Hammond, LA
November 5, 2019
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
GRUBHUB, pg.2
RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL, pg.4
FOOTBALL VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN, pg.6
Implications of City of St. George PeopleSoft to be replaced by Workday System ANDREW JORDAN Staff Reporter
A sign on Siegan Lane near I-10 in Baton Rouge encouraged voters to pass the proposal for the City of St. George on Oct. 12. The proposal passed with 54% of voters supporting the new city. Maggie Tregre /The Lion’s Roar MAGGIE TREGRE Staff Reporter
A group of residents in East Baton Rouge Parish voted to create their own city that would be separate from Baton Rouge. The proposed city, called St. George, passed with a 54 % of the vote on Oct. 12. Once incorporated, the city will surpass Lake Charles as the fifth largest city in Louisiana. Peter Petrakis, associate professor of political science, explained the differences in reasoning for why the city is being created. “Supporters will say it is about bringing sovereignty and control closer to residents,” explained Petrakis. “Moreover, many think that it will eventually lead to more control over services, especially public schools. Critics argue that it is akin to Balkanization or the fracturing of the city. I have heard claims of a struggle over ‘identity’ or the dissatisfaction some feel in terms of losing control of the city’s leadership positions. They want to be known as distinct from Baton Rouge residents.”
Supporters of St. George hope to create a smaller and more privatized system of government separate from that of Baton Rouge. Munson Chauvin, instructor of political science, described the possible benefits and consequences of this type of system. “Privatization usually leads to more efficiency and also sometimes more competition that could potentially lower the cost,” said Chauvin. “The advantages of that would be more choice and probably efficiency and more specialization. There are drawbacks to that at a government level too. Looking after your citizens, if you have the people who are able to vote, they’re the ones who make these decisions within these cities and therefore they might cater to the public more than a private company would.” St. George would still be within the limits of East Baton Rouge Parish, meaning it would be under the same control of the parish president, Sharon Weston Broome, who also serves as mayor-president of Baton Rouge. This is not the first time that Baton Rouge
citizens has tried to form their own city. Chauvin explained how other cities have broken away from Baton Rouge in the past. “You’ve had Central do the same thing in East Baton Rouge,” stated Chauvin. “From a political science standpoint, you have the state, and then the state basically has local government operate for it throughout the state. East Baton Rouge Parish is unique in the sense that you have the city of Baton Rouge and the parish politically being one in the same, so you have a mayor-president. Baton Rouge has rural areas, and some of these areas have broken off and formed their own cities, which is what they’re allowed to do.” Those who oppose the creation of a new city have shown concern for how St. George is going to be properly funded. Petrakis described why those who are against the new city have voiced their concerns. “Supporters claim that there will be sufficient savings that taxes might even go down,” said see ST. GEORGE, pg. 8 Petrakis.
The university recently announced that it will be implementing the Workday System, replacing the PeopleSoft system that has been a part of the technology for Leonet and oncampus jobs. Alongside other members in the University of Louisiana system, the university will be joining a new enterprise resource planning system, otherwise known as ERP, for the next school year. Dr. Kay Maurin, chief enrollment management officer, explained why the university chose to change its systems. “PeopleSoft is a product that is nearing the end of support and will not be further developed,” explained Maurin. “Workday is a more user-friendly product that provides superior ease of accessing data and information for decision making and planning.” According to the university website, ERPs will integrate all of an organization’s departments, divisions, lines of business and locations into a more uniform system for enterprise and resource. Beginning to work on the transition to Workday back in 2018, the university has recently started this year with the testing phase of Workday to departments with the efforts of end-to-end testing, university, user acceptance and parallel testing for departments and user training. Maurin commented on how the process has gone so far in terms of fluidity. “The implementation
process has been very positive,” explained Maurin. “It has provided an opportunity to look at current practices and business processes to ensure we are providing the best experience to our users while also enhancing efficiencies. Most noteworthy is that this implementation is being done in partnership with Louisiana Tech University and the University of New Orleans and has resulted in significant cost-savings.” Maurin further stated that the transition has not faced any roadblocks in her department or others, but the main challenge, given the coordination of working both with learning Workday and respective department affairs, has been time management. Since August 2018, the efforts of the university departments have been productive with over 300 units of training, over 2,100 hours of consulting services, over 30 visits to each universities’ human resources, financial aid offices, integration and data conversion teams. According to Maurin, all the groups involved in the university’s implementation have been excited in the product and the manner it will work. With a goal set for fall 2020, Maurin explained the status of the goal date and expectations upon launch. “The Human Capital Management and the finance modules are on schedule to deploy in July 2020,” explained Maurin. “The Student Module users are currently working through advanced discovery. Once advanced discovery is completed, implementation will begin and is expected to last between two to three years.”
Veterans Day: a day to be thankful for those serving in the military JACOB LOFTON Staff Reporter
Veterans Day is a day for giving thanks to those who have served in the military and have fought for America’s freedom. Margaret Gonzalez-Perez, a political science professor, explained the significance of Veterans Day. “Veterans Day is important because it is a reminder to us that brave men and women have fought and continue to fight for our country every day,” said Gonzalez-Perez. “It reminds us that freedom is not free.” Veterans Day started as Armistice Day, a celebration of the end of World War I. Every year, on Nov. 11, Armistice Day celebrated the coming together of the Central Powers and Allied Powers, which resulted in the Treaty of Versailles, ending the Great War. “U.S. President Woodrow Wilson gave an address, declaring Nov. 11 as Armistice Day and declaring our nation’s gratitude for the victory in WWI and our pride in the heroism of the soldiers that died fighting,” explained Gonzalez-Perez. “In 1938, the day became a national holiday. In 1954, Congress passed a law declaring Veterans Day to celebrate and thank all veterans who serve our country, not just those who died in WWI.” The veterans being celebrated can hold different views of the holiday than the public. Stephen Hotard, a former marine sergeant,
explained that different generations see Veterans Day differently. “I think there’s a bit of a generational difference on it as well,” elaborated Hotard. “As far as the different generations of veterans, I definitely think we should appreciate those Vietnam era veterans more.” Matthew Watkins, a U.S. Air Force veteran, shared that veterans look at Veterans Day differently. “From a veteran’s perspective, Veterans Day, I think for us, is more about being with other veterans and created a relationship that way with those veterans in the community,” said Watkins. “There’s not a lot of forums where you get to be with other veterans, and Veterans Day is one of those days where we can bring together other veterans and celebrate their service.” A commonly shared sentiment is that the veterans did not want the spotlight on them, but that they appreciated that the public remembered them. Sergeant First Class Christopher Gascon shared how he felt about the holiday. “Honestly I don’t think it should be any different than any other day as far as how it’s celebrated,” shared Gascon. “We don’t do it to be recognized, I speak for myself, but typically most individuals don’t do it to be recognized. We do it because we have a sense of wanting to help people.” On Nov. 11, when Veterans Day, many veterans consider it important for people to remember to be thankful for those who have served in the
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On Nov. 11, 1938 Veterans Day was officially recognized as a national holiday. The holiday is established to celebrate Armistice Day which ended World War I and to honor those who have served in the U.S. Military. Jacob Lofton/The Lion’s Roar military to protect their freedom. Watkins shared what Veterans Day means to the veterans being celebrated. “Veterans Day is not so much what the community does for veterans, it’s in general the fact that they can
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Campus Life.................................2 Opinions.....................................3 A&E............................................4
Horoscope, Crossword, Sudoku....5 Sports & Fitness...........................6 News..........................................8
come together with other veterans,” said Watkins. “That is a really great experience.” On Nov. 11, the university will be hosting a ROTC flag football game to honor those who have fought and served in war.
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