OCTOBER 4, 2016 VOLUME 88, ISSUE 08
’ 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
A big show for a ‘little night’ Lady Lions BY ANNIE GOODMAN Staff Reporter
As the sun went down in downtown Hammond, the curtains went up in the Columbia Theatre. The university’s Opera/ Music Theatre Workshop put on the musical “A Little Night Music” Thursday, Sept. 29 and Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. The play circulated around themes of love and betrayal, both old and new, as it followed the complex relationships of main characters Désirée Armfeldt, played by Rachel Davis and Fredrick Egerman, played by Alfred Harper. Written by Hugh Wheeler, the story took place in Sweden in 1900. The actors enjoyed being a part of the production and working with the crew and fellow actors. “I thought it was really exciting,” said Harper. “It was my first lead role. This is my second show here. I loved it. I loved doing it. I loved acting Annie Goodman / The Lion’s Roar with the people. The director’s Three student actresses, from left, Anne Labranche, Rachel Davis and Elizabeth Langley pretend to be over dramatic really cool and the conductor actresses for a scene during “A Little Night Music.” see MUSICAL pg. 4
Staff Reporter
The purpose of the evening was not to discourage drinking, but to discourage alcohol and substance abuse as a coping mechanism. Lights! Camera! Mocktails! took place on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom and concluded in Strawberry Stadium Parking Garage. The night started out with a speech from motivational speaker Ross Szabo. “This presentation tonight is not to stand up here and tell you not to drink and do those things, but why people are doing it,” said Szabo. Szabo explained that mental health is not having an actual problem, but rather the way you address the complications that arise in your life. “Your mental health is as important as your physical health,” said Szabo. “To take care of your mental health you have to think about how you cope and how you take care of your mind.” Laughter emanated from the crowd as Szabo explained how college students tend to get less than five hours of sleep a night. Szabo explained what mental health and mental disorders were by going into detail about his personal back story and how his battle with mental disorders led to a very dangerous alcohol and substance abuse problem. “I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 16, and I heavily abused alcohol from 16 to about 22,” said Szabo. “I was in and out of psychiatric wards and hospitals until I found how to balance it.” Szabo believed that as students go through elementary and middle see MOCKTAILS pg. 4
Elizabeth Brown / The Lion’s Roar
Seven Lady Lions pitchers kept LSU Eunice to only one run as they defeated all three of their preseason opponents last week. Sophomore pitcher Caitlyn VanHemelryck threw two shutout innings to help the team to victory.
BY ELIZABETH BROWN Staff Reporter
Thirteen newcomers are now a part of the Lady Lions softball team. An eight-game fall schedule is underway to help these newcomers and their returning teammates get better acquainted and to get on the field experience. “We’re allowed to play eight games [in the fall] so we always want to try and play a full eight if we can,” said Head Softball Coach Rick Fremin. “There’s nothing like game experience. We can come out here and practice all fall, but the gaming experience and having the pressure on, seeing live pitching, those are all bonuses of us playing the games, so that’s why we try and maximize it with the eight games.” Leading up to the preseason, the 13 newcomers, seven of which are previously from the junior college level, were selected based on their skills, according to Fremin. “Their athleticism is one thing,” said Fremin. “Their speed, their competitiveness, but as far as the transfers, there’s seven of them, all seven have either played for a national championship or won Taja Morgan / The Lion’s Roar a national championship in the Mocktail winners Alpha Omicron Pi and Pi Kappa Alpha used the movie “Elf” for last two years with their junior their booth theme. college programs, so they already know how to win, and that was a big draw for us.”
Mocktails celebrates movies BY IMARI SIMMONS
open preseason
These new Lady Lions, alongside their veteran teammates, were able to show their skills in the beginning of the eight-game fall schedule. For the preseason opener on Wednesday, Sept. 28, the team went up against LSU Eunice where junior outfielder Maddie Edmonston dominated the game by scoring three runs, one of which was a solo home run. As a newcomer, Edmonston also was playing against her former team in this game. “It was really weird just seeing everyone and not being in that uniform since I played two years there, but I was excited to be a Lady Lion and I just wanted to do good for my team,” said Edmonston. “It was a new team, new coaches, so I knew that I needed to prove myself, and I guess just knowing that and wanting to do good for my team, I just had some confidence and did what I needed to do.” Junior outfielder Kinsey Nichols followed shortly behind Edmonston with a triple, two runs batted in and a run scored. Junior infielder Mahalia Gibson also finished with an RBI. After this 5-1 victory, the Lady Lions continued to dominate with a 13-7 win against Pearl River Community College on Saturday, Oct. 1. Later that
New king and queen will reign for Homecoming BY NATE CALLAWAY Staff Reporter
At any school, homecoming has always been a tradition. From high school to college, it carries on. The week activities and events leading to the home game all represent a week for school pride and enjoyment. The court is run through the Student Government Association and members of the student body run for a spot on the court. SGA helps them get prepped and ready for their duties. Every year a new round of court members are elected. To enter, students must be part of at least two student organizations, free of academic Nate Callaway/ The Lion’s Roar or disciplinary probation, a full Two newly elected Homecoming Court members hug in excitement as their time student and have at least a names were announced. Following the elections, a meeting was held where the 2.5 GPA. members learned of their responsibilities to come. As announced in the
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Student Union Breezeway on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m., the Homecoming Court winners were: Justin Archote, Justin Bankston, Neil Bourgeois, Seth Leto, Duncan Martin, Austin Rogers, Nick Wylie, Taylor Drude, Maya Gauthier, Maria Goddard, Cierra Heckman, Maggie Hinson, Chelsea Loupe and Haley Loyacano. Bankston expressed his excitement for his new position on the Homecoming Court and intends to allow members of the campus community to see how much they are involved in endeavors. “If you actually look into what it takes to be on Homecoming Court, you get to see that ‘hey these guys actually have a pretty see VOTING pg. 8
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see SOFTBALL pg. 7
Elizabeth Brown / The Lion’s Roar
Two time All-Southland Conference junior infielder Kinsey Nichols finished the game with two RBI’s and scored a run . Only former LSU Eunice junior outfielder Maddie Edmonston had a better game scoring three runs and a home run.
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