’ 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
Hammond, LA
December 4, 2018
Crowning Chelsey PRAKRITI ADHIKARI Staff Reporter
Every year, the university chooses its new ambassador as Miss Southeastern and awards her with golden roses, the local Miss America crown, an opportunity to compete in the Miss Louisiana Pageant and recognition in various events on campus. The title holder is also awarded one year’s tuition, $1000 clothing allowance and a meal plan for the upcoming spring and fall semesters. The Campus Activities Board hosted the 2019 Miss Southeastern Pageant on Friday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Vonnie Borden Theatre. 2018 Miss Southeastern Alyssa Larose, a junior elementary education and special education major, crowned her successor Chelsey Blank, a junior accounting major. Blank feels honored by the title. “It is an honor to have been chosen as the person to represent this campus,” said Blank. “I am looking forward to spreading all that Southeastern has to offer.” Blank is a student worker in the Office of Career Services and was also a member of the 2018 Homecoming Committee. She is currently an orientation leader and a mentor in the College of Business. Apart from being involved on campus, she enjoys “dancing, bargain shopping and doing hair and makeup.” Blank wants to continue being active on campus. “I am most looking forward to representing my school and my platform down syndrome awareness,” said Blank. Blank has been participating in pageants since the age of 6. She shared her experience of being a member of such competitions. “When I turned 16, I decided to start doing them again,” shared Blank. “I had the title of Miss Festival of Charities XI, which gave me the opportunity to represent the Down Syndrome Association of Greater New Orleans. I like participating in pageants because it allows me to meet
new people, share my passions, and learn more about my amazing state.” Competing for the pageant was a good experience for Blank. “I enjoyed the entire process,” expressed Blank. “The contestants were absolutely amazing, and everyone was so helpful. The only difficulty I had was finding my swimsuit
seeing the expressions on the kids’ faces as they pointed at ‘a queen.’”
bottoms.” Blank made her first appearance as Miss Southeastern at the Rotary Club of Hammond’s 60th Annual Christmas Parade. She shared her excitement on participating in the parade. “The parade was amazing,” expressed Blank. “I loved
see CHELSEY BLANK, pg. 6
Student fees increase Chelsey Blank, a junior accounting major, was crowned 2019 Miss Southeastern by 2018 Miss Southeastern Alyssa Larose, a junior elementary education and special education major. Blank also won the Talent Award and the Academic Award. Jacob Summerville/The Lion’s Roar
‘Sip Smarter’ initiative created to reduce plastic straw waste MAIAH WOODRING Staff Reporter
Americans use 500 million drinking straws daily according to the National Park Service, the equivalent of 183 billion straws a year. To counter this, Auxiliary Services launched its “Sip Smarter” campaign to reduce the amount of waste that these drinking conveniences contribute to landfills each year. Director of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives for Auxiliary Services Robin Parker explained how the shift away from plastic straws will be accomplished. Parker said, “We recently introduced the idea of reducing the use of straws by providing information on the impact of plastic on our environment to a few student groups in addition to placing informative flyers throughout our dining facilities with wording ‘Skip the Straw.’
Student fees will increase by $5.30 per credit hour at the university this spring semester. The fee increase follows a University of Louisiana System wide decision. Zachary Araki/The Lion’s Roar ZACHARY ARAKI
12 credit hours, the total fee increase equals $63.60. The university is expected to raise about $1.7 million total through the fee increase. In the spring semester, the university will Every university in the University of Louisiana introduce a $5.30 per credit hour student fee System will be raising student charges this increase in line with the University of Louisiana spring except for Nicholls State University. System decision. For a full-time student, or a student taking A&E Editor
see FEE INCREASES, pg. 6
Weather
Tuesday H 58 L 34
Index
Wednesday H 57 L 35
Campus Life.................................2 Opinions.....................................3 A&E............................................4
Horoscope, Crossword, Sudoku....5 Sports.........................................7 News..........................................8
This fall, we put out collateral advertising ‘Skip the Straw,’ and we consolidated all plastic straws at one beverage station. While straws are still currently available, we will move to having them available upon request in the next two semesters and then move to paper straws available on request.” Auxiliary Services partnered with the Student Government Association and the Food Committee for the campaign, and they chose straws as the “first barrier of entry” towards eliminating disposable or single-use items. “Straw reduction is part of a broader holistic strategy that addresses single-use plastics overall,” shared Parker. “The purpose of the ‘Sip Smarter’ campaign is to let consumers know Aramark is reducing straws and singleuse plastics to align with our commitment to
see PAPER STRAWS, pg. 6
Stay Connected With Us!
Volume 90, Issue 16
Like and follow @lionsroarnews.
A Student Publication www.lionsroarnews.com lionsroar@southeastern.edu