February 7, 2023 . Volume 80 . Issue 1
Put on Your Dance Shoes; New Dance Minor Pending Approval from Board of Regents Debrandin Brown, Jr.
month’s January 6th meeting. The new members of the board include Zazell V. Dudley of Shreveport for District 4, Maple L. Gaines of New Orleans for District 2, Paul P. Matthews of Metairie for District 1, Christy O. Reeves of Baton Rouge, and Ann Smith of Kentwood for District 5.
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST
With Southern University being generally regarded as one of the hubs of the South for graduates within the STEM and nursing fields, new additions to Southern University’s Board of Supervisors have begun to develop the groundwork for similar efforts to be undertaken in the sector of dance. The addition of this new minor into the Fine Arts curriculum could be accepting students as early as the Fall 2023 semester. According to Dean Cynthia Bryant, additional steps are needed. “While the Southern University Board of Supervisors graciously approved our proposal, the certificate program cannot be offered until we receive full approval from the Louisiana Board of Regents,” said Dean Bryant.
While the Board of Supervisors is responsible for overseeing the operations of the campus, the Board of Regents holds the authority of ultimate approval for funding and implementation of policies that the Board of Supervisors brings before them.
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Dr. Doris Hall, Chair of the College of Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies Curriculum Committee at Southern and a Baton Rouge
native with history within the HBCU community, is the creator of the Dance Studies course. This
new
addition
to
the Southern University educational curriculum comes on the back of the induction of five new members of the Board of Supervisors as of last
“My hope is that I can add value to Southern University where I can, to learn, listen, grow, and help in any way that I can,” the newly swornin Matthews assured. While there are Southern alumni present on this incarnation of See NEW MINOR page 4
Party in the House: Safety Rules When Going Out must decide who is going to be the “designated driver” for the group. The designated driver is mostly the caretaker of the group and is supposed to monitor all friends as they indulge in party activities. He also made a similar statement to Gooch’s about keeping the group together.
Sandi Huggins
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST Imagine walking at night from a party or event, on an open road, the breeze is fluttering, and the lights are dim in the street. You walk briskly knowing that you are by yourself, but you start to hear heavy footsteps pacing toward you. Your mind starts to race with thoughts of terror and nervousness. To avoid any issues or to protect yourself, you should always travel to the party with a friend. Some friends have rules when walking into a party with them. Kierra Gooch, a sophomore nursing major expresses some of the rules her friend group have while planning to go out. Her first one is to stay together at all times. At parties, many women tend to have too much fun and separate easily from their friends. It’s up to all girls to stick with their friends at least until it is decided the night is over.
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Gooch’s second rule is to not leave your drink unattended; you watch it or get another one. Date rape is common in areas like clubs or parties. In the U.S., 43.6% of women, nearly 52.2 million, experienced some form of contact with sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the 2015 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Her lady rule is to make sure
there is recognition to all the exits just in case something happens. In the party scene, things happen fast and the last thing needed is not being able to find an immediate exit just in case of an emergency. Most men usually are very chill at these events. Is there a guy code for these events? Kaleb Brown, a freshman, vocalized his views on going to parties with friends. He says that his friends mostly
A first-year student, Dynel Turner, majoring in social work has rules for her friend group and herself. She tells herself to not get intoxicated too much because she wants to be aware of her surroundings, and keep an eye on the people she came with. She also believes she should carry weapons like pepper spray to a party. Weapons are not allowed for safety reasons, but Dynel feels she may need something like that just in case of an altercation. She also decides to book a Lyft for the night for her friends because drunk driving isn’t condoned. See SAFETY page 3
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA