November 18, 2014 Volume 86, Issue 14
’ 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 5
Arts & Entertainment Page 6
Sports Page 8
News Page 10
LionsRoarNews.com
Volunteers serve Thanksgiving meals By Megan Ferrando Staff Reporter
The Lion’s Roar / Jay Love
Around 500 volunteers from various churches and organizations served up some Thanksgiving goodness for over 2,400 people at the 2014 Thanksgiving Servolution. Chip Chauvin (above left) helps pack one of the hundreds of boxes of food that were handed pit Saturday morning.
Organizations donate Toys from the Heart By McKenzie DeSandro Staff Reporter
To some, the holidays are a time for food, family and fun, but not everyone is so fortunate. The Nu Delta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Nu Omega Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the Eta Lambda Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority have teamed up since 2005 with the mission of helping to make the holidays the best time of the year for all by starting the Toys from the Heart toy drive. This year, they were joined by the Omicron Nu Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, Kappa Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Delta Epsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, African American Alumni Chapter, Student United Way and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This year, the organizations will be servicing Central Tangi Head Start and Southeastern Headstart, as well as 20 homeless families, totaling up to over 450 children. This group is considering about expanding their reach to another school because of the abundance of generosity of the community. So far, Toys from the Heart has raised over $800 in donations for 2014. “I go to the Headstart and we give one toy to every child, but when it comes to our homeless families, we give more than one toy per child,” said Donnisha Patterson, president of the Nu Delta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. “We only give new toys to Headstart kids, but we give gently used toys and new toys to
our homeless people. We really don’t want to limit ourselves for those families, but with the schools, you can only give what people tell you.” The charity typically raises about $1,000 each year in donations from both individuals and organizations, such as the athletic department and churches around the community. “We deliver toys on Dec. 5. On the 4th, we have a wrap party where we get together, order pizza and wrap all the toys that night,” said Patterson. “The Friday after, we get up and go to each school. Someone dresses up as an elf, we have Santa Claus and we go play music and hand out gifts to the children.” This philanthropy should not be confused with Food from the Heart, or its similar Christmas charity also named Toys from the Heart. “A member of Kappa Alpha Phi wanted to be a beacon of light for Christmas time, and just that one person started something so big,” said Patterson. “Once he started it, it was like a domino effect.” Toys from the Heart is accepting donations of new and gently used toys for children and infants. No toy guns will be accepted unless they have a military affiliation. Those that want to donate can bring toys to any of the Christmas boxes located inside the Pennington Student Activity Center, located at the corner of University Avenue and General Pershing Avenue and also in the SGA office in Mims Hall, room 118. They can also be found at both ends of the Student Union from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 3-6, Nov. 1013, Nov. 17-20, Nov 24-25 and Dec. 1-2.
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With the holidays quickly approaching and Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, the idea of service is coming forward in community members’ minds. What started as a free Thanksgiving dinner for approximately 120 community members has expanded to a free meal for over 2,400 people. Thanksgiving Servolution volunteers united on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 11 a.m to serve Hammond. The event took place at old Schwegmann’s grocery store parking lot at 1000 S. Morrison Blvd. Thanksgiving Servolution was started in 2010 by Jason Granger, who serves on staff at a local church. The day of service included The Hot Meal Distribution with Our Daily Bread Food Bank and Helping Hands Ministries, Adopt-A-School project with Hammond Westside Montessori and One Night in Bethlehem, where volunteers can help them prepare for their live nativity in December. “The goal of the event is to mobilize hundreds of volunteers to serve the city of Hammond for the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Granger. “Through the various projects we host each year, we hope to meet the needs of our community, show Hammond that churches and organizations can work together for the good of our community and light a passion for service in the volunteers that come to serve.” Along with around 500 volunteers, various churches and organizations came together to work towards one common goal. Generosity from businesses, non-profit organizations, churches and volunteers covered the expense for all the food that was served. “If we all work together, we can achieve greater things than if we were to work alone or not at all,” said Granger. “Together we can serve more people through more projects. And it’s nice for the community to see that churches aren’t in competition of each other. We are one family, one body of Christ. There’s no reason why we can’t work together to serve our neighbor.” Volunteers helped in the various serving events throughout the day. The Hot Meal Distribution project included a cook team, two teams to serve food and a clean up team. The Adopt-A-School project allowed volunteers to impact over 1,300 students and faculty as they planted vegetables, trimmed hedges and paint ed an inside hallway at Hammond Westside Montessori. The One Night in Bethlehem gave volunteers a chance to join Calvary Christian Center in preparing their property for the nativity in December. “The event provides an opportunity for community members,” said Granger. “It provides an opportunity to have needs met. For volunteers, it provides an opportunity for them to see the needs in our community so that they can work to meet those needs throughout the year. The people that we serve through this event are the most important.”
New charter school coming to Hammond
Inside this issue of ‘The Lion’s Roar’
By McKenzie DeSandro Staff Reporter
see VETERANS pg. 4
Courtesy of Veterans Upward Bound
see STARRY pg. 6
The Lion’s Roar / Sara Patrick
see FOOTBALL pg. 8
The Lion’s Roar / Jay Love
Weather Tuesday H 51 L 26
Arts integrated charter school Tangi Academy is set to open August 2015 in the Hammond area. A charter school is a tuition-free public school that is independently run. This gives it a higher level of autonomy, making the school’s administrators responsible for staffing and curriculum development. Because the school itself is responsible for these things, the Louisiana Charter School law holds them to a higher academic, financial and organizational standard. The school is to be shut down if it fails to meet the set standards. “We’re going to be the first [arts integrated school] on the North Shore,” said Lisa Prossitran, founder of Tangi Academy. “What arts integration means is not performing arts. It means your math, science, technology, engineering, your English, all those things are taught in and through the arts. Where you would be teaching fractions, you would teach through rhythm.” There are currently over 100 successful charter schools in Louisiana, most of which are in New Orleans. According to lacharterschools.org, “Many schools have been successful enough to have their charters renewed, which means that their authorizers were satisfied that they met the original goals of their charter, and therefore deserved to continue to operate. According to a 2013 study by
see CHARTER pg. 3
Reminders Wednesday H 59 L 39
The next issue of The Lion’s Roar will be on the stands on Dec. 9. Have a safe Thanksgiving break.