danger exist within the family and children are vulnerable to such threats, and parents have insufficient protective capacities to manage or control threats.” Louisiana legislation defines child abuse as the
see GATOR pg. 9
Graphic by Fernanda Chagas
Graphic by Fernanda Chagas
Local gator farm faces child abuse accusations
SGA acknowledges Top Five student complaints By William Schmidt Staff Reporter
The Student Government Association asked students to list their top five concerns or comments on how the campus can run more smoothly. The list has been made public through a Facebook post. The most common concern on campus for the start of the fall semester is the disorganized course catalog
in regards to all the degree programs being offered. Another popular request is for the shuttle buses to run later than 5:30 p.m. Construction closing some of the faster routes for students to get from class to class may be one of the causes for the requests for later shuttle runs. “The only thing really necessary is definitely the shuttle bus running later and putting something up about
the construction not being done,” said senior general studies major Allison Matte. Students also wanted more paths leading to the Bookstore. Pre-registration for the next semester of classes begins before the previous semester is over. Sometimes the teacher for a particular timeallotted class is unknown or changed right before the first day of class. If a teacher in a particular class changes, the
students are not made aware of the change unless the teacher personally emails the students. Students requested to be made aware of this change through email. In the past, one of the problems the university had was upperclass commuters did not have enough parking spots on campus. This led to the construction of the parking garage by Strawberry Stadium. This semester, the fifth top
concern was that the freshman commuter lot was closer to the rest of campus. These are only the top five concerns. There were other complaints that did not make the list, such as the difficulty for some students continuing school due to paying for a financial strain that was not once there. “Stop taking scholarships away,” said sophomore nursing major Katie Wimbish.
“I came in the last semester when they cut the honors scholarship in half. I would be going to school for free right now, but I am paying this semester because of that.” Damaris Clark, SGA director of public relations, also said she believed “there would be more concerns about the fee increase and other monetary affairs.”
see COMPLAINTS pg. 9
Bennett leads offense to explosive fourth quarter By Jay Love
Staff Reporter
Another game finished in Strawberry Stadium this past Saturday as Lion’s fans were treated to a thriller. After staying within a touchdown for the better part of three quarters, the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds tired out as the Lions scored 21 unanswered points in the second half, ending in a 41-14 victory. “Hats off to Southern Utah. They were exactly what we thought they were coming in. They really gave us some fits,” said Head Coach Ron Roberts. “I was impressed of how the quarterback handled himself, and the receivers did a good job.” Just as they did a week earlier when they took on Jacksonville University, the Lions wasted no time to get points onto the board. It took less than 15 seconds for
Southeastern to score thanks to an interception by senior linebacker Drew Misita. The Amite native picked off Aaron Cantu’s pass and took it back 10 yards for his first career touchdown as a Lion. “That play we knew they were going to run, we just didn’t know they were going to run it first play,” said Misita. “I give all the credit to the coaches. They knew it was coming, and they put me in the spot.” The remainder of the first quarter featured a back-andforth contest between the Thunderbirds and Lions. Southern Utah attempted a field goal following trading punts, but they would have to try again as the kick was wide left. A 10-0 lead in Southeastern’s favor left the home crowd at ease, but with three quarters to go, there was still plenty of time for a
see FOOTBALL pg. 6
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The Lion’s Roar / Tamara Alexander
Quarterback Bryan Bennett attempts to find fellow senior Chris Malott. The pair would eventually connect on a 33-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. After two games, Bennett has thrown for over 500 yards and four touchdowns. He has also accounted for two touchdowns on the ground.
Weather Tuesday H 94 L 73
Reminders Sept. 15 is the last day to apply for Fall Wednesday 2014 graduation and last day to apply for H 93 L 74 Spring 2015 graduation without late fee.